Chapter 138: The Alter Ego Says He Loves Me (27)
A room door made a violent sound in the silent courtyard, accompanied by a man’s heart-wrenching, terrified wail.
Five minutes later, the wail stopped abruptly, and that crunch-crunch chewing sound once again filled everyone’s ears.
Lin Chuan strode to the door, opened it a crack, and looked out.
“It’s Chang-ge’s room.”
Xiao Ji frowned. “But hearing the voice, it seems to be the person who was chasing Su Wan earlier.”
“Didn’t they take our rat and the things from Su Wan’s room?” Xiao Yinnian was puzzled.
Lin Chuan hesitated. “Should I go out and take a look?”
Xiao Ji reached out and grabbed him. “No need. We’ll know what happened tomorrow morning.”
Xiao Yinnian’s gaze fell on Xiao Ji’s hand, which was gripping Lin Chuan’s wrist through his clothes. He frowned but said nothing.
The three returned to the bed. Xiao Yinnian kept his eyes open until there was completely no more movement from Lin Chuan’s side. Then he whispered to Xiao Ji, “Are you asleep?”
Xiao Ji’s previously closed eyes snapped open. His dark pupils gazed at Xiao Yinnian. “What is it?”
Xiao Yinnian looked at Xiao Ji for a while. That strange feeling surged up again. He wanted to ask directly but felt it was too presumptuous. After organizing his words for a long time, he said awkwardly and subtly, “You’re a bit different toward Lin Chuan.”
Xiao Ji hadn’t expected Xiao Yinnian would be jealous of Lin Chuan and was momentarily speechless.
“Aren’t I even more different toward you?”
Xiao Yinnian thought about it—that was indeed true.
After all, Xiao Ji didn’t sleep while holding Lin Chuan, nor did he wash Lin Chuan’s feet.
But he still felt somewhat uncomfortable. “That’s because we are the same person.”
Xiao Ji denied it. “No. You are you, and I am I. We are currently two people. When this mission ends, we will be even less the same person.”
Xiao Yinnian realized the seriousness of this issue belatedly and was suddenly a bit at a loss. “Are you planning to leave after the mission ends?”
“No,” Xiao Ji said. “I’ll be wherever you are.”
Xiao Yinnian arched an eyebrow. “Why? By then we’ll be two people. You don’t need to waste time on me anymore.”
Even now, Xiao Ji was still not good at dealing with this kind of situation.
He refused to continue the topic. “I don’t understand. I want to kiss you.”
Xiao Yinnian was stunned. “What did you say?”
Xiao Ji didn’t give him time to think. Pressing the back of his head, he kissed that mouth that wouldn’t stop chattering.
When their soft lips touched, Xiao Yinnian’s whole body stiffened instantly.
Xiao Ji rubbed against his lips for a bit and asked him, “Is it hard to accept?”
Xiao Yinnian’s Adam’s apple moved, and he shook his head.
So, Xiao Ji kissed him again.
Unlike the tentative rubbing just now, having received Xiao Yinnian’s bewildered answer, Xiao Ji began to wantonly invade his territory.
One hand pinched Xiao Yinnian’s cheeks while he commanded:
“Open your mouth.”
Xiao Yinnian’s brain was blank, but that didn’t stop his heart from drumming like crazy, nor did it stop him from unconsciously responding to Xiao Ji after being kissed into a state of comfort.
And for men, some things are innate.
They don’t need to learn to know what should be done next once things reach a certain degree.
Just as Xiao Yinnian’s hand had uncontrollably reached out to touch Xiao Ji, Xiao Ji grabbed Xiao Yinnian’s wrist.
“Don’t be in a hurry. Wait until we’re out.”
Hearing Xiao Ji’s voice, Xiao Yinnian’s consciousness returned. After realizing what he was doing, he immediately withdrew his hand and said:
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to.”
Xiao Ji didn’t care if he meant it or not. He pressed Xiao Yinnian’s face into the crook of his neck and patted Xiao Yinnian’s butt.
“Go to sleep.”
The brief intimacy and the solid embrace were like a sedative that completely relaxed Xiao Yinnian’s nerves.
Unfortunately, just as dawn was breaking the next day, they were awakened by the commotion outside.
Su Wan jumped off the bed and rushed outside. The three—Xiao Ji and the others—got up unhurriedly and went out as well.
When Xiao Ji’s eyes met Chang-ge’s, he arched an eyebrow.
Xiao Yinnian’s finger poked Xiao Ji, and he whispered:
“He actually hasn’t died yet.”
Xiao Ji took hold of Xiao Yinnian’s finger and walked toward the room where the incident happened last night.
The room door was wide open. It was similar to how Ling-zi looked when she died, except this time, both beds in the room were stained red. Neither person had escaped the disaster.
Lin Chuan was puzzled and whispered, “Didn’t they take the ‘toys’ last night? Was it that Chang-ge who did it?”
Xiao Ji looked at Chang-ge again. Seeing that his face was also somewhat unsightly, and he even carried a bit of the relief of having survived a disaster, he guessed:
“Probably not, but he might have had some means to predict the danger in advance, which is why he switched rooms with his companions.”
Just as Xiao Ji was also a bit confused, not understanding why they still couldn’t escape the favor of death despite taking the ‘toys,’ he heard a bird call.
Xiao Ji turned his head and saw a Long-tailed Shrike standing on a branch of a scholar tree.
Xiao Ji’s brow twitched. He asked Su Wan:
“The ‘toy’ in your room—what was it?”
Su Wan was in a daze. Hearing this, she was startled for a moment before saying:
“A bird.”
Xiao Ji understood instantly. Thinking about it, that dead bird had likely long been swapped for a shrike that was playing dead.
He let out a light laugh and whistled at the shrike on the tree.
The shrike tilted its head and flapped its wings in response.
Xiao Yinnian didn’t understand and gave Xiao Ji a nudge.
“Others have lost their lives, and you’re here whistling. You’re being a bit disrespectful to the deceased.”
Xiao Ji was in a good mood. He reached out and pinched Xiao Yinnian’s waist.
“Good news. We have an extra ally.”
Xiao Yinnian looked around, eyeing the remaining people.
“Who?”
Xiao Ji intentionally teased him. “Observe carefully. If you guess right, I’ll tell you.”
From yesterday to this morning, in less than twenty-four hours, four people had died.
The most terrifying thing was that the two people last night seemed to have died very strangely; no patterns could be found.
Dark clouds loomed over the courtyard, trapping everyone present under the shadow of death that could arrive at any moment.
Except for the three—Xiao Ji and his group—and the crazed Su Wan, everyone else’s faces looked bad, and their mental states were significantly worse than the day they first arrived.
When the mistress once again invited everyone to the east end of the village to watch a play, Chang-ge finally couldn’t hold out and softened his stance toward Xiao Ji:
“Brother, let’s make a deal. Let’s cooperate. If this continues, not a single one of us will escape.”
Xiao Ji detested this kind of hypocritical person the most and refused directly:
“Don’t even think about it. You might not be able to escape, but I can. Stay away from me.”
Translator’s Note: Xiao Ji is being so ruthless! But honestly, Chang-ge deserved it for trying to steal their protection items. The “toy” mystery is getting deeper. Also, Xiao Ji and Xiao Yinnian’s little moment on the bed… ahem. The Long-tailed Shrike (棕背伯勞) is a bird known for being a bit of a “butcher” in nature—very fitting for this setting!
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