Chapter 49

After the plane landed, they saw a bus parked outside the airport, draped with a banner that read: 'Warmly Welcome the Award-Winning Students Back to School! — Baihua University.'

The vehicle was conspicuously placed, the banner bright and eye-catching. Passersby couldn't help but glance at it—it was utterly attention-grabbing.

The group: "..."

Qi Ye, who had missed first place yet again, had been brooding the whole trip. Now, he couldn't stop his eye from twitching. "Is this Baihua University's welcome ceremony?"

They boarded the bus with as much discretion as they could muster. For each person who stepped on, the driver enthusiastically popped a party popper.

Jiang Luo, with a head full of glittering confetti, sat expressionlessly by the window.

Qi Ye sat down beside him. After picking the confetti off his own clothes, he looked up at Jiang Luo's head, his palm itching slightly. "You still have some on your head."

Jiang Luo ran his fingers through his hair, shaking loose a few pieces. "Any more?"

Qi Ye shook his head. Looking at that single white lock of hair by Jiang Luo's ear, he couldn't help but ask, "I've been meaning to ask—did you dye that on purpose?"

Only then did Jiang Luo remember the issue with that lock of hair. He shot a humorless glance at the windowpane. Reflected in the glass, the black-haired young man indeed had that white strand peeking out by his ear. "I'll find a chance to dye it back in the next couple of days."

Qi Ye said awkwardly, "It looks pretty good like this, though."

But Jiang Luo didn't like it. That white lock felt like a brand Chi You had stamped on him. Just seeing it made him think of that malicious ghost, whether he wanted to or not. He'd been deliberately ignoring it, but Qi Ye's reminder brought it right back to the forefront.

Ignoring it couldn't hide its existence, and cutting it off wasn't an option. Dyeing it back was the only way.

Qi Ye changed the subject. "You know, you're pretty famous in the Xuanxue World now."

Jiang Luo raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

Qi Ye's expression was complicated.

Before boarding the plane, the Qi Family's judging teacher had called him aside, hinting broadly that he should build a good relationship with Jiang Luo. It would be even better if he could get Jiang Luo to work for their family in the future.

But Jiang Luo was Feng Li's disciple, which already made him a representative of Tianshi Manor. Qi Ye might have a bad temper, but his principles and bottom line were rock solid.

In recent years, the Qi Family had maintained a low profile on the surface, but their actions had grown increasingly bold and reckless. Now they dared to poach a Tianshi's disciple—just what were they planning?

He spoke vaguely, "A lot of people want to get to know you. Some are good, some are bad. Don't just believe whatever anyone tells you."

Jiang Luo couldn't help but suspect that, in Qi Ye's eyes, he was an idiot. "In that regard, I think I'm much smarter than you."

Qi Ye: "..."

Flustered and angry, he said, "Forget it. I'm not talking to you anymore. Go get to know whoever you want."

With that, he pulled his cap down, leaned back, and pressed his lips together in a sulk.

Jiang Luo shrugged. From the seat behind, half of a pink plushie's face peeked out, followed by Ye Xun. "Jiang Luo, are you staying at school tonight?"

"Yes," Jiang Luo said. "The Competition is over. I should move back from Tianshi Manor."

Hearing this, Qi Ye's ears perked up involuntarily.

Since coming to Baihua University, he'd never once seen Jiang Luo stay in the dorm.

Soon, the bus arrived at the School. The others could go straight back to their dorms, but as the first-place winner of the Competition, Jiang Luo had to follow Teacher Wan to meet the dean of the Natural Science and Social Research department.

Jiang Luo had heard many legends about this dean, but this was his first time meeting the man in person. Curious, he stepped into the dean's Office.

Inside the Office was a set of office sofas. Sitting on them, one on each side, were two people. One was the dean, Xu Dian Deng, with graying hair and beard. The other was someone Jiang Luo also recognized—the funeral shop owner.

Xu Yuxiang saw him enter, and his stern face suddenly relaxed into a broad, gratified smile. 'Brother Ji, let me introduce you. This is the student from our school who took first place, Jiang Luo, the disciple of Feng Li.'

The funeral shop owner said weakly, "I know this student of yours."

Xu Yuxiang was not surprised. 'You always know a lot of people. Back when I wanted to hire Chi You to be my teaching assistant here, it was through you that I managed to get in touch with him.'

The funeral shop owner started, then reminded him in a low voice, "Don't mention him anymore."

"It's fine. Jiang Luo also has some connection to Chi You. Mentioning him in front of Jiang Luo is nothing," the dean said with a wave of his hand, looking at Jiang Luo curiously. "I heard from Teacher Wan that after the second round of the Competition, you wanted to commit suicide for Chi You?"

