Old Master Tang couldn’t help but sigh: “Beauty cause tragedy-- it’s a monster in disguise. You aren’t unaware of what lurks beneath that beauty. Why let it take away your life?”
Chi Yan shook his head. Ye Yingzhi’s current appearance was exactly the same as it was before he died. It’s not like he deliberately transformed into a fox demon to seduce him. As for taking his life? Ye Yingzhi already said he wouldn’t hurt him.
Chi Yan knew that a human can easily go back on their words--not to mention an evasive spirit. But still, he wanted to believe in him.
Between the two of them, one could only lament over the situation, while the other insisted on walking down the wrong path. Even though Chi Yan was still grateful to Old Master Tang for trying to save him, they could only part ways at the end of the day.
Who would have thought that Tang Guangyuan would come back again 3 days later.
He sighed: “If you insist on walking down the wrong path, then I won’t impose my thoughts. I’ll leave you with this address. This is where our school is located. It’s usually kept secret. Evil energy has already completely invaded your body. I’m afraid that even after you reincarnate, it will linger on you, attracting those things again. This entire lifetime, you may bring misfortune to those around you. My strength is limited, I can’t even help you with this. If you have time, come to our school and get rid of your air of misfortune.”
Chi Yan is, indeed, very afraid of dragging others down with him. He was born with a constitution that attracted waves of spirits. Only now those waves of spirits have been replaced by one Ye Yingzhi. He wasn’t really concerned about the abstract concept of affecting his next life. However, he was really afraid that his lifestyle will bring bad luck to others.
The address that Old Master Tang gave him wasn’t too far. It was just the neighboring province; but it might be hard to find the place since it was in the mountain area. In any case, a roundtrip shouldn’t take more than 3 days.
When he got back, he mentioned it to Ye Yingzhi. Ye Yingzhi didn’t disapprove, saying “Why don’t you go? I’ll go with you.”
Chi Yan planned to use the weekend and take Monday off for this trip. He hesitated when ordering tickets. Should he or should he not buy one for Ye Yingzhi? If he didn’t, he would feel a bit guilty and Ye Yingzhi wouldn’t be able to sit. If he did, other people would still think that the seat was empty. Moreover, if it was crowded and someone sat on the seat, then Ye Yingzhi wouldn’t be able to sit down either way.
Besides, it’s a bit strange to bring Ye Yingzhi along to get rid of evil aura and misfortune.
He tired to discuss it over with Ye Yingzhi: “Yingzhi, is it okay if you stay home? I have the ashes, it’ll be safe.”
However, Third Young Master Ye didn’t agree and this matter was temporarily set aside.
Chi Yan originally wanted to procrastinate. A few days later, his coworker, Xiao Wang, caught a serious cold and had to be hospitalized. His recent project partner, Ms. Zhu Li, fell on the stairs and sprained her foot. A few days ago, he ran into Brother Liu and his son after work. He only spoke a few words with the child; today at work, he heard Brother Liu lament that his son failed his test: what should they do if he can’t even pass an elementary school exam…. Chi Yan was a little concerned. Were they affected by him, infected by his bad luck?
The last straw was his phone call with his uncle. He found out that some time ago, he suddenly fainted during work due to high blood pressure. Based on Chi Yan’s impression, his uncle was a healthy and robust man--a capable man who never needed to rest. Being hospitalized was extremely unusual for him. On the phone, Du Mingjing said it wasn’t a big incident: he was already released from the hospital, so Chi Yan didn’t need to worry. However, Chi Yan couldn’t help but think that even though he and uncle only saw each other a few times a year, they were still related by blood--could it be that his own bad luck affected his uncle?
The week’s workload wasn’t much. He took Friday off, preparing to visit Old Master Tang’s school.
In the end, he decided to drive there himself. Even though it would be more tiring, it was also more comfortable. Ye Yingzhi would also have a place to sit.
In order to be more time-efficient, Chi Yan left Thursday afternoon. They should get there by 11 pm. After a night’s rest, they could head out the second day to find the place.
Ye Yingzhi couldn’t bear to see him drive for so long. When night fell, he said: “Rest for a while. I’ll take your place.”
Chi Yan was full of suspicion: “Didn’t you say you can’t drive?”
Ye Yingzhi made a sound of surprise, “Oh! Even if I don’t have a license, I can make the car move.”
Chi Yan considered the possibility of accidentally being seen by other drivers and felt psychologically burdened. He was touched, but ultimately rejected Third Young Master’s kindness.
Booking a 2-persons room when going out alone might seem too strange. At night, at the inn, Chi Yan requested a king-sized bed. Ye Yingzhi followed him into the room to take a look. He sat by the bed, gathering both pillows towards the middle of the bed, seemingly quite satisfied with the arrangement.
After a night’s rest, they woke up the second morning and bought food before following the GPS and heading towards the address Old Master Tang gave him. They drove on Panshan Highway for half a day. The car arrived at a village at the end of the road. They could only walk the rest of the way. The villagers they asked for directions all knew that the place was towards the mountains. They told Chi Yan he would reach a huge Taoist monastery after a 30 minutes walk and even pointed out the directions for him.
