Reunion with Zhong Yi

It was getting late.

The streetlights illuminated the road as brightly as daylight.

The neon signs along the roadside were even more dazzling. On the pedestrian overpass, an old blind man sat on a vest. In front of him lay a cloth printed with a bagua symbol, with a tortoise shell, compass, fortune slips, bells, and other items arranged on top.

A banner stood beside the old man, bearing the four large characters "Lingluo Immortal Calculation."

Unfortunately, with people constantly passing by, few paid any attention to the blind man. He had long since grown used to it.

"Jingle, jingle..."

A young man walked over and casually tossed a few coins from his pocket into the money jar before turning to leave.

"Wait!"

Though the old man couldn't see, he reached out with pinpoint accuracy and grabbed the young man's arm.

"Kid, you gave me six copper coins. That's just enough for a reading. Let me tell your fortune before you go."

The young man grew curious. He turned around and tentatively waved a hand in front of the old man's face. Only after confirming that he really couldn't see did he say, still doubtful, "All right, go ahead. Tell me how my luck is today."

"Heh, sure. You're in luck today, kid. Your fate is troubled by romantic entanglements, and your vital energy is leaking away. You've just come back from eating fried noodles."

The young man's face immediately turned red. Flustered, he tried to pull his hand free from the old man's grasp.

But the old man only smiled. He took a packet of red goji berries from his bag and placed it in the young man's hand. "You're so young. How can you lose yourself in such things? You look short on energy. Take this packet of red goji berries home and build yourself back up. Get plenty of sunlight, too. Otherwise, be careful when walking at night—you might run into a Ghost God and bring disaster on yourself."

The young man's mouth twitched a few times. He didn't dare argue and could only accept the goji berries.

"Thanks for your patronage. The reading's free, but the goji berries are thirty yuan. I'm only charging you what they cost."

As he spoke, the old man took a payment QR code from his pocket. The young man's mouth twitched again. He cursed under his breath, then reluctantly pulled out his phone and scanned the code.

"Ding, you've received 30 yuan."

"Take care, kid."

The old man grinned as he cheerfully put away the payment code, then began packing up to move somewhere else.

Once everything was packed, he reached into the money jar to collect the coins. But as soon as the six coins touched his hand, the old man suddenly shivered for no apparent reason. The coins slipped from his palm and fell back down.

"Clink, clink, clink..." The six coins hit the ground. The old man hurriedly felt around for them. His expression turned strange, and he shakily took off his glasses.

His eyelids quivered a few times. He struggled to open his eyes a sliver, his cloudy white eyeballs looking out at the overpass, the area beneath it, and the streets around him. Everywhere, ghostly shadows were darting through the air.

"Hiss!"

The old man sucked in a sharp breath despite himself. "Good heavens, is this a night parade of a hundred ghosts?"

As the old man stared in astonishment, the Yin Souls whispered among themselves, rapidly exchanging information.

Before long, Yin Souls were quietly appearing at street corners and even in public restrooms, only to silently hide again.

In Luoshi, inside the locker room of the Tiebo Gym.

Several trainers walked in, chatting and laughing as they changed.

"Have you heard? Guo Lingfei died."

"Good grief, you really don't pay attention to anything outside your own little world. That was last week. The funeral's already over."

"Oh, I just got back from leave. How did he die out of nowhere?"

"Who knows? I heard he couldn't take it anymore and jumped into a cement mixer. Oh, and he deserved it, too. Word is, he was seeing a rich woman. What was her name again... Sister Hong, right?"

"Xue Hongling, you mean? She's a super VIP at our gym, a big client. Too bad Guo Lingfei didn't have the good fortune to enjoy it."

"Right, Xue Hongling. That figure, heh... She's just a little older, though. I've still got her number."

"Holy crap, share it with me, bro. If I make it with her, I'll make it worth your while."

The trainers chatted among themselves, completely unaware that an old man in the corner of the gym was listening to them with a cheerful smile. Then his figure slowly faded into the wall...

In a small villa near the river, a woman smiled as she raised the glass of red wine in her hand. Seated at the dining table, she gazed at the youthful face of the man before her, growing more and more captivated the longer she looked.

The man seemed to notice the naked desire in her eyes. He bashfully lowered his head, though he was already calculating how to get her to give him a large sum of money.

Just then, the scent of perfume drifted over. The woman lifted her wineglass and walked over to him, then settled onto his lap.

Just as the mood between them was growing more intimate, an ill-timed phone rang. She picked it up and glanced at the unfamiliar number on the screen, frowning.

When the call showed no sign of ending, she took a deep breath. One hand rested on the man's head as she savored the pleasure of his fingertips roaming over her body, while the other answered the call.

"Who is this?"

She could hear breathing on the other end, but no one spoke. The woman was about to hang up.

"Is this Sister Huang?" a deep voice asked. "Or should I call you Sister Hong? Xue Hongling is your real name, isn't it?"

The woman froze and glanced at the man in her arms. He looked up at her, but she only smiled and pulled his head back against her chest. "How did you find out who I am?"

