Goodbye Zhong Yi

The sky was gradually darkening.

The streetlights illuminated the road as if it were daytime.

The neon lights by the roadside were even more dazzling. On the overpass, a blind old man sat on a mat, with a cloth painted with the Bagua symbol laid out on the ground in front of him. On the cloth were placed turtle shells, a compass, fortune slips, and bells.

A banner stood beside the old blind man, with the four characters {Lingluo Immortal Calculation} written on it.

Unfortunately, with people coming and going on the roadside, few noticed the blind man's existence. He was already accustomed to this.

"Clink, clink..."

A young man walked over, casually tossed a few coins from his pocket into a nearby money jar, and was about to leave.

"Wait a moment!"

Although the old blind man couldn't see, he accurately reached out and grabbed the young man's arm.

"Young man, you've given me six copper coins, which is exactly enough for one divination. Let me divine for you before you go."

The young man was immediately curious. He turned around and waved his hand tentatively in front of the old blind man. After confirming he truly couldn't see, he said with doubt, "Alright, divine for me and see how my luck is today."

"Heh heh, alright. Young man, you have good luck today. You're fated for romance, with your vital essence leaking. You just came back after eating fried noodles."

The young man's face immediately turned red. He flusteredly tried to pull his hand away from the old blind man's grasp.

Unexpectedly, the old blind man just smiled and took out a packet of red goji berries from his bag, placing it in the young man's hand. "At your age, how can you indulge in such things? I see your vital energy is insufficient. Take this packet of red goji berries back and replenish yourself. Sunbathe more. Otherwise, be careful if you walk alone at night and encounter ghosts and spirits; you'll have terrible luck."

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

"Thank you for your patronage. The divination is a gift for you. The goji berries are thirty, charged at cost price."

Saying this, the old blind man casually took out his payment QR code from his pocket. The young man's mouth twitched again. He cursed inwardly for a while, then reluctantly took out his phone and scanned the payment code.

"Ding, 30 yuan has been received."

"Take care, little brother."

The old blind man grinned, put away his payment QR code, and began packing his things, preparing to move to another spot.

After packing his belongings, he reached out to collect the coins from the money jar. But the moment the six coins touched his hand, the old blind man inexplicably shivered. Following that, the coins slipped from his palm and fell back down.

"Jingle, jingle..." The six coins landed on the ground. The old blind man quickly groped for them with his hands, and his expression became strange. Trembling, he took off his glasses.

His eyelids twitched a few times. He forced his eyes open a crack. His cloudy white eyeballs looked around. On the overpass, below the overpass, and on the bustling streets, he could see one shadowy ghost after another darting about everywhere.

"Hiss!!"

Seeing this, the old blind man involuntarily gasped, "My heavens, a hundred ghosts walking at night?"

As the old blind man exclaimed, these spirits whispered to each other, rapidly exchanging information.

For a time, at the street corner, and down in the public restroom, spirits would quietly emerge and then quietly disappear.

Luo City, in the locker room of the Tiebo Gym.

Several coaches walked in, chatting and laughing as they changed clothes.

"Did you guys hear? Guo Lingfei is dead."

"Oh my, you really are out of touch. That was last week. The funeral has already been held."

"Oh, I just got back from leave. How did he die suddenly?"

"Who knows? Apparently, he couldn't take it anymore and jumped into a blender. Oh right, that kid deserved it. I heard he was seeing a rich woman, named... what was it... Sister Hong."

"Xue Hongling, right? A super VIP at our gym, a big client. It's a shame Guo Lingfei didn't have the life to enjoy her."

"Yeah, yeah, Xue Hongling. Her figure, hehe... she's just a bit older. I even have her number."

"Holy crap, share it with me, brother. If I can get with her, you won't be shortchanged."

The coaches chatted amongst themselves, completely unaware that in a corner of the gym, an old man was smiling as he listened to their conversation, then slowly disappeared into the wall...

In a small villa near the river, a woman smiled as she held up her glass of red wine, sitting at the dining table. She looked at the youthful face in front of her, becoming more captivated the more she looked.

As if sensing the blatant desire in the woman's eyes, the man shyly lowered his head, already calculating how he could get a large sum of money from her.

Just then, a fragrant scent wafted over. The woman picked up her wine glass and walked to the man's side, then sat down in his lap.

As their affection grew, an untimely phone call rang. She picked up the phone and frowned upon seeing the unfamiliar caller ID.

Seeing that the call wasn't hanging up, the woman took a deep breath. She placed one hand on the man's head, enjoying the sensation of his fingers tracing her body, while simultaneously answering the call.

"Who is it!"

On the other end of the phone, breathing could be heard, but no one spoke. Seeing this, the woman was about to hang up.

"Sister Huang? Or should I call you Sister Hong? Xue Hongling is your real name, isn't it?"

The woman froze. She glanced at the man in her arms. The man looked up at her. The woman simply smiled slightly and pulled the man's head into her embrace. "How did you find me?"

