Chapter 47

Xie Xubai was unaware of the grand celebration unfolding in the live broadcast hall, and led Yan Yue and the others to the backyard garden.

The Jiang family was large and powerful, with several courtyards within their residence.

Compared to those exquisite and unique landscape gardens, this small garden in front of us is located in a remote and inconspicuous place, and few bodyguards and servants pass by.

In the past, during his free time when he didn't have to attend classes, Xie Xubai would bring Jiang Kaile here to relax.

The afternoon sun is most serene, casting dappled light and shadow through the dense foliage. The grass sways gently in the breeze, releasing a sweet fragrance.

A passionate and proud young man would casually approach him, his eyes slightly shining, and ask him many questions about the future.

[Teacher, even if I become the head of a household in the future, I should still have time. Could I visit your home then? I heard you have many cats and dogs. What do they look like? What are their personalities like? Are they shy? What kind of treats and toys do they like?]

Before long, having received a reassuring answer, the boy's anxiety gradually disappeared, replaced by hope. He couldn't help but grin and chuckle softly: "I really hope that day comes soon."

Players who were closely watching Xie Xubai noticed that he seemed to relax considerably from the moment he entered the small garden.

Xie Xubai continued walking until he stopped in front of a large tree.

Yan Yue and the others looked in that direction.

This place is relatively close to the residence of the Ghost King. They had explored it before and found nothing unusual.

Upon closer inspection, nothing seems amiss to the naked eye.

But Xie Xubai, gazing at the tree, suddenly softened his expression.

In fact, the young people were very friendly when we talked to them.

Without the interference of the tiny tentacles' perception, that handsome and exquisite appearance was revealed.

The mere sight of her thick, long eyelashes drooping and a faint, almost imperceptible smile playing on her lips is enough to make players' hearts flutter.

But that polite friendliness is completely different from the genuine tenderness I feel right now.

How many tall and straight trees are there here?

Those bright, sparkling eyes were focused solely on that one tree, their light dancing and their concentration so intense it aroused envy.

The girl with the ponytail couldn't help but nudge her boyfriend with her elbow and whispered in admiration, "I feel like all those people in the live stream who are obsessed with good looks are going to go crazy again."

Seeing his girlfriend praising another man's good looks, the man in the trench coat couldn't help but feel a little jealous. Turning around and seeing Xie Xubai's face, he found himself speechless, unable to find anything to criticize.

Xie Xubai's looks are truly unique.

At first glance, I only thought she was pretty, but there was nothing particularly unique about her. The longer I spent with her, the more I understood her. Her face was like a pearl that had been opened and polished, radiant and lustrous.

"If we could record videos or take photos and compile them into a photo album, I wonder how many points we could sell for," the ponytail girl said with heartache. "A fortune!"

Man in trench coat: "..."

He felt relieved.

Xie Xubai asked, "Does anyone have a shovel or other digging tools?"

Yan Yue seemed to snap out of a daze and quickly replied, "I have some here."

Experienced players always carry some simple tools with them for emergencies when their mental energy is depleted.

He found a shovel and, seeing that Xie Xubai seemed about to start digging, suggested, "We're better at this kind of heavy work, why don't we do it?"

As he spoke, he approached with a shovel.

They hadn't taken more than a few steps when they were stopped by an invisible barrier.

Yan Yue was quite surprised.

This barrier wasn't there when we last investigated. Could it be because Xie Xubai appeared here?

He reached out and braced himself against the barrier, tentatively using a bit of brute force. As a result, a cluster of crimson flames shot into the sky, fierce and almost burning his clothes to ashes!

Xie Xubai recognized that it was Jiang Kaile's flames and raised his voice to stop them: "It's okay, don't come over, just hand me the shovel."

Yan Yue did as instructed.

Based on the previous investigation, Xie Xubai can confirm that this cyclical world imposes two restrictions on Jiang Kaile.

First, Jiang Kaile will constantly receive malice from the outside world; second, the Jiang family uses blood ties to impose constraints on him.

