“Copper coin?” Liang Ye felt almost dizzy from the strong sweet scent emanating from him. He couldn’t control his desire to move closer to the other person. Even though he had just been tortured to the brink of death by him, the other’s cold voice sounded like heavenly music to his ears. Even if the other person wanted his life now, he would also… No, why should he give up his life?
Liang Ye hazily realized that the other person must have used some technique on him. When the cold, stern face of Yue Jingming flashed through his mind, he suddenly became clear-headed for a moment.
If his master knew that he was being entangled by such a low-grade vengeful ghost in the wilderness, he would definitely punish him by making him kneel before incense until he was dizzy and confused, and afterward beat him half to death…
“Zhen… doesn’t have… copper coins.” Liang Ye struggled against that strange desire to be close to the other person. He knew he didn’t actually like this creature, but he couldn’t control himself. Before he could fully regain clarity, his face was pressed against the other’s bloody neck again. The pungent smell of blood filled the air, and the sinister coldness wrapped around him like countless vines, binding him tightly.
He couldn’t give the other what he wanted, and absolutely couldn’t promise him anything.
“Zhen…” He blinked slowly twice, his teeth chattering from the surrounding coldness, but he still pulled out a pair of smooth, lustrous white jade pendants from his sleeve, with green tassels swaying in the wind.
On one hand, that inexplicable strange obedience and fondness made him want to give himself completely to the other person. On the other hand, his struggling consciousness warned him that these were a pair of jade pendants left by his mother, meant for his future empress, and absolutely couldn’t be given to some ghost of unknown origin…
Wang Dian looked at the jade pendants the young man had taken out with a complex expression, and fiercely said, “Are you sick in the head?”
These were meant for his future empress, though he had died before he could marry one. This thought made him even more irritated, but he had no choice but to continue coaxing the young man. Taking a deep breath, he said, “Just give me a copper coin.”
Three coins formed a protective barrier, but with one missing, the protection of Liang Ye’s soul would be compromised, and he could completely devour this little brat and become the true Liang Ye.
“Copper coins are not worthy of you.” Liang Ye placed one of the jade pendants into his blue-white blackish palm, turning his head to stare obsessively at the begonia flower on his neck, his breathing slightly rapid. “Zhen just wants to lick it once.”
“You’re asking for death.” Wang Dian let out a vicious laugh and kicked the young man off the narrow rock wall.
The sensation of weightlessness and the whistling wind in his ears finally brought Liang Ye back to his senses. He didn’t even have time to feel fear before the returning headache hit him. He gritted his teeth and tried to summon his internal strength, reaching out to grab the protruding rocks, but the speed of his fall was too fast to catch hold of anything. Instead, his palms became a bloody mess.
Just as he was about to crash into the sharp rocks jutting out from below the cliff, an intense coldness suddenly rushed at him from all directions, slamming him hard against the rock wall. Liang Ye struggled in pain, immobile, and spat out another mouthful of foul blood.
Wang Dian’s blurry and bloody face appeared before his eyes. His blue-black fingertips wiped the blood from the corner of his lips, tasted it, and with narrowed eyes, let out a sigh of pleasure. He gripped Liang Ye’s fragile yet warm neck, leaned close and smiled, “I hate it most when people try to be clever, especially you.”
Liang Ye was pinned to the cliff wall, unable to move. The strange fondness from earlier had completely vanished. He coldly stared at the other’s precarious neck and the swaying begonia flower, then glimpsed the broken limbs that seemed forcibly pieced together under the tattered robe sleeves. His gaze turned contemptuous and malicious, “Zhen sees you’re nothing special. Were you drawn and quartered by five horses? Haha, what a miserable death—urgh!”
Before he could finish speaking, he was grabbed by the throat. Resentment and anger surged forth. Wang Dian’s blood-red eyeballs rotated stiffly and unnaturally twice, and disregarding everything else, he reached his hand toward Liang Ye’s chest.
His blue-white fingers were consumed and torn apart by the golden light of the copper coins, revealing broken white palm bones. The sharp bones pierced through the young man’s robes. Wang Dian, twisted with pain, still clutched one of the copper coins, his crimson eyes suddenly flashing with excitement. However, before he could tear off that coin, a sharp pain suddenly shot through the back of his neck.
Liang Ye had somehow bitten into the begonia flower on his neck that replaced that small section of bone. The huge petals filled his mouth, as if he were devouring flesh and blood, his face showing no less greed and excitement than the other.
“You little beast—” Wang Dian instantly flew into a rage, abruptly releasing the coin and striking the young man’s shoulder with his palm. There was a clear sound of bones breaking.
Liang Ye released his bite in pain, falling like a kite with cut strings into the cold pond below. Before he could struggle, someone directly pressed his head against the rocks at the bottom of the pond.
The bright red blood spread slowly yet quickly through the water.
Splash!
The thoroughly soaked young man was casually hung on a tree branch and began to cough up water with difficulty. After a long while, he finally gasped for breath and struggled to fall into the bushes.
