Chapter 62: Abandonment Prohibited

Xiu composed himself, putting away his messy thoughts.

He wasn’t surprised that Wen Chu wanted to kill him.

Although malicious ghosts died unjustly, their resentment after death attacked everyone indiscriminately, especially the first person they encountered.

Xiu raised his eyes to look at the malicious ghost crying tears of blood in front of him, letting out a cold, light laugh from his throat: “Alright, as long as you have the ability to kill me.”

Wen Chu: …

Wen Chu emphasized heavily: “I hate you.”

Xiu raised an eyebrow, paused, and then said: “Oh.”

Humans and ghosts walk different paths; it’s normal for Wen Chu to hate him.

Wen Chu looked at Xiu in shock and disbelief, seeing only cold indifference on this face no matter how he looked.

Xiu won’t raise him anymore, nor care about him.

Wen Chu was really about to cry from grievance.

He continued to turn around to break free from the Soul-Binding Chain: “I’m going to find the person just now to suck Yang energy.”

Wen Chu had no sense of pain and struggled without restraint. Before Xiu could react, his wrists were already strangled into the flesh by the Soul-Binding Chain.

The more he struggled, the tighter the Soul-Binding Chain bound him.

[Lifespan -1h]
[Lifespan -1h]
[Lifespan -1h]
[Remaining Lifespan: 21 Hours 20 Minutes]

Wen Chu’s wrists were very thin, with little flesh. At this moment, dense white bones were directly strangled out.

Red-clothed evil ghost, tears of blood and white bones, truly terrifying.

The center of Xiu’s brow twitched violently, and the blue light on the Soul-Binding Chain disappeared.

“Click—”

The chain broke in response.

Wen Chu had been exerting force continuously. Xiu withdrew his power unexpectedly, and Wen Chu couldn’t brake in time, rushing forward directly and falling onto the ground in front of the bakery with a splat.

The staff inside the bakery were scared out of their wits, hugging each other shivering, looking at the gloomy blood sea outside.

Just… just selling bread, right? Why risk lives??

Xiu stepped forward quickly, attached spiritual power to his fingertips, raised his hand to grab the back of Wen Chu’s neck, and lifted him up.

He frowned at Wen Chu’s bloody wrists, forcibly suppressing the strange feeling in his heart, and said coldly, “You are not allowed to eat other people’s Yang energy.”

“Why?” Wen Chu struggled. “You won’t raise me, and you won’t allow me to find food myself. You are unreasonable!”

Xiu pursed his lips: “When ordinary people have their Yang energy sucked, at best they fall seriously ill, at worst they die suddenly.”

Wen Chu’s struggling stopped.

“…Oh, I didn’t know.” Wen Chu’s voice weakened, and the tears of blood stopped flowing. “I didn’t want to kill him; I just wanted to be full.”

Feeling the cold and delicate touch of the skin under his hand, Xiu lowered his eyes and said, “Actually—”

“Then I’ll go eat other exorcists’ Yang energy. Exorcists don’t count as ordinary people, right?” Wen Chu started to think of a way.

Xiu: “Forbidden.”

Wen Chu widened his eyes, about to cry again: “Why?”

Xiu: “Do you think when exorcists see a malicious ghost, they will kindly feed the ghost Yang energy, or deliver or kill you?”

Wen Chu: …

Xiu continued: “Moreover, you cannot be delivered. Do you think they will kill you, or kill you?”

Wen Chu: …

Wen Chu was dejected: “Then I’ll eat bad people’s Yang energy. I’ll eat only a little each time and find a few more people to eat.”

Xiu: “Troublesome.”

Hungry and out of options, Wen Chu ground his teeth and said, “I don’t mind the trouble. Let me go. I’ll come back to find you when I’m full.”

Xiu didn’t let go; his fingers pinching the back of Wen Chu’s neck tightened a few degrees.

He looked at Wen Chu’s bleeding wrists and said after a long while, “Eat me. Save causing harm to others.”

