Jiang Nuo patted his fluttering heart. He clearly looked frightened, yet his voice was brimming with excitement. "Oh my, do you want to kill me too?"
The bridal ghost: "..."
Her face stiffened. Baring a mouthful of fangs, she lunged at Jiang Nuo, no longer as relaxed as she had been when dealing with the girlfriend ghost. She brought almost everything she had to bear.
But she soon discovered that not only could she not beat this man, even her ghostly aura was being suppressed!
As Jiang Nuo fought the female ghost, he used the fight to sense his own soul.
But he could sense nothing.
All he could sense was the endless Spiritual Power coming from Si Yan.
It seemed that fragment of his soul wasn't in this old mansion.
Having gotten his answer, Jiang Nuo stopped wasting time.
His fingertips shifted slightly, and the pads of his fingers inexplicably grew scorching hot. He drove the bridal ghost into a corner the camera couldn't capture.
Holy shit! Why did they suddenly disappear?! That fight scene was awesome!
Keep up, cameraman! It's getting more and more exciting!
It's definitely staged! How much did Jiang Nuo pay the production team?! Almost all the shots are on him!
The cameraman wanted to move, too, but he wiped away his cold sweat, unable to shake the feeling that Jiang Nuo's earlier glance had been a warning.
Unable to see him, Si Yan instinctively frowned. He was just about to head over when a miserable scream came from the corner.
"Aaaaaah-"
Everyone present shuddered in fright.
They had never heard such an agonized scream.
Then a severed limb accidentally rolled out, stained with blood, but a closer look revealed that this, too, was a puppet's body.
With an inexplicable crunch, the screaming abruptly stopped.
Jiang Nuo emerged from the corner, picked up the severed arm, and waved it at the guests.
"Just a puppet that can move."
...Haha.
I knew it was fake!! Drop dead, Jiang Nuo, acting all spooky!
But look at the state Shi Lezhi's in. Would they take a fake this far?
Opinions varied in the scrolling comments, but the fans, who had been steeped in scientific values for so many years, still thought it was all fake.
Jiang Nuo tossed away the severed arm and dusted off his hands, his face a little pale.
He hadn't been back long, and his body and soul hadn't yet fused. His soul had almost left his body just now.
"C-can we leave now?"
Yang Xiaoxiao wanted to cry but had no tears. She pointed a trembling finger at the half-dead Shi Lezhi. "With Shi Lezhi like this, what are we supposed to do?"
His left eye aching, Jiang Nuo rubbed between his brows as he walked toward Si Yan. At her question, he casually replied, "He's not dead. Just drag him along."
His voice was cold to the point of indifference, with a hint of irritation.
Frightened by him, Yang Xiaoxiao gave a meek "Oh." After discussing it with Xu Jing and the others, she decided to have Shi Lezhi's cameraman stop recording and help him walk.
"Si Yan, lend me your shoulder... Why do you smell of blood?"
Before Jiang Nuo could finish, he caught the scent of blood from Si Yan's right arm and gave him a puzzled look.
Watching him rub between his brows, Si Yan raised his right arm.
The clothing along the inside of his forearm had been sliced open. A conspicuous line of blood stretched from his forearm to his palm. The wound was crooked and looked like an accidental cut.
"Oh my God, how did you get hurt?!" Xu Jing, beside him, also noticed the wound and found it strange. Hadn't everyone been gathered together just now?
Si Yan fell silent for a moment, then, under Jiang Nuo's equally puzzled gaze, glanced at the doorway behind them.
A stone doorway stood between the passage and this opening. It was far sharper than the passage walls, and even in the dim light, the edges of the stones were visible.
Jiang Nuo said, "You... have pretty rotten luck."
Even with such a large opening, he'd still managed to cut himself.
Logically, someone born with a spiritual-energy constitution should have an auspicious destiny. Why was Si Yan's luck so terrible?
Yun Kang found it remarkable, too. "No wonder those directors told me Si Yan has a glass-cannon constitution. One moment of carelessness and he's covered in injuries."
Jiang Nuo wiped Si Yan's blood away with a tissue, finding it a bit of a waste. The Spiritual Power in this blood would be much purer than what he absorbed directly.
But what kind of behavior would it be to drink someone's blood when they'd only just met?
As though he'd noticed something, Si Yan took Jiang Nuo's hand with great puzzlement, hesitation, and tentativeness, leading him toward a corner.
"Huh? I'm wiping your blood off. Where are you going?"
Jiang Nuo's eye was hurting, and he had no time to argue with him.
Yet as soon as they stopped, he saw Si Yan raise his arm, wearing an expression that said he didn't understand but thought Jiang Nuo must have some reason for doing this.
"You... seem to really want to drink blood?"
Jiang Nuo: "..."
He muttered, "Am I that obvious?"
Tilting his head, he studied Si Yan. They were similarly built and could easily meet each other's eyes.
"You don't find it strange?"
"Not particularly," Si Yan answered honestly.
He also wanted to use this to verify something else.
With delicious Spiritual Power delivered right to his lips, how could Jiang Nuo refuse?
He took Si Yan's arm, carefully pulled away the fabric stuck to the wound, and wiped off the blood around it, as though unwrapping a delicacy.
Once the wound was fully exposed, he looked up at Si Yan again, gave an inexplicable chuckle, and licked his lips.
He stared fixedly at Si Yan's vulnerable wound.
As though staring at his prey's most fatal weak point.
Such a gaze could easily stir the desire to conquer, all the more so for Si Yan, who could be considered to be in intimate contact with him at that moment.
"What are you laughing at?"
Si Yan's voice was still cold, but his temperature began to rise, a faint darkness glimmering in his eyes.
Jiang Nuo didn't answer. He lightly stroked the wound on Si Yan's palm with a fingertip and brought it to his lips.
His teeth nipped lightly, as though searching for the best angle to drink from, before parting the skin and sucking the blood.
Si Yan's breath briefly caught. He felt warmth press against his cold palm, and his body temperature rose with it, even affecting his thoughts.
The palm was more sensitive to touch. The wound was so long, yet Jiang Nuo had chosen precisely this spot to drink from.
A flush spread over his cool, pale skin. Si Yan's body tensed uncontrollably as he stared at Jiang Nuo's lips, veins standing out on his neck.
His body felt as though it had risen into the air, cradled by clouds, as scorching warmth spread from his palm.
He had never felt so warm before.
It was truly... delightful.
At the same time, Si Yan had also confirmed the answer he sought.
The person the voice in his dreams had guided him toward was Jiang Nuo.
Only Jiang Nuo could help him avoid danger, bring relief to this battered body, and change his fate of dying young.
He lowered his eyes, looking at the whorl of hair atop Jiang Nuo's head, his gaze deep.
Once Jiang Nuo felt his soul stabilize and his left eye stop hurting, he stopped drawing blood and kindly stroked the entire wound along Si Yan's arm.
Under Si Yan's slightly surprised gaze, the bleeding stopped completely, leaving only a faint scar.
He was just about to speak when Jiang Nuo turned and pinned him against the cave wall. Though he was smiling, a warning lurked in his shimmering eyes, seemingly telling Si Yan to keep his secret.
"Have some. If you faint, I'll have to carry you out."
Jiang Nuo pulled a few candies from his pocket, casually unwrapped one, and popped it into Si Yan's mouth, putting the rest in his pocket as well.
Sweetness spread between his lips and teeth. Si Yan pressed his tongue against the candy and, in the end, didn't spit it out.
Seeing that Si Yan didn't resist, Jiang Nuo knew he had agreed.
Jiang Nuo stroked his hair, feeling pleased.
"Thanks for the meal."
"...Mm."
The tips of Si Yan's ears reddened slightly. He pushed Jiang Nuo away and walked ahead on his own, only for the man catching up to take his right hand after a few steps.
"Can't let anyone find out."