Beneath the round table, in the unseen shadows.
The youth sat quietly with his eyes cast down.
No one noticed his slender fingers slowly tensing. Wisps of black mist seeped from his fingertips, swirling and slithering like living creatures, gradually emitting a sinister and malicious aura. Sharp black claws pierced into the flesh of his palms inch by inch. Blood seeped out, only to be silently swallowed by the surging dark energy.
The ground seemed to split open into an abyssal vortex beneath his feet, where countless hellish ghouls tore at each other, bearing hideous expressions and howling.
Those were the vengeful spirits of all who had died by his hands.
Wu Li remained quiet, his head bowed and his lips pressed tightly together.
His thick, long eyelashes concealed the increasingly heavy ruthlessness and chilling coldness in his eyes.
He felt himself sinking bit by bit, dragged into a cold, gloomy lair by the evil spirits within the dark aura.
Countless ghost hands reached out from the depths of the darkness, tearing at his soul and devouring his delusions. Their shrieks and sinister laughter wove into a dense web:
Fool... The flaws of your love gu have already been seen through. If she knew she was nothing more than a marionette in your palm, how disgusted would she be by you?
The voice drilled into his marrow, every word cutting at his heart.
Wake up... Every time she says she likes you, which sentence is not a lie corroded by venomous scorpions? Hahahaha...
Noble families like Ouyang Rui's are what women flock to the most. He can casually throw away ten thousand taels of gold. What about you? What do you have to compare?
The youth's nails had completely embedded into his flesh, yet his face remained as calm as a deep, cold pool.
Ten thousand taels of gold?
He had that too.
A single Red Blood Silkworm was enough to match it.
The Red Blood Silkworm? The evil ghost's laughter suddenly turned sharp. Have you forgotten the look in her eyes when she saw you dig out that bug? She cried so hard, trembling with fear. She is afraid of you!
You could have easily killed those two barbarians, yet you insisted on staying in Qianwu Town... to participate in some New Moon Archery Competition? You just wanted the love gu to remain in her body for a few more days.
Wu Li... Your mother's curse remains unbroken, and your blood feud is unavenged, yet you drown yourself in personal desires here... Are you worthy?
The voice suddenly changed. A female voice floated up faintly from the depths of the dark aura, sorrowful as if weeping:
Ah Li... My Ah Li...
Mother traded her life for yours so you could survive. How can you let me down?
While you suffered endless torment, your father was holding his other sons, enjoying family bliss! You live worse than a dog... Have you forgotten it all?!
He abandoned me, he abandoned us! He is the one who turned you into this monstrous state, neither human nor ghost! It is all his fault! It is him!
A sudden surge of metallic sweetness rose in Wu Li's throat.
Shut up...
Stop talking...
He pressed his lips tightly, forcefully suppressing the churning blood and his low growls back into his chest.
Above the table, the light was soft, and people were talking and laughing merrily.
Beneath the table, the darkness surged like a tide, and ten thousand ghosts wailed.
Only the blood seeping deeper between his fingers, and the unseen, inch-by-inch freezing gaze beneath his eyelashes, knew what was happening at this moment.
The purest blood flowing in this body had long been soaked in his mother's hatred and curse. He was trapped in a cage of resentment, life after life, unable to break free, and forever without peace.
The white cat exchanged a few words with Ouyang Huai, holding a wine cup in both paws and gently clinking it against the porcelain cup handed to him.
Suddenly, its nose twitched slightly, and its gaze quickly swept across the massive hall.
Something was wrong.
In the air, there seemed to be an extremely fierce and evil aura surging and hissing in unseen corners.
No!
Incorrect!
There was more than one.
There were actually two entirely different evil auras faintly filling this Ouyang family residence.
What is it, Alchemist Ji? Ouyang Huai asked in confusion, his hand holding the cup pausing in midair.
The white cat immediately put down the cup. Carrying its round, stuffed belly, its movements looked a bit clumsy as it leaped up.
At first glance, it looked like a bouncing white fluffy ball.