Xie Xubai had already found the solution to the second one in the ancient esoteric texts; the tricky one was the first.

Just now, he had the little tentacles help bring the players down the mountain and rushed to Jiang Kaile and the other person's side as soon as possible.

"Yu You!" Chan Sheng was overjoyed to see him, but the next second he was so anxious that he scratched his head and said incoherently, "What should we do? Lele is in pain."

In the direction he was pointing, Jiang Kaile was lying on the bed with his eyes closed, seemingly very uneasy in his dream, his eyelids trembling slightly.

His body had almost swelled up to a size larger, with ferocious red scales growing from head to toe, and his jaw had lengthened and widened, showing signs of bestial transformation.

The situation was just as bad as Xie Xubai had imagined.

Jiang Kaile's mutation did not stop after the berserk state was lifted. Like a gear that has started to turn, it will continue to run if there is no external interference.

Xie Xubai had several guesses about how to interfere, but he couldn't make up his mind until Yan Shuo appeared and hinted that he had found a solution.

Then he came to the small garden and saw the restrictions Jiang Kaile had set up there, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The answer is Jiang Kaile's lost heart.

Dr. Wu said the boy had no heartbeat, and Jiang Kaile searched the entire Jiang family compound but couldn't find it.

Xie Xubai thought to himself that, given the boy's stubbornness, if he wanted to find something, he wouldn't hesitate to venture into even the Jiang family head's study.

But there is one place that Jiang Kaile absolutely cannot bear to destroy.

Thinking of this, Xie Xubai reached out and pressed his hand against the tree trunk.

In his mind's eye, he seemed to hear a vibrant, strong heartbeat coming from below, and a gentle voice said, "Jiang, it's me. Your teacher has come to take you home."

--call!

A hurricane spiraled up from the foot of the big tree, instantly forming an explosive vortex that shook the flowers, plants, and leaves throughout the small garden.

Seeing this, the other players hurriedly closed their eyes and protected their heads.

When they opened their eyes again after the shockwave subsided, they were surprised to find that where the big tree had stood, a short and thin sapling had appeared.

The sapling's leaves were not as lush as those of the other large trees, but they were still vibrant and green.

Xie Xubai reached out his hand to it, and it seemed to sense it and shook itself, its tenderest and greenest branches bending down to brush against his fingertips.

"Good boy, it'll be quick." Xie Xubai smiled, rubbed the leaves, and picked up the shovel.

The moment the shovel tip touched the ground, the compacted soil became exceptionally soft, and it could be dug up effortlessly.

Xie Xubai carefully controlled his strength.

Seeing the fragile roots exposed, he simply put the shovel aside, ignoring the dirt, and used his clean hands to carefully dust off the soil, separating the roots that had been disturbed.

He did this process meticulously and carefully, without damaging even the smallest, finest part.

Finally, after parting the clump of tree roots at the very top, half of a grayish-white heart was seen.

Xie Xubai touched it carefully, and his heart fell out without hesitation, landing heavily in his palm.

"What is that? Is it also a key item?" The players discussed among themselves.

At the same time, they couldn't help but feel a little relieved. The prop wasn't particularly well hidden, but it was protected by a restriction to confuse people.

If it weren't for Xie Xubai, they probably wouldn't have been able to find him even after failing the trial.

The moment the item fell into Xie Xubai's hands, Yan Yue suddenly realized that the barrier had disappeared, and he rushed over to help people replant the sapling.

He observed this half of the heart, which is what a human heart looks like when it is cut in half.

However, the heart's outer layer was shriveled and necrotic, and the thin blood vessels were twisted and shrunken into a clump, giving it a sickly grayish-white appearance that looked somewhat disgusting.

[Item obtained: Half of the boy's lost heart (deactivated)]

Xie Xubai asked, "What comes to mind when you see it?"

If the young man can understand what they are saying, he must be able to see the mission panel as well.

