This Damned Thirst for Survival
chapter-4

Jiang Luo looked at the mirror with great difficulty.

The voice laughed once more, and said with amusement, "It's really an interesting story."

How could Chi You show up at this time!

Jiang Luo's feet were already off the ground. He barely supported his toes on the floor and dragged his neck with both hands in an attempt to fight the mist to get more oxygen, but after repeated failures, his complexion was completely grim.

The mist could not shape a human form, and it kept twisting behind Jiang Luo. His gloomy and terrifying voice was still humming the tune that Jiang Luo had just hummed. The lively tune became sly, and the lovely melody became callous and distorted.

It stands to reason that Chi You does not have the ability to appear at all now, even if it is the first seven days after his death, he can't come back.

There was less and less oxygen from Jiang Luo's heart and lungs, his sweat stuck to his hair, and his face was faintly blue. The beautiful young man was still exceedingly pretty even when he was in a sorry figure. He struggled and resisted the invisible mist, like a weak and pitiful flower bud.

Seeing such a flower bud lose its life in their own hands, most people will feel unbearable about it. However, for a very small number of people, this is a way for them to appreciate beauty.

Anything beautiful is the most touching at the moment of facing death.

Chi You is one of these few people.

His seemingly endless humming was more pleasant. The gray surging mist tightened his palms, and Jiang Luo was already on the verge of dying.

Chi You would really kill him.

He is really a fucking lunatic. He obviously has an interest in him, but he wants to kill him earlier than in the original book.

Jiang Luo tried to look in the mirror. His brain became extremely clear and even cool-headed at this moment. He remembered what Ye Xun had said. Mirrors have the power of reflection and belong to yin. The toilet is inherently filthy. The mirrors in the toilet have too much misfortune. In addition, it is a time when yin energy is strong. Perhaps it is precisely for this reason that Chi You was able to show up.

If the mirror is destroyed, will Chi You also disappear?

This idea is a gamble, and it's too dangerous.

However, if he doesn't make a move, he will die.

Jiang Luo would never believe that this evil spirit who exposed his nature will suddenly have mercy and release him.

The square mirror incorporated this stalemate and terrifying scene into its lens. Jiang Luo raised his one leg and stepped on the sink, bending it into a beautiful long bow from his back to his slender legs.

His black hair fell on his shoulders, and the hair that had just been tidied up became messy again. The big beads of sweat on Jiang Luo's face slid to his chin. He tried his best to absorb a trace of oxygen, and suddenly smiled sweetly in the mirror.

His face flushed from lack of oxygen, as if he was intoxicated and was drunk. Jiang Luo narrowed his eyes, and the shadow from his eyelashes fell to his lower eyelids. The candlelight was dim. On the other hand, Jiang Luo was filled with sweet and greasy affection, "Chi You..."

He was breathless and said in difficulty, "You love me so much, you see, you have come to me on purpose."

His smile is entangling, but his expression was full of mockery and provocation.

Jiang Luo made up the story just to fool the rest of the living people who didn't know the truth. Of course, he knew that he couldn't fool Chi You.

He didn't even think about deceiving Chi You.

When facing Chi You, Jiang Luo showed his purest malice. He looked at the evil spirit and his smile grew wider, "Everyone knows that you love me."

His blood began to flared up uncontrollably because of his excitement, clamoring to suppress Chi You and let the evil spirit bow his head and admit defeat.

Such a thought came so fast and intense. As soon as it appeared, it immediately broke Jiang Luo's other plans. As if a basin of cold water "whooshing" from his skull, shuddering and seems to spread in his body in an instant.

Why show weakness and not fight back?

Why are you pretending to be innocent anyway?

Although he didn't kill Chi You, now that he has become the original owner, he must bear all the good and bad things that the original owner has done.

He was too lazy to pretend to be a ridiculous little wretch in front of Chi You.

Since Chi You and him knew each other very well, and he is interested yet wants to kill him, then why not do things to the extreme?

