Chapter 109

Chapter 109

◎Running Towards You with All My Might◎

Wu Yang still hoped to buy talismans at a discount from Xiao Ye in the future. Although the price was almost the same as what the administration offered, the talismans from the administration had to be snatched up, and he was too slow to snag them. It was better to save time by buying directly from Xiao Ye.

So when Xiao Ye mentioned that his good friend wanted to see for himself, Wu Yang didn’t hesitate much and agreed, figuring it would be like having an assistant along. Besides, they were students, so they could drop by under the guise of checking in on him.

Seeing only one person arrive, Wu Yang looked behind him and asked, “Where’s Xiao Ye?”

Zhang Yuan looked up at the sky.

Wu Yang widened his eyes in surprise, “Why’re you looking up at the sky? What’s wrong with Xiao Ye?”

Zhang Yuan smiled slightly, “He’s probably already on a plane to Biancheng by now.”

Wu Yang held back an eye roll. He thought something serious had happened, but there was no need to look at the sky like that—it was quite startling.

Following the address Xiao Ye provided, the two quickly found He Zhanfei’s home.

Wu Yang turned to Zhang Yuan, “Have you dealt with this kind of thing before?”

Zhang Yuan nodded, “I’ve had experience and I’m not afraid of ghosts, don’t worry.”

Hearing this, Wu Yang didn’t ask further. Just then, a food delivery person pushed the door open from inside the building, and Zhang Yuan quickly stepped forward to block the door from closing again, “What luck.”

Wu Yang first observed the overall situation of the building. The building wasn’t well-built—five households per floor, two elevators, and stairwells flanking the elevator lobby. However, the apartments were lined up along a corridor, with only a small window in the elevator area. If the hallway lights went out, it’d be completely dark.

Zhang Yuan frowned at the gloomy interior, “This should be a newly built community in recent years. How did it turn out like this? If a fire breaks out on any floor, there’d be no way out.”

Wu Yang said, “It’s probably a relocation housing project.”

So whether it’s the layout or the lighting, there’s no need for external selling points as long as the fire safety standards are met. But these places are stuffy and poorly ventilated, dark, and oppressive. Although they’re not as bad as the ghostly “H” shaped buildings, the feng shui isn’t ideal.

Even before entering, he had looked around and noticed that the surroundings were blocked on all sides, preventing light from coming in. Over time, it’s easy for dark things to take root.

The two took the elevator to the 16th floor. As soon as they stepped out, Wu Yang frowned slightly.

Zhang Yuan looked at him, “What’s wrong?”

Wu Yang, “It smells like burnt joss paper.”

Zhang Yuan quickly moved closer to him, feeling his pockets. He had talismans in both pockets and one in his phone case. Seeing that the talismans weren’t heating up, he breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Finding He Zhanfei’s apartment, Wu Yang knocked on the door. He Zhanfei opened the door, and it looked like his parents were out. Wu Yang thought this might actually be more convenient, as young people tend to accept new things more easily than stubborn elders.

Moreover, since the incident happened to him, it’d be easier to talk to him.

But before Wu Yang could speak, He Zhanfei, seeing Zhang Yuan beside him, snapped with annoyance, “What are you doing here? To watch me make a fool of myself? Are you sick, or are you here to gather information for your little pretty boy? Midterms are right around the corner. What, is he so sick he can't get up and is missing classes, afraid of losing his top rank?”

Zhang Yuan’s first thought was that it was a good thing Xiao Ye wasn’t here, or else his big fist would definitely have landed on He Zhanfei’s face.

Since it was him who came, he wasn’t about to lose his cool over He Zhanfei’s jab. He feigned confusion, “What top rank? Do we know each other? What are you talking about?”

He Zhanfei knew Zhang Yuan. The four of them were practically inseparable at school. He paid so much attention to Ji Nanxing that he naturally knew the people around him.

But seeing Zhang Yuan genuinely not recognize him, He Zhanfei felt both embarrassed and annoyed, like he’d been reading too much into it. His expression changed several times before he finally muttered, scowling, “If you don’t know me, why are you here?”

Zhang Yuan gave a friendly smile, “It’s like this. We saw the video online and realized there might be something wrong with you. Simply put, you might’ve run into a ghost. You didn’t actually want to jump off the building, right? You must’ve blacked out for a second, and when you came to, you found yourself already on the windowsill.”

He Zhanfei did feel that something was off with him, but it was obviously impossible for him to believe he had encountered a ghost. He thought it was just stress from wanting to outdo Ji Nanxing before midterms, causing some fleeting illusions.

He didn’t believe in ghosts, period. If ghosts existed, no one had ever shown solid proof.

Before he could speak, Zhang Yuan added, "You look young, still in school, right? Which school do you attend? I know it's hard to believe, but since it's happening to you, you should be able to tell. We’re here to help you solve the problem."

