Chapter 39: Little Ghost 7

07

Kong Youzhuo sucked in a breath of cold air and rubbed his shoulder, but still let the other grab him by the collar.

The cars behind honked impatiently for them to move, but he heard none of it. His eyes were fixed on this cold-faced girl, and he had to take several deep breaths.

Ji Yue was thoroughly annoyed: "Are you trying to kidnap me, hurt me, to get revenge on Zhong Xian?"

Kong Youzhuo was a bit surprised: "Honestly, no. I never thought about hurting you. I feel toward you..."

"Stop."

"Why?"

"I have a boyfriend."

"So what? I don't object to you having a boyfriend. What, your boyfriend can't accept it? Then trade him in."

Kong Youzhuo grinned teasingly.

"..."

"Have dinner with me tonight, okay?"

"One more time. Let me out of the car."

Ji Yue's expression was blank as he raised a fist the size of a sandbag.

Kong Youzhuo raised both hands: "Fine, fine, don't get angry. If you hit me, won't your hand hurt?"

The door opened, and Ji Yue, like a frog possessed, leaped violently out of the car. The moment his feet touched the ground, he shot off like an arrow from a bow, his blue dress fluttering in the car window before vanishing in the blink of an eye.

At the same time, several black cars rolled out of the underground garage exit one after another, like a funeral procession.

Ji Yue jogged all the way upstairs, pressed the elevator button. The numbers climbed, and the doors slowly opened.

The hallway lights were on, everything quiet. The door at the end was shut tight. At a glance, nothing unusual—exactly as he'd left it.

No. Something was wrong.

A fierce ghost's sixth sense told him there was a problem over there.

He stopped in his tracks.

—On the distant door was pasted a yellow paper talisman, covered with glaring cinnabar-red exorcism characters. More were stuck along the hallway walls, one every half meter. The dark-yellow talismans rattled in the wind funneling through the corridor, stretching from the elevator all the way to his doorstep like a yellow police cordon, brightly and unmistakably expelling the only ghost in residence.

[These exorcism talismans carry great power. They're not welcoming you—don't go over there, don't touch them!] the system cried in alarm. [Looks like someone hired a master exorcist!]

'Something fishy.'

[It must be one of the male lead's buddies. Do they know Zhong Xian isn't home? They're trying to drive you out and catch you outside? Oh no, the plot hasn't even gotten here yet—you're in danger!]

The elevator doors closed behind him and sank slowly downward.

A blown-loose exorcism talisman fluttered down at his feet like a fallen leaf. Ji Yue had to retreat half a step—even getting close felt scalding, like standing under direct sunlight.

A fierce ghost doesn't sit around waiting to die.

He turned his head. Beside the elevator was a cluster of sticker ads—wifi installation, locksmith, house cleaning...

Ji Yue picked one and called: "Hello, is this the cleaning company? My front door area got dirtied up. Can you come over now?"

He couldn't go home until the cleaning was done. A little displeased, he had no choice but to sit in a nearby café.

Who did it?

Chen Zheqin, Gu Chiming, Kong Youzhuo...

The moment he silently mouthed that last name, the Gorgeous Straight Guy sent a new message.

[Sis, what are you up to? (pout) (wronged)]

Ji Yue: [What did you do at my front door?]

Kong Youzhuo immediately called.

"I usually just pass by the complex to take a look, nothing more, really, believe me."

He sounded very guilty.

"Did you paste something on my door?"

"Huh? No way. Pasted what? How would I know? There was nothing on your door this morning."

"Exorcism talismans."

"How could I possibly paste something like that? I'm terrified of ghosts!" Kong Youzhuo laughed, then his tone sank. "Anything else, I'd own up to. This, truly no. Someone pasted exorcism talismans—is it a prank? Or is it aimed at something?"

"It wasn't you?"

Ji Yue wasn't sure who it was.

"Why would you suspect me? I've always just quietly watched you two from the sidelines, never competing, never grabbing. How could I paste something at your door! At most I'd paste photos of Zhong Xian cheating! If I ever did anything to wrong you, I'll chop the thing down there clean off!"

"..."

"Need my help? Are you too scared to go home tonight? How about you come to my pla—"

"No need."

Ji Yue hung up.

The male lead had many good brothers, every one of them a suspect, and plenty of enemies besides. Too many suspects to sort out quickly—he'd have to reason it through slowly.

Meanwhile.

Gu Chiming sat down at the table, still in that pale white suit, the collar full of design flair, cufflinks gleaming, a white dove brooch pinned to his chest—at first glance, like a groom at a wedding.

"Brother, you can't handle a girl like this. Your rigorous personality against Ji Yue will only get your feelings played with," he said flatly to Chen Zheqin. "I got Ji Yue's WeChat today."

Chen Zheqin said nothing. He thought of the message he'd sent asking Ji Yue for a phone number—sunk like a stone in the sea, answered only by (demon) (fist) emojis, with nothing further the next day.

He didn't comment, just pulled a few sheets from a folder and pushed them over.

"In March, Zhong Xian bought that second-hand apartment." Chen Zheqin pointed at an address line. "The one they're living in now is a haunted house."

Gu Chiming took the document, scanned it, and understood at once—Zhong Xian had been tricked into it by a ghost.

"The previous owner kept setting up formations inside to raise a little ghost, and not long after, the backlash got him. He died in hospital, and nobody in the complex knew. The feng shui and orientation there attract ghosts especially, and it's very bad for the living." Chen Zheqin produced the previous owner's death certificate—it listed only death by illness.

As he spoke, Chen Zheqin frowned slightly.

Was Ji Yue really that vicious a girl?

Gu Chiming gave a soft laugh: "Seeing Zhong Xian like this now, as his friend, I can't watch anymore. It's like that little ghost has broken his body and ruined his mind."

"What do you plan to do?"

"Find someone to seduce the little ghost, and Zhong Xian goes free." Gu Chiming picked up the sheet with the address. "I'll deal with this little ghost. Wait for my news."

"You alone? I remember you loathe ghosts. Besides, if Zhong Xian misreads your actions as a genuine 'seduction,' there'll be no explaining it later."

Chen Zheqin didn't approve of him doing this in reality.

A ghost entering dreams could be explained away as an empty dream. Reality was different.

"Zhong Xian will understand."

Gu Chiming didn't look back.

Seeing how dismissive he was, Chen Zheqin said nothing more, only harboring a faint premonition that things wouldn't be so simple.

Zhong Xian was already putty in the little ghost's hands; he wouldn't easily believe a good brother hitting on his girlfriend was helping him. That much was foreseeable.

Whenever Chen Zheqin ran an instance, he always considered the worst outcome.

The worst possibility he envisioned was Gu Chiming eventually falling under the ghost's spell on this mission too—Zhong Xian and Gu Chiming both reduced to the little ghost's playthings.

Ji Yue.

Chen Zheqin recited the name once more.

Ghosts in the human world came in endless variety; most avoided people entirely, quietly living in the corners of the city.

Ji Yue alone had done so many things.

Truly wicked.

--------

Ji Yue didn't know the male lead's good brothers were still entangling themselves with him, watching his affairs even without meeting him.

Not that knowing would have provoked much reaction. He'd often been treated this way before—just appearing in an instance brought endless bizarre developments.

Ji Yue read a horror novel in the café, from the fierce ghost's debut all the way to the fierce ghost's demise.

Near closing time, he put away the book and took a stroll around the pedestrian street.

The night deepened. At one in the morning, the streets were nearly empty.

As a ghost without any ID, he could hardly check into a hotel through normal channels, and he didn't want to drift uninvited into an empty room to sleep either. Tonight, a small motel it would have to be.

He walked toward the apartment complex, planning to check whether the exorcism talismans had been cleaned up.

Almost there. Thirty meters to go.

Behind him, a pitch-black, silent car glided slowly toward him.

Ji Yue stepped around a corner.

A hand abruptly clamped over his face from behind, an arm locked around his waist, and he was hoisted up and thrown into the car.

The whole street-side ghost abduction flowed like water, taking only seconds; the black car didn't even pause.

[Ahhh, who kidnaps a ghost in the middle of the night?!] the system shrieked. [Who are these people? The male lead's buddies? This plot is moving a bit fast!]

The arm holding Ji Yue squeezed tight, as if his ribs might shatter.

The man's hand was huge and heavy, pressing over the lower half of his face, his body pinning Ji Yue down, immovable—every surface inside the vehicle was plastered with ghost-suppressing talismans, their scribbled characters glowing an eerie red, crushing the lone ghost's power.