Jiang Luo thought back to that time—it was right after he'd obtained the Yin-Yang Ring and first tried drowning himself in the bath. He'd heard about Teacher Wan's big mouth before, but he hadn't expected the dean to know about it too.

Jiang Luo forced a smile. "Yes."

The funeral shop owner looked at him in surprise. "You and Chi You were...?"

"We were lovers," Jiang Luo said, lowering his eyes. A shallow, clinging sorrow clung to him. "Dean, could you tell me more about Chi You?"

His eyes were slightly red. He murmured, "I miss him so much."

The dean sighed. "You child... I heard you also want to investigate the cause of Chi You's death?"

Jiang Luo said seriously, "Yes."

The funeral shop owner and the dean exchanged a look.

Once they confirmed Jiang Luo wasn't lying, the funeral shop owner lay back on the sofa and said, breathless, "So Chi You had that kind of relationship with you... No wonder. No wonder. That explains why, last time, as soon as that Yuantian Pearl came into my hands, you noticed something off about that little bead."

Jiang Luo asked, "Boss, what exactly is this Yuantian Pearl?"

The funeral shop owner said lazily, "What, hasn't your shifu told you yet?"

Jiang Luo shook his head.

The funeral shop owner smiled mockingly. "Of course. I'm afraid even if the Tianshi knew what it was, he wouldn't tell a little kid like you. But given your deep relationship with Chi You, I suppose it's fine to tell you."

"This Yuantian Pearl," he spun the Flowing Pearl beads in his hand, murmured 'Blessings be infinite,' and then continued, "is something obtained by defying heaven. There are only four in the whole world. According to the Six Great Families, the Yuantian Pearl is a treasure bestowed by heaven because it saw the Xuanxue World declining, meant to help it regain its former prosperity."

The dean snorted coldly and slammed his hand on the table. "Fuck their mothers! They really think four beads can save the entire Xuanxue World?!"

The funeral shop owner said, "Don't interrupt yet."

He looked at Jiang Luo and said softly, "'Yuan' signifies the origin of all things in heaven and earth—the fundamental essence. 'Tian' signifies what is innate, born of heaven. Put these two characters together, and you get 'Innate Origin.' Let me ask you, does that make you think of something?"

Jiang Luo looked back at him just as softly. *You're speaking in such riddles, who could possibly understand what you mean?*

The funeral shop owner gave another veiled hint. "Before this 'Innate Origin,' add the character for 'person.'"

A person's Innate Origin.

Jiang Luo had a headache. He pressed his temples, then suddenly froze. Slowly, he looked up, glancing at the funeral shop owner, then at the dean.

"The Yuantian Pearl is made from a person's Innate Origin?"

The dean and the funeral shop owner didn't nod or shake their heads, but their eyes told Jiang Luo the answer.

Innate Origin.

Wasn't that just a person's soul?

Jiang Luo's voice was so light, as if afraid to disturb something. "There are four Yuantian Pearls, meaning there's a person whose soul was split into four pieces and made into Yuantian Pearls?"

Instantly, he recalled the description of Chi You from the original novel.

Soul incomplete, fragmented, as if a person had no facial features, no limbs.

The Yuantian Pearl was made from Chi You's soul.

*

After leaving the dean's Office, Jiang Luo walked slowly under the blazing sun.

July had passed. In the Xiangxi Region, they hadn't felt the heat, but Baihua University was located in a nationally famous 'furnace.' Even in August, the sun made you sweat as soon as you stepped outside.

Jiang Luo stood under the sun for a while, gradually coming back to himself from that earth-shattering secret.

He wasn't thinking about anything else at the moment. His only thought was: *Chi You is already this strong with an incomplete soul. If he gathered all four Yuantian Pearls, how powerful would he become?*

Just as Jiang Luo had once said, death hadn't weakened Chi You. Instead, it seemed to have broken some kind of restraint, making him even more formidable and mysterious.

At his strongest, forget the entire Xuanxue World—Jiang Luo couldn't even guarantee his own safety.

Jiang Luo had once admired that kind of personality in Chi You. But now, he wanted more than anything to crush that pretentious evil ghost beneath his heel.

He and Chi You were enemies now. If his enemy grew stronger, given that madman's methods, Jiang Luo could imagine exactly what his own outcome would be.

At worst, it would be like in the original novel—Chi You tormenting him to a fate worse than death.

But would Jiang Luo willingly endure that torment?

Of course not.

Jiang Luo kicked a stone in front of his foot, watching it roll into the grass. Suddenly, he lifted his lips in a smile.

