This Damned Thirst for Survival
chapter-56

While they were talking, Sai Liaoer fell asleep again.

Jiang Luo didn’t wake him up again this time, he told the others to stop talking and quietly made his way back to his chair to continue fishing.

It was three hours before Sai Liaoer woke up again.

It is dark, the moon is on the branches. Sai Liaoer blinked slowly, his eyes dull. When he woke up, Jiang Luo didn’t say anything, but put the fish in the bucket back into the lake, “Come on, let’s go and eat.”

Sai Liaoer finally got some energy, but after eating, his head went up a little and he looked like he was falling asleep again.

Jiang Luo is feeling a little nervous right now.

He can’t help but wonder if any of the oddities that happen around him have anything to do with Chi You.

Thinking of Chi You, his eyelids fluttered and he feared this was another trap Chi You had laid for him, Jiang Luo said straight away, ” Sai Liaoer is obviously not looking right, when he falls asleep tonight, let’s stay by his side and see what’s going on.”

The crowd did not disagree with what he said, and that night, as Sai Liaoer lay in bed under the covers, they gathered around the bed to play poker.

The little blonde curly-haired boy tried to play with them, but after a short time in bed, he fell asleep.

The first half of the night was uneventful, but as soon as 2am rolled around, one by one, the still-energetic group became sleepy. Jiang Luo’s eyelids were heavy, and the drowsiness came on suddenly and violently.

Something didn’t feel right in his mind, and Jiang Luo forced himself to fight the sudden sleepiness as he pinched himself so hard that the pain brought him back to consciousness for a moment.

At that moment, he felt a figure walk past in front of him.

His mind still a little fuzzy, Jiang Luo didn’t hesitate to bite his tongue hard again, the taste of blood hitting him and his eyes snapped open.

Sai Liaoer got up from the bed and walked past them with a dull expression, as if he were a walking corpse, and disappeared straight out of the door.

Jiang Luo tried to wake up Lu Youyi, but they were all dead asleep. He stopped being useless, grabbed his things and chased them out.

Outside the foggy white mist has risen again.

It was two in the morning and the moon was miserably white. Sai Liaoer walks out of the spa estate and heads for a nearby mountain village.

Jiang Luo followed him unmoved as the fog grew thicker and thicker around him. Sai Liaoer’s figure becomes a black shadow in the fog. I don’t know how long he has been walking, but another black figure suddenly appears on the other side of the fog.

The figure approached Sai Liaoer, but Sai Liaoer didn’t seem to notice, he was still walking in a straight line. It was only when the figure put something down in his hand that Sai Liaoer gave a short “ahh” as if he had come to his senses.

Jiang Luo waited patiently, calmly judging that Sai Liaoer was not yet at the point of crisis where he needed to step in.

As the white mist clears, Sai Liaoer is holding a long iron chain, as thick as a baby’s arm, which falls from his hand.

Sai Liaoer’s voice sounded close to tears, “I don’t want to, to have this thing.”

The long, thin, dark figure said, ” Sai Gongzi, since you are in office, you must do your duty well. This is a weapon in your hand, and it has always been this way. Don’t worry, and don’t be afraid, as long as you are on time, I will let you go back to your duty regularly.”

The little curly blonde was silent for a while before she cried, “I don’t understand, what you’re saying QAQ.”

The long, thin, dark figure: “……”

As soon as the long, thin, dark figure made his exit, Jiang Luo knew he wasn’t Chi You. He almost burst out laughing as he listened to the conversation between the two men.

Jiang Luo, who likes interesting and exciting things, peeks out and gives a light but quick glance at the dark shadows.

But no sooner had this glance landed on the long, thin, dark figure than the dark figure immediately sensed it.

He said in a serious tone, ” Sai Gongzi , you have brought someone.”

Sai Liaoer hurriedly looked around nervously, but saw no one there.

“Crooked Child?” The ghostly figure pondered for a moment, “What does that mean?”

Jiang Luo’s nerves had been tense for a moment, but now they were no longer. Now that he had been discovered, he simply walked out openly.

