FCRCG Chapter 13

Nan Deng buried his face in Lian Yi’s neck, not wanting to move for a moment.

Then, suddenly, he remembered something and quickly lifted his head. “They didn’t find the talisman at your door…”

“I put up a new one, already torn down,” Lian Yi replied.

He opened his palm, revealing a crumpled, torn piece of yellow paper.

Nan Deng relaxed, burying his face again.

There was a pleasant scent on Lian Yi, though Nan Deng couldn’t tell if it was from his clothes or him personally.

Nan Deng sniffed carefully, his lips brushing against the skin of Lian Yi’s neck, the impulse to bite down hard rising within him.

It seemed Lian Yi didn’t notice. He loosely held Nan Deng, like embracing a mist chilled by the air, more comfortable than being in hot water.

Lian Yi’s eyes were lowered, his expression calm, his emotions hidden away.

Nan Deng controlled himself in time, not biting, and slowly pulled away from Lian Yi.

He hadn’t fully recovered. His pale face still showed a trace of unease.

“Are you afraid of the celestial masters?” Lian Yi asked softly.

Ordinary ghosts didn’t know what fear was unless they encountered something they couldn’t fight and then fled in fear.

It wasn’t like Nan Deng, who instinctively stayed away from a similar outfit.

Nan Deng mumbled in a low voice, “They’ll catch me… I don’t want to be locked up again.”

“Again?” Lian Yi caught the word, “You were locked up before?”

Nan Deng nodded, trusting Lian Yi, and didn’t hide anything. “In a tower, there were a lot of ghosts inside.”

Lian Yi’s tone was unclear. “The Karmic Tower?”

Nan Deng hesitated. “I think that was its name. Do you know about it?”

“I heard about it recently,” Lian Yi said slowly. “One of the celestial masters’ Karmic Towers collapsed, and a ghost king escaped.”

Seeing Nan Deng’s confused expression, Lian Yi asked, “You’ve never seen it?”

Nan Deng shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

He had never seen a ghost king in the tower. When the Karmic Tower collapsed, it was daytime. He had been sleeping when he suddenly heard a loud noise.

The ghosts locked inside the tower went wild, rushing out in a frenzy.

It was chaotic at the time. The rabbit head had disappeared. Nan Deng anxiously searched, eventually finding it in a corner by the wall.

He quickly grabbed the rabbit head and ran with the escaping ghosts. Fortunately, the weather wasn’t good that day and the sun was blocked by thick clouds, so it didn’t cause too much harm to his soul.

Nan Deng briefly recounted what happened, his long eyelashes trembling.

He was a ghost who escaped from the Karmic Tower, which surprised Lian Yi.

Because Nan Deng was so weak, when he first entered this place, Lian Yi didn’t even bother to make a move against him.

He could barely sustain his soul while wandering in the outside world. If he had been locked in the Karmic Tower, his soul would have been completely refined within seven days.

Lian Yi asked again, “How long were you locked up?”

Nan Deng shook his head. “I don’t remember…”

He told Lian Yi that his memory only started from when he was in the tower and everything before that was a blank.

The name “Nan Deng” was something he gave himself because the tower was very dark and the only light came from a small crack in the south side of the tower’s roof, like a lamp.

He always liked staying in that direction, so he gave himself that name.

“Only Xiao Tu kept me company,” Nan Deng didn’t want to remember more, his eyes filled with grievance and helplessness. “I don’t want to go back to the tower…”

“You won’t,” Lian Yi softly reassured him. “I’ll protect you.”

He had no memories of the past and had just escaped the tower not long ago.

No wonder he was almost completely blank in terms of some basic knowledge.

Nan Deng trusted Lian Yi’s words completely. When the heavenly masters had come to his door tonight, Lian Yi hadn’t handed him over.

He felt deeply touched. “You’re so kind…”

The human and the ghost sat on the floor. The rabbit head had already slipped outside.

Lian Yi stood up, leading Nan Deng to the living room. He turned on the TV to distract him and help ease his fear.

Nan Deng watched the TV for a while, while Lian Yi went to the study to get some medicine powder and bandages, rolling up his sleeve to apply the medicine again.

Nan Deng leaned over to take a look and saw that Lian Yi’s injuries had clearly improved since the last time.

“Did you see a doctor?” Nan Deng was happy for him. Nan Deng’s soul body unconsciously moved closer, his chin resting on Lian Yi’s shoulder.

Lian Yi quietly opened the medicine bottle and poured the powder onto the wounds that had already healed mostly.

He had been lonely for so long. He wasn’t quite used to being too close to anyone.

Nan Deng had liked staying near him from the very beginning, even pretending not to notice the times when he did.

According to the nature of ghosts, this was hunger.

After wrapping the bandages, Lian Yi lowered his sleeve and turned his head to look at Nan Deng, who was right next to him. “Do you do this when you’re at someone else’s home?”

Nan Deng didn’t understand the question, retreating slightly and innocently saying, “I’ve never been to anyone else’s house.”

Every household now had talismans on their doors. Only this place was different.

Lian Yi didn’t respond, gazing at Nan Deng for a moment before raising his hand to undo a button on his collar.

He pulled open the neckline. “Come here.”

Nan Deng vaguely guessed Lian Yi’s intention and obediently moved closer, though he tried to resist. “I… I’m not that hungry…”

Lian Yi didn’t expose him, simply saying, “You can’t hurt me.”

He said it calmly and with certainty, not caring at all if Nan Deng bit him.

Nan Deng ultimately couldn’t hold back. His nose nuzzled the side of Lian Yi’s neck. He opened his mouth, biting down.

