Chapter 30

So the heavens really do drop pies from the sky.

Just for that one sentence, even though Feng Li's words were still so overbearing, Jiang Luo's goodwill toward him shot straight up.

He forcibly pressed down the smile at the corners of his brows and eyes, afraid it would show, and buried his face in his hands.

Whether or not Feng Li could actually scatter Chi You's soul, just for that sentence, Jiang Luo had to lure Chi You out and parade him in front of Feng Li.

Although Jiang Luo would rather be the one to scatter Chi You's soul himself, if Feng Li wanted to give him a 'pleasant surprise,' he would absolutely welcome it with open arms.

His long hair spilled loose, blocking his profile. Jiang Luo's expression was completely hidden by it, and in Feng Li's eyes, it took on a layer of melancholy, dejected shadow.

But even with Jiang Luo so distressed, Feng Li did not soften in the slightest. On the contrary, the malicious ghost who had led such a gifted clansman disciple to be so hopelessly obsessed had already stirred his killing intent.

Feng Li's face was cold, the killing intent buried so thoroughly that no one could read it.

After arriving at the Hotel, Jiang Luo was the first to step out of the car.

The car window lowered. Feng Li asked lightly, 'When are you going back to school?'

Jiang Luo wasn't sure either: 'Probably tomorrow.'

Feng Li nodded, watching the black-haired youth bow to him, then turn lightly and walk into the Hotel.

Only after the ends of the black-haired youth's hair disappeared between the building walls did Feng Li withdraw his gaze, his tone slightly colder: 'Who is his shifu?'

The driver answered deferentially: 'Chen Pi.'

Chen Pi was a registered disciple under the Elder Celestial Master. Feng Li's excellent memory still held a few impressions of this man, yet those impressions did nothing to soften his attitude. He said, cold as quenched ice: 'Wasted talent.'

The driver kept his head down, listening in silence.

The two direct disciples sensed the atmosphere was off and took their leave with careful courtesy.

Only Feng Li and the driver remained in the car.

'A disciple of exceptional talent, and he didn't even notice — even let the disciple go study at one of twelve universities,' Feng Li lifted his eyes, his gaze like a blade reflected in the rearview mirror. 'Holding a treasure in his hands and treating it like a worn-out broom — treated like this, how could Jiang Luo ever serve the Feng Clan?'

Among those twelve universities, there were very few direct disciples of the Six Great Families.

Truly outstanding, one-in-ten-thousand talents were all hidden away as trump cards by the Six Great Families. A case like Zhuo Zhongqiu's was rare; Zhuo Zhongqiu wasn't there just to study — she also carried the burden of recruiting talent for the Zhuo Clan.

Jiang Luo's performance in the Competition had been conspicuous. From the first round, many people had noticed him; after the second round ended, even more would discover Jiang Luo's talent.

Although Jiang Luo carried the name of a Feng Clan disciple, his relationship with the Feng Clan was not close. If some other sect wanted to recruit Jiang Luo, he might well be tempted.

The car interior was utterly silent — a pin drop would have been audible. Feng Li's breathing was slow. A sidelong glance caught a single long black hair left on the seat beside him.

He reached out, two fingertips picking up the fine strand. Feng Li gave his hand a gentle shake, and the strand seemed to come alive, struggling desperately to break free from his fingertips.

Fierce temperament. Steadfast and unyielding.

Feng Li raised his other hand, gently pressing the hair down as he bent forward.

That single finger — the force looked no greater than what it would take to crush an ant — yet carried the weight of a thousand pounds, bending the hair almost to its limit.

But just as the hair was about to bend completely, a faint 'crack' sounded, and the strand snapped in two.

Feng Li released his palm, his eyes dark and deep as he looked at the two broken pieces.

Better to shatter like jade than remain whole like a tile.

'When we return, have Chen Pi bring Jiang Luo to see me,' Feng Li's face hidden in shadow, his voice light. 'Tell him I will take Jiang Luo as my direct disciple.'

*

When Jiang Luo came back, Lu You was still watching a TV drama.

He had ordered fried chicken delivery, and between bites of a drumstick he asked, muffled, 'Back already?'

Jiang Luo walked over beside him, picked up a chicken nugget and munched on it together with him, and started laughing again as he ate.

Lu You asked, puzzled, 'Something good happen?'

'Nothing,' Jiang Luo said, trying not to laugh. 'Nothing good happened at all.'

Lu You believed him. 'The results come out at eight tonight.'

Jiang Luo: 'Once the results are out, we leave Yunnan tomorrow?'

Lu You: 'Yeah. Teacher Wan already booked tomorrow's flight. He said the top three from the second round are probably us again, so we need to run fast before someone else puts a bag over our heads.'

Jiang Luo: '...Teacher really thinks of everything.'

Lu You eagerly pulled out his tablet. 'I've been wanting to rewatch our Competition footage for ages, but I didn't dare watch it alone. Jiang Luo, keep me company?'

Jiang Luo was curious too. He cleared off the desk and crooked a finger at Lu You. 'Come on.'

Lu You logged onto the official site only internal staff could access. The livestream videos of all hundred and thirty contestants were arranged by popularity from top to bottom — and the first one was Jiang Luo's.

Lu You clicked in, and the two watched seriously, but when they saw Jiang Luo lying in bed asleep, both of them sucked in a breath at the same time.

While Jiang Luo slept, a blood mark had suddenly appeared on the post at his bedside, and a blood-drenched female ghost had materialized at the edge of the bed, lowering her head to look at him with an eerie expression.

