This is clearly the ghost world!
How could the Heavenly Way follow here!
Lu Yingjiu’s horror and anger were indescribable. As usual, he forcibly suppressed his excessive emotions to let reason take the upper hand.
He immediately thought: he came to the ghost world in a human body, so the Heavenly Way no longer had rules to restrain him.
This theory is infallible. He is absolutely safe in the ghost world.
But Jing Xian is different.
He is a priest, and the rules that can restrain him are in the ghost world!
No wonder that eye didn’t look at him, but turned to Jing Xian.
The talismans in the pupils kept flowing.
Swoosh swoosh!
Sharp wind-breaking sound!
Thunder and lightning in the sky, the thick black pressed down the morning’s fish belly white.
Black chains struggled out of the clouds, rushing towards Jing Xian like mad snakes.
It’s unclear how many chains there were, they were twisted and intertwined, wrapping the sky tightly like a steel cage.
Lu Yingjiu had heard that during a priest’s tribulation, there would be thunder, lightning, and chains.
Thunder and lightning temper the body, and those who fail will be reduced to ashes.
And the chains…
After all, priests were also ghosts, with the madness, brutality, and ferocity of ghosts in their hearts. These chains not only bind their actions, but also would bring heart demons. If they lose their will at this point, they would become mindless lonely ghosts.
Priests all had to cross the tribulation in the ghost world, Lu Yingjiu just heard about it.
Today was the first time he had seen this spectacular scene.
And all this malice was directed at Jing Xian.
Jing Xian’s face did not change, and with a wave of his sleeve, the cold wind cut off hundreds of chains in front of him!
The metal burst open. And the thunder roared, turning into a pale white line and slashing down.
They didn’t fall on Jing Xian, they were pushed away by his invisible barrier around him, turning into tiny arcs of electricity.
Before the electric arc had dissipated, hundreds of chains stabbed down again, and then the thunder started again, rumbling until the earth trembled.
The bounced chains pierced the vermilion walls and green tiles, and rubble flew; the rolling thunder scorched the earth black.
In this horrifying scene, Lu Yingjiu saw through the interlaced chains that the edge of that eye had a bit of curvature.
…Like it was laughing contentedly.
It turned again and looked at Lu Yingjiu.
This gaze lasted only three or four seconds, but it felt as long as eternity.
In that metallic heterochromia, Lu Yingjiu understood its meaning–
It was saying that all this was caused by you.
The next second, all the ghosts howled together.
They surged from the ground, climbed up the misfired chains, and climbed up at a very fast speed. From a distance, each chain was densely wrapped with little ghosts, which could make people’s scalp numb.
Thunder and lightning passed down along the chains.
Countless little ghosts were electrocuted into charcoal, and when they fell, they turned into powder; and more little ghosts came one after another, constantly advancing, and finally climbed up to the side of that eye.
The eye turned and looked at them coldly.
–The bodies of the little ghosts grayed at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Like tender leaves wilting instantly, the vast sea drying up in an instant, they aged in half a second.
The dry ghost hand could no longer hold the chain.
A shriveled corpse fell from the sky, like a weird rain.
The eye smiled slightly again, as if it was proud.
However, the next moment, a black figure appeared next to it.
Jing Xian was expressionless, his nails sharp as blades. He stabbed fiercely with his fingers, and pierced into the eyeball!
Gray-black blood burst out.
His movements were fierce, aiming at the most vulnerable point of the eye, from flying up from the ground to stabbing, it was just a moment’s time. No one knew how he avoided the chains like a net of heaven and earth, and the thunder like a tide.
Suffering a heavy blow, the pupil of the eye shrank and trembled violently.
Several chains rushed over and firmly wrapped around his body, some even pierced through his bones. But Jing Xian was expressionless, his hand stirring in it, a sour sticky sound, as if looking for something.
–Finally, he touched something.
He was about to pull it out forcefully, but the dark clouds above his head sank, and the rolling thunder fell!
The thunder was fierce, and if it hit, one would surely turn to ashes.
Jing Xian clicked his tongue, but he did not like to fight anymore, and simply withdrew his hand.
He brushed past the rolling thunder, and the eye that was still bleeding profusely, spinning wildly, finally closed tightly.
It disappeared in embarrassment.
There was still thunder in the sky, and the hideous chains in the air slowly turned into flying ash.
