TRYMBPIETM 99: Revival of All Things (20)

Chi Qingzhou widened his eyes in surprise.

The overly bright moonlight made the person across from him appear somewhat illusory, with features that seemed unclear.

But Chi Qingzhou quickly realized that this person’s appearance looked somewhat familiar.

He turned his head, furrowing his brows and thinking for a while, his eyes growing even wider.

“Hello.” He greeted, then curiously asked, “You really look like Ah Shang. So, are you a spirit formed from the Absolute Yin land, or a spirit formed from the dragon vein?”

How strange, can spirits actually be formed from the Absolute Yin land and the dragon vein?

He had never had friends of this type before!

Chi Qingzhou’s eyes brightened, and he waved his hand enthusiastically.

The man in the red robe said, “Why don’t you think I’m Cheng Shang? Is it because he’s in seclusion and can’t come out?”

His expression was also filled with curiosity. He looked closely at Chi Qingzhou, then added an explanation.

“I think, compared to the guess that I’m a spirit from the Absolute Yin land or the dragon vein, it’s more likely that a cultivator from the Star Divination lineage found a special method to leave the seclusion place themselves, right?”

Chi Qingzhou naturally replied, “But you’re nothing like Ah Shang. I wouldn’t mistake a friend.”

The young man in the red robe widened his eyes slightly, “Wow, really?”

Chi Qingzhou nodded and affirmed, “Really. If we become friends, I won’t mistake you in the future.”

He flashed a happy smile and asked cheerfully, “Would you be interested in being friends with me?”

The red-robed young man quickly agreed, “Sure.”

He stepped out from under the tree, his already blurry face becoming even more unreal.

Under Chi Qingzhou’s astonished gaze, he revealed a sincere smile, “Even if you didn’t say anything, I would still choose to be friends with you.”

Chi Qingzhou blinked and didn’t speak.

The young man in the red robe curled the corners of his lips and softly said, “I also want to thank you for helping me three and a half years ago. If it weren’t for you, I might have completely dissipated, and there would be no chance to reassemble my consciousness.”

Chi Qingzhou’s eyes shifted slightly, “You’re a spirit formed from the dragon vein?”

The young man in the red robe didn’t answer the question directly, “Cheng Shang can’t leave the Absolute Yin land for now, but he asked me to bring a message. The memory you left with him is about to break free from the seal. If you don’t intend to recover it now, you should hurry.”

Chi Qingzhou slightly furrowed his brows, “I understand.”

The young man in the red robe said, “I’ve delivered the message, and I’ve seen you. There’s nothing else, so I’ll leave now.”

He turned around, and Chi Qingzhou immediately called out to him.

He paused his steps, “Is there something else?”

Chi Qingzhou said, “I still don’t know your name. What’s your name?”

The smile on the young man’s face suddenly deepened.

He softly replied, “My name? I’ll tell you when you recognize me next time.”

He waved his hand as his back was turned, and the moonlight suddenly grew brighter.

The pure light flowed over him, and he disappeared like a wisp of smoke.

Chi Qingzhou stood in the moonlight, slowly looking up.

The wailing of the ghosts still echoed in his ears, but his thoughts drifted far away.

So, three years ago, he didn’t choose to leave his memory vague but instead sealed it and asked a friend to keep it?

In hindsight, Ah Shang was indeed the most suitable choice—

The seclusion place for the cultivators of the Star Divination path was unreachable and inescapable, which, in a way, made it the safest place.

Chi Qingzhou wasn’t surprised by his choice from three years ago.

He was just curious if his past self had anticipated that today, he would actually make a friend who was a spirit formed from the dragon vein?

“Based on my understanding of myself…” Chi Qingzhou smiled, his eyes curving, “This must be a pleasant surprise.”

…

Xing Shuangzhan squeezed the ghostly creatures from the Wan Ying temple into a ball and slowly walked out the main door. His gaze circled the tree not far away.

“Someone came just now?” He put the ghosts into Chi Qingzhou’s shadow and casually adjusted his collar, “The aura is strange.”

Chi Qingzhou grabbed Xing Shuangzhan’s sleeve with a bright gleam in his eyes, “Someone did come. Su-Ge, guess what type of creature he is?”

Xing Shuangzhan pulled him into an embrace and smiled, “Made a new friend?”

Chi Qingzhou leaned against him, “Mm, he was very straightforward.”

Xing Shuangzhan’s chest lightly shook, and a deep chuckle escaped his throat, “A spirit formed from a dragon vein… What’s his name?”

Chi Qingzhou tilted his head slightly, looking at Xing Shuangzhan’s handsome profile, “I don’t know. He said he’d tell me when I recognize him next time.”

Xing Shuangzhan raised an eyebrow nonchalantly, “He probably hasn’t decided on a name for himself yet.”

Chi Qingzhou slowly blinked.

So, what Su-Ge meant was that his new friend wasn’t pretending to be mysterious but simply wasn’t familiar with human customs?

“Then, he’s not very old,” Chi Qingzhou mused.

Xing Shuangzhan kissed his forehead again, “Don’t overthink it. Once you start filming ‘Wanxiang,’ you’ll naturally meet him.”

Chi Qingzhou narrowed his eyes suddenly, scanning Xing Shuangzhan with suspicion, “Su-Ge, you seem to know a lot about him. Are you hiding something from me?”

Xing Shuangzhan remained calm, “You’re overthinking it. I’ve been lying in the Great Tomb of Jingming Mountain for over a year, and I had no chance to meet your new friend.”

It sounded quite reasonable.

So, Chi Qingzhou didn’t believe it.

