CH 59

It was always a good idea to relax a little before the war.

There was no need to deal with work or run to the ghost market anymore. As a player who wasn’t good at handling computers, Yin Ren was idle for a long while—they got off work at half past 5, and the killer would always contact them after midnight.

Lord Ghost King was shocked to find that he seemed to have nothing to do.

Even his partner changed into his pajamas early and went into his bedroom before sundown. Comrade Xiao Zhong’s nerves were tormented by the recent action past midnight.

“I set an alarm clock for 11:00 p.m.,” Zhong Chengshuo said as he solemnly took the last bite of his meal. “Don’t bother me until then.”

Yin Ren readily agreed.

In order to ensure his partner got quality sleep, Yin Ren didn’t plan to stay in the residence and watch movies. He changed into a simple outfit and prepared to go for a stroll at the night market near the neighborhood.

Recently, he had fallen in love with the shredded chicken with cold noodles from a certain stall and would go buy them from time to time. Perhaps this was one of the benefits of their “becoming accomplices”—after experiencing the tragedy of splitting that pork overnight, Zhong Chengshuo would no longer ask about his daily consumption.

The time tonight was particularly generous. Yin Ren carried a bag of fresh meat guokui, bought a small bowl of bean curd, and walked slowly along the streets of the night market.

The stalls were huddled together like mushrooms. Glued to the window glass were angled plastic stickers and the names of various dishes on greasy signboards. However, when the bright or dark lights shone on the steaming vapors, it made the food look much better than usual.

The summer heat wasn’t over yet, so everyone was dressed in loose clothing. People laughed loudly at the low tables as beer overflowed into their cups, creating a particularly lively atmosphere.

Yin Ren loved this kind of mood.

Walking to the stall with the shredded chicken and cold noodles, he had just eaten his last piece of bean curd. The owner of the stall remembered this beautiful, regular customer. Before Yin Ren opened his mouth, the old man had already put up the seasoning according to his taste.

“Boss, are there any light and delicious shops nearby?”

The boss was shirtless. His skin was sweaty, and there was a towel around his neck. Hearing Yin Ren’s question, he happily replied, “What’s the matter? You suddenly became more particular?”

“It’s for someone else,” Yin Ren said. “It’s best if they have something like clear pear stew, and even better if there’s a storefront. They’re more particular than me and can’t eat heavy food.”

“So careful. Are you buying it for your wife?” The old man joked.

Yin Ren: “…”

Yin Ren couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “…Yes, buying for my wife.”

He didn’t know how Great King Yama would feel if he heard this.

“At the other end of the street, there’s a soup shop. His food is very light, so many pregnant women go there to eat.” The old man pointed to the end of the dark street. “They say the taste is also really good, but it’s a little more expensive and the servings are smaller.”

“Thank you.” Yin Ren took the cold noodles. “How about you make another serving? I can’t eat enough.”

“Will do!”

……

After Yin Ren finished eating two servings of cold noodles, the sky had already darkened.

Yin Ren bought a cup of sweet glutinous rice wine, slowly turned around the alley, and was ready to buy pear stew for the hard-working Xiao Zhong. However, after he entered the alley, he heard a soft sound of footsteps from behind him.

Yin Ren walked a few steps slower, and the sound of footsteps became lighter. He quickened his pace, and the footsteps’ speed also increased.

It wasn’t a cultivator—either that or a weak one. The aura was too clean, so it should have been specially treated.

…There was some fluctuation of a spirit weapon. Was it aimed at him?

Lord Ghost King took a sip of the sweet glutinous rice wine and continued walking slowly. He was quite curious about what this person was going to do—if it was just a boring pursuit of robbery, he didn’t mind letting the other party understand “what it was like to walk too much at night and encounter a ghost*”.

*Saying referring to doing things (usually illegal or improper things) with a fluke mentality. Eventually, you will get caught. || Double entendre as he is literally a ghost.

Bang, bang.

Yin Ren stopped in the darkest part of the alley. He squeezed the empty plastic cup and threw it into the trash can.

The man seized this opportunity—footsteps rushed up quickly, and something cold hit Yin Ren’s back. A wave of spells instantly slammed into him and went straight to his brain… Ah no, his disguised brain..

Yin Ren: “……” So this was it. A spirit weapon to knock people out.

Out of respect for the stun spirit weapon, Yin Ren closed his eyes and fell softly.