You're a dead person, you won't be able to speak.

Even if you hate me, you are an image of someone who loves me in the eyes of others.

If you want to kill me, there will be countless living people standing in front of me to protect me.

The face of the beautiful young man was once again stained with arrogance, flamboyance and recklessness. The charm of being a classical beauty was broken, but it was more eye-catching and piercing than its previous appearance.

The mist's laughter stopped, seemingly a little puzzled.

Jiang Luo once again showed a brilliant smile in the mirror. He used his accumulated strength to turn around and kick the mirror.

——If this blow does not work, his neck will be snapped by the hand of Chi You.

Bang!

The glass crackling sound was ear-piercing. Lu Youyi and Ye Xun who were outside the door rushed in instantly, "Jiang Luo!"

Jiang Luo fell heavily among the shards of glass. Lu Youyi ran over to help him up, and Ye Xun blocked in front of them with a serious expression.

Jiang Luo stood up shaking off the glass fragments. Lu Youyi said worriedly, "What happened?"

Jiang Luo's shoulders were shaking. Lu Youyi thought he was crying, but Jiang Luo raised his head with a smile. His cheeks were flushed as if he was slightly drunk. He touched the terrible bruise marks on his neck and said in a dreamy tone: "Chi You just came to see me."

Lu Youyi's eyes widened: "What?!"

Ye Xun swiftly turned his head and stared at Jiang Luo closely.

Jiang Luo stroked his neck unhurriedly with his fingers, and said with a smile, "He said he missed me and wanted me to accompany him."

The scars on his neck could not be faked. Lu Youyi was flabbergasted and stammered, "Really, really?"

Jiang Luo winked at him and said playfully, "Indeed."

The more he rejoiced, the more Lu Youyi's heart sank. He couldn't believe it. He just felt that Chi You's image in his heart had collapsed by more than half, "This is ridiculous..."

"People and ghosts have different paths," Ye Xun said calmly, glancing across Jiang Luo with a hidden warning, "When a person dies, they can never live again. The living cannot be with the dead, this is the law of yin and yang."

Lu Youyi stared blankly and repeated what Ye Xun said: "Yes, Ye Xun is right... how could Chi You ge do such a thing..."

Chi You ge is so gentle and easy to get along with, how could he do this?

Lu Youyi's head was about to get bigger1. They walked out of the bathroom. Ye Xun seemed to be afraid that Jiang Luo would be depressed. He deliberately turned on the TV and found a positive social channel. He wanted Jiang Luo to understand the preciousness of life.

The sound of the TV rang in silence. The three people had their own thoughts. After an inspirational video interviewing a chief labor contractor was finished, Ye Xun turned off the TV, handed the doll to Jiang Luo to carry, and stood at the table by himself.

Jiang Luo looked up at the clock, 11:15.

The time has come.

Ye Xun lit a stick of incense. He erected it with one hand and inserted it straight into the white rice, directly into the bottom of the bowl. The incense stood upright in front of the mirror. After Ye Xun lit the incense, he neatly picked up a yellow talisman and leaned close to the long incense to ignite it. He put the half-burned yellow talisman into a bowl full of clear water.

Jiang Luo faintly saw the yellow talisman clearly, it was a "ghost seeking talisman".

Miraculously, the fire-stained talisman was still burning after it was put into the water. After the yellow talisman was burned, the clear water turned into a bowl of muddy gray.

Ye Xun deferentially poured the muddy water into the bowl of white rice with both hands, then stared fixedly at the smoke from the burning incense.

The long smoke of the incense was fluttering and faint, gently swaying upward.

When the nerves of the three of them were highly tense, there was a sudden knock on the door.

The grandmother's old voice rang out, "Are you guys asleep?"

Lu Youyi was sweating profusely, and he ran over to open the door, "Grandma, what's the matter with you?"

