Chapter 33

Just one sentence, and Jiang Luo had the demon completely thrilled.

Jiang Luo smiled coldly at the demon. His right hand rose in front of the demon's body, as if something was being born in his palm — and then it slammed into the demon with violent force.

'Bang—'

The riverbed churned violently. Waves rose on the surface, and great sheets of water crashed against the bank, drowning the tall plants that lined it.

A sound of breaking water rang out — the demon was hurled onto the bank by a surging column of water. He landed lightly, soaked through, but his mood could not have been better.

He adjusted his sleeves and looked up toward the water.

Jiang Luo rose from the water, walking almost impossibly across its surface. Beneath his feet, golden incantations flickered through the rippling waves. The incantations formed the shape of a golden python. Jiang Luo stepped off the incantation onto solid ground, and the golden rune-python leapt from the water, coiling around him out of thin air.

The python's teeth were sharp. Though made of incantations, it bore the fierce, oppressive weight of something real. The corner of Jiang Luo's mouth lifted. Water beaded in his black hair — a dishevelled figure, but with a cutting, lethal air.

Before activating the Yin-Yang Ring, Jiang Luo had not fully believed the funeral home owner.

He had looked up information on the Yin-Yang Ring himself, and had Kuang Zheng look it up for him too. When he compared what he'd found with what the funeral home owner had told him, there were no major discrepancies.

But the moment Jiang Luo truly believed the funeral home owner was last night, when he first tried to activate the Yin-Yang Ring.

Under safe conditions, he had indeed felt something approaching a threshold — proof that 'a near-death state can open the Yin-Yang Ring' was true.

If it was possible, Jiang Luo was willing to gamble.

Fortunately, he had succeeded.

All the frustration Jiang Luo had bottled up finally poured out. He gave the Yin-Yang Ring a gentle shake; it brushed against his skin. Smiling, he said, 'First movement — determine direction.'

The python of Jinwen Secret Incantation raised its head and looked north.

'Second movement — determine fortune.' Jiang Luo took a step toward the demon. His right hand swayed as he walked, and the Yin-Yang Ring moved again.

'Third movement,' Jiang Luo said with a smile, his tone almost accommodating. 'How would you like to die, Chi You?'

Third movement — fix yin and yang.

The python's slit pupils locked onto the only demon present. Its great bloody maw opened, and a thin tongue slid over its fangs.

The python, radiating sacred Golden Light, coiled around the black-haired youth. He reached up and stroked the python's head, watching the demon with a half-smile.

The Yin-Yang Ring carried thirteen Jinwen Secret Incantations in total. Twelve of them were tied to the Twelve Zodiacs, which correspond to the twelve earthly branches. Jiang Luo's talent was extraordinary, and his affinity with the Yin-Yang Ring was unmatched — the moment it appeared, the twelve Jinwen had already formed into the Snake of Si.

The demon saw the sight, and every pore of his body screamed with pleasure. He laughed low. Moonlight veered away from him. Black Mist spread.

'How would you like me to die?' the demon asked, thoroughly entertained.

Jiang Luo simply patted the python's head.

The rune-python rose into the air and lunged at the demon with savage force. Jiang Luo said, unhurried, 'I'm a good student who respects my teachers. A good student should be considerate of his teacher — how about I let you die happy?'

His smile was warm. 'Teacher, do you like this way to die?'

Chased by the python, the demon laughed, muffled. 'Sounds not bad.'

The Jinwen Secret Incantations on the Yin-Yang Ring were the natural bane of ghosts. Within moments, the demon was looking somewhat the worse for wear. When the python struck again, Chi You suddenly darted up to Jiang Luo. He smiled at him, his hand brushing past Jiang Luo's hair. 'You really are different.'

The demon said, almost admiringly, 'You're incredible.'

'Oh?' Jiang Luo smiled coldly. He raised his hand, and the Jinwen Secret Incantation leapt to his palm, forming a dagger. 'I can be even more incredible. Want to try?'

The hand driving the dagger forward was caught by the demon, who smiled. 'Now that's getting dangerous.'

Jiang Luo looked up at the demon with a smile, then suddenly pulled the dagger back. The Jinwen Secret Incantation reshaped into a whip — and before the demon could react, it lashed hard across his body.

A sizzling sound rang out. Wherever the whip had struck, the skin smoked like it had been licked by fire, wisps of white vapor curling up.

On the demon's cheek, a thumb-sized mark from the whip's tail remained.

White vapor rose slowly from the whip-mark, veiling the demon's handsome face. The red mark, ghost-like, lent him an extra edge of wicked charm.

Chi You raised a hand, lightly touching the wound on his cheek, and looked up at Jiang Luo.

Jiang Luo did not flinch. He even murmured, provocatively, 'Teacher, is that incredible enough?'

Chi You smiled slowly. 'Plenty.'

He said, low, 'You've given your teacher such a wonderful gift. Whatever I do, I have to give one back.'

He looped a strand of Jiang Luo's hair around his finger, smiled with unreadable meaning — and before the python behind him could strike, vanished into the air.

The air went still. The golden python looked around, then quietly dissolved back into Runes and returned to the Yin-Yang Ring. From the incantations' response, Jiang Luo understood that Chi You had truly left.

He released the whip in his hand, let the last Jinwen return to its place, and his smile never once faded.

Even with the mess of the scene still to deal with, his smile did not drop by a single fraction.

The police arrived quickly, along with Jiang Luo's companions. To keep Lu You and the others from thinking he had tried to die again, Jiang Luo spoke first: 'My Yin-Yang Ring has activated.'

He explained the Yin-Yang Ring's general function to the group, but his mind was on something else.

The Yin-Yang Ring had one final function.

Beyond the twelve zodiac incantations that could form the twelve earthly branches, the Yin-Yang Ring also held the Thirteenth Sacred Incantation.

To summon the Thirteenth Sacred Incantation, one needed the 'Four Movements to Summon Ghosts.'

After the fourth movement, the Thirteenth Sacred Incantation would summon the most powerful Ghost in the world to aid Jiang Luo. But because this Ghost did not belong to the Yin-Yang Ring itself, obtaining the Ghost's help required a price.

What that price was, the Ghost alone decided.

This incantation was too unstable, and the title of 'the world's most powerful Ghost' was too dangerous a thing to gamble on. If he summoned some ruthless, vicious Ghost, Jiang Luo might lose on both fronts — unless absolutely necessary, he would not invoke the Thirteenth Sacred Incantation.

His companions had been successfully diverted, peppering him with questions about the activation. When they reached a lit area, Kuang Zheng suddenly exclaimed, 'Jiang Luo, your hair...'

Jiang Luo froze. He walked to the car's rear-view Mirror and bent down to look.

There, among the black hair at his shoulder, a small streak of snow-white was mixed in — like a deliberate dye job, sharply black and white, lending him a colder, more striking beauty.

Jiang Luo understood at once. This was Chi You's 'gift' to him.

The vitality of that strand of hair had been taken by Chi You.