Evil Spirit - chapter 4

Chapter 4

Shen Yunlan still couldn’t win against her own little sister, so she took Shen Yunshu along to carry out the rescue.

That left Li Jiaojiao and Duan Qinglian staring at each other, wide-eyed.

After Shen Yunlan and the others left, the atmosphere turned unbearably stiff. Li Jiaojiao stayed perfectly still, leaning against Duan Qinglian’s chest, not daring to move. All she could do was sneak a glance at him every now and then, just to make sure he wasn’t having a crazy episode.

But the more she looked, the harder it was to look away.

“You’re peeking at me.”

Suddenly, the person behind her leaned in close to her ear.

Li Jiaojiao was so startled by the sudden words that she jerked forward, but the Sword Line wrapped around her neck tightened, digging painfully into her skin.

She had no choice but to obediently lean back again.

“I’m not peeking.” But she refused to admit it.

“I’m being perfectly open about it.”

No sooner had she finished speaking than the person at her ear let out a low laugh.

Li Jiaojiao silently shot a sideways glance, catching him out of the corner of her eye.

She realized Duan Qinglian loved to laugh, but she never understood what he found funny.

Still, she had to admit, he looked very good when he smiled.

Duan Qinglian had long, alluring brows and eyes, with thick lashes. When he smiled, the upturned ends of his eyes curved like a crescent moon.

His low laugh made her heart flutter.

“Stop laughing. I won’t look at you anymore, alright?” Li Jiaojiao shrank her neck, his breath flustering her.

To her surprise, Duan Qinglian actually listened and stopped laughing.

But after just a moment of quiet, Li Jiaojiao got worked up again.

She tugged at the silver thread digging into her neck, her face twisting in pain. “Ow, ow, ow! Why are you pulling it?”

“Sorry, I got tangled up in the Sword Line.”

Duan Qinglian lowered his lashes, and not only his gaze but his tone held genuine apology-there was no sign of the man who, just moments ago, had wanted to finish her off with a blade.

Li Jiaojiao looked down at his sleeve, and sure enough, the coldly gleaming Sword Line had unraveled at his fingertips. The fine thread was tightly wound around the black hair hanging at his waist, knotted into several stubborn tangles.

Clearly, he’d already tried to untangle it, or there wouldn’t be so many dead knots.

Someone who could strangle six people in seconds with the Sword Line was now entangled by his own weapon-hair tied in dead knots.

Yet another thing to complain about.

“Alright, alright, don’t move. I’ll untangle it for you.”

Hurting from the strangling, Li Jiaojiao hurriedly held Duan Qinglian still.

He actually stayed motionless, lowering his lashes as he watched the girl, who bit her lip against the pain, untangle the knots from his hair.

Li Jiaojiao reached out, carefully working apart the Sword Line twisted with his black hair. His hair was so soft-even soaked through, it still felt smooth as silk in her hand.

It was a shame such beautiful black hair belonged to an owner who didn’t care for it at all.

Fortunately, Li Jiaojiao was deft-fingered. With some tugging and careful work, she managed to separate the Sword Line from his hair.

By happy accident, the Sword Line that had been wrapped around her neck slipped to the floor along with a small lock of black hair.

“Thank you.”

Duan Qinglian bent down to pick up the Sword Line, lips curving as he softly thanked her.

His smile was like a flower bud blossoming in early spring-dazzling enough to make Li Jiaojiao’s brow twitch. Her gut told her that Duan Qinglian’s thanks definitely weren’t simple.

“You’re too polite, no need to thank me…”

“Oh, I insist.” His soft red lips curved even more gently. “Otherwise, you might never get the chance to hear it again.”

Li Jiaojiao: ???

Before she could react, a mass of dark clouds pressed down over her. In an instant, the gloomy sky lost all its light, and the lake was shrouded in dusk.

At the same time, several shadowy tendrils shot up from the lake, crawling quickly up the side of the boat and binding Li Jiaojiao’s body in a flash.

See? She never should’ve doubted her instincts-if Duan Qinglian ever acted normal, then the world itself would be upside down.

“Holy shit! Save me!”

With a single yank, the tendrils flipped Li Jiaojiao right out of the boat, leaving only her hands clutching desperately at the edge.

“Why?”

Duan Qinglian’s eyes curved as if he were enjoying the most entertaining drama in the world.

“You promised Sister Yunlan you’d protect me!”

“She only told me not to lay a hand on you.” He walked to the boat’s edge, leaned down, and his wet black hair slid off his shoulder, swaying right in front of her face. “But I’ve discovered something.”

“What?” Li Jiaojiao, her face wet from the lake, looked up anxiously.

“Turns out, watching someone struggle at death’s door is even more enjoyable than doing it myself.”

Damn you!