He Zhanfei just thought they were scammers and kicked them out: "Get out! You're the one who's haunted, your whole family's haunted! I'm fine, quit jinxing me! You're just trying to curse me!"

Zhang Yuan looked puzzled: "We don't have any beef, right? This is our first time meeting, why would I jinx you? Relax, we're not scammers. I'm Zhang Yuan from Class Seven of Yulan High School. If I were a scammer, you could call me out at school."

The more he talked, the angrier He Zhanfei got. He wasn’t top of the class, but he was a close second. At the start of the semester, he'd even spoken as a freshman rep. This guy acting like he didn’t know him really ticked He Zhanfei off!

Even the school janitor knew Ji Nanxing. He’d seen the lunch lady hook Ji Nanxing up with extra ribs, while he got scraps.

Even the seniors would go out of their way to pass Ji Nanxing’s classroom for a peek.

This guy didn’t know him, and since he was Ji Nanxing’s friend, it meant Ji Nanxing never noticed him. So He Zhanfei yelled, "Get out! If you don’t leave, I’m calling the cops! Even if I’m haunted, I don’t need your help!"

After saying that, he slammed the door shut with a bang.

Zhang Yuan shouted through the door, "If you need help, come find me, but it’ll cost you!"

Another "Get out!" came from inside.

Zhang Yuan turned and shrugged at Wu Yang: "He’s not playing ball. Is he messed up?"

Wu Yang, who had been silent all this time, nodded: "There’s a big problem." It’s tied to karma, so it’s not just about catching a ghost.

Zhang Yuan said, "Oh": "In cases where the person doesn’t cooperate, how do you handle it?"

Wu Yang: "Let them deal with it. You’ve shown your hand. He knows it’s serious and should come to you. If he doesn’t, it’s on him."

They were Taoists, and although catching ghosts was their duty, they couldn’t stop someone who wanted to die. They’d try to save those who cooperated, but for those who didn’t, it was their own karmic debt.

Of course, if the ghost was harming innocently, they’d step in. But just now, he used his heavenly eye to look at He Zhanfei’s situation, and the ghost had a karmic connection with him, so it wasn’t harming innocently.

After saying this, Wu Yang added: "You seem to have some kind of grudge, what’s the situation?"

Zhang Yuan smiled: "Ji Nanxing is the top of the grade, he’s the eternal second."

Wu Yang shook his head helplessly. When you truly enter society, grades in school mean nothing, but as a student, the current ranking is indeed the most important thing in life.

But to resent the first place just because he’s second, he probably understood why He Zhanfei encountered a ghost. Narrow-minded, fond of stirring up trouble, speaking and acting without considering the consequences, such people are most prone to causing trouble.

Before leaving, Wu Yang glanced at the door of the house next to He’s and left without saying anything.

The sky in Biancheng darkened later. Before boarding the plane, the sky was already a bit dark, but when they arrived in Biancheng, the sky was bright.

The temperature here was even hotter than in Yulan City, and long-sleeved clothes were hard to wear. Xiao Ye carried his bag with his coat draped over his arm, wondering if Ji Nanxing had finished his work.

Afraid of disturbing him, Xiao Ye thought for a moment and called Ji Nanxing’s second brother first. He had Ji Yuanting’s phone number, and he had saved the phone numbers of all Ji Nanxing’s brothers and sisters, just in case something happened and he couldn’t reach anyone.

When Ji Nanxing came out of the tomb, the sky was already dark. Here, the sky darkened late, and at eight or nine o’clock, it was still bright. With the sky so dark, it was probably around ten or eleven o’clock.

A few archaeologists who were collecting data on the giant stone statues nearby smiled and greeted him: "Finished today’s exorcism?"

Ji Nanxing also smiled and nodded in response: "Yes, finished."

Someone straightened up and rubbed their waist: "Your work should be ending soon, right? Our big project has just started, and we don’t know when we can finish and go home."

Looking at the various stone statues being moved out of the tomb, Ji Nanxing said, "After a few years of hard work, our names will be recorded in the history books."

Upon hearing this, the person laughed heartily, "By then, students will probably curse us."

After finally mastering five thousand years of history, when the tomb we discovered is recorded in the books, it means another one or two thousand years of history will be added, expanding the exam scope again.

Ji Nanxing smiled and looked towards the open space where vehicles were parked.

The tomb was quite far from their camp, and it would take about twenty minutes by sand buggy. They were worried that the tomb below was too large and the sand too unstable, and if it collapsed accidentally, the entire camp would be buried.

Someone followed his gaze and said, "The vehicle should be here soon, so you can take a break and wait."

Ji Nanxing nodded and walked further away to avoid disturbing their work.

The night in the border city was stunning, especially deep in the desert, where the sky was a galaxy of stars. Such a night scene was rare in the city.

