UCS Chapter 17

The gentle and polite female voice on the phone became shrill, piercing the eardrum painfully. The voice was mixed with a hissing laugh squeezed from the throat, and a cold hand emerged from the screen, gripping Gao Gusheng’s wrist.

 

Gao Gusheng bit his tongue hard, the intense pain keeping him calm. His free right hand reached for the amulet hanging around his neck.

 

This was what Gao Shi had exchanged from the Spirit Management Bureau, capable of blocking one attack from ghosts and monsters.

 

However, as soon as Gao Gusheng touched the amulet, he noticed something strange.

 

The amulet was soft.

 

Originally filled with a talisman paper, it should have felt angular even through a layer of soft fabric.

 

There was only one possibility.

 

The talisman paper had already taken effect once.

 

Gao Gusheng recalled the earlier misdelivered takeout, with knocking that also came in sets of three, at exactly the same frequency as this time.

 

The fragrance on Gao Gusheng’s body grew increasingly intense, as if one were surrounded by a sea of flowers, with blooming twilight filling the view.

 

The ghost hand seemed stimulated as well, emerging from the phone at an increasing speed, almost showing “eagerness” from just a ghostly hand.

 

The ghost hand transformed into a wisp of blue smoke, seeping into Gao Gusheng’s body.

 

Gao Gusheng lost control of his body.

 

He passed through the living room, and through layers of protection.

 

All the protective measures had lost their effect.

 

Because it was their owner who actively wanted to walk out of the protective circle.

 

[Damn it! Wake up!]

 

Gao Gusheng struggled desperately in his mind. The fragrance on his body grew increasingly intense, almost drowning one in its scent. The thing—or things—outside the door seemed stimulated as well, turning the rhythmic knocking into violent and chaotic banging.

 

Gao Gusheng opened the door.

 

Outside, the sunlight was just right, but Gao Gusheng felt a chill all over—not in a psychological sense. Gao Gusheng felt as if he had been soaked in ice water, his bones frozen stiff.

 

[Dad, save me! Your handsome, dashing, refined son is about to be kidnapped!]

 

Gao Gusheng’s body was manipulated, step by step, towards the bustling market.

 

During this time, the ghost increasingly eroded his control over his body, making his walking posture more and more natural.

 

Gao Gusheng was anxious inside but could do nothing about it.

 

The more crowded a place, the more complex the auras. Once he blended into the busy market, his aura would be untraceable.

 

The young man walked among the crowd, the fragrance on his body like a small hook, drawing people’s gazes involuntarily.

 

However, they discovered nothing.

 

Gao Gusheng also noticed something strange. It was as if some kind of illusion had been cast around him, making his figure invisible to others.

 

[I guess this counts as experiencing invisibility… I hope the ghost lady controlling my body doesn’t walk into the women’s restroom. I’d hate to ruin my reputation before leaving this beautiful world.]

 

Gao Gusheng thought, finding humor in his predicament.

 

Perhaps feeling that the aura was sufficiently mixed and trackers could no longer follow, Gao Gusheng was finally controlled to walk towards a secluded area.

 

However, by this time, the fragrance on his body had become so intense it was almost tangible.

 

Passersby involuntarily looked in Gao Gusheng’s direction. Though they couldn’t see his figure, they subconsciously followed behind him.

 

Without realizing it, a large group of people had gathered behind Gao Gusheng, almost causing a traffic jam.

 

Gao Gusheng mentally stroked his chin.

 

[How strange, why are so many people following behind me?]

 

[The ghost lady doesn’t seem very smart. Maybe when the mastermind sees me, I’ll have thousands of people following me?]

 

Gao Gusheng was amused by the image in his mind.

 

However, the mastermind could apparently observe the situation. Soon, Gao Gusheng felt his vision blur, and with one step, he had moved several paces forward.

 

[?!]

 

[The legendary ground-shrinking technique!]

 

[Oh no, I’m about to leave the masses behind.]

 

But before Gao Gusheng could take another step, a hand suddenly pressed on his shoulder.

 

Then, a sharp female scream rang out in his ear.

 

Gao Gusheng regained control of his body.

 

It all happened so quickly that Gao Gusheng was stunned for a moment before turning his head abruptly. He saw a young man wearing a white Taoist robe.

 

The young man glanced at him, “A pure spirit body?”

