Translator: CinderTL
Jiang Cheng casually picked up the sachet, playing with it in his hand as he tilted his head and said nonchalantly, "Well then... shall we open it and take a look?"
"Look, look, look!" Blind Zheng stared intently at the sachet in Jiang Cheng's hand, his entire body trembling with excitement.
But Jiang Cheng shifted the sachet from his left hand to his right, then back to his left. Blind Zheng's gaze followed the sachet unwaveringly, occasionally swallowing hard.
Jiang Cheng was now certain.
This sachet was the trigger for death.
Having confirmed this, Jiang Cheng instead calmed down. In other words, as long as he didn't actively open the sachet, he would be safe for the time being.
The difficult part was... how to find an excuse to leave.
If he dragged this out for too long, something unexpected might happen.
Jiang Cheng smiled and tucked the sachet into his pocket. "Let's wait until we have more time. Today, drinking with Brother Zheng has been so enjoyable. Let's not ruin the mood with this ominous thing."
Upon hearing this, Blind Zheng's expression visibly turned venomous, but only for a moment. He quickly masked it by taking a drink.
As the conversation continued, Jiang Cheng tried to pry information about past events from the ghost, but the other party remained tight-lipped, solely focused on getting Jiang Cheng to open the sachet.
By the end, Jiang Cheng even thought the other party was about to lay their cards on the table.
Fortunately, they didn't.
However, after several exchanges, Blind Zheng seemed to have realized something. The way he looked at Jiang Cheng was no longer the same dazed expression from before.
Instead, it had turned into a gaze that was almost predatory.
Jiang Cheng, on the other hand, maintained his clueless demeanor, addressing Blind Zheng as "Brother" left and right, expressing how they should have met sooner. In summary, he was playing along—you do you, and I'll just keep acting.
As long as you don't reveal your hand, I'll be the perfect fool.
"Brother Jiang!" Blind Zheng stood up, interrupting Jiang Cheng's incessant chatter. He looked at Jiang Cheng's face and said with a smile, "Why hasn't that young brother of yours returned yet?"
"Could it be that he saw something?" Blind Zheng's face twitched, clearly having endured Jiang Cheng for far too long.
"Who knows?" Jiang Cheng stood up as well and began walking toward the door, speaking in an indignant tone, "Brother Zheng, please stay calm. I'll go catch him and make him come back to apologize with a toast!"
Just as Jiang Cheng's hand grasped the doorknob, an arm silently rested on his right shoulder.
Then, Blind Zheng's voice, with its forced smile, sounded from behind. "Brother Jiang," he said, "let's go together."
"He might be next door." Blind Zheng grinned, revealing a set of pale, menacing teeth. "We'll... go look for him first."
Jiang Cheng didn't see the other party's grin.
After all, he was facing away.
But he distinctly felt a chill, as if... a cold breath had been exhaled from the person behind him. A freezing sensation gradually crept up his back.
Was there really no way to avoid this? If they went next door and saw the real Blind Zheng's corpse, he would still die.
Where was the way out? Just as Jiang Cheng hesitated, a series of hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the door, followed by the sound of someone stopping right outside.
The next second, the slightly ajar door was forcefully pushed open.
Jiang Cheng didn't dare step back, and the door slammed into him with full force.
When the door opened, it revealed a man who looked like a security guard. He was imposing, with a baton tucked at his waist and what should have been a matching cap on his head.
But judging by the man's appearance, he clearly didn't wear it often.
His hair was long and greasy, clumped together and sticking to his scalp. He looked to be around 40 years old, but his words were sharp and unsparing.
"Blind Zheng!" The security guard glanced into the room, his eyes wide. "You're sneaking drinks again!"
Before Blind Zheng could react, the guard grabbed him by the neck and dragged him away like an eagle snatching a chick, all the while cursing.
In his anger, the guard even pretended to kick him a couple of times.
It turned out that the hospital had long since banned Blind Zheng from drinking and had ordered the security guards to keep an eye on him. If the leaders found out he was sneaking drinks, the guards would be fined.
It seemed the guard was afraid of making a scene, so he dragged Blind Zheng down a small path, avoiding the hospital lobby.
Not far from there was a small gate.
It was a secluded spot, used for hauling coal or transporting goods that couldn't be moved through the main entrance.
Jiang Cheng looked around and was about to slip away.
"Brother Jiang!" A soft voice came from the corner. From the shadows emerged a person Jiang Cheng hadn't noticed earlier.
"It's me," Cao Yang said, sneaking out. His actions, paired with his burly physique, created a somewhat comical contrast. "Are you okay?"
Seeing Cao Yang staring in the direction where the guard and the ghost disguised as Blind Zheng had disappeared, Jiang Cheng's eyes gradually cleared. He seemed to understand something.
"That scared me to death just now," Cao Yang said quickly. "In that room, there was..."
"A corpse," Jiang Cheng nodded. "Blind Zheng's."
Cao Yang was stunned, and his gaze toward Jiang Cheng changed. He instinctively took a step back, his face filled with fear.
"I'm not a ghost," Jiang Cheng explained.
"Did you call the guard?" he asked.
The guard wouldn't have come without a reason. Clearly, someone had tipped him off. Jiang Cheng hadn't expected Cao Yang to be so quick-witted.
"Yes," Cao Yang whispered. "I told him Blind Zheng was causing a drunken scene in the room and even threatened to burn the hospital down."
"Thank you."
"Let's go," Cao Yang urged, looking down the dark hallway. "It's not safe here. If they come back..."
He trailed off, and a strange emotion appeared in his eyes—something like reluctance, but more so the resignation that comes after making a difficult choice.
Jiang Cheng knew what he was thinking.
That guard was probably in grave danger.
But if no one had intervened, the one who might have died could have been him.
He said "might" instead of "definitely" because Jiang Cheng knew there was something far more terrifying within him.
And that thing probably wouldn't let him die.
The moment Blind Zheng had placed his hand on Jiang Cheng's shoulder, he had felt an unusual presence awaken within his body.
It was like a beast that had been sleeping in the darkness, slowly opening its eyes.
But for Jiang Cheng, it felt as though there was a shackle deep within him, restraining him. He couldn't let it out until the very last moment.
Recalling Wu's face, Jiang Cheng had once had a rare nightmare.
In the nightmare, he walked through a rain of blood, the ground beneath his feet soaked in it, surrounded by severed limbs and broken bodies.
Pale, dry bones were arranged around him, piled up before a massive Bronze Door.
The Bronze Door bore the marks of blood and fire.
It resembled a ritual from some doctrine, a ceremony before coronation.
And the only living being, as if summoned by some force, stopped before the pool of blood.
He lowered his head.
Reflected in the pool of blood was none other than Wu's face.
(End of the Chapter)
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