Chapter 73: Even If He’s a Ghost, It’s Not Your Place to Touch Him

Chapter 73: Even If He's a Ghost, It's Not Your Place to Touch Him

"Pei Yuhuai!"

Ji Huaiyu tried to pull him back, dragging him away, but Pei Yuhuai stomped on his foot and suddenly leaned back, sending stars shooting across his vision.

Lan He saw Pei Yuhuai being seized, and a cold gleam flashed in his eyes. In the blink of an eye, five or six guards dropped dead at Lan He's hands.

"Warning⚠️ Warning⚠️ The male lead's behavior has severely deviated from character settings. In five seconds, the system will force-reset his character."

Lan He heard this weird, disembodied voice.

"No..."

He whipped his head around, furious, but the voice seemed to come from everywhere at once—he couldn't pin down where it was coming from.

Or maybe...

It wasn't human.

5.

4.

3.

2.

1.

Lan He's movements froze, his killing stroke frozen mid-swing. The guard who almost died was so scared his legs turned to jelly, and he scrambled back on all fours.

Lan He crumpled like a dead leaf, hitting his knees with a heavy thud.

Pei Yuhuai freaked out: "Lan He! Lan He!"

Ji Huaiyu and several guards strained to hold him back.

The Taoist priest kept chanting under his breath, and while Pei Yuhuai was tangled up with Ji Huaiyu, he whipped out a few talismans.

Those talismans seemed to have a mind of their own, snaking around Lan He's body. More and more red threads multiplied, weaving into a tight net.

Ji Huaiyu, huffing and puffing, refused to let go of Pei Yuhuai, saying: "Take a good look, Lan He isn't human—he's a monster."

Pei Yuhuai's eyes widened.

He saw it with his own eyes—Lan He was trapped in the red threads, wisps of black smoke leaking out of his body.

The red mark between his brows blazed like fire, slowly turning a dark, venomous crimson.

The Taoist priest, with a stern face, pulled out a peachwood sword from behind his back and waved it around wildly in the air.

"This is a master I scoured the whole country to bring in. He can force Lan He to show his true form. Ghost or demon, he won't get away from this master. Just wait and see—I'm not bullshitting you."

Pei Yuhuai couldn't care less about Ji Huaiyu's rambling. His mind was a mess as he stared at Lan He, frantic.

Lan He's brows were knit in agony as he knelt there, as if he really was about to show his true form.

Suddenly.

The Taoist priest barked: "Enough! Show yourself!"

A flash of white light slammed into Lan He's brow. He let out a pained grunt, and when his eyes snapped open, they were brimming with murderous intent.

But he still couldn't budge.

"Weird, why won't he show his form?" the Taoist priest muttered, confused, then aimed his peachwood sword at Lan He again. "Seems like a tough one. Let's see how he likes my peachwood sword."

The Taoist priest let out a cold sneer and raised his sword to strike.

Pei Yuhuai panicked. With strength he didn't know he had, he tore free from Ji Huaiyu's grip and kicked out.

Before the Taoist priest could even chant, he went stumbling back several steps, almost eating dirt.

Pei Yuhuai tried to grab the peachwood sword, but Ji Huaiyu tackled him to the ground like a madman, yelling: "Master, now! Keep going! Hurry!"

The Taoist priest scrambled to grab the peachwood sword and jammed it into Lan He's chest.

"Why won't he show his form? This is definitely demonic and ghostly energy. So is he not a demon, but a ghost?"

The Taoist priest pulled out other gadgets, treating Lan He like he was just a thing.

Those eyes went hollow and blank again, as if the murderous look from a second ago had been a figment of imagination—nothing like the Lan He from before.

The mist swirling above his head slowly took the shape of a person.

It was like his soul had left his body.

Pei Yuhuai watched, his eyes nearly popping out of his head, his heart hammering.

"Yuhuai, you see now, right? Lan He isn't human—he really isn't. He got close to you for a reason. Trust me, I'm the only one who's real with you. I'm doing this for your own good."

Ji Huaiyu eagerly tried to throw his arms around Pei Yuhuai's waist.

He reached out, but his hand hit a string of Buddhist prayer beads.

Pei Yuhuai's eyes suddenly sharpened. He clutched the beads like they were precious, his eyes going red: "Even if he's a ghost, you don't get to touch him."

"?"

Ji Huaiyu didn't quite understand what he meant.

"If he's a ghost, then only I get to kill him."

Ji Huaiyu let out a relieved breath: "Fine, fine, then you do it."

Pei Yuhuai slowly approached Lan He. Lan He knelt there, a peachwood sword stuck in his chest, his body plastered with talismans, as still and perfect as a carved statue.

He just watched, his heart churning like a stormy sea.

A great monk should stand atop the clouds.

How could he kneel in the dust, humiliated by others?

Pei Yuhuai revealed a cold, thin smile and turned to the Taoist priest: "You're right, he's not human. I want to finish him off myself. Master, would you help me?"

The Taoist priest came over gleefully.

The next moment.

Pei Yuhuai suddenly yanked out the peach wood sword, and before anyone could see what was happening, drove it straight through the Daoist's throat.

The fragile throat was pierced through, and the Daoist seemed unable to believe he was dying, frantically clawing at his neck.

Bright red blood gushed through his fingers, impossible to stop, quickly soaking his collar crimson.

Ji Huaiyu was shocked and terrified: "Yuhuai, what are you doing? How could you kill the Daoist master? This is killing an innocent man! How could you turn into this?!"

Pei Yuhuai wiped his face indifferently, smearing blood all over it.

He smiled carelessly: "Killing an innocent man? Isn't this what you wanted?"

"You..."

"I killed you once, and I can kill you again. Ji Huaiyu, don't mess with my people."

Ji Huaiyu went cold all over, frozen in place, his eyes full of fear, legs shaking.

Pei Yuhuai frowned, feeling a cold prickle at the back of his neck.

He turned around.

Lan He had come to at some point and was standing right behind him, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, a smile he couldn't even try to hide.

Forget Ji Huaiyu being scared—even Pei Yuhuai felt a chill run down his spine.

He instinctively moved to step back.

The moment he barely lifted his foot, Lan He reached out with his long arm, pulled him into his embrace, and kissed him hard.

Right in front of Ji Huaiyu and all the guards.

"Lan..."

Pei Yuhuai panicked, trying to shove him away, but his hands were grabbed and wrapped around Lan He's waist, held tightly.

Everyone was frozen in shock.

Ji Huaiyu's hands were shaking, and he didn't know why he was so furious, shouting like a madman: "Pei Yuhuai, have you lost your mind!"

"Lan He! You're fated to be with Princess Ruoning! If you insist on provoking Pei Yuhuai, the two of you, the two of you will both be cursed by heaven, Pei Yuhuai!"

Princess Ruoning?

Pei Yuhuai was dazed, involuntarily recalling Qu Ying's various behaviors.

Lan He bit him in punishment, muttering in a low voice: "Not focused, need punishment."

Pei Yuhuai almost reflexively cupped his face and planted a big kiss on him.

Hiss...

The sharp gasps all around finally snapped everyone back to reality.