The sky felt closer amidst the dense nebula, and standing on the sand dune, it felt like one could almost touch the stars above with a slight raise of the hand.

The dynasty that thrived here thousands of years ago must have been magnificent.

The ancient kingdom of Loulan was already stunningly beautiful, so how much more enchanting must this earlier dynasty be?

As he gazed at the stars, Ji Nanxing pondered the ghost king who guarded the tomb and refused to leave, curious about what kind of epic story they had—whether it was loyalty or love, and if it had been witnessed under this starry sky.

Unfortunately, the ghost king had already passed on to the underworld and could not answer his questions.

The desert night was chilly, but the wind was perfect, seemingly able to blow away some of the gloom he had brought out from the tomb.

Exorcism was both a physical challenge and a test of one's spirit.

During exorcism, the exorcist could feel the lingering ghost's emotions.

Some lingering ghosts, confused, passed on to the underworld without any emotions, which was fine.

Some had gained intelligence or clung to fragments of their past lives. Those perceptions contained reluctance, the loneliness of thousands of years, and the heavy emotions of the seven passions and six desires. The burden of these emotions was not easily lifted.

Ji Nanxing had been watching lively variety shows every day recently. Though he was exhausted and fell asleep instantly, the lively sounds helped dispel the darkness of the ancient tomb that had not seen the light of day for thousands of years.

Otherwise, the endless desert, the ancient tomb, and the lingering emotions of the ancients would take an unknown time to recover from after an exorcism.

He hugged himself lightly to fend off the night's chill. As he gazed at the stars, he let his mind drift, briefly surrendering to his emotions.

When Xiao Ye arrived in the dune buggy, he saw Ji Nanxing standing on the sand dune.

The vast sky and galaxy of stars were behind him, the night breeze softly brushing the fine sand and his hair.

Under the starry sky, Ji Nanxing seemed to glow, his eyes a deep black. He was looking up at the stars, his figure slender, exuding a fragile and indescribable loneliness.

At that moment, Xiao Ye felt a sharp pang in his heart. He didn't like seeing Ji Nanxing like this—exiled in solitude, with a sadness so deep it seemed unshakable, as if he were the only one left in the world, trapped and unreachable.

Xiao Ye dropped his backpack and shouted out the emotions filling his chest, "Ji Nanxing!!!"

Hearing Xiao Ye's voice, Ji Nanxing was momentarily dazed, thinking it was an auditory illusion. But when he saw a moving figure in the corner of his eye, he turned his head and realized it wasn't an illusion. The person shouting his name was running towards him.

Running on the sand was not easy; every step sank into the soft sand, requiring great effort to pull the leg out and take the next step.

The soft sand made the body feel heavy, but Xiao Ye felt like he was flying, light and airy. With every step closer to Ji Nanxing, he felt a blissful happiness.

This was what it felt like to run towards happiness. No matter how heavy the steps were, no matter how hard each step forward was, as long as he could move a little closer, get a step nearer to him, he had an endless supply of energy.

After finally climbing up the dune, Xiao Ye was panting like a bull, but his face was lit up with a radiant smile. Seeing Ji Nanxing take a step towards him, he quickly shouted, "Don't move! Just stand there!"

Ji Nanxing was clueless but stopped in his tracks.

When the uphill climb turned into a level dune, running became much easier.

Those long legs took big strides forward, kicking up a trail of fine sand that chased behind him. The night wind blew fervently, and as the distance between them closed, Xiao Ye's heart was pounding like crazy.

Three steps, two steps, one step.

He was now close enough to touch. Xiao Ye pulled Ji Nanxing into a tight embrace: "I'm here, Ji Naonao."

You just need to stand there, willing to wait for me, and I'll cover the rest of the distance.

Feeling the other's strong heartbeat and the warmth enveloping him, Ji Nanxing gently patted his back to help him catch his breath and softly asked, "What brings you here?"

Xiao Ye didn't answer the question, just held him tightly: "Climbing that slope was exhausting, let me catch my breath."

Ji Nanxing chuckled, letting him hold on, his hand still patting gently. He looked up at the stars, feeling as if even the stars had shifted from serene to lively twinkling.

Under the Milky Way, in the sea of sand, two young men embraced, one's arms were full, and the other's heart felt full too.

After easing the longing of days apart, Xiao Ye felt it was a bit too much to keep holding on, so he reluctantly let go, cupping Ji Nanxing's face with his hands, squeezing the flesh on his cheeks: "You said it would only be a few days, but it's been over a week. If I hadn't come, would you have forgotten who your boss is?"

Ji Nanxing swatted his hands away: "I couldn't return until I finished my work. How did you know I was here?"

Xiao Ye only knew he was in the border city, but the city is vast, and the camp here isn't open to the public. He hadn't given Xiao Ye the address and wondered how he had found him.

