TRYMBPIETM 50: Mirror, Night, Snow Peak (13)

Gift?

A gift at this time?

Luo Huaiyu was somewhat confused, but he felt that Chi Qingzhou wasn’t the type to act recklessly. Even though he completely didn’t understand Chi Qingzhou’s thoughts, he still followed the instructions and walked over.

Chi Qingzhou squinted at him with a smile, one hand wrapped around Xing Shuangzhan’s neck, while the other swiftly formed a series of incantations in the air.

Luo Huaiyu and Luo Ting both felt that the light suddenly grew stronger, and the moonlight, which had been quite dim tonight, became much brighter.

Chi Qingzhou glanced at the moon, then reached out with his right hand, grabbing something that ordinary people couldn’t see, pulling it tightly into his palm.

He instructed his new friend, “Ah Yu, come, give me your hand.”

Luo Huaiyu had an unbelievable guess rise in his mind. He pursed his lips before whispering, “Okay.”

He slightly raised his head and looked at the friend who was firmly held by Xing Shuangzhan in his arms. He slowly opened his left hand, lifted it a little higher, and placed it in front of the other.

Chi Qingzhou’s smile became gentle and joyful.

“This is a gift for us becoming friends. Don’t be upset. You’ll achieve your wish.”

He suspended his tightly clenched right hand just two or three centimeters above Luo Huaiyu’s left hand, then struck it down forcefully, opening his fingers and sending a dense, high-concentration moonlight directly into Luo Huaiyu’s palm.

The rich spiritual energy exploded in an instant, sweeping away all the corpse and death energy around them.

Luo Ting, standing a bit further away, felt the power of this spiritual energy. It felt as though his whole being had been cleansed, and he immediately felt refreshed.

Luo Huaiyu was even more affected.

The high-purity moonlight quickly merged into his palm, rapidly soaking into his bones, flesh, and skin. The impact of such a powerful force shocked him, nearly causing him to jump.

He almost reflexively asked, “What is this? Is it moonlight?”

Chi Qingzhou replied cheerfully, “Yes.”

Luo Huaiyu was momentarily speechless, staring at his palm, his mind filled with confusion and lost for words.

Luo Ting wasn’t doing much better.

Hearing their conversation, he stared blankly at his friend, unable to say a word for a while.

Neither of them had ever expected Chi Qingzhou to do something like this!

Luo Huaiyu, being a walking corpse, knew best what he needed;

Luo Ting, a corpse herder, was also deeply familiar with the undead.

They both knew too well that moonlight was a great tonic for the undead, and it had no side effects!

It was like the Zhu fruit ^[1]in many martial arts novels; moonlight could greatly enhance the power of the undead, and even repair some hidden injuries, with only benefits and no drawbacks.

If the moonlight’s purity was high enough, cultivators could also use it to practice.

The only disadvantage of moonlight was how difficult it was to collect.

To condense moonlight, one not only needed extremely high skill but also luck.

Many cultivators were quite powerful, but after many years, they still might not be able to collect even a small amount of moonlight.

But Chi Qingzhou?

He performed an incantation, exerted a little effort, and successfully gathered a ball of moonlight, then immediately gave it to Luo Huaiyu.

Moreover, judging by the intensity of the spiritual energy released earlier, the purity of this small ball of moonlight was almost comparable to the legendary Emperor’s Nectar^[2]!

Luo Ting couldn’t help but look at Luo Huaiyu with a hint of jealousy.

How annoying, he and Zhou Zhou had been friends for many years and never received a gift like this, while this walking corpse, who had only known Zhou Zhou for a day, was already being so well cared for.

And even though Zhou Zhou’s power was strong enough, gathering moonlight still consumed energy—it was exhausting.

What was so special about this walking corpse?!

In that brief moment, Luo Huaiyu’s dislike for him reached the same level as Xing Su’s, even showing signs of surpassing it.

After all, Xing Su had never received such a gift.

Xing Shuangzhan immediately understood Luo Ting’s expression and smiled without saying a word.

His little contractor always took care of his friends, but whether he had ever received a similar gift…

That was up to interpretation.

Luo Ting didn’t notice Xing Shuangzhan’s smile. Snorting at Luo Huaiyu, he mumbled in frustration.

Luo Huaiyu finally snapped back to reality after hearing the snort.

