My entire body was paralyzed, only my consciousness remained clear. I recalled how Grandfather and Grandpa Hu had been pinned down by those female ghosts earlier and could still move their limbs, but now I couldn't move at all—even twitching a finger was difficult. This showed just how powerful Situ Jin's guardian spirit was. Zhuge Wu paid no attention to me. After Situ Jin's guardian spirit came for me, he charged at Situ Jin like he'd been injected with stimulants, knocked him to the ground with a single punch, mounted him again, and rained down punch after punch. Yu Zhen waved his hand and said, "Stop him!" The two bodyguards behind him rushed over quickly, but by the time they arrived, Situ Jin had already been beaten unconscious on the ground. The two bodyguards were equally skilled, and Zhuge Wu didn't resist as they dragged him away. Zhuge Wu chuckled and said, "You little bastard, acting like some big shot."
"Ghh…" By now, the shadowy figure was pressing down on me so hard I could barely breathe. I couldn't even produce a sound—it felt like someone was gripping my throat, and all I could manage were strange noises. Zhuge Wu turned to look at me and muttered, "Almost forgot about that." When the two bodyguards saw Zhuge Wu about to make another move, each grabbed one of his arms, locking him in place firmly. Zhuge Wu shouted, "Master Zhen, I'm trying to help you! Tell them to let me go!"
"Help me by beating up my man? Situ Jin is of great use to me. If anything happens to him, both of you die today." Yu Zhen stared coldly at Zhuge Wu, then glanced at me, though he didn't seem to see the shadowy figure.
"There's a female ghost on my nephew. You must know this ghost," Zhuge Wu said directly.
Yu Zhen was taken aback and looked at Zhuge Wu with confusion. "What female ghost?"
"Master Zhen, tell them to release me, and I'll make her appear. I'll give you a satisfactory explanation," Zhuge Wu said urgently, because he could see my eyes starting to roll back.
I truly couldn't hold on any longer—my consciousness was beginning to fade. Only the warm sensation from the jade ring on my chest kept things from getting worse. I knew Zhao Yixian was helping me, but even so, I felt the suffocation of death closing in. I wouldn't last much longer.
After thinking for a few seconds, Yu Zhen finally said, "Let him go!"
Zhuge Wu quickly grabbed Situ Jin's bag, dumped everything out, rummaged through the items on the ground, picked up a token only three fingers wide, and rushed to my side. He squeezed a few more drops of blood from his middle finger and smeared it on the token, then waved the token a few times at the shadowy figure on me. The female ghost released me and slowly stood up.
"Cough, cough, cough…" I regained the ability to move, but my whole body was still weak. I struggled to sit up, coughing continuously, and in my heart I desperately wanted to kill that bastard Zhuge Wu.
"Where's the ghost?" Yu Zhen asked coldly.
Zhuge Wu didn't answer. He made a few more gestures with the token toward the shadowy figure only I could see, and suddenly a female ghost in a cheongsam appeared. She looked about the same age as Yu Zhen, without the deathly pallor of the other ghosts—her face and skin were only slightly pale.
"Mom…" Yu Mengxuan, who had been about to head downstairs, froze on the staircase, staring in disbelief at the female ghost.
I was stunned, looking at Yu Mengxuan with confusion. This female ghost was actually Yu Mengxuan's mother.
"Xuanxuan, why is it you?" Yu Zhen was stunned at this moment, staring at the female ghost in disbelief, his face full of shock. Zhuge Wu helped me up and said, "Master Zhen, do I need to explain what's going on? Situ Jin has refined your wife into his guardian yin spirit, and you've been kept in the dark the whole time."
"Mom~~" Yu Mengxuan hurried down the stairs, running toward her mother. Zhuge Wu suddenly pushed me aside and ran toward Yu Mengxuan, saying, "Don't get close! She's heavily saturated with yin energy, and she doesn't recognize any of you anymore."
"Bang!" I hit the floor again, my head slamming hard against the wooden floorboards, a searing pain shooting through me. "Damn you, you son of a bitch," I cursed inwardly. But seeing the expressions on Yu Zhen and Yu Mengxuan's faces, I felt a pang of sympathy and didn't want to disrupt the somber atmosphere. Yu Zhen definitely hadn't known about this—that much was clear. You could tell he loved his wife deeply; the villa had no decorative paintings, just family photos of the three of them and portraits of his wife alone.
"Xuanxuan, do you remember me? I'm Zhen, your husband, and this is our daughter, Xuanxuan." Yu Zhen's voice trembled slightly, but his wife remained expressionless, standing there motionless like a statue. Yu Mengxuan desperately wanted to rush forward and embrace the ghost, but Zhuge Wu held her back. That bastard Zhuge Wu wasn't a good man either—he could have simply grabbed Yu Mengxuan by the arm, but instead he chose to wrap his arms tightly around her slender waist from behind, his hands even starting to creep upward. However, no one paid attention to that at the moment.