Yan Yue had no doubt that Xie Xubai was trying to get information out of him, and naturally took the question as a test.

He pondered for a moment, then shared the prop hints along with his own guesses.

"The key is inactivation," Yan Yue frowned. "I wonder if there's any way to reactivate it and put it back in... cough, return it to Jiang Kaile?"

But Xie Xubai shook his head.

The next second, the gray heart held in the young man's palms suddenly revealed a bright red color, as if the decayed bones were growing flesh and blood again.

Yan Yue was astonished as he looked at the frequently flashing item notifications: "Activity has been restored by 30%! What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything."

Xie Xubai gently stroked the surface of his heart, his mind constantly recalling his past experiences with Jiang Kaile, his eyes warm and gentle: "I just hope that my students can be happy and carefree."

As he uttered those words, more and more flesh and blood began to grow wildly on his gray and withered heart.

Its texture is no longer hard, but incredibly soft. Its temperature is no longer icy cold, but extremely hot.

The newborn heart nestled gently against Xie Xubai's hand, which he carefully protected. Within seconds, it began to beat rapidly, thumping and thumping, radiating a vibrant and resilient life force.

This scene was very impactful.

For the players, it was as if they had witnessed a miracle of life and death. Staring at the system message "[Heart activity has recovered 81%]", they were utterly shocked.

Girls are more perceptive, and the girl with the ponytail suddenly asked, "Is it love?"

Seeing that everyone else was turning to look at her, the woman with the ponytail hesitated before revealing her guess: "It's that saying circulating online, 'As long as you are loved, your flesh and blood will grow wildly.'"

"The love here has no specific meaning; it can refer to family members, spouses, friends, teachers and students, pets, or even strangers."

"That's true, but the requirements for activating it aren't that strict; as long as you have good intentions, it's fine."

Half of Jiang Kaile's heart was in his chest cavity, constantly absorbing malice, and because it lacked its other half, it could not beat.

The other half of the heart can absorb kindness, but it is hidden deep underground.

Xie Xubai said gently to the woman with the ponytail, "Could you please give my student a blessing?"

"Huh? Me?" The ponytail girl was a little flattered by the big shot's serious request.

“Yes.” Xie Xubai gently touched his heart. “My kindness to him can’t fill all the void, because a person cannot live on the love of one person alone, and his life should not be limited by my perspective.”

"He is a good kid and deserves more kindness and to be loved by more people."

The woman with the ponytail looked at the heart in front of her, somewhat troubled.

They were unfamiliar with Jiang Kaile, and Jiang Kaile was the Ghost King they needed to deal with, so they couldn't muster any affection or goodwill towards her.

However, the girl with the ponytail came up with a clever idea and said to her heart in a serious tone, "I wish you good grades on your final exams, and that you get 100 points in every subject!"

In a society where upward mobility is almost entirely monopolized by capital, the college entrance examination may not be the only way to transcend social classes, but it is certainly the fairest path.

Wishing students good exam results is wishing them that their hard work will be rewarded and that they will have a bright and promising future.

This is a consensus reached by all the people of Zhongzhou, a blessing that will not be stingy with its sentiments towards any student.

A player observing the activity data nearby shouted, "It's going up! It's really going up!"

Seeing that it really worked, the woman with the ponytail asked happily, "How much did it rise?"

0.1.

Girl with ponytail: "..."

Her blessings were so sincere!

The man in the trench coat whispered a reminder: "Jiang Kaile seems to be a high school student. The maximum score for major subjects in high school is 150. Your blessing almost made him fail."

Girl with ponytail: "…………"

She immediately shouted for another round, but no matter how much she called, there was no response.

Seeing this, other players followed suit, some wishing for good health, others wishing for good food and drink, but their activity levels all only increased by 0.1.

The five players present only increased by a total of 0.5, which is less than a fraction of Xie Xubai's increase.

Looking at the dejected players, Xie Xubai smiled and said, "Thank you, that's enough. As for the remaining goodwill, we should look for it in the Jiang family where he grew up."

