What baffled Qi Wu most was why the Red-Robed Vengeful Ghost had suddenly attacked him when everything had been fine before.
She had even helped them catch Wang Peiling, yet when he grabbed Chu Qingjiu, she abandoned Wang Peiling and attacked him instead.
Wasn't she supposed to be on their side?
Besides, why had she singled him out?
He frowned and lifted his gaze slightly, surveying his surroundings.
Then he spotted a black silhouette flash past inside a haunted house not far from them.
Was that the Underworld Walker?
"Ugh-"
As the Red-Robed Vengeful Ghost withdrew her hand, she tugged at the muscles around Qi Wu's shoulder blade, sending a tearing pain through him. Cold sweat beaded across his forehead, soaking the stray locks of hair there.
His strength abruptly gave out, and he braced himself against the ground, sinking onto one knee.
The yin energy rampaging through his body battered his internal organs and sent his blood surging. He could only grit his teeth and suppress the urge to cough up blood.
Chu Qingjiu walked unhurriedly over to the kneeling Qi Wu. He lowered his gaze coldly, looking down at the injured, bleeding young man with nothing but boundless indifference in his uncanny violet eyes.
Qi Wu found the pressure emanating from Chu Qingjiu utterly terrifying.
Chu Qingjiu must often have looked at those beneath him as though they were ants. This was completely different from the way he had looked at Qi Wu when Qi Wu crouched by his feet in the room.
Back in the room, Chu Qingjiu's eyes had held more bewilderment and curiosity. Now, there was only an indifference that chilled him to the bone.
Trembling, Qi Wu tilted his head up toward Chu Qingjiu, who stood looking down at him. He saw Chu Qingjiu's black hair billowing freely in Ghost City's ghostly wind and the painfully icy expression on his face. There was a hint of submission in Qi Wu's posture.
He spoke in a trembling voice. "Cough, cough... big brother..."
Chu Qingjiu remained expressionless. "What did you approach me for?" he asked coldly.
"...I like you, big brother. I want to be with you."
Qi Wu blinked weakly, his face brimming with innocence. Anyone who didn't know how this had started would probably have been fooled by his harmless, youthful face.
But Chu Qingjiu's expression never changed. He remained cold and distant to the point of cruelty, his eyes utterly unmoved.
"Don't make me ask again."
Even as Qi Wu said those words, his affection toward Chu Qingjiu remained at 0. That was why Chu Qingjiu wouldn't believe a single tender word he said. He knew perfectly well that they were all lies.
"...I'm not lying. I really do like you."
Qi Wu reached out and clutched Chu Qingjiu's sleeve. A watery haze filled his clear amber eyes, making him look particularly harmless.
Seeing that Chu Qingjiu was still unmoved, Qi Wu fell silent and met his gaze. He could clearly see the indifference and profound distrust in Chu Qingjiu's eyes.
Chu Qingjiu didn't believe him.
His expression abruptly turned serious. "I want to confirm something. I think we've met before. There's something familiar about you."
Qi Wu grew increasingly earnest, his grip on Chu Qingjiu's sleeve tightening until Chu Qingjiu almost felt as though he would be pulled off his feet.
Then Qi Wu gave a soft laugh, revealing his cute, boyish little canine tooth. His smile was utterly harmless. "Big brother, are you pretending to be weak on purpose?"
The sheer pressure in Chu Qingjiu's gaze and movements left Qi Wu with no other explanation. He must have been feigning weakness to catch others off guard.
After all, hadn't Chu Qingjiu said he was a Paper Effigy Master? He had to possess at least some ability.
His smile grew brighter and more innocent. His clear amber eyes seemed intent on engraving this lofty figure into their depths, treasuring him forever.
His gaze was so heated that Chu Qingjiu, who had remained cold and motionless all this time, finally moved.
He bent slightly, closing the distance between them as he met Qi Wu's clear, bright eyes. The space between them suddenly became intensely intimate, their very breaths mingling.
Chu Qingjiu lowered his lashes slightly. With the pale fingers of the hand whose sleeve Qi Wu wasn't clutching, he touched Qi Wu's bloodstained lips, then gently wiped them-
The blood smeared, lending even this seemingly harmless young man a bloody air of menace. Beneath that innocent exterior lay an exceedingly dangerous monster.
Chu Qingjiu's gaze remained indifferent, yet his movements seemed almost too tender.
The pad of his finger gently rubbed Qi Wu's bloodstained lips, as though teasing him. "Is this the reward you wanted?" he asked softly. "If you say yes, I'll answer your question."
Qi Wu's smile abruptly froze. There was nothing but indifference on Chu Qingjiu's outrageously beautiful face, yet he could almost sense the anger hidden beneath it.
Although Chu Qingjiu's movements were gentle, even seductively intimate, Qi Wu knew that at this moment, Chu Qingjiu wanted to kill him.
Because he had made Chu Qingjiu angry.
He had no doubt that if he dared say yes, Chu Qingjiu would snap his neck and send him straight to the King Yama.
He made himself seem as harmless as a well-behaved, oversized puppy.
Grasping Chu Qingjiu's wrist, he placed his hand against his cheek, then nuzzled into his palm as though Chu Qingjiu were stroking him. All the while, his eyes remained fixed on Chu Qingjiu.
"Big brother... could you kiss me of your own accord? That's what I want as my reward."
He saw a flicker of bewilderment pass through Chu Qingjiu's beautiful eyes. Even his fingers paused for a moment, as though he had been caught off guard.
"Big brother..."
Qi Wu called to him softly, the end of his words lilting upward, intimate and tender enough to tug at the heart.
"...Is teasing me like this fun?"
Chu Qingjiu fell silent for a moment, then spoke in a level voice that betrayed no particular emotion.
He withdrew the hand Qi Wu was holding. The fingertips of his right hand stirred slightly, and the Red-Robed Vengeful Ghost, who had remained quiet and motionless, came to his side.
"Big brother, I'm not teasing you. I really do like you."
Chu Qingjiu remained expressionless, because Qi Wu's affection toward him was still at 0.
"Why don't you believe me?" Qi Wu looked at Chu Qingjiu in confusion, his brows drawing together slightly. "Do you have some way of knowing who genuinely likes you?"
Naturally, Chu Qingjiu couldn't let Qi Wu learn that he could see affection scores. Otherwise, he feared Qi Wu's lies would become even more convincing in the future.
For now, Qi Wu was only paying lip service. But if he truly put his heart into the act, Chu Qingjiu might not be able to tell the difference.
After a long silence, he still placed a very soft, very gentle kiss between Qi Wu's brows.
I don't want to kill him. I want to torment him, so I'll wait a little longer.
Chu Qingjiu reassured himself inwardly.
He needed Qi Wu's blood, so he had to turn him into a puppet who would willingly obey his commands. A puppet would never deceive its master.
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