Chapter 53 [VIP]

After waking up, Jiang Zhuochen yawned and went to the restaurant for dinner. After finishing his meal, he was still thinking about how to contact Xu Xing when he looked up and saw the other person coming down from upstairs.

Only when Xu Xing approached Jiang Zhuochen did he put down his breakfast and ask, "Aren't you going to work?"

"Just finished." Xu Xing said slowly, pulling out a tissue to wipe away the barely noticeable milk stains from the other person's lips. "I'll go out with you this afternoon."

"good."

Lately, this person has been making unwanted physical advances towards him from time to time, which Jiang Zhuochen found strange. However, after a few times, he was starting to get used to it, so he just blinked and let it go.

He buried his head in his food, his cheeks bulging, his thoughts filled with the aroma of the food on the table. He smiled, finally relieved that he wouldn't have to wait for a car on the roadside for so long.

Upon arriving at the exhibition hall, they saw Li Mingtian personally leading a group to greet them from afar. Along the way, he thanked Xu Xing for giving up the venue and also thanked Jiang Zhuochen for liking his art exhibition so much. "Originally, all these things were supposed to be dismantled this morning, but after receiving the message from President Xu, I immediately had the arrangements postponed by one day. Mr. Jiang, you can enjoy the exhibition to your heart's content."

Jiang Zhuochen responded politely, glancing at Li Mingtian with a hint of doubt. This guy must have some grudge against his teacher, so why was he so happy to have brought back the exhibition hall he'd participated in with Zhong Bai?

In the vast, empty room, only the soft, intermittent footsteps of a few people echoed, along with the enthusiastic introductions from Li Mingtian's staff.

Upon reaching the second floor, Xu Xing stopped in the lobby. The others also stopped, their smiles unchanged, but their voices involuntarily lowered, and their eyes revealed doubt.

"The children will be uncomfortable with strangers around, so we can enjoy the rest of the time on our own. We won't trouble you all to keep them company." Xu Xing's tone was flat, but it carried an undeniable forcefulness.

“Alright,” Li Mingtian paused, then added, “Please don’t hesitate to ask if you need anything. We’ll take our leave now.”

After Li Mingtian walked away, as the distance between them grew, a familiar aura tugged at him, causing Xu Xing to feel a vague unease in his heart. He closed his eyes briefly, unable to bear it any longer. "I sensed your master. Is it related to Li Mingtian?"

“Yes.” Jiang Zhuochen reached out to support him, unconsciously applying a little force as if afraid he would fall. “He said he has a bracelet that suppresses ghosts. I guess the ghosts can’t do anything when they’re suppressed, and their own magical power is fighting against Master’s soul, so you can’t sense Master’s aura.”

Once you think about it that way, it makes sense.

After Li Mingtian left, the suppression disappeared, and Zhong Bai's ghost began to stir. It could expend its magical power to do what it wanted. Once its magical power weakened and could no longer conceal its master's aura, Xu Xing would be able to sense it.

What does it expend magic power for?

“But I don’t…” Jiang Zhuochen suddenly frowned, thinking of Zhong Bai’s remnant soul, which he couldn’t call out to no avail at dawn.

Is it possible that the remnant soul in the urn unknowingly arrived at the art exhibition, and that Zhong Bai's ghost was actually secretly healing itself?

Jiang Zhuochen arrived in front of a painting in which ashes had been scattered, holding a talisman in his hand. The runes on the talisman glowed with a pale golden light as he uttered the incantation.

After half a day, the painting in front of him showed no reaction. No matter how he called out to it, Zhong Bai's ghost did not respond.

Jiang Zhuochen's lips twitched.

Fine, we've really messed with him!

He tugged at Xu Xing's sleeve and shook it, whispering, "Let's go back first, we'll come back tonight."

Xu Xing's gaze fell to his hand, and a faint touch sent a ticklish sensation through him. His Adam's apple bobbed up and down, and he let out a soft groan.

The slightly deep voice reminded Jiang Zhuochen of the man's discomfort, and he reached out to support the man's arm again. "Let's go first."

Upon arriving at the parking lot, Jiang Zhuochen, still concerned about his condition, asked, "Can you still drive? Or should we take a taxi back?"

Xu Xing closed the driver's side door that the other person had opened a crack, and led the other person to sit in the back seat. Taking advantage of the other person's unusually obedient state, he wrapped his hand around the other person's hand, tilted his head, closed his eyes, and leaned on the other person's shoulder.