Jing Xian came down with the cold wind, and there was winding black blood on the back of his hand.
As soon as he landed, he was hugged tightly by Lu Yingjiu.
Jing Xian was stunned, wanted to reach out and touch his hair, but then remembered the blood on his hand, and finally just hugged him vaguely, “I’m fine.”
Lu Yingjiu didn’t make a sound, stepped back half a step after a few seconds, and directly pasted a talisman on him.
The talisman was clear and cool, easing the pain of the wound.
Jing Xian didn’t care about this pain at all, and was about to continue to comfort Lu Yingjiu, when he heard Lu Yingjiu say in his ear, “…Jing Xian, let’s go back to the human world now.”
Jing Xian was taken aback and said, “It’s okay to stay a little longer. You saw just now, it can’t pose a threat to me. You don’t have to worry about me, this is my territory, if it dares…”
“Jing Xian.” Lu Yingjiu interrupted him, those shallow brown eyes looked at him, in them was worry, and gentle determination, “Let’s go back.”
Jing Xian: “……”
He sighed lightly, knowing that Lu Yingjiu would not be persuaded, and agreed.
He said, “It’s a pity, I can’t take you to see the flowers this time.”
Half an hour later.
The heat in the hot spring dissipated, and the flowers and trees were fragrant.
Jing Xian cleaned up the blood on his body and saw Lu Yingjiu pouring a pile of medicinal materials into the hot spring, and pasting talismans on the four corners of the shore.
The air was immediately filled with the scent of medicinal materials, which was a unique smell that was ancient and natural.
Jing Xian said, “Why do I feel like you’re going to cook me?”
“Stop talking nonsense, go soak.” Lu Yingjiu threw the basket of medicinal materials aside, and continued to throw expensive medicinal materials without sparing any expense.
The palace of the Ghost King had a lot of stock, and was rich and generous. He asked for everything he could use.
Jing Xian said, “You really don’t have to bother, it’s just a small injury, it will soon…”
Lu Yingjiu glanced at him, simply stripped off his clothes, and went into the hot spring.
Jing Xian’s eyes were immediately fixed on him.
Suddenly his mind was full of Lu Yingjiu’s waist, he didn’t say a word, and instantly got into the water, moving so fast that he left an afterimage.
The warm water surrounded the body.
The two sat side by side at the edge of the hot spring, and exchanged a few lingering kisses.
Hairball was swimming next to them.
Its fur was oily and smooth, and it was actually waterproof. A large ball floated lightly on the water–fortunately, otherwise it would definitely not be able to swim with its short legs.
Flowers fell from the trees into the water.
Lu Yingjiu reached out and gently stroked Jing Xian’s shoulder.
The chain had just pierced his right shoulder.
The injuries of the priests healed quickly. Just now the bones were exposed, but at the moment there was a layer of new flesh, lightly covering it.
Skin and flesh injuries were minor.
A faint blue-black color floated around the wound. They were like tiny blood vessels, spreading on the skin, making people uneasy.
The chain represented the heart demon of the ghost.
Looking closely at Jing Xian, there was a faint red light in his eyes, and the sharp nails did not disappear, which was obviously different from usual.
Lu Yingjiu didn’t dare to touch it directly, just lightly scratched the edge of the wound.
Over and over again, as if to erase those colors.
Until Jing Xian pulled his hand and said in a hoarse voice, “Don’t touch like this… something will happen if you continue.”
The wound didn’t hurt much.
It was just that tingling sensation that made him restless.
Lu Yingjiu made a sound of “um” but did not withdraw his hand. “If it were the usual, wouldn’t you have pounced on me? Where would you say such things?” He hooked the corner of his mouth, “Indeed, you are injured today.”
Jing Xian’s Adam’s apple rolled up and down. “Don’t tempt me. Now…” He paused for half a second, and there was still the red glow unique to ghosts in his eyes, and finally whispered, “I’m afraid I’ll hurt you.”
With such an injury, even if he hadn’t fallen into the heart demon, his emotions must have been affected – they were noisy and messy in his heart, and if he couldn’t control it, they would howl out. If stimulated again, he might do something rough.
Lu Yingjiu understood what he was worrying about.
But he didn’t withdraw his hand.
The heat of the hot spring seemed to burn a light pink color on his white cheeks and earlobes, and there was a bit more watery light in his eyes. He was originally handsome, with eyebrows like ink, and small, crystal-clear water droplets rolling in his shoulder sockets.
