Chapter 8
Jiang Zhuochen stepped into the passenger seat and pressed the other person's hand, which had already left the steering wheel, back down. "If you're scared, just lower your head. I don't want to die so soon."
There were two ordinary people in the car. Jiang Zhuochen couldn't openly use his spiritual power, so he took out a talisman and stuck it on the glass. The black mist instantly cleared up as if it had been burned, and then slowly disappeared.
Li Hui slammed on the brakes at the red light, his legs trembling. He was unable to speak, his throat bobbing up and down, and his face turned pale.
He met the scrutinizing gazes of those in the back row and dared not reveal his recent situation, so he could only evade the question. "I'm sorry, Mr. Xu, as you know, I've had a lot of family matters to deal with lately. Fortunately, Xiao Jiang was able to help me, so I asked him to stay."
Xu Xing asked, "What was that just now?"
Jiang Zhuochen was startled. Wasn't the world supposed to be populated by ordinary people? Unless demons or monsters wanted to, no one could actively see them. Xu Xing and Li Hui had no connection, so how could Xu Xing see strange objects?
He tentatively asked, "Is there anything wrong?"
"Nothing, was there a power outage in the car?"
Jiang Zhuochen didn't understand the lame joke about the gas car losing power; he only felt that the other person's forced smile was a sign of impending trouble.
So he repeated what he had said not long ago, "I told you, I'm here to exorcise ghosts, now you should believe me."
Xu Xing leaned back slightly in his chair, his expression relaxing a bit. Compared to the two of them being together in a murky way, a relationship bound by mutual interests was far more genuine.
The car drove into the villa area, and after parking at the entrance, Li Hui got out and went to Xu Xing's side. "Mr. Xu, would you like to come in and have a seat?"
He had only exchanged a few polite words and had no intention of inviting Xu Xing, nor did he expect the other party to agree.
But the other person got out of the car. Li Hui was completely stunned, walking mechanically ahead, praying that nothing strange would happen at home today.
But fate had other plans. As soon as the villa gate opened, a ghostly aura rushed in, and Li Hui was knocked unconscious.
Jiang Zhuochen stepped back, accidentally stepping on someone else's foot. Only then did he realize that Xu Xing was standing perfectly fine. "Why didn't you faint?"
Xu Xing was even more confused. "How should I know?"
Jiang Zhuochen flicked out two fire talismans, and after the surrounding ghostly energy burned away, even more black energy surged in from the outside. He infused the talismans with spiritual power and quickly flicked them out when Xu Xing wasn't paying attention.
Two soft thuds followed by the sound of something hitting the ground. He listened intently and stepped forward, his swinging arm bumping into the person next to him, who immediately pulled him back.
Jiang Zhuochen turned around and found that Xu Xing's face looked terrible. His profile in the darkness made him momentarily stunned. He held Xu Xing tightly and asked anxiously, "How are you?"
Seizing an opening, the female ghost attacked Jiang Zhuochen. The sudden air movement brought Jiang Zhuochen back to his senses. He used his spiritual power to set up a barrier to block the female ghost's attack and led Xu Xing out of the villa.
After reaching a safe place, Jiang Zhuochen put Xu Xing down, assuming that the other party was unwell due to excessive exposure to ghost energy. He took out a pill and put it in Xu Xing's mouth, and when the other party improved, the inexplicable anxiety in his heart also subsided.
Xu Xing's heart, which felt like it was about to leap out of his chest, gradually calmed down. He opened his eyes and immediately heard a sound.
How are you?
"It's nothing." Xu Xing rubbed his temples. The feeling just now was too strange, as if he was being drawn in. His heartbeat was so loud that he had no time to pay attention to his surroundings.
"You should stay away from these things in the future," Jiang Zhuochen said. "Humans and ghosts are different, and they will be corrupted."
"Hmm." Xu Xing looked exhausted.
"Can you still drive?" Jiang Zhuochen asked. "Or should I have someone take you home?"
"Um."
After the others arrived and took Xu Xing home, Jiang Zhuochen returned to the hotel and remembered that Li Hui was still lying on the ground.
He felt ashamed for a second, but then, thinking that the female ghost was also injured and couldn't do anything to Li Hui for the time being, he felt at ease and went back to bed.
More than Li Hui's personal issues, Jiang Zhuochen was concerned about Xu Xing. Why could this person see ghosts and yet be largely unaffected by their presence?
He fell asleep with these two questions on his mind, and the next day when he went out, Li Hui grabbed him again, crying and sniffling.
"Master, I woke up in the bedroom again today! I asked the housekeeper, and he said he didn't bring me in there, so it must have been that female ghost!"
Jiang Zhuochen sighed deeply. How could this person be so terrified one day and yet so energetic and howling like a ghost the next?
"If you're really scared, why don't you move to another place for now?"
"Should we move to another place?"
“Yes, the female ghost has built a nest in your bedroom. It’s like her home now, and she can do whatever she wants,” Jiang Zhuochen explained. “If you really can’t stand it, move out and go back after this is resolved.”
"Okay!" Li Hui immediately took out his phone and gave the order, "I'll have someone move it right now."
After sending Li Hui away, Jiang Zhuochen arrived at Xu Xing's residence, only to be stopped by security.
He walked back dejectedly. Why did he always have to contact the other person in advance to get through? Were there so many powerful and wealthy people in this world? Because of that overly similar face, he kept wanting to ask about the other person's health.
Because of what happened last night, Xu Xing woke up a little late, and his half-droopy eyebrows made him look listless. He slowly drove out of the garage with one hand on the steering wheel.