He glanced at Luo Ting, ignored him, then tightened his fingers and solemnly said, “Thank you, Zhou Zhou.”

To him, this truly was a gift, the best kind of gift.

Although this ball of moonlight wasn’t very large, its purity meant that if he could fully absorb it, becoming a living zombie would not be a problem.

This gift was too precious, and he genuinely felt unworthy of it.

But his desire for revenge was overwhelming, so he could only accept it shamelessly.

His life had been completely ruined by Sheng Yihang, his family killed by Sheng Yihang—he would make him pay for this!

Chi Qingzhou blinked and said, “Good friends help each other. Absorb the moonlight as soon as possible. You might get your chance for revenge soon.”

Luo Huaiyu didn’t doubt Chi Qingzhou’s words, nodding seriously.

Luo Ting snorted again, then asked Chi Qingzhou in confusion, “Zhou Zhou, your method of collecting moonlight is quite skilled. Have you been gathering it often recently?”

Chi Qingzhou had no intention of hiding anything, calmly replying, “My curse became very active, and it’s hard to stabilize the injury with purified Yin energy, so I had to find some alternative methods.”

The curse became active?

Luo Ting’s expression became serious: “When did this happen? Why didn’t you tell us?”

“About half a year ago,” Chi Qingzhou tilted his head innocently. “I didn’t say because I quickly found a solution, and it worked well, so there was no need to make you all worry.”

Luo Ting asked, somewhat disbelieving, “Really?”

Xing Shuangzhan added, “Really.”

Luo Ting glanced over but didn’t say anything else.

He didn’t like Xing Su, but he had to admit that Xing Su cared most about Chi Qingzhou.

If something was wrong with Chi Qingzhou, Xing Su wouldn’t have this reaction.

Luo Huaiyu stood by, watching for a moment, wanting to say something but hesitating.

He somewhat wanted Chi Qingzhou to take back the moonlight.

Though he and Chi Qingzhou had only become friends today and didn’t fully understand the situation with Chi Qingzhou’s curse, he had been a cultivator in life and knew that curses were a rather sinister form of magic.

This malicious thing should not be left unchecked. If there is an appropriate way to suppress it, there should be no delay.

Chi Qingzhou leaned forward and patted Luo Huaiyu’s shoulder before quickly pulling back into Xing Shuangzan’s arms, holding him tightly, and narrowing his eyes slightly.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “I’ve reached my limit with using Moonlight for healing. These are no longer useful, you take them.”

Luo Huaiyu wanted to say something, but Xing Shuangzan directly interrupted him.

“The Moonlight that Qingzhou gave you is enough for you to become a flying corpse.^[3] Instead of dragging things out here, it would be better for you to become a flying corpse earlier. That way, you can help Qingzhou more.”

Luo Ting suddenly turned his head to look at Xing Shuangzan, his expression filled with uncertainty.

Luo Huaiyu was stunned, and his expression immediately changed.

“No, this much Moonlight is too wasteful for me, I only need—”

“Luo Huaiyu!”

Luo Ting snapped in a low voice, interrupting him once again.

Luo Huaiyu paused and turned his gaze to Luo Ting.

Luo Ting said, “Qingzhou has his reasons for doing this. If possible, I also hope you can become a flying corpse as soon as possible.”

Luo Huaiyu slowly squinted his eyes. “Why?”

Luo Ting did not hide anything. “In a while, Qingzhou might need your help. If you can become a flying corpse, he’ll probably find it easier.”

Luo Huaiyu was silent for a moment before finally looking at the person involved. “Qingzhou, are you in some kind of trouble?”

Chi Qingzhou leaned against Xing Shuangzan, speaking softly. “I don’t remember. But Ah Ting is a very trusted friend of mine. Since he said this, it must be something I asked him to do before.”

Luo Huaiyu thought for a while and said, “I understand. I won’t let you down.”

Chi Qingzhou smiled sweetly.

Luo Ting patted Luo Huaiyu on the back, acting nonchalantly. “Didn’t you say your parents and sister are nearby? The Scenery Along the Way crew is shooting here. Go find them, it would be bad if they scare any ordinary people.”

Luo Huaiyu glanced at Luo Ting again.

He wasn’t stupid. He could tell Luo Ting wanted to speak to Chi Qingzhou alone. Nodding, he turned and left to find his family.