Disciple! Hurry and follow me, it called out loudly. Write an evil-breaking talisman!
Jiang Zhiyu had also noticed the anomaly. He quickly pulled out a yellow talisman, using his finger as a pen to draw incantations in the air. Spiritual light flowed and instantly imprinted onto the talisman paper.
Yaoyao, Wu Li, you two stay here. Do not follow us, he hastily instructed before rushing out of the hall after his master.
At this moment, Wu Li had already completely concealed the dark aura at his fingertips. The shadows under the table were as normal, as if nothing had ever happened.
He silently glanced in the direction the two had left, then quietly got up and followed.
How could Song Yueyao sit still? She reached back, drew the crescent blade from her waist, and leaped to follow.
Ouyang Huai and the servants standing by in the room looked at each other in dismay, all of them confused and at a loss.
Outside, a thick fog had permeated the area at some point, silently enveloping every corner of the courtyard.
The gold-rimmed lanterns hanging under the eaves could only emit a dim, hazy halo through the fog, like gloomy ghost fires.
Without hesitation, Jiang Zhiyu threw out the evil-breaking talisman.
The talisman paper shot through the air, and spiritual light bloomed. The thick fog around them instantly receded a bit like the tide. The yellow talisman hung in midair, carving out a clear path through the vast white fog.
The white cat had already leaped onto the roof, its paws flying as it rapidly chanted incantations. A stream of pure spiritual light shot from its paws into the talisman in midair.
In an instant, the fog dissipated significantly once more, and their field of vision suddenly cleared.
At that very moment, it caught sight of a bizarre wisp of black smoke rapidly fleeing toward the West Courtyard along the base of the wall!
Over there!
Before the words faded, one cat and one person had turned into two swift shadows, closely chasing after that wisp of black smoke.
The black smoke cunningly slipped into the West Courtyard. Just as the white cat and Jiang Zhiyu stepped into the courtyard, they heard a woman's mournful crying and shouting.
Erbao! My Erbao! Where are you? Where exactly are you?!
An elegantly dressed woman with completely disheveled hair was running barefoot on the stone path. A maid followed behind her, carrying embroidered shoes in her hands, looking so anxious she was about to cry: Madam! Please put your shoes on first, the stones will hurt your feet!
The woman suddenly looked up and saw Jiang Zhiyu barging in.
She lunged at him as if grabbing a lifeline, her ten fingers digging fiercely into his arms, her eyes almost bulging out: It is you! You stole my Erbao! Give her back! Give her back to me!
Jiang Zhiyu gasped in pain and said repeatedly: Please calm down, Madam! You have the wrong person.
Seeing this, the white cat darted forward and was about to form a hand seal to cast a sleeping spell. Unexpectedly, the woman suddenly let go of Jiang Zhiyu, only to grab the cat into her arms and hug it tightly.
Erbao! My Erbao has returned! A look of absolute joy burst forth in her eyes. She hugged the white cat like a baby and began to rock it gently. Come, Mother will sing you a nursery rhyme...
The crescent moon curves, the fog rolls in! The Goddess of Santu carries her lantern! Step lightly, walk slowly! Good child, close your eyes, do not make a sound...
Oh my, let go of this old man quickly! The white cat's four paws flailed wildly in the air, but unfortunately, its round belly from eating too much became a burden. Its struggles made it look just like a fluffy ball that could not roll over.
Being bounced and rocked like this, Ji Bai felt that his lifelong reputation was completely shattered, and his old face was thoroughly disgraced tonight.
Even so, its feline eyes remained sharp, keenly catching sight of the wisp of black mist that was about to slip away.
It frantically shouted, "Disciple! The southwest corner, intercept it!"
Hearing this, Song Yueyao, who was rushing over from behind, instantly hurled her crescent blade toward the black mist. Its speed was a fraction faster than the yellow talisman cast by Jiang Zhiyu.
But in the end, she was still a step too late.
The wisp of black mist had already drifted into the distant sky, sweeping swiftly toward the far edges of the southwest until it escaped completely without a trace.
