Using a Stratagem Against a Stratagem, Brushing Shoulders with Death

Duan Hongbin paused here. "However, I don't recommend doing that. In fact, a great opportunity is right before us. Don't you want to meet that Onmyoji?"

I instantly understood what he was scheming.

He wanted Xie Xiaotang to leave with the box. Once she got it, she would hand it over to the Onmyoji immediately. As long as we followed her, we could find the Onmyoji.

I was also tempted. This method was indeed good.

It's just that I had to convince Xu Qiuyan and Gu Song.

"You guys watch for now, I'll talk to Qiuyan."

Duan Hongbin winked at me. "Tell her that the only way to completely free Xie Xiaotang from the other party's soul control is to find the Onmyoji who cast the spell on her. Otherwise, any other method will only be a temporary fix, not a cure."

I pulled Xu Qiuyan aside and explained the situation to her.

Xu Qiuyan hesitated. She genuinely wanted to help Xie Xiaotang and Gu Song.

However, she also knew I was right. Only by capturing the Onmyoji could Xie Xiaotang be truly freed.

She said hatefully, "These detestable Onmyoji, they kill people and then steal their souls."

Anyone, even an idiot, could see what happened tonight. The moment Xie Xiaotang was harmed, her soul was already taken by the Onmyoji.

"Are you sure you can convince Gu Song?"

I nodded. "For Xie Xiaotang, I think he'll agree."

He loved Xie Xiaotang. Even if she could never have children with him for the rest of her life, he never disliked her. He even agreed to Xie Xiaotang's request to raise a ghost.

I walked up to Gu Song. "Do you want to help her?" I pointed at Xie Xiaotang.

Gu Song answered without hesitation, "Yes."

I nodded. "Then you must trust me. Do as I say in this matter."

"No problem," he replied, his voice firm.

"I will let her leave with the box, and then capture the Onmyoji controlling her. Only by solving the problem from the root can your wife's soul be set free."

Gu Song bit his lip, the red color turning pale from the pressure. He seemed to be struggling.

"Okay, I'll listen to you."

Finally, it was settled. I said to Duan Hongbin, "The next part is up to you."

"I might not be able to handle it alone. I need her help." He pointed at Sister Hong.

Just as he made the gesture, Sister Hong happened to turn her head to look at him. He quickly lowered his hand and forced a smile.

I walked over to Xu Qiuyan. "Duan Hongbin said he needs Sister Hong's help."

Xu Qiuyan asked Sister Hong with her eyes, and Sister Hong nodded.

I didn't expect her to agree so readily. It was likely because of Xu Qiuyan.

She had always been aloof, only showing a smile when facing Xu Qiuyan.

This meant she would do anything for Xu Qiuyan.

"You can let that little ghost possess the jade. This way, it will recover quickly and become even stronger than before," Sister Hong said to me. I really hadn't thought of this.

But I hesitated. This was no ordinary jade; it was the legendary and mysterious Twin Fish Jade Pendant. If the little ghost possessed it, would it be replicated infinitely? The Twin Fish Jade Pendant was extremely strange.

However, I decided to try.

At least this way, I would be helping Gu Song. He was also very concerned about this child.

Of course, I still needed to get his opinion on this matter.

The immediate priority was to let the current Xie Xiaotang leave with the box.

I took the box from Yin Wuyu. While no one was paying attention, I took out the jade pendant, then took the box to Xie Xiaotang. "Here."

She took the box and immediately turned to leave.

"Xiaotang!" Gu Song couldn't help but call out.

But Xie Xiaotang acted as if she couldn't hear him. She turned and headed towards the window, leaping out through the open one.

Sister Hong and Duan Hongbin also jumped down.

Gu Song looked dejected.

I said to Xu Qiuyan, "You guys stay here, I'll go and see."

Xu Qiuyan disagreed, saying she wanted to go too. She could still help in an emergency.

Reluctantly, I agreed.

Of course, we couldn't just leave Gu Song and Yin Wuyu at home. It wasn't safe, so we brought them along.

