Chapter 76 Yin Peach Blossom (6) Lu Jinzhao raised his head... his face full of grievances...
The bodyguards rushed in immediately to make sure they were safe.
Xia Wujin wasn't entirely unfamiliar with these matters; he had developed some metaphysical intuition. So, he let them take a look, then sent them out and told them to guard the door.
The people around him kept their heads down and remained silent. Bodyguards came and went, but he didn't move, blending into the darkness of the room.
Xia Wujin called out to Lu Jinzhao again with concern, unsure whether he was frightened by the ghost or possessed by it, and hesitated whether to go forward.
The glass door to the balcony was pushed open, and Xie Tan walked towards Lu Jinzhao, pinched Lu Jinzhao's chin and lifted it up, coldly calling out, "Lu Jinzhao."
Lu Jinzhao raised his head... his face full of grievance.
In the darkness, those eyes seemed to have a glimmer of light that could speak.
He lowered his head again, hugged Xie Tan's arm, and wouldn't let go, nor did he say anything.
Xie Tan leaned even lower and whispered, "Were you scared?"
Lu Jinzhao nudged a few times, looking aggrieved: "No..."
"Isn't that just being scared?" Xie Tan sighed, then heard Lu Jinzhao say even more quietly, "And... under the balcony."
Xie Tan was taken aback. What? There's more?
Just as the centipede with the human face called out to him, it seemed to be suddenly crushed by something, and the lights went out. Fortunately, its body was almost entirely rolled up inside the curtains, so its juices didn't spill onto him.
Before he could react, he heard Xia Wujin call Lu Jinzhao's name. His heart tightened, and he went inside to check.
besides……
Was the centipede still alive? Or was there more than one centipede egg?
Lu Jinzhao pressed his lips against Xie Tan's palm and said in a muffled voice, "I heard it mimicking me and calling your name. You weren't hurt, were you?"
You still have time to care about him.
Xie Tan looked at the young lady, who waved her hand to indicate that she was fine.
He then coldly turned to look at the balcony: "Get out here."
A short section of centipede body, as thick as a snake, was wrapped around the railing. A face peeked out from the gap, only revealing its forehead, before it dared not go any higher.
Suddenly, a pair of eyes shot up, as if squeezing onto their foreheads from their original positions, trembling as they looked at them.
Lu Jinzhao, who hadn't even looked, let out a soft whimper and hugged her even tighter.
Xie Tan's gaze at the centipede grew even colder, and he used his other hand to rub Lu Jinzhao's fluffy head: "Don't be afraid."
Lu Jinzhao's lips curled into a smile.
The centipede-faced creature's pupils trembled; it seemed even more frightened than the others, as if saying, "Who's afraid of whom?"
Her lips pressed upwards, nestled between her eyes on her forehead, as if she wanted to say something.
Lu Jinzhao turned his head slightly, revealing one eye, which was devoid of any luster, thicker than ink, and extremely cold.
Human-faced centipede: "!"
The centipede clung to the railing in terror, not daring to make a sound, and timidly shrank back.
Xie Tan: "?" Was his gaze really that intimidating?
Part of his attention had been on Lu Jinzhao, and when he felt him move, he looked down and saw the puppy's pitiful expression.
So he rubbed the dog's head again.
The butler entered at that moment and said there was a slight malfunction, but the power would be restored soon. To ensure everyone's safety, and since it was almost time, he asked Miss to go to the side house to prepare.
Lu Jinzhao then stopped being so stubborn, nudged Xie Tan again, and stood up on his own.
He still remembered his role: the young lady's bodyguard.
The butler looked at Xie Tan, who hadn't moved, and asked, "Young Master Xie?"
Xie Tan: "You guys go ahead." He still needed to chat with the centipede for a while to figure out what was going on.
But he still hesitated, uneasy about Lu Jinzhao: "You..."