Chi Qingzhou’s gaze shifted, and he immediately guessed what was happening.

Sure enough, as soon as Luo Huaiyu rounded the corner outside the changing room, Luo Ting quickly took out the Soulcalming Bell, carefully removed the red string from the copper bell, and took out a silvery white chain.

The chain was delicately crafted, with its main body consisting of three thin silver wires twisted together and secured with several pieces of imperial green jade.

At the end of the chain hung a series of small silver bells, each containing a small sapphire ball.

From the engraving style, this silver chain had a distinct Pu Luo tribe characteristic.

Chi Qingzhou stared at the silver chain for about half a minute and said softly, “This chain looks so familiar.”

Luo Ting smiled and carefully handed the chain to him. “Seems like you don’t remember what happened three years ago.”

Chi Qingzhou’s suspicion was confirmed. He reached out to take the silver chain, his eyes flickering.

“Did I give you this chain for safekeeping three years ago?”

Luo Ting nodded. “Three years ago, shortly after your birthday, you suddenly came to YunTian Province to find me, saying you wanted me to keep something for you.”

At that time, they had already become very good friends. Luo Ting didn’t think much of it, assuming his friend was just traveling and didn’t want to bring too much luggage, so he agreed without hesitation.

However, the item Chi Qingzhou handed him felt off, and Luo Ting started to sense that things weren’t that simple.

“You gave me this chain,” Luo Ting pointed at the silver chain, “and told me you were preparing to do something important. If you succeeded, you’d achieve your wish. But if you failed, that might be our last time meeting.”

At that time, Chi Qingzhou also told him that the chain had a very strong restraining effect on evil things. If Chi Qingzhou didn’t return, the chain would belong to Luo Ting.

Luo Ting added, “You told me that even if you came back, we shouldn’t talk about this for now.”

Chi Qingzhou said everything had to be done at the right time. He didn’t know what his friend wanted to do but followed the request faithfully.

For safety, Luo Ting kept the chain on the Soul-calming Bell, always carrying it with him, worried that it might interfere with his friend’s plans.

Chi Qingzhou tightened his grip on the silver chain, his head resting against Xing Shuangzan’s shoulder as he murmured, “So, now is the right time?”

Luo Ting said, “I don’t know. I asked you about it back then, but you never told me what the right time was.”

He raised his head to look at the now hazy moon, his tone strange.

“You only told me that if one day I lose a corpse of an ordinary person and am helpless, I should call you for help.”

At the time, Luo Ting thought it was impossible.

How could he possibly lose a corpse of an ordinary person and not be able to find it again?

But since his friend said so, he didn’t question it.

It wasn’t until three weeks ago when Sheng Yihang’s body truly went missing that Luo Ting remembered this matter.

And because of Chi Qingzhou’s request three years ago, he was certain the body had been stolen.

He didn’t dare to be careless and meticulously investigated the surroundings, eventually discovering some clues that confirmed Chi Qingzhou’s guess.

“So, I called you for help,” Luo Ting said. “You said I would be helpless and call you, so I tried every method I could think of.”

It was the same reason—he feared he might interfere with Chi Qingzhou’s plans. Even if he had to use favors or exert a lot of effort, he had to be cautious.

“This afternoon, I planned to investigate the situation again but unexpectedly bumped into Luo Huaiyu.”

At first, Chi Qingzhou had told him to reconcile with Luo Huaiyu. He hadn’t thought too much about it because there was still the rest of the instruction from three years ago.

Luo Ting said, “You told me that when I sought your help, I shouldn’t return the chain to you. When I found your friend who would soon become a flying corpse, I should return it and explain everything.”

Luo Huaiyu was just a walking corpse and had only become Chi Qingzhou’s friend today.

Under normal circumstances, it would take a walking corpse at least a few months to become a zombie. From a walking corpse to a living zombie, it could take three to four years, or even several decades.

As for a flying corpse, one couldn’t hope to become one without at least a hundred years of cultivation.

Luo Ting was a corpse herder, and his work primarily involved various types of corpses. Luo Huaiyu didn’t stand out among them.

After all, Luo Huaiyu was only a low-level walking corpse.

If they hadn’t been searching for Luo Huaiyu’s family at the resort and coincidentally encountered Sheng Yihang, who had already been forcibly turned into a living zombie, Chi Qingzhou wouldn’t have collected the Moonlight and used it as a gift for Luo Huaiyu.

