Zhou Yi stood for a moment before the glass door, which was like a canvas rendered in ink in the dark night. He was quiet, as if waiting for something, and then suddenly pushed the door and walked in.
“President Chu? Oh, there you are. I was wondering where you went.”
Zhou Yi turned around and saw Chu He standing in the corner by the wall, panting slightly. In the moonlight, his face was no better than a white sheet of paper. Upon closer inspection, his clothes seemed a little disheveled. “What are you doing here?”
Zhou Yi smiled. “Strange. This is such a famous restaurant in H-City. You can come, but I can’t? Speaking of which, the braised lobster here is indeed excellent. It’s a pity I was in such a hurry just now that I didn’t get to taste it…”
Chu He said, “Then you continue to taste it. I’m leaving.” As he spoke, he walked around Zhou Yi to leave, but as they passed each other, his wrist was suddenly grabbed.
“President Chu,” Zhou Yi said with a broad smile, “your tie is crooked.”
He reached out to fix Chu He’s tie, his movements slow and careful, even with a hint of tenderness. If not for the wrong time and wrong place, the two of them standing in such a posture would have been as picturesque as a pair of deeply devoted lovers.
“…Are you done?” Chu He asked.
Zhou Yi took half a step back to admire his work. “No rush, no rush.”
He reached out again and meticulously straightened Chu He’s collar, even smoothing out every single tiny wrinkle. His movements were as gentle and proper as caressing a young girl’s skin. After he was done, he looked up and smiled. “To meet is fate. On such a beautiful night with a full moon, why not stay and talk about life?”
“…” Chu He turned and walked away.
Zhou Yi didn’t stop him, just watched with a smile. Chu He didn’t stop until he was almost out of the garden—he saw a transparent wall had silently appeared in front of him! If not for the one or two blue electric currents occasionally zipping across its surface, it would have been completely overlooked in the dark night!
“What is the meaning of this, Mr. Zhou?”
Zhou Yi still had that very calm expression. “No meaning. I just want to tell you that in front of me, no one can just come and go as they please.”
“What a coincidence, Mr. Zhou.” Chu He didn’t get angry but smiled instead. “In this world, no one can make me go when they want me to go, or stay when they want me to stay. Would you like to try to be the first today?”
—The night wind seemed to pause for a moment. The air congealed inch by inch, sparkling with tiny ice crystals as sharp as blades.
The flowers and trees around them both simultaneously emitted the crisp sound of breaking under unbearable pressure.
“…President Chu,” just as the situation was about to explode, Zhou Yi suddenly laughed. “The way you talk really reminds me of my ex-wife…”
The energy around him suddenly relaxed, as if the confrontational scene just now had been an illusion. He smiled and snapped his fingers, and a high-legged table with red wine appeared out of thin air beside him. He poured a small amount of red wine into a crystal glass, as if nothing had happened just now. “President Chu, care for a glass?”
Chu He said coldly, “Your brain might not be normal. Have you had it checked?”
“Oh, I’m fine just the way I am. You have a problem with that?”
“No,” Chu He said. “I just think, no wonder your wife became your ex-wife.”
Unexpectedly, Zhou Yi had no reaction to this provocation. Not only that, but his smile grew even wider. “You’ve misunderstood this. The problems between me and my ex-wife are very complicated and can’t be explained in a moment… To put it simply, have you seen the main reasons why human couples divorce?”
Chu He suddenly felt it was all very absurd, but after a moment, he still answered, “Infidelity, infertility, emotional discord.”
Zhou Yi said, “Emotional discord is a matter of opinion. We had two sons together, so infertility can be ruled out. As for infidelity, we’ve been together for at least a thousand or eight hundred years. Even wearing a green hat or something isn’t a big deal—are you sure you don’t want a glass?”
Chu He shook his head. Zhou Yi snapped his fingers, and everything except the wine glass in his hand disappeared.
“I thought about it later. The main reason he left me was that our eldest son died.”
Zhou Yi drained the red wine in one gulp, tossed the glass into the air, and said slowly, “He thinks I killed him.”
Chu He could no longer hold back. “You should say this to your ex-wife! What’s the use of telling me?!”