He was unskilled, like a little puppy, squirming around. It took him three attempts before he succeeded, his teeth sinking into the weakest spot of Lian Yi’s soul body.

The taste of the soul was unique. Nan Deng felt a rush of warmth flood into his body, both sweet and warm. In an instant, he was filled.

He was satisfied after just one bite, his head dazed as he looked up. “Does it hurt?”

Lian Yi’s lips curled slightly. “It doesn’t hurt.”

His living soul was nourishing. After Nan Deng took that bite, it would at least sustain his soul body for a year without decaying.

“Really doesn’t hurt?” Nan Deng licked his lips, protectively pulling Lian Yi closer. “You smell so good…”

After consuming the living soul, Nan Deng’s skin no longer appeared pale like before. Even though he was a ghost, his body now had a soft, translucent glow, looking very alive.

“Are you still hungry?” Lian Yi stared at him, coaxing him gently. “Bite again.”

Nan Deng tilted his head and yawned. “I can’t eat anymore…”

Perhaps because he was full, he suddenly felt sleepy, his eyes barely able to stay open.

“Go to the bedroom and sleep,” Lian Yi whispered in his ear. “You can’t leave these next few days. It’s not safe outside.”

Nan Deng obediently nodded and was led by Lian Yi to the bedroom, skillfully slipping into the covers.

Lian Yi stood by the bed for a long time, waiting until Nan Deng fell asleep.

Then, he retreated to the small sofa in the corner, raised his hand, and used spiritual arts to turn off all the lights, pulling the curtains tightly.

—

As dawn approached, the little black cat returned to the corner where Nan Deng often stayed.

It was empty. Nan Deng had been taken away, but still not back.

It paced back and forth in anger, waiting for a long time before it finally left in a hurry.

The sweeping had ended after an entire night, but there was no trace of the Ghost King, though many resentful spirits had been caught.

This was not what Lin Jiu wanted. He flipped through all the action reports, frowning.

There were no clues. The Ghost King might have already escaped to another area.

But simply running away and hiding was not something high-level resentful spirits liked to do, especially a Ghost King.

Or perhaps… it had suffered heavy injuries. After escaping from the Karmic Tower, it hadn’t had the chance to replenish its strength and hadn’t been able to recover to its peak form.

But no matter what, after going through the search, Lin Jiu felt more confident.

He took out his communicator. He was about to contact people from the neighboring areas to keep an eye out for any unusual occurrences when he received a message from Weng Ping Ran.

Lin Jiu answered the communication line. Weng Ping Ran immediately scolded him.

“Didn’t I tell you to prioritize the mountain god? What are you doing?” Weng Ping Ran already knew about Lin Jiu’s independent actions the previous night. “That escaped Ghost King will eventually show itself when it can’t hold back, no need to worry too much.”

Lin Jiu moved his lips, lowering his head, wanting to speak but stopping himself.

Weng Ping Ran shook his head. “I know you’re anxious, but everything has to be prioritized properly.”

Lin Jiu replied, “Yes, I understand my mistake. I won’t focus on the Ghost King anymore.”

Weng Ping Ran’s anger came quickly and dissipated just as fast. He sighed deeply. “As long as you understand your mistake. Don’t waste your effort on useless tasks like this in the future.”

Lin Jiu continued to respond and proactively reported the specifics of last night’s events.

Weng Ping Ran was uninterested in hearing it, waving his hand to interrupt him, then asked about Lian Yi. “Is he still behaving honestly?”

“Yes,” Lin Jiu replied, “Chief Lian has been acting normally lately.”

At least on the surface, it seemed normal. Privately, he had no authority to inquire further.

Weng Ping Ran thought for a moment. “You don’t need to keep an eye on him anymore. Just treat him like he doesn’t exist, unless he causes trouble himself.”

“But Elder Gu Xu said…”

The day after Lian Yi arrived, Elder Gu Xu repeatedly instructed him to keep a close watch on Lian Yi and pay attention to his every move.

“Don’t worry about it,” Weng Ping Ran continued after a pause. “I only just found out that Zhuo Qing had tampered with Lian Yi.”

The lounge was empty and their communication was private. Lin Jiu was his most trusted student, so Weng Ping Ran didn’t avoid the topic.

Lian Yi had a special constitution. After death, his soul would be at the level of a Ghost King, possibly the strongest one ever.

Although he practiced spiritual arts to become a celestial master, his soul body had been marked. Once he died, it would be sent back to the dedicated Karmic Tower to be refined. But his talent was so high, so unbelievably strong, that it was difficult to ensure nothing unexpected would happen.

To ensure control over Lian Yi, Zhuo Qing had placed a second seal on him to prevent his soul from escaping after death.

Not only that, if Lian Yi showed any abnormal behavior while alive, Zhuo Qing could activate the seal to make his heart explode and cause his death.

This seal was like a shackle on Lian Yi. His life and soul were in Zhuo Qing’s hands.

The more Lin Jiu listened, the more shocked he became. “So Elder Zhuo Qing’s disappearance…”

It could almost be certain that Lian Yi was behind it, but the evidence had not been found yet.

He had most likely killed Zhuo Qing in advance, then imprisoned his soul to force him to reveal how to remove the seal.

Weng Ping Ran sighed silently. “Yes.”

However, as Lian Yi’s teacher, Zhuo Qing had taught him for many years. How could he not have foreseen this possibility?

If Zhuo Qing truly died and his soul was imprisoned, all they had to do was wait two more months.

In two months, the seal would automatically trigger and Lian Yi would still die.