The grandmother outside the door smiled solemnly, holding a tray in her hand, "I'm afraid you guys will be hungry at night, so I'll give you something to eat."

Lu Youyi took the tray and inhaled deeply the fragrance of the food. He's so happy that he was about to shed tears, "Thank you so much."

The grandmother looked at him with a smile. She glanced into the room, and urged, "Go to sleep, don't stay up late."

Lu Youyi repeatedly nodded. He was about to send the grandmother away, when he suddenly said, "By the way, Grandma, how long have you lived here?"

The grandmother thought for a while, then uncertainty said slowly, "One month."

Lu Youyi: "Have you ever noticed anything peculiar?"

The old woman shook her head, but halfway through the shake, as if remembering something, she stopped shaking her head for a moment, and her expression became hesitant.

Lu Youyi watched the scene and immediately asked, "Grandma, tell me about the strange things you encountered?"

The old woman moved slowly and looked around. Once again hesitantly glanced at Lu Youyi, and whispered, "Something is wrong with my daughter-in-law."

Lu Youyi was taken aback, "What's wrong?"

The old woman took two steps forward, covered her mouth with her hands, and said in a garrulous voice: "She won't let my grandson eat... Just this month, she has a bad temper and often gets angry at my son and beats my grandson."

"I was a little scared when I looked at her..." Grandmother.

Lu Youyi frowned. He thanked the old woman, brought the meal back to the room, and told Jiang Luo and Ye Xun about his conversation with the old woman.

Ye Xun pondered for a long time, "A month ago, the three girls disappeared just a month ago."

Lu Youyi said, "That's too much of a coincidence."

Ye Xun made the final decision: "Go and see the boss's wife tomorrow."

The old woman sent noodles. There were two poached eggs in the bowl, and fragrant hot and sour shredded potatoes. Jiang Luo was not hungry, but he was craving. He ate a bowl of sparse and fragmentary soup noodles.

"They even fried delicious shredded potatoes," Lu Youyi's grievance was about to take shape after eating deep into his emotions. "What is the thing that we eat in the cafeteria of our school?"

"Our school is too poor," Ye Xun said, "You are so rich, why don't you let your family donate a canteen to the school?"

"Am I rich?" Lu Youyi looked up at them blankly, and flicked the famous watch with at least six digits in his hand, "I don't know, I'm not interested in money."

Ye Xun: "..."

Jiang Luo: "..."

Jiang Luo almost spit a mouth of saliva at Lu Youyi. When he saw the incense on the table at a crucial point, his expression changed, "The incense has transformed!"

The smoke of the burning incense that had been rising in a straight line suddenly became messy, and turned to drift outside the door of the room.

Ye Xun and Lu Youyi got up immediately. Ye Xun washed his hands, picked up the rice with an incense stick and went outside. Lu Youyi pulled Jiang Luo to the middle, and walked behind him.

But as soon as he went out, the smoke was divided into two strands, one on the left and one to the right.

Ye Xun looked to the left, then to the right. He was silent for a moment, "Which way are we going?"

Lu Youyi said wantonly, "On the left."

Ye Xun: "What if the ghost on the left set a trap for us?"

Lu Youyi said indifferently, "Then on the right."

Ye Xun: "What if there is a ghost trap on the right?"

Lu Youyi: "..."

Jiang Luo suggested, "Then we go separately?"

Ye Xun was silent for a long time. He shook his head and said, "Forget it, go to the left first."

Jiang Luo turned his head and asked, "Does Ye Xun have difficulty choosing?"

Lu You nodded with a complicated expression, "As a piece of advice from someone who comes over, don't go shopping with him."

The hallway was brightly lit at midnight. When they walked through the long corridor and followed the smoke upstairs, they heard a "bang bang" sound.

The sound was like a ball rolling down the stairs, bouncing up and hitting the ground again. In the middle of the night, such a noise suddenly sounded, and the group stopped under their feet.

But suddenly, the lights in the stairs went out.

