This Damned Thirst for Survival
chapter-170-30041322

In the middle of the night, it was raining outside the window.

The winter rain is as cold as ice. Jiang Luo wakes up to the sound of the rain and stretches languidly on his bed, his long hair slicing across his neck, the young man's stretched out form long and beautiful.

Jiang Luo's mouth was dry from this sleep and he rolled over and went to the living room to pour a glass of water. The ginseng doll hung on to him, too, and said sleepily, "Daddy, I'm a bit dehydrated too."

This is the first winter that the ginseng spirits have spent in human society, and it is the first time that they have felt the power of the heating. The heating was good for everything, but it was a bit drying. Jiang Luo puts a glass of water on the table for him and sips it slowly.

The water lingered briefly inside his lips before slowly sliding down his throat. The living room table has not been tidied up, the leftovers are steaming cold and the oil is caked in clumps. The ginseng doll finishes its glass of water, regaining a little of its energy, and it pokes Jiang Luo's finger with its whiskers and says in an airy tone, "Daddy, there's someone at the door."

Jiang Luo glanced towards the door and stood up lazily, "Stay here."

He went to the door, took the hobby knife from the shoe cupboard that opened the courier into his hand by hand, and looked out through the cat's eye. It was pitch black outside, and nothing could be seen. But the ginseng doll said there was someone there, so there must be someone there. Jiang Luo slowly gripped the door handle and pushed the door open.

The corridor lights snapped on.

Outside the door against the wall sat a wet, black figure. The floor is wet with water from this man, who has been sitting here for who knows how long, with his head buried in his knees. It was several seconds after Jiang Luo opened the door before he sluggishly raised his head to reveal a familiar face.

Jiang Luo frowned and put away his hobby knife, " Qi Ye ?"

Qi Ye's face is blue and her lips are purple from the cold.

His eyes were listless and unfocused as he looked at Jiang Luo for a moment, his lips trembling, "...... Jiang Luo ."

His nasal voice was thick as he pleaded lowly, "Will you let me see Chi You?"

*

No one knows how Qi Ye found her way here and what happened.

Jiang Luo took him into the house and called the others. Qi Ye's hair was all frozen and he was going to freeze to death.

While the others were busy settling Qi Ye in, Jiang Luo stood by the door of the guest room and watched, asking coldly, "Why did you want to see Chi You?"

Jiang Luo saw his fingers shaking uncontrollably as Qi Ye lowered his head and let the others rub his hair. Qi Ye was silent for a long time and shook his head silently.

Jiang Luo leans against the doorframe with his arms wrapped around him. He squints critically at Qi Ye, who looks as if his outlook on life has been shattered.

He didn't follow up with another question, "Let's talk about it after the trial."

Qi Ye was in a state of discomfort that lasted until the start of the trial. He did not say a word or drink a sip of water for the whole day. When Jiang Luo and the others had to go to the Xuan Ling Joint Office, Qi Ye asked to go with them.

Ge Zhu said intolerantly, "You'd better not go when we're in court with your father."

Qi Ye's voice was dry and hoarse, "Take me with you."

They had to take Qi Ye with them.

Upon arriving at the Xuan Ling Joint Office, Dean Xu was already waiting for them. Having not seen them for over a month, the old man was in great spirits and full of rosy cheeks. When he saw that Jiang Luo had arrived on time, he smiled, "Not bad, not bad, each and every one of them is in good spirits."

President Xu also saw Qi Ye, who was in a trance, but he said nothing, instead stroking his beard and smiling as he urged Qi Ye to go and sit in the gallery first.

When Qi Ye left, Dean Xu's expression faded, "Is he a lobbyist sent by that old man Qi Yuan?"

Wen Renlian shook his head, "He's here to see Jiang Luo."

Dean Xu was slightly surprised and pondered for a few more moments until someone came to remind them that it was time to go through the process, and then Dean Xu led the students to the plaintiff's office.

The Xuan Ling Joint Office is a court specialised in dealing with events in the Xuan Ling community, with some differences in function and process from the courts in ordinary society.

Jiang Luo had just stood up when he saw Qi Yuan and Chi Zhongye being led to the defence.

Their eyes were blue and black, their clothes were dishevelled, they should not have slept for several nights, their image was in a mess and their original pomp and circumstance had dissipated. And judging from the fact that these two men did not care for each other, they should have had a falling out.

The two of them also saw Jiang Luo. The dark-haired young man stood straight and tall, his features seemingly glowing from the good rest he had had yesterday, and he was in good spirits. After being looked at by Qi Yuan and Chi Zhongye, he even curled his lips at them in a provocative manner.

Qi Yuan's anger flared up, how dare this youngster be so arrogant! He was about to lose his temper when he remembered his current situation and the attitude of Tian Shifu and the Fates, and a pot of cold water was poured over his head, extinguishing his anger.

One day sooner or later ......

His eyes sweep sombrely over Jiang Luo in the shadows.

Sooner or later, he will take care of Jiang Luo and Chi You together.

There were a few people sitting in the gallery, because the trial was so big that it was not appropriate to make it public, and only a few close people could enter the courtroom.

Jiang Luo raised his eyebrows in pleasure after surveying the wretched posture of the heads of the Qi and Chi families, and glanced inadvertently at the gallery to see a handsome man sitting calmly in the middle of the gallery.

The villain's long legs were folded as he propped his head on the armrest and looked lazily into the arena. He had changed into a slightly retro black suit, with a black coat over it as if to match the cold of the season. A bowler hat concealed his brow and eyes, revealing only the lower half of his pale face, which belonged to a ghost. He looked like a gentleman from the Republic, his hands brand new white gloves and he was leaning on a long, thin walking stick.

The evil spirit was conspicuous, but it was as if he was invisible to everyone. None of the bigwigs, including the head of the Joint Office, President Xu and Qi Yuan Chi Zhongye, noticed that there was an evil spirit sitting calmly in the courtroom.

He looked up from under the brim of his hat, his dark, shadow-covered eyes locked with Jiang Luo's. His lips, which had been cold and straight, suddenly curled up into a charming but evil smile.

Jiang Luo was like seeing a surprisingly exciting and interesting gift, and his heart beat two beats faster, before quickly returning to normal again. He stared at the evil ghost for a few seconds and his lips said in a silent voice, "Nuts."

Chi You What is this outfit?

Role-playing?

But don't say it, the look looks a bit familiar.

Jiang Luo looked at the evil ghost absently while searching his memory for the reason why it looked familiar. It didn't take him long to remember that he had once seen a black and white photograph of a middle-aged man in the room of Chi You, a young boy in the mirror world. The man was around thirty years old and dressed similarly to what Chi You looks like now. Based on the time difference between the Republic of China and the present, and the fact that each generation of the Chi family only lives for thirty years, that man must be Chi You's grandfather.

But why did Chi You come to this trial dressed as his grandfather?

Jiang Luo's heart felt like a cat's claw had scratched him, making him itch with curiosity from his soul. He couldn't help but be drawn to Chi You and try to understand the reason for it.

Ye Xun beside her pulled Jiang Luo strangely and looked towards where Jiang Luo was looking, " Jiang Luo, what are you looking at?"

Jiang Luo said, "You didn't see it?"

Ye Xun asked, "What should I see?"

"It's nothing," Jiang Luo said deliberately, withdrawing his eyes, "just a psycho with a decent face, nothing to look at."