"It was simple. Guo Lingfei was a gym trainer, and he loved the lattes from a place called Ximo Café. There's only one gym nearby. If I could find him, I could find you, too. After all, when you came to my shop last time, you must have noticed that finding people and lost items was among the services listed at my entrance. It's how I make a living."

Xiao Ran spoke casually, as if discovering Xue Hongling's identity had been as easy as taking a drink of water.

"Sounds like you've been missing me. Why don't you come over to my place?"

Though the woman was somewhat surprised by Xiao Ran's ability, she remained relaxed. The man in her arms, on the other hand, looked up in confusion, only for her to press his head down again the next second.

"You have half an hour. Come to Cuiyun Park."

"And if I don't?"

"If you're not here in half an hour, I'll report you to the police and tell them everything I know. It doesn't matter if they don't believe me. They can think I'm crazy for all I care. But if they investigate, how long do you think you'll be able to hide?"

With that, Xiao Ran hung up.

"Beep, beep, beep..."

Listening to the call end, Xue Hongling's expression shifted, her eyes flickering with uncertainty.

"Sis, should we keep going, or wait for Big Brother to join us?"

The man cautiously raised his head and asked in a timid voice, "If Big Brother joins us... my hemorrhoids have been acting up lately."

"No need." Xue Hongling stroked the man's head and hooked a finger under his chin. "Your big brother's at home. You can go keep him company in a bit."

"Huh?" The man froze. Before he could figure out what she meant, Xue Hongling suddenly twisted his head sharply to one side. With a crack of breaking bones, his vision spun around 180 degrees.

The woman cradled the man's head in both hands and tilted her own as she inspected his face, as if speaking to Xiao Ran. "I only meant to warn you. I didn't expect you to go looking for death yourself."

With that, she dropped the man to the floor, stood up, and changed into another outfit. Reaching out, she pulled a black cloak from Micheng Space and put it on. A black snake-shaped ring also appeared on her finger.

Only after doing all this did Xue Hongling head for the door.

Meanwhile, in a pavilion at Cuiyun Park, Xiao Ran hung up and let out a long breath.

He wasn't sure whether his threat would have any effect on Xue Hongling.

With an ability like a Cursed Object at her disposal, even the police would have a hard time arresting her. And even if they caught her, so what? Could they find any evidence??

But he felt that Xue Hongling must have had something to fear. Otherwise, she wouldn't have gone out of her way to visit his shop just to warn him.

When all was said and done, she was afraid—afraid he would spread the word that she had killed someone.

As long as she had something to fear, she would definitely come.

A cool breeze blew all around him, chilling Xiao Ran to the bone.

He looked up. Shadows crowded around him.

Some were old, some young, and among them were even a few young people dressed in modern clothes.

"Thanks. If you hadn't helped me, I really wouldn't have been able to find out who that woman was."

Xiao Ran stood up and thanked them. They had been a huge help this time; without them, finding out who Xue Hongling was in such a short time would have been little more than a pipe dream.

Of course, a simple thank-you wasn't enough.

Xiao Ran took out the gold-foil ingots he had prepared earlier from Micheng Space and piled them into a small hill in the pavilion, then set the whole pile alight right there.

The flames illuminated the area around the pavilion, casting the twisted, crooked shadows of many ghosts.

"If the park ranger catches me, I'll probably get fined five thousand," Xiao Ran thought as he watched the bonfire. But at this hour, the park rangers were usually asleep.

The fire blazed fiercely, yet the temperature around him only grew colder.

Xiao Ran sneezed, feeling as if his entire body were immersed in icy water. Not daring to stay any longer, he immediately ran out of the pavilion and hid far away.

Once he was out of the cold, he moved his arms and legs. He soon felt warm again. His constitution was strong now; if this had happened in the past, after drawing the attention of so many wandering spirits, he would have been laid up in bed for days.

Only after the bonfire had slowly burned down to ashes and drifted into the air did the wandering spirits gathered around the pavilion disperse.

Xiao Ran stretched and wondered to himself, How should I make my entrance later? Or, rather, how do I make it look impressive?

As he was thinking, a hand suddenly landed on Xiao Ran's shoulder.

The instant the hand touched his shoulder, Xiao Ran's muscles tensed, his body shifting from relaxed to alert. His shoulder dipped slightly, as if to shed the sudden weight. But this was only the prelude to his counterattack. His right foot slid back, his body turned slightly, and his left hand shot out like lightning, grabbing his attacker with unerring precision.

His reaction took place in an instant, without conscious thought. His body had gone from relaxed to alert purely on instinct. It was a reflex Li Shang had developed through years of practicing boxing from childhood.

"Ah!!"

A scream startled Xiao Ran, too. He looked up and spotted the familiar short purple hair, which stood out even in the darkness. Recognizing her, he shifted the hand that had been reaching for her throat slightly to the left and grabbed Zhong Yi's shoulder instead.

"Zhong Yi?"

Once he recognized who it was, Xiao Ran was taken aback. What was she doing here??