Chi You had never believed there could be another person in this world who harbored malice as pure as his own.
His evil had been birthed in the filth of decay. Even while alive, he had been like a living evil spirit. How could there possibly be someone else with that same kind of malice?
What had Jiang Luo gone through?
Chi You couldn’t help but rise and lean in, studying the expression on Jiang Luo’s face.
In Jiang Luo’s narrow, beautiful eyes, red blood threads were gradually spreading—like blood coursing through them, cold, cruel, wicked to the core.
Those eyes were beautiful and untamed. Chi You asked with genuine curiosity, “Jiang Luo, what are you thinking?”
Jiang Luo looked at him, his vision now tinged with a haze of blood-red.
He could clearly tell something was wrong with himself.
The voice in his mind continued: “He’s killed you eighteen times before—just the fact you haven’t gone insane is a miracle. After what he’s done to you, simply killing him would be far too easy. Wouldn’t it be even more satisfying to take it further and toy with him?”
“Shatter his pride. Crush his dignity. Make this lofty evil spirit kneel beneath you. Strip him of his usual coldness and cruelty. Make him anxious from a single word or glance from you, intoxicated from just one smile or a casual compliment—and willing to give up his life for you… wouldn’t that be better?”
That did sound pretty good.
Jiang Luo said coldly, “Who said you could get up?”
Chi You stared at him for a moment, then once again knelt on one knee.
Jiang Luo looked down at him.
The evil spirit was strikingly handsome, and under the gray, gloomy sky, his face was smeared with blood—beautiful, yet like a deranged, psychotic murderer. Bloody and distorted.
Even his smile seemed split in two—half elegant and noble, half soaked in the glint of blades and blood.
The more entangled one became with Chi You, the more clearly one could see the vast and all-encompassing net behind him.
And the more one realized just how mysterious Chi You was.
And mystery—always provoked curiosity.
Jiang Luo lazily raised the tip of his foot and lightly lifted Chi You’s chin.
His shoe was clean, while the ghost’s face was streaked with terrifying blood. Chi You hadn’t expected such a humiliating gesture—his brow arched slightly as he looked at Jiang Luo with amusement.
Jiang Luo slowly bent down. His wide black robe draped over the entire throne, making his figure appear even taller and leaner.
“Chi You,” Jiang Luo looked down on the ghost, the tip of his foot pressing onto a still-clean patch of fabric on the ghost’s chest. He said coldly, “You’re filthy. So dirty I don’t even want to touch you.”
Chi You: “Is that so?”
Suddenly, he stood up and took a step forward. Both hands gripped the throne’s armrests as he loomed over Jiang Luo. Before anyone could react, he had trapped Jiang Luo into the narrow space of the throne and ran his blood-stained, stinking hand across Jiang Luo’s cheek, leaving streaks of smeared blood.
Chi You lowered his eyes to look at him and said with a chilling tone, “What a shame. Now I’ve dirtied you too.”
Jiang Luo’s breathing grew heavier.
Blood stains stretched from the corner of his lips to the outer edge of his eye. The blood of the ghost beasts smelled worse than sewage—worse even than a spider person’s blood.
Chi You curled his lips. His hand slid slowly downward, deliberately painting blood down to Jiang Luo’s neck like an artist brushing on a canvas. That fair skin was like fine jade, faintly cool to the touch—staining such skin only made the pleasure more intense.
The dark-haired young man’s face and neck were now smeared with blood so red it was almost black. In this moment, he looked like prey captured by Chi You, the “murderer.”
Chi You bent over him. His blood-soaked coat brushed over Jiang Luo’s body as he chuckled softly, “I think you look even better like this.”
He couldn’t help but laugh again. “How do you like the smell of ghost beast blood?”
Chi You was far too close, well beyond the boundary of safety. Jiang Luo could even feel his faint breath brushing his skin.
That breath brought a ticklish irritation to his cheek, and the ghost’s stench flooded his senses. The reek, alternating with the filth clinging to his own face, intensified moment by moment.
His mood suddenly turned far more violent.
That wicked voice inside him spoke again:
“Look at him like this—doesn’t he deserve to be trained?”
“He’s pressed against you, soiling your clothes and face. He smiles while you’re the one on the defensive. Doesn’t a ghost like this deserve to be tamed into a dog?”
Malicious thoughts surged.
But Jiang Luo snapped awake.
He thought: That idea does sound nice…
But then he recalled something even more important.
His eyelids lifted slightly. The red blood-veins in his eyes faded visibly, quickly draining away.
Turning Chi You into a dog? Possible.
But making Chi You fall madly in love with him? Obsess over him?
Chi You was a madman—a lunatic who only lived to entertain himself. If he really did fall for Jiang Luo, it would be a disaster. He would unleash all his madness onto Jiang Luo, demanding everything he wanted in ways that pleased only himself.
Wasn’t that exactly what happened when he drank the Harmony Talisman?
Tell him to die?
Heh. Chi You would probably drag Jiang Luo into the abyss with him, laughing as he asked, “Was death fun?”
Only a fool would want such a maniac to fall in love with them.
There were countless ways to torment a ghost. Jiang Luo didn’t need to sacrifice himself for it.
With sheer will, Jiang Luo forced himself out of the cursed influence of the statue’s heart. His gaze became increasingly bright and clear. Looking at Chi You, he suddenly smiled.