The dark-haired young man smiled with a smile so rich that it was like a rich, fragrant wine with an intoxicating graciousness.

As soon as Sai Liaoer saw him, he ran to Jiang Luo like a child in hard labour seeing his parents, “Jiang Luo!”

“I found you out in the middle of the night and worried that you were in danger, so I followed you out to have a look,” Jiang Luo smiled gently, “Sai Liaoer , what’s going on with you?”

He looked again at the dark figure approaching, “And this is?”

The dark figure said, “You can see me.”

He came out of the white mist and revealed his true appearance. A black robe, a black high hat, a wailing stick in his hand, a pale but handsome face, he is clearly a ghostly figure.

Jiang Luo’s pupils constricted.

The way the man was dressed could not keep him from thinking more, was this Hei Wuchang?

He immediately looked down into Sai Liaoer’s hand. The chain held in Sai Liaoer’s hand, was it the hooked chain in the hands of the White Imperator?

According to legend, the Hei Wuchang catch orphaned spirits and wild ghosts. The White Impermanent is a living person caught by the Hei Wuchang to serve as an errand boy, as the living have yang energy and they are not afraid of the yang energy in the dying person, so they are responsible for taking the soul of the dying person and escorting it to the Hei Wuchang to take it to the underworld.

This is what is known as “walking erratically”.

Jiang Luo thought that the “walking of the unpredictable” was just a myth, but he never thought that it would really happen to him. The man who was taken away as an errand boy was no other than a foreigner, Sai Liaoer.

Hei Wuchang stared unsmilingly at Jiang Luo , “You’re strange.”

“Your living soul, it seems, does not belong to this world,” Hei Wuchang frowned, the sharp light in his eyes seeming to penetrate the skin to see Jiang Luo’s insides, “transcending the three worlds and belonging to a place other than hell, something is indeed odd.”

Jiang Luo looked at him defensively and took a step back.

But Sai Liaoer ducked behind him and Jiang Luo’s kick, which he hadn’t noticed, struck the long hooked chain in his hand.

The chain, which had been silent, suddenly stirred. As if it smelled something it liked, the chain wrapped itself around Jiang Luo’s ankle. The black chain crawled like a black snake. Hei Wuchang was the first to notice that something was wrong with the chain, his face changed and he shouted, ” Sai Gongzi, take the chain and back off!”

Sai Liaoer didn’t react, “Huh?”

In the next instant, the hooked chain seemed to be taken aback by Hei Wuchang. It suddenly split in half in the middle and turned into two finger-thick chains. Before anyone could react, one of the chains flew violently towards Jiang Luo, and in Jiang Luo’s disbelieving eyes, it passed through Jiang Luo’s chest and burrowed into Jiang Luo’s body.

Jiang Luo was stunned, he looked down at his chest, raised his hand and touched it, there was nothing there, it was as if he had just hallucinated the scene.

Hei Wuchang’s face sank, “Oh no!”

Sai Liaoer looked at Jiang Luo in shock, and after reacting in panic, he asked Hei Wuchang, “Brother Hei, is Jiang alright?”

“The chain of hooked souls is a weapon to detain souls, but few people know that the chain of hooked souls also has a twin weapon called the chain of locked souls,” Hei Wuchang said with a deep frown, “The chain of locked souls is naturally fond of strange and exotic souls, and once it has taken a fancy to a soul, it will definitely wrap itself around it. ”

At this moment, Hei Wuchang could clearly see that the chains had tightly wrapped around Jiang Luo’s living soul.

This is a rare occurrence from ancient times to the present day. After all, the hooked chain has hooked countless souls, and the chain’s eye has long been fed by souls of all shapes and sizes to become discerning. Who knew it was such a coincidence that today it had met a living soul it liked.

And the living soul of this dark-haired young man is really strange.

It’s not that Hei Wuchang hadn’t thought of the idea of returning a corpse to a body, but how can this be explained when the dark-haired youth’s soul and body look the same?

