The moment Lu Liangting spoke, shock rippled through the group. The young women shielding him glanced back at him, speechless. The already slightly tense atmosphere became even more serious. Everyone’s faces were taut, their expressions complex.
Actually, they very much wanted to say: Regardless of whether the Doctor could save the situation, you’d better not say that when she arrives.
Saying it here in front of them was fine, but if the Doctor really came and heard it… a hopeless situation would become truly hopeless.
Lu Liangting noticed the atmosphere shift. At that moment, Shen Shuyun’s hand grabbed his wrist.
“Lu Liangting, words cannot be spoken carelessly. Also, don’t call the police. It’s useless. Do you think the police can handle this situation? Obviously not. Rather than let the matter here be exposed and cause a huge uproar, we need to think of another way.”
“Be good, listen to me. Send Zhao Mingyue a message. Even if you have to beg, beg her to come here.”
“This is our only chance.”
“If you don’t know what to say, give me your phone. Let me do it.”
Holding his mobile phone, Lu Liangting hesitated slightly. Yet, outside, the Ghost Bride had already launched a second wave of attacks. The several beautiful young women could only barely manage to entangle her. To truly eliminate her couldn’t be done without the cost of at least one or two lives.
And his hesitation at this critical moment was for a simple reason.
He knew Shen Shuyun didn’t want Zhao Mingyue to come; she just wanted Bai Yu to come. The problem was: were Zhao Mingyue and Bai Yu really together?
Before, it was Zhao Mingyue who had saved him. She wore a mask, but her voice and the aura she gave off couldn’t lie. He had guessed that the one possessing Zhao Mingyue was the female ghost named Bai Yu.
But what if they weren’t together?
What if Bai Yu just happened to save Zhao Mingyue and was merely borrowing her body?
If that were the case, calling Zhao Mingyue here now would only bring harm to her.
“Hurry up, we don’t have much time.”
“Alright.”
Lu Liangting retreated a few steps, releasing two ghostly monsters to help. He had three ghosts on him, but the last and most powerful one, the Red-Clothed Fierce Ghost, basically ignored his commands. Whether it acted or not was entirely up to its mood.
Tapping Zhao Mingyue’s magical girl avatar, Lu Liangting decided to message her first to confirm she was safe. He was afraid a direct phone call might bring trouble to Zhao Mingyue.
The message was sent. Sure enough, Zhao Mingyue replied shortly after: she was very safe now.
Receiving this answer, Lu Liangting opened the call screen. He needed to ask first. If the two of them weren’t together, he wouldn’t ask Zhao Mingyue to come.
A beautiful piano piece played on the phone. Soon, the call connected.
“Lu Liangting?”
“Mingyue, it’s me. I have something to ask you right now. If you can’t answer, that’s fine, don’t worry about it.”
“Mm-hmm, ask away.”
“It’s like this… the one who saved me earlier, was it Bai Yu?”
~
~
On the main road dividing Pingshan Village, Zhao Mingyue held her phone. Hearing Lu Liangting’s question, she looked at Bai Yu with puzzled eyes, silently asking how she should respond.
She hadn’t expected to be exposed so easily. She’d thought at worst, her own identity might be discovered, but Bai Yu inside her body would remain hidden. After all, Lu Liangting couldn’t see her soul.
This proved Lu Liangting cared about Bai Yu too much; he could even tell that much.
Bai Yu spoke in her mind, “Don’t say yet. Ask him his purpose first.”
“Got it.” Zhao Mingyue nodded, then spoke into the phone: “Um, is something the matter? Why are you suddenly calling?”
“I’ve run into some trouble here. A very powerful ghost is blocking our way. So I was wondering if Bai Yu could come and help. Don’t worry, she won’t come for nothing.”
After Lu Liangting finished, Zhao Mingyue blinked at Bai Yu again.
“Tell him you know me.”
“Do you really want to tell him?”
“Yes. Then have the person next to Lu Liangting take the phone.”
With Bai Yu’s reply, Zhao Mingyue stopped walking and brought the phone closer. “Mm… Bai Yu is indeed with me. I just asked her what she thinks. She said to give the phone to the person next to you.”
“Hello, this is Shen Shuyun.” The moment Zhao Mingyue finished speaking, a sweet female voice came from the other end. In the background, Zhao Mingyue could faintly hear a piercing screech.
“Bai Yu, we’re in trouble. A very strong ghost.”
“If the previous Fierce Ghosts and Wax Corpses were S-Rank, this one is at least SS-Rank.”
“Come help, and we’ll all owe you a favor.”
“Handle it yourselves,” Bai Yu replied flatly.
A two-second silence came from the other end. “Adding another benefit: something that eliminates the negative effects of ghosts on humans.”
“Location.”
“Still that courtyard.” Shen Shuyun let out a sigh of relief.
“Two minutes.”
Hanging up, Bai Yu looked at Zhao Mingyue. “We’re going back.”
“Do you need to possess me?”
“Yes.”
“Alright, alright. I don’t know if I’ve made a huge contribution, or if I’m just a useless tag-along.” Zhao Mingyue felt helpless but stepped forward, voluntarily embracing Bai Yu’s form, a smile appearing on her face.
~
~
“Okay, wait two more minutes.” Shen Shuyun returned the phone. Seeing Lu Liangting’s confused look, she explained, “Zhao Mingyue’s place in Bai Yu’s heart is more important than you think. Believe it or not, even if we were all dead, without enough incentive, Bai Yu wouldn’t come.”