Chi You watched in stunned silence as the thick malice in Jiang Luo faded away completely.
In the next instant, Jiang Luo used all his strength to flip Chi You and press him down into the throne. He raised his voice toward the demons below and declared: “Your final prey is this ghost beneath me.”
“The last battle in the Ghost Arena—every ghost against this one. Whoever kills him will be the final victor.”
The ghosts below stared at each other.
They looked at Chi You, then at the twenty ghost beasts he had slain in the arena.
Such a powerful figure filled them with dread. But the bloodlust and excitement in their nerves throbbed uncontrollably. They stirred restlessly. With hundreds of thousands of them—surely they could take down a single ghost?
Chi You’s appearance, so different from the grotesque ghost beasts, lacked the same raw intimidation. Even knowing how strong he was, his human form dulled their fear.
The ghostly crowd began to boil, slowly surrounding the throne.
Once the first ghost moved, fear was overwhelmed by excitement. Ghosts began screaming and cheering again, surging into one final frenzy.
Jiang Luo stepped off Chi You and tried to leave. But Chi You suddenly grabbed him. Jiang Luo stumbled, dragged into the ghost’s arms.
Chi You leaned close to his ear and asked, “Why are you holding yourself back?”
His voice was low, like teasing a lover, or whispering to a beloved: “Jiang Luo, you and I are the same kind of people. Isn’t it better to release that malice inside and embrace your true self?”
Each of his words sounded like temptation. He gently wrapped his fingers in Jiang Luo’s black hair, the strands slipping over his pale fingers.
“Become the real you. Let’s destroy the metaphysics world together—what do you say?”
Chi You admitted it now—he couldn’t bear to let Jiang Luo die.
Compared to death, he was far more intrigued. He wanted Jiang Luo to join him. He could ignore all the past sabotage, the delicious lies Jiang Luo had spun.
What he wanted now was for Jiang Luo to reveal his true nature, to become just like him—and then together, to destroy the metaphysical world.
When Jiang Luo revealed malice, it excited Chi You. But when Jiang Luo restrained that malice, it stirred another kind of curiosity within him.
Chi You wanted to make Jiang Luo become just like him.
He wanted Jiang Luo to fall into h*ll together with him, to sink into the filthy mire.
They were the same kind of people—why did Jiang Luo reject that part of himself?
Chi You’s body was hard and slightly cold, like a block of stone, pressing painfully against Jiang Luo.
The arms holding him were pale and bloodless, but strong and unyielding like searing iron.
Jiang Luo even suspected he was doing it on purpose.
Beside them, Ox-head cast a strange look their way.
Did Chi You really not realize how improper this position was?
A flicker from the Yin-Yang hoop on Jiang Luo’s hand—Chi You felt a sharp pain in his hands. In the next instant, Jiang Luo had already broken free from his embrace and leapt down cleanly from the high throne.
His black robes fluttered, and the black-haired youth raised a middle finger toward Chi You, grinning provocatively and wildly. “You and I are not the same.”
His lips curled. “Chi You, don’t you f*cking dare lump me in with you. You’re a ghost. I’m human.”
Before the words even finished, he landed on the ground, pulled up the hood of his black robe, and once again flipped Chi You off, disappearing into the crowd of ghosts.
Chi You lowered his head, watching as the black-haired youth vanished among the ghostly crowd.
The person was gone—but that unrestrained, blazing smile Jiang Luo had just shown was still vividly etched in Chi You’s eyes.
Just as the ghosts were beginning to swarm up toward the throne to surround him, Chi You let out a low laugh and leaned lazily back against the chair.
He looked up at the ashen sky and casually placed a hand over his chest.
Strange.
There was nothing there.
But just now, it seemed like… something had moved.
***
Jiang Luo left Ghost City quietly.
Outside the city gates, he saw Lu Youyi crouched there, doodling little eggs and chicks in the dirt. The moment he saw Jiang Luo, his eyes lit up, and he pounced forward, checking Jiang Luo up and down. Only after confirming he wasn’t hurt did he breathe a sigh of relief. “Good thing you’re alright. I finally waited for you to come out.”
Jiang Luo paused, trying to calm the lingering rage and killing intent inside him. “Why are you waiting here for me?”
Luckily, Lu Youyi didn’t notice anything unusual and replied honestly, “I was afraid something would happen to you, so I didn’t dare go far.”
Jiang Luo didn’t say anything more and walked forward with him. Outside Ghost City, a mist hung in the air again. Dew dampened their black robes.
They walked in the white fog for a while before it finally cleared.
They had returned to the familiar hot spring manor.
The trees around them were lush, and the sky was just starting to lighten. This was the place where they had encountered the twin fiends in red and white.
Their companions were waiting anxiously nearby. Seeing them return safely, everyone froze in surprise. Then someone let out a cheer, and a crowd instantly rushed over.
Before Jiang Luo could say a word, someone pulled him into a fierce hug.
“Thank god you’re back safe…” That person slapped Jiang Luo hard on the back. “Scared me half to death.”
Beside them, Lu Youyi was already bragging: “Do you know where we went? We were actually taken to the underworld by the red and white twin evils! Ever heard of Fengdu Ghost City? Man, this night was insane!”
Jiang Luo slowly returned the hug.
Having friends… wasn’t such a bad feeling.
