FCRCG Chapter 21

You can read chapters 1-20 at Wook’s Teahouse.

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The bedroom also had a small sofa. Nan Deng sat on it, wrapped in a thick bath towel.

Using the gentlest setting, Lian Yi was blow-drying his hair, meticulously drying each strand.

He had never done this sort of thing before, so he was meticulous, taking a longer time.

Nan Deng yawned and leaned his head towards Lian Yi.

When his hair was finally dry, Lian Yi handed Nan Deng a new set of pajamas.

“Change yourself,” he said before leaving the room.

The clothes were newly bought that day, already washed and dried in advance. There was also a pair of close-fitting shorts in Nan Deng’s size.

Lian Yi had no preparation for Nan Deng suddenly turning into a human. But he had done his best to be considerate.

After changing into the pajamas, the rabbit head hopped in to see him.

Even after turning into a human, the rabbit head remained in a spiritual form, but Nan Deng could still touch it just like before.

He picked up the rabbit head, stroking its furry ears. “Xiao Tu, you still recognize me, right?”

After the initial panic, Nan Deng spent the entire day in excitement and exploration, having no time to pay attention to the rabbit head.

The rabbit head rubbed against his palm, not distancing itself due to Nan Deng’s transformation.

Nan Deng touched the hem of his clothes. “These clothes have no pockets… I’ll have to find a bag to carry you in from now on.”

The rabbit head blinked, hiccuped, and spat out a box of medicine.

“How much did you eat?”

Nan Deng was stunned for a moment, holding the rabbit head and shaking it.

The rabbit head opened its mouth wide. Sure enough, it spat out several more boxes of medicine.

It stuck out its tongue, indicating that it had finished this time.

Nan Deng picked up the medicine boxes from the floor and left the bedroom to find Lian Yi.

Lian Yi was in the living room. The television was off, and the empty living room was very quiet.

He was sitting on one side of the sofa, seemingly lost in thought.

Nan Deng, wearing new slippers, walked into the living room and habitually threw himself into Lian Yi’s arms.

Lian Yi hugged him but then pressed his shoulders and slowly pushed him away.

Nan Deng noticed his actions and looked at him in confusion.

“You’re not a ghost now,” Lian Yi said softly. “You can’t just do that anymore.”

Do that? Was he referring to what he had just done?

Nan Deng was at a loss. “Why not?”

Before, when he was a ghost, Lian Yi had never rejected him, not once.

Now that he had become human, he couldn’t act the same as before.

Nan Deng wondered if Lian Yi found him repulsive now.

Feeling a bit aggrieved, he dared not get close again. He sat properly to the side, his feelings clearly written on his face.

Lian Yi couldn’t explain, forcing himself to resist the urge to hold him.

Nan Deng came out after his bath, yawning several times while his hair was being dried. He now looked drowsy, his spirits visibly dampened.

Lian Yi led him back to the bedroom, tidied the bed, and watched him lie down.

Sitting by the bedside, Lian Yi tucked him in. “Sleep.”

Nan Deng grabbed his sleeve. “What about you?”

He had spent the day playing and, having turned into a human, he was indeed tired. But he was sleeping in Lian Yi’s bed, and Lian Yi didn’t seem prepared to join him.

Was Lian Yi planning to wait until he fell asleep before going to bed himself, as he used to?

Lian Yi held Nan Deng’s hand and tucked it back under the blanket. “I’m going to the study.”

Nan Deng asked quietly, “To sleep?”

“Yes.”

But the study had no bed, only a sofa.

Nan Deng opened his mouth to say something else, but Lian Yi, somewhat firmly, said, “Go to sleep.”

He got up, turned off the light, and left, leaving the rabbit head in the room and the door slightly ajar.

The hallway light was turned off as well, leaving everything inside and out pitch black.

Nan Deng, clutching the edge of the blanket in the darkness, felt miserable.

He was almost certain that Lian Yi must dislike him now. Otherwise, why would he suddenly stop being close to him?

Is it because he was too much trouble? Indeed, after becoming human, many things are different from when he was a ghost.

Plus, he doesn’t know anything. Lian Yi has to prepare everything and teach him what to do.

The more Nan Deng thought about it, the sadder and more afraid he became.

He tossed and turned, unable to sleep, even worrying that Lian Yi might want to send him away in the morning.