Hei Wuchang has been cautious and careful for a hundred years and has never made any mistakes. Unexpectedly, the boat has capsized now. He did not hold back and sighed heavily.

This breath brought tears to Sai Liaoer’s eyes, and the little blonde curly-haired man almost went limp, “Black, help Jiang Luo!”

Jiang Luo’s heart also sank, “The Soul Chain has locked my soul, does this mean I’m going to die?”

Hei Wuchang, who for the first time felt what humans call a “headache”, helped Sai Liaoer, who was about to slide to the ground, “Sai Gongzi, there is no need to make such a big salute. This Mr. Jiang has got the Soul Chain, what is lost may not be lost.”

Sai Liaoer sobbed as she was helped to her feet, “I don’t understand.”

Hei Wuchang : “…… Jiang Gongzi will not die.”

As a workaholic, Hei Wuchang took out a small notebook from his sleeve and said to Sai Liaoer, “Sai Gongzi, Yang Xiuchun, the old woman in the second room on the left of the 204th house in this village, will die in a quarter of an hour. I will tell you more when we have finished our business.”

Sai Liaoer went to the hook with trepidation, taking one step and three steps back inside the village.

Jiang Luo even felt a sense of sadness in Sai Liaoer as he went off to die.

Hei Wuchang watched along with him until Sai Liaoer’s back disappeared and then turned to look at Jiang Luo.

“Lord Jiang,” Hei Wuchang said solemnly, “the chain of soul chains will not harm your living soul, and on the day you die, I will come to you and release it from your living soul with my own hands.”

“Mr. Hei Wuchang, I would like to know what you mean by the phrase ‘what is lost is not necessarily lost’,” Jiang Luo seemed so calm that Hei Wuchang could not help but look at him differently. “Where is it lost and where is it collected?”

Hei Wuchang said, “It’s a long story.”

Jiang Luo smiled and said, “It’s okay, I’ll listen to you slowly.”

Hei Wuchang then spoke slowly. According to Hei Wuchang’s words, once this soul chain is locked on Jiang Luo’s body, unless Jiang Luo can control the chain, he will never be able to take it off. With the chain on his body, anything that could nourish his soul would be useless to Jiang Luo, just like a bowl of water with the lid closed, and no other water could be poured into the bowl, but not a single drop could be poured in.

But at the same time, there is a chicken-and-egg benefit. The chains imprison Jiang Luo, but they also protect him. If anyone tries to do anything to Jiang Luo’s soul, they can only do so in vain.

Jiang Luo was instantly reminded of Chi You’s puppet soul-refining technique.

He looked slightly moved, “So in that case, the puppet soul refining technique is useless to me as well?”

Hei Wuchang nodded and looked slightly sympathetically at Jiang Luo , in his opinion, the disadvantages of being chained to a soul clearly outweighed the advantages, “It’s a pity that you still have a bead on you that can enhance your spirit body, but it’s useless now.”

Jiang Luo just wants to laugh.

“No pity, no pity at all,” he pulled out Yuan Tianzhu and squeezed it down hard, “it’s no use to me, then I can crush it.”

God knows how much Jiang Luo worries every day that he will wake up and be controlled by Chi You.

He tucks Fu Lu under his pillow and puts Fu Lu on his body every night before he goes to bed. The first thing he does when he wakes up is to check Fu Lu and recall if his memories of yesterday have been tampered with.

Only when he got the Yin Yang Ring did he breathe a little easier, but this ability of Chi You still stuck in his throat.

Yuan Tianzhu is a man he both loves and hates.

Love it, naturally, because it makes Jiang Luo stronger, and hate it because it is part of the soul of Chi You.

The thought of swallowing Chi You’s soul and entwining it with his own made him feel insensitive. Even if Yuan Tianzhu could make him stronger, he had no desire to use Yuan Tianzhu.

So, he kept Yuan Tianzhu and never used it. But after this accident, Yuan Tianzhu was no longer useful to him, and Jiang Luo was finally relieved of his worries.