Xiao Ye took his hand instead: "I asked Second Brother. I was afraid you wouldn't get my calls while you were in the tomb. I called Second Brother as soon as I got off the plane. I also bought a lot of good food, already sent to your tent. Are you done for today?"

Ji Nanxing: "Yes, today's done."

Xiao Ye nodded: "How many more days do you have to work?"

Ji Nanxing: "It should end tomorrow."

Today, the exorcism was almost complete. Tomorrow, after a ritual to worship the gods and finally dispel the Yin Energy from the tomb, it should be done.

His master will stay here as one of the first Taoist consultants. If there are any more disturbances from spirits in the tomb, his master will handle it.

Hearing that he would be done tomorrow, Xiao Ye tightened his grip on his hand, his face showing obvious joy: "Shall I book our return tickets for Sunday?"

Ji Nanxing nodded; the original plan was to return on Sunday.

Xiao Ye happily led him forward, not forgetting to ask: "Without absorbing my Yang Energy these days, were you cold?"

Ji Nanxing was somewhat speechless at his description: "Am I some kind of demon, absorbing your Yang Energy?"

Xiao Ye thought to himself, you're more tempting than any demon.

The sand vehicle was waiting below. Xiao Ye picked up the bag he had dropped earlier, and together with Ji Nanxing, they rode back to the camp.

The night had completely fallen, only the vehicle's lights illuminated the way. Beyond the stars, the desert ahead was an endless black.

Xiao Ye leaned his whole body closer to Ji Nanxing and whispered, "It's so dark here, do strange things happen at night?"

Ji Nanxing: "What kind of strange things?"

Xiao Ye: "You know, friends from the underworld?"

Ji Nanxing: "No, there are lizards and snakes, but otherwise, it's very clean."

With all the sunlight and the open desert, no yin entities would wander around here. Even if there were any, they’d be hiding in the tombs buried under the sand.

Xiao Ye nodded and said, "I’m still scared. Let’s bunk together tonight."

Ji Nanxing glanced at Xiao Ye, sensing that the latter part of his sentence was his real goal.

Though he didn’t quite get why Xiao Ye had to specifically ask, since he’d come to find him, of course, he’d stay in his tent. It wouldn’t be right to have Xiao Ye stay with his master or senior brother, and setting up another tent for him wasn’t an option. The tents here weren’t your typical camping tents but large military ones.

The vehicle sped back to the camp. From afar, they could see the campfire, and the camp seemed busier than usual today, though they didn’t know why.

As soon as the vehicle stopped, Xiao Ye hopped out and reached his hand out to Ji Nanxing.

Ji Nanxing naturally took Xiao Ye’s hand and used it to step down from the vehicle.

Ji Yuanting, sitting nearby in the camp, stopped smiling. Working in fashion and dabbling in entertainment, he’d seen it all. Putting two and two together about Xiao Ye’s eager pursuit, Ji Yuanting snorted, feeling annoyed.

His precious gem had indeed caught the eye of an outsider.

Before Ji Nanxing spotted his senior brother, he first saw two large fire racks. The flames they’d seen from a distance were coming from here. Seeing what was set up and the seasonings nearby, Ji Nanxing asked, "What’s this? Are we roasting something?"

Xiao Ye chuckled, "I ordered five whole roasted lambs and had the chef come here to roast them live. You’ll eat plenty later."

When in the border city, you’ve got to try the roasted lamb. But if it were just the two of them, even a roasted lamb would be too much.

Since Ji Nanxing’s master was staying here for a while, Xiao Ye decided to treat the whole camp.

Fortunately, only the advance team had arrived at the ancient tomb, and the main construction team hadn’t come yet. The camp wasn’t too crowded—students, teachers, various experts, and construction workers totaled less than a hundred people. Five whole roasted lambs plus other side dishes would be more than enough.

Ji Nanxing sighed, "You’re only here for two days. Why make such a big fuss?"

Xiao Ye replied, "Isn’t our master staying here for a while? If we treat everyone well, our master will naturally be taken care of."

Ji Nanxing corrected him, "My master."

Xiao Ye shamelessly said, "We’re not splitting hairs here. Come on, your second brother is over there. Let’s go say hello."

He tugged at Ji Nanxing's sleeve. In front of his brother, he didn’t dare to be too close to Ji Nanxing, afraid that his brother would notice and nip his budding love in the bud, leaving him with nowhere to cry.

Ji Yuanting didn’t say anything, still smiling, and told them to quickly put down their bags, wash their hands, and come over to eat. As for the rest, there was no need to bring it up.

His younger brother had always been decisive. If Xiao Ye could win his brother’s affection, it was his ability. If not, no matter how ambitious Xiao Ye was, it would be useless.

So he didn’t plan to do anything. If someone could accompany his brother in the future, whether male or female, or even not human, as long as his brother liked them, it was fine.