Solo Release
If Lou Hongchen hadn’t practically bound Gu Daosheng in his arms, rendering him unable to move, Gu Daosheng would probably have been shaking like a sieve.
Too terrifying.
“Hmm?” Lou Hongchen repeated slowly, “What should I do?”
“I…”
At this moment, it was probably a case of trying a dead horse as a last resort. Gu Daosheng had only one thought: Fortunately, this person still “loves” me. I wonder if a seductive approach will work.
Gu Daosheng had never faced such a powerful Ghost or Vengeful Ghost before, and now he was lying in one’s arms.
His blood ran cold, and he couldn’t stop shivering. His muscles tensed tight. His mind flashed with the image of a Vengeful Ghost whose ten fingernails grew ten centimeters long, turning into sharp weapons that would suddenly pierce through his neck, if my flesh is tense, it will be harder to stab.
The worst part was that his heart and body weren’t on the same page. His heart was beating strongly and healthily, showing no fear at all.
Clearly, “Gu Daosheng” was thrilled.
What time is it? This love-struck brain.
Gu Daosheng couldn’t see Lou Hongchen’s hands because they were both placed behind his waist.
The hands were absurdly large, effortlessly covering the entire area of his waist.
If those hands moved any lower, they could easily cover his ass.
But Gu Daosheng also felt that the hands had nails ten centimeters long.
“Tell me, what should we do?” Lou Hongchen didn’t wait for a response, but he wasn’t in a hurry. He had waited through countless years and seasons; he wouldn’t mind waiting another second or a fraction of one. “Hmm?”
“Don’t rush, don’t rush… Hug me gently… Let me think…” Gu Daosheng said tremulously.
The face of the man before him was so exceptionally handsome that as long as Lou Hongchen was breathing, Gu Daosheng could almost convince himself that Lou Hongchen wasn’t a dead man, just a pitiful soul possessed and controlled by some vengeful ghost.
But he wasn’t breathing.
He’d been breathing when they met before, but now he wasn’t even pretending.
If “Gu Daosheng” could speak, he’d probably retort:
What time is it? This damn flirt.
“What can we do… Then let’s not do anything… Let’s just not do it.” Gu Daosheng seemed unable to stand, his legs weakening as he slid down. Half of it was real, half was faked; he was truly planning to seduce the ghost in his fear.
As long as he could survive, what did his chastity matter?
Gu Daosheng’s hand, pressed against Lou Hongchen’s chest, slid down as if it had no bones. His body followed suit, boneless, his knees soon brushing Lou Hongchen’s shins and shoes. He looked up, his face a picture of pitifulness. “I’m scared,” he whimpered.
“Who isn’t scared of the dead? You tell me you’re dead… Hongchen, you say you’re dead! I’m not dead, I’m not dead, and the living and dead walk different paths, Hongchen. Hongchen… if you come to see me like this… my stepmother will definitely be terrified…”
His long hair had grown a bit messy, fluttering gently in the breeze. Two stubborn strands clung to his eyelashes, which were as dark as a crow’s feathers.
Gu Daosheng blinked, but the hair didn’t fall away. Instead, the movement only served to ripple the captivating charm in his pale gray eyes.
Aside from his Master, where had he ever seen a man on the mountain? He knew nothing of seduction.
No matter how many novels he read or how much theoretical knowledge he amassed, it was all useless without practice.
Fortunately, Gu Daosheng had never been a docile child. He’d caused endless trouble, tearing up the roof every three days, infuriating his Master, who chased him all over the mountain to beat him. If he hadn’t learned the art of coaxing and sweet-talking, he would have been beaten to death.
He figured seduction was no different from acting spoiled or playing soft. He gazed expectantly at Lou Hongchen, even managing a few well-timed whimpers.
“Hongchen…”
Lou Hongchen’s gaze followed the body as it gradually slid down, taking in the sight of Gu Daosheng’s upturned face from his position above.
Truly… a beauty that strikes one dead.
Ever since arriving here, Gu Daosheng wished he could look in a mirror eight hundred times a day. He was the most perceptive when it came to beauty, especially his own, and never understood the concept of humility.
In his eyes, no virtue would ever degenerate into a feeling of unworthiness, like “I’m not good enough, I still need to work harder.” Instead, he would always be the genius who thought, “I know, I know, I’m the best. Even that charlatan of a Master can’t teach a genius like me.”
He believed that with a face like his, he could get things done with half the effort and twice the result.
Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Lou Hongchen’s expression darkened abruptly, as if covered by a layer of black mist. A fierce aura flashed in his eyes, and the gentle tone he had used while waiting patiently was now tainted with the frigid wind of the Underworld.
“Where did you learn all this? Who else has seen you like this?” Lou Hongchen’s ice-cold palm pressed against the back of Gu Daosheng’s neck, hooking forward with an unquestionable force, pulling him closer. He bent down, his forehead almost touching Gu Daosheng’s.