Logically speaking, a normal person at this time should have the backbone to say “I won’t eat you,” but obviously, the lightweight malicious ghost had no bones.

Wen Chu agreed smoothly: “Okay.”

He immediately reached out and touched Xiu’s left chest.

The cold touch penetrated the body like this, reaching directly to the heart. Xiu only felt as if his heart was pinched out of thin air by someone, and his soul seemed to start trembling.

Some fragmented memories flashed through his mind.

Endless black ocean, transparent jellyfish with orange-red filling, rising sun.

What is this?

Xiu looked dazed for a moment.

Meanwhile, Wen Chu tirelessly shuttled his hand through Xiu’s body, increasing his lifespan and exploring how much lifespan could be added at different positions.

Heart, ribs, clavicle, scapula…

[Lifespan +1h]
[Lifespan +1h]
[Lifespan +1h]
…
[Remaining Lifespan: 1 Day 3 Hours 20 Minutes]

Facts proved that no matter where he passed through, the added lifespan was always one hour.

This was a bit too little.

Wen Chu felt he hadn’t found the correct way to eat Xiu’s Yang energy yet.

But before he could explore further, Xiu had already come back to his senses.

The golden-haired exorcist stared at him as if facing a formidable enemy: “What did you do to me just now?”

Wen Chu blinked, saying uncertainly, “Ate your Yang energy?”

“No.” Xiu frowned, seemingly talking to himself. “I saw memories that didn’t belong to me. Jellyfish, sea…”

Wen Chu looked stunned for a moment. In this instant, he almost thought Xiu would remember the next second, then look at him with gentle and worried eyes, asking why he was injured again.

But he only met a pair of vigilant transparent blue eyes.

“What exactly did you do?” Xiu said.

Wen Chu tried hard to hook the corners of his mouth to smile, but couldn’t.

He was just pretending to cry before, but now his nose really felt a little sour.

It wasn’t grievance, nor missing him. He knew better than anyone that Xiu had never changed; he just wanted to cry.

“I told you we were lovers in a past life.” Wen Chu whispered.

Xiu was expressionless: “My Eight Characters (Ba Zi) have no Proper Wealth, Day Pillar has no combination. Normally speaking, I shouldn’t have a lover.”

Wen Chu didn’t understand, but he had recovered. Sniffing the fragrance on Xiu, he said silently, “Indeed no lover, I am a ghost.”

Xiu: …

Xiu sighed: “Forget it. I’ll take you to the Exorcist Conference venue first. The Soul-Binding Chain is broken and won’t recover until tomorrow. You just follow by my side, not allowed to leave me by half a step, otherwise I will execute you on the spot, understand?”

Being held up by Xiu, Wen Chu nodded: “Understand.”

Isn’t it just sticking to Xiu? He is best at that.

Xiu said no more, put Wen Chu down, and extended his right hand to him: “Let’s go.”

Wen Chu looked at the small circle of red mark on the ring finger of Xiu’s right hand, reached out to hold it, and rubbed it.

Xiu attached spiritual energy to his hand. When their skin touched, Wen Chu’s lifespan began to rise again.

This time not by hours, but jumping up second by second.

Wen Chu tentatively let go.

The lifespan panel stopped moving.

Wen Chu held Xiu’s hand again.

The lifespan panel started jumping up second by second again.

Wen Chu suddenly realized.

It turned out he didn’t necessarily have to pass through Xiu. Every minute and second of physical contact with Xiu could increase the corresponding lifespan.

Xiu lowered his eyes watching Wen Chu hold and release his bloody wrist, holding it again after a while. Finally unable to bear it, he reached out and pinched Wen Chu’s hand.

“Stop.”

Wen Chu stopped moving.

Xiu didn’t rush to leave but carefully examined Wen Chu’s wrist which hadn’t recovered at all, asking seemingly coldly, “Why hasn’t your wrist recovered? Didn’t you eat my Yang energy just now?”

