Blood dripped from Li Mohan's front onto the floor.
He looked at the knife in front of him, its tip pressed tightly against his heart. One more step forward and it would pierce him, but a hand firmly gripped the blade.
Blood flowed from the fingers of that hand, falling onto the floor.
Drops of fresh blood fell onto the tea-green floor, blooming like vibrant red flowers, disturbingly beautiful.
One, two...
"Huohuo... why are your hands so foolish?" Li Mohan's eyes overflowed with heartache.
But when he looked up again, his eyes were filled with ice shards. He grabbed Lu Dayong's wrist and twisted it forcefully. With a "crack," his wrist broke, and the knife fell to the ground.
Yet, Lu Dayong didn't even groan. Instead, a strange smile played on his lips.
Ye Huohuo's blood fell to the ground, and a sweet, bloody scent instantly wafted out.
Lu Dayong's pupils contracted, and his nostrils twitched slightly, but his expression remained unchanged, that peculiar smile still on his face.
Ye Huohuo didn't notice his expression. Her gaze was locked on Li Mohan's face, and seeing his pained look warmed her heart. Her eyes curved, and she said with a smile, "I didn't expect Mr. Li to be so skilled! But don't worry about my hand. This is Qin Chu's body. When we switch back, he'll be the one in pain!"
Li Mohan was amused by her demeanor and suddenly understood that a person's loveliness wasn't in their appearance, but in their soul.
He loved Ye Huohuo's soul, regardless of which body it inhabited.
"Ye Huohuo, is this how you treat my body? Fine, I'll intentionally go for dangerous places later and let them stab this body of yours a hundred times," Qin Chu said angrily, standing at the doorway.
A Cheng grabbed Lu Dayong. "Alright, you can still run! This time, I'll tie you up securely." He unbuckled his belt and, ignoring Lu Dayong's broken wrist, tied his hands firmly behind his back.
Qin Chu stood between Ye Huohuo and Li Mohan, looking up at them. He felt like a child watching adults, and he was very displeased.
"You two were here saving each other, leaving me outside to deal with Old Bai, and you even let out those ghosts, nearly driving me crazy enough for Old Bai to take me away!
But I didn't cover for you. I told him you released these ghosts. Old Bai will hold you responsible for this, so expect him to cause trouble for you later!" Qin Chu's flippant tone, spoken from Ye Huohuo's mouth, made her look like a delinquent girl.
Ye Huohuo wasn't worried at all. Instead, she smiled happily, "I know my Second Senior Brother is good to me. Ghost envoys get rewards for bringing back more ghosts, so White Impermanence should be thanking you. You've done me a favor.
I get it!"
Such girlish words coming from the tall and sturdy body of Qin Chu, coupled with his feminine movements and expressions, was truly...
A bit hard to look at.
Qin Chu rolled his eyes at her. "Those were ordinary ghosts. Every single one of yours is trouble. It's only because Old Bai and I have some dealings that he's willing to take on this task. I'm not that kind-hearted!"
But his stubbornness was so obvious that even the usually straightforward A Cheng could see through it. "Tch, you're just being stubborn. That White Impermanence just thanked you, saying he owed you a favor and could help you with something.
You said you didn't need thanks, that these were from Miss Ye. He also said he should return the favor to Miss Ye.
But I'm just curious, why didn't you ask White Impermanence to help you switch bodies just now? He's a ghost envoy, he should be very powerful."
Qin Chu sighed and looked at A Cheng with the expression one would give an idiot. "Switching bodies is a small matter. Any help you get from White Impermanence must be for matters of life and death."
At this moment, Ye Huohuo suddenly remembered something and frowned. "That's not right. I heard sirens before, why haven't the police arrived yet?"
"Sirens? We didn't hear any!" Qin Chu shook his head.
Everyone else also shook their heads. To confirm, Ye Huohuo specifically asked Lu Qing and her mother, and they both said they hadn't heard anything.
Ye Huohuo's brow furrowed even tighter.
"That's strange. Why did only I hear it? And after I heard the sirens, I saw my parents. Then I followed them, and after that..."
"After what?" Qin Chu had been wondering why Ye Huohuo had suddenly soul-departed without any warning.
The more Ye Huohuo thought about it, the more her heart sank. She looked at Qin Chu. "Could that siren have been the soul-reaping sound that led me out of my body?"
"To be able to lure your soul out, that requires immense cultivation, and your seal has already been completely opened..." Qin Chu suddenly recalled something terrifying, and his face turned pale. "Oh no, you didn't kill anyone just now, did you!"
Ye Huohuo sighed softly. "No, almost. I encountered that expert in shadow control again, the one who used shadows to capture my soul. I lost control of my emotions and almost killed him.
But that fellow is quite something. After I took his shadow and grabbed his hands, he still managed to break his own hands and escape using his own blood."
Qin Chu breathed a sigh of relief. "Fortunately, he escaped, and fortunately, you didn't kill anyone. If you had accumulated killing karma, Master would skin me alive when he returns."
A Cheng, standing nearby, was confused. "Why would your Master skin you if Miss Ye killed someone?"
"Master is biased!" Qin Chu pouted.
However, his words might fool A Cheng, but not Li Mohan. He could tell from Qin Chu's expression that he was hiding something and was just being evasive.
But he didn't want to press the issue. His main concern now was when Ye Huohuo and Qin Chu could switch back.
"When can you two..."
"Oh dear, your seal has been completely opened. I need to seal it quickly, otherwise, if you truly go berserk, I won't be able to control you!" Qin Chu interrupted Li Mohan before he could finish and walked towards Ye Huohuo.
"Second Senior Brother, I know you care about me, but tonight's events don't seem to be over yet. I'm afraid if you seal me, your spiritual power will be greatly depleted, and my power is already sealed. If anything happens, neither of us will be able to handle it."
Qin Chu was dismissive. "It's already past midnight. Lu Qing has been rescued, and the souls you wanted to send have all been taken by Old Bai. What else could happen?"
Ye Huohuo frowned and remained silent, her fingers continuously counting on her hand, muttering something under her breath.
Qin Chu looked at her hand movements, and his expression also became serious. Ye Huohuo's seal was now fully open, her power at its peak, and her perception of events was not something he could match.
"Nine Calculations of Heaven and Earth! You're using this to calculate because you've sensed something?" Qin Chu's expression, amidst his seriousness, even carried a hint of panic.
Given Qin Chu's personality and experience, there were few things that could make him panic.
His change in expression made everyone else tense up.
At this moment, Ye Huohuo's gaze slowly shifted to that ominous painting. "I calculated everything, but I still missed one!" Ye Huohuo's face also turned pale.