Chapter 50

To put it bluntly, they had run into the Red and White Twin Fiends.

The Red and White Twin Fiends are a forbidden Maoshan art, extremely dangerous in themselves and rarely encountered; only at a specific time and in a specific place is it possible to witness the Red and White Twin Fiends collide.

The Red Fiend refers to a bride who dies on her wedding day, dying in red robes, her resentment unbearably heavy. The White Fiend refers to a water ghost with such deep cultivation that it can walk on land, escorting the coffin of a young man who died by misadventure.

One is bearing the dead, one is bearing joy; when the two fiends collide, neither is willing to give way.

Jiang Luo had seen the term ‘Red and White Twin Fiends’ in a book. To encounter the Red and White Twin Fiends required a complex, highly particular feng shui formation. Once the red and white processions crashed into each other, if you were dragged into it without some real ability, you could only wait for death.

Lu You looked at them with pleading eyes. 'I didn’t have the confidence to handle this alone. But with you all here with me, I’m not scared anymore.'

Though they still felt the urge to punch him, they were already here. The group accepted reality.

'We’ll deal with the serious business tonight,' Jiang Luo said, stretching lazily. 'First, let us enjoy ourselves.'

Lu You grinned, flashing a row of white teeth. 'Of course!'

They returned to their rooms to drop off their luggage, then prepared to soak in the hot springs. Jiang Luo showered in the bathroom, washing off the dust of the journey, then put on the clothing provided by the Hot Spring Manor.

The Manor had supplied a robe, a towel, and disposable underwear. The underwear’s quality wasn’t great, but it wasn’t terrible either. Once he put it on, Jiang Luo found it a bit tight.

He had always been satisfied with his physique. After months of training, a thin layer of muscle now covered his body. At a glance, he was slender and firm everywhere, with perfect proportions. There was a full-length Mirror in the bathroom. Jiang Luo tied the robe’s sash in front of it, leisurely admiring his reflection.

His black hair fell past his shoulders, damp with droplets. The faintly upturned corners of his lips were both perfunctory and beautiful, a pleasing sight to behold.

This face had been with him for over twenty years. He was grateful that the cannon-fodder Jiang Luo from the original novel had a face identical to his own.

'Maybe after dealing with that ticking time bomb Chi You,' Jiang Luo murmured to himself, 'I should move on from this 'heartbreak' and start a proper relationship.'

Behind him, in the unnoticed laundry hamper, an inexplicable, formless wind threaded through the clothes. The fabric bulged from within for no reason, then quickly fell flat, as if searching for something.

Hearing his words, the wind’s movements paused. In the next moment, it vanished from the hamper without a trace.

Lu You called from outside, 'Jiang Luo, hurry up!'

Jiang Luo snapped out of his reverie, loosely twisting his damp hair and draping it behind his head, then strolled leisurely out of the bathroom.

The Hot Spring Manor’s main attraction was, of course, the springs. The indoor baths were separated by gender and required nudity. The outdoor pools offered scenic views but required swimwear and were mixed-gender.

Normally, for cleanliness, they would have chosen the indoor springs. But now was different. The only guests in the entire Manor were the nine of them. Both the indoor and outdoor pools were spotlessly clean.

The group found a large outdoor hot spring to soak in together, chatting idly.

The scent of sulfur mingled with disinfectant. The steaming hot water quickly relaxed their minds.

Wenren Lian handed Jiang Luo a bottle of water. Jiang Luo opened his eyes, glanced at Wenren Lian, and reached out to take it. 'Wenren,' he teased, 'nice physique.'

When Wenren Lian wore women’s clothing daily, there was no sense of incongruity, making him seem overly slender. But without the feminine attire, his tall frame was revealed—every line a blend of strength and graceful fluidity, devoid of any feminine softness, simply handsome.

'Do you like it?' Wenren Lian blinked at him.

Jiang Luo stroked his chin thoughtfully, looking Wenren Lian up and down. 'Not bad.'

Wenren Lian nearly broke character laughing but managed to deliver his next line. 'Then, want to try with me tonight?'

