Iron Bull fait son retour

Chapitre 30

He opened his eyes and found himself lying in bed, as if he had just taken a nap, and everything was over. He tried to move his limbs, and the feeling of being controlled and unable to move in the memory had completely disappeared. The young man moved his body and tried to get up, and as soon as he turned his head, he saw the person sitting on the floor beside the bed.

It was sharp, yet it didn't quite look sharp. At least Tao Rujiu had never seen a sharp-looking man like him before: messy short hair and bluish stubble, a livid face and faintly visible dark circles under his eyes. Most striking was his clothes, which were covered in yellow dust, and a dried, blackened bloodstain seeped from his shoulder.

"…………"

He opened his mouth but didn't know what to say. Tao Rujiu vaguely felt that something had happened, but he was unwilling to take any more risks and have too many encounters with Ling Li, so he hesitated for a moment, and finally just smiled politely and shifted his gaze to Qi Linpo by the door.

"...You are..." he asked tentatively, quite politely.

"Don't you recognize me, Tao Tao?" Qi Linpo leaned against the door and chuckled. "You used to help me take a bath."

"You, you are Qi...Qi Cat Fairy?"

Tao Rujiu hurriedly reached for his glasses by the pillow and put them on. The tall, aloof man in front of him was actually the real body of the big, fat white cat. Surprised, the young man immediately tried to recall the real name that the Qi Mao Xian had mentioned to him.

"Qi...is it called...Qi Linpo?"

He uttered the name uncertainly. "Did you retrieve my soul?"

Qi Linpo nodded and recounted how he searched for his soul, but he didn't mention a word about the part where Ling Li had gone through things with him.

Tao Rujiu listened in a daze, treating it as a ghost story unrelated to himself. It took him a long time to remember to thank her. He slowly got off the bed, as if to walk to Qi Linpo's side, but his legs were weak and he was about to fall when Ling Li suddenly caught him from behind.

The sudden touch startled the young man. He regained his balance and instinctively tried to fling his hand away, but it unexpectedly struck the sharp-looking man's face.

The man seemed stunned by the slap, sitting on the ground speechless for a long time. Tao Rujiu felt a chill and hurriedly tried to explain, but at this moment, the disheveled Ling Li took the initiative to release his arm from Tao Rujiu's, stood up silently, and walked towards the door.

As the series of muffled footsteps slowly faded into the night, Tao Rujiu slowly sat back down on the edge of the bed, completely forgetting what she had just been about to do.

“Tao Tao, Ling Li already knows you were wronged,” Qi Linpo said. “He ran back from the hospital to stop them from taking your body away and helped restore you to your current state. To be fair, he knows he was wrong.”

Tao Rujiu sat back on the bed, and Qi Linpo slowly told him what had happened during this time. At the end, he pointed to his chest and added, "I have sewn your soul to your body with ghost spider silk. In the future, unless your lifespan ends and your soul leaves your body on its own, ordinary vengeful spirits and wandering ghosts will not be able to forcibly enter your body, let alone pull your soul out."

Tao Rujiu, upon hearing this, understood that it was a good thing for him. He nodded and thanked her, then remained sitting there, lost in thought. Qi Linpo knew he needed time to process the recent series of events, so he didn't disturb him further. Leaving Cuiying Pavilion, Dongli Bupo still needed Ling Li's help to resolve. Ling Li left Cuiying Pavilion in a disheveled state, and the first thing he did upon returning to the villa was to take a shower. Although the wound on his shoulder had been bandaged, the bandage, stained with blood and dust, was no longer of any medical value.

With a grim face, he stripped off his clothes and stood in the water, feeling the warm, rushing water hitting his body, a tingling, dense sensation. The pain in his wound slowly evaporated with the heat, and his mood improved somewhat.

After a while, he turned off the water and put on his bathrobe.

The villa was quiet, or rather, always lifeless. Ling Li left the bedroom and went to the living room, taking out the first-aid kit to quickly treat his wound. He made himself a cup of coffee. The newspaper on the table was from two days ago. He turned on the television, but only the 8 PM soap operas remained. He listlessly flipped through the channels when the phone rang.

Ling Li then remembered that he had left his phone at the hospital. He went over and answered the call; it was Han Fei's report. The headquarters' response was normal, and things were temporarily stable with Tao Rujiu's relatives. Ling Li nodded, put down the phone, and suddenly felt like he had nothing to do.

