The entire group was tired after a day of commotion.
They bid farewell to each other at the entrance of Shanghang Art School, preparing to return home and rest.
The most difficult one to handle turned out to be Luo Ning.
She had followed Zhong Qi on his adventures, and now that Zhong Qi was dead, Luo Ning didn't know where to go.
She was determined to stay with Yan Shouyi, at least until she saw him safely through his current ordeal.
Therefore, for the time being, Luo Ning had nowhere else to go but with Yan Shouyi.
When Lin Zitong learned that Luo Ning was still following Yan Shouyi, she became displeased.
Although she had confidence in herself and believed in Yan Shouyi, she did not trust Luo Ning!
In her eyes, Luo Ning was a "demoness" of sorts. What if Luo Ning did something to Yan Shouyi?
As a result, Lin Zitong decided not to go home that night either and would stay with Yan Shouyi.
If Luo Ning stayed, she would stay too!
Seeing this situation, Long Feicheng and Old Jin fell into deep thought once again.
Finally, Long Feicheng suggested, "Well, why don't you guys stay in a dorm? I'll make a sacrifice and sleep in Caiwei's dorm for a night?"
Lu Caiwei kicked Long Feicheng irritably, "The smell of a fox spirit hasn't even left you yet, don't even think about taking advantage of me again!"
How else could one explain a woman's intuition? Although no one said anything, Lu Caiwei always seemed to guess something.
Helpless, Long Feicheng turned to Old Jin.
Old Jin said cheerfully, "As long as you don't mind my doghouse smelling strong, it just so happens I saw you looking a bit unwell. You must have overexerted yourself. Come over to my place, and I'll get you some medicine to replenish your energy."
"Yes... that's fine too!"
Long Feicheng did feel a bit drained. He had even experienced a split stream when he urinated earlier.
Thus, he heartlessly abandoned Yan Shouyi.
Yan Shouyi was in a difficult position and said helplessly, "You two, stop causing trouble. There are plenty of empty dorm rooms in the school. I can arrange something for you."
Lin Zitong thought for a moment, then grabbed Yan Shouyi's arm and said, "The dorm environment isn't good. This young lady will take you to a hotel."
"A... hotel? Isn't that a bit inappropriate?"
Yan Shouyi was suddenly a little flustered.
Old Jin chuckled, "Little Yan, your peach blossom luck is too strong. How about I also get you a tonic that Chen Dawei usually takes?"
"Go, go, go, weren't you two leaving? Hurry up!" Yan Shouyi said guiltily.
In the end, Long Feicheng left with Old Jin, while Lin Zitong booked three rooms at a five-star hotel near Shanghang Art School for everyone to rest.
When Yan Shouyi heard it was three rooms, he breathed a sigh of relief. He had thought Lin Zitong was going to do something unspeakable to him.
Lin Zitong rolled her eyes at Yan Shouyi, "Don't get your hopes up. Even though this young lady has decided she'll only marry you, I still have my principles. Before you marry me, don't have any improper thoughts about me!"
Luo Ning, on the other hand, gave Yan Shouyi a flirtatious look and said, "I'll leave my door open for you later. If you want to chat at night, you're always welcome."
Yan Shouyi: "..."
What a mess!
Actually, Yan Shouyi knew very well that Luo Ning didn't have any romantic feelings for him at the moment, at most it was admiration.
The reason Luo Ning kept provoking him was purely to compete with Lin Zitong.
One was the successor of the Lushan Sect, and the other was the successor of a corpse-driver. They were of similar age and both beautiful, so competition, overt or covert, was inevitable.
Only Yan Shouyi suffered, becoming their battlefield.
Half an hour later, the three arrived at the hotel. When checking in, the receptionist couldn't help but glance at Yan Shouyi.
A handsome guy with two beautiful women, booking three rooms?
This was somewhat strange.
The receptionist knew Lin Zitong and Luo Ning were beautiful, but from her perspective as a woman, she found Yan Shouyi even more handsome.
Especially his perfect physique, which was like a dream pillow for women.
Perhaps due to the recent change in his body, Yan Shouyi's physique appeared more robust, but not in a purely muscular way. He was the type who looked lean in clothes but strong when undressed.
After checking into their rooms, Yan Shouyi first took a refreshing shower and examined his body.
From what Luo Ning had said, Yan Shouyi learned that his current body was called the Heavenly Fiend Corpse Puppet.
The Heavenly Fiend Corpse Puppet's body was perfect, not only impervious to swords and weapons, water and fire, but also possessing super self-healing abilities.
To test this, Yan Shouyi ruthlessly cut his finger with a small knife. However, the wound completely healed in just ten seconds.
Luo Ning also mentioned that Yan Shouyi had not yet fully controlled this body, so his recovery ability was not at its peak.
Yan Shouyi couldn't help but imagine that if he fully controlled this body, he would be fearless in the future.
However, in his heart, he was unsure if this was a good or bad thing. He preferred to experience the world from an ordinary person's perspective, as that's what he considered reality.
The Heavenly Fiend Corpse Puppet was not entirely without weaknesses, but Luo Ning had not told Yan Shouyi about them.
This might be a secret bargaining chip Luo Ning used to blackmail Yan Shouyi or prove her worth. As long as she didn't reveal it, Yan Shouyi and Lin Zitong wouldn't be able to get rid of her.
This gave Yan Shouyi a headache. Luo Ning was not an easy person to deal with. If they could become friends, that would be best, but if not, she would eventually become a major problem.
However, Yan Shouyi was not relying entirely on Luo Ning.
He could investigate the secrets of the Heavenly Fiend Corpse Puppet himself. After all, Luo Ning was not the only corpse-driver in the world.
