Chapter 45: Station 22: The Grass Ring

Chapter 45: Station 22: Grass Ring

Qi Yongxin took Ji Congrong's hand and led the way out of the reception room, even inviting others to join him in his suite for an all-night card game as a defense against any potential dangers that might come at night.

Ada remained indifferent to his invitation, elegantly adjusting her skirt with a regal air. She felt a gentle nudge on her arm.

Turning around, she saw the innocent young girl who had been following the oriental Taoist. The girl offered her a bashful smile and asked in fluent English,

"Ada, would you mind keeping me company while I bathe tonight... Our room is full of men."

Ada's gaze steadily swept across her features, his prominent nose inhaling deeply as if inspecting something. Then, he nodded slightly with an expressionless countenance.

Si Shuhao let out a sigh of relief.

Perhaps due to the persistently high indoor temperature, she was slightly sweaty all over. Though enduring three days of discomfort was manageable, if circumstances permitted, she would still prefer to freshen up a bit.

The bathroom was filled with steam.

Ada stood by the door, her back turned to the bathing maiden, deftly crushing dried wheat straws between her fingers and weaving them into a coiling ring with nimble movements.

Her hands, which she had kept concealed beneath her sleeves, now wore a ring made of straw.

Feeling somewhat embarrassed by her impulsive request, Si Shuhao rushed through her shower, afraid of delaying Ada's tasks. She quickly dried off and changed her clothes:

"Ada, you can go ahead. I can keep an eye on things for you."

Ada turned to face her, scanning her with a thoughtful gaze before suddenly handing her a intricately woven straw ring.

Through the mist, the woman whispered cryptically:

"Beware of Yan Qiling."

Si Shuhao was utterly confused:

"Huh? Why is that?"

"He is not of our kind."

Ada pulled at the black veil obscuring her face, not elaborating further, and then left the room.

With a look of confusion, Si Shuhao emerged from the bathroom only to find the protagonist, who had been sternly warned by the female sorceress, lounging casually on the sofa.

The man flipped nonchalantly through a travel guide with his slender and pale hands.

Si Shuhao felt a sudden burn on her fingertip, and her straw-colored ring silently fell to the ground, rolling away somewhere unknown.

She hurriedly crouched down to search for it. Yan Qiling, sitting on the sofa, asked, "What's wrong?"

"Ada just gave me a ring, but I didn't hold it steady and now I don't know where it's gone... Sigh, it's the first time I've received a gift in the Realm of No Return," Yan Qiling lamented.

The man chuckled and set down his guidebook, offering, "I'll look for it."

Despite saying he would search, Yan Qiling walked straight to the bedside. With a gentle touch, he found the small straw ring.

A familiar sting pierced his fingertips, causing his downcast, twin-colored eyes to involuntarily flutter.

If his power were oil, then the energy imbued in this ring was water. This water dispersed the surface of the oil, seeking to pinpoint its weakness for a fatal strike.

A glint of interest flickered in the man's yin-yang irises before he let out a soft laugh.

After a gentle caress, the watery power submitted without resistance, blending seamlessly and intimately with his own.

Through this connection, he could now sense the aura originating from the ring, enabling him to locate Ada at any time, as well as the whereabouts of the other grass rings.

It seemed that this grass ring wasn't given to just one person.

How careless.

Handing the straw ring to the young girl, Yan Qiling returned to his gentle demeanor:

"It's yours."

As Si Shuhao took the ring and placed it on her finger, she found herself liking it more and more.

"Ada is truly a kind person. I was worried she might ignore me."

Yan Qiling picked up the travel guide once more, his gaze skimming over the phrase "the trio of twin waiters on Mount Ararat are also one of the hotel's mysterious attractions." He seamlessly steered the conversation in another direction without revealing any reaction.

"I assumed you'd take some time to rest before entering the Realm of Endless Torment again, yet you returned sooner than I expected."

"Well, it's impossible to rest with the Grand Emperor watching over me."

The maiden's smile transformed into a childlike fretfulness, as she idly reached out to seize a pillow and hugged it tightly against her bosom.

