Chapter 69 [VIP]
On the fourth floor, in a room flickering with red candlelight, Zhao Dayong was tossed to the ground like an ant. He was so frightened that he trembled all over and could barely sit up.
The flickering light fell on a pale face, giving it an eerie and deathly aura.
"Impossible...impossible!" he screamed in despair, "You're clearly already dead!"
The female ghost chuckled, her expression mocking. "Do I look like I'm not dead now?"
"Ah! Ah!!" Zhao Dayong kicked his legs backward, but because he was too weak to move an inch for a long time. "A ghost...a ghost! Help me! Someone save me!"
As the female ghost Li Jia approached step by step, it silently grew longer, and then with a flash of cold light, it swiftly and cleanly stabbed towards Zhao Dayong!
"Ah!! No!" Zhao Dayong curled up in a ball, wailing with tears streaming down his face. "Help! Help..."
The expected fatal blow did not fall on him. He closed his eyes, his throat hoarse from shouting, and then, realizing that he was alright, he trembled and opened his eyes.
The female ghost in front of him began to have her eyes stained with blood, and her face was covered with black lines, as if she was furious.
"You scum, how dare you ask for a peace charm!" She gathered her power in her hand and said through gritted teeth, "Then I'll tear you all to shreds!"
Zhao Dayong then remembered that after killing Chen Li, fearing discovery, he had gone to a temple to get a peace charm to carry with him. He had only wanted some psychological comfort, but unexpectedly, it worked!
"You can't hurt me... Get out of here, all of you get out of here!" He quickly pulled out a lucky charm from his pocket and stood between the ghost and the woman. "If it weren't for you meddling, you bitch, how could you have died?! You brought this on yourself! Blame your bad luck!"
Upon hearing these words, the female ghost's eyes turned completely blood red, and she lost all reason. The veins on her hands bulged as she poured her magic power into a fierce strike, the resulting shockwave causing the decorations in the room to fall to the ground.
The amulet snapped in mid-air, and Zhao Dayong was so shocked by the impact that he coughed up a mouthful of blood.
"No...no...how could this be..." The courage he had finally regained vanished instantly. Zhao Dayong's vision went black, and he collapsed to the ground in despair. "Help...help me..."
Just as the sharp nails were about to pierce Zhao Dayong's entire head, a surge of spiritual energy blocked their path, forcefully halting the female ghost's movements.
Jiang Zhuochen climbed in through the window, his hesitant expression on his face all too obvious. After a moment, he let out a soft sigh.
"Didn't you say you'd leave it to me?" He had sensed something was wrong as soon as he noticed Zhao Dayong heading towards the old town, but he was still a step too late.
The female ghost didn't move, but slowly turned her head towards Jiang Zhuochen, her bloodshot eyes staring at him without any emotion.
...
Jiang Zhuochen choked, looking at the half-dead man on the ground. Wait, is he that angry?
"Are you still able to communicate?"
"Die..." The female ghost's hair moved without wind, and her deep voice echoed in the room, carrying a chilling aura that rushed into the ears. The person on the ground immediately let out a painful howl.
"Die!"
The surrounding temperature plummeted to freezing, and in the next instant, Jiang Zhuochen vanished from his spot. His attack failed, and the female ghost appeared before Jiang Zhuochen, her long claws slashing down fiercely!
Suddenly, her tilted body was restrained, a thin thread was tightly looped around her neck, and it pulled her backward forcefully.
Jiang Zhuochen glanced at the two talismans he had thrown away as he dodged not far away. The talismans took root firmly in the ground like trees, sprouting strands of silver threads that bound the female ghost.
As he dodged the ghostly hand, the female ghost also broke free of her silver threads.
Then, the already irrational female ghost became even more enraged. She roared, and ghostly energy quickly filled the entire house as she began to attack indiscriminately.
Jiang Zhuochen was struggling to cope with the situation, dragging along a man with limited mobility. He curled his lip; why hadn't he arrived yet?
He had just finished berating someone when the resentful female ghost suddenly clutched her chest and screamed. He thought he could finally breathe a sigh of relief, but instead, the ghost plunged a claw into his heart!
A large amount of murky and malevolent resentment surged out, mixed with wisps of pale blue light.
Jiang Zhuochen was immediately captivated. He intended to take out the longevity lamp to collect the soul, but as he moved his hand, he remembered that he should give the lamp to Xu Xing as a precaution.
Just as he was hesitating whether to use the Soul-Locking Pouch, his soul automatically drifted out of the door the instant it completely left his body.
He vaguely heard footsteps downstairs, so they were going to find Xu Xing? He casually tossed the man outside like trash and blocked the doorway to buy time.
"Not a single one of them will escape!"
Jiang Zhuochen looked up, his fingers forming a hand seal to erect a barrier in front of him. The surging ghostly energy continuously dispersed in all directions. The next instant, a huge impact struck, and sharp claws pierced through the barrier.
Jiang Zhuochen was so shocked that he staggered backward. When he reached the top of the stairs, one of his feet was already dangling in the air. Suddenly, a pair of hands grabbed him tightly, and an even stronger gust of wind howled from behind him. In no time, the ghostly energy in the room was almost completely blown away.
The female ghost's anger intensified, and the ghostly energy released from her ripped-open chest multiplied, swirling into a terrifying vortex.
Jiang Zhuochen's gaze swept over Xu Xing beside him. The man's eyebrows were slightly lowered, and the dark color in his eyes was deep and heavy. Although nothing about him had changed, one could sense that something was different.
