Time passed at an unhurried pace. The temperature in Linjiang City had dropped over the past few days, and the evenings were a little chilly.
Splash—
Hu Jiu sprang out of the bathtub, sending water droplets flying.
Standing naked before the bathroom mirror, he looked down at his lean muscles. With a little flex, their contours stood out clearly.
Ever since he had taken control of the Mirage Ghost, his body had been as though dead. Its growth and metabolism had slowed, and no amount of exercise had much effect.
He took a towel and dried himself. He had been back for a week. When he left Yuzhou City, the world outside had still been relatively peaceful. Headquarters had indeed noticed the anomaly in Yuzhou City long ago, but had never imagined the situation was so serious.
After Hu Jiu entered Yuzhou City, Yue Renchun discovered that he could neither control him nor interfere with his cognition. He could only use supernatural power to block the communication signals around him. Fortunately, Hu Jiu had stayed only a day before reaching a cooperative agreement with Yue Renchun.
Having dried himself, Hu Jiu set the towel aside and pondered as he dressed.
Framing Beifeng Commune and Rose Security Company required no particularly sophisticated maneuvering. Yue Renchun controlled Su Jinghang and, in the name of the person in charge of Yuzhou City, approached the two Civilian Organizations with requests for cooperation, offering them generous benefits on the surface. As long as they sent people to Yuzhou City to negotiate, the crucial part of the scheme would be complete!
Once they were on Yue Renchun's turf, he had plenty of ways to pin the blame on them. Hu Jiu's and Wang Xianhui's operation reports would provide further concrete evidence!
After fastening his shirt buttons one by one, Hu Jiu picked up another dry towel and gently rubbed his wet hair.
As a partner, he could hardly sit back and reap the rewards. Thinking he could get Yue Renchun to work his hardest for him with nothing but a few words was pure wishful thinking.
Yue Renchun needed a fierce ghost as a puzzle piece, and that ghost happened to be in Hu Jiu's hands. Besides... Hu Jiu might still need him for what he was going to do next!
According to the plan, an A-rank supernatural incident "broke out" in Yuzhou City. In seven days, from beginning to end, Yue Renchun transformed into a hero who had turned the tide and saved a city.
During that time, Hu Jiu also came across a clue to the Ghost Pen in a "reasonable" way.
While browsing the Ghost Tamer forum, he happened to catch sight of a post describing a supernatural incident that posed little danger but was utterly bizarre.
Bizarre rules, seemingly like a prank, had enveloped a county town. When Hu Jiu read that, a sudden, powerful sense of déjà vu came over him, and the Ghost Book grew restless as well. He realized that perhaps this was what he had been looking for.
There was no telling how much risk lay in that clearly directed intuition brought about by the supernatural.
Hu Jiu needed some cannon fodder to scout the way. Oh, no, that wasn't right. He needed a teammate to support and be supported by~
As night fell, he planned to go out for a late-night snack. But when he opened his front door, he saw a familiar figure standing not far away.
"Yue Renchun?" Hu Jiu looked over in confusion.
Yue Renchun was dressed in a smart formal suit, his head lowered as he fiddled with his phone. When he saw Hu Jiu come out, he smiled and said, "Surprised?"
"Surprised, but not pleasantly." Ignoring the other man's frivolity, Hu Jiu asked directly, "What happened?"
Yue Renchun put away his phone. His expression turned serious, with a trace of frustration. "I almost had a falling-out with Headquarters. I didn't expect them to take the Longevity Village incident so seriously. They practically wanted to arrest me and torture me for answers, but Headquarters doesn't dare act rashly now."
Those few sentences revealed nothing useful, but Hu Jiu could imagine that his recent life must have been quite eventful.
"By the way, Headquarters is about to settle accounts with Beifeng Commune. About that thing you promised me..." Yue Renchun's gaze burned.
"No problem. Come with me." Hu Jiu turned, opened the car door, and beckoned Yue Renchun inside.
Ten minutes later, the two drove up to a somewhat old residential building.
Yue Renchun recognized it at a glance. "This is Liu Mingguang's home."
The corner of Hu Jiu's mouth twitched. "You really do know him well."
Yue Renchun's face was full of sincerity. "Although we've never met, I've admired Brother Liu for a long time and have wanted to meet him for ages."
Heh, you're after the fierce ghost inside him, aren't you? Hu Jiu thought.
Back in Longevity Village, Hu Jiu had noticed that some of Yue Renchun's abilities resembled Liu Mingguang's. Sure enough, they were each other's puzzle pieces.
The two entered Liu Mingguang's home one after the other. Supernatural traces remained here, and the place had been sealed off the whole time.
Hu Jiu cautiously opened the wardrobe in the bedroom. Yue Renchun looked over and saw a man lying motionless inside, tightly bound with golden ropes and giving off a faint, eerie fragrance.
Yue Renchun's eyes lit up. This was what he wanted, one of Peach Blossom Sha's puzzle pieces!
Hu Jiu closed the wardrobe again. "Help me with one more thing, and Liu Mingguang is yours."
Yue Renchun nodded cheerfully. He could control only a limited number of Chang Ghosts to fill the empty Yuzhou City, and he had to promptly shift the blame for the remaining deaths. Hu Jiu's unexpected intrusion had forced him to improvise an extra act. But that minor matter was nowhere near the value of a fierce ghost, so it was perfectly normal for Hu Jiu to make a new demand.
However, the reason Yue Renchun was so happy was that he intended to break their agreement. If anyone was to blame, it was Hu Jiu for being careless and trusting a temporary partner like him too much, actually letting him see where Liu Mingguang was hidden!
Stealing Liu Mingguang outright and then pinning the blame on someone else was the right way to go about it.
Yue Renchun did not question in the slightest why Hu Jiu had brought him here so openly and without the least precaution to "inspect the goods" first. His natural advantage in looks, combined with the supernatural influence he had acquired later, had maxed out his charm. It worked on men and women, young and old alike, and people who came into contact with him often did irrational things. By comparison, Hu Jiu had been excessively calm, but hadn't he fallen for it now too?
After settling the terms, the two turned to leave. A drop of mud quietly fell from Yue Renchun's trouser leg to the floor and slowly wriggled toward the wardrobe.
"Headquarters will move against Beifeng Commune tomorrow. Are you going to take part in the operation?"
Hearing Yue Renchun's question, Hu Jiu said coldly, "You came to Linjiang City with such fanfare. Wasn't it precisely to drag me into it too?"
"I don't know why Headquarters attaches so much importance to the people who came out of Longevity Village alive. It makes me uneasy. I need you to help draw some of the fire." Yue Renchun made no attempt to conceal his intentions. He thought Hu Jiu faced much the same predicament, and that the two of them were grasshoppers tied to the same rope.
Hu Jiu chuckled. It remained to be seen who would be drawing fire for whom.