Not long after Ziyue left, a familiar figure appeared outside the antique shop. It was Old Qian.
Walking leisurely despite his old age, Old Qian appeared to be a carefree sage to those who knew him well. This antique shop was merely a hobby of his; even without it, Old Qian wouldn't be affected. Tao Yi knew that Old Qian was already very wealthy. The fact that every item in the shop was astronomically priced, coupled with the amount of expensive cigars he smoked daily, was proof of his affluence.
As usual, Old Qian entered the antique shop with a cigar in his mouth, smiling cheerfully.
"Hm?" Old Qian's brow furrowed as if he had detected a peculiar smell.
"You're here, Old Qian. What's the matter? Did something seem off to you?"
"Hmm..." After pondering for a moment, Old Qian almost ignored Tao Yi's question.
After a pause, just as Tao Yi was getting more confused, Old Qian finally spoke again: "Such a strong scent of blood, and such intense killing intent."
"Huh?" Tao Yi was astonished. Blood? Killing intent? What was this old man talking about? Could it have been Ziyue? How did this old man sense it? Could he be some kind of hidden master living among the common folk?
But blood was blood. Ziyue didn't seem to carry any killing intent earlier.
Just as Tao Yi was contemplating this, Old Qian slightly sidestepped. At that exact moment, a tall figure appeared in Tao Yi's line of sight through the not-so-clean glass door.
The man wore a stiff smile, his lips curled awkwardly as if forced. He was dressed entirely in white, and his face was strikingly handsome.
It was none other than Xue Yuechong!
"This guy's pretty good-looking! What an imposing presence…" Tao Yi speculated silently. Could this be the source of the killing intent Old Qian had mentioned?
Tao Yi glanced at Old Qian with a complex expression, hoping for an answer.
"Cough, cough. Why are you looking at me?" Old Qian chuckled dryly and said, "Actually, I passed by the market earlier, and a chicken seller got careless and splattered chicken blood all over my pants..."
"…" Tao Yi's eyes flattened into a straight line, and with a tone full of disbelief, he said, "Is that the 'scent of blood' you were talking about?"
Old Qian nodded.
"And does this have anything to do with the killing intent you mentioned?" Tao Yi was speechless.
"No…"
"Then why did you bring it up?!"
"I like being mysterious..." With that, Old Qian walked over to the Eight Immortals table, poured himself a cup of tea, and began drinking.
"…" Tao Yi was once again at a loss for words. Turning to glance outside, he saw the handsome man still standing there with a killer smile. Tao Yi muttered to himself, "Why is that guy still standing out there like a fool? Do you know him, Old Qian?"
Taking a sip of tea, Old Qian replied with a soft gaze, "Cough, cough. I only attract the attention of beauties, not handsome men. So, he's probably here for you."
"...Why does that sound so weird?" Tao Yi secretly rolled his eyes at Old Qian.
However, the guy standing outside, smiling awkwardly without entering, was indeed strange. Could he have escaped from a mental institution?
With that thought, Tao Yi opened the door and walked out briskly. "Hey, man, what are you looking at? Been standing here forever. Have you eaten? Which hospital are you from?"
"…" Xue Yuechong was speechless for a moment before awkwardly smiling and saying, "Actually, I'm here to see you."
Upon hearing this, Tao Yi immediately thought of what Old Qian had just said. Instinctively, he took a step back and covered his rear with his hands...
"...Relax, I'm normal." Xue Yuechong was even more speechless now. He couldn't understand how Zheng Meixuan had ever fallen for this idiot in front of him. Puzzling, truly puzzling!
"Why are you looking for me? I don't think we know each other."
Xue Yuechong smiled and said, "You don't know me, but I know you quite well, Tao Yi."
"You know me? What's your name? I don't have any impression of you." Tao Yi shook his head but began to suspect that this person was likely related to Ling Qing. A bad premonition arose in his heart.
Xue Yuechong smiled again and said, "My name is Xue Yuechong. Don't know if you've heard of me. I know you through Meixuan."
Tao Yi nodded, "Xue Yuechong? I've heard of you. Quite famous."
Tao Yi suddenly remembered. The name Xue Yuechong still carried some weight in his mind, and he wasn't surprised that Zheng Meixuan knew Xue Yuechong. After all, she was a little mafia princess herself.
"I'm here today for two reasons: first, to deliver a message, and second, to ask you about someone." As Xue Yuechong spoke, he stepped closer to Tao Yi.
"Let's talk somewhere else," Tao Yi said, frowning. With that, he started walking, leading the way.
"Good idea," Xue Yuechong agreed, following Tao Yi. As they left, Xue Yuechong glanced back at Old Qian, who was still peacefully sipping tea inside the antique shop.
After walking for a while, Xue Yuechong broke the silence: "The news I have isn't good, but for you, the danger won't come so soon."
"What news?"
"Ling Qing died this morning."
Tao Yi's steps came to a halt, and his heart sank. Damn it, that crazy girl Ziyue must have done something terrible!
Seeing Tao Yi's reaction, Xue Yuechong smiled. "The news came this morning, I just found out. Yesterday, the doctors said Ling Qing would be a fool for the rest of his life, but who knew he'd die this morning."
Taking a deep breath, Tao Yi responded, "Got it. So, what did you mean earlier when you said my danger wouldn't come too soon?"
"That's the key!" Xue Yuechong smiled but then shook his head. "Unfortunately, I don't know exactly what Liao Hong means either. He just said you can't be killed—not now, but you must be killed eventually."
Tao Yi tilted his head, frowning, "What does that even mean? I don't get it. He'll kill me later but not now?"