It could be described as a living color and fragrant fragrance.
He said, “You are very uncomfortable now. If… it could be relieved, it would be much better.”
This was almost a clear indication.
Jing Xian was stunned.
He laughed, and with the help of buoyancy, he hugged Lu Yingjiu into his arms. However, he did not take any further action, but just put his chin on Lu Yingjiu’s shoulder and said, “It’s not that serious, just let me hold you, it is enough.”
In the next ten minutes or so, he just held Lu Yingjiu.
He was usually an extreme love brain, but now he carefully retracted his impulse and was extremely restrained.
It seemed that a little tenderness was enough to calm the restlessness in his chest.
The two did not speak again.
In the rising heat, Lu Yingjiu stroked his black hair over and over again, as if to soothe – just like Jing Xian always did to him.
Between breaths, the black lines at the wound gradually disappeared.
When Jing Xian let go of his hand and looked up again, his eyes were deep black again, and there was no more hostility.
Everything was back to normal.
He kissed the corner of Lu Yingjiu’s lips.
After leaving the hot spring, although the wound was almost invisible, Lu Yingjiu still applied herbal paste and talisman paper to him.
The two changed into clean clothes.
After a simple preparation, they left the palace and still rode those two horses.
The horse raised its hoof and ran over the jade stone steps of the palace, ran over the bluestone slab road with dew, and ran towards the distance.
It’s much easier to get out of the ghost world than to get in.
Jing Xian took Lu Yingjiu to a plain and called a few masked priests.
They formed a circle, and it was unknown what weird gesture they did, and the cold wind rose.
A huge, pitch-black door appeared out of thin air and slowly opened.
Behind the door was also pitch black.
Jing Xian grabbed his hand and said, “Let’s go.”
The two horses were human-like, affectionately rubbing against them as a farewell.
Lu Yingjiu followed him into the darkness.
This darkness was terrifying if one entered it alone.
Lu Yingjiu couldn’t see anything, couldn’t hear footsteps or breathing. If he walked a little longer, he might not even be able to tell whether he was alive or dead.
Only Jing Xian’s slightly cold hand was real.
Leading him step by step forward.
After an unknown period of time, their feet were empty.
…White light.
Blinding white light.
Lu Yingjiu couldn’t open his eyes, and it took a long time to barely adapt to this brightness.
Warm sunlight sprinkled on his shoulders.
They were in a small alley, with people coming and going outside, bustling with activity.
Lu Yingjiu subconsciously touched his forehead, the ghost horns from when he was half-human and half-ghost had disappeared, and his clothes had become normal. At this moment he was a bit dazed, then realized: he really came back.
Ding ding! Ding ding!
Ding ding! Ding ding!
The phone kept ringing.
When Lu Yingjiu opened it, there were dozens of unread messages, dozens of missed calls, from different people.
There were many of his friends, Ye Feng, Ah Mei, Xiao Li, Chen Xiaoling, even Chu Banyang and Chen Zheng had called him.
Looking closely, the date was stuck on the 30th. That was to say, he disappeared for a whole week.
No wonder so many people were looking for him.
Text messages and calls were still bouncing out, and the prompt tone was endless.
No one disliked the feeling of being cared for.
Lu Yingjiu looked at the phone, moved.
The blinding and warm sunlight did not make him feel alive, but these missed calls made him truly feel it.
Being alive was not simply breathing and heartbeat.
But these indelible, unforgettable connections.
No wonder the Heavenly Way had to cut off a person’s connections in order to take them away.
With these things binding him, he was always connected to the world, hard to give up and separate.
This alley was in a small town next to Lujiang City. When Lu Yingjiu and Jing Xian took a car back to Lujiang, he replied to everyone one by one, telling them that everything was safe.
Ye Feng: [Damn, you two played wild enough, directly disappeared? I was so anxious that I had two bubbles in my mouth]
Ah Mei: [Wuwuwuwu——]
Xiao Li: [Brother Lu, this really scares people to death QAQ]
Chen Xiaoling: [I thought you were kidnapped and sold by the big demon…]
Chu Banyang: [Hmph]
Chen Zheng: [It’s okay, I have some new tea here, I’ll send you a can.]
There were various inquiries, but Lu Yingjiu couldn’t mention the Heavenly Way, and couldn’t explain them one by one, so he could only simply report that he’s safe.