"I've called the driver over; we can wait for him here."

Is it that painful?

Jiang Zhuochen didn't struggle, but was surprised by the hint of vulnerability this person showed. He adjusted his posture to make the other person more comfortable.

Back at the villa, Jiang Zhuochen sat on the sofa in a daze. Night fell unnoticed, and he frowned slightly as he glanced at Xu Xing's door.

He was already feeling so unwell this afternoon, wouldn't it be inappropriate to ask someone to accompany him now?

As he hesitated, Xu Xing opened the door and walked step by step to him, his face already calm.

"Going out after just having a meal?"

"You..." Jiang Zhuochen hesitated, "Are you sure you're okay? Or should I just..."

"It's nothing." Xu Xing then realized that his deliberately exaggerated actions had worried people. While feeling regretful, he couldn't help but feel a slight sense of pleasure. "Maybe I was just a little tired from rushing to work this morning. I'll be fine after a good rest."

"Really?" Jiang Zhuochen didn't know anything about his physical condition, and seeing that the person said so, he stopped asking questions out of doubt.

At night, carrying the urn, he and Xu Xing evaded the few patrol personnel and successfully sneaked into the second floor. Thanks to the closed exhibition area, even a few security cameras were not turned on.

Jiang Zhuochen tilted his chin up and patted the jar in his hand. "I'm going to do something big!"

Xu Xing found it amusing, a smile playing on his lips. "What is it?"

"Smash this art exhibition!"

Xu Xing raised an eyebrow, his expression veiled by the night, conveying a silent indulgence, awaiting his next words.

Jiang Zhuochen circled the painting with his finger as he spoke, "I'm going to take these paintings out and burn them."

Seeing the other person's excited and eager expression, Xu Xing cooperated without saying a word: "I'll go and cut off the power for you."

Jiang Zhuochen's eyes lit up for a moment, then she nudged him with satisfaction and praised him generously, "You're so thoughtful."

Jiang Zhuochen told Xu Xing the location of the paintings, and the two went to retrieve them separately. The broken glass kept crashing to the ground, which was particularly jarring in the quiet venue, causing Jiang Zhuochen, who was focused on doing something naughty, to look back from time to time.

"Don't worry." Xu Xing carried back all the paintings from one section, and seeing that he was absent-minded, he explained, "The security system at the main gate will lock after the power is cut off, and no one will be able to get in for a while."

Hearing that he was safe, Jiang Zhuochen felt relieved and quickly sped up.

The twenty-three paintings were piled up into a small hill. Jiang Zhuochen told Xu Xing to step back, and then lit a fire in the empty hall.

The rising steam carrying ash extended upwards, exploding into a bright flash in the darkness. The fire, which had been artificially acceleranted, quickly diminished, and a strange odor gradually filled the air.

Once the painting was almost completely burned, Jiang Zhuochen steeled himself and used his spiritual energy to quickly draw an intricate soul-guiding array on the ground. Then, he poured the remaining ashes from the jar into the center of the array.

This time it finally worked.

The array shimmered with light, and invisible soul power began to gather. The smoke from burning the painting mixed with ashes, slowly solidifying into a human-shaped outline under the influence of the array.

The outline became clearer and clearer, eventually becoming a young man of about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old. However, having been tormented by Li Mingtian for more than twenty years, although his appearance had not changed, his expression was as numb as a stagnant pool, with only a forcibly awakened anger surging deep in his eyes.

Why have you been looking for me so many times?

Jiang Zhuochen was no match for him now, so he took a step back to show friendliness and asked tactfully, "Do you want to be reincarnated? I can save you from him."

Zhong Bai scoffed, "I don't need your meddling."

His tone was cold and composed, keeping people at arm's length, showing no worry or tension about his situation. Jiang Zhuochen's mind raced, and a sudden inspiration struck him. He blurted out, "You cast the soul-separating spell on him, didn't you?"

Zhong Bai's smile froze for a moment, then turned into a casual scrutiny: "Oh? You noticed."

He floated above the dying embers and lingering smoke, a crack appearing in his numb expression to reveal unfathomable sorrow and ruthlessness.

Jiang Zhuochen choked. This master and disciple are really strange. One was dismembered after death, and the other was separated from his soul before death. They both want the other to die in peace. Can't they learn from his and his master's unity and friendship?