"Still don't understand? Fine! Let me tell you, even without what happened to Ling Qing, Liao Hong was planning to kill you sooner or later!" Xue Yuechong said coldly, staring at Tao Yi.
Xue Yuechong was deliberately warning Tao Yi because he remembered his promise to Zheng Meixuan to protect him. It wasn't that he wasn't afraid of Liao Hong, but his love for Zheng Meixuan had reached an obsessive level. No matter what front Zheng Meixuan put up, he was willing to die for any word she said. Even Tao Yi had never been as crazy as Xue Yuechong.
Of course, Tao Yi was now feeling like he was about to go mad.
Liao Hong was planning to kill him even without the Ling Qing incident? How was that possible? He had always been a law-abiding citizen, never having any chance to offend a big shot like Liao Hong.
But more surprising than this was Xue Yuechong's decision to tell him. Isn't Liao Hong his boss?
So Tao Yi asked, "Why are you telling me this? You and Liao Hong…"
Xue Yuechong casually shrugged, "No reason. Maybe we just don't get along. Don't worry about it, and no need to thank me. Now, let's move on to the second thing."
Following Zheng Meixuan's instructions, Xue Yuechong kept Tao Yi in the dark about the true source of the help.
Tao Yi, of course, understood that Xue Yuechong was intentionally hiding something, but since Xue Yuechong didn't want to explain, Tao Yi had no way to force him. He could only wait to hear who Xue Yuechong was looking for.
And as expected, Tao Yi had already guessed the question.
"Who's the woman who badly injured Ling Qing? She's no ordinary person. How did you meet her, and can you still find her?"
Just as Tao Yi had predicted.
But this was also the question that gave Tao Yi a headache.
Truth be told, Tao Yi really wanted to get rid of Ziyue, but not in this way.
Ziyue had brought a lot of trouble into his life, but she had saved him. Though she had threatened him many times, Tao Yi could feel that Ziyue had never truly meant to harm him. He even felt like she was just a mischievous girl.
So, Tao Yi didn't want to cause such a big problem for her.
But what else could he do? Upon thinking it over, Tao Yi realized that with Liao Hong's power, it wouldn't matter if Ziyue stayed inside all day—she would eventually be found. They would definitely start by investigating Tao Yi's house. With how advanced modern telescopes were, spying would be easy...
"She's at my house," Tao Yi eventually admitted. It wasn't that he lacked loyalty, but this seemed inevitable. He'd just have to find a solution later.
"What's her background?"
"Look, man, if I told you we only met the morning before yesterday, and that we just randomly woke up in bed together—plus, I don't know anything about her—would you believe me?"
"If you want to lie to me, I can't stop you. Whatever, I won't waste more time here. Go home." Xue Yuechong waved dismissively. He felt Tao Yi was being evasive, but it didn't really concern him. He didn't care much about Ling Qing, and while he was curious about Ziyue, he certainly didn't want to deal with Tao Yi any longer.
With his task essentially complete—knowing Ziyue's whereabouts—the rest would be up to Liao Hong, as long as Tao Yi wasn't harmed.
"Oh, and by the way, you don't need to worry about your two friends. Liao Hong has no interest in them." Leaving this final message, Xue Yuechong's figure slowly faded into the distance.
"Hmm? Is that so... well, thanks." Tao Yi waved at Xue Yuechong's retreating figure. Once he was far away, Tao Yi muttered to himself, "That guy is weird…"
…
Tao Yi's mind was filled with troubling thoughts. These problems had plagued him all day, and they were still bothering him now.
It was the end of the workday again, and unsurprisingly, Tao Yi decided to leave early. He didn't want to, but today had been especially frustrating.
Taking a deep breath, he looked up at the night sky and sighed, "I'm just an ordinary senior in college. Sure, I have some memories of a life that was like a horror movie, but that was years ago. And now…"
First, he had inexplicably moved in with a vampire beauty, and then he had even more inexplicably become the target of the top gangster in Xuanwei City...
What kind of movie was his life turning into? Maybe he really did have Oscar-winning potential.
As Tao Yi approached his neighborhood, he tried to stop thinking about these frustrating issues.
No other reason than the fact that this upcoming stretch of road was his least favorite.
The area was quiet—so quiet it could easily be the set of a horror film. Dead trees lined the street, their eerie shapes even more pronounced in the darkness, casting ominous shadows.
The southern wall gave off a strange smell that Tao Yi couldn't quite place. It was something like asphalt, but with a hint of old blood.
The intermittent cries of stray cats and strange birds echoed along the road, their sounds eerily in sync.
"Forget it, no point in thinking about it. Whatever happens, happens. Ziyue, Liao Hong—they'll both fade into the clouds!" Tao Yi kicked a stone with all his might, partly to bolster his courage. After all, he'd been scared of things for most of his life.
But it seemed like bad luck was bound to follow Tao Yi these days. Trouble struck again.
"Stop… right there…"
The moment he kicked the stone, a long, eerie voice sounded from behind him.
A cold gust of wind swept past, and Tao Yi's heart began racing.
Thump! Thump!
He could feel it.
This time, it was real. This wasn't just someone trying to scare him.
The familiar chill of the wind made him shiver. Taking a deep breath, he let his peripheral vision scan the surroundings.
Dead trees loomed all around him, their twisted forms now more sinister, with each one emitting a faint, dark green glow...
The clouds in the sky seemed to be thickening.
And just then, a pair of icy hands touched the back of Tao Yi's neck.
—End of Chapter Break—
This chapter's a bit dull, but bear with it for a couple of chapters. A major turning point is coming soon.