[Tsk... these talismans—looks like they hired a famous exorcist from the original novel!] The system panicked. [No wait, why are they showing up this early?!]

Beside him, another man leaned in close, almost tenderly brushing aside the long hair covering Ji Yue's eyes, and said: "Little sister, if the one you'd set your sights on wasn't Zhong Xian, people like us would never have come for you. Let's just say your luck ran out..."

The light was too dim; Ji Yue could barely make out the man holding him down—silver-white hair, sunglasses on his face.

The man was looking at him too, and seemed to smile: "You like Zhong Xian that much? Not good. Better to head back to the underworld."

The white-haired man seemed to be merely informing him of this, with no intention of hearing a reply. The car sped along, nothing visible outside. Ji Yue was carried out of the car in someone's arms, eyes covered, seeing nothing.

[So scary!] The system trembled. [It's so dark here, like one of those sacrificial murder ritual scenes from horror movies. This man is another one of the male lead's good brothers from the original novel!]

The ground was covered in a cinnabar exorcism formation, crisscrossed with red lines like an open net. A monk in red robes stood at the formation's edge, ritual implements jingling in his hands. Every chime made Ji Yue's head split with pain, as if something were drilling outward from inside his skull.

He curled up on the ground, his thick black hair spilled across the cinnabar-red formation, sticking to his ghastly pale cheeks and arms—black, white, and red garishly tangled together.

The white-haired man crouched down, his black-gloved hand touching Ji Yue's face. For the first time, Ji Yue saw the details of this face—sunglasses hiding the eyes, a slight hump on the bridge of the nose, thin lips, dressed all in black. The left hand covered the lower half of Ji Yue's face, the fingertips dry, carrying a trace of tobacco.

So detestable...!

Ji Yue seized that hand and bit down viciously. The leather of the glove tore; blood seeped out. The white-haired man hissed, flung his hand free, and pulled off the glove. Blood streamed down at once, dripping through his fingers.

The long-haired little ghost lying on the ground was still panting, black hair spread everywhere, damp as if fished from water, blood on his lips like unevenly applied lipstick. His face was deathly pale, the blood smeared on it a piercing red, like cinnabar brushed on white porcelain; his blue eyes brimmed with tears on the verge of falling.

Truly pitiful.

The white-haired man looked down at him, silently thinking.

The system, meanwhile, was wailing with its head in its hands: [What do we do now?!]

The bell in the monk's hand jingled, its chime light and lingering.

"Where were you born? Where did you live in life?"

the white-haired man asked slowly.

His tone was coaxing, deeply beguiling. At the same time, Ji Yue felt the formation beneath him gradually heat up, the red lines flowing like blood vessels, burning across his body.

Such a formation existed to make one lose their mind and blurt out the truth.

What they wanted to know was where the little ghost's bones were buried.

Only with the remains could they seal him.

Ji Yue stared toward the ceiling, consciousness sinking, muddled as if the bell chimes were dragging him into a swamp.

He heard his own voice, dull, drifting involuntarily from his mouth.

"...In the water."

The white-haired man exchanged a glance with the other man nearby, unable to grasp the meaning.

They didn't know that besides being a ghost, Ji Yue was also a computer program. Born and adrift in an ocean of data, he considered himself no different from something grown in water.

"When did you die? Where are you buried?"

"I..."

The warehouse door exploded with a tremendous crash.

Headlights pierced the darkness as an off-road vehicle smashed through the gate. Zhong Xian leaped out, kicked the white-haired man aside, and scooped Ji Yue up from the ground.

"Enough."

he said.

The monk, the white-haired man, and everyone else present were sick with exasperation, all thinking the same thing—Zhong Xian, you really are possessed! Your bros can't save you anymore!

Do you love your little ghost wife that much?!

"That said, to be fair... if it were me, being pursued so devotedly by a little beauty like this, I'd probably go love-brained too."

one of them sighed.

The white-haired man laughed: "She already has a boyfriend. What are you all getting worked up about?"

------

[Our host suffered such a huge grievance! They completely treated you like some homewrecking pretty boy!!] The system lay draped over Ji Yue's head, howling. [This mission is way too hard! Can we apply to the Main God to stop doing random instances?!]

Ji Yue curled up in the human's arms, only his eyelids trembling faintly, like a pair of snow-white, weakened butterflies.

No strength, his whole body limp.

He felt like a noodle in humid spring weather, slumping soft and shapeless, shriveled in a corner of the kitchen.

Someone beside him was murmuring something—scripture or incantations, perhaps. Faint glimmers of light suffused the room. Ji Yue forced his eyes open and, over Zhong Xian's shoulder, spotted a yellow talisman pasted under the table.

It wasn't an exorcism talisman—it was for raising ghosts. He'd seen them in Zhong Xian's room before; several corners of the house were pasted with talismans forming a formation.

The apartment they now lived in had been used by its previous owner to raise a little ghost. The yin energy was heavy; a living person staying there would only grow weaker and weaker.

Zhong Xian knew nothing of this. Sweet-talked by the agent and by Ji Yue, he'd bought the place, and soon after, the two of them moved in together.

[Poor male lead—he knows nothing, and thinks his brothers are out to hurt him! When the tide goes out, he'll finally learn how good his bros were to him!]

'Mm. Very soon, Zhong Xian will start to suspect I'm a ghost.'

[But when they seal you as a fierce ghost, you'll feel some pain too!] The more the system thought about it, the more anxious it got. [That won't do. Is there any way to block the pain?]

Ji Yue's heart was utterly unmoved. He'd known from the start this small world would involve some physical suffering, and today's events were actually milder than he'd anticipated.

He didn't care about pain. It was merely part of the hardship of learning to play a human.

At that thought, Ji Yue suddenly felt warmth on his face, wet, like raindrops falling from a summer awning. The back of his hand was wet too.

He looked down—a scalding tear trembling to a stop on the back of his hand.

One after another, Zhong Xian's tears fell onto him, like rain.

Ji Yue was puzzled: "What are you crying for?"

Zhong Xian let the tears flow. He ached for the suffering Ji Yue had endured—he had failed to protect his own girlfriend.

"You've suffered so much for dating me. My friends all say you're a ghost—but whether you're a ghost or not, don't I know that myself? Those people—I'm cutting them off. This won't happen to you again."

At the mention of those friends, his expression turned icy, as if they were his mortal enemies he wished he could slaughter to the last.

[Male lead, you hate your brothers now, but they all did it for your own good!]

[Sure, your brothers kidnapped your wife, ambushed your wife, played your wife's lover in dreams, invited your wife to chat over oil paintings at art galleries, and tried to kiss your wife—but it was all for the sake of your health!]

[When the tide goes out, you'll finally know who truly treated you well!]

'...'

Ji Yue was getting a little dizzy from all the "brothers."

But Zhong Xian's tears did surprise him.

[This guy usually seems all proper in instances, but he's actually a purebred troll—he's scammed tons of honest players over the years. Now karma finally got him! Hoodwinked by a ghost, and breaking off with his bros on top of it!] The system cackled with glee.

[A hundred years from now, his good brothers will still be mocking him: "We told you back then not to date the little ghost and you wouldn't listen—you made it look like we were hurting you, like we wanted to steal your wife!"]

As Ji Yue listened, drowsiness crept over him, and he slowly fell asleep in the crook of Zhong Xian's arm.

He slept in Zhong Xian's room, and amid the baaing of electric sheep in his dreams, his body gradually recovered somewhat.

For some reason, the talisman formation here actually gave off tremendous energy?

When he woke again, it was already evening of the next day.

Ji Yue gazed quietly at the ceiling, pondering the plot ahead.

In the original timeline: two days from now, Zhong Xian begins to suspect the person beside his pillow is a fierce ghost.

Three days from now, the fierce ghost attacks Zhong Xian's good brother Gu Chiming and is instead imprisoned by him, fleeing before Zhong Xian arrives.

On the fourth day, the fierce ghost plays pitiful, Zhong Xian is bewitched again, Chen Zheqin comes to catch the ghost, and he and Zhong Xian come to blows.

After that, Fei He mocks them—delivering themselves one by one, unable to handle even a single little ghost—and then joins the battle to save his good brother too.

Fei He was the white-haired man in sunglasses from last night.

His phone buzzed a few times. Ji Yue opened it: [Gorgeous Straight Guy].

[(NetEase Cloud share—"First Taste of Love")]

[Awake? Eaten yet? (playful)]

[Why are you ignoring me? Isn't there a new exhibition today? We could go see it (sobbing)]

[Your boyfriend's face looks so foul today—did you dump him? Can I step in? (confused) (confused)]

[Is this guy really out for revenge on Zhong Xian? He contacts you more than he contacts Zhong Xian, right?]

The system scratched its head.

Ji Yue coldly replied with (demon) (fist) emojis.

"Knock, knock, knock."

Someone was at the door.

Ji Yue leaned in to peer through the peephole.

A young man in rimless glasses and a gray T-shirt, features refined and gentle.

Gu Chiming.

"Don't be afraid. Zhong Xian asked me to come look after you," Gu Chiming said gently, explaining through the door. "I heard about last night. How are you now?"

Ji Yue was a little puzzled. This excuse again?

He hadn't confirmed anything with Zhong Xian.

But if it was a lie, wasn't Gu Chiming afraid of being exposed?

Ji Yue clenched his fists, ready to smash them into Gu Chiming at any moment.

Through the door, he answered: "Thank you. I'm fine."

Then Ji Yue narrowed one eye, pressing against the door to study the man outside. Gu Chiming was as he always was—expression indifferent, free of any excess emotion, looking exactly like someone genuinely sent by Zhong Xian to check in.

[Hm?? That statement sounds weird, doesn't it? "Wifey, your husband's not home, let me take care of you!"] The system was on high alert. [This guy's got some nerve—totally unafraid your husband might come home suddenly! Be careful!]

'...'

[Gu Chiming really never has attacked you. Chen Zheqin was a bit rude to you, but this one's fairly mild. Maybe because he loathes ghosts and doesn't want to talk to you much?]

'Mm.'

Ji Yue didn't need looking after.

Did Gu Chiming have some other purpose in coming?

A psychic—perhaps he'd discovered some trace of the fierce ghost, enough to push the plot ahead of schedule.

A suspenseful little tune flashed through his mind.

After a moment's consideration, he opened the door: "Come in."

Gu Chiming stepped into the entryway and looked down at Ji Yue beside the cabinet.

Ji Yue tilted his face up, taking a coat off the rack. Indoors, the yin chill was real—it really was cold.

The oversized off-white coat, apparently his cohabitant's, didn't fit Ji Yue at all, draping in layered folds that made his face look smaller, paler. Sitting there, eyes lowered, silent, he looked like a wounded animal.

At first glance, Ji Yue appeared paler and more fragile than ever before, like a delicate, breakable doll dressed all in white, thick half-damp black hair spilling over his shoulders, his cheeks damp as well, lashes dense, sheltering a pair of agate-blue eyes that, beneath the lamplight, silently cast a cold glance over.

"What exactly do you want to take care of? I'm fine. You've seen it now."

So said Ji Yue.

Gu Chiming didn't answer the question. Just before Ji Yue lifted his cup, he reached out and touched the cup's wall, saying: "It's cold. Drink something hot."

He set the kettle on and waited for it to boil, rolled up his sleeves, stacked the horror comics piled on the sofa into a neat pile, plumped and straightened the cushions one by one, then went to the kitchen, took out a washed cup, opened the fridge to check the stock, and asked Ji Yue if he wanted some pears washed.

Ji Yue started a round of a zombie game, pretending to ignore him while secretly observing his every move from the corner of his eye.

When he looked up again, Gu Chiming was already seated across from him, pouring him a cup of warm water.

A mist of heat rose slowly between the two of them.

"Does your boyfriend usually help you blow-dry your hair?"

Gu Chiming asked idly, his gaze resting on Ji Yue's damp strands. A few wet locks of black hair clung to the skin behind his ear, making that patch of skin look even paler.

[This guy's "house-call care" means taking care of you like a boyfriend? —"Brother, rest easy and go! I'll dry your wife's hair for her!"]

Ji Yue also found this man rather strange.

Shouldn't Gu Chiming have abruptly lunged up and slapped a talisman onto the fierce ghost's forehead?

Before he could begin interrogating the man, the door creaked open—

Zhong Xian's figure came through the door. The entryway light was off, all darkness, and the smile could be heard in his voice: "Yueyue, I'm back. You're not asleep yet? Waiting up for me?"

[Oh no! Your husband's home!] the system bellowed.