 

Gao Gusheng looked bewildered, “Thank you, Taoist master… What’s a pure spirit body?”

 

The young man didn’t speak further.

 

He took out a yellow talisman from his bosom, bit his fingertip, and wrote on it effortlessly. Gao Gusheng saw a golden light rise from the yellow talisman.

 

Then, the golden light receded, and the young man handed him the talisman, “It can temporarily seal.”

 

“Th-thank you.”

 

Gao Gusheng hurriedly put it away, feeling inexplicably that this person before him was indescribably familiar.

 

“Taoist master, thank you so much. I wonder if…”

 

This Taoist master had saved his life, and Gao Gusheng hadn’t yet decided how to thank him properly. He wanted to at least get his contact information to tell Gao Shi later.

 

However, in the moment between lowering and raising his head, the Taoist master had vanished.

 

Gao Gusheng was now in the corner of a small alley, with no one in front or behind, completely silent. The Taoist master had simply disappeared into thin air.

 

Gao Gusheng was dumbfounded.

 

With the Taoist master’s departure, the invisible barrier also shattered. Suddenly, a chorus of voices could be heard from the alley entrance.

 

“Huh? How did I end up walking here?”

 

“I thought I smelled something really nice earlier, but now it’s gone.”

 

“My candied haw cart is still by the roadside!”

 

People stood at the alley entrance in confusion for a while, then dispersed.

 

……

 

Gao Gusheng waited until the voices outside subsided before slowly letting out a sigh of relief. He peeked out cautiously – good, no one was there.

 

He stroked his chin, pondering.

 

[What did they just say? A fragrance? Is it the kind Uncle Chen mentioned?]

 

[But why can’t Dad and I smell it?]

 

Looking down at his phone, it appeared undamaged. Gao Gusheng recalled the cold ghostly hand from earlier and shook his head.

 

[Indeed, the path of leaving the masses behind is not sustainable.]

 

Unable to figure things out, Gao Gusheng decided to head home first.

 

The handsome youth walked out of the alley. He seemed to be a natural focal point. Girls chatting with friends glanced at him and fell silent; angry drivers stuck in traffic forgot their curses mid-sentence as he passed; the florist accidentally cut off a blooming rose when he caught a glimpse of the youth between the flowers.

 

The young man was like golden sunlight kissing flower petals, as beautiful as an afternoon dream under the shade of trees.

 

“My goodness…”

 

Someone’s soft gasp awakened people from their summer daydream.

 

The youth had already walked far away.

 

A hand picked up the fallen rose. The florist looked up, dazed, and hurriedly thanked the customer when he noticed them, reaching out to take the rose back. “Thank you…”

 

However, the customer didn’t return the flower. His long, slender fingers caressed the delicate petals in an alluring manner, as if stroking a lover’s skin.

 

He wore large, dark sunglasses and had an unhealthy flush on his face, gazing in the direction the youth had gone.

 

“What a beautiful rose.”

 

***

 

“When will Brother Gao wake up?”

 

“Waaah, I hope nothing happens to Brother Gao.”

 

“Why are you crying? The captain isn’t dead yet. You’re crying as if there’s already a suona playing.”

 

…

 

Gao Shi couldn’t hear any of the voices of his team members and comrades.

 

After the Taoist robe disappeared, a sharp pain attacked him.

 

He held on until Yin Ling arrived, only saying “He’s gone” before passing out.

 

He started dreaming again.

 

In the dream, Gao Gusheng was covered in wounds, one eye blinded, two legs broken, lying on the ground like a tattered doll.

 

His body was full of bite marks.

 

A man with an unclear face pulled the last ghost from Gao Gusheng’s body. The pain, as if tearing his soul apart, brought a glimmer of light to his hollow eyes, and tears of physical response trickled down his cheeks.

 

The man glanced at Gao Gusheng, clicked his tongue lightly, and grabbed his hair, pulling up his head.

 

“Stop playing dead.”

 

Gao Gusheng’s remaining eye looked at the man, and he said softly, “I really regret it. I shouldn’t have been so kind-hearted to save you back then.”

 

The man let out a cold laugh.

 

“You’re just bait. What right do you have to talk about regret?”

 

“Even if you die, your soul belongs to me.”

 

The man yanked his hair and, like a beast, kissed him mercilessly.

 

A drop of blood fell from where their lips and teeth met.

 

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