Chapter 9

Jiang Luo gripped the beer bottle and thrust it violently toward the sound.

His hand was caught by another person.

Chi You smiled and said, 'No hurry.'

'We have a very long time.'

……

As the sky lightened, Jiang Luo's eyes snapped open.

His gaze shifted slowly from left to right. The desk was on the right, the doorknob on the left. Jiang Luo turned his head toward the window: right-handle, the auspicious golden light faintly visible outside.

He was awake.

Yet his face abruptly darkened, and he sat up in bed, grim.

The sheets and duvet cover were stained with a human-shaped patch of sweat; the back of Jiang Luo's shirt was soaked through. Expressionless, he pushed open the balcony door and stood on the dew-heavy balcony, scanning everywhere.

Birds chirped noisily; a sparrow flew onto the railing, its thin claws gripping the guardrail.

A slender, pale hand abruptly seized the bird. Jiang Luo, his eyes shadowed with malice, pulled the sparrow close to his face, a cold sneer twisting his lips. 'It's you, isn't it.'

His hand slowly tightened. The sparrow's dark, dull eyes stared quietly at him. Jiang Luo's grip grew tighter and tighter, but at the limit, he suddenly relaxed his hand.

'Eighteen times,' Jiang Luo muttered to himself, his smile stretching wider, speaking to the sparrow's eyes. 'Chi You, you killed me eighteen times.'

During the final death, Jiang Luo had desperately dragged Chi You over the balcony railing, making Chi You smash into a pulp on the ground before him.

'Did it feel good to die?' he had gritted out next to Chi You's ear.

The bloodied, mangled Chi You had smiled and said, 'Ah, not as pretty as your death.'

Out of eighteen times total, he had only killed Chi You once.

Malevolent Aura surged violently in Jiang Luo's eyes. He gently stroked the sparrow's head, smiling. 'What's the point in killing one of your little Puppets.'

He whispered, 'How could that possibly be enough.'

You motherfucker wouldn't even feel pain.

Jiang Luo released his hand and returned inside, face cold.

The fury in his heart and the ferocity from experiencing eighteen deaths were almost bursting out of him. Chi You, Chi You, Chi You. He'd originally thought of helping Chi You find the mastermind behind his death, as a way to atone for the original body's sins. But now, sorry, he had only one thought—he was going to kill Chi You in return.

He absolutely, absolutely would kill Chi You.

The aftereffects of the Dream Realm still lingered on Jiang Luo's body, making him suspect the room was haunted by ghostly energy, even harboring remnants of Chi You's spirit.

He threw everything in the room related to Chi You into the center of the living room. The cup Chi You had used was smashed; the clothes Chi You had worn were tossed away like trash. He even found the black Tuxedo Chi You had worn in the Dream Realm, tucked in the wardrobe.

Jiang Luo gave a cold laugh, threw the black Tuxedo on top of the Trash Heap, and lit it with a lighter.

A pile of expensive fabric ignited instantly, flames nearly licking the ceiling. Jiang Luo pulled out a cigarette and lit the tip with the fierce fire.

The ember glowed. Jiang Luo stood beside the blaze, his expression dark and unreadable. He took a drag of the cigarette, watching coldly as the fire spread from the clothing to the floorboards.

The fire alarm blared frantically.

Sofa, wooden cabinet, coffee table, decorations.

A complete mess.

Destroying Chi You's things didn't improve Jiang Luo's mood one bit. He stood before the raging fire and, just as the flames were about to scorch him, opened the door and retreated.

Not long after, someone hurried over with a hose.

Following closely were his classmates, who had rushed over just throwing on clothes. All seven of them were present. Their first sight was Jiang Luo wearing only a shirt, covered in thick smoke.

Jiang Luo was also barefoot, a sorry sight. The ends of his hair were slightly singed, but overall, he wasn't injured.

Wenren Lian was the first to take off his own cloak and drape it over Jiang Luo, his smile vanishing. 'Let's go to my place first.'

Kuang Zheng found a pair of rubber boots from the storage room downstairs and silently placed them beside Jiang Luo.

The teachers' residences weren't too far from the students', but they were spread across several buildings. The rooms above, below, and beside Chi You's were all unoccupied, which was why it took so long for anyone to notice the fire.

After going downstairs, Jiang Luo looked back.

Thick black smoke billowed from Chi You's window; the fire had already been extinguished.

Jiang Luo curled his lips coldly and headed toward the student dormitory.

Only upon reaching the student dormitory did he realize Lu You had been wrong about the fifty square meters. The student dorm wasn't as large as Chi You's room, but it was still around eighty square meters. For a single apartment, it was more than enough, even slightly spacious.

Wenren Lian's dorm was simply furnished. Everyone sat in the living room. Jiang Luo borrowed some clothes to take a shower. In the bathroom Mirror, he saw a drop of blood at the center of his forehead.

He instantly remembered the wound on his hand from the sparrow's peck. This drop of blood was probably taken by Chi You manipulating the sparrow.

Was this the method used to lure him into the Dream Realm?