After an unknown amount of time, Nan Deng sat up in bed.

The rabbit head, who hadn’t slept during the day, was now asleep beside his pillow. Nan Deng quietly got out of bed and felt his way to the study door in the dark.

He carefully pushed the door open and saw a faint figure lying on the sofa.

The study’s sofa was much smaller than the one in the living room and wasn’t meant for sleeping. Lian Yi, being tall, looked very uncomfortable lying on it.

Nan Deng silently approached and crouched in front of the sofa.

Lian Yi almost immediately opened his eyes and looked at Nan Deng. “Why aren’t you sleeping?”

“Did I wake you?” Nan Deng said apologetically. “I… I didn’t mean to. You should go back to the bedroom to sleep. I won’t sleep there.”

Lian Yi sat up, massaging his temples. “Not sleepy?”

Nan Deng shook his head, his fingers clutching his sleeve. “I’m sorry…”

There was unease in his voice, and Lian Yi frowned slightly.

Nan Deng lowered his head and continued speaking to himself, “I’ll be obedient from now on. I won’t cause you trouble or disturb you… Please don’t dislike me, okay?”

His last words were said cautiously, like a little stray cat afraid of being abandoned again.

Lian Yi was silent for a moment in the darkness. “I don’t dislike you.”

Nan Deng looked up, his expression anxious. “Then why…”

Lian Yi understood; he was still troubled about why he hadn’t wanted to hold him before bed or why he hadn’t bathed with him.

He let out an almost inaudible sigh and reached out to Nan Deng. “Come here.”

Nan Deng paused for a moment, his mood instantly lifting. He immediately pounced on Lian Yi.

He accidentally bumped his forehead against Lian Yi but ignored it, hugging him tightly like an excited puppy.

Lian Yi held him securely, supporting his lower back to prevent him from falling. “Alright, didn’t you say you’d be good?”

Nan Deng quieted down, obediently leaning against his chest.

Lian Yi turned on the bedside lamp, its soft yellow light illuminating the study.

He brushed aside the hair from Nan Deng’s face. “Don’t overthink things.”

“But you won’t let me stay with you,” Nan Deng’s voice still held a trace of grievance. “You weren’t like this before.”

In his understanding, staying with Lian Yi meant clinging to him all day, talking to him, and doing everything together.

Lian Yi’s eyes softened. He gently rubbed Nan Deng’s lower back, soothing and guiding him. “Haven’t I treated you well?”

Nan Deng immediately shook his head. “No, that’s not it.”

Other than not staying in the bedroom to sleep, he had only refused him three times. And all this time, Lian Yi had been very good to him.

But Nan Deng remained stubborn. “But I want to stay with you.”

His soft cheek pressed close, his warm breath near.

Lian Yi stroked Nan Deng’s hair and asked softly by his ear, “If it were someone else, would you act the same?”

If someone else encountered Nan Deng, they probably wouldn’t have the heart to push him away.

This question completely puzzled Nan Deng. He looked up, thinking for a long time in confusion.

But Lian Yi didn’t seem to care much about the answer. In a deep voice, he said, “Besides me, don’t get close to anyone else.”

Nan Deng obediently agreed. Lian Yi hugged him tighter and kissed his forehead. “Are you sleepy?”

“A little,” Nan Deng mumbled, “I also want to sleep here.”

No matter where Lian Yi was, that was where he wanted to be.

Lian Yi had no choice but to carry him back to the bedroom.

Lian Yi lay down with Nan Deng, turning to block the moonlight from the window. “Sleep.”

Nan Deng happily buried himself in the warm, familiar embrace and finally closed his eyes in peace.

The rabbit head, having been awakened, stepped over Lian Yi’s face to jump to Nan Deng’s side, then lay down on his head and continued sleeping.

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The next morning, Nan Deng woke up hungry.

He opened his eyes to find himself alone in the bedroom; Lian Yi had already gotten up.

Sunlight streamed in through the window, indicating he had slept almost until noon.

By the bedside was a set of clean new clothes. Nan Deng changed out of his pajamas and opened the door, immediately smelling the aroma of food.

The smell was even more enticing than the essence of souls. Following the scent, he found Lian Yi just bringing out a meal prepared by the little paper figures.