Wen Chu shook his head. “Don’t know.”

Wen Chu originally wanted to ask Xiu if he had any impression of the red mark on his ring finger, but when his voice fell, a little irritation appeared between Xiu’s sharp brows.

It seems he annoyed Xiu.

Wen Chu had seen this situation in the first world; he immediately shut up and stopped talking.

But the irritation in Xiu’s expression didn’t fade. He said coldly, “Switch hands.”

“Oh.” Wen Chu obediently extended his intact right hand.

Xiu transferred the spiritual power to his left hand, held his right hand, and pulled him forward: “Let’s go first, almost late.”

Can’t hold Xiu’s right hand with the red mark. Wen Chu was a little regretful, but afraid of speaking and annoying Xiu again, he floated quietly following Xiu.

Xiu scanned a shared electric bike.

Wen Chu looked left and right, didn’t find a place for a second person to sit on the bike, so he simply floated behind Xiu, lying on Xiu’s back as a lingering spirit behind him.

When the malicious ghost lay on his back, there was no real sense of weight, light and airy, only bringing a burst of chill.

This was actually a dangerous posture for Xiu.

But Xiu looked at the wrist exposing white bones stretched before his eyes because of Wen Chu’s movement, and finally said nothing, only saying: “Hold me again after getting off.”

“Okay.” Wen Chu said lying on Xiu’s back.

Early morning, not many cars on the road. Xiu rode the bike unimpeded all the way, arriving at the nearby conference center in just over ten minutes.

At this time, many cars were already parked outside the conference center. When Xiu parked the electric scooter by the street, a low-key Maybach happened to drive by.

The Maybach stopped beside him, the window rolled down, revealing the face of a capable middle-aged woman with short hair: “Xiu?”

Xiu nodded to her: “President Ren.”

Ren Chuanyu smiled gently: “Sorry to trouble you for this cooperation. After all, catching the escaped Eye of the Array is imminent. We cannot let the New and Old school exorcists split first at this time.”

Xiu looked calm: “I know. Most Old school exorcists are still like you, President. It’s just that regardless of New or Old, there are people everywhere who can’t see clearly.”

This isn’t a problem of New or Old, purely that prenatal care technology is too good nowadays.

Ren Chuanyu smiled and breathed a sigh of relief: “It’s good that you are clear. You don’t need to worry about Wen Yaozu’s matter; I will handle it.”

Xiu nodded. Best if he didn’t need to worry.

He was also too lazy to break up fights.

Ren Chuanyu finished speaking but didn’t close the window. Her gaze lingered on the red-clothed, white-haired youth lying on Xiu’s back, asking hesitantly, “This is…?”

Xiu thought for a moment and said, “Love debt.”

Ren Chuanyu: ?

Wen Chu looked up obediently to greet: “Hello.”

Ren Chuanyu couldn’t make heads or tails of it, but Xiu always knew what he was doing and was the most outstanding exorcist of this generation; otherwise, she wouldn’t have pushed through all objections to nominate Xiu as the candidate president.

Xiu bringing a malicious ghost to the venue must have his plans.

Ren Chuanyu had to nod, greeted Wen Chu, and then said, “Then I’ll go in first. See you later.”

Xiu nodded.

The barrier of the security booth lifted, and President Ren’s car went in.

Xiu turned to look at Wen Chu, who was lying on his back with his cheek almost touching his: “Come down, I’ll take you in.”

Wen Chu said “Oh,” flew down, and consciously extended his left hand for Xiu to hold.

Xiu paused before holding it, then withdrew his hand.

Wen Chu: ?

Before he could ask, Xiu pinched a copper coin out of his pocket.

Wen Chu: ?!?

Still hitting him? Is he some sandbag???

In a fit of anger, Wen Chu got angry for a moment, turned around, and was about to run.

However, Wen Chu certainly couldn’t outrun Xiu who had been watching him. As soon as he turned around, he was grabbed by the scruff of his neck by Xiu.