'Sure,' Jiang Luo said, his eyebrow quirking. 'But I only do top.'

Wenren Lian sighed regretfully. 'What a shame. So do I.'

Kuang Zheng, who was soaking properly nearby, interjected, 'What does 'top' mean?'

Jiang Luo and Wenren Lian fell silent for a few seconds, then burst out laughing together. Wenren Lian turned, placed a finger to his lips, and said gently, 'That’s not something a child should know.'

Kuang Zheng looked at him helplessly.

Lu You and Sailor were singing. Sailor’s singing was, as expected, completely tone-deaf and unforgettable. Jiang Luo closed his eyes, drifting in that hazy border between sleep and wakefulness. Listening to the noisy chatter, an involuntary, faint smile touched his lips.

Qi Ye’s gaze drifted over Jiang Luo. Zhuo Zhongqiu suddenly asked, 'Why do you keep looking at Jiang Luo?'

Qi Ye’s face flushed instantly, as if he might leap out of the pool. 'I’m not looking at him!'

Zhuo Zhongqiu said calmly, 'Why are you so worked up?'

The rest of Qi Ye’s words caught in his throat. He sat back down in the pool, stiff-faced, and looked pointedly in the opposite direction of Jiang Luo—a classic case of protesting too much. 'I don’t even want to talk to you.'

But the more he tried not to look, the harder it became to resist. Qi Ye glanced at Zhuo Zhongqiu from the corner of his eye, and seeing she wasn’t paying attention, he stole a quick look toward Jiang Luo.

Just then, Jiang Luo suddenly stood up from the pool. His face was slightly flushed, his eyes half-lidded with drowsy lethargy. 'I’m tired. I’m going back to sleep.'

After receiving scattered acknowledgments, Jiang Luo ambled out of the pool. He picked up a clean towel from a nearby chair, flung it over his shoulders with a flourish, and was about to leave when he remembered something. He turned his head slightly. 'Don’t soak too long.'

The alluring corners of Jiang Luo’s eyes narrowed slightly, a teasing pull at his lips. 'If you pass out, don’t come wake me up.'

Ge Zhu joked, 'If we pass out, we’ll crawl to your room before we collapse.'

This kind of friendly banter was something Jiang Luo had rarely experienced before, but it felt good. He shrugged, waved at them, and returned to his room to sleep in high spirits.

He slept like the dead. Outside the window, the sky shifted from bright sunshine to a dusky gold. Only when the last rays of twilight were gradually devoured by the night did Jiang Luo slowly open his eyes.

He blinked sluggishly, his eyelids fluttering twice, and looked toward the window.

The sun outside the window had vanished. A gentle breeze stirred; only a strip of purplish-red twilight remained glowing faintly at the horizon.

Jiang Luo reached for his Mobile Phone. It was already seven in the evening.

With only their group in the Manor, they had been extravagantly assigned individual rooms. Jiang Luo hadn’t turned on the light when he returned, so the room was darker than outside, as if a man-eating monster lurked within the darkness.

Jiang Luo came fully awake. He leaned over and switched on the light. Bright illumination instantly dispelled the darkness. He looked at the doors and windows; the talismans he had placed there before sleeping were intact.

Reassured, he got up and went out for dinner.

The moment he closed the door, a sinister wind violently struck the window inside the room. The Suppressive Talisman that had held back the evil wind several times finally gave way. Flame ignited from the base of the talisman, reducing it to ash in an instant, which scattered onto the windowsill.

*

Jiang Luo finished dinner alone, strolled around the Manor for half an hour, and once his food had settled, he felt like soaking in the springs again. He found a secluded, unused small pool and settled in.

The thermometer beside the Fountain Pool showed 38°C—neither too high nor too low, just the perfect temperature. Jiang Luo sighed contentedly, leaning against the pool’s edge to enjoy this rare moment of solitude.

But gradually, the temperature of the spring began to drop.

Jiang Luo initially thought he had simply acclimated to the heat, but soon realized something was wrong.