“Oh, maybe I’ve just been bottling it up for too long and want someone to reason with me,” Zhou Yi said unhurriedly. “After all, the crime of killing one’s son is too f—ed up. Even I don’t feel too good about it… Besides, I think he’s the one who killed the child. If not for his excessive spoiling and indulging the child in making a huge mistake that brought down a heavenly retribution from the six realms’ gods and buddhas themselves…”
Chu He turned and walked away. The transparent wall at the garden entrance instantly flared with blue light, and then was shattered by his furious finger!
Zhou Yi said sharply, “Did I say you could leave?!”
His figure vanished into thin air and reappeared behind Chu He in the next second, a palm striking at his throat!
Chu He blocked him with a backhand and punched him hard in the face, knocking his head to the side. He was then hit in the abdomen with a heavy knee strike from Zhou Yi—this blow was extremely heavy. For an ordinary person, their internal organs would have probably spewed out of their mouth!
Even Chu He felt a metallic taste well up in his throat, but his movements didn’t even pause. He immediately swallowed the blood he had coughed up and jabbed Zhou Yi with his elbow from below, making him stagger. “Get lost!”
Zhou Yi spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, his ferocity flaring up. “What did you say?”
Chu He took half a step back—in that half-step, Zhou Yi’s figure vanished in an instant and reappeared behind him!
In a flash of lightning, Chu He saw Zhou Yi’s shadow change drastically in the moonlight. His pupils instantly dilated and then constricted. He was all too familiar with this process. Even though it hadn’t appeared for many years, he would never mistake it once he saw it—
It was a Dharma-form!
The first of the six realms of existence, the Heavenly Dao, Zhou Hui had summoned his Heavenly Dao Dharma-form!
“Demon Lord! Come out!” Zhou Yi grabbed Chu He and slammed him to the ground. He looked up, his pupils completely red. “—I didn’t kill you in the Hell Realm back then. Get the hell out here and die—!”
Several deafening booms sounded, and all the surrounding glass shattered!
Chu He gasped for breath. Amidst the rain of shattering glass, he shot up and ran for the exit. However, he hadn’t taken two steps before Zhou Yi grabbed him by the back of his shoulder and pulled him back, his face ashen. “You watch from the side…”
Before he could finish, footsteps came from behind, followed by Zhang Shun’s horrified shout. “Bro!”
Chu He’s breathing hitched.
He turned his head abruptly, but he was in human form now. A large piece of broken glass struck him on the temple, and a stream of blood blinded his vision. In his peripheral vision, he could only see Zhang Shun rushing over and grabbing him, pulling him behind.
No matter how calm Chu He could be, at this moment, he couldn’t help but want to curse. “Zhang Shun! Why are you here again!”
But it was too late. Zhou Yi’s face was ashen as he grabbed Zhang Shun, intending to toss him out like a shopping bag—
If that throw had landed, it probably would have thrown him straight off the building. But then, an unexpected scene occurred. Zhou Yi’s hand, which was holding Zhang Shun, suddenly emitted black smoke, and then he let go abruptly as if he had been burned!
“This is—”
In a flash, Zhou Yi returned to his human form and stood on the ground, raising an eyebrow to look at his hand.
His palm was a bloody mess. From the torn flesh, a golden “卍” character, a Buddha seal, was faintly visible, and then it vanished in an instant.
“A reincarnation of a Buddha bone,” Zhou Yi murmured, “…I really underestimated you.”
“What are you doing? Bro, are you okay?” Zhang Shun, still in shock, helped Chu He up. Seeing his blood-covered face, he was completely distraught. “Damn it! You-you got hit?! God-stick! Do you f—ing want to die? Just you wait! If I don’t have you carried out of H-City horizontally, my surname isn’t Zhang!”
Chu He grabbed Zhang Shun with a backhand and panted, “Let’s go.”
“But you…”
“What you!” Chu He said angrily. “Let’s go now!”
Zhang Shun was unwilling but had no choice but to help his brother retreat step by step. Chu He had no time to explain to him. He just stared intently at Zhou Yi, afraid he would suddenly change his mind and attack again.
But Zhou Yi didn’t do that. He stood there as if he had suddenly calmed down, and even looked up at Zhang Shun with a smile. “Sorry, brother-in-law. I lost my composure. But your brother’s complexion… I’m not just saying, his heart’s blood is almost completely drained. If you don’t think of something soon, in the next month or two, just let him eat whatever he wants and let him have his way.”
Zhang Shun asked, stunned, “What did you say?”