The jade pendant that had been forcibly “given” away was thrown on the ground in disdain. Liang Ye reached out with his mangled hand and carefully placed the jade pendant back in his sleeve. Then a cool breeze blew by, and the familiar scent wafted into his ear, “I saved you, how will you repay me?”
Liang Ye knelt on the ground, face deathly pale, but upon hearing this, he let out a hoarse laugh, “Zhen… will find a Taoist priest to deal with you.”
Wang Dian sighed disappointedly and, still not satisfied, bit the young man’s body again, but could only bite air. Finally, he pressed affectionately against his back, “Why are you so disobedient? Being obedient would spare you some suffering.”
The familiar joy sprang from the depths of his heart. Liang Ye pinched his thigh vigilantly, but still couldn’t resist. Knowing that he had been entangled by something formidable, he tried to reach for something his master had given him in his sleeve, but a blue-white blackish hand seized his hand, forcibly separating his fingers. His palm was raised and pressed against cold lips.
“So careless, you’re all injured.” Wang Dian unhurriedly consumed the blood and a bit of flesh from his wound, which only aroused a deeper hunger. His other hand gripped the young man’s chin, forcing him to turn and watch how he was “treating” his wound. “Your own blood tastes better.”
Liang Ye’s scalp tingled, yet he couldn’t generate any feelings of resistance or disgust. His gaze stiffly swept over the begonia on the other’s neck, which was missing several petals. He swallowed his sweet and metallic saliva, “Have you tasted others’?”
“…Tsk.” Wang Dian grinned at him, “One copper coin for one question.”
“Then forget it.” Liang Ye lowered his eyes and flopped against him, resigned to his fate, feeling the “peace” and “joy” that didn’t truly belong to him—probably some ghost’s technique to bewitch people. But this was unfamiliar yet addictive to him. In his fifteen years of life, living day and night in fear and calculation, he had never encountered anyone who could make him feel emotions like safety.
Although this sense of security was illusory, it didn’t stop him from enjoying it momentarily.
Young and fearless, the youth was at the age when he didn’t know his limits. His licked palm had returned to normal, his headache had subsided while leaning against this ghost, and it seemed the other only wanted the copper coins and wouldn’t kill him. As long as he didn’t deliberately provoke him, his life shouldn’t be in danger… Liang Ye, both clever and bold, thought this way, and somehow drifted off to sleep.
“…………” Wang Dian looked at the sleeping Liang Ye in astonishment and confusion, unable to recall if he had been this foolish in his youth.
Liang Ye breathed evenly, curled up in his arms, still maintaining the interlocked fingers. Wang Dian angrily threw off his hand, gripped his nape, stared at his intact cervical vertebrae, and bit down, only to be repelled again.
Holding a living person and starving to the core, he madly bit Liang Ye all over, but each time was repelled by those three hateful copper coins.
But if he only wanted to lick the wounds, the three copper coins showed no reaction.
Wang Dian discontentedly flicked the young man’s warm head, contemplating how to make a couple of cuts on his neck.
When Liang Ye woke up, his neck was being forced to one side, with bone-chilling coldness and sharp pain shooting from his neck straight through his brain. He instinctively began to struggle.
Wang Dian slowly raised his head, his blood-colored features becoming somewhat clearer. He grinned at the terrified youth, “You slept so soundly.”
Liang Ye clutched the wound on his neck and retreated, hands and feet scrambling. The young emperor’s eyes blazed with rage, “How dare you!”
Wang Dian licked the blood at the corner of his lips with lingering satisfaction, advanced toward him, watching his pathetic retreat, and sneered, “Now you’re afraid? How were you so brave earlier when using me as a pillow?”
Liang Ye still wore a terrified expression, but a cold light flashed in his eyes. He suddenly drew the soft sword from his waist and slashed directly at the bizarre begonia flower on the back of the other’s neck.
However, the blade didn’t touch anything. The sound of cutting through air abruptly ceased, and Wang Dian reappeared behind him like a persistent ghost, laughing, “What a pity, you missed.”
Liang Ye’s expression hardened, and he turned for another strike, then took out a talisman paper that Yue Jingming had left him and slapped it toward the ghost. But the talisman reacted as if it had touched flames, instantly turning into beautiful flying ash.
Wang Dian crossed his arms and looked down at him, sneering, “You have quite a few tricks.”
Liang Ye panted heavily, gripping his sword. Each time he was about to strike the other, the target would turn to air, yet the next moment would become solid again, pressing tightly against his back, greedily and shamelessly licking the wound on his neck. This greatly angered the young emperor.
“You can’t defeat me,” Wang Dian whispered against his back with a light laugh. “Be good and listen, give me one copper coin, and I’ll let you go.”
Liang Ye’s eyes suddenly narrowed, and he thrust his soft sword violently toward his own abdomen. Wang Dian’s expression changed abruptly—his waist was indeed pierced by the soft sword, causing a sudden pain.
Liang Ye turned his head and bared his teeth in a smile, “Go to hell.”
Wang Dian’s expression suddenly darkened. Just as he was about to reach out and break the soft sword in his hand, a crisp female voice suddenly came from the distance. “Xiao Yutang! I think there’s someone ahead!”