"Most parents would worry immensely if they saw their child entering such a perilous place. They'd think, 'The stress must be immense, so let them eat whatever they want. After all, they don't have many years left to live.'"

"Wow, guess what my Grand Emperor said in response?"

She assumed a serious expression, placing her hands crossed in front of her pillow. In a solemn tone, she began to mimic:

"You're going abroad for graduate studies later this year. I'll ask Master Chi and Master Tianming to accumulate another year's worth of time for you in advance. That way, you won't have to interrupt your studies and return home, potentially jeopardizing your graduation."

Upon finishing her impersonation, she gritted her teeth and started pounding the pillow wildly in mock frustration.

"Ahhhh! 'Affecting graduation'! That's all he cares about after all that effort?! And I've already passed two stations! I could have avoided coming in for almost a year, but he insists I accumulate another year just to avoid disrupting my postgraduate studies?!"

"Please, I'm here to transcend tribulations, not on vacation! 'So you won't have to interrupt your studies halfway through,' is that something a human would say? Sometimes I really doubt if he's my real father."

Each time someone survived the Intertwined World, they earned themselves six months of extra life.

Given that most people couldn't retain their memories from the Intertwined World upon returning to reality, they were often pulled back in passively after half a year, then recalled their past experiences within the Intertwined World.

Yan Qiling laughed at her complaint, looking at her with a touch of parental concern:

"So, do you want to go? Or would you rather enjoy life at home?"

The young girl hugged her pillow, looking a bit dispirited:

"Of course, I want to study... Ah, it's really strange. When I first got this ticket, I thought I was doomed. After getting out, I wouldn't care about studying, just wanting to indulge in good food, handsome men, and beautiful scenery."

She smiled sheepishly, her eyes shining with unprecedented radiance:

"But when the time came, I felt more awake than ever... Anyway, there's less and less time left, I can't achieve anything earth-shattering, but I still want to leave some mark in this world."

"I'm someone who excels in reading, so my ultimate goal is to have my photograph displayed in the 'Distinguished Alumni' section! Wouldn't that be fantastic?"

She laughed heartily, half-joking and half-dreamily, "It would be even better if I could be the graduation ceremony speaker. Those speeches are recorded for eternity... Well, I can't entirely blame the Grand Emperor, can I? Whose daughter has such peculiar aspirations?"

After her little monologue, she seemed to realize she had spoken too much and quickly asked, "Oh, by the way, you looked incredibly handsome at the banquet today! How did you twist Qi Yongxin's spoon into a pretzel? I could see his hand shaking from all the way over there—it was hilarious!"

With a gentle smile, the man twirled the thin paper between his fingers, "Just a simple magic trick."

"Truly dashing... Honestly, I think both you and Boss Chi are reliable. Does being a big shot just make one stand out more?"

Yan Qiling looked at her seriously, "Actually, Ming Yiyang is the cream of the crop. He's the top executive in Chief Chi's corporation."

To his surprise, Si Shuhao wore an expression of astonishment as if he had just learned this piece of news.

"I swear, is that true... Wait, I don't mean to say anything bad, but his personality is quite..."

A young man with a towel on his head entered the room, knocking twice on the door as he did, interrupting Si Shuhao's words.

"I think I heard someone speaking ill of me," he said.

Si Shuhao nearly leaped up, instinctively changing the subject.

"No way, no way. Yan Qiling was just praising you."

Ming Yiyang didn't dig deeper, leaning lazily against the door and tilting his head to look at the one who had put down the travel guide.

"Chi Zihe and I are done. It's your turn to shower."

Thus, Yan Qiling left the room and headed for the bathroom on the left side of the living room.

As soon as he stepped into the bathroom and started to loosen his tie, the person following him slipped in too, standing prominently in the doorway.

His hands paused in untying the necktie, and Yan Qiling turned back.

"You're not done yet?"

Ming Yiyang shrugged, his demeanor open.

"Nope, I was just watching you... Or do you want Chi Zihe to take over?"

"I don't need either of you. I can manage."

"That's uncertain. Some people could end up with third-degree burns in the middle of the night, then disappear while taking a shower. It's not impossible."

The young man leisurely leaned against the bathroom door, blocking the only exit.