He asked cautiously, "He's still your apprentice, what deep-seated hatred could there be?"

"Disciple?" Zhong Bai chuckled, his voice laced with absurdity, his sharp gaze sweeping over the remaining paintings. "You mean the disciple who killed me with his own hands twenty-three years ago, and then, still not satisfied, hired a Taoist priest to tear my soul to shreds, sealing each strand in my ashes, which he would then scatter on the paintings whenever he felt like it, ensuring I would never be reincarnated?"

Jiang Zhuochen hissed, clutching the empty can, and subconsciously glanced at Xu Xing, who remained calm beside him.

Xu Xing noticed the gaze he was being cast at, a gaze that was both bewildered and full of dependence. It felt as if the softest part of his heart had been gently touched. He couldn't help but raise his hand and pat the back of the other's hand reassuringly.

For a moment, Jiang Zhuochen thought it was his master comforting him, and smiled. He thought he would never have such a falling out with his master in his life.

"So you want to destabilize his soul...you also want to harm him?"

“Can’t I?” Zhong Bai said coldly, “He maintains his superficial glory by absorbing my pain, so I will make sure he never has peace. That’s fair.”

Jiang Zhuochen gazed at the resentful spirit before him, and recalled the renowned and well-mannered painter in the art world. Such cause and effect, this endless cycle of retribution, would never cease.

After thinking it over and over, he hesitated before asking, "What did you do to make people hate you so much?"

Zhong Bai leaned against the railing with his hands clasped together. Upon hearing this, he stopped tapping and a strange look flashed across his face. "This is not something you should know."

Oh, it seems that ghosts don't need to manage their facial expressions.

Jiang Zhuochen thought his disciple was so heartless, but it turns out his master wasn't a good person either. Fine.

"Then how did you manage to secretly repair his soul right under his nose?"

“What’s so difficult about that?” Zhong Bai smiled. “He’s not guarding that pile of ashes day and night. In fact, I should thank him for scattering the ashes on his paintings and taking them out; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to regain consciousness while being suppressed in the studio.”

“Oh, so you’ve brought all the remnants of the studio’s spirits here,” Jiang Zhuochen said knowingly. “No wonder I couldn’t get you to come yesterday.”

"So you stole someone's ashes and forcibly woke me up, just to hear me tell a story?"

“No,” Jiang Zhuochen said innocently, “I said I would send you to be reincarnated.”

Zhong Bai scoffed lightly, clearly not believing him. "I'll reincarnate myself after I send him away."

Jiang Zhuochen panicked, "No! If you commit murder, you can't be reincarnated!"

“That’s even better,” Zhong Bai said nonchalantly. “They’ll all be wandering ghosts by then, and I’ll have plenty of time to teach that traitor a lesson.”

"Isn't it inappropriate to kill someone here?" Jiang Zhuochen frowned, muttering to himself, then turned to Xu Xing. "Could you call the police and have him arrested?"

"Where's the evidence?" Xu Xing asked gently, somewhat reluctant to dampen his expectations. "There wasn't any twenty years ago. You can't expect a ghost that no one can see to speak, can you?"

Seeing that Jiang Zhuochen indeed pouted, Xu Xing's expression softened, and he reached out to rub the back of Jiang's head.

Zhong Bai's gaze swept over the two of them, and he chuckled cryptically. "Don't worry, I'll only do something bad to his soul, I won't touch his body."

That seems like a good idea. After all, being a walking corpse is the same as not being dead. Jiang Zhuochen was convinced by him.

"Don't waste your energy," Zhong Bai advised. "Once I've recovered from my injuries and broken the seal, I'll handle it myself."

Jiang Zhuochen looked at the pile of ashes on the ground, puzzled. "Didn't I unlock it for you?"

Zhong Bai gave a faint smile: "Almost there."

"What's missing?"

Jiang Zhuochen suddenly realized. Right, Li Mingtian used ashes to paint a picture a couple of days ago, and he didn't know where the painting was.

He laboriously scooped the ashes into the jar, saying, "Wait for me, I'll find them for you right away."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a distinct commotion came from the main entrance on the first floor, interspersed with shouts from a security guard and the static of a walkie-talkie: "Report! The main entrance is locked and cannot be opened. There must still be someone inside!"