Chapter 79 [VIP]

“People from the Ghost Realm…” Jiang Zhuochen murmured. It’s true, no matter where you are, these ghosts always seem to cause trouble.

“We can’t find them now,” Xu Xing’s soul automatically returned to the longevity lamp. He pinched the bridge of his nose, lowered his eyes, and asked Jiang Zhuochen for his opinion, “Should we go back first?”

Seeing the weariness in the other person's eyes, Jiang Zhuochen felt a pang of anxiety, ignoring his own insignificant fatigue.

He grabbed Xu Xing's arm and quickly said, "Okay."

But once they were out of danger, Jiang Zhuochen fell asleep faster than anyone else. Xu Xing smiled slightly, covered him with a blanket, and rushed home that very night.

Jiang Zhuochen was so exhausted that he only woke up once or twice in a daze when he was moved around repeatedly. He couldn't even open his mouth, and he would fall asleep again as soon as his eyelids closed.

Jiang Zhuochen slept from darkness until dawn, and only woke up naturally as dusk approached.

The setting sun outside the window was losing its warmth, leaving only a thin, golden veil enveloping him. He rubbed his eyes and sat on the bed, lost in thought.

Why are the people from the Ghost Realm involved? Why did they rescue Yi Shui? Could Master's soul be related to them?

Jiang Zhuochen sighed. There were only two pieces left. He thought it would be the same as before, that he could easily subdue the evil spirits because of the suppression of his master's soul. Would he have to bravely venture into the ghost realm again?

Thinking back, I returned to the soul fragments I've collected so far. There are already eight fragments. I wonder how Xu Xing is doing?

Last night, it was clearly stated that the effects of the Azure Cloud Heaven's medicine had been fully absorbed, replenishing the weakened soul and making the person stronger than before. However, he clearly saw the remnant soul extracted from the female ghost fly into the Longevity Lamp without merging on its own. So, is the effect of the Azure Cloud Heaven's medicine still limited?

He jumped out of bed and went to check on Xu Xing.

The indoor temperature was just right, and Jiang Zhuochen stretched comfortably after taking only a few steps. He went to the living room and saw Xu Xing standing in front of the French windows, so he went over and hugged him.

Xu Xing naturally turned his head and touched his earlobe. "You're awake."

The deep, steady voice made Jiang Zhuochen's heart tremble for a moment. He suddenly raised his head and belatedly realized that the longevity lamp in his sea of ​​consciousness had lost its soul at some point.

His throat tightened, and he tentatively called out softly, "Master?"

"It's me."

His answer was two resounding words.

Xu Xing's gaze fell on him, with the same gentleness and focus as always, enveloping him deeply.

Jiang Zhuochen couldn't wait to stand in front of Xu Xing, cupping his face in his hands. The starlight of the setting sun fell behind him, making him look incredibly obedient.

Who is it?

Xu Xing smiled slightly and tapped his brow. "It's your master."

"The souls have merged?" Jiang Zhuochen pressed.

"Hmm." Xu Xing responded, then explained, "It fused not long after I fell asleep."

He had been worrying unnecessarily, wondering why the soul and body were incompatible. It turns out that a certain number of souls are needed for them to merge.

"So your cultivation level has returned as well?" Jiang Zhuochen asked.

Now that he has returned to his original body, it must be better than staying in the longevity lamp. Does this mean he can lie down now?

"Seventy percent." Since his soul was not yet complete, Xu Xing's cultivation level would not be fully restored either.

“Seventy percent…” Jiang Zhuochen lowered his head and smacked his lips. “It’s alright, that’s still pretty impressive!”

After saying that, he jumped up and hung on Xu Xing, wrinkled his nose, and complained, "I'm so tired."

Xu Xing held him firmly, pinched the back of his neck with his other hand, and spoke gently into the ear that was close to his: "You've worked hard."

Hearing his master's comforting words, Jiang Zhuochen took advantage of the situation and waved his hand in front of his eyes, "Look, I've lost weight."

Xu Xing grabbed his hand and led him back to the sofa. "Why don't you stay in Wangxian Valley and enjoy your food and drinks?"

"No way." Jiang Zhuochen pulled her hand away and hugged his neck. "You're all battered and bruised from saving me, how can I possibly eat and drink in peace?"

Xu Xing was amused by him and wondered if he had made a mistake by letting him do such an unproductive job.

He met the eyes of the person in his arms, and then, seeing the other's guilty expression, said solemnly, "Don't blame yourself. It's just my tribulation. Originally, I was supposed to wait for my soul to recuperate and gather my divine consciousness before I could revive and cleanse the ghostly energy here."

But unexpectedly, Jiang Zhuochen accidentally followed them in.

Jiang Zhuochen was bewildered: "A calamity?"

"Yes, my cultivation is full." Xu Xing replied, "It would have happened sooner or later even if I hadn't taken this hit for you, so there's no need to blame yourself too much."

"So, after we clean this place up, will Master ascend to immortality when we get back?" Jiang Zhuochen unconsciously clenched the strand of hair in his hand, and the corners of his mouth turned down slightly.

His expectant gaze dimmed when he didn't receive an answer immediately. For most cultivators, attaining immortality and ascending to heaven was an unattainable dream, and no one should want to give up. He couldn't be so selfish.

Jiang Zhuochen loosened his grip, preparing to hide himself so the other person wouldn't see his dejected expression.