Jiang Luo’s fingers are hard, but, embarrassingly, Yuan Tianzhu is not crushed by him.

Jiang Luo summoned Yin Hu without changing his face and threw Yuan Tianzhu into Yin Hu’s mouth.

Yin Hu chewed hard, but with a toothache expression, it rubbed itself aggressively against Jiang Luo’s waist and spat out Yuan Tianzhu.

Jiang Luo took a deep breath and re-hid Yuan Tianzhu.

Hei Wuchang kindly said, “This bead is indestructible, so rather than trying to crush it, it is easier to hide it.”

Jiang Luo smiled politely at him, “Thank you for your guidance, I understand.”

Fifteen minutes later, Sai Liaoer walked out of the village on time. The soul of a muddled old man was attached to his chain, and Hei Wuchang pinned it down and said to Sai Liaoer: “Sai Gongzi, you still have the souls of five hundred and six people to hook.”

Sai Liaoer said, “Brother Black, I’m really not cut out for this job.”

Hei Wuchang frowned in disapproval, ” Sai Gongzi, it’s a done deal.”

Sai Liaoer’s ears were dizzy and his eyes were dizzy, he scratched his blonde hair and said pitifully, “I really don’t understand what you’re saying.

Hei Wuchang said, “…… Sai Gongzi , I can’t understand your words either.”

Jiang Luo was ready to leave: “Keep up the good work, I’ll be off.”

“Wait, Gongzi Jiang,” Hei Wuchang called out to him, “the living go impermanent, it’s a secret, and it would be a disaster for Sai Gongzi if anyone else knew about it.”

Jiang Luo understands this.

If anyone knew that Sai Liaoer was the White Impermanent and could take their souls, countless people would go crazy over it and it goes without saying what Sai Liaoer would go through.

Hei Wuchang said, “Even Sai Gongzi, when I remove the hooking rope from his hand, he will forget about walking the impermanent.”

Jiang Luo sensed something was wrong, “Are you saying that I am the only person in the world who knows that Sai Liaoer is the White Impermanent?”

Hei Wuchang nodded with a serious face.

Jiang Luo rubs his brow, his head hurts.

Was it because he was a crossover that he was so special?

” Sai Gongzi does not seem very clever,” Hei Wuchang said, half-heartedly and bluntly, “and I would ask Jiang Gongzi to conceal the matter for a moment.”

Jiang Luo nodded, “Don’t worry, even if you don’t say anything, I won’t tell anyone about this.”

“After all ……” he muttered, “we’re friends.”

The words were so low that they were scattered by the wind and no one heard them.

After bidding them farewell, Jiang Luo went back to his room alone, while the others in Sai Liaoer’s room were still sleeping unconsciously.

Early the next morning, Sai Liaoer returns, bleary-eyed. Before, Jiang Luo would have suspected that he was under an evil spell, but now he knows that it is clearly the pain of a part-time job after a late night.

He tried Sai Liaoer a few times, but Sai Liaoer could not remember what happened last night. Jiang Luo gave up and helped him get past his companions, and after a final day at the spa, the group went back to school.

After returning to the school, they took a few days off and once again received a mission issued by the school.

A trainee talent show has seen three of its scheduled trainers die inexplicably and one of the people behind the scenes die before the show is recorded.

The show had started to build up publicity all over the place before it started, but I never thought this would happen. But with lives at stake, the director’s team met several times to discuss the matter and, even with the heavy losses, planned to call the show off, but that night, an assistant director was hanged in the studio.

There is also a line of blood on the wall of the studio, a threat left by an unknown person.

“If the show is stopped, everyone dies.”

The team didn’t believe it, but then a series of bizarre events led them to believe it. Under death threats, the talent show had to go ahead as scheduled.

The police are unable to deal with the matter, so they give it to Bai Hua University as a task. The university decides to pick three people to fill the positions of the three dead trainees and blend in with the talent show, trying to find the source of the paranormal incident without attracting the attention of the audience.