"Zhuge Wu, is there any way for us to say a few words to Xuanxuan?" Yu Zhen asked, his gaze never leaving his wife. Zhuge Wu hastily withdrew his wandering hand, and seeing that Yu Zhen wasn't looking at him, he let out a sigh of relief and nodded. "Ah? Yes, but you'll need to stay at least seven steps away. I'll awaken her consciousness, but you only have the time of half an incense stick. After that, I'll have to send her to where she belongs. Oh, and Master Zhen, don't kill Situ Jin just yet—I still have use for him."
"Mm, you two, hold onto the young miss," Yu Zhen said. Two bodyguards walked over to Yu Mengxuan, who was already in tears, and blocked her path. Zhuge Wu seemed somewhat reluctant as he released his hold around Yu Mengxuan, then took out an incense stick from his cloth bag, snapped off half of it, lit it with a lighter, and placed it in a simple incense burner. He then produced a talisman, pressed it between his palms, chanted a few incantations toward Yu Mengxuan's mother, and finally affixed the talisman to her chest.
"Life and death are separated by the veil; seven steps is the limit. Master Zhen, you must not go beyond seven steps, or your wife will immediately scatter into nothingness—and that won't do any of you any good. We'll go outside first and come back after half an incense stick. Say whatever you need to say, quickly." Zhuge Wu walked over to me as he spoke, helped me up again, and headed toward the door. I glanced at Yu Mengxuan—when Zhuge Wu mentioned scattering into nothingness, she shuddered and calmed down a little. Yu Zhen walked over to her, reached out to steady her, and said to the two bodyguards, "You two go out as well."
"Master Zhen…" one of the bodyguards still seemed uneasy. Yu Zhen said coldly, "Go on out. Do you think my wife would harm me?" The two bodyguards said nothing more and quickly followed us out.
"Just a crack," Zhuge Wu reminded. The villa's front door was opened just a sliver, and the four of us squeezed out. Zhuge Wu helped me to the steps at the entrance and sat me down. Only then did I speak through gritted teeth, "Zhuge Wu, you bastard, you screwed me over again!" Zhuge Wu chuckled, licking his lips and saying, "Not bad, really not bad." "Not bad? I nearly lost my life, damn it!" I clenched my fist, but I couldn't muster any strength. Zhuge Wu quickly added, "No, no, no, I mean, that Miss Yu is really something—that tiny waist, tsk tsk, better than any girl I've ever dated." "Go to hell, just help me find the Yinshazhu, and then we go our separate ways. Stick with you, and I'll be dead before I know it." I shot this bastard a glare. If Yu Zhen had hesitated even a few more seconds, I'd have been suffocated, and Zhao Yixian in the jade ring was already badly injured and still helping me—it must have taken a toll on her. Zhuge Wu chuckled again and said, "Don't worry, that won't happen again. Master Zhen will definitely keep me around. As long as you stick with Master Zhen, you'll eat well, drink well, and have fun with models—what's not to like?" "Pfft, screw that." I stopped talking, and Zhuge Wu's expression turned serious. After a moment of silence, I couldn't help but ask, "When you brought me here, did you already plan to use me as bait?" Zhuge Wu glanced around, then said quietly, "Yes. I've looked into this Situ Jin, and I know all about him. I came today for two reasons: first, to pledge myself to Master Zhen, and second, to kill Situ Jin." "Damn, why didn't you tell me earlier?" "If I'd told you, you wouldn't have cooperated, and without your cooperation, things wouldn't have gone so smoothly." Zhuge Wu's face suddenly turned very serious. "You have a grudge against Situ Jin?" I asked, puzzled. Zhuge Wu smiled, glanced around again, and seeing no one paying attention, he said directly, "No grudge, but if I kill Situ Jin and pay a million, I can leave the Lieguiren Lianmeng outright. Why not?" "You want to leave the Lieguiren Lianmeng? Leaving is good—such a killing organization is best avoided." I asked, confused. Zhuge Wu said, "Everyone I've killed deserved it, but at this rate, I can't find enough people who deserve to die. So I figured I'd quit as soon as possible. I learned all my skills in the Lieguiren Lianmeng, and I can only leave after completing a mission." "So who is Situ Jin? Why is killing him the condition for leaving the alliance?" I asked again. Zhuge Wu chuckled and said, "Situ Jin is also a member of the Lieguiren Lianmeng." "What? You people in the Lieguiren Lianmeng are killing each other?" I asked, eyes wide. Zhuge Wu shook his head and said, "To be precise, it's a factional struggle within the Lieguiren Lianmeng. It's a massive organization with many branches. Situ Jin and I are both in the Lieguiren Lianmeng, but we belong to different factions. To leave, the conditions are simple: kill someone from an opposing faction and pay a million as an exit fee. Ha, for all I know, someone's got their sights on me right now, wanting to kill me to leave the alliance. So I have to do this as soon as possible—once I'm out cleanly, no internal members will come after me."