Chapter 171: The Cannon Fodder Who Can’t Survive Three Chapters (14)
Bei Xing was stunned to learn that the prize for the metaphysics conference was a dragon tendon.
She had even started to doubt Su Mingxiu’s claims about this being a “degenerate age”—
Chu Yinxi had praised her talisman skills, but how could a metaphysics conference offer such a mythical item as a prize?
A dragon tendon!
In legends, even Nezha, who had pulled out the tendons of the Dragon King’s son, had faced severe consequences. How could such a rare item be offered as a prize in a seemingly ordinary conference, in this age of scarce spiritual energy?
For a moment, she wondered if she had transmigrated into a fantasy novel, not a modern horror story.
That night, at the Bei family villa, Bei Xing, exhausted from studying the Shuowen Jiezi (an ancient Chinese dictionary), was video chatting with Chu Yinxi, her notebook filled with question marks.
“Hmm?” Chu Yinxi, seeing her dazed expression, looked conflicted, as if wanting to say something.
But Bei Xing didn’t notice, lost in her thoughts, then, realizing the awkward silence, she thanked Chu Yinxi for the information and was about to hang up.
She hadn’t planned on attending the conference, afraid of embarrassing herself, but now, hearing about the prize, she was intrigued.
“Wait…” Chu Yinxi hesitated, then said softly: “I heard… well, consider this a rumor, it’s not confirmed yet.”
“What is it?”
“I heard the dragon tendon is cursed, filled with negative energy, not the usual yang energy of a dragon. So, to win the prize, you have to not only be the best, but also lift the curse.”
Oh.
Bei Xing, having just experienced the Pixiu’s curse, her initial excitement vanished.
What’s so great about a dragon tendon? I’ve never even seen one.
She slumped back in bed, putting aside her dictionary. “Maybe I shouldn’t go to this… cursed conference,” she said to the air.
Su Mingxiu emerged from the shadows, amused by her words. “You have to go,” she said.
Why? Bei Xing’s eyes widened.
Su Mingxiu, having planted her ghostly energy in Su Jin, could sense the snake demon’s growing power—
Since they were both fragments of the same dragon soul, if one gained power, upon merging, the other two would be absorbed.
She and Su Jin couldn’t coexist. The dragon tendon, a powerful artifact, if it fell into Su Jin’s hands, the ghostly seed would be nullified.
She would be at a disadvantage.
Bei Xing, now wide awake, remembering the past challenges at the metaphysics conference: feng shui assessments, exorcisms, exploring haunted villages… she shivered.
She pulled the blanket closer and looked at Su Mingxiu, her voice full of dramatic flair. “It’s not that I don’t want to go, but it’s so dangerous, what if something happens to me? Who will love you like I do?”
“No one to burn paper money for you during Qingming, no one to offer sacrifices during Zhongyuan, no one to shed tears for you during Chongyang—the thought is unbearable! You’ve already missed out on the joys of life, don’t let your afterlife be lonely too!”
“I’m only risking my insignificant life, but you’re risking your love!”
Su Mingxiu: “…”
So dramatic.
She chuckled, amused by the over-the-top performance, then leaned closer, her voice soft and seductive. “Of course I don’t want you to be in danger, I could go myself, but I’m worried that snake demon will take advantage of my absence, and with her hatred for you, if she kills you, I can still retrieve your soul from the underworld, but what if she tortures you, makes you wish for death—”
“Wouldn’t that make me regret it, my heart breaking, even willing to destroy this world for you?”
Bei Xing almost threw up.
She hadn’t expected Su Mingxiu to be so shameless, delivering such cheesy lines with a straight face, her dark eyes filled with a villainous intensity. Compared to this ghost, she was an amateur.
You never know what hidden talents a top student possesses.
Her expression turned weak and vulnerable, her eyes filled with fake gratitude, knowing that she couldn’t compete with Su Mingxiu’s theatrics. “Since you care about me so much, for your sake, I’m willing to go through fire and water, what’s a metaphysics conference? I’ll go!”
But inwardly, she was screaming:
No!
Su Mingxiu, pretending not to notice her insincerity, her eyes also filling with fake gratitude, even said that she was so touched by Bei Xing’s resolve that she would give her special training before the conference.