Jiang Luo wiped the blood from his forehead, his eyes terrifying. He took a deep breath to calm himself and quickly tidied up.

When he came out, the people outside had already started discussing the fire. Seeing Jiang Luo emerge, Lu You was the first to ask, 'Jiang Luo, how did your place suddenly catch fire?'

Jiang Luo walked over calmly, drying his hair, and sat down. 'When I woke up, the room was already on fire.'

Lu You frowned. 'That's so strange. Could it be you didn't put out your cigarette butt, and it started the fire?'

Zhuo Zhongqiu said, 'Lu You, how can you be so dense? Didn't you see?'

She looked at the center of Jiang Luo's forehead. 'When we first saw him, there was a drop of blood on his glabella. The blood color was dark and murky, likely containing some corpse energy, suppressing the vitality of a living person. Jiang Luo was dragged into a Dream Realm.'

The Zhuo Clan faction emphasized dual cultivation of spirit and body. Zhuo Zhongqiu was much more sensitive to spirit bodies than ordinary people. She could sense the faint yin energy that wrapped around Jiang Luo, but could not make out the source of that sinister aura: 'Jiang Luo, what did you dream about?'

Jiang Luo slowly tightened his grip on the towel, absorbing the water from his hair ends. His eyes were deep and dark, then suddenly he gave a brilliant smile.

'I saw Chi You,' he said softly. 'He…'

His words abruptly halted. Jiang Luo slowly straightened up, his gaze sweeping over everyone present.

Lu You, Ye Xun, Zhuo Zhongqiu, Ge Zhu.

Kuang Zheng, Wenren Lian, and one unfamiliar golden-haired, blue-eyed foreigner, Sailor.

He met their eyes one by one and found nothing amiss.

Jiang Luo looked toward the balcony.

The balcony windows were tightly shut; no sparrows or other animals remained.

Chi You probably wasn't here, but his Puppetry Art gave Jiang Luo, who had just been tricked once, an immense sense of irritation.

'What about him?' Ye Xun asked curiously.

'I dreamed of him last night,' Jiang Luo withdrew his gaze, leaned back, and said quietly. 'He said he was very lonely down there… Being alone, he always wanted me to keep him company. He confessed to me again, too. My dreams were strange—I had eighteen consecutive dreams, each one a scene of being with him.'

'We accomplished the most intimate thing in the world together.' He had killed Chi You; Chi You had killed him.

'We experienced many thrilling, profound dates together.' Burning, drowning, hanging, falling from great heights.

'Several times, I almost couldn't tell the Dream Realm from reality.'

Jiang Luo suddenly smiled. 'In one dream, he and I stood on a tall building. He told me that if we jumped down, we'd be free, and there would be no more troubles in life.'

After speaking, he looked around and froze. 'Why do you all look so grim?'

'An evil ghost is an evil ghost. Even if Chi You became one, he would still be of this sort of character,' Zhuo Zhongqiu said in a low voice.

Ge Zhu frowned. 'Eighteen layers of dreams, that's…'

'Isn't that just the meaning of killing?' Zhuo Zhongqiu sneered. 'Relieving troubles, forgetting sorrow? Still the same old routine. What a piece of shit. I originally thought Chi You might still be salvageable, but now it looks like he is already hopelessly obstinate. Eighteen dreams — anyone with even slightly unsteady willpower would never wake up. Look at that sudden fire. If Jiang Luo had woken up one step later, what would have been waiting for him?'

Probably a long, unending sleep.

Zhuo Zhongqiu cursed angrily, suddenly stood up, and fixed Jiang Luo with a sharp gaze. 'You'd better wake the fuck up.'

Jiang Luo said, 'I can't stop him from coming for me.'

To everyone's ears, this sounded like an excuse. Someone studying the arcane arts, after being dragged into a dream by an evil ghost, wouldn't know how to break it? It was like a naive girl who insists on dating early, stepping right into a scumbag's vortex, lying without even being professional about it.

Ye Xun added flatly, 'Jiang Luo only has three credits.'

……

A suffocating silence descended.

Ye Xun added, 'After Chi You died, he stopped caring about even the most basic things. Expecting him to break a Dream Realm after seeing Chi You? It's good enough he woke up in time.'

Kuang Zheng shook his head. 'That won't do.'

Several gazes full of exasperation turned toward Jiang Luo. Wenren Lian probed, 'Jiang Luo, when you saw Chi You in the dream, did you feel happy?'

Jiang Luo smiled. 'Happy. Extremely happy.'

'But don't worry, I won't go with him so quickly,' Jiang Luo smiled. 'I said I would avenge Chi You, find the murderer who killed him.'

'I need to get stronger,' Jiang Luo murmured, slowly opening his hand and looking down at his palm. 'Without ability, you can do nothing.'

The previous urgency pushing him to grow stronger intensified, mingled with Jiang Luo's blazing fury.

Jiang Luo clenched his hand again.

He really wanted to let Chi You taste the flavor of dying eighteen times in one night, too.

*

Jiang Luo didn't waste a second. After eating, he went to class with his classmates.