Chu He said angrily, “He’s just a lunatic! What are you still dawdling here for!”
The dazed Second Young Master Zhang wanted to ask more, but his brother turned and stumbled out. He had no choice but to quickly follow. By now, the people from the restaurant downstairs had also rushed up. Zhang Shun looked back one last time, full of confusion. He saw Zhou Yi standing amidst the broken glass, showing him his bloodied palm and curling his lips into a cold smile.
·
“Your brother already has a boyfriend.”
“The haunting in your house was his doing. If you don’t deal with it, you’ll both die at his hands.”
“Your brother’s heart’s blood is almost drained. If you don’t think of something, it’ll be a matter of one or two months.”
Zhang Shun tossed and turned restlessly in bed, staring at the white ceiling of the private hospital room. In the corner, a few colorful tropical fish swam in a fish tank, casting shimmering reflections on the dark walls.
—My brother has a boyfriend? How did I not know?
Ever since Zhang Shun could remember, he had never seen a woman by his brother’s side. If his brother had been in the Middle Ages, he would have been a perfect celibate monk. The Second Young Master Zhang was handsome and rich, young and fond of having fun and beautiful women. Over the years, many stunning beauties had appeared by his side, but his brother looked at them as if he were watching a play through a screen.
Zhang Shun had once thought his brother would continue like this, either growing old alone or one day suddenly meeting a virtuous, beautiful, and equally elegant lady from a good family, and then they would respect each other as guests and be eternally faithful, becoming the standard model couple of high society.
But he was wrong.
Someone had appeared out of nowhere like a divine soldier and become his brother’s “boyfriend.” And this man, it seemed, was a ruthless character.
Zhang Shun couldn’t help but sit up and turn to stare at his brother, gritting his teeth.
His brother lay unconsciously in bed, a white bandage peeking out from his hair.
Actually, upon careful thought, although his brother was ordinary-looking, his face pale with an inorganic quality as if from excessive blood loss, and his speech and actions distant and polite, not at all endearing, he was actually a very eye-catching person. Zhang Shun didn’t know why, but he often went to the company and knew that everyone there, from the newly hired, inexperienced girls to the capable female white-collar managers, would secretly pay attention to their President Chu’s every move and word. They would even blush and their hearts would pound at his cold glance. That heart-fluttering effect was probably more effective than the Second Young Master Zhang approaching them with a diamond watch and a luxury car.
It was hard to describe that kind of presence and charm in words. It was a soul-stirring power, far beyond what handsome looks and sweet words could achieve. Zhang Shun even felt that someone with a Hollywood-star-like face and figure like Zhou Yi was faintly overshadowed when standing next to his brother.
—Which man had conquered his brother?
Zhang Shun had also been tempted to ask directly, but Chu He had fallen ill the night he returned.
In his memory, from childhood to adulthood, Chu He had never been sick. But this time, the illness came like a landslide. When he returned to the hotel, his fever had reached nearly forty degrees, and he didn’t wake up even after a night of being fussed over by the doctor. The next day, he missed the meeting with Mayor Huang and the Japanese investors. He was completely unconscious, unable to eat or drink, relying entirely on glucose drips to support his physiological functions.
Zhang Shun was so anxious he was about to set the house on fire. He almost ran to the hospital director’s office to slam the table, but the doctors really had no other options. Zhou Yi’s kick hadn’t caused any internal injuries, and the wounds on his palm and temple were only superficial. But Chu He just wouldn’t wake up. In the end, the director could only order constant monitoring of Chu He’s heart rate and breathing, and to send him to the ICU immediately if there were any changes.
Fortunately, the private ward had advanced facilities, and the Second Young Master Zhang was wholeheartedly concerned about his brother, so he didn’t find the 24/7 vigil a hardship.
“It’s been three f—ing days,” Zhang Shun said, looking at the flashing LCD calendar on the bedside table.
Perhaps because more and more time was passing, Zhang Shun’s heart grew more and more restless. H-City was already hot, and for the past two nights, it had been as hot as a steamer. The air conditioner blowing cold air didn’t help. The Second Young Master Zhang only felt a fire burning in his heart.
He made an internal call and asked the nurse on night duty to watch his brother for a while, deciding to go for a walk outside.
The hospital corridor was empty. The fluorescent lights shone a deathly white on the walls, with a faint bluish tint. Perhaps because the corridor was too long, the wind even carried a sharp whistle. If one were to film a ghost movie here, they wouldn’t even need to set up a scene; they could just bring a camera.