"It's very simple. Guo Lingfei was a fitness coach, and he loved the lattes from Ximo Coffee. There's only one gym nearby, so I could find him, and naturally, I could find you. After all, when you came to my shop last time, you should have noticed that finding people and lost items is also one of my means of livelihood, listed at my entrance."

Xiao Ran spoke casually, as if finding Xue Hongling's identity was as easy as drinking water.

"It seems you really want me. Want to come over to my place?"

The woman was a little surprised by Xiao Ran's ability, but her expression remained relaxed. The man in her arms, however, looked up in astonishment, only to be pushed back down by the woman the next second.

"I'll give you half an hour. Come to Cuiyun Park."

"What if I don't go?"

"If you don't come in half an hour, I'll report it to the police and tell them everything I know. It doesn't matter if the police don't believe me; they can think I'm crazy. But as soon as they investigate, how long do you think you can hide?"

After speaking, Xiao Ran hung up the phone.

"Doo doo doo..."

Listening to the sound of the phone hanging up, Xue Hongling's eyes flickered.

"Sister, should we continue, or wait for Big Brother?"

As he spoke, the man cautiously looked up and asked weakly, "If Big Brother comes... I've been having hemorrhoid issues lately."

"No need." Xue Hongling stroked the man's head, her fingers hooking under his chin. "Your Big Brother is at home. You'll go keep him company later."

"Ah?" The man froze. Before he could even understand what she meant, Xue Hongling suddenly twisted his hands left and right. With a sound of cracking bones, the man felt his vision suddenly spin 180 degrees.

The woman cupped the man's head in her hands, tilting her head as she examined his face. As if speaking to Xiao Ran, she said, "I only meant to warn you, but you insisted on seeking death."

With that, the woman threw the man to the ground, stood up, changed her clothes, and reached out, retrieving a black cloak from the Micheng Space and putting it on. At the same time, a black snake-shaped ring appeared on her finger.

After doing all this, Xue Hongling got up and headed for the door.

Meanwhile, in a pavilion in Cuiyun Park, Xiao Ran let out a long sigh after hanging up the phone.

He wasn't sure if his threat would actually affect Xue Hongling.

After all, with the ability to wield a Cursed Object, even the police wouldn't find it easy to catch her. And even if they did, what then? Could they find evidence?

But he felt that Xue Hongling must have a reason to be wary, otherwise she wouldn't have come to his shop specifically to warn him.

In the end, she was still afraid, afraid that he would expose her murderous deeds.

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

At this moment, a cool breeze swept through, making Xiao Ran feel as if his bones were chilled.

He looked up to see dense shadows all around him.

There were old and young, and even several young people dressed in modern clothing.

"Thank you. If it weren't for your help, I really wouldn't have been able to find out this woman's identity."

Xiao Ran stood up and said his thanks. He was truly grateful for their help this time; otherwise, it would have been a pipe dream to find out Xue Hongling's identity in such a short period.

Of course, a simple "thank you" wouldn't suffice.

Xiao Ran took out the gold foil ingots he had prepared earlier from the Micheng Space and piled them into a small mound in the pavilion, burning them on the spot.

The flames illuminated the area around the pavilion, casting many distorted and crooked shadowy figures.

"If a park ranger caught me, I'd get fined at least 5000," Xiao Ran thought, looking at the bonfire. But at this hour, the park rangers were usually asleep.

The fire spread quickly, but the temperature around them grew colder and colder.

Xiao Ran sneezed, feeling as if his whole body had been plunged into ice water. He didn't dare to linger and immediately ran out of the pavilion, hiding far away.

After hiding, he stretched his limbs and felt his body quickly warm up. It was thanks to his current strong physique; if it were in the past, attracting so many wandering spirits at once would have left him bedridden for days.

Only after the bonfire gradually burned out and turned into ashes drifting into the air did the wandering spirits surrounding the pavilion begin to disperse.

Xiao Ran stretched, pondering, "How should I make my entrance later? Or rather, how can I make it more imposing."

As he was thinking, a hand suddenly patted his shoulder.

The moment the palm touched Xiao Ran's shoulder, his muscles went from relaxed to tense, and his shoulder dipped slightly as if to shed the sudden weight. But this was merely the prelude to his counterattack. Immediately, his right foot slid back, his body rotated slightly, and his left hand shot out like lightning, accurately grabbing the opponent.

This instantaneous reaction was almost instinctual, a complete shift from relaxation to alertness in a split second, a reflex honed by Li Shang's lifelong martial arts training.

"Ah!!"

A scream startled Xiao Ran. He looked up and saw familiar purple short hair, still striking in the darkness. Realizing who it was, Xiao Ran immediately shifted his hand, which had been aimed at the throat, a few inches to the left, grabbing Zhong Yi's shoulder instead.

"Zhong Yi?"

Upon seeing who it was, Xiao Ran was surprised. What was she doing here?