Chapter 56

While they were talking, Sailor fell asleep again.

This time Jiang Luo didn't wake him. He told the others to stop talking, sat quietly back in his chair, and kept fishing.

Three hours passed before Sailor woke again.

The sky had gone dark; the moon climbed into the branches. Sailor blinked slowly, his gaze blank. Seeing him awake, Jiang Luo said nothing—just tipped the fish from the bucket back into the lake. 'Let's go. Dinner.'

Sailor perked up at last, but after the meal his head began to nod again, looking on the verge of sleep.

Jiang Luo felt his nerves fraying at the edges.

Whatever strange thing happened around him, he couldn't help wondering whether it had anything to do with Chi You.

Just thinking of Chi You made his eyelid twitch—he feared this was another trap laid for him. Jiang Luo said outright, 'Sailor's clearly not right. Tonight, once he's asleep, we stay by his side and see what's going on.'

No one objected. That night, Sailor lay in bed under the covers while they sat around him playing cards.

The blond with the small curls wanted to join them, but no sooner had he lain down than he was snoring away.

The first half of the night passed without incident. Just past two in the morning, the still-awake group began to feel drowsy one after another. Jiang Luo's eyelids grew heavy; the sleepiness came sudden and violent.

Sensing something wrong, Jiang Luo fought the drowsiness by force. He pinched himself hard, and the pain bought him a sliver of clarity.

Just then, he sensed a figure pass before his eyes.

His will still foggy, Jiang Luo bit down on his tongue without hesitation. The taste of blood rushed in, and his eyes flew open.

Sailor rose from the bed, face blank, and walked past them like a walking corpse, vanishing stiffly through the door.

Jiang Luo tried to wake Lu You and the others, but they were dead to the world. He gave up the useless effort, grabbed his things, and went after him alone.

Outside, a milky white fog had risen again.

Two in the morning, the moonlight a sickly white. Sailor walked out of Hot Spring Manor, heading toward a nearby Mountain Village.

Jiang Luo followed silently at his heels. The fog grew thicker. Sailor's figure became a dark shadow within it; after an unknown stretch of time, another dark figure appeared on the far side of the mist.

That figure walked toward Sailor, but Sailor seemed not to notice—he kept moving in a straight line. Only when the shadow placed something in his hand did Sailor seem to come to, with a short 'Ah.'

Jiang Luo waited with patience. He judged coolly that Sailor hadn't yet reached the point where he needed to step in.

The white mist thinned gradually. At some point Sailor found himself holding a long iron chain that trailed from his hands to the ground, thick as a baby's arm.

Sailor's voice sounded on the verge of tears. 'I don't want this thing.'

The thin, tall shadow said, 'Since Master Sailor has taken the post, you must fulfill its duties. This is the weapon in your hands; such has always been the tradition. Set your mind at ease—you need not be afraid. Report for duty on time, and I will see that you are released at the proper hour.'

The blond with the small curls was silent for a long moment before answering, grief-stricken, 'I don't understand what you're saying, QAQ.'

The thin, tall shadow: '...'

The moment the thin shadow spoke, Jiang Luo knew it wasn't Chi You. Listening to their exchange, he nearly laughed out loud.

Jiang Luo had a taste for the thrilling and the strange. He leaned out and cast a quick, light glance at the shadow.

But the instant his gaze landed on the thin shadow, the shadow noticed.

His tone turned grave. 'Master Sailor, you've brought someone.'

Sailor whipped his head around in panic but saw no one. In his urgency, his mother tongue burst out: 'Where?!'

'Wair?' The ghost-shadow pondered for a moment. 'What does that mean?'

Jiang Luo, who had tensed for an instant, found he couldn't keep a straight face any longer. Since he'd been spotted, he stepped out openly and at his ease.

The black-haired youth wore a warm smile, rich as aged wine, carrying a heady, easy warmth.

At the sight of him, Sailor ran to Jiang Luo like an overworked child who'd spotted a parent. 'Jiang!'

'I noticed you slip out in the middle of the night and was worried something was wrong, so I followed,' Jiang Luo said with a gentle smile. 'Sailor, what's going on with you?'

He turned to the approaching shadow. 'And this is?'

The shadow said, 'You can see me.'

He stepped out of the white mist and revealed his true form: a long black robe, a tall black hat, a mourning stick in hand, a face deathly pale but strikingly handsome—the unmistakable look of a Ghost Officer.

Jiang Luo's pupils contracted.

The man's attire left no room for doubt—was this Black Wuchang?

He dropped his gaze at once to Sailor's hands. The iron chain Sailor held—could it be the Soul Chain of White Wuchang?

Legend has it that Black Wuchang hunts stray and lonely ghosts. White Wuchang, by contrast, is a living person pressed into service as an Underworld messenger by the courts of the dead. Because the living carry yang energy, they are unafraid of the yang in the bodies of the dying—so they hook the souls of those about to perish and deliver them to Black Wuchang, who takes them to the Underworld.

This is what is known as the Walk of the Unseen.

Jiang Luo had assumed the Walk of the Unseen was only a legend. He hadn't expected to encounter it in person—and the one pressed into service was none other than his foreign friend, Sailor.