A wisp of black mist twisted and spread from behind Lou Hongchen, like a drop of ink falling into clear water. The ink lingered in the center for a moment before swirling up and down, tainting the water black.
The black mist spread faster and faster, engulfing Lou Hongchen’s entire back before crawling onto Gu Daosheng’s arm.
Lou Hongchen’s voice, hidden within the seemingly sentient mist, was clammy and cold: “I’m going to kill him. I will kill him.”
Gu Daosheng: “…”
This isn’t right, is it?
The moment the damp black mist touched the skin on the back of his hand, Gu Daosheng felt as if he’d been licked. He tried to pull his hand back in a panic.
The mist was indeed alive. The moment Gu Daosheng moved, it split open in the middle, revealing a bloody maw. It shed its slow, snail-like pace and swiftly clamped down on him.
It wasn’t a real mouth, and it didn’t hurt, but Gu Daosheng could clearly feel that the part of him wrapped in the mist couldn’t move. He couldn’t pull his arm out. As the mist crept toward his face, Gu Daosheng strained his head back, saying, “Hongchen! Let’s talk this over, just wait a minute… No one saw anything, no one saw! What my Master saw is different from what you saw; it’s different. Master is Master, and you are you… Let me out, don’t touch my mouth… Lou Hongchen!”
“What are you two doing?” A question suddenly rang out from the doorway, filled with suppressed anger.
A violent storm was about to break.
“Mr. Lou…” Gu Daosheng had never found Lou Guangrui’s voice so melodious. Coming early was not as good as coming at just the right time. To be caught in the act of intimacy with his stepson was better than having no escape at all.
But in Lou Guangrui’s eyes, Gu Daosheng and Lou Hongchen were doing far more than just being intimate. They seemed to be fucking.
Lou Hongchen held Gu Daosheng firmly in his arms, gripping the back of his neck and forcing him down in a certain direction, every movement a savage act.
Gu Daosheng was already half-crouched. To steady and balance himself, he clung to Lou Hongchen’s hip bones, his face a mask of panic as he clearly pleaded for mercy.
Such an expression would never make a man pity him; it would only further arouse the primal instincts buried deep in a man’s bones.
The instincts of a beast.
The only redeeming factor was that Gu Daosheng was unwilling, his head constantly tilting back.
Lou Guangrui’s naked eye could only see the filthy, obscene mess. He couldn’t see that Gu Daosheng was already being completely swallowed by the black mist, with only his face still exposed. Upon hearing Lou Guangrui’s voice, Gu Daosheng immediately cast a desperate plea for help in his direction.
“Who are you looking at? Do you think… he can save you?” Lou Hongchen suddenly grabbed Gu Daosheng’s chin, lifting it. Gu Daosheng’s neck was forced high, his Adam’s apple straining in a suffocating grip as he swallowed hard.
“Why are you calling him? Hmm? Why are you calling him?” Lou Hongchen ignored the uninvited guest, his gaze terrifyingly grim. “You can only beg me for help.”
“Lou Hongchen! What are you doing to Daosheng? He is your stepmother!” Lou Guangrui had thought so much in the instant he felt his wife and son were being unfaithful, yet he had already closed the distance between them in a blink, his entire being consumed by fury.
He spoke with a righteous air, as if utterly disappointed in his always-obedient son, as if he had never invited Lou Hongchen that day. In the darkness, a flicker of crimson joy lit up his eyes.
Gu Daosheng desperately wanted the father and son to fight, to kill each other, one by one. If they both died, it would be a happy ending. But as soon as the thought arose, “Gu Daosheng” felt his heart ache with discomfort.
If Lou Hongchen were truly a “love-brain,” he might even die for his love. For Gu Daosheng, however, there was only one word left: death.
He could only pray that Lou Hongchen would be seriously injured, left crippled and bedridden, unable to run, jump, or, more importantly, force himself upon Gu Daosheng. That way, Gu Daosheng could simply sleep with him once, quickly fulfill the original “Gu Daosheng’s” wish, destroy this Ghost-Tracing Land, and escape as soon as possible.
So, Gu Daosheng immediately resorted to a strategy of sowing discord, positioning himself in Lou Guangrui’s blind spot.
He grabbed Lou Hongchen’s arm, no longer resisting. Instead, he leaned in, making Lou Guangrui believe he was a willing participant.
After all, who wouldn’t prefer a fresh-faced teenager over an old man? Lou Guangrui loved excitement, but he had to be the first one to take the shot. Letting Lou Hongchen go first would only infuriate him. The old bastard had held a dominant position in the Lou family for so many years; how could he tolerate a young brat stepping all over him?
Sure enough, catching a glimpse of Gu Daosheng’s subtle movements, Lou Guangrui’s face darkened instantly, the manic joy in his eyes nearly extinguished.
