Song Xiaozhou was panicking. He tried to follow Lu Heng, counting his steps, but only managed twenty-three, then thirty-seven. Flustered, and at the worst possible moment, memories of the times he had shared a bed with Lu Heng flooded back.
Back at Jing’an Courtyard, there were a few times he woke up early and Lu Heng was not beside him, and he didn’t know where he had gone. When he asked, Lu Heng would nonchalantly say that he went for a walk outside or to cultivate. Song Xiaozhou never doubted him and believed it.
He couldn’t help but wonder if Lu Heng had suffered this much back then as well.
Song Xiaozhou suddenly remembered that when he ran to the mountain to find him, Lu Heng’s face was pale and unwell, with a hint of gloomy weakness between his brows.
He hadn’t even noticed.
Song Xiaozhou gritted his teeth, yet tears continued to fall. Spotting flowers ahead, he stumbled toward them, grabbed a handful of wildflowers, and dashed back, clutching them tightly.
Song Xiaozhou thought, Lu Heng didn’t want him to see his disheveled state, but how could he bear to let him struggle alone? As he got closer, Song Xiaozhou looked down at the flowers in his arms. The stamens were covered in dew, but they were mixed with sparse weeds, which didn’t look good at all.
He pulled out the weeds, tidied them up, slowed his pace, and headed back the way he came.
He didn’t expect to hear the clang of weapons clashing as he got closer.
Song Xiaozhou’s heart sank. He remembered the two Master Shen and Liang, and immediately started running.
Sure enough, the two of them had already started fighting with Lu Heng.
Lu Heng held a sword in his hand, his eyes were blood-red and his face was terrifying, looking every bit like a vengeful ghost. Shen Zhi and Liang Mu also had long swords in their hands. The two had an unspoken rapport. As talismans flew, the surrounding sinister energy dared not approach them.
Song Xiaozhou shouted, “Shen Zhi, stop!”
Shen Zhi turned his head to look at him and said, “Stop what? Can’t you see that he’s lost consciousness?”
“He hasn’t!” Song Xiaozhou yelled angrily, his eyes were red like a small animal protecting its young. “Get away and don’t touch him!”
Liang Mu said coldly, “More words are useless.”
When Lu Heng heard Song Xiaozhou’s voice, his consciousness wavered. He glanced at him, and in that moment of distraction, his shoulder felt a sharp pain. Shen Zhi’s yellow talisman flew over, searing his arm as if it were breaking apart.
Lu Heng grunted, the ferocious light in his eyes intensifying. He tore off the talisman with his five fingers. The yellow talisman flickered, its ghost energy reversing and lashing out toward Liang Mu.
When Song Xiaozhou saw Lu Heng get hurt, the flowers in his hands fell to the ground. Seething with hatred, he kicked up a branch, gripped it tightly, and without hesitation, charged straight at Shen Zhi.
Shen Zhi parried Song Xiaozhou’s wooden branch with his sword with a hint of anger in his tone. “What are you doing? He’s a ghost!”
Song Xiaozhou said, “You’re worse than a ghost!”
The wooden branch in his hand acted like a sword, each move sharp and threatening. Shen Zhi, however, was not skilled at dealing with such ordinary fighting styles. He also had to be careful since Song Xiaozhou was a living person. His brows furrowed. “See if he even recognizes you anymore!”
Song Xiaozhou’s hand froze. He looked at Shen Zhi, who said, “He has lost his consciousness. Open your eyes and take a good look at him.”
“He is a vengeful ghost, not a living person!”
Shen Zhi spoke with indifference. After navigating through the mountain’s maze, they found this place. They didn’t see Song Xiaozhou, only Lu Heng on the brink of madness.
When Lu Heng saw them, he immediately attacked. Shen Zhi had assumed Song Xiaozhou had also become a lost soul, so he was surprised to see that he was still very much alive.
Song Xiaozhou stared at Lu Heng blankly, then turned back and said, “Jinzhi is different. He’s injured. It’s because of you two, you two just suddenly appeared!”
Shen Zhi was choked with surprise. “I’m not going to waste my breath on you.”
With that, he took advantage of Song Xiaozhou’s inattention and pressed an immobilization talisman onto him. “Once I help Shige take care of him, I’ll have a good talk with you.”
Song Xiaozhou was furious, but when he opened his mouth, no sound came out.
On the other side, when Lu Heng saw Song Xiaozhou’s immobilized, panicked, and helpless expression, his mind, though in a chaotic daze, felt a sudden, inexplicable pain. He abandoned Liang Mu and lunged forward.
He gripped his sword and stepped toward Shen Zhi. His cloudy eyes locked on Song Xiaozhou who was behind him, and in a hoarse voice, he said, “Get out of the way.”
Shen Zhi did not retreat a single step.
Lu Heng was like a beast whose most precious possession had been stolen. He became even more violent, with only one thought in his mind: “Give him back to me.”
Shen Zhi said coldly, “Give him back to you so you can kill him?”
Lu Heng seemed to hear him, and yet he didn’t. The Soul-Sealing Array on him was still at work. The dark patterns on his face became even more sinister, as if they were alive, and the ghost energy on his body was bone-chilling.
“Get lost!” He raised the sword in his hand and brought it down on Shen Zhi.
Clang! Liang Mu blocked the strike and stand in front of Shen Zhi. His expression also changed.
The two of them fought fiercely. The air in the forest was filled with a powerful force, and all the yin spirits in the entire mountain seemed to be stirring restlessly. Shen Zhi’s face grew paler, unable to withstand the agitated resentment and yin energy in the forest caused by Lu Heng.
He took two steps back, noticed Song Xiaozhou glaring at him with hatred, he sneered, “What’s wrong? Your lover is very impressive.”
A moment later, Shen Zhi smiled. “Doesn’t he want you?” He bit his fingertip, using his blood as ink to add a few strokes to the yellow talisman on Song Xiaozhou’s chest. He then grabbed his arm and forcefully pushed him toward Lu Heng.
“Lu Heng, he’s yours again!”