He would never give Chi You the chance to obtain the remaining Yuantian Pearls.

Adding some trouble to his enemy's road to resurrection—how could Jiang Luo refuse such a good thing?

Once his plans were ruined, that evil ghost would probably be furious yet forced to suppress his anger, just like when Jiang Luo had exposed Bai Ye Feng's Puppet body.

Jiang Luo chuckled quietly, his shoulders shaking slightly. When he looked up, he met the eyes of several small birds perched in a tree.

The birds seemed to have been watching him silently all along. Their beady black eyes seemed to understand his every move.

The smile on Jiang Luo's lips didn't change. He stared at the birds for a moment, then shifted his gaze left. A summer cicada on the tree trunk was also watching him quietly.

Within the School, due to the exorcism and evil-suppressing feng shui layout, Chi You couldn't enter. But these small animals controlled by Chi You weren't affected by the feng shui.

Jiang Luo strolled forward and reached out toward the birds. One tilted its head, then spread its wings and flew onto his fingertip.

"Little cutie," Jiang Luo whispered gently, "you're not that dog Chi You's, are you?"

The bird didn't move.

Jiang Luo gently stroked the bird's head feathers with his thumb. Suddenly, the bird pecked toward the red mole on his left hand. Jiang Luo, quick as lightning, caught it by the neck.

He deftly pulled out a talisman paper and stuck it onto the bird. The paper grew slightly warm. The bird chirped twice, broke free from its control, and flew away, flapping its wings.

Jiang Luo put away the talisman paper and lazily headed toward the dormitory. His scoff was scattered by the wind. "Peeping Tom."

*

After the Competition ended, the School gave them a three-day holiday. When Lu You's parents learned he'd been injured during the Competition, they waved their hands grandly and booked an entire Hot Spring Manor, inviting the whole class to go relax.

Jiang Luo fully grasped just how wealthy Lu You's family was. He clicked his tongue in admiration. "So this is the world of the rich?"

Lu You sat on the sofa eating chips, urging them to hurry up and pack. "Actually, my family is just average."

Ge Zhu said bitterly, "I beg you, stop talking."

After packing their luggage and leaving the School gate, Lu You's parents had even sent cars for them. Three luxury cars were incredibly impressive—an ordinary person might spend their whole life earning just enough for a tire. When Jiang Luo and the others got into the cars, ordinary Baihua University students stood at the School gate watching, some even pulling out their Mobile Phones to film them with envious expressions.

Jiang Luo: "...Today, I finally understand how happy rich people are."

Lu You sighed sorrowfully. "Money isn't everything. You don't understand the troubles of being wealthy."

Ye Xun said, "Just shut up."

The Hot Spring Manor was in the countryside. They arrived at their destination at two in the afternoon. Staff from the Manor took their luggage, and the Manor's manager was also waiting for them, greeting them warmly.

Lu You hugged the manager and introduced, "This is my Shushu."

Shushu smiled. "Hello, everyone. Enjoy yourselves these next few days. We've prepared everything. Besides the indoor and outdoor hot springs, there are also sauna rooms, steam rooms, and massage rooms. Additionally, the entertainment area and cinema are next to the restaurant. If you need anything, just ask the staff. Please don't be polite."

After speaking, he had other matters to attend to and left in a hurry.

Jiang Luo followed Lu You toward their rooms. As they passed the outdoor Fountain Pools, he noticed there really wasn't a single person. "Lu You, did your parents really book this whole place?"

Lu You chuckled twice, scratching his head sheepishly. "Actually, this is my family's business. I was too embarrassed to tell you before, but now I have to. This Hot Spring Manor hasn't been open for business these past few days because some strange things have been happening. My parents wanted me to come take a look, but I was afraid I couldn't handle it alone, so I called you guys over."

The group: "..."

Lu You said righteously, "We're all friends. Paying you would be too formal. So, I suggested inviting you all to play here for free for three days. Aren't you happy? Isn't it a surprise?"

"..."

Ge Zhu smiled miserably. "I'd rather have the money."

Ye Xun rolled up his sleeves, expressionless. "Don't stop me."

Jiang Luo said considerately, "I'll hold Little Pink for you."

Only after beating up Lu You did everyone finally relax enough to ask, "What strange things have been happening here?"

Lu You covered his bruised eye, hissing as he drew in a cold breath. "These past few nights, people have been hearing music playing in the Manor."

"Music?"

"Yes," Lu You said. "First, it's lively, celebratory music. Then, it's mournful, sorrowful funeral music. According to those who've heard it, it's like..." He paused, lowering his voice. "Like a wedding and a funeral have collided."