Jiang Luo had never known that Wang Xin Hui had watched him sleep like that for two nights. Even he felt a chill run down the back of his neck for an instant.

There were too many contestants' videos to watch them all, so they only finished the ones they knew. Lu You stroked his chin, unusually serious in thought. 'At this rate, Jiang Luo, you're about to take first place.'

Then, in a sycophantic tone: 'Carry me through the next round, will you?'

Jiang Luo laughed despite himself. 'Depends on how you behave.'

Lu You eagerly massaged his shoulders.

The livestream played to the end, the footage panning past the crowd of staff and police outside the school. In the crowd, Jiang Luo spotted a familiar face. He dragged the progress bar back and hit pause just in time.

'Lu You,' Jiang Luo stared at the screen. 'Isn't that the funeral shop owner?'

Lu You leaned in for a look. 'That's him. I saw him two hours ago when I went to pick up the delivery.'

Jiang Luo asked: 'He's staying at this Hotel too?'

After getting an affirmative answer, Jiang Luo smiled slowly, stood up and said: 'I'm going to go have a chat with him. I'll be back before the Competition results are announced.'

Lu You asked: 'Chat about what?'

Jiang Luo touched the Yin-Yang Ring and smiled eerily. 'About him selling counterfeit goods.'

Anyone who could be invited to stay at this Hotel was no ordinary person. The funeral shop owner had a distinctive appearance, and after asking a few people, Jiang Luo found his room.

When the funeral shop owner opened the door for Jiang Luo, he was visibly surprised. 'You need something?'

Jiang Luo said unhurriedly: 'I've come to ask you a question.'

The funeral shop owner looked him up and down, then widened the gap in the door. 'Come in.'

The funeral shop owner's room had no main lights on, only a few small ones for atmosphere. Jiang Luo walked over and sat by the table. The funeral shop owner sprawled lazily in a rocking chair by the balcony, still sounding half-dead. 'Go on, what's your question.'

'Boss, how do you use the Yin-Yang Ring?' Jiang Luo said. 'In plain terms.'

The funeral shop owner opened one eye. 'The Yin-Yang Ring — as the name suggests, it sits at the junction of yin and yang.'

He said slowly: 'Do you know why you can see the Yin-Yang Ring?'

Jiang Luo said: 'Good eyesight?'

The boss said: 'Good fortune.'

Jiang Luo, who had been hit by one piece of bad luck after another, couldn't decide whether to laugh or cry. 'Good fortune?'

'This fortune is not that fortune,' the boss said. 'The fortune I mean is your fortune with yin objects.'

'When the Yin-Yang Ring is hidden, not everyone can see it. But now you're wearing it on your hand, and yang qi draws it out — that's why living people can see it.'

Jiang Luo frowned slightly. 'Then why can I see it?'

The funeral shop owner looked at him deeply. 'Because your constitution is special.'

Jiang Luo raised an eyebrow. 'Oh?'

'Death qi in the body, yang qi in the soul — yin and yang intertwined. Truly rare,' the boss said. 'You happen to match the Yin-Yang Ring's properties. That's why you can see it.'

Jiang Luo's heart skipped, but his face stayed calm. 'What do you mean, death qi in the body and yang qi in the soul?'

The boss yawned. 'Just what it says on the surface. You've got outstanding talent — the future is bright.'

Jiang Luo's heartbeat quickened further. He probed: 'Is a constitution like this dangerous?'

'What danger could there be?' the boss said. 'Your soul fits your body, yin and yang fused just right. Other people have one life; you have one life. As long as you don't do anything stupid, where's the danger?'

It seemed the funeral shop owner had not seen through the fact that his soul was an outsider.

Jiang Luo set his mind at ease and returned to his original question. 'So how do I activate the Yin-Yang Ring?'

The boss held up two fingers. 'There are two ways. One is to have your elders perform a ritual to activate the Yin-Yang Ring. That method is safe and reliable, but the Yin-Yang Ring can mostly only be used as a defensive artifact — at most with an added effect of repelling demons and suppressing evil.'

'The other,' the boss said, looking at Jiang Luo with meaning, 'is to put yourself in a state on the brink of life and death, and use that to trigger your life force and activate the Yin-Yang Ring.'

'What the Yin-Yang Ring looks like when activated this way, I don't know either,' the boss said quietly. 'But as long as the activation succeeds, it becomes a killing weapon.'

It's just that there's a good chance that before the Yin-Yang Ring activates, the person will already be dead.

Jiang Luo said calmly: 'Thanks for the information.'

After taking his leave, he returned to the room. While Lu You wasn't looking, he slipped into the bathroom and locked the door behind him.

He looked at the Mirror, thinking over the boss's words.

Safety or getting stronger — was there really a choice between the two? Jiang Luo, of course, chose the latter.

He had already experienced the brink of death many times. What was there left to fear?

He sensibly set an alarm, then put Spirit Papers around the room to keep some vicious, ruthless malicious ghost from catching him off guard. He turned on the tap and filled the bathtub.

While the tub was filling, he filled the sink as well. He opened the stopwatch on his Mobile Phone, then plunged his face into the sink.

The water covered the tip of his nose, then his ears. Jiang Luo kept his eyes closed. A moment later he jerked his head up, gasping for breath in great gulps.

He picked up the Mobile Phone and checked — it showed he had held his breath for a minute and a half.

Based on this time, Jiang Luo set a two-minute alarm, then lay down fully clothed in the cold water.

He watched his own hair flailing in the water like ghostly shadows, and felt an eerily calm mood, laced with a thread of barely perceptible madness. Jiang Luo closed his eyes.

The two-minute countdown on the Mobile Phone began.