Seeing how badly Chu Qingjiu was coughing, Qi Wu stopped expecting an answer from him.
After all, they had only just met, and he had already said he wanted to pursue Chu Qingjiu. No normal person would accept that.
He stood up, comforting himself as he rubbed Chu Qingjiu's back to help him catch his breath.
But he really had fallen for Chu Qingjiu at first sight, because the moment he saw him, he felt something familiar about him.
Although he had no idea why Chu Qingjiu felt familiar to him, perhaps... this was fate?
"Cough, cough... Qi... Wu Qi, stay away from me."
Chu Qingjiu's voice was hoarse. Fine beads of cold sweat dotted his forehead, and he looked terribly weak, tears welling at the corners of his eyes as his body trembled faintly.
Qi Wu could see he was struggling to endure it. He patted his back and rolled up his sleeve to expose his smooth arm, saying softly, "Bite me if it hurts. Don't hold it in."
This time, the pain struck harder and more fiercely, catching Chu Qingjiu completely off guard. He did not even understand why this was happening so suddenly.
He had already recovered the first Puppet Thread. His body should have recovered somewhat. What had gone wrong?
"Mmph..."
Chu Qingjiu turned his head and bit down on Qi Wu's exposed arm. His brows knitted, his small face deathly pale, crystalline tears clinging to his lashes. He looked utterly Chu Chu pitiful.
His teeth sank deep into the arm, leaving it dark red. Qi Wu could clearly feel how much pain Chu Qingjiu was in, yet he merely frowned slightly without making a sound.
A sharp sting suddenly came from the place he had bitten. He's probably broken the skin and drawn blood, Qi Wu thought.
But he simply watched in silence. His other hand rose involuntarily to cup the side of Chu Qingjiu's face, catching a bead of sweat before it could roll down.
The pungent taste of blood reached Chu Qingjiu's throat, deepening his frown.
He swallowed instinctively, taking the blood carrying Qi Wu's taste into his body. To his surprise, it turned into a warm current that eased the pain tearing him apart from within.
How could this be?
How could Qi Wu's blood have this effect?
He released his bite and looked at the clear tooth marks on Qi Wu's arm, still welling with beads of blood. His purple eyes were thick with doubt.
He had a rough idea of why he had been in such terrible pain: the Red-Robed Vengeful Ghost had appeared on his back.
His body was already extremely weak. With the Fierce Ghost's dense yin energy clinging to him, a moment's carelessness had allowed it to enter his body and run rampant.
Blood capable of resisting yin energy was undoubtedly rich in yang energy. Since Qi Wu's blood could dispel the Fierce Ghost's yin energy, he most likely possessed an extreme yang body, the opposite of an extreme yin body.
Chu Qingjiu shifted his gaze away from the bite wound still beading with blood on Qi Wu's arm. Looking up at him, he asked evenly, "When were you born?"
"The Guiwei year, Bingyin month, Jiayin day-February 5, 2003." Qi Wu smiled innocently. "Do you need me to tell you my Eight Characters as well?"
Chu Qingjiu fell silent for a moment, seemingly a little helpless. "...You know why I'm asking."
If Qi Wu really was foolish enough to blurt out all Eight Characters of his birth to Chu Qingjiu, controlling him would be child's play.
He did not think Qi Wu was the sort to leave himself completely unguarded around others. If he really was, there would be no need for him to keep testing Chu Qingjiu.
He always felt that Qi Wu was testing whether his identity was genuine. Sometimes he even thought Qi Wu had recognized him as the Puppeteer, yet at other times, Qi Wu did not seem to remember him at all.
"If you want to know, I'll tell you, gege."
Qi Wu took out a tissue and wiped away the blood, but his eyes remained fixed on Chu Qingjiu. Sincerity was written all over his face, as though he was not remotely afraid of what might happen if his Eight Characters fell into Chu Qingjiu's hands.
Where did that confidence come from? Did he have a backup plan?
Qi Wu's unconcerned attitude only made Chu Qingjiu suspicious. He feared that Qi Wu might turn his own Eight Characters against him and use them to control him instead. Then the loss would outweigh the gain.
His expression chilled, and he said coldly, "I don't want to know."
There were still plenty of unanswered questions about Qi Wu. Knowing his birth date would suffice for now. Judging by that date, he had indeed been born in a yang year, yang month, and yang day, which was why his blood could eliminate the effects of yin energy.