"But the problem now is that the Jiang family members have become alienated, and their hearts are filled with resentment and malice. If we want them to show goodwill towards Jiang Kaile, we may need to take some extraordinary measures."

As Xie Xubai finished speaking, a new quest guide immediately popped up in front of the player.

But that's no problem for them! A wealthy and powerful man like Yan Yue has plenty of mind control tools.

With the game seemingly within reach, the players happily split up to search for... no, for Jiang Kaile's close associates.

Just as the woman with the ponytail was about to pull the man in the trench coat away, she suddenly noticed that Xie Xubai's hands were still dirty, covered in mud, which contrasted sharply with the fair and clean skin on his wrists.

She nudged the man in the trench coat, who then had someone bring out some cleaning supplies and handed them to her solicitously: "You can use these."

Why would a Buddha statue, which is supposed to be spotless, get dirty? The players had already come up with an explanation in their minds—it must be because Xie Xubai was unable to use his power after leaving the Buddha altar due to his mortal tribulations, which is why they were given the opportunity to complete the mission.

Xie Xubai smiled and thanked them, then paused and asked if they had any wet wipes.

The woman with the ponytail did bring wet wipes and dry wipes, but she didn't understand what Xie Xubai wanted to do there.

Xie Xubai first used the props to wash his hands, then took the two kinds of paper, pulled out a brand new wet tissue, and meticulously wiped away the dirt from his heart.

His heart shuddered energetically, as if chilled, and his blood vessels pressed Xie Xubai even tighter, contracting and pounding against his palms, like a dirty child who didn't want to take a bath.

Xie Xubai lightly tapped the heart twice with his finger to calm it down. Then he quickened his pace, patiently cleaning the heart and wiping it dry with a tissue.

After doing all this, his heart was clean, but Xie Xubai was covered in mud and grime again except for his fingers. He washed it off with a tool without much concern.

The reason for not using any items on the heart is twofold: firstly, as an NPC, he cannot see the effect information; secondly, there is concern that items might conflict with each other and harm the heart.

This little incident should have been forgotten as soon as it happened, but for some reason, the woman with the ponytail couldn't quite come to her senses.

Even when she was admiring Xie Xubai's beauty just now, she had never been so captivated.

“Look at the look on his face when he talks about that heart… No wonder others can gain 81 points with just one sentence, while we only gain 0.1.”

The girl with the ponytail said in a hoarse voice, "Brother Feng, I'm a little homesick."

She misses her mother's admonitions, her father's departing figure, her older brother's grumpy face but the pocket money he secretly slipped to her, and the care and concern from her uncles and aunts.

Looking at Xie Xubai like that, she couldn't help but think of these unrelated and strange things.

The man in the trench coat hugged her tightly.

"That's right... He's not quite the same as the NPCs we've encountered."

From a perspective unseen by Xie Xubai and the young couple, the line of good fortune connecting them gradually deepened in color until it revealed a faint golden light.

The other players left, and Yan Yue followed Xie Xubai.

Their first stop was Dr. Wu's consultation room.

Without Yan Yue needing to use any props, the old man subconsciously fell into memories upon hearing Jiang Kaile's name, his cloudy eyes filled with affection: "Lele, he really is a good child. I still remember the first time I met him, I accidentally fell down a slope, and when he saw it, he rushed over without thinking."

“How old was he back then? His head couldn’t even reach my waist when he stretched out. His little hands were only as long as my fingers, with delicate skin that would bleed if scratched by a bamboo leaf, but he clung to me tightly, his face turning red from holding on, and I almost dragged him into the ditch.”

The old man rubbed his two fingers together, as if recalling the shock and emotion he felt when the child grabbed him.

“I will remember this for the rest of my life,” Dr. Wu said in a deep voice. “I hope he will be well for the rest of his life.”

[Heart function has recovered: 89.5%]

The second stop was Mrs. Jiang's villa.