The Second Young Master Zhang stood by the window at the end of the corridor for a while and couldn’t help but feel a chill. He decided to go to the vending machine downstairs to buy a pack of cigarettes.
The private ward was on the tenth floor. When he got into the elevator, there was already a person inside, wearing a green surgical gown, standing motionless in the corner. Zhang Shun didn’t notice at first and just went in. It was only when he pressed the button that he realized the elevator was going up and would stop at the top floor.
“…” Zhang Shun didn’t think much of it and just pressed the button for the first floor.
Ding!
The elevator doors slowly opened on the top floor, but the person behind him didn’t move.
Zhang Shun glanced over casually and saw that the elevator was directly opposite a long corridor. At the end was the operating room. At that moment, the red light had just gone out, and the doors clanged open. Several doctors and nurses rushed out, pushing an emergency cart.
The patient on the cart was already covered with a white sheet.
“Damn it!” Zhang Shun was startled and reflexively wanted to press the close-door button. He had just raised his hand when a doctor shrieked, “Wait a minute!”
“Yeah, what’s the rush, young man!” a nurse also said.
“Are you in such a hurry to go on your way?”
“Even those reincarnating aren’t in such a hurry as you!”
As the doctors and nurses chattered at him, Zhang Shun was getting creeped out. Suddenly, a hand reached out from under the white sheet, yanked the sheet off, and the patient sat up straight. “Wait for me!”
“F— his mother!” The Second Young Master Zhang instantly lost it. In his panic, he didn’t know how many times he hammered the close-door button. As the elevator doors slowly closed, a hoarse voice suddenly came from behind. “Wait for me!”
Zhang Shun turned his head in astonishment. The person in the surgical gown looked up, his face pale and covered in livor mortis, his two eyes staring straight at him. “Why are you in such a hurry? Why don’t you wait for me?”
Zhang Shun felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over his head—this person was clearly the patient who had been covered with a white sheet on the hospital bed just now!
“Wait for me!” The patient took a step forward and then suddenly reached out to pounce viciously. “Wait for me to go on the road with you!”
“I-I-I-I-damn it!!!” Zhang Shun almost peed his pants. He reflexively raised his hands to block the patient, his elbow hitting the floor buttons without him noticing. “Help-help-help-help! Help! Bro! Bro! Damn it—!”
The patient swung his long nails wildly at Zhang Shun’s face. In his panic, Zhang Shun erupted with great strength and actually kicked this thing, whether it was a ghost or a zombie, in the chest, sending it crashing into the back of the elevator with a boom. Then the patient, wheezing, staggered to its feet and, wrapped in the stench of death, pounced again. With a ding, the elevator returned to the tenth floor and slowly opened.
Zhang Shun scrambled out of the elevator, unprepared for the patient to follow. Its two gray, turbid eyes stared straight ahead. “Wait for me, wait for me…”
“I’ll wait for your mother’s c—!” Under extreme fear, a person can feel extreme anger. Zhang Shun was completely unafraid now. His anger at Zhou Yi, at his brother’s boyfriend, and at Chu He for not waking up for so many days instantly rushed to his head. Without thinking, he punched the pouncing zombie down and then rushed up to stomp on it crazily. “I’ll let you wait! I’ll let you wait! Son of a b—, if I don’t send you off horizontally, my surname isn’t Zhang!”
The zombie went berserk from being stomped. With a howl, it grabbed Zhang Shun and bent down to bite his neck. Zhang Shun shouted and pushed against the zombie’s pale, rotting face. In his panic, the zombie’s sharp nails scratched his face hard, and blood immediately gushed out.
“Damn… f— your mother…” Zhang Shun struggled to hold back the zombie, but a living person’s strength really couldn’t compare to a dead person’s. The zombie’s teeth, reeking of decay, inched closer and closer to his throat.
Damn it, why is no one coming to help… Am I going to die…
Zhang Shun gritted his teeth, feeling the strength in his hands draining away bit by bit. Just as he could no longer hold on, his whole body suddenly relaxed. He saw the zombie being lifted up in a strange posture, and then with a crisp crack, its head suddenly tilted to the side.
Zhang Shun said in surprise, “Bro!”