Old Master Tang previously gave him a simple overview of his school. They were a evolved from Daoism, but were more concentrated on cultivating in the Yin-Yang arts. Therefore, they couldn’t really be considered Practitioners of the Dao, but were rather Practitioners of the Arts.
It wasn’t until 3 pm that Chi Yan finally saw his destination. Old Master Tang’s school was originally branched off of Daoism so the architecture, the feeling, as well as the monastery itself had many similarities with Daoism. The villagers all called this place the “Dao Temple.” The place had a Hui-style architecture, with bluish roof tiles and white walls, with a simple sense of beauty.
The huge front gates were not completely closed, but Chi Yan still softly knocked, waiting for someone to come.
Making use of this time Chi Yan said to Ye Yingzhi softly: “Yingzhi, wait here for me. If you follow in, what if someone finds out?”
After thinking again, he still felt uneasy. Pointing at a small forest closeby: “Why don’t you hide further away? The woods are more Yin. Why don’t you wait for me there?”
Ye Yingzhi looked at him and chuckled. He started moving and reached the woods. He smiled and said: “Alright, I promise I won’t be caught by those people.”
After 3 minutes, incoming footsteps could be heard. A middle-aged man wearing a deep blue cheongsam opened the gates. After he saw Chi Yan, his face revealed his obvious astonishment.
Chi Yan promptly explained: “I was introduced by Mr. Tang Guangyuan. He said that I am tainted by evil aura. That there’s a way to remove it here.”
The middle-aged man showed a flash of emotion, repeatedly nodding: “Senior uncle has mentioned this before. Please enter, please enter.” He invited Chi Yan in as he spoke. The gates silently closed after them, sealing the entrance.
Listening to the middle-aged man, Chi Yan found out that Tang Guangyuan was also on his way back. The middle-aged man walked with him for 10 minutes before they arrived at a hall. He brought him tea and told him to rest for a while, saying he will call his seniors out. He turned around as soon as he finished talking, softly closing the door when he left.
Chi Yan sat in the hall and played on his phone when he got bored. This place was far from the city area, so the signal was extremely bad--alright one moment and cut off the next. Even the occasional signal was very weak--unable to make calls or go on the internet. He could only play basic phone games. He passed 3 levels and after 15 minutes, there was still no one.
The phone battery was only at 50% now, and Chi Yan became restless. Right when he was about to put away his phone and take a look outside, he received a new notification--
“Ye 3rd Qian(1): Hurry, come out.”
He didn’t dare let Ye Yingzhi find out about the nickname he had for him.
Some coworkers accidently saw the recipient of his texts before, and all of them said “Xiao Chi, your partner’s name is this? It’s quite unique!” Chi Yan ignored his conscience and replied with a “Yes.”
Chi Yan saw these words and immediately paled. His heart sank. He had a bad feeling. Could it be that Ye Yingzhi was discovered? They wanted to hurt him? Or was there something else?
He stood up and tried to leave. When his hand reached the door, the slightly opened door suddenly shut itself tight. It wouldn’t budge no matter how hard he pushed or pulled.
Chi Yan became determined, and urgently kicked the door. The seemingly frail wooden door was like a steel plate. It didn’t even sway.
He was stuck inside. The bad feeling he had got stronger and stronger. He felt a sudden chill. With his back against the door, he trembled as he sent Ye Yingzhi a text message:
“Yingzhi, I can’t get out.”
He didn’t know if Ye Yingzhi could see his message.
————————
This whole time, Ye Yingzhi was bored to death waiting by the small woods. He suddenly felt his connection to Chi Yan disappear.
Chi Yan was wearing his ashes, so something must have forcefully severed their connection.
He already guessed that this could be a ploy, but if he didn’t follow along this ploy, that person would keep harassing them.
He doesn’t want them to bother Chi Yan.
How annoying.
This is why he even secretly hinted in their daily life in favor of Chi Yan to hurry here and take care of things. So all these people can just shut up.
As expected.
Humans really are impatient creatures. How very like their puny and short-lived nature.
He silently ridiculed, seemingly forgetting that he too was once human.
Ye Yingzhi silently took out the phone Chi Yan bought him. Only now did a bit of tenderness appear on his face. He sent a text, telling him to come out before calmly waiting for a reply.
“Yingzhi, I can’t come out.”
They did something to Chi Yan.
Ye Yingzhi cocked his head, observing the battlefield in front of him--the considerably large, impressive-looking building.
He casually used his phone to dial a public number. He called the police.
Author’s Notes：
Everyone must have faith in Comrade Yingzhi.
Special thanks to 木心心心、walnut、鱿鱼干、blessing2017、迟忘悬、三千花杀、二筒、唐小兔。、梦三生、肾虚道长捶你胸口、云弥子姑娘们的地雷，该用户已注销姑娘的手榴弹和喵星人2姑娘的火箭炮~
Thank you ladies for your support. If all goes well, I’ll enter tomorrow V~
I hope everyone can support the original work. Everyone’s support and encouragement are my greatest motivation to persevere and improve!
Footnote:
1: Ye 3rd Qian: it’s a nickname Chi Yan has for Ye Yingzhi “Ye” for his last name, “3rd” since he was known as 3rd Young Master, “Qian” since he’s Chi Yan’s personal Xiao Qian~