The words “special training” were like a truck hitting Bei Xing’s fragile heart.
And even more terrifying was that this training took place in her dreams, Su Mingxiu somehow turning them into a horror game, where she had to use her knowledge to survive,
Otherwise, she would be chased by zombies, ghosts, and demons.
Bei Xing now understood why those who offended ghosts couldn’t sleep peacefully.
The next morning, she lay in bed for ten minutes, her hands folded on her chest, her gaze unfocused, her expression serene, recovering from the night’s terrors.
The day of the conference was approaching.
Bei Xing, tormented by Su Mingxiu’s “special training,” wondered if she was developing Stockholm syndrome.
Why else would she be developing feelings for this ghost, after all those cheesy lines and dramatic performances?
One night…
Remembering the divination dream she hadn’t been able to solve, her eyes red and bloodshot from staying up until 3 AM, she refused to sleep.
Su Mingxiu emerged from the shadows and leaned closer, looking at her. She had intended to let Bei Xing sleep peacefully tonight, but seeing her stubbornness, she couldn’t help but smile.
“Not sleeping?”
Bei Xing looked up at her beautiful face, thinking about the terrifying trials in her dreams, wondering where this ghost got its sadistic ideas.
“How can I sleep without you in my dreams?”
Her only way to cope was to torture Su Mingxiu with more cheesy lines, a mutually assured destruction of cringe.
Su Mingxiu, having endured this for days, was almost immune. “Then what will make you sleep?” she asked, her voice indulgent.
“Kiss me.”
It had been a while since their last kiss, making Bei Xing think that they had been accidental, not intentional. And she had been rejected before, after taking the medicine.
She had even forgotten about Su Mingxiu’s promised reward, thinking that Su Mingxiu didn’t actually like her. Her request now was just… a playful taunt.
Seeing that Su Mingxiu didn’t move, she even wrapped her arms around Su Mingxiu’s neck, leaning closer. “A deep kiss, to ease my longing, and then I’ll consider sleeping.” And then continue studying in her dreams.
Su Mingxiu paused.
In the dim light of the bedside lamp, her dark eyes were like the waters of the River of Forgetfulness, silently embracing the darkness.
She didn’t agree or refuse, only asking: “Anything else?”
Oh.
So she’s not interested.
But who wouldn’t want to tease a beautiful woman?
Images of dominating Su Mingxiu flashed through Bei Xing’s mind, her earlier drowsiness replaced by a sudden excitement. She leaned closer, her lips brushing against Su Mingxiu’s pale jawline, her voice a soft whisper. “And… hold me tight.”
Su Mingxiu felt a strange flutter in her chest, a place that should have been cold and still.
If she still had a physical body, she would have probably jumped out of her coffin.
She chuckled softly.
As Bei Xing looked at her, confused, Su Mingxiu’s gaze fell on her lips, calculating, she had been taking the medicine for almost a month now—
It should be safe.
Just as she was about to agree to Yu Nian’s eager invitation, a strong demonic aura suddenly appeared outside the window.
She paused, her ghostly energy surging, and, muttering “Next time,” she vanished, a grey mist drifting towards the source of the demonic aura.
Bei Xing, her head hitting the pillow as Su Mingxiu disappeared: “?”
She pulled the blanket closer, extinguishing the tiny spark of hope in her heart, a confirmation that Su Mingxiu wasn’t interested.
So unmoved by such a blatant invitation, could it be that this ghost… is incapable?
Outside the villa…
Su Mingxiu looked at the figure emerging from the darkness, a face identical to her own, her expression cold, the grey mist swirling around her a sign of her displeasure.
“Did I interrupt something?”
Su Jin’s demonic aura was strong, but unlike Su Mingxiu’s controlled ghostly energy, it seemed uncontrolled, almost tangible, like silk ribbons trailing from her hands.
The aura was more potent than before.
Su Mingxiu realized that Su Jin must have gained more power, but she hadn’t refined it yet.
And she looked… slightly dishevelled, as if she had been running.
Before she could finish her thought, Su Jin, a smile on her lips, remembering Su Mingxiu’s earlier reaction, said playfully: “Don’t look so upset, I’m not here to break you up—”
“I’m here to join you.”
Leave a Reply