The man first searched Yin Ren’s body and threw his keys, phone, and chewing gum box in Lord Ghost King’s pockets into the trashcan at the entrance of the alley. Yin Ren could feel it—the man’s hands trembled a bit.

Then something snapped onto his head—the person seemed to have added a hat on him, trying to tuck in his eye-catching long hair. Finally, the man put his arm around him, like someone trying to help a drunk friend, and the two moved to the other end of the alley.

Kidnapping?

After kidnapping him, who can this person blackmail? Zhong Chengshuo, who wasn’t even a relative?

Yin Ren’s curiosity soared higher. He closed his eyes cooperatively and let the other person drag him like a sack. In order to give the other party a little surprise, Yin Ren specially increased the density of his body by making himself 30 kg heavier.

First came the obvious night breeze. They seemed to have left the alley. Following this was the sliding sound of a van door, accompanied by a tired sigh. Yin Ren’s face hit the rough carrier.

The man then clenched the carrier tightly and dragged out a pile of metal products with a clang. He used them to bind Yin Ren firmly. He could feel the uneven incantation marks on them.

Interesting. The runes on the iron chains were specifically aimed at human cultivators. This wasn’t something that could be casually bought on the market. Yin Ren even smelled a pungent smell of medicine—it seemed to be some kind of anesthetic used purely on humans.

After completing the great feat of binding the Ghost King, the man returned to the driver’s seat and started the car. The engine rumbled, and the smell of gasoline quickly filled the backseat.

What the hell is going on?

Yin Ren couldn’t help but grow an eye out of his ankle and look curiously. The surrounding scene was more ordinary than he imagined, as he didn’t see any strange equipment.

What was even weirder was that there were gritted teeth and suppressed choking sounds in his ears from time to time. It seemed as if the kidnapper was emotionally unstable. The vehicle traveled quickly, bumping on occasion.

…Yin Ren sighed as he realized he wouldn’t be able to buy the pear stew he had planned to get for Zhong Chengshuo.

An hour had passed, but they still hadn’t reached their destination. Yin Ren’s patience was finally exhausted, so he deliberately let out a grunt and pretended to wake up.

“Where…?”

With a sharp brake sound, the van suddenly stopped on the side of the road. Being pushed by inertia, Yin Ren slammed into the back of the front seat.

Hearing Yin Ren’s voice, the man didn’t say a word. The rearview mirror was covered, so Yin Ren couldn’t see the man’s appearance. Lord Ghost King wasn’t discouraged. A newly grown eyeball dragged its optic nerve and rolled towards the car seat.

Even though the man was wearing a mask, Yin Ren still recognized him.

Bai Yongji.

Yin Ren thought for a moment, then pitifully begged. “Let me go. I don’t know who you are, but I don’t have any money, even if you kidnap me. I don’t even know who my family is…”

Bai Yongji didn’t speak. He twitched his nose and cleared his throat.

“Could it be, are you a member of Sunken Society?” Yin Ren took a breath and continued to beg for mercy. “I just entered Shian and haven’t done any important work, let alone offended you. I swear I won’t call the police.”

Having the opportunity to experience the plot of a TV series firsthand, Lord Ghost King was even a little excited—what would happen next? Would he be silenced or…?

“Please.” Yin Ren desperately added fear to his voice. “I don’t even remember my past life. I don’t want to die yet…”

“I can’t afford it.” After a long while, Bai Yongji responded in a hoarse voice. “I can’t afford it. I’m sorry. They forced me…”

He took a few deep breaths, finally leaving the driver’s seat and opening the back of the car again.

This time, Bai Yongji didn’t use the stun spirit weapon. He began to pour medicine onto a piece of cloth. In the night, his hands shook extremely badly.

Yin Ren shrank up, shaking even more than Bai Yongji. “Sir, I don’t know what your difficulties are, but it’s not too late to turn back…”

Bai Yongji’s movements stopped for a few seconds.

“…You don’t understand.” Despite wearing a mask, the pain on Bai Yongji’s face was still obvious. “They won’t let me go.”

“Then at least tell me why.” Yin Ren begged. “Why me?”

Bai Yongji let out a long sigh. He looked at the drenched cloth handkerchief in his hand with bloodshot eyes.

“Because you’re the same as me.” Bai Yongji stared at the cloth handkerchief and said, “Bad luck… You took the path you shouldn’t have gone.”