He opened his eyes. Mist still swirled over the spring’s surface, but the steam from the heat had transformed into a chilling, cold vapor. Jiang Luo quickly stood up, retreating from the pool with wary eyes fixed on the water. The moment he stepped out, the 38-degree hot spring instantly froze solid.

If Jiang Luo had been any slower, he would have been frozen in the pool.

Jiang Luo snatched a towel from nearby, his face dark. 'Fuck.'

He tried to drape the towel over himself, but his hands were abruptly seized by another person.

This person’s grip was powerful, his fingers long and slender, their pads soft as a corpse’s. He stood at least half a head taller than Jiang Luo. Now, he pressed close. On the ground, their shadows stretched long by the moonlight intertwined like mandarin ducks, necks entwined, spreading through the fragmented shadows of bamboo leaves, crossing the pool’s edge, and falling upon the frozen hot spring.

Another dark-haired man leaned his head out from beside Jiang Luo’s ear and said with a laugh, 'Planning to forget your 'old flame' and start a new romance so soon?'

The Yin-Yang Ring shook violently three times. The Snake of Si shot toward the space behind Jiang Luo. Jiang Luo wrenched his hands free and spun around, but there was no one behind him.

His eyes sharp as blades, he scanned the surroundings. The trees were still, the breeze light. There was no sign of anyone.

Jiang Luo stroked the Snake of Si’s head. It coiled around his arm up to his shoulder, its Rune-formed tongue flicking against Jiang Luo’s cheek, its vertical pupils also keenly surveying the area.

Finding nothing, the Snake of Si retreated into the Yin-Yang Ring. Jiang Luo used the towel to dry his hair and turned to leave.

'Ran away so fast…' His voice was neither loud nor soft, as if deliberately meant for someone to hear, a thread of mockery woven through his tone. 'You showed up again after such a short break. Mr. Chi’s 'obsession' with me is truly flattering.'

Even though Jiang Luo knew Chi You was after the Divine Statue Heart and the Yuantian Pearl, his words showed no mercy.

As he spoke, he braced himself for the malevolent ghost’s anger. But unexpectedly, nothing happened all the way back to the main hall.

Had Chi You changed his nature?

Impossible.

Suspicion grew in Jiang Luo’s mind. He couldn’t help glancing back several times.

What exactly was Chi You planning?

Jiang Luo entered the dining hall warily. Inside, his classmates were having a late-night snack. Jiang Luo sat at the table, distractedly pouring himself a glass of water, then noticed someone was missing. 'Where’s Sailor?'

Ge Zhu, gnawing on a chicken leg, said, 'He went out while I was sleeping. No idea where. He hasn’t come back yet.'

As soon as the words left his mouth, someone walked in from outside. Blond hair, blue eyes—undoubtedly Sailor.

Sailor’s eyes were somewhat vacant. His expression was wooden, as if he didn’t see the people in the dining hall. He walked in a straight line, heading directly for the elevator.

Everyone exchanged glances. Ge Zhu raised his voice. 'Sailor?'

At the call, Sailor jolted violently, as if his soul had been summoned back. He scratched his head, his sky-blue eyes full of confusion.

Turning, he saw his classmates. A brilliant smile spread across his face. Sailor ran over cheerfully. 'Everyone, good evening!'

Full of energy, completely different from the soulless figure of moments before.

Ge Zhu worriedly pressed a hand to Sailor’s forehead, muttering something under his breath for a moment, then said in surprise, 'His soul’s still here.'

Sailor asked blankly, 'Ge, what are you, doing?'

Jiang Luo asked, 'Where did you just go?'

Sailor answered obediently, 'I went to, watch a movie.'

'We called you just now. Why didn’t you respond?'

A flash of bewilderment crossed Sailor’s face. 'Maybe I didn’t, snap out of it.'

Jiang Luo and the others didn’t detect anything amiss in his words and temporarily set the matter aside. They chatted while eating their snacks, quietly waiting for Zi Hour to arrive.

After a red and white occasion collide, so long as no one yields, the two fiends will remain where they are forever, until one side gives way. At zi hour, that is when they appear.