"If you're embarrassed, I can look at the wall. Aren't you a cleanliness freak? This might be our last chance to clean up, so hurry up."

Yan Qiling gave him a cool glance.

It wasn't the icy stare he had used at the beginning, directed at the deceased, but rather an unfamiliar gaze to Ming Yiyang.

With a sense of detachment and scrutiny... there were too many emotions intertwined, rapid and intense, complicated beyond decipherment.

But the man quickly turned to face the showerhead, loosened his tie, took off his vest, and said calmly,

"Turn around."

Again, that bothersome commanding tone.

Fixing his gaze on the pristine ceramic wall, Ming Yiyang heard the sound of the shower turning on. Feeling the warm mist brushing against his back, he mentally retraced the layout of the hotel, attempting to deduce the pattern behind the portrait based on the clues at hand.

Yet, his mind was occupied with other thoughts.

He could hear the rustling of plastic wrapping being opened, reminding him that he and Chi Zihe had used the lemon-scented soap provided in the hotel room. True to his nature, Yan Qiling had indeed unwrapped a fresh one.

Would this new one be lemon-scented too?

The question seemed absurdly trivial to him, but almost as if possessed, he lowered his head to sniff his collar. The tangy aroma of lemon enveloped him.

His thoughts drifted to the herbal cologne he had once caught a whiff of on the other person's skin.

The gentle touch of fingertips grazing his scalp as they played with his hair.

The metal spoon twisted into a Möbius strip during the banquet.

The flawless profile of the man, and the black high heel that reached out from under the table.

Ming Yiyang felt himself focused, thinking calmly and clearly about important matters.

Yet, his chaotic thoughts ran parallel to this state.

Like mist eroding away at his concentration, they subtly stole his attention.

By the time he realized it, his mind was filled with absurd and comical notions.

He tried to dispel these irrelevant thoughts, but they soon resurfaced uncontrollably. After several such cycles, his patience wore thin.

Frustrated, he asked, "Are we done yet?"

The splashing of water ceased, and the man's voice carried a hint of coolness:

"I've only been washing for three minutes."

"..."

Ming Yiyang casually rolled up his sleeve to check his watch, secretly timing him.

Fifteen minutes later, the shower was turned off, and he heard the rustling of fabric behind him.

He had expected this part to be quick, but it turned out to be the longest segment.

After five more minutes, Yan Qiling said,

"It's done."

Ming Yiyang turned around to see the man, with damp black hair, holding his changed clothes as he walked out. He no longer had that distant appearance, meticulously groomed from head to toe.

This lent a sense of tangible reality, making him seem more approachable.

The living room was filled with the faint smell of smoke from burned paper.

Seeing Yan Qiling searching for the source of the scent, Si Shuhao quickly explained:

"Just now, Boss Chi read the Great Sage's Sutra for the person who passed away today and burned two yellow talismans."

Chi Zihe, engrossed in studying the straw ring Ada had given him, noticed them and waved them over:

"Come take a look, this Ada really knows their stuff. A straw ring with an inherited spell can create a small ghost-detecting charm. Impressive and practical – it can even harm ghosts that come close."

Ming Yiyang glanced at it briefly but didn't touch it. Instead, he took out his phone to look at the photos:

"If it's a good item, just keep it. One more or one less won't make much difference."

Chi Zihe's mind wandered:

"Oh, how I wish I had Ada's contact information. It would be fantastic if they could join the company..."

Si Shuhao slipped the straw ring back onto her finger and asked:

"Have you noticed how Di Chen entered the painting? I find Qi Yongxin's reasoning rather strained logically... Given the importance of the banquet, any normal person wouldn't miss it, so there's no reason for Di Chen to deliberately arrive late."

Ming Yiyang zoomed in on the photo, revealing Di Chen's pale and terrifying face as he lay on the ground, looking up just before his death.

"...When did you take this? Your reaction speed is incredible."

Si Shuhao found the photo ominous and disturbing, not keen on dwelling on it.

"Look at the mole on his right cheek."

Ming Yiyang placed his phone on the coffee table, his eyes holding a hidden vortex of mystery:

"When he was in the painting, the mole was on his left cheek."