“Daosheng, are you sure you won’t let go of Hongchen?” Lou Guangrui’s eye twitched.
Before he could even finish speaking, Gu Daosheng’s other hand reached out to him with all his might.
He clung to Lou Guangrui as if he were a drowning man clutching at a straw, letting out a final, desperate plea: “Mr. Lou, this isn’t my choice…”
Before he could finish his sentence, Lou Hongchen exploded in fury, his black mist so thick it threatened to blot out the sky.
“You said you would love me forever, you said you would never betray me, all of this, you said to me, you lied to me! You married him! You fell in love with him, you forgot about me, you abandoned me!”
Each word was ground out through his clenched teeth, sounding as if it were stained with the sweet, metallic tang of fresh blood. The words pierced Gu Daosheng’s eardrums, leaving his heart riddled with a thousand wounds in a moment of breathtaking agony.
Lou Hongchen seized Gu Daosheng, and Lou Guangrui seized him at the same time. Gu Daosheng was nearly torn in two, not knowing which way to lean, and he no longer had the mind to feel any “breathtaking agony.”
Just as Gu Daosheng had expected, when the father and son realized neither could claim him, they simultaneously struck out at each other with their palms, each blow vicious enough to crush the other into a pulp of flesh.
Lou Guangrui was a mere mortal. Never mind a vengeful ghost’s slap, he couldn’t withstand even a single one of Lou Hongchen’s fingers.
With a flick of a finger, the great ships were reduced to dust and smoke.
Yet, to everyone’s surprise, when their strikes collided, Lou Guangrui not only blocked the attack but also returned it with the exact same force, leaving Lou Hongchen completely unscathed. Neither one gained the upper hand.
It must be Lou Junlian again.
The First Madam is truly formidable… Gu Daosheng thought, his heart pounding with dread.
He recalled Nan Ying’s attempt to bite Lou Guangrui earlier that day, only to be blasted away instantly. Lou Hongchen had said the First Madam was protecting Lou Guangrui then, so she must be here now as well.
But Lou Guangrui had been terrified at the mere mention of Lou Junlian’s name.
How is he not afraid now? How does he dare to use her power to his advantage? Gu Daosheng wondered. Isn’t he afraid of being consumed by the backlash of a dead person’s power?
Looking around, Gu Daosheng knew he was no match for either the First Madam or Lou Hongchen.
Taking advantage of the chaos, Lou Hongchen and Lou Guangrui finally dropped all pretense and came to blows, completely ignoring Gu Daosheng. He wished he could curl into a handsome ball and roll into a crack in the ground to save his life.
Suddenly, a flash of white light tore across the sky, lightning connecting heaven and earth. A deafening thunderclap followed, signaling the storm’s arrival.
The lightning illuminated the courtyard as bright as day. The light was a ghastly white, and the faces it revealed were equally pale. It cast a stark, absurdly clear picture of the father and son locked in a vicious brawl. Lou Guangrui was sneering maliciously.
Lou Hongchen met his gaze with cold indifference.
Gu Daosheng had just managed to retreat into the house. Though he knew the door was a mere formality, he still slammed it shut with a loud bang.
The laughter was so harsh it sounded like gravel grinding in a throat, making one’s skin crawl. Glancing sideways, Gu Daosheng saw Lou Guangrui outside the “transparent” wall looking like a madman possessed by a vengeful ghost, his face devoid of any of his usual mortal, old bastard expressions.
Before Lou Guangrui even spoke, Gu Daosheng knew why he dared to fight Lou Hongchen.
This man hired a Heavenly Master!
“Daoist Master Qingji, ” Lou Guangrui was still sneering, his arms spread wide like a treacherous minister who had murdered the emperor to seize the throne. “My son has been possessed by a vengeful ghost. Please, come out and help.”
The ashes of the talisman paper that had just burned to a crisp swirled into the air, coalescing in one spot. Then, as if reversing their origin, they transformed back into a blank yellow talisman paper.
Cinnabar markings gradually appeared on the paper, stroke by stroke. The moment the talismanic script formed, a man with the bearing of an immortal materialized out of thin air.
He hovered in mid-air, gazing down at the scene. Yet his expression was not one of aloof superiority, but of sorrowful compassion as he lowered his eyes.
Gu Daosheng stared, mesmerized.
Why didn’t my Master ever teach me this move?! It’s so cool.
The inscription on that talisman looked familiar. It seemed to be a Flash Talisman.
Gu Daosheng was so envious he wanted to cry.
Someone was already crying for him.
“Waaah, waaaah, waaaah, ” Nan Ying had been bawling his eyes out from the moment Lou Hongchen dragged Gu Daosheng away, and he hadn’t stopped since. “Waaah, waaaah, waaaah, “