Black Wuchang stared at Jiang Luo without a trace of humor. 'You are strange.'

'Your living soul—it doesn't seem to belong to this world.' Black Wuchang frowned; the sharp light in his eyes seemed to pierce through skin and flesh to Jiang Luo's very core. 'Beyond the three realms, with no registry in the Underworld. Truly strange.'

Jiang Luo watched him warily and stepped back.

But Sailor had ducked behind him, and Jiang Luo's careless step landed squarely on the Soul Chain trailing from Sailor's hand.

The Soul Chain, silent until now, suddenly stirred. As if it had caught some scent it liked, the head of the chain wound around Jiang Luo's ankle. The black iron links crawled like a black snake. Black Wuchang noticed at once; his face changed and he called out sharply, 'Master Sailor, step back with the Soul Chain!'

Sailor didn't catch on. 'Huh?'

The next instant, the Soul Chain seemed startled by Black Wuchang's shout. It split cleanly down the middle into two finger-thick chains. Before anyone could react, one of them shot toward Jiang Luo—right through his chest, in his disbelieving gaze—and burrowed into his body.

Jiang Luo stared. He looked down at his chest, reached up to touch it—nothing. The whole thing might have been a hallucination.

Black Wuchang's face darkened. 'Damn it.'

Sailor stared at Jiang Luo in shock, then turned in panic to Black Wuchang. 'Black-ge, is Jiang okay?!'

'The Soul Chain is a soul-binding weapon. Few in the world know it has a twin—a weapon of life, called the Soul Chain.' Black Wuchang's brow furrowed deeply. 'The Soul Chain is born with a taste for rare and strange living souls. Once it sets its eye on one, it will wind itself around that soul without fail.'

Now Black Wuchang could see it clearly: the Soul Chain had already wound itself tight around Jiang Luo's living soul.

Such a thing was rare in all of history. After all, the Soul Chain had hooked countless souls, and the Soul Chain's tastes had grown discerning from such variety. Who could have guessed that today, of all days, it would meet one it liked?

And this black-haired youth's living soul was, in truth, exceedingly strange.

Black Wuchang had not failed to consider a borrowed corpse and returned soul—but the youth's soul and body matched in appearance. How to explain that?

Black Wuchang was a careful man; in a hundred years he had never slipped up. He hadn't expected to capsize now. He couldn't hold back a long, heavy sigh.

That sigh frightened Sailor to the brink of tears. The blond with the small curls nearly went weak in the knees. 'Black-ge, save Jiang!'

Jiang Luo's heart sank as well. 'The Soul Chain has locked onto my soul. Does that mean I'm going to die?'

Black Wuchang, for once, understood what mortals meant by 'a headache.' He steadied Sailor, who was about to slide to the ground. 'Master Sailor, no need for such ceremony. This young Master Jiang has gained the Soul Chain—what is lost in the east may yet be gained in the west.'

Sailor was pulled up, still sniffling. 'I don't understand.'

Black Wuchang: '...Young Master Jiang will not die.'

A workaholic to the core, Black Wuchang had no time to explain. He pulled a small notebook from his sleeve and said to Sailor with a serious face, 'Master Sailor, the elder Yang Xiuchun, second room on the left of the 204th household in this village, will die in a quarter of an hour. Go quickly and hook her soul. Once the task is done, I'll explain in detail.'

Sailor went to hook the soul, trembling with every step, looking back three times for every one forward, until he disappeared into the village.

Jiang Luo half thought Sailor carried the tragic grandeur of a man walking to his death.

Black Wuchang watched alongside him. Only after Sailor's back had vanished did he turn to Jiang Luo.

'Young Master Jiang,' Black Wuchang said gravely, 'the Soul Chain will not harm your living soul. On the day you die, I will come to you and remove it from your soul with my own hands.'

'Mr. Black Wuchang, I'd like to know what you mean by what is lost in the east may yet be gained in the west.' Jiang Luo looked calm enough to make Black Wuchang regard him with fresh respect. 'What is lost, and what is gained?'

Black Wuchang said, 'It's a long story.'

Jiang Luo smiled. 'That's fine. I'm listening.'

And so Black Wuchang told him slowly. The meaning of his words: once the Soul Chain locked onto Jiang Luo, it could never be removed unless Jiang Luo learned to master it. With the Soul Chain on him, anything that could nourish the soul was useless to him—like a bowl of water with its lid sealed shut; no matter how much more water you pour in, not a single drop gets through.

But at the same time, there was a small, half-useful benefit. The Soul Chain bound Jiang Luo, but it also protected him. Anyone who tried to do something to his soul would come away empty-handed.

Instantly, Jiang Luo thought of Chi You's Puppetry Art of Soul Refining.

His expression shifted. 'Then the Puppetry Art of Soul Refining won't work on me either?'

Black Wuchang nodded, looking at Jiang Luo with a touch of pity. In his view, having one's soul locked brought drawbacks far greater than benefits. 'A pity. You carry a pearl that could strengthen your Spirit Essence, but now it's useless.'

Jiang Luo wanted nothing more than to burst out laughing.