There were no conflicts, no problems, and no more adventures or excitement; everything seemed to have come to a close. And the whole process, like the full circle of a period, returned to the starting point.

"Okay," he thought to himself, "I'll give Tao Rujiu an interview opportunity in a couple of days." Actually, if he had fulfilled the young man's wish from the beginning and hadn't brought him to Hailing City, everything would have been completely different.

The coffee in his hand had long since gone cold; he stood up sharply and poured it down the drain. Just then, the doorbell rang.

The door opened, and Qin Huakai stood on the veranda. The slender young man wore a simple shirt and trousers, but his bright eyes held a hidden shrewdness.

"The eastern fence remains unbroken." Ling Li looked into those eyes and said slowly, "Why have you come to find me again?"

"Heh..." The mute boy's lips curled into a smile, and a deep voice, different from his usual self, rang out from somewhere, "I've found out what happened. I've come to see how you are now."

As he spoke, he walked into the room as if no one else was there. Before Ling Li left Hailing City, he and Hua Kai often met here in secret. It could be considered its "home" in the mortal world.

Dongli Bupo walked into the living room and sat down on the sofa. Ling Li, with an equally cold expression, sat down in the chair opposite him, waiting for the ghost to reveal the purpose of his visit.

“There is absolutely no possibility between you and Tao Rujiu,” Dongli Bupo said bluntly. “Although I started this, my innocence is not enough to make up for what you have done—I think you know this best.”

His sharp expression remained unchanged as he coldly replied, "This is a matter between Tao Rujiu and me. Whether I forgive you or not is none of your business."

"How can it be unrelated?" Dongli Bupo retorted. "You are my junior, so it's only natural that I should guide you. Can't you see that Qi Linpo also has some feelings for Tao Rujiu? With him stirring things up, do you really think Tao Rujiu will forgive your mistake?"

He sneered coldly, "So what if I forgive you? So what if I don't? It sounds like you're determined to make me give up on Tao Rujiu. What good will that do you?"

Dongli Bupo remained silent for a while, seemingly considering how to begin, but in the end he only said, "You should understand."

Ling Li chuckled softly, "Now that things have come to this, are you still going to push your Qin Hua into someone else's arms?"

“I won’t leave him again,” Dongli Bupo argued. “However, I can’t possibly take care of him in the mortal world. If you really can only accept same-sex partners, why not consider…”

"Consider a child who is mute, just like my mother?"

She interrupted him sharply, "You keep saying you're my ancestor, but do you even know what my mother looks like? She's albino—born with albinism, blue eyes, and is deaf and mute. She was mocked behind her back by her family and servants."

This was the first time in years that he had mentioned his past to someone else.

“You are also a member of the Dongli family, so you should know what she looks like, right? She was married into the family as the legendary White Child Saintess, and she never saw my father again after the wedding night—until she died. To be honest, I didn’t feel sad at all when my father died in a plane crash.”

"So when you saw the flower blooming, and saw that he was mute, you wanted to help him?" Dongli Bupo asked. "That's why you used sign language?"

He nodded sharply.

"When Huakai moved into Hailing City, it was the anniversary of my mother's death. Because of the language barrier and her young age, she was often bullied. And where were you then?"

"So that's why you take such good care of him and protect him in every way?" Dongli Bupo chuckled.

He sneered sharply, "How about it? Don't assume everyone covets your treasure. Sometimes I really doubt if you truly love Huakai—you prefer meddling in other people's fates, so self-righteous. Is this what you think love is?"

Dongli Bupo retorted, "This is a hereditary disease in our family."

He said sharply, "At least I now recognize this mistake, while you are still trying to continue making the same mistake."

The atmosphere between the two suddenly became tense. Dongli Bupo sat expressionlessly on the sofa, and with a sharp and habitual glint in his eyes, he reached for a cigarette. He walked into the bedroom with a gloomy expression, intending to find the dirty coat, but as soon as he opened the door, he saw someone standing outside the French windows.

"Shh..."

Qi Linpo gestured to him through the glass, then pointed to the yellow talisman he was holding. Ling Li suddenly remembered what Qi Linpo had said to him that afternoon.

To ensure that Hailing City will never suffer any future troubles, Dongli Bupo must be given a proper rite of passage and reincarnation.