It was a constitution ghosts loathed and people loved. Such abundant yang energy made him unlikely to attract ghosts. More precisely, any ghost that saw Qi Wu would have to give him a wide berth.
Chu Qingjiu, on the other hand, was physically weak and lacked yang energy. His Eight Characters also leaned toward yin, making him prone to attracting ghosts. Of the eight players, he was the one most likely to be targeted.
Fortunately, he was powerful enough himself that even if a ghost targeted him, it would not cause too much trouble.
"Everyone, please follow me to the banquet."
The head steward's call suddenly rang out from beyond the door. Chu Qingjiu sprang to his feet upon hearing it, but perhaps because he had risen too quickly and was still weak, he failed to keep his balance. Fortunately, Qi Wu reacted swiftly and steadied him.
Chu Qingjiu did not struggle. He accepted the assistance Qi Wu offered without a qualm, apparently working something out in his mind.
The banquet was held in the center of the Xu Family Mansion's main hall. Ten tables had been set out, already laden with dishes. Theirs was the first table; at every other table, the chopsticks stood upright in the bowls.
Chu Qingjiu frowned at the sight.
As everyone knew, chopsticks stuck upright in a bowl marked food intended for ghosts. Even the dishes and fruit on these tables, which looked delicious in every way, had something to do with offerings.
He remained silent, with no intention of warning the others.
The head steward handed them Red Threads one by one, smiling as he said, "These Red Threads are for blessings. Please tie them on. With the Ghost Festival approaching, they'll ward off evil."
After receiving his Red Thread, Chu Qingjiu examined it carefully for a while. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly, then quickly settled again. Acting as though nothing had happened, he put the Red Thread away instead of tying it around his wrist like the other players.
There were ten major taboos during the Ghost Festival, and they were currently facing two of them.
First, never tie a Red Thread around your wrist. Its bright color would attract ghosts, which would follow the Red Thread into your room.
Second, never eat offerings. Offerings were specifically prepared for ghosts during the Ghost Festival.
If they ate the food on this table intended for the ghosts, some ghosts would inevitably go without their offerings.
Naturally, the ghosts deprived of their offerings would follow the Red Threads straight to the players. So players would definitely die tonight.
"Gege, tie mine on for me."
Qi Wu handed his Red Thread to Chu Qingjiu, who took it and tied it around Qi Wu's wrist without the slightest hesitation.
The scarlet Red Thread looked all the more striking against Qi Wu's pale wrist, as vivid and eye-catching as red plum blossoms in the snow. Chu Qingjiu could not help giving it another look.
"Gege, shall I tie yours on too?"
Chu Qingjiu refused without any change in expression. "No need. I don't like that sort of thing."
"Oh," Qi Wu said, sounding a little disappointed, but he silently noted that Chu Qingjiu did not like wearing things on his wrists.
Chu Qingjiu quietly watched the other players tie the Red Threads around their wrists. Even after every player except him had done so, he showed no intention of warning them.
After all, he had once been an instance's final boss, an existence meant to kill players. Why should becoming a player mean he had to look out for them?
Besides, there was no telling how many chain reactions might result from rashly changing the instance's preset death conditions.
Chu Qingjiu disliked feeling out of control. He would rather watch the players die one by one with a clear understanding of what was happening than let a moment of compassion turn the subsequent plot into an unpredictable mystery.
The head steward glanced at the steadily darkening sky and said flatly, "Let the feast begin."
The musicians seated in a corner of the main hall began playing funeral music. White candles and white lanterns were lit, looking increasingly ominous in the darkness.
The players all knew that no one would die on the first day, and the food the instance prepared for them surely would not be poisoned. They all began eating.
The sounds of chewing were drowned out by the funeral music as they happily tucked into the various dishes.
Several of them even began discussing what might happen that night. Chu Qingjiu simply watched them eat the offerings and chat, his back straight and his posture impeccably proper.
Seeing that Chu Qingjiu had not touched his chopsticks, Qi Wu asked in confusion, "Gege, why aren't you eating?"
He was not particularly hungry himself, but he had still eaten some food to keep his energy up.
Without lifting his eyes, Chu Qingjiu said evenly, "I don't have much of an appetite. Don't mind me."
Then he turned his gaze toward the other empty tables and discovered that the once-white rice was gradually turning black. That was... a sign that ghosts had eaten it.
The hall was now full of ghosts. They simply could not see them.
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