I was speechless. After all this commotion tonight, could we still make that flight early tomorrow morning?

Although Duan Hongbin and Sister Hong were nowhere to be seen, I wasn't worried. Whether it was Duan Hongbin, Eccentric Song, or Chu Ge, once they left me, I could sense their presence no matter how far away they were, and I could clearly perceive their location.

So I didn't drive too fast. I could feel that they were still moving rapidly.

Old Shu had said that the three of them were not split personalities of mine, but conscious entities created by my powerful psionic ability. But at least for me, they existed as real beings.

"Mr. Jiang, there's something I don't know if I should ask," Gu Song said.

"What is it?"

"Just now, in that room, was there anyone else besides us? Also, you told me to have Xiao Tang take the box and leave, but now we don't even know which direction Xiao Tang went. Yet you're calmly driving and following. Did the person I couldn't see in the room earlier chase after her?"

I was sure Gu Song understood now, otherwise, he wouldn't be thinking about these questions.

He was quite sharp, figuring out the crux of the matter immediately.

I nodded but didn't offer much explanation.

"Also, was the Twin Fish Jade Pendant really in that box before?"

Gu Song asked again.

"Yes."

Gu Song pursed his lips. "Could I see what it looks like?"

"Didn't we already give the box to Xie Xiaotang?" I retorted.

But Gu Song said, "That must have just been an empty box. You wouldn't have actually handed the jade pendant over to them."

When he calmed down, his mind worked quite well.

"Honestly, I do want to see what that thing looks like. Xiao Tang's death, my life falling apart... I think it might all be because of it. I regret it now. We shouldn't have agreed to go to Lop Nur with Zhuanghe. Maybe we'd still be living ordinary lives instead of this."

His eyes welled up as he spoke.

I sighed. "Don't overthink it. Let the past be the past. People always have to look forward."

I comforted him. He took a deep breath and nodded. "You're right, people have to look forward."

"Beep! Beep!" A loud honk, followed by a bright light ahead that almost blinded me. I knew the large truck approaching from the opposite direction must be it.

I had seen it earlier. It was driving fine in its lane, and not very fast, but now it was suddenly swerving towards us.

I yanked the steering wheel hard to the right and placed my foot on the brake, but I didn't slam on the brakes immediately. After a brief assessment, I floored the accelerator, turned the wheel, and we narrowly missed the truck, escaping disaster.

Gu Song was startled, but Xu Qiuyan asked me, "What happened?"

I shook my head. "I don't know. It was probably aimed at us."

A cold sweat broke out on my back. If we had made contact with that truck, the three of us might have died.

I didn't stop, nor did I think about finding trouble with the driver.

The driver himself was probably terrified and had no idea what was going on.

But I knew someone was behind this, someone who didn't want us to follow Xie Xiaotang.

The method was crude, but effective.

"So you can drive too?" Xu Qiuyan finally reacted.

I gave a wry smile. While it looked like I was driving, the one truly in control of the steering wheel was Chu Ge.

If it hadn't been for him just now, how could I have possibly reacted so quickly?

I had wanted to hit the brakes, but Chu Ge controlled me into flooring the accelerator and speeding past the truck.

"I understand."

Seeing my expression, Xu Qiuyan instantly guessed. The driver might not have been me.

Gu Song, however, didn't understand what we were talking about. His face was pale; the scene had clearly terrified him.

"They've stopped. Less than five kilometers from us." I knew the direction, but not the exact location, so I opened the navigation to pinpoint it.

"Five kilometers east from here should be..."

As I was checking the navigation, Gu Song said, "It's Shunhai. Five kilometers east should be Shunhai Forest Farm."

I wasn't very familiar with Lin City, except for the area around my university and some parts of the city center. I knew even less about the surrounding towns.

However, I had heard of Shunhai Forest Farm. It was the best-preserved forest farm in Lin City. Although not very large, its existence was why the provincial capital of Qianzhou was known as "Cool Lin City."