“Don’t run.” Xiu carried the struggling Wen Chu back like carrying a cat. “I’ll give you a protective talisman.”

Wen Chu stopped struggling and turned to look at Xiu: “Protective talisman?”

Xiu didn’t speak, just lowered his head and pursed the copper coin in his hand, holding the coin at his lips, freeing his hands to dig out a length of red string from his bag.

He said: “Extend your hand.”

Wen Chu extended his left hand.

Xiu threaded the red string through the square hole in the copper coin, thought for a moment, took out the remaining two coins, and strung them all in.

He tied the red string on Wen Chu’s left wrist: “These are the Five Emperors Coins I refined. They won’t hurt you when not used for array formation, and can block other attacks for you.”

Xiu tied a dead knot with the red string directly, lowering his eyes and saying, “Lest someone in the venue be blind.”

Wen Chu was stunned, looking at Xiu who lowered his head focused on tying the red string for him, and the other’s sharp eyebrows and eyes. His heart began to pound disappointingly.

He really likes Xiu.

Even if the Xiu of this world treats him badly and wants to kill him, Wen Chu inevitably falls for Xiu.

Handsome, cold, and reliable. Sometimes very cute. He likes every side of Xiu, including the Xiu who bullies him.

Wen Chu blushed: “Okay.”

Xiu finished tying, put down his hand, glanced at Wen Chu whose face was flushed red, quickly looked away, and added: “Also to prevent you from running around while I’m not paying attention, convenient for me to directly drive the copper coins to kill you.”

Wen Chu was still blushing: “Okay.”

Kill then kill. Anyway, in this world, he came intending to kill Xiu, turn Xiu into a ghost and die together. If he fails, big deal go to the next world to continue settling accounts.

Xiu gave him a small bracelet; he will treasure it for a lifetime.

Xiu: …

Xiu really couldn’t understand this malicious ghost’s thoughts, so he simply stopped talking and led Wen Chu by the hand into the venue.

Pushing the door to enter the venue.

Wen Chu and Xiu first saw the two groups of people at daggers drawn in the venue’s rest area, and President Ren whose face obviously didn’t look too good.

“Xiu!”

One of the dark and thin young men carrying a peach wood sword saw Xiu entering the door and immediately waved and shouted.

For a moment, everyone’s eyes gathered on the young golden-haired exorcist entering the door and the white-haired malicious ghost behind him, then showed shocked expressions one after another.

Nothing else, just that Xiu appearing with a malicious ghost was really too absurd.

Since the establishment of the Exorcist Association, successive presidents were selected from major aristocratic families. Xiu was the first New Wave exorcist selected as a candidate president in a hundred years.

Yet the crowd who disliked him couldn’t find a single fault in him—

Strong capability, neither arrogant nor rash, never favoring the New or Old school, even living simply, not even owning a car for transportation until now.

It should be known that as rare and high-risk exorcists, every exorcist’s salary is a considerable figure, and there are countless wealthy and powerful people spending heavily to hire exorcists.

Xiu accepted many similar employments but never spent a cent usually.

Such a person would actually be out of line enough to bring a malicious ghost to the venue?

Could it be this malicious ghost is actually the Eye of the Array? Xiu has already solved the trouble in advance to claim credit?

“Xiu!” Yuan Le didn’t care that much, wailing as he stepped forward. “This time it really wasn’t our impulse. It was Wen Yaozu who was really too excessive. He said we New Wave exorcists deserve to die—”

“Did you fight?” Xiu asked.

Yuan Le said honestly: “No, we were just cursing each other.”

Xiu nodded: “That’s good.”

Yuan Le: ?

Where is it good?

He looked up, only to see Xiu reaching for his earring. A blue light flashed, and a green-clothed malicious ghost suddenly appeared in the center of the venue.

Wen Chu recognized that this was exactly the female white-collar worker who died on the subway.

Xiu said coldly: “Speak based on strength. Those who were arguing just now, whoever delivers this malicious ghost first wins, and can punch the loser twice.”