However, Dong Li Bu Po would never allow anyone to dig up his grave. Therefore, before Ling Li and Lin Po decided to take action, they had to find a place to put Dong Li Bu Po under house arrest—and now it seemed like a good opportunity.

Ling Li understood Qi Linpo's thoughts, and he returned to the living room without making a sound. He secretly bit his index finger, smeared the blood on his palm, lit a cigarette, and held it in his hand.

He first needed to expel the ghost of Dongli Bupo from Qin Huakai's body.

The clock in the living room already pointed to nine o'clock. Dongli Bupo seemed to be planning to leave as well. Ling Li deliberately stood in the passageway that was the only way to leave, took a puff of his cigarette, and slowly said, "Actually, it's not impossible for you to ask me to take care of Huakai."

These words were so unusual that Dongli Bupo couldn't help but stop in his tracks to see what Lingli was up to.

"to be honest……"

The man chuckled coldly, “Hua Kai is indeed quite adorable, and I’ve thought about tasting him. It’s just a pity he’s mute; every time I see him, I feel sorry for him. But now that you’re inside his body, you’re not mute anymore, and the taste of our ancestor is quite tempting to try.”

As he spoke, he grasped the blood-stained hand and pretended to lift Hua Kai's chin, but little did he know that Dong Li Bu Po had already seen the bloodstains on his fingertips and dodged away in a flash.

"So you have an incestuous fetish?" the ghost mocked. "And you're not satisfied without bloodshed?"

Without a word, Ling Li threw away his cigarette and slapped Dong Li on the head. Qin Huakai was shorter and couldn't withstand Ling Li's attack in a few blows. Dong Li Bupo grabbed a vase and was about to smash it on Ling Li's head when he suddenly heard Hua Kai's frantic pleading voice in his mind.

"Don't do that!"

Dongli Bupo hesitated for a moment at the plea, but Ling Li's hand, which had already formed a hand seal, immediately struck his chest. Dongli Bupo groaned, feeling himself being pulled away by a powerful force. But to Ling Li, it was a wisp of bluish-gray smoke being drawn out of Qin Huakai's body.

He rushed forward and held the boy's limp limbs after he lost consciousness. At the same time, he saw the cloud of smoke quickly form a human shape—Dong Li Bu Po, the ghost wearing his silver mask, once again rushing towards Ling Li.

"Ling Li! Come out now!"

Qi Linpo shouted loudly from outside the entrance hall, and Ling Li immediately hugged Hua Kai tightly and ran towards the entrance hall. The air behind them suddenly became cold and biting. It was as if the water from the underground palace had once again climbed to the surface.

Ling Li didn't look back. He quickly opened the door and rushed out. Qi Linpo, who had been waiting outside, immediately pushed the door shut and affixed the last yellow paper talisman.

A series of crashing sounds immediately came from behind the door, and even flying wood chips shattered the glass on the door. However, due to the effect of the talisman, Dongli Bupo's ghost could not leave the villa even a step. Ling Li, carrying Hua Kai, slowly walked back to Qi Linpo's side and saw Dongli Bupo's silver mask peeking out from between the broken glass windows.

The ghost screamed fiercely, "Give him back to me! Give him back to me!"

Qin Huakai remained asleep in Ling Li's arms. Since the villa was no longer suitable for them, Ling Li and Qi Linpo decided to send Qin Huakai back to Cuiying Pavilion and then find a random room for the night.

The search for Dongli Bupo's tomb was scheduled to begin the next day, since that somewhat ancient tomb was not easy to find; even Qi Maoxian only knew that its general location should be along the underground river.

It was nearly ten o'clock at night, and the Cuiying Pavilion was quiet. Tao Rujiu sat on the bed, but he couldn't fall asleep. He had slept so much during his feigned death, and with the refreshing aroma of the liniment that Master Lü had brought, he felt that he could stay up all night and record what had happened.

He had just turned on his computer when he heard a slight sound of the door opening. Tao Rujiu frowned, got out of bed and peeked through the crack in the door. He saw Qi Linpo and Ling Li coming out of Qin Huakai's room.

After hesitating for a moment, he opened the door completely and asked in a low voice, "Is there anything I can help you with?"

Ling Li understood that the words had no special meaning. But when Tao Rujiu took out another set of clothes from his few belongings and handed them to him to change into, his gaze never left the young man's face. He couldn't say anything, which made Tao Rujiu turn away awkwardly.