Seeing that he was genuinely worried, Lu Jinzhao felt a surge of affection, but also didn't want to delay his business. So she lowered her head, smiled, and snuggled close to him, saying, "I'm much better now, don't worry, the bodyguards have set off!"
Xie Tan glanced at him and gently pushed him away: "Go quickly."
He nodded to Xia Wujin, and after everyone left, he returned to the balcony.
A rustling sound lingered beneath the railing, tentatively rising upwards to reveal a disheveled face, its features now back in place.
It didn't dare use Lu Jinzhao's face again, nor did it dare use Xie Tan's or Xia Wujin's face, which seemed to be very familiar with them. Instead, it used the face of one of the female bodyguards.
Xie Tan first saw the corpse of the centipede from before, hanging precariously under the railing, while this new one grew out of the centipede's abdomen.
Inside the burst belly of the insect corpse, countless pale yellow eggs wriggled, slowly molting into faceless heads that faced him, seemingly hesitating about what they would look like.
They clung to the railing, still wriggling, wanting to get closer to Xie Tan, yet hesitant.
"My master sends his greetings..." the centipede, which had already taken shape and had a face, said tremblingly.
Xie Tan crossed his arms and placed them on the railing, gazing at the distant mountain scenery: "Greetings?"
He thought he was going to kill him to cover it up.
"It didn't mean to scare you, it was just a joke, we all like it..."
The words were on the tip of his tongue, but the lingering fear stopped him immediately; the image of his kind dying instantly was still vivid in his mind.
If we're talking about fear, it's fearful; if we're talking about feeling wronged, it's even more wronged. It transformed into Xie Tan's appearance because he seemed to really like that person, but it never expected... that power was the sun!
Unfortunately, it wasn't Lu Jinzhao, so it didn't receive a single bit of Xie Tan's attention. Xie Tan only felt that the centipede with the human face was acting strangely.
Song Zhengxiang's act of placing the egg of this evil thing on him was definitely not well-intentioned; scaring him was the least of his worries.
Even if a ghost is influenced by pheromones and turns against its master after growing up, what does this "sending greetings on behalf of its master" mean?
And that spectacular self-destruction just now—could it be some kind of welcoming ceremony unique to ghosts and monsters?
How about dying once to liven things up?
Lu Jinzhao and Su He both noticed that centipede eggs had been placed on him. The others were also professionals hired at great expense, and the Mirror Cult members were suspected to be among them... Could it be that Young Master Song's harmful centipede was intercepted and used as a communication device for him?
Who were those four people?
The centipede with the human face was in a state of high tension. Seeing that Xie Tan was getting a little impatient, it dared not be aggrieved any longer and got to the point: "My master wants to make friends with you. This time, we may have to rely on you, young master, so we can look out for each other. Don't worry about that ignorant mortal. My master will keep an eye on him. I would also like to ask you, young master, what is the purpose of the wolf's visit this time?"
So they really are from the cult; does this mean they're tacitly acknowledging their cooperation?
It might be an experiment, and I also want to see his true attitude.
Keep an eye on Song Zhengxiang; he sounds like Master He.
Xie Tan: "Why do you think that is?"
"Is it for 'observation'? This time it's still related to dreams, and Miss Xia, who was affected, just returned from Observation Two."
Now that they know Bi's number is "two," the cult has certainly not been idle.
After being mortal enemies for so many years, the cult couldn't possibly be unaware of everything. Perhaps all they're missing is a key clue from within the family, which will allow them to piece together the accumulated intelligence.
As for why Su He came this time, Xie Tan had no idea, so he skillfully asked the riddle, "You send your greetings on behalf of your master, but who is your master sending his greetings to me on behalf of?"
If Xi Rui was testing him, he would have come himself. He guessed that this was someone sent by the vice leader, since Xi Rui was the vice leader's confidant and would definitely report to his direct superior.
He smiled and said, "I'm also curious, what is your religion's purpose?"