Saying this, Xiu looked up at President Ren not far away.

Ren Chuanyu smiled and nodded: “I have no objection.”

The green-clothed malicious ghost was collected by Xiu as soon as it was born. Suddenly released at this time, it stood in place dazed for a good while, not realizing what happened.

“Hah, Green Clothes! This isn’t hard. I’ll try. Watch me slash her with one sword.” Yuan Le had already taken out his peach wood sword, eager to try.

Xiu added leisurely: “Cannot hurt this malicious ghost. Must deliver in the gentlest way, and can only deliver, otherwise disqualified.”

Yuan Le silently retracted his sword.

“Only allowed to deliver, not allowed to hurt the ghost. This rule is interesting.” An observing exorcist beside them also became interested. “Can we try too?”

The normal delivery process for exorcists is to beat the malicious ghost half-crippled, then take the opportunity to deliver. The direct delivery process only exists when the malicious ghost is very fragile.

But obviously, this green-clothed malicious ghost was intact. Even because it was just formed, its power was still increasing, not belonging to the “fragile” category.

Those present were all exorcists. Xiu’s sentence was like putting a middle school math problem among a group of science PhDs but forbidding everyone from using addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division to solve it.

For a time, many people were eager to try.

“I also want to try!”

“This is interesting. My family has a unique secret manual for delivering malicious ghosts…”

“What good stuff can your Li family have? My dad left me a magical artifact…”

Many exorcists had already started taking out magical artifacts. Xiu held Wen Chu’s hand, standing aside watching, secretly noting everyone’s actions.

And standing in the very center of the crowd, a black-haired man with mediocre looks and slanted eyes turned pale looking at the green-clothed malicious ghost at this time.

“Hey, Yaozu, are you going up?” Someone next to him nudged him, gloating. “You don’t want to get punched twice for nothing, do you?”

Wen Yaozu’s legs went soft, staring at that green-clothed malicious ghost in disbelief, forcing himself to say: “I, I’m not going up. Boring.”

Yuan Le scoffed coldly: “Straw bag (good-for-nothing).”

His “straw bag” made Wen Yaozu explode directly. Wen Yaozu jumped in anger: “Who are you calling a straw bag? You are the straw bag! I am the last lineage of the Wen family’s thousand-year single transmission! The justifiable third-generation single heir! I—”

Yuan Le ignored him completely, pinching a seal with his right hand: “Supreme Order, deliver thy lonely soul, ghosts and charms all, four lives receive grace. Order saves the multitudes, swiftly transcend life, Order saves the multitudes, swiftly transcend life!”

A golden light hit the green-clothed female ghost. The female ghost’s figure swayed, without any change.

Yuan Le hissed: “Can’t beat, too hard.”

“Move aside! Let me do it!” A young man took out a silver bell from his bosom and shook it gently. “Watch the Rebirth Bell my dad left me.”

The silver bell emitted a crisp sound. Sound waves attacked the green-clothed malicious ghost. The green-clothed malicious ghost’s figure instantly faded a lot.

“It works!” That person was very excited, immediately about to urge spiritual power to continue ringing the bell.

Xiu, who had been observing the green-clothed malicious ghost, also zoned out for a moment, looking thoughtfully at the Rebirth Bell in his hand.

Just then, the transparent green-clothed malicious ghost seemed to finally realize she was about to be delivered. Countless looks of malice and unwillingness flashed across her face.

When seeing Wen Yaozu in the crowd, the green-clothed malicious ghost suddenly let out a scream.

“Ah!!”

The woman revealed fangs, eyes showing only whites, black-purple aura permeating around her body. She actually had the posture of upgrading from a green-clothed malicious ghost to a purple-clothed malicious ghost on the spot.

“Pfft—”

The youth shaking the Rebirth Bell suffered a backlash, spitting out a mouthful of fresh blood directly.