Xu Xing hooked his chin, a hint of mischief in his eyes. "My junior disciple has only been a disciple for three years and his aptitude is still shallow. I am worried about him."

Jiang Zhuochen's eyes lit up instantly, his heart, which had been pounding in his chest, gently calming down. He raised his chin, a smile spreading across his face. "So, will Master only be at ease when his junior disciple can also ascend?"

“Yes,” Xu Xing replied, echoing his sentiment.

Jiang Zhuochen said shamelessly, "Then we'll just have to wait eight or nine hundred years."

Xu Xing couldn't help but chuckle: "It's been that long."

"But I think it's already amazing that I can ascend to heaven."

Soothed and comforted by his master, Jiang Zhuochen began to act up again. He held the man close for a long while before finally speaking in a drawn-out tone: "But ascension is not a game. How can I give up just for the sake of a disciple?"

Xu Xing paused for a moment, then slowly said, "Indeed, it's not possible."

Huh? Jiang Zhuochen's eyes widened slightly. They changed their minds so quickly? He just wanted the other person to give him another reason so he could feel at ease, but he didn't expect this person to agree!

"Right now, the cultivation levels of the various Venerables within the sect are at a bottleneck, and I am worried that I am not yet able to shoulder the heavy responsibility."

Xu Xing knew exactly what Jiang Zhuochen was thinking. Although there was an element of coaxing involved, it was an undeniable fact that had been going on for so many years, and he certainly couldn't just leave.

Jiang Zhuochen's slight dissatisfaction vanished instantly, and he shamelessly said, "Oh, they're so weak."

Xu Xing chuckled. "Who are you talking about?"

"Anyway, it's not about me." Jiang Zhuochen was completely oblivious, and snuggled into the other person's arms again after saying that.

Xu Xing stopped talking and gently patted his back.

Since learning of Xu Xing's recovery, the vague unease in Jiang Zhuochen's heart completely dissipated. With a pillar of support in place, he no longer needed to worry about the rest.

So he did nothing all day long, just like before, sticking to Xu Xing's side.

The early winter wind couldn't penetrate the temperature-controlled office. Jiang Zhuochen took the comic book off his face, looked around but didn't see anyone, and sat on the carpet, bored, playing a single-player game.

There used to be a wall in the living room of this office, but now a large screen has been installed specifically for Jiang Zhuochen to play games.

Secretary Liu pushed open the door and, seeing this scene, secretly sighed, realizing that she had handled everything herself. Afterwards, whenever Jiang Zhuochen was present, the reports were mostly accompanied by a rhythmic 'tap-tap' sound. It wasn't noisy, but it was easy to get distracted when nervous.

She remembered that when it was first installed, the president came back to work after a meeting, and the other person stopped playing with it and walked towards the lounge.

Xu Xing wondered what was wrong with him, and immediately asked while multitasking, only to be told that he was afraid of disturbing his work. So the president denied it without thinking and told him to do what he was supposed to do and not to worry about him.

Secretary Liu has now come to her senses that her boss probably has ulterior motives.

Mr. Jiang likes to go outside whenever he feels bored; this is probably his way of keeping people around.

She stepped aside to let Xu Xing in. Jiang Zhuochen looked up, quickly met his gaze, and realized that he was still busy. She then turned her attention back to the game interface.

The sounds of conversation and the occasional clicking of game controllers blended together, somewhat jarring, yet without interfering with each other.

The phone screen on the coffee table lit up frequently. Jiang Zhuochen turned his head casually, rested his chin on one hand, and tapped the screen with his finger.

When Xu Xing had a free moment, he seized the opportunity to approach him and vaguely tried to find a topic of conversation: "Master, when are we going to collect the rest of your soul fragments?"

"There's been no movement from the Ghost Realm yet, and the ghosts and monsters in the human world are still within the natural balance. There's no need to rush; let me finish my work at the end of the year."

Moreover, the fact that Xu Xing couldn't sense his own soul in this space-time likely meant that the rest of his soul was with the ghost realm, indirectly proving that those ghosts had no intention of causing trouble yet. He looked up and asked leisurely, "What's wrong?"

Jiang Zhuochen organized his thoughts: "I have a, uh... friend who said that their game is haunted and asked me to go check it out."

To be honest, Chen Sheng and Wu Duo had bombarded him with messages and calls several times, but he missed them all because he wasn't paying attention.

Having a rare moment of free time, and with nothing to do, he plugged in his phone to charge, and the red numbers on the screen jumped up rapidly the moment it turned on.

He opened the chat page and slowly learned that these students were bored and liked to play horror games copied from who-knows-where late at night. The chosen person had to bow four times to the southwest while silently reciting a spell to summon ghosts.

As it turned out, this cobbled-together incantation actually summoned something, and those chosen became listless, muttering that they had to hand over offerings or else disaster would befall them.

He didn't believe it at first. If people could encounter ghosts every day, wouldn't the world have been in chaos long ago?

But when he was about to brush it off, the two of them took turns flooding his screen with messages, crying and wailing and making a huge fuss. Since he had nothing else to do anyway, he figured it wouldn't hurt to take a look, so he agreed.

"Friends?" Xu Xing searched his memory and asked, "Those two friends of the Wu family?"

"Yes." Jiang Zhuochen nodded. "Can I go?"

Xu Xing listened and said softly, "Okay. Contact me if you have any problems, but don't come back too late."

Jiang Zhuochen felt a warmth in his heart, reached out and hugged the person close, then let go. "Okay, I'll be back soon."

A note from the author: