To tell the truth, Qu Zhiwen wasnât in the mood to pay attention to what happened to Qin Cheng, nor was he very interested in it. If it hadnât been because Jiang Ping bowed his head at him and pleaded, Qu Zhiwen wouldnât have paid attention to the case.
However, even if Qu Zhiwen didnât care about Qin Cheng, the man in front of him was differentâŠâŠ
Su Jingmo walked only two steps with his hands behind his back before he stopped and turned to ask Qu Zhiwen.
âYou said that Jiang Ping went to Pingyao to look for Qin Cheng, right?â
As Qu Zhiwen nodded, light goose bumps raised on his arms. Qu Zhiwen looked at Su Jingmo, and said: âYes, Jiang Ping went to Pingyao.â
âAlone?â
âAlone.â
After hearing this, Su Jingmo couldnât help but laugh: âWhat can he do alone? Pingyao is at least a few hectares in circumference. Even if he has great ability, how will he find Qin Cheng alone? Moreover, Qin Cheng may already be inside the tomb at this moment. A tomb thatâs unknown to the world, and he doesnât even know how to find it.â
âI know that he wonât be able to find it if he goes there directly.â At this point, Qu Zhiwen looked at the Emperor in front of him, who hadnât been smiling for a long time now, and sighed: âBut my ghost pigeon can identify the qi of ghosts, even if theyâre thousands of km apart, it can still recognize it. Qin Cheng has your ghostly qi on him, and your ghostly qi is already too strong, so it wonât be difficult for the ghost pigeon to remember it. This time, I let it lead the way for Jiang Ping, so it wonât be hard for him to find Qin Cheng.â
After Qu Zhiwen said this, Su Jingmo simply raised an eyebrow: âBut what can he do by himself?â
âI donât know, Your Highness. This kind of human affairs should be left to the Police to take care of. You donât have to worry about it, there are some things that he can do that neither you nor me can.â
Su Jingmo squinted at Qu Zhiwen. This person spoke with hidden meanings, showing an appearance of someone who lowers his eyebrows, and is pleasing to the eye <sup>1</sup> . His words also sounded reasonable on the surface, but in fact, they were two sharp needles opposed to each other <sup>2</sup> .
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It was impossible for Su Jingmo to tell who this person reminded him of. But at this moment, he had an idea in his heart.
As he stared at Qu Zhiwen, who didnât seem to have any flaws, Su Jingmo laughed: âZhen can see that youâre a capable TaoistâŠ. because you can see through evil spirits. Since you can see ghosts, then youâre from a half-immortal family, right? But, can you see Zhenâs future?â
Qu Zhiwen didnât understand what Su Jingmoâs sudden words meant. After thinking about it, he could only reply: âYouâre already a ghost. Sooner or later, youâll have to go to the Underworld.â
After smiling and nodding his head, Su Jingmo continued: âThen, are you able to see yourself in your past life? A Taoist whoâs also well versed in the art of Qi Huang <sup>3</sup> ?â
âNo matter who you are, no one can remember their past lives. Iâm naturally no exception to this rule.â
After hearing this, Su Jingmo laughed: âIf thatâs the caseâŠ. then what about Qin Cheng?â
When thinking of Qin Cheng, Qu Zhiwen had some doubts, and he could only say: âNaturally, I havenât explored Qin Chengâs past lives. But I was able to see something in his current life. âThe length of the body should be adjusted equally to the length of the head, feet, and waist. If the upper part is long and the lower part short, thereâs no difference in the length, and the fortune is bad <sup>4</sup> .â With the information from the facial features, one is naturally able to calculate a personâs wealth, poverty and fate changes. Qin Chengâs eyebrows have an appropriate thickness, theyâre curved, elegant, and smooth, with the eyebrow tail dropping slightly. The eyes change according to the health condition, and his eyes are full of energy. The shape of his ears are thick and large, rosy, and close to the brain. His nose is long and powerful, and the bridge of his nose is straight. This is the face of longevity. Qin Chengâs face shows that heâll have a long and productive life. However, when I saw him for the first time, I found that he was filled with ghostly qi, revealing the face of a soon-to-be-dead manâŠ. Iâm afraid this is the influence of your ghostly qi.â
Not expecting that Qu Zhiwen would say this, Su Jingmo asked: âZhenâs ghostly qi will make him lose his life?â
âYes. I know that Qin Cheng has given you Yang qi, so you shouldâve been able to see that his body became weak after giving his Yang qi away.â When the ghostly qi invades a body, it will make the living being physically weak and sick. But in the end, Qu Zhiwenâs doubts were also this. Ghostly qi does make people lose their lives, and even though Qin Cheng has the face of someone who should be able to live until his 80âs, it looks like he will only have a few more years of lifeâŠ. Su Jingmo didnât deliberately add his own ghostly qi inside Qin Cheng, because he restrained himself. In theory, it would be impossible to lose another 50 or 60 years of oneâs lifeâŠâŠ
Looking at Su Jingmo, Qu Zhiwen didnât say this. In any case, the more a living person such as Qin Chreng stays far away from a ghost such as Su Jingmo, who has a lot of Yin qi, the better itâll be for him.
