Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Seeing his sudden change in expression, Meng Yingying broke free, twisted her wrist, and looked at him: "What is Blood Jade?" Shang Mang looked up at her, and Meng Yingying pressed him again: "Why have you been getting close to me all this time?"

"Shang Mang, what is Blood Jade? Tell me." Meng Yingying moved closer to him, not wanting to miss any change in his expression, but saw that his already bloodless face had become even paler.

Shang Mang was forced onto the bed by her. He looked up at her, trying to avoid her gaze. The next second, she grabbed his chin and forced him to lift his face: "You're actually scared? What are you scared of?" Meng Yingying looked at the expression on his face and felt a strange sense of satisfaction. After all, she had never seen him scared before.

Even someone as shrewd and manipulative as him, with his fake smile, has something he's afraid of.

Before Shang Mang could figure it out himself, she bombarded him with questions. Annoyed, he stood up and forcefully slapped Meng Yingying's hand away, staring intently at her: "Want to know?"

Meng Yingying curled the corners of her lips and looked at him: "Yes, I want to know your weaknesses."

Upon hearing this, Shang Mang gave what Meng Yingying considered an irrelevant answer, and scoffed, "You're not worthy." Meng Yingying was about to speak when all that remained before her was a wisp of blood mist and the pungent smell.

Meng Yingying waved away the scent, sat on the bed, and touched the red mole with her fingertips. If Zhou Xiuqi were here, he would know what the Blood Jade really was.

——

"Blood Jade? What is Blood Jade?" Kong Fusheng brought over a stool and happened to hear this. He leaned over to listen, and Cong Rong noticed him and moved to the side.

Zhou Xiuqi said, "Ghosts are divided into white, green, blue, purple and red. Those that reach the red level can be called ghost kings, which are rare in the world."

“Ancient texts record that powerful ghosts can condense blood jade. Blood jade is the heart of the ghost king. With blood jade, one has other emotions. With blood jade, the ghost king has human emotions. Without it, the ghost king will be like an ordinary ghost, filled with resentment.” He said a series of words, picked up his teacup to drink, and suddenly noticed a layer of ash at the bottom of the cup. He immediately put the cup down.

Upon seeing this, Xiao Zheyu asked, "Is there something wrong with the tea?"

Zhou Xiuqi shook his head and pointed to the bottom of the cup: "There's ash at the bottom of the cup."

Xiao Zheyu raised his teacup, about to pour it out, when A Qiao walked in, snatched the teacup away, and said, "Gentlemen, you can't pour this out."

"This is life-saving tea." As she spoke, A-Qiao placed the tea in front of him again and winked at him with her right eye.

Zhou Xiuqi remained unmoved, his pale eyes unfocused, clearly lost in thought.

Xiao Zheyu asked, "Why can this tea save lives?"

Ah Qiao has always liked good-looking people, both men and women. When she asked, she smiled and replied, "In our Xinghua Village, ghosts often come out at night. The village chief said that as long as we put a little incense ash in the cup, those ghosts will treat us as one of their own and won't harm us."

“So it’s for survival. I know you’re not ordinary people. Our Xinghua Village is a bit simple.” A-Qiao crossed one leg, rotated her ankle, and whispered, “This year, we’ve had the most outsiders visiting Xinghua Village.”

Upon hearing this, Xiao Zheyu felt that Meng Yuan might have also arrived at this place, and there might be a glimmer of hope.

"Is there a girl shorter than me, very thin, with her hair tied in a bun, wearing a pink Taoist robe?" she asked.

After searching her memory for a while, A-Qiao rested her chin on her hand and replied, "My mother said that two Taoist priests came last night. They were a brother and sister who were seriously injured and are now at the village chief's house."

Upon hearing this, all four of them looked up and exchanged glances.

"Young lady, could you lead us to them?"

A-Qiao nodded: "Are they the same kind of people as you?"

Xiao Zheyu nodded, and A Qiao maintained her smile: "I see. My mother said that the two women from yesterday were also very beautiful."

She yawned and smiled, saying, "It's getting late, you should get some rest."

After she left, Zhou Xiuqi spoke up: "That teacup contains ashes."

Bang!

The teacup shattered on the floor, and Kong Fusheng jumped up, spitting out a few curses: "Bone, bone, ashes?!" Cong Rong yanked him off, glaring at him: "Are you afraid others won't hear you?"

Kong Fusheng covered his mouth and sat down, looking at Zhou Xiuqi with a bitter expression: "Senior brother, why didn't you say anything just now?"

Cong Rong also looked at Zhou Xiuqi, and saw that his gaze quickly swept over Xiao Zheyu before he naturally stared at Kong Fusheng and said, "Talking too much is tiring." Cong Rong stared at him with a cold smile, and Zhou Xiuqi returned a smile.