The rabbit head was eyeing the food hungrily from the kitchen doorway. Lian Yi calmly shut the door. “Go wash up first.”

A new set of toiletries, including a towel and toothbrush, had been bought. Nan Deng struggled to use the toothbrush, almost swallowing the foam in his mouth.

Lian Yi stood by, teaching him meticulously from start to finish.

In the end, Lian Yi took the towel and personally wiped Nan Deng’s face and hands.

As a first-time human, Nan Deng had a lot to learn. But he was quick to pick things up, usually mastering tasks after being shown once.

Returning to the dining room, he faced another challenge: using chopsticks.

Nan Deng tried for a long time, clumsily gripping the chopsticks and attempting to pick up food. But the pieces kept falling onto the table.

In the end, Lian Yi handed him a spoon, dishing out whatever food Nan Deng wanted directly into his bowl.

Nan Deng finally ate his meal successfully. He wasn’t picky at all, even eating chili peppers and ginger slices directly. When Lian Yi picked them out for him, he seemed reluctant to part with them.

It seemed like he enjoyed all flavors, eating two bowls of rice in one go and still wanting more.

Though he looked thin, his appetite was quite large. Lian Yi, worried about his lack of restraint, didn’t allow him to eat more.

Nan Deng put down the spoon and drank a whole bowl of soup with a few “gulps”.

Lian Yi asked, “Are you full?”

Nan Deng couldn’t answer this question. He only knew the sensation of hunger, not the concept of being full.

Yesterday, when Lian Yi fed him egg custard, he didn’t feel full either, just not hungry anymore.

Seeing his hesitation, Lian Yi helped him stand up and lifted his shirt to check.

Despite eating so much, Nan Deng’s stomach remained flat, showing no signs of fullness.

He had also eaten something last night and drank milk, yet he hadn’t been to the bathroom since.

It seemed the food just disappeared, similar to the rabbit head. So, even though Nan Deng had turned from a spirit into a human, he wasn’t an ordinary human.

Lian Yi furrowed his brows slightly and tidied Nan Deng’s clothes. “If you feel any discomfort, tell me immediately.”

He instructed Nan Deng to watch TV in the living room and closed the kitchen door, letting the little paper figures come out to wash the dishes.

When Nan Deng was a ghost, he loved watching TV. But now, he wasn’t very interested. Since the sun hadn’t fully risen, he went to the balcony to enjoy the breeze.

A sparrow flew over and landed on the balcony railing.

Nan Deng held his breath, his eyes widening slightly as he watched the sparrow, creeping closer on tiptoe.

The sparrow wasn’t afraid of him at all. It even seemed to act as if he didn’t exist, tilting its head and standing there.

Nan Deng easily caught the sparrow, gently holding it in his hand and examining it.

The sparrow didn’t struggle, obediently allowing him to handle it, as docile as a toy.

Nan Deng stroked the soft, delicate feathers on its head and couldn’t resist bringing it close to his nose to sniff its scent.

Lian Yi arrived just in time to see this scene and called out to him, “Nan Deng, you can’t eat it.”

Nan Deng then released the sparrow, setting it back on the railing. The sparrow, as if waking from a dream, flew away.

Lian Yi walked over. Nan Deng, with his hands behind his back, admitted his mistake. “I didn’t want to eat it… I was just a bit curious.”

He admitted he was curious about the taste, wanting to lick it to experience it fully with all his senses.

Lian Yi didn’t say anything. Just then, a butterfly flew over.

There were no flowers on the balcony, so it was unclear what had attracted the butterfly. It flew close to Nan Deng.

Nan Deng’s eyes followed the butterfly closely. Lian Yi, fearing he might want to taste it too, held him back to prevent him from reaching out.

The butterfly soon flew away, and as the wind on the balcony picked up, Nan Deng squinted and hid in Lian Yi’s embrace.

They returned to the living room, where Nan Deng, as usual, wanted Lian Yi to hold him, nestling against his neck and nuzzling.

Suddenly, he looked up and asked, “Can I still bite you?”

Now that he had become human, Nan Deng couldn’t even smell the scent of souls anymore. He was curious about what it would feel like to bite Lian Yi now.

As long as Nan Deng didn’t randomly eat things, Lian Yi was very indulgent with him. “You can.”

Lian Yi tilted his head to expose his neck, even unbuttoning one of his shirt buttons.

