Chapter 24: Volume 1_Chapter 24 How to Capture the Arrogant Ghost King? (5)

Volume 1_Chapter 24 How to Capture the Arrogant Ghost King? (5)

The voice by her ear was light, indifferent, and cold, as if immersed in a cold pond, wrapped in biting frost, making her hair stand on end.

Jiang Zhi's fingers almost dug into her palm; the sharp pain barely suppressed the urge to scream.

Coming to her senses, she averted her gaze without a change in expression and lowered her head to focus on brushing her teeth.

Seeing her lack of reaction, the man in the dark robe grew icier, his ink‑painting‑like eyes filled with a chilling killing intent that blanketed the girl.

The mortal blood contract left his spiritual energy meager, binding almost all his power. His urge to kill could not be eased, so he could only be restrained beside the girl.

He recalled those ten thousand years, trapped beneath that ten‑zhang stone pillar seal. If not for those damned cultivators, how would he have been imprisoned for ten thousand years?

Once the blood contract is undone, his first act will be to flay this mortal, rend her bones, and devour her soul, then seek the reincarnations of those cultivators.

Jiang Zhi felt a chill down her spine, tried to ignore it, finished brushing her teeth, turned and walked out of the bathroom.

Her childhood friend was glued to the phone, playing a game with fierce intensity, as if planning to stay up all night.

Jiang Zhi walked to the bedside and lay down; in her peripheral vision she saw the man who had followed her out, his striking black dragon robe and silk‑like black hair making him look like an actor on a film set.

Although she feared ghosts, she was mainly afraid of the kind that suddenly appear to scare people; this sort that looked like an ordinary person didn't frighten her much.

She turned off the main light, and Jiang Zhi pulled up a thick blanket.

This time her sleep quality was excellent, like after taking a sleeping pill—she closed her eyes and fell asleep instantly.

It was so good it felt eerie.

"Third Prince, I just saw that monster."

"Where?"

"Right ahead."

As soon as Jiang Zhi opened her eyes upon waking, she felt as if she had arrived on a filming set, still a costume drama.

Before her, several twelve‑ or thirteen‑year‑old boys in splendid brocade robes were followed by many palace maids and eunuchs, making a grand procession as they walked forward.

Jiang Zhi glanced at her own attire—she was an inconspicuous palace maid.

She had clearly been lying on the bed in the hotel asleep, yet upon waking she found herself here; most importantly, she had called the system many times in her mind, but the system seemed to have disappeared and gave no response.

Jiang Zhi quickly calmed down; she accepted the clothes, since she was used to it.

Following the party led by the one called the Third Prince, they wound their way to a remote, desolate hall.

Jiang Zhi saw the "monster" they were maligning.

It was a boy dressed in coarse hemp, his hair like dry grass hanging over his chest, his arms exposed and frail, his small, weak frame standing by the river, staring at the clear water.

The Third Prince glanced at him, his face full of disdain; after a moment he curled his lip with malice and ordered the nearby eunuch: "Go, kick him in!"

The eunuchs who received the order showed no hesitation, stepped softly behind the boy, and then shoved him hard.

The frail boy, caught off guard, was shoved into the river; water splashed violently. Unable to swim, he flailed desperately, sinking after a moment.

The Third Prince didn't even glance back, leading his entourage away.

He didn't care at all whether the boy lived or died.

Jiang Zhi didn't follow; after they left, she jumped into the river and pulled the boy out.

Dragging him to the riverbank, the icy river water soaked the ground beneath him; lying flat, the boy's face was pallid, his lips purple.

Jiang Zhi administered first aid, and only after seeing him cough up the river water from his throat did she relax.

The boy's body was inherently frail, very thin; near‑drowning almost cost him his life.

He curled up on the ground, shivering.

Pitiable and tragic.

Jiang Zhi didn't know who he was, but she couldn't just stand by and let him die; she sat beside him, wringing out her soaked clothes.

Late autumn.

The temperature was on the cold side, the river water especially icy; when the wind blew, she could barely keep herself upright.

She glanced around, then hoisted the boy onto her back and left the riverside.

This part of the palace was old and simple, seemingly unrepaired for ages; weeds overran it, the red‑tiled eaves swayed on the verge of collapse, and cracks in the walls spread like spiderwebs.

Jiang Zhi checked the condition of the palace; there were no signs of habitation, and a thick layer of dust covered everything.

She placed the boy on a dilapidated wooden chair in the courtyard, then went to pull the weeds.

She set up a fire in an iron basin, produced flame by drilling wood, and the firelight dispelled the darkness in the courtyard.

Only then did she realize that, after all this, the sky had grown dark.

Turning around, the boy who had been lying on the chair was now hiding behind a tree, glaring at her with full vigilance.

Jiang Zhi glanced at him and saw he resembled a highly alert puppy of a fierce dog, wary of everything around him.

Jiang Zhi was a bit tired and didn't want to talk; she took the rabbit she had caught while weeding to the well's edge to slaughter it.

Seeing her carrying something and moving about, the boy hesitated several times, then slowly shifted his feet, walked to a spot far from her, and stopped, curiously watching her actions.

In the palace interior, Jiang Zhi found a slightly sharp stone shard, peeled the rabbit in her hand, and, noticing the boy's gaze, turned her back to him.

Killing the rabbit was still too bloody for a child to watch.

Seeing her avoid him, the boy furrowed his brow, shifted closer to her side, and got a clear look at the skinned rabbit in her hand.

Jiang Zhi didn't notice, and suddenly saw him standing nearby, his eyes blending into the night fixed on her hand.

She snapped: "What are you looking at, little brat!"

The boy seemed startled by her voice, his body jerking violently like a fleeing mouse, and he darted back behind the tree to hide.

Jiang Zhi couldn't help but laugh, thinking the little brat's courage was still quite small.

After finishing with the rabbit, Jiang Zhi went to the fire and began to roast it.

Soon, the aroma of the roasted meat filled the courtyard.

The boy hiding behind the tree swallowed his saliva uselessly, gazed wistfully at the rabbit in her hand, and his stomach growled.

After Jiang Zhi finished roasting the rabbit, she turned to the boy and said, "Come eat."

The boy stayed still, bared his teeth at her, looking both fierce and cute.

Jiang Zhi had no choice but to split the rabbit in two, skewer the other half on a branch and stick it in front of the tree, then took a bite of the half-roasted rabbit in her hand and stepped back to create a safe distance.

Go ahead and eat, it smells great.

The boy glanced at the roasted rabbit stuck in the ground, then at the person not far away.

His mouth watered wildly; having gone a day without food, he was so hungry his eyes almost turned red.

Unable to hold back, he seized the scalding hot roasted rabbit on the branch and began to wolf it down.

Jiang Zhi saw this and smiled.

What's your name?

The boy didn't answer her; even after eating her roasted rabbit, he remained very wary of her.

Jiang Zhi wasn't annoyed either, she sat by the fire and felt her drowsiness growing.

She had a premonition that she should return.

Turning to look at the boy hiding behind the tree and staring at her, Jiang Zhi waved at him and said, "I'm leaving, little brat—don't get pushed into the river next time."

Hearing her voice, the boy's pupils widened slightly as he stepped forward, trying to make out her face, but in an instant the person by the fire vanished with the fading flames.

As if she had turned into heavenly light.