Chu Qingjiu frowned at the panicked, pretty girl in front of him, who was still shouting at the top of her lungs.
He moved his right hand slightly. The Red-Robed Vengeful Ghost immediately shoved a hand into Wang Peiling's mouth, reducing her terrified screams to a series of muffled whimpers.
Now that he had caught Wang Peiling, he could leave Ghost City and go back.
He controlled the Red-Robed Vengeful Ghost and headed toward the city gates, with no intention of waiting for Qi Wu.
Qi Wu was strong enough on his own and hardly needed Chu Qingjiu's unsolicited concern. Besides, Chu Qingjiu had originally planned to kill him. He had only decided against killing Qi Wu in this dungeon because Qi Wu did not know his true identity yet and had been reasonably friendly toward him.
Despite constantly flirting with him and taking liberties, Qi Wu's affection toward him was still at 0. It really made him feel as though he was being played.
If Qi Wu had even the slightest affection for him now, he would not have felt toyed with, nor would he have disliked Qi Wu so much.
But the problem was that even after they had kissed and done things more intimate than that, Qi Wu's affection had only risen briefly before returning to 0.
In other words, aside from that one time things had gotten heated in their room, when Qi Wu had probably felt something genuine for him, all the other teasing led Chu Qingjiu to only one possible conclusion-
-Qi Wu was putting on an act to deceive him.
Whether Qi Wu was telling him he had fallen in love at first sight or flirting with him in every possible way, his affection had never changed. It had all been a deliberate act to toy with him.
If he could not see the affection score, he might have been fooled by this clingy, smooth-talking fellow too, then died without so much as a grave.
Whatever Qi Wu's reason for deceiving him, the deception alone was enough for Chu Qingjiu to kill him a thousand times over.
To him, Qi Wu was an extremely unpredictable threat. He needed to either eliminate him soon or... turn him into a puppet he could command and control.
At that thought, Chu Qingjiu suddenly narrowed his eyes, seemingly surprised that he would want to turn Qi Wu into his own puppet.
He had actually changed his mind about killing Qi Wu and now wanted to keep him alive as his puppet.
In truth, if Qi Wu had not provoked him back then, he would not have harbored so much malice toward him. But now, being deceived and taken advantage of by Qi Wu had added fresh grievances.
So... should I kill Qi Wu? Or turn him into a puppet?
A trace of confusion lay deep in Chu Qingjiu's violet eyes. For the first time, he seemed torn over what to do with Qi Wu.
If only Qi Wu couldn't talk.
Chu Qingjiu thought of how Qi Wu managed to leave him speechless every single time, and of the flirtatious remarks he made now and then.
In front of him, Qi Wu was clingy, a jinx, and childishly immature.
He preferred quieter things. Anything too lively made it difficult for him to concentrate, which was why none of his puppets could speak.
Naturally, Chu Qingjiu leaned toward turning Qi Wu into his puppet. After all, Qi Wu was practically walking yang energy. Whenever he felt unwell, he could simply drink some of Qi Wu's blood.
But Qi Wu's affection was far too difficult to raise. He probably would not be able to turn Qi Wu into his puppet in this dungeon.
If the Puppet Threads offered no opening, there was another method: using his own blood and Qi Wu's birth eight characters to turn Qi Wu into a puppet whose senses he could share.
A puppet like that could retain as much of his awareness as possible, so Qi Wu would not become a completely speechless puppet either.
That meant he needed to learn Qi Wu's eight characters.
Chu Qingjiu soon settled on his future goals. From now on, his dungeon runs would focus on finding Puppet Threads and getting Qi Wu to drink his blood so he could turn him into a puppet.
"Gege! Why didn't you wait for me?"
Qi Wu suddenly appeared in front of Chu Qingjiu, startling him out of his thoughts.
"Cough, cough... you..."
The sudden surge of emotion turned what Chu Qingjiu wanted to say into coughing, though it conveniently helped him conceal his current alarm.
The only question troubling Chu Qingjiu now was whether Qi Wu had happened to circle around ahead of him while drawing the Underworld Walker away, or whether he had known everything all along and deliberately waited up ahead.
Qi Wu supported Chu Qingjiu and helped ease his breathing, but his eyes flicked toward the Red-Robed Vengeful Ghost holding Wang Peiling captive, head lowered and utterly motionless.
At some point, that Red-Robed Vengeful Ghost had appeared beside Chu Qingjiu again. It had even obligingly helped them capture Wang Peiling.
Since when had dungeon NPCs or Dungeon Bosses become so accommodating and friendly?
Qi Wu felt that things were going a little too smoothly. The smoother they went, the more unnatural it seemed, as though someone were pulling the strings.
"Cough... how did you... get ahead of me?"
Chu Qingjiu's words brought Qi Wu back from his wandering thoughts.
Qi Wu stared intently at Chu Qingjiu's slightly parted lips. A glistening sheen was faintly visible on those thin lips, like dew on rose petals, beautiful and enticing.
"...I left a talisman on you, so I followed its guidance and got here first."
Chu Qingjiu frowned. "When did you do that?"
Seeing Chu Qingjiu frown, Qi Wu looked as though he had done something wrong. He gazed at Chu Qingjiu with tearful eyes, as if he might burst into tears at any moment.
He blinked hesitantly and murmured, "Gege... I only did it because I was afraid something might happen to you."
Chu Qingjiu remained silent, his expression cold.
Qi Wu was dodging the question and glossing over the important part. Apparently, he did not want to answer, and that made Chu Qingjiu inexplicably irritable.
Deceiving him and secretly leaving a tracking talisman on him without his knowledge made him feel... watched.
He hated that feeling.
Chu Qingjiu did not even want to look at Qi Wu's face anymore. He pulled free of Qi Wu's hands and walked expressionlessly toward the city gates, remembering to make the Red-Robed Vengeful Ghost move with him.
Qi Wu could spout any number of sweet lies to fool him. As long as he did not probe or challenge him, Qi Wu could keep talking sweetly forever.
But the moment he grew suspicious and asked Qi Wu why, Qi Wu would find all sorts of ways to evade the question, whether by acting cute or playing pitiful.
So Qi Wu had harbored ulterior motives toward him all along.
Let me think. What did I do before when someone approached me with ill intentions?
I think... I turned them into the lowest-grade puppets and fed them to ghosts.
Qi Wu suddenly caught Chu Qingjiu's left wrist. When Chu Qingjiu failed to wrench himself free, bloodthirsty killing intent flashed through his eerie eyes.
The fingertips of his right hand moved slightly. The Red-Robed Vengeful Ghost abruptly released Wang Peiling and attacked Qi Wu instead.
Even if Wang Peiling escaped again, he was going to teach Qi Wu a lesson.
The Red-Robed Vengeful Ghost's sudden attack forced Qi Wu to let go and defend himself against the immense yin energy surging toward him.
Blow after blow left Qi Wu with no attention to spare for Chu Qingjiu. In his current guise, dealing with a Red-Robed Vengeful Ghost several times stronger than a Fiend Ghost was still too difficult. He could not reveal his identity as Qi Wu in front of Chu Qingjiu.
"Ugh..."
In a moment of inattention, the Red-Robed Vengeful Ghost's long, scarlet nails pierced his left shoulder blade. Icy yin energy invaded his body through the wound, making him spit out a mouthful of blood.
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