Nan Deng felt inexplicably nervous, preparing himself thoroughly and selecting the perfect spot to bite.

He opened his mouth and bit down lightly on a small piece of skin. He applied a slight pressure, but nothing happened.

Nan Deng pulled back a bit. He saw the distinct teeth marks he had left on Lian Yi’s neck.

This was something that had never happened before. Nan Deng licked the teeth marks, hoping they would fade quickly.

When he looked up again, he noticed that Lian Yi’s earlobes had turned slightly red.

Nan Deng asked anxiously, “Does it hurt?”

Lian Yi looked at him for a moment. “It doesn’t hurt.”

Unable to resist, he leaned in and kissed Nan Deng’s forehead.

Lian Yi’s body temperature was rising, and his dry lips felt hot. Nan Deng, being kissed, hid in his embrace.

Feeling inexplicably flustered, Nan Deng gripped Lian Yi’s shirt hem, his cheeks involuntarily turning red.

He didn’t ask Lian Yi why he kissed him; he hadn’t asked yesterday either. After watching so much TV, he should understand a bit by now.

This was also the first time he experienced his cheeks heating up. Although he hadn’t been through it before, he could roughly understand the meaning of such intimacy.

Still holding onto Lian Yi’s shirt hem, Nan Deng mumbled, “I feel… uncomfortable…”

Lian Yi touched his face gently. “Where does it hurt?”

“Hot,” Nan Deng replied. “I want to wash my face with cold water.”

Lian Yi hesitated for a moment, then led him to the bathroom and used a towel to gently wipe his face until the redness faded.

In the study, the communicator in the drawer had been ringing incessantly. But no sound reached outside, and no one answered.

In the talisman shop at the city center, Gu Xu snorted coldly. “I told you, he won’t come to see you.”

His injuries were not yet healed; his face was somewhat pale, and he looked like someone who had not fully recovered from a serious illness.

Weng Ping Ran turned off the communicator and looked at him. “You should go back and rest properly. Be careful not to reopen your wound.”

He had arrived early this morning and had heard about everything that had happened recently.

Weng Ping Ran was particularly concerned about the location where Hui Shou had appeared. He also noted that the last time the ominous energy appeared, Lin Jiu had mistaken it for the Ghost King and had gone to track it down, even heading towards the outskirts.

If it had been anyone else living on the outskirts, Weng Ping Ran wouldn’t have paid half an eye’s attention. But since it was Lian Yi, who had a special constitution and had caused quite a few accidents when he was first brought back to the inner courtyard.

“Could it be that he has some connection with the Chaos God?” Weng Ping Ran speculated. “Born with an ominous body, could it be that he attracted Hui Shou?”

“How do we explain the omen of the Mountain God?” Gu Xu disagreed with him. “And does he really deserve to attract the Chaos God?”

He believed that it was the presence of the Mountain God in this place that had caused the Chaos God to appear, and the outskirts were just a coincidence.

Even though he had almost been swallowed by Hui Shou, with the wound still on his back, Gu Xu could only feel that his luck was not good.

Gods were always gods. How could gods be wrong?

Weng Ping Ran still felt that there was something suspicious about this. He wanted to ask Lian Yi himself. But several attempts to communicate had gone unanswered.

They couldn’t even be sure if Lian Yi was still in this area.

“If he leaves on his own, it will be a violation of the inner courtyard’s orders, and it will be a good opportunity to capture him alive.”

Gu Xu was eager for him to escape. The last plan had failed, and it had caused Zhuo Qing’s whereabouts to be unknown.

Weng Ping Ran glanced at him and couldn’t help but say, “I know you want revenge for Zhuo Qing, but it was wrong for Zhuo Qing to insist on bringing him back to the inner courtyard in the first place.”

At this point, with restrictions on Lian Yi again and so much happening recently, attention should be focused on more urgent matters.

Moreover, as a celestial master practicing spiritual arts to exorcise spirits and reduce karmic hindrances, he was more concerned about his own karma increase.

The mistakes Lian Yi made were his own karma and also the consequences for Zhuo Qing. Gu Xu had no need to intervene.

Gu Xu remained silent with a dark expression, gesturing for his subordinate to assist him as he got up and left the talisman shop.

After he left, several celestial masters hurried over to report.

