Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The boy lay motionless on the ground, with no intact skin except on his face. The wounds of varying depths looked as if they had been sliced off piece by piece while he was still alive—it was nothing short of a death by a thousand cuts.

The stab wound on his chest had almost gone straight through him; from the chaotic, torn flesh, it was clear the wound had been repeatedly reopened.

Jiang Zhuochen's expression was unreadable. "You even drank his heart's blood?"

"No, it wasn't me!" Li Hui broke down. "It was that Taoist priest, he tricked me. He said my son's heart blood was pure water, and combined with the essence from his flesh, it could quickly cure my body and restore my fortune. I lost my mind, I... I..."

"You what?!" With a wave of her hand, the female ghost slammed him hard against the wall. "He was your only son! How could you bear to do this to him? And it took me this long to find out... Are you even human?"

The female ghost knelt by her son, gently stroking his brows and eyes, sobbing uncontrollably.

How could one describe the scene she witnessed when she pushed open the basement door? Her precious son, bound to the bed, a mass of wounds, his blood pooling on the floor.

She gripped the doorknob tightly, instantly feeling as if she had gone mad. The agony felt as if her own insides were being sliced away, piece by piece. The overwhelming pain made her collapse to the ground, crawling along the river of blood to reach her son's side.

Yet the man showed no remorse. Upon discovering his evil deeds were exposed, he stabbed her in the back without hesitation, leaving her to die, her eyes wide open, beside her son's bed.

Seeing Jiang Zhuochen remain silent, Li Hui crawled forward on his knees, showing no trace of his former ruthlessness.

"Master, save me, please! She's a ghost! How can she still linger in the human world? You must exorcise her!"

The female ghost flicked her sleeve, blocking his path, and Li Hui howled as he scrambled backward.

"Master, Master, you took my money! Exorcise her now! Your Taoist temple—you wanted a temple, right? I'll have it ready for you tomorrow. Don't let her kill me! I'll take you there!"

"I only took your money earlier because you were up to no good," Jiang Zhuochen said, standing still. "Don't take it to heart."

"No!" Li Hui refused to believe it. "You're a Taoist priest! If you don't save someone in danger, you'll go to hell!"

"So noisy," Xu Xing murmured. It was fine before entering, but after following Jiang Zhuochen inside, the attraction grew stronger. His heart pounded so hard he could barely breathe. Just as he was starting to adjust, the cries and shouts gave him a headache.

Jiang Zhuochen didn't dare use his spiritual energy recklessly now, so he took out a pill to focus the mind and gather energy, feeding it to Xu Xing.

As the female ghost closed in on Li Hui, Jiang Zhuochen slipped a ghost-repelling talisman into Xu Xing's pocket, leaning close to whisper, "I might not be able to look after you later. Can you still walk? Get outside and find somewhere to hide."

Xu Xing let go of him. "It's fine. Don't worry about me."

As Xu Xing turned away, Jiang Zhuochen used his spiritual energy to deflect the female ghost's wrist. Enraged, she redirected her long nails, every blow meant to kill.

However, the female ghost was severely injured, so Jiang Zhuochen handled her without much difficulty. He ducked under her attack, seized Li Hui, and fled the villa.

Xu Xing was still walking not far away. This time, without him by his side, Jiang Zhuochen noticed more clearly that the Ghostly Energy actually shied away from an area around Xu Xing, hesitating to approach.

So, earlier at the entrance, when the Ghostly Energy suddenly weakened, was it because of Xu Xing?

Jiang Zhuochen hurried to catch up, but the Ghostly Energy formed a barrier between them. In the next moment, the female ghost lunged at Xu Xing.

"Since you insist on stopping me, then you can all die!"

Jiang Zhuochen threw aside the half-dead Li Hui, but hindered by the Ghostly Energy, he was a step too slow.

He saw Xu Xing turn around, his cold, restrained expression once again overlapping with the person he longed for.

"Dodge!"

The female ghost's sharp claws were inches away when she suddenly contorted in pain, unable to advance another step.

She plunged her claws into her own chest, releasing more Ghostly Energy until her body grew translucent, muttering as if struggling against an unseen force.

"You think a mere shard can stop me?"

The rampant Ghostly Energy surged outward. Suddenly, Jiang Zhuochen detected a faint trace of his master's soul aura within it. His heart stirred, and he flashed to Xu Xing's side, confronting the female ghost directly.

It's here!

"Master!"

The call drew the attention of both. Xu Xing tilted his head slightly, slowly processing the situation.

The female ghost, her energy waning, let out a weak, mocking laugh. "So that's why you kept opposing me—for that soul fragment inside me."

Jiang Zhuochen pulled Xu Xing back to where Li Hui lay, using talismans to form a barrier, shielding them from the outside.

He dodged the female ghost's sneak attack and said urgently, "Return my master's soul to me!"

The female ghost faced him squarely. "Only over my dead body."

His expression hardened, anger rising. After finally finding it, he couldn't let the soul fragment vanish before his eyes.

"You can't defeat me now."

"Only over my dead body," the female ghost repeated fearlessly, bypassing Jiang Zhuochen to target the barrier.

The Ghostly Energy in the world gradually dissipated. In her final moments of fading, the female ghost still gazed toward the barrier, her mouth open but unable to utter another word.

Jiang Zhuochen pursed his lips, feeling a twinge of pity. Then, as the wisp of pale blue soul drifted toward him, his eyes reddened.

The soul fragment circled his fingers a few times, as if offering comfort.

"Master, I've missed you so much," he whispered, gently brushing his fingers over the intangible fragment. "You must come back to me soon."