Her fingers gripping the boat’s edge were already going numb, and pain throbbed through her palms. Li Jiaojiao knew she couldn’t hold on much longer, so she steeled herself and yelled, “You think getting the Rebirth Wood will help you regain your memories? I’m telling you, Shen Yunshu just wants you-she lied to you! Only I know the way. If I die, you can forget about ever recalling your past in this lifetime!”
To show off her resolute coolness, Li Jiaojiao let go of her own hand. In that final moment, she saw Duan Qinglian’s smile disappear, a ripple of emotion stirring in his eyes.

He stopped smiling. Li Jiaojiao was delighted.

But that feeling of victory lasted only a few seconds before she was yanked into the lake, swallowed by chaos.

*

The reason Duan Qinglian came to the Capital was just as Li Jiaojiao had said: he had lost his memory. In the original plot, Shen Yunshu desired him, deceived him, and ended up serving as a stepping stone for the female lead and him. After the two met, his broken and twisted soul was drawn to the female lead, setting off the clichéd falling-in-love arc.

But now, Li Jiaojiao had thrown everything into disorder. Clearly, it should have been Shen Yunshu who got caught; then the male supporting character and the female lead would join forces to rescue her, and Duan Qinglian would end up falling for the female lead. But now, the one who got caught was her.

Li Jiaojiao felt her head spinning.

She had already been awake for about seven or eight minutes, and had roughly taken stock of her surroundings.

This was an earthen cave, damp and bone-chilling. Even the walls and the muddy ground continually seeped water, sticky and clammy, smearing her hands with grime.

She wasn’t alone in the cave; there were many girls around her age inside. Their clothing varied-some looked like noble ladies, others like ordinary girls from common families.

But they all had one thing in common: almost none of them spoke. They leaned listlessly to the side, ignoring Li Jiaojiao no matter how she tried to question them.

Her only hope now was that Duan Qinglian would believe her and come to save her.

“How many did you catch?”

Suddenly, a man’s voice came from the bend at the cave entrance.

The voice was hoarse and low, as if it came from a well that had been sealed for years, even the breathing muffled by a thick layer of dust.

“We’d already netted everyone on the lake, but then Shen Yunlan of the Yin-Yang Department suddenly showed up…”

A brief silence followed.

“Forget it, just use the one we’ve caught for now.”

The one they caught? Wasn’t she the only one caught this time?

A bead of cold sweat slipped down her forehead. She wanted to hide, but the cave was empty-there was nowhere to conceal anyone.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

That raspy voice suddenly drew several notches closer. Li Jiaojiao turned to find a man in a black robe towering over her.

The oversized black robe wrapped him tightly, not a patch of skin exposed. Li Jiaojiao couldn’t make out his figure under the robe; all she could see were those eyes fixed on her, murky and dull, not a trace of light in the pupils-eyes that didn’t look like they belonged to the living.

“Nowhere,” Li Jiaojiao quickly shook her head, forcing down the fear from his stare.

The man in black narrowed his eyes, saying nothing, and gestured behind him. Instantly, another figure in a billowing black robe stepped up, grabbed her jaw without a word, and pressed a cold bead against her lips.

Li Jiaojiao wasn’t stupid. She didn’t know what they wanted to feed her, but it definitely wasn’t anything good. Even though her jaw ached from the grip, she clamped her teeth shut and refused to open up.

“You’d better behave, or else…” The man in black spoke again, his voice even lower and colder than before.

She forced herself to stay calm. For now, all she could do was stall for time and pin her hopes on Duan Qinglian.

“Do you know who I am?” Li Jiaojiao glared at the man in black, doing her best to sound imposing.

“Your identity means nothing to us. In the end, you’ll just become an empty shell,” the man in black replied coldly.

“Listen up. My name is Shen Yunshu, second young lady of the Yin-Yang Department. The most powerful Yin-Yang Master in the Capital, Shen Yunlan, is my older sister. The Director of the Yin-Yang Department, Shen Chendao, is my grandfather.” Li Jiaojiao mustered her courage and stared him down, speaking word by word. “If you dare lay a hand on me, not just the Yin-Yang Department, but every Yin-Yang Master in Dawu will come after you!”

“From the Shen Family?” The man in black sneered. “Just perfect. Your sister has already killed several of my men these past days. I was just wondering how to return the favor.”

Damn!

The grip on her jaw tightened even more. With a little more force, Li Jiaojiao felt like her jawbone would shatter.

“Wait! Listen, someone’s coming!”

She figured she could still struggle a bit longer.

“This place is several li from the Capital. Not even a beast dares come within a hundred li of here, let alone a person. Do you really think stalling for time will help?”

…

Mom, I really can’t hold on!

Just then, there was actual movement at the bend.

A dragging, scraping sound echoed through the dim cave, the torches along the wall flickering wildly.

A sweep of snowy white flashed through the firelight, silver thread glinting from beneath a sleeve, twined around someone’s fingertips. The other end of the silver thread was tightly wrapped around a black-robed man’s neck. He lay on his back, being slowly dragged forward.

The black-robed man at his feet didn’t move at all, and a long, black trail of blood had already been left in the muddy ground behind him.