The bathroom was filled with mist. Yan Shouyi faced the mirror and began to ponder other issues.
What did the map left by Zhong Qi mean?
He traced a rough map of Rongcheng on the mirror with his finger and circled three places: Shanghang Art School, Ping'an Building, and the Liu family ancestral home.
Staring at the map, Yan Shouyi looked for a long time.
Suddenly, a spark of light flashed in his eyes.
"No... how could it be like this..."
...
After showering, Yan Shouyi lay on the bed, his brow furrowed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.
Earlier in the bathroom, Yan Shouyi had finally understood the meaning of the map left by Zhong Qi, but the truth was so shocking that it left him deeply troubled.
At that moment, the phone by his bedside suddenly rang.
"It's so late, who could be calling me?" Yan Shouyi muttered to himself. "I hope it's not Luo Ning."
If Lin Zitong called him, he would be very happy to answer.
Answering the phone, Yan Shouyi asked, "Who is this?"
A man's voice came from the other end of the line: "Yan Shouyi, you went to Ping'an Building today, didn't you?"
The voice sounded slightly familiar, but Yan Shouyi couldn't recall who it was. The fact that the person immediately brought up Ping'an Building indicated they were no ordinary individual.
Yan Shouyi immediately became wary, sat up from the bed, and said coldly, "Who are you?"
"Don't worry about who I am. I have something important to discuss with you. I'm on the top floor of the hotel right now. If you're willing to talk, come up and find me."
After speaking, the person hung up the phone without waiting for Yan Shouyi's reply.
It seemed they were certain that Yan Shouyi would go upstairs to find them.
Yan Shouyi put down the phone, closed his eyes for a few seconds to compose himself, feeling slightly annoyed.
The information left by Zhong Qi involved significant matters. It wasn't strange that someone was looking for him now, and he could even guess which faction the person belonged to.
He had to meet this person.
Because the information left by Zhong Qi was of great importance and potentially related to the lives of all the citizens of Rongcheng, he had to uncover the truth.
So Yan Shouyi put on his bathrobe, slipped on his slippers, and left his room.
As he passed Luo Ning's room, he noticed that she had indeed left her door open.
Furthermore, the sound of splashing water could be heard from inside, indicating that Luo Ning was taking a bath.
This woman had a bold heart. Wasn't she afraid I would come in?
Yan Shouyi looked at the ajar door, shook his head helplessly, closed it with a casual gesture, then walked into the elevator, heading directly to the top floor.
At the same moment Yan Shouyi entered the elevator, Lin Zitong's room door opened.
She poked her head out and glanced at Luo Ning's room, surprised to find that her door was closed.
Lin Zitong's expression immediately changed. She hurried to Yan Shouyi's room door and knocked a few times.
"He's not in the room?"
Lin Zitong was greatly shocked.
Although she didn't believe Yan Shouyi would actually go to Luo Ning's room, as a woman, Lin Zitong couldn't help but overthink things.
So she simply stood by Luo Ning's door, listening for any sounds from within, waiting for Yan Shouyi to appear.
Little did she know...
Yan Shouyi had already gone to the hotel's top floor.
...
The top floor of the hotel.
Yan Shouyi pushed open the fire safety door and stepped out, looking around.
The rooftop was filled with air conditioning units and water tanks. In the distance were other tall buildings. It seemed there was no one alive here.
Yan Shouyi said lightly, "If you wanted to see me, show yourself quickly. I heard your voice and think you're not young anymore. Staying up late is bad for your liver. I'm young and can endure it, but aren't you afraid of overexerting yourself?"
"Cough, cough, cough!!"
Behind him, a violent coughing fit erupted. It seemed the person was quite angered by Yan Shouyi.
After a moment, the person finally spoke, "Brat, are you always so sharp-tongued? How did your grandfather educate you?"
Yan Shouyi smiled, "My grandfather always said that if it weren't for raising me, he would have lived ten years longer."
In the darkness, the mysterious person emerged from the shadows. Yan Shouyi's eyes narrowed.
He had seen this person before and had a very bad impression of him.
It was the Grand Elder of the Lushan Sect, Zhou Mingyuan's master, Lü Jing, who had tried to attack Yan Shouyi at West Lake Elegant Residence last time!
Lü Jing, with a cigarette in his mouth, glanced at Yan Shouyi's expression and said,
"You don't need to hold such resentment towards me. That's just my temper. If you're unhappy, we can spar!"
Yan Shouyi said calmly, "I have no interest in hitting old men. What if I accidentally injure you, and you extort money from me? I don't have any money."
Lü Jing was once again greatly angered by Yan Shouyi.
At his age, in the Taoist circles, he wasn't considered old at all, merely middle-aged.
After all, Lü Jingsheng was over a hundred years old.
"Speak. What is it that you called me up here for?" Yan Shouyi asked.
Lü Jing took a puff of his cigarette, walked up to Yan Shouyi, and lowered his voice, saying, "You went to Ping'an Building. Do you know what's there?"
"The Bai family... or rather, the ghosts of the Bai family," Yan Shouyi replied truthfully. There was no need to conceal anything; Lü Jing surely knew more than he did.
Lü Jing nodded slightly and continued, "Shanghang Art School, Ping'an Building, Liu family ancestral home. You've been to all of them. Haven't you discovered anything from them?"
Yan Shouyi's pupils constricted.
It was precisely because he had discovered some issues that he had been unable to sleep soundly that night.
Hearing Lü Jing's words, it seemed he already knew the secret behind it?
[Author's Words]
Three chapters totaling ten thousand words are delivered!
I'm getting old, and my typing speed is not what it used to be. Writing ten thousand words now is a life-threatening task~~