That night, he and Jing Xian returned to Lu Ying Bar.
Xiao Li and Ah Mei warmly welcomed them, and the four of them found a nearby restaurant and had a big meal.
Ye Feng said, “So where did you two go? Chen Xiaoling, that girl, said you must have gone on a honeymoon.”
Lu Yingjiu thought carefully, “I don’t seem to be able to refute…”
“That’s too scary!” Ye Feng said, “Really lustful!”
Ah Mei’s mouth was almost raised to her ears, and she said, “Happy marriage, happy marriage, have a baby soon, have a baby soon.”
After they had enough food and drink, standing in the evening breeze, Ye Feng hugged Lu Yingjiu tightly.
Then he hammered Lu Yingjiu’s chest and said, “It’s okay, we’ve been worried about you these days.”
“Yes.” Lu Yingjiu nodded, “It’s my fault.”
Ye Feng sighed lightly and smiled, “You always have a lot of secrets, I’m waiting for the day you tell us.”
Lu Yingjiu was stunned, and then he also smiled, “Yes.”
Going home.
As soon as they entered the door, the cow cat walked up with its tail raised, rubbing against its long-lost owner.
Lu Yingjiu was busy and often didn’t come back. The feeder was stuffed full, so it didn’t starve.
He scratched the cat’s chin, and hairball was jumping around next to him, jealous, and eating cat food.
After petting the cat, he sat down cross-legged and sent a message to Chen Xiaoling. “In September 2017, a man named Zhang Haokong died on the Kangli Bridge. The cause of death was a car accident and fire. Can you find any information?”
Chen Xiaoling replied quickly. “I’ll try.”
The phone screen went out, he and Jing Xian took a bath, and finally lay comfortably on the bed.
A week had passed in the human world, but several months had passed in the ghost world.
Lying back home again, it felt like a lifetime.
They talked in the dark for a while, whispering in each other’s ears, and finally, Lu Yingjiu slowly fell asleep.
The moonlight outside the window was bright.
The street cat yawned lazily, curled up its tail and went to sleep. A bird silently swept over the telegraph pole, spreading its wings towards the sparse lights of the city, towards the distance.
****
It was a month later when Chen Xiaoling gave a definite message.
During this month, the eye did not appear again, and life was quite stable.
Lu Yingjiu was studying the formation every day, repeatedly sketching, dissecting the principles, and then analyzing the mind of the formation deployer bit by bit.
Most of the fog was lifted by him.
Only the last bit, he still had no clue.
At this time, Chen Xiaoling called him.
“Xiao Lu,” she said, “I found someone related to Zhang Haokong.”
“Hmm?” Lu Yingjiu raised his eyebrows.
“Zhang Haokong’s wife is Wang Yaya, who died three months after his death.” Chen Xiaoling said, “They have a daughter named Zhang Shuwan, who should be 33 years old this year and lives alone in Haiming District, Chunshan City. But…” she hesitated.
“What’s wrong?” Lu Yingjiu asked.
“Zhang Shuwan hasn’t been seen for almost half a year.” Chen Xiaoling said, “She seems to have disappeared. But she is a freelancer, has no friends, and no relatives, so no one went to the police station to report.”
“…Okay, I got it.” Lu Yingjiu nodded, “We will go to Chunshan City right away, you send me the specific address.”
An hour later, Jing Xian drove onto the highway, heading straight for the airport.
On the plane, the engine roared, and in the huge pushback, the plane threw itself into the clear sky.
Two and a half hours of flight time, neither long nor short.
Lu Yingjiu was eating the snacks fed by Jing Xian, took a nap, until the broadcast woke him up.
–The plane began to descend.
Opening the blind, the bright sunlight poured down. Chunshan City appeared on the distant horizon.
The plane traveled through the moist clouds, with dark mountains amidst the mists, green fields under the mountains, and old scarecrows standing in the fields. Dark yellow and brown roofs were scattered and surrounded by a pool of green water.
As usual, Jing Xian held his hand.
In the cold air, the ends of heaven and earth were slowly rising, they embraced the ground, and the sky above their heads was blue.
Lu Yingjiu looked out the window, and there was a strange feeling in his heart.
It’s like an old book finally turning to the end, a story finally coming to an end, a good show finally coming to a curtain call…
He knew that all of this was about to end.