He even breathed softly; this was clearly more like the master he remembered.
Xu Xing drew out the Earth Core Fire from his Qiankun Bag. With a thought, wisps of fire transformed into a towering inferno inside the room, quickly burning away the ghostly energy in its path. The heat was so intense that even the female ghost wailed in agony.
He patted Jiang Zhuochen on the back, "Now's the time."
Jiang Zhuochen snapped out of his daze, quickly composed himself, and formed a hand seal, creating a magic circle on the ground where the female ghost had been.
The flames gathered, and together with the golden light of the formation, they began to surge.
"Ah!!" The female ghost clutched her head, her body contorted, as she was engulfed by flames. "Ah!!"
Before long, the evil spirits inside were burned to ashes, leaving not even a trace of the female ghost.
Jiang Zhuochen breathed a sigh of relief. The person next to him swayed slightly, his head drooping a little. He quickly reached out to support him, his face filled with anxiety.
"What's wrong?"
The longevity lamp above his head appeared, flickered once, and then the flame's core brightened. Xu Xing's shoulders slumped slightly, a wave of exhaustion washing over him, making him momentarily unsteady on his feet.
"It's nothing, I'm just a little tired."
Jiang Zhuochen hugged him, letting him lean against her to rest, muttering, "Who uses spiritual power so soon after their souls have merged? Besides, your soul isn't even complete yet. What if something happens? Just tell me how to deal with her..."
Xu Xing, with his eyes closed, weakly curled the corners of his mouth. "Time is of the essence. I can't just watch you get hurt."
Jiang Zhuochen smiled, hugged the person tightly, and rested his head on the other's shoulder, shaking it gently. "I'm fine."
Sensing the subtle pleasure in his words, Xu Xing raised his hand and placed it on the back of his neck.
"stupid."
Jiang Zhuochen frowned as he caught a glimpse of the almost motionless man by the door. "He probably won't live much longer. Should we take him to the police?"
“No need.” Xu Xing’s voice was low and slow. “The police should have finished their search by now. Someone must have noticed the fire earlier. We just need to wait for them to arrive.”
Jiang Zhuochen suddenly realized, "Then shouldn't we go?"
"Um."
"Can you still walk?" Jiang Zhuochen pulled him a little distance away, looked him up and down, and then a glint of light flashed in his eyes. He couldn't wait to say, "I can carry you on my back!"
This is a limited edition of a gentle and delicate master; once it's gone, it's gone forever!
"What are you thinking about?" Xu Xing couldn't help but chuckle. He tapped the other person's forehead, then turned and strode away steadily.
Why shouldn't that be? Jiang Zhuochen was half a step behind him, yet he acted as if nothing had happened. He was trying to show off his manliness.
Late at night, Jiang Zhuochen sat cross-legged on the bed, holding a longevity lamp. He closed one eye and peered into the lamp, trying to observe any changes in his master's soul.
Seven wisps of soul have been released. I wonder if they'll be able to speak when they come out next time?
He was engrossed in watching when a hand reached out, picked up the lamp, and casually tossed it behind him.
"Sigh...!" Jiang Zhuochen couldn't stop it in time, his hands hanging in mid-air, watching helplessly as the corner became the lamp's final resting place once again.
He complained, "Can't you be a little kinder to yourself?"
"What's so special about a broken lamp that you look at it every day?" Xu Xing said dismissively. "Let him rest comfortably inside the lamp."
"You..." Jiang Zhuochen's eyes darted around, a hint of something deeper in his dark gaze, as he slowly approached the other person. "Don't you like your former self?"
Seeing Xu Xing's expressionless face and silence, Jiang Zhuochen chuckled. He wrapped his arms around Xu Xing's neck, tilting his head to look down at him. "Why, Xu Xing? Is it because you feel ashamed of yourself now, thinking you were more capable in the past..."
Xu Xing bit his lower lip, pressed down with his large hand and locked him in his arms, silencing him until he could only groan and moan, before letting him go.
He pressed his forehead against Jiang Zhuochen's and whispered, "What nonsense are you talking about?"
He couldn't admit that he was driven by jealousy, and even that forgotten past made him uneasy. As for anything else, Xu Xing didn't care; as long as Jiang Zhuochen was his, that was enough.
This reason is even more absurd than admitting his weakness; the other party would probably laugh at him mercilessly after hearing it.
"I'm not lying." Jiang Zhuochen leaned against him to catch his breath, his fingers fidgeting with the hem of his clothes. "From the first moment you saw the soul, you had a sour face. You were hostile to it. What did it do to you?"
Xu Xing was both amused and exasperated. "Why are you getting hung up on this?"
"Don't always be mean to it." Jiang Zhuochen pouted. "I came here to collect souls, and that's my master too."
Xu Xing pressed his tongue against the roof of his mouth and clicked his tongue softly. He pinched Jiang Zhuochen's cheeks, forcing him to look up. "Looks like you prefer a projection that can't even speak?"
"Why are you bringing this up out of the blue?" Jiang Zhuochen grabbed his hand and blurted out without thinking, "Of course I like... um?"
He blinked, then suddenly had a flash of inspiration: "You're just jealous, aren't you?"
Xu Xing: "..."
He tackled the man to the ground, his arm around his neck, a wicked grin on his face. "I guessed right? I was wondering why you always seemed to have a problem with it. You're so naive, Xu Xing."
Xu Xing lifted the blanket and covered the two of them, suffocating Jiang Zhuochen.
"sleep."
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