The faceless centipede didn't move, looking up at him. The centipede with a face rolled its eyes and whispered, "Master suspects that the male ghost in the dream might be one of the observations. The goat is crying 'stop thief!' but actually it's here to test the results, or it might just be a decoy to mislead us. The wolf came to the Xia family with another purpose, perhaps to find something. It's rumored that the black goat helped the Xia family rise to power back then. When they were still strong, they didn't hesitate to share even a little bit of sunshine. But now they're struggling to breathe, so maybe... they want to take it back."
"The Black Goat is finished, so it's up to you guys. Do you need my help?"
“I’m currently attending a Dharma assembly in the sect and can’t spare the time. Besides, pride always leads to defeat. Isn’t the Goat a prime example? How could Mirror follow in his footsteps? Of course, I know there are always people more capable than us, and there’s always something beyond our understanding. Even if a whale falls, it’s not easy for a school of fish to devour it. They need a real giant wave to help them. You see…”
After a moment of silence on the balcony, Xie Tan said ambiguously, "I'll consider it... The wine is very good."
He realized that Song Zhengxiang was subtly excluding him, while maintaining a moderate distance from everyone else. Later, because Su He became more enthusiastic, and because of Xie Tan's personality, they couldn't get too close.
Throughout the entire event, the only person he actually interacted with was Master Yun Song, who poured them wine under the guise of joking during dinner. Because of the master's generous gesture, he even spilled a couple of drops.
It must have been around that time that the centipede eggs were induced to hatch using spiked alcohol.
The centipede-faced creature paused, its features lifting to form a smile reminiscent of Master Yun Song's, exuding both ethereal grace and hearty cheerfulness. Yet, on this monstrous face, it appeared undeniably human.
Xie Tan turned and left. Because of what had happened before, although the centipede with the human face really wanted to entangle itself, it didn't dare to take any action. It just circled around the railing like it was quenching its thirst, its hundred legs tapping the metal back and forth.
It whistled strangely and said, "That will call me, and I'll come back if anything happens."
Xie Tan didn't answer, but as he reached the door, he turned back slightly and said, "Next time... don't use his face again."
The centipede with a human face, which had already coiled up under the railing, gave a violent jerk.
That glance... it's just like the sun just now.
Xia Changfeng paced back and forth outside his father's room. Finally, he saw Su He come out and hurriedly lowered his voice to ask, "Sir, how is it? Is my father also being haunted by a ghost...?"
Su He: "No, that's not it."
The nanny guarding them quietly closed the door. As they walked downstairs, Xia Changfeng asked again, "What's that?"
Su He said lazily, "Are you sure you want me to say it?"
He doesn't know how to speak nicely; he doesn't know how to say the kind of polite things people like to hear.
Xia Changfeng had obviously anticipated Mr. Wolf's untamed nature and feared that he might say something like, "He's just in poor health and doesn't have much time left. Get your coffin ready." So he stopped asking questions.
Su He thought to herself, "That's not a nice thing to say... That kid even looks a bit like me."
So he said in a good mood, "Just stay in this position and don't let your well-meaning relatives take your place."
He said casually, as if he were just giving his employer a perfunctory answer, "I have high hopes for you. You're better than your uncle."
Xia Changfeng nodded in agreement, then asked with concern, "Sir, could you perhaps offer a few more words of advice regarding my sister? She's still of school age, and I'm truly worried..."
Su He laughed: "Didn't that little guy already tell you?"
Xia Changfeng didn't react for a moment, but judging from Su He's attitude, he knew who she was talking about: "As expected, Mr. Xie didn't just mention that movie casually. Could it be that the ghost that cut open the male actor's stomach has haunted Jinjin?"
"No, that's obviously a kid looking for a scapegoat," Su He said. "That live stream caused quite a stir, I've heard about it. You should investigate it thoroughly, it does seem a bit sinister."
He said with ill intent, "Maybe there'll be an unexpected surprise?"
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