Chu He, panting, grabbed the zombie’s neck from behind and, with a sudden burst of strength, snapped the zombie’s rotting neck with a crack.
With a thud, the zombie’s body fell to the ground and quickly caught fire, turning into a pile of black ash in the blink of an eye. Zhang Shun scrambled to get up, but as soon as he exerted himself, his vision went black. The scratch on his face burned, and as he raised his hand to touch it, he felt half of his body had gone numb.
“Bro, bro, what’s going on?” Zhang Shun lay on the ground, unable to get up, his voice trembling. “What’s wrong with me, I’m—”
Chu He, breathing heavily, knelt down, helped Zhang Shun up, and staggered toward the hospital room. It was a wonder he could still walk while carrying the Second Young Master Zhang, who was half a head taller than him, but after a few steps, he completely lost his strength and knelt on the ground with a thud.
Zhang Shun’s voice changed pitch. “Damn it! Help! Someone—!”
But the entire floor seemed to be suddenly empty. Let alone people, there wasn’t even a sound, only the sharp echo of his voice in the corridor.
“Bro! Bro, what’s wrong with you?!” Zhang Shun finally realized something was seriously wrong and hurriedly propped himself up with the half of his body that still had feeling to grab Chu He. He saw his brother’s face was pale with a weak, ashen gray color. His lips had no color at all, and his scattered, unfocused gaze rested on Zhang Shun’s face for a moment. He opened his mouth as if to say something.
“What are you saying? Bro?” Zhang Shun leaned closer. But Chu He suddenly turned his head, and his cold lips pressed against his, passing a breath of air.
“…” Zhang Shun was instantly stunned.
Even the heavens collapsing and the earth cracking couldn’t describe Zhang Shun’s shock at that moment. He seemed to have forgotten everything. The unknown danger, the chaotic situation—all disappeared, leaving only this kiss.
Only his brother’s cold, soft, and slightly trembling lips.
Zhang Shun couldn’t help but get up and kneel on the ground, grabbing Chu He’s shoulders with a backhand grip. An intoxicating aura flowed through his whole body from where their lips and tongues met, like a warm current in winter. Everywhere it passed made him shiver with comfort.
Along with this warm current, he felt the numb half of his body quickly return to normal. His pulse stabilized, his limbs felt strong, and even the bleeding on his face stopped.
“Bro…”
Zhang Shun’s affectionate voice came to an abrupt halt. He saw his brother push him away, trembling. The breath that had been passed was suddenly cut off. At this point, Chu He’s face no longer looked like a living person’s; to describe it, it was almost the same as the zombie just now. Zhang Shun’s soul almost left his body at the sight. He scooped him up horizontally and rushed into the hospital room. “Bro! Wake up! Don’t fall asleep! Doctor, doctor! Where the hell is everyone?!”
Chu He trembled and shook his head, grabbing Zhang Shun’s hand and gently turning it over to show him his palm.
Zhang Shun’s pupils dilated in an instant—
On his palm, there was a golden “卍” character.
“A-a Buddha seal?!”
“I… I’ve returned the Buddha bone to you…” Chu He grabbed Zhang Shun, his gaze scattered and his mind blurred, but his cold fingers clung to him like a drowning person to a piece of driftwood. “Can… can you…”
Zhang Shun’s mind was blank, but his brother’s trembling voice still entered his ears, word by word. “Can you… return Maha’s life… to me?”
Maha?
Who is Maha?
Zhang Shun was stunned, half-holding the unconscious Chu He. Suddenly, the phone on the bedside table rang sharply, startling him. He saw the caller ID on his brother’s phone screen—Li Hu.
Normally, Zhang Shun wouldn’t have answered. But in this hospital where everyone had suddenly disappeared and there was no one to call for help, even if the caller had been Zhou Yi, the Second Young Master Zhang would have grabbed it like a piece of driftwood. He quickly picked up the phone. “Hello?!”
“Second Young Master Zhang, right?” Li Hu’s calm voice came through. “Don’t hang up, listen to me. Someone has cast a spell to harm President Chu. The danger isn’t over yet. Stay by your brother’s side and don’t move. Don’t leave!”
Zhang Shun said angrily, “I know! I just f—ing wanted to go out and buy a pack of cigarettes and I ran into a ghost! What do we do now?!”
“Close the door to the hospital room. Don’t open it no matter who knocks,” Li Hu said. “Wait for me to get there.”