âIâm afraid that after meeting, and developing those kinds of feelings for His Highness, Qin Cheng became less afraid of deathâŠ..â
Those words were said with an euphemistic remark, but Su Jingmo still understood what he was referring toâŠ.
Qin Cheng seemed like the rational type of person, but sometimes he would do things driven by his emotions. Now that Su Jingmoâs heart hasnât warmed up yet, was the right time to not develop any feelings. Su Jingmo knows that if he responds to Qin Chengâs feelings, the day heâll be able to leave the tomb, Qin Cheng may want to follow himâŠ.
âThere are thousands of responsibilities in this world, and Zhen would hate to watch this man give up his own future with a wife and kids for the sake of a childish love.â
Qu Zhiwen stared at Su Jingmo after he said this, and finally nodded his head: âThatâs right. In this world, the lovers predestined by fate are connected by a thread, and there isnât a red thread connecting you both. In other words, you two arenât destined partners. Itâs very likely that thereâs a fate connecting you both, just not as lovers.â
âYou can see the red thread?â
âNaturally. I can see that the red thread in your hand has long disappeared, while Qin Cheng has a red thread. Of course, the other end of that red thread isnât linked to you.â
However, the words âitâs not youâ made Su Jingmoâs heart feel a little annoyed. His fingers gently rubbed the jade ring and curved his eyebrows, seemingly interested: âOh?â The final sound seemed to be slightly raised as Su Jingmo smiled like a spring breeze. âI would like to know which woman is at the other end.â
âHis red thread is hidden in the dark, and I canât see the person at the other end clearly. Although there are twists and turns, the red thread is clear and bright in the later stage. At least, you can be sure that he should have a good marriage.â
Su Jingmo chuckled, but he couldnât explain why he was laughingâŠ.
A good marriage? The early period is dark, but it gets brighter later. Does that mean that once Su Jingmo leaves, Qin Chengâs marriage will be bright?
Su Jingmo narrowed his eyes. Sure enough, no matter how nice it is, as long as he leaves, Qin Cheng will eventually forget about him.
âBingâclangâ-â Suddenly, a crisp sound was heard when Su Jingmoâs jade ring broke into several piecesâŠâŠ
After he saw how the jade ring, which seemed to have been a beloved object, was thrown at a corner of the coffin chamber by Su Jingmo as if it was garbage, Qu Zhiwen silently lowered his headâŠ.
âDidnât you want to ask that Jiang Bo some questions?â Su Jingmo looked at the gates of the Underground Palace and laughed. âIf we donât hurry, those people will come here soon.â
After listening to Su Jingmoâs words, Qu Zhiwen calmed down. But when he felt the fluctuations at the foot of the mountain, his face changed. As he looked at the spring-faced Su Jingmo, Qu Zhiwen became even worse.
âZhen can feel that the people who are going up the mountain have the breath of an Immortal family. Theyâre here to find you, right?â
After thinking about it, Qu Zhiwen finally lowered his head: âIâll have to ask His Highness for a favor.â
âDoes this favor have anything to do with holding them back? So that you can escape?â
ââŠ.. YesâŠ..â
âZhen never does unprofitable business.â
Qu Zhiwen didnât expect that those people would come after him, after he âtookâ a few things from themâŠ. After thinking about it, Qu Zhiwen could only nod his head with a bitter smile: âIf His Highness helps me, Iâll go to Pingyao to protect Qin Cheng.â
When Su Jingmo heard this, he simply laughed: âZhen said that he never does unprofitable business. Helping Qin Cheng is the basics, so the profitâŠ.â
Feeling that those people werenât that far away, Qu Zhiwen knew that the only reason they hadnât found him yet, was because of this big tomb. However, it was only a matter of time before they did. Even though they couldnât enter the tomb, as long as he goes out, they will catch him. Only if Su Jingmo stops those people will he have an opportunity to escape.
âAlright! What else do you want me to do?â
âTaoist like you attach great importance to the oaths. Since youâve asked, then Zhen will remember it. For the time being, Zhen wonât say what he wants. But Zhen hopes that you wonât turn your back on it.â
After thinking that Su Jingmo has been dead for more than a thousand years, and that heâs no longer related with the world of the living, Qu Zhiwen didnât worry that this man would ask him to kill and set everything on fire, so he simply nodded his head in agreement.
âAlright then. Zhen will help you escape later. But now, this Jiang Bo has no humanity left, so how will he remember what happened before his death?â
After looking at the ghost huddled in a corner, Qu Zhiwen remembered the crying appearance of Jiang Boâs mother. His heart was still a bit impatient, but be sighed: âIâve brought a beverage that drives the spiritsâ resentment away. But this beverage was made with my own hands, and it carries the qi of a half-immortal, which brings great harm to the ghosts. Jiang Bo died unjustly, and I still want him to be reincarnated, instead of staying inside this tomb for the rest of his existence as a fierce ghost.â
Su Jingmo listened to Qu Zhiwenâs words and glanced at Jiang Bo. This man, who led Qin Cheng inside the tomb, was the first friend of his to die, right?
âZhen saw that the fierce ghosts inside this tomb can devour each other, so is it possible for Zhen to swallow his resentment?â
âThisâŠ. can workâŠ.â Qu Zhiwen looked at Su Jingmo with incredible eyes. Then, he said: âYou can suck away his ghostly qi, that way heâll be like a soul who just died. However, thereâs one thing. It was hinted that Jiang Bo was under a spell while he was alive, and Iâm afraid this technique would extend to his soul. Itâs still unknown whether the person who used that spell on him would be able to see everything in this tomb through his eyes.â
âWho said that he was going so stay in this tomb?â Su Jingmo snorted. âNaturally, after he turns into a soul, and spits everything he knows, Zhen will throw him out.â
âAll right thenâŠ..â
The method of absorbing the resentment from a ghost was very easy, and when Su Jingmo separated the resentment from Jiang Boâs soul body, he simply swallowed it all.
Without the resentment, Jiang Boâs soul was as if he had just died, like he had returned to a normal state from a period of insanity.
When Jiang Bo regained consciousness, he suddenly saw two strangers in front of him. One was thin and looked lifeless, and the other was dressed in ancient clothes, with his long hair tied up, just like a man from ancient times.
âWho are you?!â
Su Jingmo narrowed his eyes, and smiled: âIt seems that you donât remember? You donât even remember that you died a long time ago?â
As soon as Su Jingmo said this, Jiang Bo suddenly woke up, thinking of what happened before he turned into a fierce ghostâŠ.. and for a moment, he stood frozen in place, unable to move.
Qu Zhiwen didnât have the time to wait for Jiang Bo to mourn again, so he said bluntly: âJiang Bo, do you remember the man surnamed âChenâ, the one you wrote about in your diary? I want to know what happened the day before you died. You know, I think that you were killed by him!â
Nothing is more fun than SJM trying to deny the fact that heâs jealous~~