With that, the wisp of soul drifted into the Long Life Lamp, and the flame inside finally brightened slightly. He sniffled and dispelled the barrier.

At a certain moment, Xu Xing suddenly felt no more discomfort, his body instantly returning to normal. He opened his eyes to see Jiang Zhuochen's pitiful, unsettled expression.

"What's wrong?" He suppressed his doubts about Jiang Zhuochen's unusual nature and asked softly.

Before Jiang Zhuochen could answer, Li Hui, now out of mortal danger, wept with overwhelming relief.

"Master, I knew you wouldn't abandon me! Thank you, Master, thank you! From now on, you're my savior. Not just the temple—you need a place to stay, right? I'll arrange it immediately!"

"Not for you," Jiang Zhuochen murmured.

His master had taught him that cultivators must vanquish demons, uphold righteousness, and defend the peace of the world. Among the six realms, the human realm must not be swayed by external forces. Since this was an evil ghost, willing to harm the human world to achieve her goals, he naturally couldn't stand idly by.

Even if the person before him was utterly wicked.

The lingering grievance in Jiang Zhuochen turned to anger at the sight of Li Hui. He turned to Xu Xing. "Can we report him to the authorities? Get him arrested immediately."

Xu Xing's expression softened, a slight smile forming as he played along. "Yes, we can."

"No, you can't call the police! If people find out, I'm finished!" Li Hui made a last-ditch struggle. "Mr. Xu, Master, I beg you, don't call the police."

Jiang Zhuochen, still angry, stepped forward and knocked him out with a chop to the neck. "He's your responsibility now. I'll go check if that person can still be saved."

Inside the villa, Jiang Zhuochen extended two fingers to check the young man's breathing. After a long wait, he detected a faint, weak breath and let out a sigh of relief.

He poured out two precious healing pills and used his spiritual energy to send them into the young man's system. Using so much energy so quickly left his face somewhat pale, but fortunately, the young man was finally saved.

He walked wearily out of the villa entrance, spotting Xu Xing still there from the corner of his eye. He hesitated for a moment, then continued forward at the same pace. "Shouldn't you go back and get some rest?"

Xu Xing replied, "I'm fine now."

"Alright, then I'll leave the rest in your hands. Thank you."

Jiang Zhuochen's thoughts were in turmoil. There were too many mysteries surrounding Xu Xing. The crisis had left him no time to observe carefully, but there was no doubt that the vengeful ghost weakened when approaching him and found it hard to harm him.

Why?

If he wasn't an ordinary person, why didn't he have the power to protect himself?

"Wait," Xu Xing called out to him.

"What is it?"

Xu Xing's feelings were complicated; he undoubtedly harbored doubts about Jiang Zhuochen.

Yet, ever since the other appeared, there had been far too many things that felt off about himself. Whether it was his attitude toward Jiang Zhuochen or something else, he couldn't ignore the strange emotions that always stirred when the other was upset.

Like now, as Jiang Zhuochen passed by without stopping, he acted on impulse. By the time he realized it, the other had already turned around, politely waiting for his response.

So he followed his heart. "Do you have a place to stay?"

Jiang Zhuochen tilted his head.

An hour later, Jiang Zhuochen sat in the living room of Xu Xing's home, looking lost. While Xu Xing poured him water, he took a look around. Yesterday, when he brought Xu Xing back, he hadn't entered, so he had no idea what the other's place was like.

When Xu Xing placed a glass of water in front of him, he took a sip, wondering what this was about. "Did you need me for something?"

Xu Xing sat on the adjacent sofa, having pushed aside his tangled thoughts from the walk home. "I'd like to ask you to help me ward off evil spirits and check the feng shui."

"Ward off evil spirits?" Jiang Zhuochen was confused.

"Yes," Xu Xing replied calmly. "I haven't been sleeping well lately, always feeling like something is haunting me. Since you helped Li Hui, why not help me too?"

Jiang Zhuochen saw no reason to doubt him. "Alright."

"No rush," Xu Xing interrupted as Jiang Zhuochen perked up. "Rest for a few days first. It's not too late to wait until you've recovered."

Jiang Zhuochen had indeed overexerted his spiritual energy today and was quite tired. Moreover, with the use of the Spirit Gathering Array, the surrounding spiritual energy had grown increasingly sparse, making it impossible to meditate and recuperate. He would likely need several days of rest.

"Evil energy intrusion can be serious or minor. Are you sure you're okay?"

After a moment of silence, Xu Xing slowly spoke. "Then why don't you stay here for now? It'll be easier for me to find you if I need anything."

"Stay here?" The suggestion took Jiang Zhuochen by surprise. He had been worried about not having a chance to get close to Xu Xing in the future to investigate the anomalies on him. "Won't I be disturbing you?"

Though it was phrased as a question, Xu Xing detected a hint of eagerness in his tone. His expression softened. "Not at all. Feel free to stay here peacefully."

"Thank you." Jiang Zhuochen finished the water in one gulp and stood up. "Call me anytime if you need anything. I'm going to get some sleep first."

The villa was cleaned daily, and the guest room was spotless, ready for occupancy at any time. So when Jiang Zhuochen mentioned he was sleepy, Xu Xing led him upstairs to the second floor.

Jiang Zhuochen fell backward into the soft bedding, letting out a satisfied sigh before turning over and hugging the blanket.

Perhaps it was his imagination, but hotel rooms always had a certain smell. Though comfortable, it couldn't compare to the refreshing fragrance here that soothed both body and mind as soon as he lay down.

Author's Note:

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