“Elder Weng,” the lead celestial master said, “there has been a sudden increase in residents with similar symptoms at the hospital these past few days. We suspect it might be some kind of infectious disease.”

And it’s not just in this area; several nearby regions have reported similar cases.

Initially, some thought it was caused by ghosts, so they called celestial masters to investigate. But nothing was found. The hospital diagnosed it as a common cold, but the patients weren’t recovering despite taking medicine.

Hospitals were frequent haunts for resentful spirits, where they liked to feed on the souls of the sick. After the patients died, they became new resentful spirits.

“What are the specific symptoms?” Weng Ping Ran immediately asked. “I’ll go take a look.”

Meanwhile, Lin Jiu returned to the same pharmacy as yesterday.

They had already deleted the surveillance footage of the ghost, feeling it was ominous and not wanting to publicize it for fear of affecting business.

In the morning, the employees dared not open the store, only nervously returning to work around noon when the sun was strongest.

Fortunately, everything was normal afterward. After lunch, someone returned a box of medicines. When the employees counted them, they turned out to be the ones stolen by the ghost yesterday.

Except for a missing box of fever reducers and the money left at the bottom of the box, the talisman water was provided free of charge.

The employee showed the box of medicines to Lin Jiu. “Take a look. Can these still be used normally? Should we perform some kind of ritual to dispel evil?”

Lin Jiu picked up a box of medicine, glanced at it, and put it back. “No problem. It can be used normally.”

There was no evil energy residue on these medicine boxes. They were stolen and returned, not meant to harm anyone.

“Who returned them? Did they leave any contact information?” Lin Jiu asked.

“No, they didn’t leave anything,” the clerk shook their head. “It was just a regular delivery person who dropped off the items and left. We didn’t dare to ask too much.”

Lin Jiu asked again about the appearance of the delivery person and went to search for them himself.

Upon successfully finding the delivery person, they claimed not to know anything about it.

“I came to the company earliest today and saw this box right at the entrance,” the delivery person explained.

The box had a delivery address and payment details, so they simply delivered it.

Lin Jiu felt disappointed. “Alright, thank you.”

Ghosts appearing during the day, stealing and returning medicines—among so many types, only fever reducers and talisman water were used.

Everyone knew the purpose of talisman water, a commonly kept item at home. When it ran low, people would go to pharmacies or talisman shops to replenish it.

Moreover, which ghost would actively help people find talisman water?

The more Lin Jiu thought about it, the more he felt that this matter was unusual. He tried to contact Weng Ping Ran to inquire about his thoughts but was informed that Weng Ping Ran was busy at the hospital and told him to handle it himself.

After hesitating for a moment, he instructed several of his subordinates to check whether the talismans outside the doors of all residents in the city were functioning properly.

With celestial masters patrolling various places daily, Lin Jiu soon received a report from his subordinates.

Across the entire area, except for some slightly damaged talismans outside uninhabited houses that reduced their effectiveness, everything else was normal.

Residents everywhere are very cautious; they wouldn’t overlook such basic protection.

“Alright.”

Lin Jiu put away the communicator, feeling disappointed once again.

But then, he remembered another overlooked place.

The outskirts where Lian Yi was located.

He had been there on the day when the evil spirit appeared, and indeed, there were no talismans outside Lian Yi’s door. Celestial masters of his level didn’t need such things.

Those who could confidently suppress resentful spirits or command them seemed to be only celestial masters.

This speculation made Lin Jiu’s palms sweat. He had no further evidence, just a gut feeling.

It was nearing nightfall now. Without informing anyone, he ventured alone to the outskirts.

—

Nan Deng ate two full bowls of dinner again, finishing every dish made by the little paper figures.

Thinking it was made by Lian Yi, he praised everything as delicious.

After finishing his meal and feeling his belly, which remained flat, he looked at Lian Yi who was silent and began to worry, “What’s wrong? Am I not normal?”

“It’s okay,” Lian Yi led him to the living room, “I’m not normal either.”

His words intrigued Nan Deng, who pressed, “What do you mean by ‘not normal’?”

Lian Yi leaned against the sofa, eyes lowered calmly. He said: “One of my eyes is artificial.”

Nan Deng was deeply shocked, holding his face and examining it closely.

Lian Yi’s left eye had a gray-black iris. At first glance, it seemed like a normal difference in eye color. But under the light, an unusual gleam could be seen.

Nan Deng touched the corner of his eye with his fingertip. “Is it this one?”

He covered Lian Yi’s other eye and waved his hand in front of him. “Can you see me now?”

Lian Yi accurately caught his wrist. “I can see.”

Calling it a fake eye wasn’t entirely accurate; it was made of a special material and functioned almost like his real eye, with hardly any noticeable difference.

Nan Deng lowered his hand, resting his chin on Lian Yi’s chest. “Why… Was it because of illness?”

Lian Yi stroked his hair gently. “Hmm.”

In reality, when he was fourteen, he was injured by a fierce ghost. He managed to kill the ghost later and assimilate its power, but his left eye had been blinded permanently. It took him several years to repair it with materials he found himself.

At that time, Zhuo Qing, his teacher, had watched coldly from the sidelines, not intending to help.

But he wouldn’t tell Nan Deng any of this.

Nan Deng vaguely sensed that Lian Yi wasn’t in a good mood at the moment. Summoning courage, he kissed the corner of Lian Yi’s left eye and comforted him, “Even if it’s artificial, it’s still beautiful.”

His kiss was hesitant, more like a gentle bump than a kiss.

A slight smile curved Lian Yi’s lips as he hugged Nandeng tightly, breathing in the scent of his hair.

Meanwhile, the communicator in the study drawer was ringing.

Lin Jiu stood at a crossroad not far from Lian Yi’s residence, with his communicator in hand, and received no response.

He had heard from Weng Ping Ran that Lian Yi hadn’t responded to any messages these past few days and hadn’t gone out either, staying in the outskirts.

The night when the evil spirit appeared outside his door, he had been unconcerned, showing no intention of moving out.

Lin Jiu put away his communicator, hesitating for a long time before deciding to continue forward.

Unlike some elders who viewed Lian Yi with fear due to the difference in their ranks, Lin Jiu didn’t feel disgust or rejection towards him; Lian Yi’s character had nothing to do with him.

He had come here not to suspect Lian Yi but because some clues seemed too coincidental, coupled with a strange intuition that led him here.

He wanted to see what Lian Yi was up to and why he hadn’t responded to any messages.

Quietly, Lin Jiu approached the illuminated house, pondering how to explain his presence without angering Lian Yi.

Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks.

In the distance ahead, the curtain on the side of the house was pulled back, followed by the sliding glass door.

Lian Yi stepped out onto the balcony, followed by a young man who looked eighteen or nineteen.

Lin Jiu couldn’t believe his eyes; he almost thought he was seeing things.

But there was indeed someone besides Lian Yi, at least appearing to be a normal living person.

At a distance, the young man’s features were not very clear. He had slightly long black hair reaching his shoulders and a slender figure.

He held a pot of flowers, placing it on the edge of the balcony.

The flowers in the pot seemed freshly planted, with a white paper wrapped around the only bud. The young man tore off the paper and leaned in to smell it.

For some reason, Lian Yi immediately pulled him up and said something to him.

The young man nodded to him and then naturally reached out to embrace him, being led away from the balcony.

Lin Jiu was even more shocked. Inadvertently peeking into someone else’s secret made him feel ashamed. He quickly retreated to a position where he couldn’t see the lights of the house.

His emotions couldn’t calm down for a long time. No wonder… Lian Yi hadn’t had time to deal with others these past few days.

Moreover, it turned out that there really were people who could ignore the negative effects brought by their innate ominous constitution.

Lian Yi’s relationship with the young man must be extraordinary. But his current state…

Lin Jiu remembered what Weng Ping Yan had said, that Lian Yi didn’t have much time left.

His communicator rang, so he answered it. Weng Ping Yan asked where he had gone and told him to come back quickly.

Lin Jiu hesitated for a moment, only replying that he was outside, and didn’t mention what he had just seen to Weng Ping Ran.

He immediately retraced his steps, preparing to return as quickly as possible.

However, just as he took a few steps, the compass in Lin Jiu’s sleeve detected something unusual.

He took out the compass. The pointer on it spun rapidly before stopping in one direction.

Resentful spirits were appearing ahead and to the side, and it seemed there were quite a few.

Following the movement of the pointer, Lin Jiu looked back.

The resentful spirits’ target was Lian Yi’s residence.

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