This villa area is not located in the city center, and most people travel by car, so it's rare to see anyone walking on the road. Therefore, as soon as the car drove onto the main road, I noticed the figure ahead, and it became increasingly familiar.
He stopped next to Jiang Zhuochen, whose initial confusion turned to surprise, and who leaned down to grab onto his car window.
"You're here."
The cheerful tune was carried by the wind to Xu Xing's ears, passing through his chest and becoming a warm current that calmed his fatigue. He also caught a slight, almost imperceptible smile from the other person.
He hummed in agreement.
*
The spoon stirred the contents of the porcelain bowl, making a soft, savory sound. The sweet aroma of the syrup filled the air around them. Jiang Zhuochen took a satisfied sip before remembering their business.
"How are you?"
Xu Xing replied, "It's nothing."
“You weren’t affected at first last night,” Jiang Zhuochen said, still worried. “What happened later?”
"I don't know," Xu Xing answered truthfully, "I just suddenly felt unwell."
Jiang Zhuochen wanted to ask more, but the puppet eye placed on Li Hui transmitted an image showing the man sneaking off to the basement, looking back every few steps.
The room was dark, as if it were a place where no one could be seen. He could only make out a vague outline to determine that there was a person inside, lying motionless on the bed.
Li Hui had his men wrap the other person up and carry them out. The moment the door opened, a strong ghostly aura rushed in. The two people in front were knocked against the wall, coughed up blood, and fainted. The person wrapped up was gently placed on the ground by the ghostly aura.
Li Hui was so frightened that he sat down on the ground, kicking his legs backward. He raised his hand to take off the tag around his neck and shouted for the female ghost to leave.
Jiang Zhuochen suddenly stood up and, amidst his busy schedule, glanced towards the kitchen, silently lamenting for a second that the small cakes hadn't arrived yet.
"It's alright, I have to go now."
He was sitting there perfectly fine just a moment ago, and now he's leaving. Xu Xing roughly guessed why. "Did something happen to Li Hui?"
"Hmm." Although Li Hui was probably not a good person, it was still a human life, and he couldn't just sit idly by. Besides, his Taoist temple hadn't been inspected yet. "If I don't go soon, I'm afraid I'll have to collect his body later."
"I send you."
The two hurried towards Li Hui's house, the closer they got, the darker it became. Jiang Zhuochen's face darkened; something was wrong. He had clearly injured the female ghost, so how could she still possess such powerful magic?
He grabbed Xu Xing's arm, trying to get him to stop the car and not go any further. But as soon as he turned his head, he noticed that Xu Xing's face had turned pale. Without thinking too much, he used his spiritual power to stop the car, put his arm around Xu Xing's shoulder, and half-lifted him out of the car.
"Is there something you need?"
The ghostly aura was overwhelming, so it's normal that Xu Xing, a mere mortal, couldn't withstand it.
But Xu Xing wasn't feeling unwell because of the ghostly aura; just like last night, his heart was pounding, and he instinctively wanted to go inside. With what little rationality he had left, he forced himself to calm down.
The ghostly aura locked onto their target and swept towards the two of them like a whirlwind. Jiang Zhuochen had no choice but to pull Xu Xing back to avoid it, and before they knew it, they had arrived near Li Hui's villa.
Just as the two had escaped a wave of ghostly energy, the ghostly energy near the villa sensed their approach and intensified its attack.
The remaining talismans in Jiang Zhuochen's hand could not withstand this attack, and Xu Xing was powerless to fight back. In the critical moment, just as he was about to turn around to protect Xu Xing, the ghostly energy that was coming towards them suddenly weakened.
Without a second thought, he tossed out a talisman and burned a path. He couldn't leave Xu Xing alone in this situation; he could only protect him and quickly head inside to find Li Hui.
Strangely, when he and Xu Xing arrived at the basement, it was the female ghost who was clearly more seriously injured, while Li Hui was unharmed except for being scared out of his wits.
Why? Her injuries last night weren't fatal, and the tag he gave Li Hui had no offensive capabilities. How could he have seriously injured her just by releasing a large amount of ghostly energy?
Despite a host of problems, at least with his mediocre cultivation level, he doesn't need to worry too much about being unable to win.
The female ghost clutched her chest, her face contorted in a grotesque grimace. "Even if I'm reduced to ashes, I'll drag you down with me!"
Li Hui cried out hoarsely, "No, don't come any closer! Master, save me!"
The female ghost turned around, her dark red eyes turning crimson. "Why? Why did you stop me! People like him deserve a terrible death!"
Jiang Zhuochen said helplessly, "You've already brought disaster to the human world, I can't just stand by and watch you die."
"That's all because of him!" The female ghost pointed angrily at Li Hui in the corner. "You're so eager to help him, why don't you ask him what he's done!"
"I asked, but he wouldn't tell me what I could do."
"Are you unwilling to speak or afraid to speak?" The female ghost, bleeding from all seven orifices, walked towards Li Hui, forcing him to shrink back again and again, until she reached the person wrapped in cloth.
She trembled all over, her mouth agape, a sob deep in her throat like a dying cry. "Do you dare lift the cloth?"
Seeing that Li Hui remained unmoved and was frantically shaking his head as if possessed, the female ghost waved her hand, and the white cloth was blown away by the ghostly energy.
At close range, it was clear to the naked eye that Jiang Zhuochen was so stunned that he couldn't speak. His fingers unconsciously climbed up Xu Xing's arm, which he was holding.
That was a person.
A fragmented person whose fate is unknown, yet who bears a striking resemblance to Li Hui.
A note from the author:
This hug is not the same as that hug; it's been changed.
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