The atmosphere had become inexplicably intimate.
Qi Wu sat off to one side and poured himself a cup of water from the teapot. His tongue pressed against the slightly sore inside of his mouth as he moistened his throat.
Chu Qingjiu remained as aloof and composed as ever, his expression languid and weary, almost unapproachable.
Several tissues had been bundled together at the foot of the bed. Qi Wu glanced at them casually, and the corners of his lips lifted slightly.
Before he could enjoy himself for long, a terrible scream came from next door. He raised his hand, glanced at the Red Thread around his wrist, and asked Chu Qingjiu, who sat upright on the bed, cold and distant:
"So did I really lure a ghost here just now?"
Perhaps because Chu Qingjiu now felt completely at ease, he was willing to answer Qi Wu.
"Yes, but judging by things now..."
Chu Qingjiu had naturally heard the scream from next door as well. His expression grew even colder and more merciless.
"Besides attracting ghosts, the Red Thread seems to mark you as prey. Let's see who died."
Qi Wu nodded and watched Chu Qingjiu pick up the memorial tablet by the head of the bed and clutch it tightly to his chest. He looked at it in puzzlement for a moment but said nothing more.
A trail of disorderly, bloody footprints stretched down the corridor from the doorway next door.
Inside the room, blood had splattered all the way from the bedside to the door. Wang Hao's corpse had been torn apart, and all his internal organs were missing.
The pungent stench of blood was almost suffocating. Qi Wu frowned and covered his nose, only to notice that Chu Qingjiu's expression had not changed at all. He seemed entirely unaffected.
It was as though he had witnessed scenes a hundred times bloodier than this, making the sight before him too insignificant to merit a second glance.
"It was a Vengeful Ghost. Vengeful Ghosts like eating human organs." Chu Qingjiu's expression barely shifted. He raised his eyelids coldly to look at Qi Wu. "The Vengeful Ghost is still here. If we waste any more time, someone else will die."
The chaotic trail of footprints made it clear that after eating Wang Hao, the Vengeful Ghost had chased someone outside. It had probably headed for the room where the three girls were staying.
Qi Wu remembered that he had promised someone he would make sure Zhang Yaoyao survived. He smiled at Chu Qingjiu, his voice still slightly hoarse.
"Gege, I'll go take care of it. I'll be back soon, so be good and wait for me."
Chu Qingjiu looked at Qi Wu without much expression and said flatly, "I'll only wait ten minutes."
"It won't take that long, gege."
Qi Wu casually followed the bloody footprints, while Chu Qingjiu turned and headed toward the rear courtyard.
He suddenly remembered the distinct wound at the corner of Qi Wu's mouth when he had smiled just now. That was where he had bitten him.
It felt so soft, he recalled.
Qi Wu really was someone who stirred conflicting feelings in him. He disliked anything that could influence his thoughts and judgment.
Besides, he had intended to kill Qi Wu from the beginning, and that intention had not changed in the slightest.
He had merely gone from planning to torture him to death to granting him a quick end.
His heart was as cold and vicious as he was, so there was no point expecting him to soften. Qi Wu had not earned that privilege.
Putting all his tangled thoughts aside, Chu Qingjiu finally reached the gate to the rear courtyard.
The gate, which had originally been locked tight, now stood open.
And it was not merely open. The ancestral hall directly opposite it, where eleven Evil Buddha statues were enshrined, was now brightly lit.
It seemed some sort of event was taking place inside, accounting for all the bustle.
Chu Qingjiu held the memorial tablet tightly to his chest. After a couple of brief glances, he withdrew his gaze and quietly waited for Qi Wu.
If his guess was right, the missing twelfth Evil Buddha statue should now be inside the ancestral hall. Even the Ghost Gate should be there.
They needed to enter Ghost City and find Wang Peiling's ghost. Whatever happened after that was none of their concern.
However, before entering Ghost City, he needed to find a powerful backer to ensure he would not be trapped there.
Naturally, the living could not enter Ghost City. But there was one very special kind of person who could: an Underworld Walker.
Underworld Walkers had their own special methods of allowing their souls to leave their bodies. As long as they left Ghost City within the allotted time, they would be safe.
Thus, if Chu Qingjiu wanted to enter Ghost City, he had only two options:
First, find an Underworld Walker to guide his soul out of his body and into Ghost City.
Second, enter Ghost City in the flesh, but allow yin energy to envelop and permeate his body, masking the scent of a living person.
The Underworld Walker in this instance was most likely that yin-yang master, but they had yet to catch even a glimpse of him.
Moreover, Chu Qingjiu did not believe that yin-yang master could be anyone decent. If even the Head Steward dared to make them eat offerings and wear Red Threads, how could the Xu Residence possibly be a respectable household?
The crucial factor in leaving one's body was the Underworld Walker. If the Underworld Walker wanted them dead, it would be as easy as turning his hand.
Chu Qingjiu would not entrust his life to an Underworld Walker whose background he knew nothing about, so he could only choose the second option.
He did not have much yang energy to begin with anyway, so the second option was hardly a problem for him. Qi Wu, however, had an astonishing abundance of yang energy and would need external yin energy to conceal it.
He had only just thought of Qi Wu when Qi Wu appeared behind him, looking utterly relaxed. He really was as quick as he had promised.
Qi Wu circled around to stand before Chu Qingjiu, looking radiant and smiling brightly. "Gege, you didn't get impatient waiting, did you?"
Chu Qingjiu ignored him. Seeing that he had arrived, he simply started walking, forcing Qi Wu to abandon his attempt at a greeting and hurry after him.
"Gege, what's the rush?"
Qi Wu rested a hand on Chu Qingjiu's shoulder as they entered the brightly lit rear courtyard.
Judging by the courtyard's layout, the banyan tree was most likely planted due east.
Since banyan trees belonged to the wood element, planting one due east symbolized good health. If planted properly, it could even ward off evil and harmful influences, though banyan trees were usually planted in the front courtyard.
But Chu Qingjiu could not be bothered to investigate why the owner had planted the banyan tree in the rear courtyard. All he needed to know was whether there was a corpse beneath it.
There were indeed signs that something had been buried on the eastern side of the rear courtyard, and the soil showed traces of disturbance. After remaining silent for so long, Chu Qingjiu finally spoke:
"Dig up a corpse for me."
Before you continue