Chapter 181: All Calculations.

Chapter 181: All Calculations.

Twenty minutes ago.

Atop the building, Zhang Yao suddenly looked up at the sky and remarked, “It’s about time.”

Zhong Yi glanced over, now understanding better than to ask 'why'—for asking meant being manipulated. So, he inquired, “What do you need me to do?”

Zhang Yao stood up from her wheelchair, looking down at the brilliantly lit streets of the harbor city. On this eve of the festival, the city's most bustling streets seemed to flow with molten gold, turning into golden rivers that illuminated the clouds in the night sky to a fiery red.

The rooftop was dimly lit, and against the backdrop of the cityscape, Zhang Yao's slender figure appeared incredibly small. Her silvery irises seemed to ripple, revealing a hidden luminescence that made her eyes captivating yet eerie in the dark. Gazing down upon the entire harbor city, she resembled a deity watching over the mortal realm.

Brilliant pillars of light swept past the skyscraper they stood on, revealing massive and dark ghostly figures in their glow. These grotesque specters, bearing strange limbs, looked identical to the ones that had killed Yuan Yi Ping. Like spiders, they scuttled all over the skyscraper, quickly ascending to the rooftop.

Zhang Yao, seemingly oblivious to the dark figures, began to speak:

"Now, go with Bai Wan and find a man named Li Xu, who is Chi Shen’s boss. I've sent his location to your phone. Once you find him, tell him you've seen his girlfriend and bring him to the Harbor Bridge."

The wind on the rooftop carried a scent of blood. Zhong Yi moved towards the edge but was halted by Zhang Yao.

"Wen Qin has always known of my existence, and he knows I won't aid him. It's inevitable, it's my choice." The silver in Zhang Yao's eyes intensified, as if galaxies swirled within. "I trust you know what to do."

Zhong Yi hesitated for a moment.

"Take the elevator down. It's safe."

A decayed, foul-smelling hand began to crawl over the edge of the rooftop.

Without further questioning, Zhong Yi simply said, "Take care."

As he approached the stairway, he took one last look back, spotting the silent man who had always stood behind Zhang Yao. The man held Zhang Yao with one arm and wielded a sword, shrouded in ghostly aura, with the other.

Before the man stood a grotesque, multi-headed specter.

With a single stroke of his sword, the specter’s heads were severed. Yet immediately, more of these ghostly creatures began climbing up from outside the building.

Zhong Yi averted his gaze, realizing that there was little he could do here. He needed to tend to his own mission.

The address Zhang Yao had provided was nearby. Before long, Zhong Yi found Li Xu. After Ma Caijin left, Li Xu hadn't gone home; instead, he found another spot to continue drinking. At that moment, he was visibly drunk, staring blankly while holding onto his bottle.

Zhong Yi approached, explaining his purpose. He half-expected the inebriated man before him to challenge his words, but after a brief glance behind Zhong Yi, Li Xu simply nodded, stood up, and followed him.

"What's going to happen?" On their way, Zhong Yi inquired of Bai Wan, who trailed behind him.

Bai Wan shook her head, opting for silence, her expression turning serious.

The Hongcheng Bridge wasn't far from their location. Zhong Yi hailed a cab, and within minutes they were there. The driver, puzzled, inquired, "This place is rumored to be haunted. What brings you here?"

Zhong Yi replied, "Looking for someone—"

"Haunted? Where's it haunted? Show me!" Li Xu jolted upright, instantly sobered. "Driver, point me to where the haunting is. I want to see for myself."

Zhong Yi was taken aback.

The driver casually pointed in a direction. "Over by that end of the bridge."

"Thanks." Li Xu quickly paid the fare via a phone scan, not consulting Zhong Yi, and began heading toward the bridge.

The driver shook his head as he watched Li Xu's retreating figure, then drove off. Zhong Yi, on the other hand, watched with a hint of concern. "He'll be alright, won't he?"

Bai Wan grabbed his arm, saying, "All Zhang Yao said was to bring him here."

Zhong Yi paused but didn't leave. Instead, he sat on the railing by the bridge.

At this hour, traffic on the Hongcheng Bridge was sparse. The occasional vehicle passed under the dim yellow streetlights. Li Xu started off at a slow walk, then suddenly sped up, breaking into a run.

At the bridge's end stood a woman in red heels. Her swollen form was dripping with water. As Li Xu approached, she turned to him, her eyes locked onto his.

Stopping in front of her, Li Xu seemed lost. He raised a hand as if to embrace her, but upon seeing her resentful gaze, he hesitated.

"I..."

"Why have you come for me only now?" Tears of blood streamed down her eyes as she sharply cut him off. Her bloated hands reached for his throat, her grip tightening with every word. "Why didn't you come for me? Why?!"

Li Xu made no move to defend himself. His choked gasps were intermixed with a look of release, and amidst his distress, he managed a faint smile.