“Let me go, please—”

“Stop talking!” Bai Yongji seemed to be on the verge of collapse. He let out a sob and even forgot to lower his voice.

“…Urgh!”

Instead of using the stun spirit weapon, Bai Yongji directly covered Yin Ren’s mouth and nose with the medicine. Yin Ren rolled his eyes and “fainted” in cooperation.

Bai Yongji had first approached the daughter of Sun Qinghui, the person in charge of this case, and then provided them with information on “Lu Guangzu and Sunken Society” in an overly deliberate manner. Looking at this exceptionally well-made rune chain around him…

Things were getting more interesting.

At this moment, Zhong Chengshuo hadn’t woken up yet, but Yin Ren had taken the lead by stepping into the center of the case.

Yin Ren instantly gave up on the idea of escaping home. As for Zhong Chengshuo’s side, Yin Ren wasn’t worried…

In the alley near the night market, a trashcan moved.

The cellphone “Dog Thing” struggled to stretch out its four thin legs and rolled out of the trashcan.

Taking a break on the ground, it tremblingly rubbed the red oil and leftovers from its body and began to run in the direction of Ping’an Manor. Zhong Chengshuo had just finished taking a refreshing shower when he heard a soft noise at the door of the residence, as if something was rubbing happily against it.

He opened the door with wet hair and saw a dirty phone lying on the ground with unknown stains sticking to the screen.

The “Siren” interface automatically popped up, and the battery was at a suspicious 100%: [Yin Ren was kidnapped~]

Why did this thing look quite happy? The tone was more like gloating than reporting a crime. Zhong Chengshuo knew that Yin Ren’s spirit weapon was special, but he didn’t expect this thing to be able to speak through a smart assistant.

Zhong Chengshuo wrinkled his nose and slowly took out a box of alcohol wipes. “Well, I’ll deal with it. Did he struggle when he was kidnapped?”

[Siren: No, it was definitely on purpose.]

Indeed. With Yin Ren’s strength, the kidnapper would be the one in danger. Since Yin Ren didn’t run back himself, it was most likely that he encountered something very interesting.

Yin Ren knew well that there was no need to intervene in the case at the moment.

As he wiped the phone down, Zhong Chengshuo flicked the soiled hamster cell phone strap. “I’m not quite sure how you function… Are you waterproof?”

[Siren: Am. Why are you asking this?]

After half a minute, it sank silently under the high-pressure shower.

After five minutes of being flushed with boiling water and more than a dozen alcohol wipes, Dog Thing lay peacefully on the dining table. Its battery had dropped to 1%.

After tidying up the unsightly phone, Zhong Chengshuo warmed up a bowl of oatmeal and sat down in front of the computer again—at midnight, he opened the encrypted chat room on the extranet.

Strangely, there was still no movement on Yin Ren’s side.

Zhong Chengshuo poked the phone spirit weapon on the side. “Can you locate Yin Ren?”

[Siren: Yes.]

“Locate and send it.”

The phone spirit weapon reluctantly switched screens. On the screen, blood-red highlights were moving quickly along a certain road. Zhong Chengshuo compared it to a map and frowned slightly.

At the same time, accompanied by a pleasant tone, messages from winner99 appeared again.

[winner99: No. 4-161, Yuesheng Road, Shangguang District, 3:00 a.m., get on the pirate ship in the amusement park.]

[winner99: Come alone. I won’t wait if you’re late.]

[skinship: Got it.]

This was exactly where Yin Ren was at this moment.

Xinxin Amusement Park on Yuesheng Road, Shangguang District, was located in a remote place. It was abandoned a few years ago. Some time ago, young people would go there to test their courage and take artistic photos. Later, the facilities of the park collapsed and two people were killed on the spot, so it became no-man’s land.

Zhong Chengshuo thought for a while before he opened the wardrobe and put on a particularly extra-bulky trendy outfit. He then fumbled in the drawer cabinet for a bit and took out a somewhat terrifying cartoon rabbit mask with a toy gun attached.

With things packed up, the Evil Fruit equipped, and Yin Ren’s phone in his pocket, Zhong Chengshuo lowered his cap. He walked seven or eight blocks until he hailed a black car.

Zhong Chengshuo arrived near Xinxin Amusement Park 20 minutes early.

