"Hah... cough, cough. I... need to rest a bit."
Chu Qingjiu had been dragged all over the place by Qi Wu and could barely catch his breath. His sickly body simply could not withstand such exertion.
Qi Wu stopped when he heard him. Since he had already taken Chu Qingjiu a fair distance away, they did not have to worry about the Underworld Soldiers catching up for now.
He helped Chu Qingjiu to one side to rest against a Ghost House. His gaze flicked to the Red-Robed Vengeful Ghost, who had kept her head lowered ever since they encountered the Fiend Ghost, doing nothing but obediently following them. A few doubts arose in his mind.
Why did the Red-Robed Vengeful Ghost look so much like... a puppet being controlled, with her head down and not a word to say?
Qi Wu vaguely felt that there should be a Dungeon Boss connected to puppets, but he could not remember who. It was almost as though that feeling was an illusion he had made up.
As far as he remembered, no Dungeon Boss seemed to fit the bill. Or rather, he could not actually remember which Dungeon Bosses there were at all.
For some reason, he felt that all this probably had something to do with the dungeon. But even if it did, it was probably to keep the dungeon's contents confidential.
After all, the dungeon's core secrets could not just be revealed.
Looking at the Red-Robed Vengeful Ghost with her head lowered, Qi Wu asked without betraying his thoughts, "Do you know where the other group went?"
The Red-Robed Vengeful Ghost shook her head. She had just opened her mouth to speak when a fit of coughing interrupted her.
"Cough, cough..."
Chu Qingjiu began coughing violently, bringing up blood without stop. His face was deathly pale, and even his last trace of yang energy seemed about to burn out.
Qi Wu had no choice but to turn back and focus on Chu Qingjiu, who was now desperately weak and coughing up blood incessantly.
"Cough, cough... I think... I'm about to die."
Chu Qingjiu clutched Qi Wu's collar hard, forcing Qi Wu to look at his fragile, deathly pale face.
His eyes were already glistening, his lips stained bright red with blood. Even his breathing had grown terribly shallow. He gave a bleak smile, as though saying goodbye.
"Looks like... I won't get the chance... to reward you..."
His grip on Qi Wu loosened slightly, and his whole body was about to fall to the ground, but Qi Wu caught him just in time.
At that point, Qi Wu no longer cared about anything else. He bit hard into the tip of his tongue so that his blood, brimming with yang energy, could enter Chu Qingjiu's body.
Qi Wu kissed Chu Qingjiu deeply, his eyes already closed, and continued breathing into him, allowing his blood to be digested and absorbed faster to supply Chu Qingjiu with yang energy.
Chu Qingjiu swallowed through the pungent smell of blood. The blood turned into a warm current that flowed through his limbs and body, gradually warming him after the yin energy's invasion had left him cold.
"Cough, cough..."
He finally opened his eyes again and turned his head to cough. As though realizing what they had just been doing, his face flushed with embarrassment, and his ears turned so red they looked ready to drip blood.
He lowered his lashes, not daring to look at Qi Wu, and said softly, "Thank you for saving me."
"Didn't I tell you, big brother? If you want to thank me, you have to give yourself to me. Otherwise, it doesn't count."
Qi Wu smiled at Chu Qingjiu's scarlet ears. Fortunately, he had acted in time and kept Chu Qingjiu from dying. He really would have been heartbroken if Chu Qingjiu were gone.
But when he turned back, the Red-Robed Vengeful Ghost had disappeared. He had no idea when she had left.
Why had she suddenly left? Surely she hadn't been driven away in anger by the sight of him and Chu Qingjiu being so lovey-dovey?
His own snide thought amused Qi Wu, and he could not keep the corners of his mouth from lifting. He looked all the more lively and radiant.
Chu Qingjiu's expression was cold as he wiped the blood from his lips with the back of his hand. His uncanny purple eyes were full of delighted interest.
The Fiend Ghost had not hurt him earlier, so there was no way the yin energy could have eaten away at him until he was near death. The moment he noticed Qi Wu wanted the Red-Robed Vengeful Ghost, who had already become his puppet, to speak, he had begun his performance.
Every word and every movement after that had been carefully designed for Qi Wu's benefit.
Although he had sacrificed his charms, Qi Wu clearly had other ways to give him yang energy. Cutting a finger and putting it in his mouth would have let him drink his blood too. Why did he have to use his mouth?
Damn it, he'd taken advantage of me again.
Chu Qingjiu's expression remained cold. The thought that Qi Wu had kissed him again irritated him immensely, and he even moved a little farther away, leaving Qi Wu baffled by his sudden change in attitude.
"Don't kiss me out of nowhere. If you're giving me yang energy, just give me your blood."
Chu Qingjiu said this without warning.
"Big brother, the yang energy actually only works mouth-to-mouth. Did you think it was as simple as just my blood?"
Qi Wu suddenly caught Chu Qingjiu's sleeve and said earnestly, "Didn't you notice that it only worked mouth-to-mouth both times? So it isn't just about my blood."
"Then if you give someone else yang energy in the future, will you use this method too?"
Chu Qingjiu imagined Qi Wu touching lips with someone else and then coming back to kiss him, and he could not help shuddering. "Then I don't want it."
Qi Wu: "..."
Qi Wu sighed helplessly, probably feeling frustrated because he had failed to fool Chu Qingjiu. "Okay, I admit it. It has nothing to do with mouths. Blood is enough."
Chu Qingjiu looked as though he had known all along. He had known Qi Wu could not possibly have anything decent on his mind. All he thought about, day in and day out, was taking advantage of him.
I'd better get rid of him soon.
But before getting rid of Qi Wu, he could collect his blood and use it as a yang energy supplement. Then he could clear dungeons however he pleased.
"Aah! Help!"
A woman's scream suddenly came from the distance. She sounded as though something was chasing her, leaving her fleeing in panic.
It was clearly Wang Peiling, who was being pursued by the Underworld Walker's group-the very ghost they needed to bring back.
The timing could not have been better.
Chu Qingjiu had just replenished his yang energy, and his once-sickly body felt warm all over. The warm yang energy seemed to be nourishing his somewhat damaged body, allowing him to move freely.
"Once we catch her, we'll leave."
Chu Qingjiu looked at Qi Wu, then suddenly said, as though something had occurred to him, "Go lure them away. I'll catch Wang Peiling."
Qi Wu looked at Chu Qingjiu, whose complexion had finally returned to normal instead of being deathly pale, and sighed softly before agreeing. "Be careful, big brother. If you can't catch her, wait for me to come back."
Only after Chu Qingjiu nodded lightly did Qi Wu feel reassured enough to run toward the Underworld Walker's group.
Dealing with them won't take much effort. I need to finish quickly and get back to big brother.
Naturally, Chu Qingjiu had sent Qi Wu away on purpose. He had no desire to chase a ghost all over the place. That was obviously a job for his puppet.
Watching the direction in which Wang Peiling was fleeing, he moved his right hand slightly. The Red-Robed Vengeful Ghost under his control immediately rushed to Wang Peiling's side and restrained her.
"Aaaah-let go of me! Let go!"
With her head lowered, the Red-Robed Vengeful Ghost brought the captive Wang Peiling before Chu Qingjiu.
Before you continue