When the darkness came, Lu Youyi trembled and said, "Ye Xun, Jiang Luo?"

Ye Xun calmly gave a "hmm", and Jiang Luo said, "Yes, yes."

Lu Youyi felt relieved: "Why did this light suddenly went out——"

His words stopped abruptly.

Because the sound of the ball from upstairs suddenly stopped. After a short silence, as it was near them, the speed was two or three times faster than before.

Bang, bang bang, bang bang bang.

The ball rolled down quickly, and the sound became more and more rapid.

Lu Youyi was so creeped out that he couldn't help but grab Jiang Luo's clothes. Jiang Luo jokingly said, "Lu Youyi, why are you wimpier than me."

Lu Youyi trembled and said, "I'm afraid of the dark."

Jiang Luo: "..." Okay.

During the conversation, the sound of the ball had reached the stairs on the upper floor. Jiang Luo was infected by Lu Youyi, and his heartbeat was getting faster and faster. Just as he was waiting, the sound suddenly disappeared.

The silence came again.

But such silence, which is no different from the serenity before the storm, makes people just feel shudder.

Ye Xun said all of a sudden, "The smoke drifted back."

Lu Youyi asked, "You saw it?"

Ye Xun answered, "I smell it."

That proves that something passed in front of them just now.

"Let's go back," Jiang Luo licked his dry lips and stared into the darkness. "I remember that the switch was in the stairway, and by chance, we can see if it was shut off."

The three of them went back and walked cautiously.

The switch was really in the stairs. Jiang Luo had a good memory and was familiar with the design structure. He touched it and said in disappointment: "It's not shut off, there's no electricity."

The three of them stood there and thought about life for a while. Jiang Luo's ears suddenly moved and said keenly, "What's that sound!"

The sound of a phone ringing chimes in the hallway.

Lu Youyi: "Crap!"

They glanced at the source. It was dark and they could not see anything clearly. After staring for a long time, it seemed that there were some dangers and monsters hidden in the darkness, which could swallow them at any time.

Ye Xun took the lead. He walked over and said calmly, "Can someone answer the phone? I’m holding the incense and can't answer it. ”

Jiang Luo was pushed by Lu Youyi, and reluctantly picked up the phone, "Hello?"

The boss's voice came from the other end of the phone, "Hey hey hey, is this student Jiang?"

Jiang Luo instantly felt like returning to the world from the underworld, "It's me, boss, there is a power outage in our building."

"Yes, I was about to tell you about this problem," The boss said embarrassedly, "I forgot to say it during the day. We are building roads recently. The circuit is unstable and sometimes the power will go out. The backup power supply of our hotel is in the studio, just turn on the switch of the backup power supply."

Jiang Luo rubbed his forehead and said with a headache, "Okay, I see."

Jiang Luo still remembers the location of the studio. They approached the studio cautiously, for fear that they would not be able to see clearly and fall in the process. The person in the back row grabbed the clothes of the person in front. Jiang Luo only felt that Lu Youyi, who was dragging him behind was getting stronger and stronger. He was almost about to tear his clothes, "Lu Youyi, keep your strength down."

Lu Youyi responded abundantly, "Okay, okay."

After a few seconds, Jiang Luo still felt uncomfortable, "Do you really understand what I mean?"

He turned his head on the back, and accidentally stepped on the foot of the person behind him.

Jiang Luo subconsciously wanted to say sorry, but Lu Youyi didn't feel it. He said angrily, "How did I not understand what you were saying? Didn't I keep my strength down?"

All Jiang Luo's words choked in his throat. A cold sweat broke out from the tip of his nose, "Lu Youyi, don't you hurt?"

Lu Youyi said strangely: "What am I hurt?"

Jiang Luo was silent, and after a while, he said, "Lu Youyi."

Lu Youyi: "What?"

Jiang Luo said, "There seems to be one more person among us."

Footnotes:

1. distress ⬅