Before approaching the park, he skillfully burned off his cap and mask and replaced them with the rabbit mask that completely covered his facial features.

The amusement park had been closed for a long time. The cordon had rotted and was swept on the ground. There wasn’t any lightning in the garden, which was loomed over by numerous large black shadows. The ground was completely submerged by weeds and bushes.

The pirate ship was at the corner of the park, adjacent to the backdoor of the amusement park.

The hanging chain on one side of the equipment had rotted and was broken. Half of the ship sank to the ground. Lined with the dull night, the hull of the ship seemed to be like a stranded black moon.

There was only one figure in front of the ship.

Yin Ren was firmly chained, lying on the blood-red bean bag. His long hair was messy like splashed ink. With the decaying ship behind him, the scene had a weird beauty.

He didn’t know if Yin Ren recognized him, but as soon as Zhong Chengshuo approached, the person quietly propped up one eye. He winked at the person wearing the mask and then dutifully continued to pretend to be knocked out.

Zhong Chengshuo: “……” Huh. The beauty was gone in an instant.

Zhong Chengshuo let out a silent sigh. He leaned down as if he were unaware and pulled Yin Ren’s hair. Then he pressed Yin Ren’s face against his palm and squeezed it, like he was picking out fresh meat.

Yin Ren’s nose twitched when the black leather glove brushed past it, but he didn’t sneeze.

[skinship: Where are you?]

[winner99: Not bad. There’s no movement nearby.]

[winner99: What do you think about the materials I’ve prepared? A combination of both of our preferences.]

[skinship: What do you mean?]

[winner99: I said I will produce another work, but I plan to make it onsite. If you don’t mind, we can do it together.]

[skinship: Certificate of nomination*?]

*Term used in ancient times to enhance group cohesion, express loyalty to an individual or organizations, and usually means joining illegal groups with illegal behavior as a guarantee (nomination certificate). It’s basically a pledge you take to join a (usually) illegal group. || In this context, the culprit is basically saying that if Zhong Chengshuo wants to join him, he needs to work together to create this new creation (that is his proof of joining).

“That’s right.” A vague voice replied.

A strange black shadow approached from a distance.

The person was wearing a goat doll costume that covered their body shape. The satchel on the goat doll was bulging and had weird outlines. Judging by the shape, there wasn’t candy inside.

“Now I have seen you without any problems. Very good.”

The goat doll stopped beside Yin Ren. He spoke with a weird voice, which meant he was using a voice changer.

“Don’t you know what I’m thinking? Do you need me to explain the situation specifically?”

Zhong Chengshuo was silent.

“Oh… It seems that your abilities are also limited.” The goat’s tone was regretful. “Well, this person is good. No matter how you look at it, he’s the best ‘talent’.”

Zhong Chengshuo took a deep breath and completely changed his voice. He sounded arrogant and sinister. “How strange, I thought you would follow your aesthetics.”

“Aesthetics?”

“Whether it’s that chair or that painting, the human flesh isn’t old and doesn’t look young. This time, you picked one with fine skin.” Zhong Chengshuo sneered. “You only dare attack a newcomer from Shian?”

“What I want isn’t something superficial like ‘appearance’.” The goat didn’t sound offended. “The wildflowers after the storm are always more beautiful than those in a greenhouse. Even if they don’t look so exquisite, they are more comforting to look at.”

He stretched out his hand, which was wrapped in a doll costume, and made a grasping gesture.

Zhong Chengshuo’s fingers moved. The rabbit mask only had two holes that were lined with his excessively black eyes, making the holes look like two black holes.

“So that’s it.” Zhong Chengshuo smiled. “I care more about skin-to-skin flesh, while you prefer to caress ‘interesting souls’.”

Seeing the other party’s train of thought follow smoothly, the goat relaxed a little.

“Indeed.”

He chuckled, took out a knife from his satchel, and played with it repeatedly in his hand.

“Now you have two choices… One, turn around and leave, but it’s not easy for me to find materials, so you have to pay a little price.”

“Two, complete this work together. You can see how I ‘keep it fresh’, but after that, you’ll be responsible for handling the work.”

“I see.”

Zhong Chengshuo didn’t move a muscle, and his tone remained calm.

“You want a new scapegoat.”

The author has something to say:

Xiao Yin: Yes, buy it for my wife!

Do you know what kind of flag you just set up (?