The clothes on her body alternated between green and purple. The figure that was already illusory solidified again, screaming and extending sharp claws to pounce in Wen Yaozu’s direction.

Wen Yaozu was so scared he fell sitting on the ground, crawling backward on hands and feet: “Don’t come over! I didn’t kill you! Get lost quickly!!!”

The change happened too suddenly. No one present expected a newly born green-clothed malicious ghost to upgrade.

The youth named Li was sweating profusely. The Grievance Resolving Mantra in his mouth was already half recited. Stopping or releasing at this time would be backlash; he could only bite the bullet and finish reciting.

“Urgent as a law command!”

The Li family’s unique Grievance Resolving Mantra was released, hitting the malicious ghost who had completely turned into purple clothes. The purple-clothed malicious ghost swayed, temporarily stopping her steps.

Wen Yaozu finally crawled up from the ground at this moment, fleeing behind the crowd in embarrassment, while taking out a white bone flute from his pocket and putting it to his lips to blow.

Wen Chu was just watching the battle from the side. The moment the white bone flute appeared, he suddenly felt cold all over.

“Bone…” Wen Chu murmured.

Xiu didn’t understand: “What?”

Wen Chu was like being trapped in a nightmare, staring straight in Wen Yaozu’s direction: “Bone… hurts so much…”

A rich blood aura actually began to diffuse from his body too. His eyes began to turn red, looking exactly like being entangled by resentment.

Xiu thought to himself not good, thinking Wen Chu was influenced by the female malicious ghost, and poured a bit of spiritual power into the Five Emperors Coins on Wen Chu’s wrist.

Gentle spiritual energy slowly suppressed the surging blood aura. Wen Chu came back to his senses bit by bit.

As soon as he looked up, he met Xiu’s gaze as if facing a formidable enemy, and asked in confusion: “What happened?”

Xiu looked at him seriously for a while, confirming he was fine before saying: “Nothing.”

Even if the green-clothed malicious ghost upgraded to purple clothes, with President Ren and so many exorcists here, if it really reached that point, they could deliver it by force, so Xiu wasn’t too nervous.

He was just puzzled. That woman looked like just an ordinary white-collar worker. Why was the resentment so deep that becoming Green Clothes wasn’t enough, and she even upgraded to Purple Clothes?

Did her boss eat her parents alive?

Just as Xiu was pondering, Wen Yaozu’s shrill scream came from afar: “Help!!!”

Then came the panic-stricken voices of the crowd: “How did it turn into Red Clothes?!?”

Xiu looked up, only to see behind the crowd, the purple-clothed malicious ghost’s clothes were actually still changing. At this time, half had been dyed red like fresh blood.

The woman’s black hair was disheveled, even breaking through the Yin-Yang boundary, hysterically strangling Wen Yaozu’s neck, frantically scratching him with fingernails.

“Go… die!”

“Return my… family…”

Under the instinct of survival, Wen Yaozu finally tremblingly put the bone flute to his lips, blowing wildly with closed eyes.

“Toot—”

The bone flute emitted an out-of-tune single note.

That female malicious ghost disappeared instantly.

She was delivered.

Wen Chu looked at everything in front of him in surprise. Xiu also looked at the bone flute in Wen Yaozu’s hand.

But Wen Yaozu didn’t know the female ghost had disappeared. He was still blowing desperately with closed eyes.

“Toot—”

“Toot—”

“Toot—”

No matter how this bone flute was blown, it was a monotone sound. Low, husky, out of tune. Xiu felt inexplicably irritable hearing it.

He was about to speak to ask someone to pull Wen Yaozu away.

Just then, Wen Chu’s soft voice sounded in his ear: “Xiu…”

Wen Chu only felt bursts of blackness before his eyes.

In the past, he only felt like this when his lifespan was running out, but his lifespan was still sufficient now.

What’s going on?

Wen Chu forced himself to say: “I’m a little… dizzy.”

His last word fell shortly, stopping abruptly.

Because his vision went black, and he lost consciousness.