Chapter 15: Go Be a Pillow for Yan Wang!
“A ghost that steals other people’s things isn’t a very well-behaved one, is it?”
With that, Jiang Louqi flicked a talisman toward the spirit’s forehead. A sudden flash of light erupted.
The ghost instantly dissolved into a cloud of green smoke and vanished, and the photo it had been clutching in its mouth fell to the floor.
He leaned down to pick it up, giving it a symbolic shake as if to clear away non-existent ghost droppings. He then carefully pasted the fragment into the gap in the family portrait, pressing it down gently with his fingernail.
The colors of the photograph were quite faded, its corners worn smooth and its surface covered in countless creases.
Unfortunately, while a photograph could be restored to its whole state, the people in it could never return to how they were.
Jiang Louqi’s expression darkened slightly. He leaned one hand on the table, but before he could lift the photo, he noticed something was off.
Deep within the shadows that the eyes could barely perceive, the family portrait had begun to change. Beside the original three people, a two-year-old infant had inexplicably appeared.
Moreover, the ghost baby’s umbilical cord hadn’t even been cut yet. It was just skin and bones, its limbs withered and small.
It was perched on the mother’s shoulder, baring long, pitch-black fangs as it seemed to grin eerily at the camera.
Jiang Louqi tapped his index finger on the spot where the infant was, his gaze exceptionally certain. “I think Ren Yu’s diary was right. She did have a brother who died in the womb. His soul hasn’t left their home in two years.”
Upon hearing this, Xie Jiuchen followed the man’s gaze. Just as he had said, there truly was a child there, snarling with bared teeth.
However, he could not openly expose the fact that he wasn’t an ordinary person. He offered a vague denial: “Oh? Is that so? I don’t see anything.”
“Wh—Where? I don’t see anything either! Please, don’t try to scare me…”
Chen Peiwen craned his neck, trembling. Aside from Ren Yu and her parents, there wasn’t anyone else.
Certainly no such thing as a baby!
Jiang Louqi grabbed the photo and turned back toward the door, his pace swift. “Ordinary people shouldn’t be able to see it, but it’s no big deal. Let’s head back first and deal with Ren Yu’s ghost.”
Returning to the outside of the third-floor piano room, Su Qian caught sight of Jiang Louqi finally dragging his feet back with the item. She wished she could whip him with her tail and make him ache for three days and nights.
“Hurry up! My tails are about to be bitten off! What took you so long?!”
“I know, I know. What’s the rush? You’re like the King of Impatience over here.” Jiang Louqi immediately leaped down to her side.
He moved like the wind, his oversized black trench coat billowing behind him.
By now, Ren Yu’s eyes were saturated with a bloody red. She was currently gnawing away mindlessly at Su Qian’s fluffy, snow-white tails.
High-grade fox fur was scattered all over the floor, a sight that made Su Qian’s heart ache with pain.
Jiang Louqi’s footsteps slowed as he drew closer to Ren Yu. Confirming once more that the female ghost still possessed a shred of sanity, he abruptly lowered the hand that had been ready to draw a talisman.
He held the photo up half-way, facing Ren Yu, and tried to make his voice sound as gentle and non-threatening as possible.
“Ren Yu, this is the photo you wanted. Your father, your mother, and… your brother. They’re all on here, perfectly intact and undamaged.”
At these words, the originally restless Ren Yu gradually calmed down. The ghostly aura obscuring her pupils suddenly cleared.
She stood there as still as a block of wood, her eyes staring blankly and foolishly at the photo in front of her.
At a signal from Jiang Louqi’s eyes, Su Qian silently retracted her tails, cradling them in her arms and rubbing them with heartache.
Ren Yu took the photograph he handed over—the one she had cherished above all else from the very beginning.
Suddenly, a stream of red blood flowed from her left eye, sliding down her scarred cheek. She was choked with a wordless sob.
Ghosts do not have tears, yet she was crying.
The tears were blood-red, falling drop by drop—cold, sticky, and wet as they flooded the girl’s hollow eyes.
The weight of that family portrait seemed so heavy, so incredibly heavy, that even as an ethereal ghost, she could barely hold onto it.
Using a voice made raspy from the thumbtacks forced down her throat, Ren Yu spoke one word at a time: “Dad… Mom… and little brother… We’re going home…”
All the past abuse and the desperate longing for familial love—at this moment, none of it mattered anymore.
Because she was a ghost now, and the obsession in her heart was slowly dissipating along with the blood-wheel seal.
Seeing this, Jiang Louqi quickly raised the Yanluo Command, pointing it at the space between Ren Yu’s brows. He then placed two fingers in a circular motion against the back of the token.
Amidst the surging black mist, his tone was calm and possessed a rare trace of peace: “Good child, go on back.”
Xie Jiuchen dazed for a few seconds as he listened, his deep gaze hidden within the curling black smoke, lost to the void. He suddenly felt that Jiang Louqi wasn’t as heartless as he had imagined.