“We are prepared to completely eliminate Dongli Bupo from Hailing City,” Qilinpo said. “Only by inviting him to reincarnate can the feng shui of Hailing City be completely destroyed, and the malevolent energy in the underground water flow gradually disappear.”

So he briefly recounted what he needed to do. Tao Rujiu nodded in agreement, and finally asked, "When do we set off?"

"No, you shouldn't go." The person who answered him was Ling Li. "Qi Linpo and I are enough!"

Tao Rujiu was startled by the man's sudden intensity and couldn't help but look at his expression. Just then, Ling Li also realized his lapse in composure and awkwardly looked away, their eyes just missing each other.

“Tao Tao, you really shouldn’t have gone with us,” Qi Linpo chimed in. “You should have stayed by Hua Kai’s side and kept an eye on him so he wouldn’t release Dong Li Bu Po.”

"Does it really have to be this way?" Tao Rujiu hesitated. "If we really drive Dongli Bupo away, what will happen to Huakai?"

Qi Linpo replied, “If you’re a ghost, you’re bound to be reincarnated. It’s just a matter of time. Do you think they can stay together forever if you don’t touch them? Flowers always die eventually. Do you want him to become a wandering soul and stay with Dongli Bupo then? Don’t you think about what good things Dongli Bupo has done for you? It’s better to have no more sympathy.”

Tao Rujiu was speechless after hearing what he said. Recalling the past, she couldn't completely let go of the past. In a state of contradiction and confusion, she vaguely agreed to stay and observe Qin Huakai's actions.

Qi Linpo and Ling Li discussed going to the electrical workshop the next morning to get some lighting equipment and ropes, and then using the water flow in the underground palace to search for Dong Li Bupo's tomb. According to Qi Linpo's estimate, if everything goes smoothly, they should be able to return before sunset tomorrow. After that, the feng shui of Hailing City will be greatly improved, and perhaps the long-term economic downturn will also be alleviated.

Ling Li listened quietly and made a list of items that might be needed. Finally, Qi Linpo had him pick up the peach wood sword in the corner of the room—a relic of the Taoist priest—and taught him a few self-defense spells. He also had Tao Rujiu memorize a few incantations, saying it was for emergencies.

Before we knew it, the clock had struck midnight.

Perhaps as his emotions gradually stabilized, Tao Rujiu, who had remained fully awake, suddenly felt sleepy. He leaned against the wall, listening half-heartedly to Qi Linpo and Ling Li's conversation. His eyelids slowly grew tired, and the voices around him grew fainter and fainter. When he opened his eyes again, the two people beside him were long gone. He himself lay back down on the bed, covered with a thin blanket.

The morning light was just beginning to break outside, indicating it was going to be another beautiful day.

Tao Rujiu slowly sat up in bed, remembering the task Qi Linpo had given him the night before. He wondered how Hua Kai was doing.

Thinking this, he pushed open the door and went out. The Emerald Pavilion was quiet in the early morning. He walked through a small part of the moss-covered courtyard and headed towards Huakai's bedroom. A gap appeared between the curtains, and Huakai was still lying quietly on the bed, looking like she was sleeping soundly.

I wonder if Huakai will still have such a calm expression after learning that Dongli Bupo has left him.

Tao Rujiu sighed softly, then turned and walked away quietly. He wondered if Qi Linpo and Ling Li had considered this.

But what happens next may soon have nothing to do with him anymore?

Qi Linpo said everything would be resolved before sunset, which also meant that Tao Rujiu's trip to Hailing was about to come to an end. The young man pondered, what exactly was his original purpose in coming to Hailing City?

Seemingly wanting a chance to meet and interview Ling Li, he met Hua Kai, met Qi Mao Xian, and also saw another dark world.

He then developed a relationship with Ling Li that was more intimate, and equally fragile, than the one he had met for the interview. Everything seemed to spiral out of control after this abnormal relationship began.

He looked down at some marks on his arm that had not yet faded.

Even if it was all a misunderstanding, even if Ling Li finally realized his mistake, felt remorse, and decided to make amends, what has already happened can never be erased. Perhaps the wound will heal, but he's not sure if that day will ever come. Right now, all he wants to do is go back inside and pack his things.

The material he collected during this time was enough for him to write an absurd ghost story. From another perspective, if he were to lose his job in the future, could he try the profession of "spirit medium"—provided, of course, that he could freely expel those wandering ghosts and evil spirits from his body?