He even gave him enough to help Luo Huaiyu advance to a flying corpse.

Given Chi Qingzhou’s way of collecting, the Moonlight was definitely easy to digest.

Based on his experience, Luo Huaiyu would soon ascend to the realm of flying corpses.

Luo Ting shook his head, a little amazed and amused.

“Qingzhou, I’ve been wondering, is this a coincidence, or did you already plan this?”

Luo Ting knew Chi Qingzhou wasn’t a god and couldn’t foresee everything, nor could he decide anyone’s fate, but everything that had happened tonight was far beyond his expectations.

If it hadn’t been for the instructions from three years ago, his personality would have made it hard for him to call Chi Qingzhou after exhausting all other options for help.

If it hadn’t been for Chi Qingzhou coming here with the crew for the variety show, he wouldn’t have returned to the Jingming Mountain area to investigate and coincidentally met Luo Huaiyu.

If it hadn’t been for the issue with the Jingming Mountain’s Grand Tomb formation and the ghostly and deathly aura leaking, they wouldn’t have triggered negative emotions and fought at the foot of the mountain.

Furthermore, if it hadn’t been for the curse on Chi Qingzhou becoming active six months ago, he wouldn’t have had to learn how to collect Moonlight, nor would he have accumulated so much experience to the point where he could do it effortlessly.

So many “ifs,” so many coincidences, coming together didn’t feel like coincidence anymore.

When Xing Su pointed out that the Moonlight was enough for Luo Huaiyu to advance to the flying corpse realm, Luo Ting immediately realized this might be the moment his friend had mentioned three years ago—when he should return the chain.

Luo Ting looked at Chi Qingzhou. “You didn’t say whether your new friend should know about this, so I thought about it and decided to send him away first.”

He was afraid that Luo Huaiyu would misunderstand that Chi Qingzhou was abandoning him in his time of need.

As a longtime friend, he understood best that Chi Qingzhou was not that kind of person.

Just like he said earlier, Chi Qingzhou was only a person, not a god.

He might be able to deduce some things, but it was impossible for him to have predicted Luo Huaiyu’s fate without knowing him.

If Chi Qingzhou had met Luo Huaiyu before, he would never have used him in his plans.

Because at the moment he had that thought, Chi Qingzhou would no longer be able to see Luo Huaiyu’s fate clearly, and it would have been impossible for him to scheme.

Luo Huaiyu didn’t seem like an unreasonable person, but when it came to his family, who knew if he could still keep his composure?

Luo Ting couldn’t take the risk.

He couldn’t ruin the carefully crafted plan of his friend.

Chi Qingzhou lowered his eyes, thinking for a moment, then nodded. “I understand. I will explain it to Ah Yu myself later.”

As the person involved, Chi Qingzhou understood best that Luo Ting wasn’t trying to make excuses for him; it was because of his symbiotic contract with Xing Shuangzan that this kind of consequence would arise.

A ghost like Xing Shuangzan, who had miraculously survived the Great Purge^[4], would inevitably be heavily restricted.

One of those restrictions was that once he became too closely connected with someone, he would no longer be able to see that person’s fate clearly.

Chi Qingzhou knew this well. Since he enjoyed the benefits of the contract, he would naturally have to bear the corresponding disadvantages. Therefore, he wasn’t afraid to explain the whole situation to his friends.

He looked at Luo Ting and smiled softly. “Thank you, Ah Ting.”

Luo Ting smiled back.

“No need to thank me. We’re friends, after all. Good friends help each other.”

Chi Qingzhou nodded deeply.

Xing Shuangzan patted his back and smiled at him.

They both looked at Xing Shuangzan.

Xing Shuangzan said, “Someone is screaming over there. Qingzhou, why not go and take a look?”

Chi Qingzhou and Luo Ting listened carefully, and sure enough, someone was crying out.

The man’s voice, filled with a complete emotional breakdown, screamed, “What exactly are you, just kill me already! Give me a quick end!”

Luo Huaiyu’s voice followed, “Calm down, we haven’t done anything. We just want to ask you a few questions.”

Chi Qingzhou frowned slightly. “That’s Teacher Xue’s voice. What is Ah Yu doing?”