Cong Rong clenched her fist and punched Kong Fusheng. Kong Fusheng was about to say, "You're tired after just one sentence?" but he was caught off guard and started to bend over and cough.

Cong Rong smiled at him, and Kong Fusheng felt a chill run down his spine. She said, "I'm helping you cleanse your intestines. Did you just eat something unclean?"

Kong Fusheng straightened up and shifted his position: "I think you want to send me to heaven with one punch." Before she could hear him, he dashed off to the side to make his bed.

Xiao Zheyu ignored their interaction and focused his gaze on the window, watching the dark figure leave.

...

In the middle of the night, with no lights on in the room, a dark figure crawled in. Meng Yingying, who was on the bed, was breathing evenly and did not notice anything amiss. In the dim environment, water droplets pattered on the floor. The figure crawled step by step toward the bed, grabbed her blankets, and slipped inside.

Meng Yingying felt her legs were heavy, as if she were being dragged. She suddenly opened her eyes, and something in the quilt twitched. She pulled up the quilt and looked inside. The ghost slowly raised its head and opened its bloody mouth at her in a sinister way.

Meng Yingying felt her blood rush back to the surface, her face turning pale instantly. She pulled her legs back, jumped off the bed, and blood flowed from her legs onto the floor, arousing the ghost's desire. It greedily lay on the floor and stuck out its sticky tongue towards her.

Meng Yingying stretched out her hand, and calamity appeared in her palm. She trembled and said, "You, you, get out, get out." She breathed rapidly, her fingers were numb, and she could not even hold the hilt of the sword.

Suddenly, black energy seeped out from the Calamity. She stared at it, then abruptly pulled the sword back into her body. Her mind was unstable, and she couldn't use Calamity now.

The ghost crawled toward her using both its hands and feet.

Meng Yingying picked up the candlestick and stabbed it hard into his right eye. Trembling all over, she gritted her teeth and said, "I'll make you get out of here." She trembled as she stabbed the ghost again and again, and the ghost let out a shrill scream.

She smashed one bloody pit after another into the ghost. Meng Yingying's eyes were glazed over as she smashed without feeling anything. Her whole body felt as cold as if she had fallen into an ice cellar. The ghost's shrill scream turned into a cloud of black smoke and slipped into her nose. She was stimulated and bent over violently, coughing and gagging.

Her mind went blank. All she could hear in the room was her rapid, pale breathing. Her eyes were bloodshot. She was leaning on the floor, her fingers digging deeply into the floor, leaving bloody marks.

"Meng Yuan, you've made a complete mess of yourself."

"Do you want me to pity you?" Meng Yingying heard the familiar voice, raised her head, her eyes were red, but not a single tear fell. Shang Mang squatted down, his empty heart aching.

Shang Mang brushed her hair aside, closed his eyes, and Meng Yingying stared blankly as he approached her.

The red mole was burning hot, intensely hot.

A very light, accidental kiss landed on her upper lip.

She stared wide-eyed, only to see his long eyelashes tremble.

Shang Mang closed his eyes and moved closer without any purpose, until their bodies were pressed together. Meng Yingying's eyes widened, and the rim of the bowl began to burn. He pressed his forehead against hers and said, "I will hate you forever, until you fall in love with me."

Shang Mang gently patted her back, humming a children's rhyme in a melodious tone: "The dark sky hangs low—"

"Followed by countless bright stars—"

"The insects fly—the insects fly—who are you thinking of—" He sang softly, and Meng Yingying squeezed his arm tightly.

"Shang Mang, why do you know this song?" She asked in a panic, a tear rolling down her cheek. This was a song her grandmother often sang to her. Why did he know it?

Shang Mang wiped away her tears and said, "In my memory."

"How could this song be in your memory... in your memory?" Another thought flashed through her mind, and the splitting headache returned.

She gripped Shang Mang tightly, her eyes bloodshot: "Who exactly are you?"

"Who am I?" she asked hesitantly, as those fragments of memories flashed through her mind again.

"You are my enemy. I've come to you in this life to collect my debt and lock away your soul." He covered her eyes. Meng Yingying wasn't a crybaby, but he saw her cry both times.

Meng Yingying, in a fit of despair, huddled into his arms, shivering, and said, "It's so cold in your arms."

"Um."

"I want to go home."

“No.” He said in a hoarse voice, threateningly, “You haven’t paid off my debt yet.”

Meng Yingying snorted, "When have I ever owed you anything?" Shang Mang fell silent, but Meng Yingying didn't take his silence to heart. She pursed her lips, thinking to herself, "You kissed the wrong person."

"What?" Shang Mang asked.

Meng Yingying said, "Close your eyes, and that... fell here." She touched her lips with her index finger.

Shang Mang's eyes flashed fiercely at Shana, and he covered her mouth, saying, "Shut up."