The Natural Science and Social Research major's courses were divided into many types, broadly categorized as Mountain, Medicine, Fate, Divination, and Physiognomy. This morning's class was Spirit Papers.

Jiang Luo rummaged through the original host's memories in his mind and successfully found nothing useful.

The Spirit Papers teacher was an old gentleman, also wearing a Taoist robe, looking extremely stern and not easy to approach.

Jiang Luo sat in the original host's seat. Materials for writing talismans were already laid out on the desk: Yellow Talisman paper, red paper, brush, ink, inkstone, and seal.

The ink probably contained some herbs for exorcism and dispelling evil, giving off a medicinal fragrance. The brush was carved with ancient Runes, looking quite aged.

Once everyone had arrived, the old gentleman said, 'The talisman we are learning today is not easy. I will be satisfied if half of you succeed. If you feel strained, do not force yourself to continue. Stop the brush in time to protect yourselves. Do you understand?'

Ge Zhu said, 'Old sir, we understand. Please proceed.'

The old gentleman calmed his mind and spirit, chanting continuously. After reciting the pre-drawing incantations in order, he concentrated his spirit into the brush tip and completed the drawing on the Yellow Talisman in one breath.

After finishing one Spirit Paper, faint sweat had already appeared on the old gentleman's face. He put down the brush and let out a long sigh. Jiang Luo actually saw a pale Golden Light flash above the talisman paper. Looking closer, the script on the paper was fluid and beautiful, the characters vivid as if alive, a hidden dragon and crouching tiger, a faint spiritual energy seeping from it.

It was Jiang Luo's first time seeing someone write a talisman, so he inevitably felt unfamiliar. Yet, strangely, he remembered this Rune after just a few glances.

Lu You beside him said with a worried frown, 'Why is this Suppressive Talisman so difficult? I definitely can't draw it.'

Jiang Luo turned and asked, 'Suppressive Talisman?'

'There are many types of Spirit Papers: Suppressive Talismans, Summoning Talismans, Healing Talismans, etc. This is a Suppressive Talisman. It can exorcise demons and suppress evil.'

Jiang Luo's smile deepened. 'Interesting.'

If only it could suppress Chi You.

'Interesting is useless if we can't write it,' Lu You sighed. 'Creating Spirit Papers requires channeling qi, but a person's qi is very limited. For a talisman with such complex Runes and powerful effects, most people exhaust their qi halfway through. Forcing yourself to continue will only harm you.'

But Jiang Luo had a strong feeling he could draw it easily. After hearing Lu You's words, he couldn't help but wonder if he was overthinking it. 'What happens if you exhaust your qi and force yourself to continue?'

Lu You answered seriously, 'Probably qi deviation.'

Jiang Luo: '……'

Speechless, he returned to his seat, picked up the brush, and focused his mind.

Jiang Luo held the brush above the Yellow Talisman, wanting to imitate the old gentleman by chanting incantations. Unfortunately, he didn't know a single chant.

So he put down the brush again, opened a talisman book, and after comparing, found the incantation to chant. He mumbled it a few times hastily. The old gentleman patrolling among the students noticed his actions and couldn't help shaking his head and sighing, exasperated. 'The pupil cannot be taught.'

Ge Zhu glanced at Jiang Luo, then could not help sighing, and simply walked over, intending to show Jiang Luo how to write a talisman.

Jiang Luo had just put down the book. Having familiarized himself with the incantation, he was about to pick up the brush again when he suddenly thought: drawing a talisman requires raising qi. But what exactly is this 'qi'?

The foreigner Sailor sitting to Jiang Luo's left was also frowning worriedly, gripping the brush awkwardly like chopsticks, smearing ink all over his face. Seeing Jiang Luo frozen at his desk, he gave Jiang Luo a big, clueless grin and comforted him in a heavy accent, 'You, okay? No matter, I also not, everyone not.'

But Jiang Luo refused to accept not knowing.

He had to have some means to strengthen himself, to deal with Chi You.

He never wanted to experience another night like last night, utterly powerless.

Intense fury and unwillingness surged up from his heart. Jiang Luo took a deep breath and simply stopped trying to figure out how to channel qi, lowering the brush stroke without hesitation.

From the first stroke, Jiang Luo poured his whole body and mind into the talisman. Every brush tremor and concealed edge of this Suppression Talisman was somehow already familiar to him. Jiang Luo focused completely, with no errors or pauses in between, and actually drew it through to the end in a single stroke.

But after finishing, Jiang Luo felt something was off. The old gentleman had broken a slight sweat after writing one talisman, but after finishing, Jiang Luo felt refreshed and clear-headed, as simple as casually sketching a blueprint.

To be honest, compared to a blueprint, the pattern of this Rune wasn't that difficult.

Jiang Luo figured he had failed. Putting down the brush and looking up, he saw Ge Zhu standing before his desk, staring fixedly at the talisman paper on the table, eyes nearly popping out.

'J-Jiang Luo,' he stammered, 'y-you… s-sell… sell talismans?'