In the next moment, he was violently pulled back from his thoughts by Zhou Jiayi’s excited shout: “Brother Jiang! Behind you! Behind you!”
Before Jiang Louqi could even pull his fingers away from the Yanluo Command, a blood-drenched head came bouncing toward him from behind.
That bizarre thing was none other than the Academic Affairs Director’s head!
“Holy crap, what is this?!” The man dodged nimbly to the right, his fingers remaining steady on the token.
He then delivered a swift kick, sending the bouncing head flying into the thick fog leading to the Underworld. He immediately stowed the command token away. “Buy one, get one free. Go be a pillow for Yan Wang!”
Zhou Jiayi, never one to miss out on the fun, leaned in and gave him a high-five. “Hahahaha! That’s hilarious! Brother Jiang, do you think the Lord of the Underworld will like having a human-head throw pillow?”
“I’m not the Lord of the Underworld, how should I know? Go ask him yourself~” Jiang Louqi tilted his head, a trace of a playful smile in his eyes.
Zhou Jiayi shook his head repeatedly. “Never mind. I don’t want to go back to the Underworld for the rest of my life!”
Hearing them joke about him so lightheartedly, Xie Jiuchen’s expression suddenly turned dark. It was as if a layer of dismal frost had covered his face. He stared coldly at the group, and for a fleeting moment, a hint of undetectable killing intent flickered in his eyes.
Jiang Louqi was startled by this sudden change. Thinking the other man was simply too cold, he very thoughtfully took off his jacket and moved to drape it over him. Without exception, Xie Jiuchen dodged him again.
“What’s wrong? Not cold? You look a bit pale.” Jiang Louqi continued to press him relentlessly.
“It’s late. Goodbye, Director Jiang.”
Preferably, may we never meet again. Xie Jiuchen knit his brows slightly and hurried toward the stairs. He even felt it necessary to retract that silent compliment he had just given the man.
Jiang Louqi glanced at his watch with a half-believing expression. It was already midnight; it truly was late. It would be impolite to keep bothering him and affecting his sleep.
“Then I’ll find you at your dorm tomorrow! I need to take you to the hospital to get your dressing changed!”
He raised his voice, turning to look down the stairs as he silently watched Xie Jiuchen walk away, dazing for a long time.
For a split second, he had an illusion—that Xie Jiuchen’s figure vanishing into the horizon possessed an inexplicable sense of loneliness and desolation.
Zhou Jiayi waved a hand in front of his face, a devious grin on his lips. “Brother Jiang, Teacher Xie is already far away. Your head is about to fall off from looking so hard.”
“Don’t just talk about his head; even his soul has floated off with the guy. He’s one step away from jumping off the building with him. Hmph, I’m going home for my beauty sleep!” Su Qian flicked her crimson fingernails and marched off with long, elegant strides, her grace undiminished.
Jiang Louqi lowered his head and let out a yawn, his eyelids starting to grow heavy. He beckoned to Chen Peiwen, who had been silent this whole time. “Let’s go, let’s go. I’m tired too. You should head back quickly, kid, so you don’t get scared by ghosts again.”
Every time he heard or saw the word “ghost,” Chen Peiwen’s entire body would instinctively start to shiver. “O—Okay! Thank you all so much!”
Zhou Jiayi found his cowardly appearance quite amusing. Suddenly, a surge of excitement to tease the boy hit him. He shone his flashlight under his chin and made a face at him, sticking out his tongue like a ghost.
“Bleh! I’m a ghost too. Are you scared?”
“Ah! You—you—you—you…” Chen Peiwen hurriedly hid behind Jiang Louqi.
Jiang Louqi reached back and confiscated the flashlight from the culprit, shooting him an annoyed look. “What are you scaring the kid for? If you give him a heart attack, are you going to pay the medical bills? Apologize to him, now.”
“Oh… alright. My bad. Sorry, classmate!” Zhou Jiayi obediently gave Chen Peiwen a bow.
Chen Peiwen scratched his head shyly. “It’s okay. I’m just too easily scared.”
Translator’s Note:
- King of Impatience (急急國王): This is a piece of modern Chinese internet slang. It’s a playful way to call someone a “hurry-up king” or someone who is being overly anxious/rushed.
- Yanluo Command (閻羅令): This is the token of authority from Yan Wang (King of Hell) that Jiang Louqi uses to send souls back to the Underworld.
- Blood-wheel Seal (血輪印): A specific supernatural mark or curse in the novel’s lore that signifies deep resentment or a bond to the mortal realm.
- Ancient Brat (老屁孩): Since Zhou Jiayi is a 300-year-old ghost, Jiang calls him this to highlight the gap between his actual age and his immature behavior.
- The Head Pillow Joke: This is particularly hilarious because Xie Jiuchen is the Lord of the Underworld. Jiang Louqi literally kicked a severed head into his boss’s lap and then joked about it to his face. No wonder Xie was radiating “killing intent”!
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