From a distance, Zhong Yi also observed the scene. As soon as Li Xu started running, he noticed the woman on the bridge. It was unmistakably a female ghost. The darkness of the night obscured her somewhat, but Zhong Yi, familiar with such apparitions, recognized her at once.

The moment Zhong Yi saw the ghostly apparition, he rose to his feet. Bai Wan tried to grasp him but couldn't hold on. Her spectral strength had waned, and Zhong Yi's clothing slipped right through her hand. She stared momentarily at her own hand before rushing after Zhong Yi.

"That's Li Xu's girlfriend," Bai Wan cautioned Zhong Yi.

"It doesn't matter, she will fall." Saying this, Zhong Yi swiftly drew a small peach-wood sword, swinging it towards Li Xu.

Though weakened and diminished in life force, Zhong Yi, being the foremost heir of a ghost-hunting lineage, slashed with his sword. The ghost instantly released Li Xu, letting out a painful wail.

Gasping for breath, a suddenly released Li Xu began to cough loudly. Tears of distress streamed down his face, yet he disregarded his own condition, hacking and coughing, his eyes fixed on the ghost.

A gory gash had appeared on the ghost, running from her left shoulder to her right side. Seeing Li Xu's concern for her intensified her resentment. Ignoring the pain of her wound, she violently grabbed Li Xu's hand, hissing, "If I'm going, I'm taking you with me."

Zhong Yi, already close by, quickly approached, slapping a talisman onto the ghost's head. With a mournful cry, she disintegrated into ashes before Li Xu's eyes.

"Cough, cough – No – cough, cough." Li Xu reached out to where the ghost once was, grasping only a drifting talisman.

"No!"

Li Xu sank to his knees, clutching the talisman, tears flowing. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I'll come for you, I'm so sorry... cough, cough."

Amidst Li Xu's tearful, coughing lament, Zhong Yi suddenly stepped back. A powerful force surged from Li Xu, pushing Zhong Yi away. Accompanied by eerie cries, the force ascended, seemingly piercing the heavens.

"Li Xu?" Zhong Yi called out, but Li Xu remained unresponsive. That force had enveloped Li Xu, distorting even his cries of grief.

"Li Xu!"

"It's starting to rain," Bai Wan suddenly glanced at the sky. "Something's off about this rain."

——

At the residence of the Chi family.

Under the immense force of a malevolent aura, Wen Qin's mortal body perished. As he took his final breath, a spirit emerged from his body. He examined his hands, still resembling those frostbitten, and mused, "To think being a ghost is this intriguing. But I'm no frostbite specter."

As his words faded, the frostbitten appearance of his skin began to heal, restoring to its original state. He started to look no different from when Wen Qin was alive.

"If just changing my perception can do this, I should look as I did in my youth." As Wen Qin spoke, his body began to transform. The marks of age on his face gradually faded, making him appear younger, bearing a closer resemblance to Ji Xingchen.

"It's a pity my death was anticipated; my resentment isn't strong enough, my powers are limited."

Sighing softly, Wen Qin turned his gaze to the sky outside the window, as if waiting for something.

"Dad." The voice of Ji Xingchen suddenly sounded from behind him.

Wen Qin paused momentarily, seeming puzzled by the origin of the call, and turned to look.

Ji Xingchen's apparition appeared highly unstable; its edges flickered, threatening to dissipate at any moment. His eyes glowed a deep crimson, yet his voice remained as calm and composed as ever: "I've remembered a great deal."

Closing his eyes briefly, Ji Xingchen reopened them to reveal even redder irises. As his form began to disintegrate, he declared, "With all his memories now in me, I am certain you were the one who killed mother."

A brief laugh escaped from Wen Qin: "Do you seek vengeance for her?"

Ji Xingchen slowly shook his head, "You wish to unlock that door. You've calculated that if I release all my ghostly energy, the door would open for me, and subsequently, you could pass through. Given this, you must have devised a plan to evade my assault. I won't give you the satisfaction."

"I won't open that door."

With each word Ji Xingchen uttered, Wen Qin's expression darkened, culminating in a visage of sheer terror by the end of the statement.

"But besides me, there's someone else here." Ji Xingchen said, adjusting his deteriorating spectacles with a crumbling hand.

Suddenly, a knock echoed through the room, and Zhou Xun peeked in, "It seems you could use my assistance?"

Outside, the ambient light dimmed as transparent droplets began to fall. As rain started pouring, every ghost present noticed something was amiss and turned their gaze outward.

Above, the clouds coalesced into the visage of a weeping face, evoking profound sadness upon a mere glance. Torrential rain fell from this melancholic visage, blanketing the entire harbor city with overwhelming sorrow.

Amidst the curtain of rain, an ethereal white door emerged, invisible to the mortal eye.

"The door!" Wen Qin, gazing skyward, cried out in realization, "The door... it's opened!"

He began to levitate.