“Because it’s too dangerous. Her primary task is protecting Zhao Mingyue’s safety, not ours.”
“Want to know why she changed her mind? Because of the last item I mentioned.”
“Ghosts and humans are, after all, complete opposites. I don’t need to tell you: if a person stays close to a ghost for too long, nothing good will happen. At the mildest, a string of negative states like bad luck, illness, and disaster cling to them. At worst, direct death.”
“The former isn’t much of an issue, usually doesn’t happen. But have you noticed, the more you interact with ghostly monsters, the lower your body temperature gets? You lose your Yang Energy, akin to chronic poisoning.”
“What I’m offering her is something that can, to a certain extent, eliminate that effect.”
Shen Shuyun hadn’t even finished speaking when a young woman ahead burst out cursing.
“You keep wasting time with your yapping instead of helping! I’ll be the first to twist your head off later!”
“Fine, fine, I’m coming. What’s the rush? Didn’t I just find us a savior?” Shen Shuyun smiled winsomely, patted Lu Liangting on the shoulder, and walked outside, two small knives spinning in her hands.
In the room, Lu Liangting looked left and right. He simply grabbed a wooden bench and walked out as well.
He couldn’t handle the Ghost Bride, but he could deal with the Small Wax Corpses coming from behind, right?
“Old Yang, can you hear me?”
“Come out and save me!”
“There’s a real big one this time!”
Calling out to that Fierce Ghost’s name in his heart, Lu Liangting carefully crept out of the door. Looking at the several beautiful young women tangled in combat with the Ghost Bride in the courtyard, his heart was extremely grave.
These girls were good people. Without their intervention, even if the Evil God was killed, he wouldn’t have escaped. Thanks to them, otherwise, he would have been eaten by the Ghost Bride long ago.
Two minutes. Bai Yu would arrive.
These two minutes would depend on him and Old Yang!
Wielding the bench, Lu Liangting smashed a Wax Corpse to the ground with it, then kicked another corpse flying with a raised leg.
The moment he emerged, the Ghost Bride, who was still under siege, instantly spun around. Her four bloodshot eyes locked dead onto Lu Liangting. Her decayed mouth gaped wide, loosing a roar. A thick white mist shot straight towards Lu Liangting.
“Look out!”
A door panel flew in, dispersing the mist. The Underground Boxer’s relatively delicate form appeared, blocking in front of Lu Liangting.
“Get back inside! You’re not needed here!”
She was deeply annoyed by Lu Liangting causing more trouble this way, wanting nothing more than to rip his head off. But who could help it if he was the Male Lead? She had no choice but to save him.
Speaking of which, precisely because Lu Liangting was the Male Lead and tied to their mission, he absolutely couldn’t die. Otherwise, who would even think of calling the Doctor for help? They would have fled long ago.
There were three main reasons for coming here. One: the mission. Two: the Evil God’s power. Three: Lu Liangting’s Affection Meter.
The mission wasn’t urgent for now. Once things here were done, they could take some time to check it out; there’d be some improvement at least. The Evil God was done for; the Doctor herself had smashed its statue.
Two of the three objectives were unfinished. The last and most important one, Lu Liangting, couldn’t be lost, right?
The Underground Boxer appeared before the Ghost Bride almost as if teleporting. Her twin Stiletto Knuckle Dusters emitted wisps of black qi. She raised a fist, swinging it at the Ghost Bride’s throat, then retracted her hand while snapping out a kick. However, that kick was caught by a withered hand like a dead branch.
Black threads entwined around her body. Bound by these threads, she felt her blood rapidly seeping out while its temperature skyrocketed.
Besides her extremely strong recovery, ability to fly, and ranged attacks, this was the Ghost Bride’s most troublesome trait.
Get within a certain range, and your blood would be controlled.
“Ha!” With a sharp cry, another young woman swept the Ghost Bride’s legs out from under her, bringing her down. Shadow appeared, and simultaneously, two stiletto blades thrust out like phantoms, one left, one right, stabbing into the Ghost Bride’s temples.
The trio’s teamwork was fluid and perfect. Unfortunately, it didn’t do much. Thick black threads hooked into their bodies. The Ghost Bride flew into the air before even hitting the ground, putting distance between her and the group.
“Roar!” White mist shot out. Shadow teleported away to dodge but was still clipped, a small chunk of flesh corroded from her arm.
Just as the Ghost Bride prepared to attack again, Lu Liangting darted out from behind the group, hurling the bench in his hands.
As expected, it drew her attention. The white mist originally aimed at Shen Shuyun instead blew towards him.
Lu Liangting was prepared and dodged with several quick strides.
His physical fitness was better than Zhao Mingyue’s, otherwise, he wouldn’t have been chosen to be the Groom.
After dodging several attacks, even Shen Shuyun and the others were surprised.
This Male Lead was slightly more useful than they’d imagined. At critical moments, he could even buy a little time.
Alas, Lu Liangting’s experience was ultimately insufficient, and the location was limiting. The moment he dodged the black threads, his foot landed on the arm of some Wax Corpse, causing him to instantly slip.
His body lost balance, falling sideways. The black threads were already there.
Right at that moment!
Bang!
The courtyard’s double doors were violently kicked open. Two Blood Thread Blade Auras came flying in immediately after.