"He was very cute when he was a child."

Mrs. Jiang sat on the recliner, staring blankly at the ceiling: "The first time I learned the word 'like,' I would rush up to anyone I saw, grinning like an idiot, and say, 'I like you so much!'"

“He likes bodyguards, he likes servants, trees, flowers, grass, birds, and even the bull terrified that the fourth brother brought back. He would squat down next to the dog and whisper to it, ‘I like you, please don’t bite me, okay?’”

For the first half of her life after marrying into the Jiang family, Madam Jiang was like a glass vase. The Jiang family members and servants dared not neglect her, but she had no say in family matters, including the education of Jiang Kaile.

During that time, Madam Jiang was completely disheartened and became obsessed with competing with other wives and ladies in terms of enjoyment. She lived her life in a daze and, after learning from the servants that Jiang Kaile was not lacking in food or clothing, she stopped paying attention to him.

She selfishly and self-deceivingly missed too much of Jiang Kaile's time, so that by the end, the memories she could reminisce about were pitifully few.

“After you told me the truth, I understand. He… isn’t inherently bad. The bad ones are the people around him, whether it’s me or the Jiang family.” Madam Jiang closed her eyes and let out a weary sigh. “I hope he can leave the Jiang family, the farther away the better.”

[Heart function has recovered: 93.5%]

Xie Xubai did not leave immediately, but said in a low voice, "If something happens to the Jiang family soon, would you be willing to leave with us?"

Madam Jiang opened her eyes abruptly, gripping the armrest tightly with her hands until her fingertips turned white from the force: "How did this happen?"

"After Jiang Kaile leaves, there will be no more ghosts or gods to protect them. Those who have suffered at their hands will be in this house, where they can settle their scores and seek revenge."

Madam Jiang's shoulders trembled violently. Finally, she couldn't hold back any longer and burst into laughter, even pacing on the floor in her high heels without regard for her image: "I was worried when you stepped in. Great, great! They've finally met their match!"

After she finished laughing heartily, Xie Xubai continued, "And what about you?"

"..." Madam Jiang suddenly fell silent.

Xie Xubai said, "Jiang Kaile needs his mother. He has a long time ahead of him, and so do you, long enough to make up for the regrets of the past."

Mrs. Jiang's high shoulders suddenly slumped, and she said with a bitter smile, "Teacher Yu, do you think I, living in the Jiang family, can remain untainted?"

“At first, I tried to persuade them, but I couldn’t. Instead, they were punished even more severely, so I could only watch coldly. As I watched, I learned a few things myself.”

"It's terrifying. I haven't done anything immoral in over twenty years, but I can abandon my principles in just two short years."

Madam Jiang patted the armrest, which had a stain on it that she couldn't shake off no matter how hard she tried.

She gave up.

“I deserve to die here. Take that child and go far away. I can’t teach him now, I have no face to see him, and I’m even more sorry to him.”

Madam Jiang stretched out her arm to cover her moist eyes and said softly, "I will have all my assets transferred to your account... I'll trouble you to take care of things from now on."

[Heart function has recovered: 94.5%]

Xie Xubai sensed the determination in Madam Jiang's words and remained silent for a moment before saying, "Take care of yourself."

"You too. How long will it take before something happens to the Jiang family?"

"It won't be later than today."

"Alright," Madam Jiang said with a smile. "Could you please go outside and turn off the light for me? I want to take a nap."

Xie Xubai reached for the blanket beside him, spread it out and covered the other person with it, and said gently, "Good night, Ms. Xu."

Hearing this long-lost form of address, Ms. Xu trembled, and a hot tear rolled down her cheek. She bit her lip, trying her best to speak calmly.

"good evening."

With a snap, the bedroom light went out, plunging the room into a quiet, dim light.

Before Xie Xubai closed the door, he heard soft sobbing coming from inside. After a while, he gently closed the door.

He said "Let's go" to Yan Yue, who was waiting beside him, and the two left.