'Not a pity. Not in the slightest.' He pulled out the Yuantian Pearl and squeezed hard. 'If it's no use to me, then I can crush it.'

Only Tiandu knew how much Jiang Luo worried every day that he would wake up one morning to find himself controlled by Chi You.

Every night before sleep, he tucked Spirit Papers under his pillow and stuck more on his body. The moment he woke, he checked the Spirit Papers first and tried to recall whether his memories from the day before had been tampered with.

Only after obtaining the Yin-Yang Ring did he breathe a little easier—but Chi You's ability still lodged in his throat like a fishbone.

He felt the same mix of love and hate toward the Yuantian Pearl.

He loved it because it could make him stronger; he hated it because it was one of Chi You's soul-fragments.

The thought of swallowing Chi You's soul-fragment and entwining it with his own was enough to put him off entirely. Even if the Yuantian Pearl could make him stronger, he had no stomach left for using it.

So he had kept the Yuantian Pearl tucked away, never using it. But after this accident, the pearl was useless to him, and Jiang Luo was finally free of his dilemma.

Jiang Luo pressed hard with his fingers—but, awkwardly, the Yuantian Pearl refused to crumble.

Without a flicker of expression, Jiang Luo summoned Inch Tiger and tossed the Yuantian Pearl into its mouth.

Inch Tiger chewed hard, then pulled a face like it had a toothache. It nuzzled Jiang Luo's waist in grievance and spat the Yuantian Pearl back out.

Jiang Luo took a long breath and tucked the Yuantian Pearl away again.

Black Wuchang offered kindly, 'This pearl cannot be destroyed by force. Rather than try to grind it down, you'd do better to simply hide it.'

Jiang Luo gave him a polite smile. 'Thank you for the advice. I understand.'

Fifteen minutes later, Sailor walked out of the village right on time. Tethered to his Soul Chain was the dazed soul of an old woman. Black Wuchang pressed the soul down and said to Sailor, 'Master Sailor, you still have five hundred and six souls to hook.'

Sailor said, lifeless, 'Black-ge, I'm really not cut out for this job.'

Black Wuchang frowned, disapproving. 'Master Sailor, the matter is already decided.'

Sailor's ears felt fuzzy, his vision fuzzy; he ruffled his blond hair in pitiful, broken distress. 'I really don't understand what you're saying. Do you understand?'

Black Wuchang said, '...Master Sailor, I don't understand you either.'

There was nothing more for Jiang Luo here. He prepared to take his leave. 'Keep at it, you two. I'm heading back.'

'Wait, Young Master Jiang,' Black Wuchang called after him. 'A living person walking the Walk of the Unseen is a secret. If others learned of it, it would be a disaster for Master Sailor.'

Jiang Luo understood the logic.

If anyone knew Sailor was White Wuchang, able to hook their souls, countless people would go mad for it. What Sailor would suffer went without saying.

Black Wuchang said, 'Even Master Sailor himself—when I take the Soul Chain from his hands, he will forget the Walk of the Unseen.'

Something struck Jiang Luo as off. 'You mean, of everyone under heaven, I'm the only one who knows Sailor is White Wuchang?'

Black Wuchang nodded, his face grave.

Jiang Luo rubbed his brow. A headache.

Could it be because he was a transmigrator that he was this special?

'Master Sailor does not seem particularly bright,' Black Wuchang said bluntly, without the least attempt at tact. 'I ask that Young Master Jiang keep this matter to himself.'

Jiang Luo nodded. 'Don't worry. Even if you hadn't asked, I wouldn't have told anyone.'

'After all...' he muttered, 'we're friends.'

The words were so soft the wind scattered them; no one heard.

After parting with them, Jiang Luo returned alone to the room—Sailor's room—where the others were still sleeping, oblivious.

Early the next morning, Sailor came back, his eyes vacant. Before, Jiang Luo might have suspected some dark art; now he knew it was simply the pain of pulling an all-night shift.

He probed Sailor a few times in conversation; sure enough, Sailor remembered nothing of the night before. Jiang Luo let it go, helped him cover for the others, spent one last day at Hot Spring Manor, and the group returned to School.

Back at School, they rested a few days before receiving another mission from School.

Before a certain idol trainee survival show could begin recording, three of the already-confirmed trainees had died sudden, unexplained deaths, and one member of the behind-the-scenes staff had died as well.

The show had been building hype with a full-court press before broadcast—no one had expected anything like this. Lives were at stake, so the Director's team met several times; even with heavy losses, they decided to call the show off. But that very night, an assistant director was found hanged in the Broadcast Hall.

On the wall of the Broadcast Hall, a line of blood-red characters—a threat left by no one knew who.

'If the show is stopped, everyone dies.'

The Program Team hadn't believed it at first, but one uncanny event after another forced them to. Under the shadow of death, the survival show went ahead as scheduled.

The police couldn't handle it, so they passed it along as a mission to Baihua University. The School decided to pick three people to pose as trainees, filling the three dead trainees' slots, slipping into the survival show quietly—staying under the audience's radar while they tracked down the source of the Paranormal Incident.