He smiled at Xing Shuangzhan, “Su-Ge, it’s fine if you don’t want to say.”

But I’ll keep a note of it.

Xing Shuangzhan also smiled at Chi Qingzhou, his expression even more meaningful than Chi Qingzhou’s: “Qingzhou is really considerate.”

No worries, my account on this is much thicker than yours.

The two of them exchanged glances for a few seconds, and Chi Qingzhou was the first to lose.

His gaze wandered, and he turned his eyes away, pretending to be natural.

Xing Shuangzhan maintained his profound smile, smoothing out the ends of Chi Qingzhou’s hair, and changed the subject: “The police will be here soon. I don’t have legal status at the moment, so it’s inconvenient for me to appear. I’ll go back and help you deal with the incense offerings. If something comes up that you can’t handle, just call me.”

Chi Qingzhou gave a quick reply with a cheer and waved at Xing Shuangzhan.

Xing Shuangzhan didn’t hold it against him, casually taking the system and returning to the shadow.

Chi Qingzhou clicked his tongue in slight regret.

His other half of the soul hadn’t had much time to stretch out before being forced to go back.

Looking at the now quiet Wan Ying Temple, he suddenly thought that dividing his soul into two halves wasn’t such a bad idea.

One half to control the main body, and the other half to guide the shadow—it seemed much more convenient than indirectly manipulating the shadow.

However, he also knew this wasn’t likely.

Both Xing Shuangzhan and other friends were quite worried about his condition, and had made great efforts to help him heal his soul injuries.

Although he felt that being separated might not be too bad, an incomplete soul was a ticking time bomb, and when problems arose, it would be too late to do anything about it.

Chi Qingzhou withdrew his gaze and walked under a nearby tree, waiting for the police to arrive.

It had been some time since he called the police, so they should be close.

…

The police arrived quickly.

Since Chi Qingzhou had reported a murder, a team of criminal police officers came.

As soon as they got out of the car, they saw Ma Xuyang lying in the hall of the Wan Ying Temple. His death was somewhat strange, and they immediately heightened their alertness.

A few of the criminal police officers carefully entered the door with a cordon, while the team leader and another officer went directly to Chi Qingzhou.

The moment the team leader saw Chi Qingzhou, he inexplicably felt a sense of pity.

There was no special reason—Chi Qingzhou just looked too well-behaved, and didn’t seem to fit with such a eerie crime scene.

Moreover, he always gave off a particularly innocent and friendly vibe, which made the police instinctively feel that he must have been quite frightened.

The two officers even spoke to him in a gentler tone.

“Hello, are you Mr. Chi who made the report? We’d like to understand the details of the situation.”

“No problem,” Chi Qingzhou quickly agreed.

Before the police could speak, he added, “The person in the temple is someone I know. He is my brother’s assistant and has been missing for several days. My brother reported it in Hexing City.”

The two police officers exchanged a glance and asked Chi Qingzhou to elaborate.

Chi Qingzhou briefly explained the events that took place at the hospital earlier that day, and after a moment’s contemplation, the officers suddenly paused.

The team leader looked at Chi Qingzhou in surprise: “Mr. Chi, according to what you’re saying, you’re an artist? Should you notify your manager?”

Chi Qingzhou obediently replied, “Brother Guan doesn’t handle things like this. If you want more information, maybe you can check with the Dao Association in Hengming City?”

“Dao Association?”

As the officers set up a cordon and stepped out of the temple, they all spoke in unison, questioning the term.

Chi Qingzhou said, “This is Wan Ying Temple. It’s quite popular on the Island. As far as I know, there are very few Wan Ying temples in the mainland, and even fewer that are legal.”

His gaze fell on the Wan Ying Temple’s hall, where a red merit box had the words “Any request will be fulfilled” written in white.

“Before calling the police, I already reported it to the Dao Association in Hengming City.” Chi Qingzhou’s smile deepened, “People who worship these temples tend to have somewhat unusual ideas, so the Dao Association might be quite familiar with such individuals.”

The police officers exchanged glances.

Chi Qingzhou’s unguarded attitude finally made them sense a bit of incongruity.

The person in front of them didn’t seem like an artist at all, more like a professional in the religious field.

Chi Qingzhou sincerely explained, “I’m not a Daoist. I just took a script called ‘Wanxiang,’ which involves some classical culture, so I did a little research on it.”

The officers didn’t express whether they believed him or not.

The sound of an engine revving echoed from afar, piercing through the silence of the night.

They looked toward the nearby road, and moments later, bright headlights appeared at the bend.

Soon, two six-seat business cars pulled up near the Wan Ying Temple, and a dozen or so young men in Daoist and monk robes got out. The leader looked particularly young.

Perhaps because he was abruptly woken up in the middle of the night, he seemed especially groggy.

A middle-aged Daoist walking beside him scolded him, and he immediately woke up, apologizing softly.

The criminal officers furrowed their brows even tighter.

The young Daoist looked nothing like someone who could be in charge.

Luckily, the middle-aged Daoist, who seemed reliable, immediately showed his identification to the police upon seeing them.

His gaze swept over to Chi Qingzhou standing aside, pausing for half a second before naturally landing on the lead officer.

“We carefully reviewed past reports after receiving the complaint and suspect that this temple may be connected to an evil cult.”

The middle-aged Daoist pointed to the young man beside him: “His name is Shen Wenxu, from the branch. This matter was originally handled by his master, Qing Zhi. He’s more familiar with the situation, so we called him over.”

Shen Wenxu stepped forward a couple of steps, seemingly unintentionally making eye contact with Chi Qingzhou. He nodded his head almost imperceptibly.