The suppressed sobs grew fainter and fainter, eventually disappearing into the exquisite and luxurious villa.

On the other side, in Jiang Kaile's bedroom.

Chan Sheng sat on the edge of the bed, reaching out for the umpteenth time to try and stuff his substitute candy into Jiang Kaile's mouth, coaxing her as he did so: "It's really sweet, I'm not lying to you, try it?"

Just as they were about to squeeze it in, Hu Chang's sarcastic voice came from the window: "Well, well, we didn't expect there to be a traitor among us! You so brazenly gave your life to the BOSS, have you forgotten that you were still live-streaming?"

He didn't even notice someone approaching?

Startled, Chan Sheng turned around and reflexively reached out to protect the boy on the bed. He frowned and scolded Hu Chang, "Get out of here right now!"

"Huh? You're actually serious?"

Hu Chang called him a traitor only as a sarcastic remark, but he didn't expect Chan Sheng to actually have a tendency to betray. Given that the result was that everyone else failed to pass the level, Hu Chang almost wanted to applaud him.

Chan Sheng assumed a fighting stance, his voice even colder: "Go! If you don't leave, I'll throw you out."

“That won’t do.” Hu Chang seemed to completely disregard him, and said with a meaningful smile, “How can I make the Ghost King go berserk again if I don’t stay here longer?”

Chan Sheng was taken aback upon hearing this. He sensed Hu Chang's malice towards Jiang Kaile from his tone and quickly turned around.

The boy, who was sleeping soundly on the bed, suddenly opened his eyes, revealing a pair of cold, scarlet blood-red pupils.

"That's it!" Hu Chang laughed loudly upon seeing this. "Come on, I have as much malice as you want. Quickly go berserk and turn this trial upside down—"

Before he could finish speaking, Hu Chang's arrogant smile suddenly froze, and his pupils constricted, reflecting the boy's rapidly approaching fist.

Bang!

Hu Chang was sent flying and crashed heavily to the ground, writhing in pain.

He caught a glimpse of Jiang Kaile walking towards him out of the corner of his eye. He scrambled to his feet in a flustered and disheveled manner, and suddenly felt a metallic taste in his mouth. He spat out a few bloody teeth.

"How could this be?!" Looking at Jiang Kaile's unchanged body, Hu Chang roared in disbelief, "Why didn't he go berserk?!"

Jiang Kaile looked at him coldly.

Upon closer inspection, one would notice that the boy's beastly eyes were unfocused, and he hadn't heard Hu Chang's words at all.

[People are having sweet dreams, who do you think you are to disturb their peaceful sleep?]

A small tentacle darted out from Jiang Kaile's shadow, gently rubbing the boy's head twice with its pointed tip as a form of soothing, its tone full of disdain.

With its cognitive interference, Jiang Kaile wouldn't sense any malice, let alone any intention.

Seeing Hu Chang stumbling along, the little tentacle suddenly had a good idea. Like a mischievous little devil, it whispered seductively in Jiang Kaile's ear.

[Lele, did you hear that? This tutor is saying bad things about Bai Bai. He said Bai Bai doesn't deserve to be your teacher.]

Under the deliberate guidance of the little tentacles, Jiang Kaile, who was happily eating candy with Chan Sheng in her dream, suddenly heard a fierce argument.

It was Hu Chang and Xie Xubai arguing outside the door.

Hu Chang sneered, "You're just a piece of trash who doesn't know anything. Do you even deserve to be Jiang Kaile's teacher?"

Jiang Kaile: "..."

Hearing Jiang Kaile clench his fist so tightly it cracked, the little tentacle chuckled.

That's it, hey, I've always thought you were a genius.

As the shell of an evil god, it is naturally adept at all means of inducing desire.

The little tentacle then "looked" at Hu Chang not far away. At this moment, its tone was still childish, but it carried the chilling power of a siren bewitching people.

[Lele, go ahead, I'll protect you. Go ahead and smash him to pieces!]

Author's Note: