Revised

Under the dim light, faces were barely discernible. One had to close the distance to an excessive degree to make out the other's silhouette.

The music shifted rhythm. Bass beats hammered beneath their feet as men and women pressed together in intimacy, twisting their bodies—one stepping forward, one retreating—like lotus fibers connected at both ends, hiding an unspeakable, ambiguous passion within their probing.

But Jiang Luo and the man remained stuck at the edge of the dance floor.

With his hair down, Jiang Luo was dazzling yet possessed a rugged, heroic air; with his hair tied up, he appeared even more dashing and spirited.

There was absolutely no chance anyone would mistake him for a girl.

And for two men to enter the dance floor together, it was inevitably a bit awkward.

After agreeing, Jiang Luo felt he had been too rash. Even if Chi You wanted to make a fool of himself, Jiang Luo shouldn't be the one to accompany him.

The man stood there with an air of composure, his melancholic, profound gaze fixed on Jiang Luo—a look sufficient to stir guilt in anyone he stared at. 'Sir?'

Jiang Luo remained entirely unmoved.

The music grew more intense and loud. The stranger's gaze slid to Jiang Luo's right hand, as if offering a simple compliment: 'Your bracelet is very beautiful.'

Jiang Luo tilted his head to look at the Yin-Yang Ring. The mysterious, beautiful bracelet showed no reaction. He narrowed his eyes and said, 'Yes, I think it is beautiful too.'

The music climbed toward a crescendo, and after a sharp, sudden drop, the colored lights hitting this area shifted away.

In the brief darkness, a pale, ghostly hand suddenly reached out from behind, shoving Jiang Luo forward. Caught off guard, Jiang Luo stumbled into the dance floor.

The melancholic man followed closely, naturally steadying him and leading him through a dance step.

A strange palm rested on Jiang Luo's waist, the scent of elegant men's cologne circling his nose like a phantom. The melancholic man smiled: 'Sir is quite passionate.'

In the darkness, Jiang Luo could see nothing. He struggled, but the person in front of him said gently, 'Focus.'

Jiang Luo sneered, just about to break the hand at his waist when the colored lights swung back. Under the kaleidoscopic glow, invisible Black Mist gripped his wrists from behind, as if thousands of ghostly hands were watching him from the shadows. The Livid Ghost's methods were blatant and brazen.

The man smiled strangely. 'Your movements are wrong.'

The ghostly hands were ice-cold, hair-raising.

Jiang Luo took a deep breath, laughing instead of getting angry. Keeping time with the music, he suddenly stepped forward and yanked hard on the man's tie. 'Sir, you are not very polite.'

Forced to bend over by the tension of the tie, the man asked with interest, 'Oh?'

Jiang Luo stared at the man's silhouette in the dark, his hot breath spraying across the man's face. 'This dance is not interesting at all.'

The corners of his mouth curled up wickedly, the black-haired youth's smile both alluring and venomous. 'You make me lose my appetite.'

The music suddenly turned frantic.

The stranger smiled. He held Jiang Luo's hand, letting him leave his embrace quickly and briefly, before Jiang Luo landed in the hands of another person with calloused palms in the next instant.

This person's voice was hoarse. Dressed in a leather jacket, he looked like a tough guy. He said, 'I am curious.'

Jiang Luo said, 'Curious about what?'

He took the opportunity to touch the pulse at the leather jacket's wrist; it was beating strongly. A living person.

A flash of contemplation crossed Jiang Luo's eyes. In the darkness to his right, a new hand reached out and gripped his arm.

Jiang Luo looked up. The hand holding him was slender, young, with full fingertips—like the hand of a male college student.

Still the hand of a living person.

The melancholic man was one, the leather jacket was one, and this was another.

Can a Livid Ghost on his Head Seventh Day become this powerful?

Back at school, Chi You could only manipulate the Bird Soul Manipulation of birds.

Damn it, why was the Yin-Yang Ring not reacting?

The college student emerged from the darkness, replacing the leather jacket as Jiang Luo's new dance partner.

He leaned down to Jiang Luo's ear. A ghostly face surfaced on his fresh, handsome features, becoming extremely distorted in an instant. The ghostly face smiled, but his tone was cold: 'Who could not make you lose your appetite?'

Without waiting for Jiang Luo to speak, he continued in a falsely gentle tone: 'I still prefer the way you look with your hair down.'

Before he knew which hand had reached out to take the hair tie from Jiang Luo's hair, his black hair broke free, instantly spilling over his shoulders.

A stray, mischievous lock of hair fell slowly across the corner of Jiang Luo's eye, framing his gloomy features.

Jiang Luo did not hesitate to pull out a Spirit Papers, slamming it heavily into the person's chest.

The paper talisman burned from the bottom up into ash. The ghostly face on the college student's face vanished, and he stopped in place, stiff as a robot that had lost its battery. Another hand with callouses reached out; Jiang Luo spun around rapidly, black hair flying, and slapped a Spirit Papers onto that hand as well.

He threw another one at the melancholic man.

The firelight of the two talismans flashed, the bar lights suddenly brightened, and the music had changed to another track.

Jiang Luo looked at the three Puppets.

The three Puppets were handsome; after waking up, their eyes were dazed for a moment before they naturally dispersed into the crowd, seemingly unaware of anything amiss.

The Livid Ghost could possess bodies and knew the Puppetry Art; it was simply impossible for Jiang Luo to guard against.

Jiang Luo walked through the crowd with a dark face, heading toward the bar counter.

But when he reached the bar, he saw a group of people passed out on the counter. Ge Zhu was hugging a beer bottle and reciting the Tao Te Ching. Seeing Jiang Luo approach, he let out a drunken hiccup and asked vaguely, 'Jiang Luo, where did you go? We couldn't find you.'

Jiang Luo: '...How did you all get this drunk?'

Ge Zhu could no longer hear him, hugging the bottle and muttering to himself before suddenly bumping his head on the bar and falling asleep.

Zhuo Zhongqiu walked over from outside, drenched in sweat. She let out a sigh of relief upon seeing Jiang Luo. 'Thank God you can still stand. This bunch of losers all passed out after a drink. I have already sent three people to a car to go to a nearby Hotel. Jiang Luo, help me carry them out.'

Jiang Luo: 'Alright.'

He helped Ge Zhu up, draping Ge Zhu's arm over his own shoulder, and glanced at the bartender as he stood up.

The bartender smiled politely: 'Do you need help, guest?'

Jiang Luo smiled: 'Yes, thank you.'

The bartender came out to help Jiang Luo get Ge Zhu into a taxi outside the bar. Jiang Luo took the opportunity to pull out a Spirit Papers and stick it onto the bartender, but to his surprise, the Spirit Papers had no reaction to the bartender.

Jiang Luo put the Spirit Papers away, feeling toyed with.

He had deliberately left a flaw while manipulating the bartender, but abandoned the Puppet before Jiang Luo could act.

Chi You was like someone teasing Jiang Luo; he was hidden in the shadows, and every person or animal could become an eye for Chi You to monitor Jiang Luo.

This thought made Jiang Luo quite irritable.

Because he understood that without a precise way to identify Chi You's Puppets, the Puppetry Art would leave him constantly vulnerable.

Jiang Luo turned back to help Zhuo Zhongqiu carry the other two drunks out. The taxi could only fit four people. Zhuo Zhongqiu said, 'I will text you the address of the Hotel. You take them and go back first.'

Jiang Luo shook his head. No matter how cool Zhuo Zhongqiu was, she was still a girl. 'I will hail another cab and follow behind you.'

'That works,' Zhuo Zhongqiu said. 'I will tell the driver to take it slow.'

She got into the car, and a moment later, the taxi pulled away slowly.

Jiang Luo stood by the roadside hailing a cab. In the dark night, the weather turned cool, and a fine drizzle fell from the sky, landing first on Jiang Luo's eyelashes.

Jiang Luo blinked. The drizzle hit the ground, leaving black spots that quickly vanished without a trace.

A black umbrella suddenly blocked the sky above Jiang Luo, shielding him from the misty rain.

Jiang Luo looked to the side, and a pale face was imprinted in his vision.

Wearing a slim-fit Tuxedo with a gentle smile at the corners of his mouth, his five fingers gripping the umbrella handle, the man's face held a strange beauty tinged with death and an underlying, incongruous aura of madness. His smile grew wider, looking both pleased and cold. He hummed a tune and said, 'Good evening.'

A Yin Soul that refuses to dissipate.

Jiang Luo instantly pulled out a Spirit Papers and threw it; the ghostly shadow dispersed, and the black umbrella vanished.

A taxi pulled up in front of Jiang Luo.

Jiang Luo got in with an expressionless face, lifting his eyelids to look into the rearview mirror. 'Follow the taxi in front.'

The driver stepped on the gas.

Jiang Luo's right eyelid twitched a few times. He propped his arm on the window, reached up to support his forehead helplessly, and sighed.

'I say,' the corner of his right eye, not covered by his palm, lifted with exquisite flair as he glanced at the driver, defiance and mockery intertwined, 'Chi You, why are you so idle?'

*

It was an hour later by the time he truly returned to his room to rest.

Jiang Luo had used up six Spirit Papers just to successfully return to the Hotel. He was drenched in sweat, his clothes and hair sticking to him, and he still carried the smell of alcohol from moving those drunks back to their rooms.

Jiang Luo locked the door, stuck a Spirit Papers on the back of it, and went to take a shower.

When he came out again, the cold air from the air conditioner made him shiver. Jiang Luo wiped his hair and plugged in the hairdryer by the bedside to dry it.

Amidst the noisy buzzing, the door was knocked once.

The Spirit Papers on the door glowed, reminding Jiang Luo that whatever was outside was not human.

Jiang Luo yawned and continued drying his hair, remaining entirely unmoved.

Half a minute later, the knocking sounded again.

The Spirit Papers ignited abruptly. After this, there was no more sound outside.

A full seven talismans, and now they were all used up.

Jiang Luo checked the time. Good grief, it had only just passed midnight.

The hairdryer ran for five or six minutes; Jiang Luo stopped when his hair was half-dry. His body was exhausted, but his mind was buzzing with adrenaline. He knew Chi You would not let it go; there was still a great battle to be fought.

Taking advantage of this brief quiet, Jiang Luo raised his right hand to observe the Yin-Yang Ring.

He muttered to himself: 'Are you a fake?'

How come you feel completely useless?

As expected, there is no such thing as a free lunch.

Jiang Luo sighed for a moment, and then the knocking sounded on the door again.

Jiang Luo's brow twitched. He rolled out of bed, put on his slippers, and walked to the door to open it, but there was no one outside. The empty Hotel Corridor was clean, not even a mosquito in sight.

He closed the door and turned around with a dark face.

Only to suddenly collide into an embrace.

Chi You stepped forward. The darkness on his body seemed to come from the abyss of hell, burying the light and tearing the space apart.

The mist was thick, the Black Mist slowly covering Jiang Luo's form, finally wrapping around his toes and his very last strand of hair.

Jiang Luo was submerged in the pure black mist. Within the mist, a pale, cyan-tinged hand reached out and toyed with his hair.

'I didn't expect you to want to see me so much on my Head Seventh Day.' The hand slowly wound through Jiang Luo's hair, slid down his cheek, and suddenly pinched Jiang Luo's beautifully shaped chin.

The voice said pleasantly, 'Are you happy?'

Although Chi You was smiling, Jiang Luo could feel that he was clearly angry.

Because the mist behind him had twisted into a sinister, terrifying, and hideous shape.

It had only been a few days, but compared to the weak mist at the 129 Hotel, Chi You now even had a faint human form.

Jiang Luo was forced to lift his chin; the posture made him very uncomfortable.

The less he liked it, the better Chi You's mood became.

'Seven talismans hit on me—that feeling is really not very comfortable,' Chi You's laughter grew colder. He said slowly and methodically, 'You surprise me, classmate Jiang. Teacher never knew you had such talent.'

Jiang Luo's hair swayed on his shoulders, and his Adam's apple bobbed.

'But you have no more talismans,' Chi You said with regret, his hand pinching Jiang Luo's chin harder and harder as a bone-deep chill surged up Jiang Luo's spine. 'Teacher is going to start teaching you now.'

'The first rule: respect your teacher and value the Way.'

The Black Mist wrapped around Jiang Luo's shoulder; with a snap of bone, Jiang Luo's arm hung limply at his side.

Dislocated.

The Black Mist moved from his arm downward, surrounding Jiang Luo's two thin ankles.

The feeling of a dislocated arm was agonizing, painful enough to make Jiang Luo's face turn pale and break out in cold sweat.

But this pain was nothing compared to the eighteen times he had been killed by Chi You.

Jiang Luo suddenly smiled. The light in his eyes was like a hot, boiling soul hidden within. He said softly: 'Teacher, you are right.'

The Black Mist's movement to twist Jiang Luo's ankle stopped. Chi You was somewhat puzzled, saying lazily, 'Hmm?'

Jiang Luo gently raised his uninjured hand and rested it on the shoulder of the human-shaped mist. 'As a student, one must respect one's teacher.'

Behind the thin mist, the hand Jiang Luo had placed behind Chi You suddenly unfolded, revealing a thick stack of Yellow Talisman.

The Yellow Talisman spread out like playing cards, dozens of them at first glance. Jiang Luo smiled: 'I will only kill you once tonight, and torture you for the rest of the night. Isn't that very respectful to my teacher?'