Chapter 168: The Cannon Fodder Who Can’t Survive Three Chapters (11)
The black snake was enveloped in a grey mist, a more formidable force, a painful reminder of the mist seeping into its flesh, like two snakes intertwined in a deadly battle.
The black snake, unable to resist, went limp, its body constricting under the grey mist’s relentless pressure.
When Su Jin could no longer speak, Su Mingxiu opened her eyes. “Learned your lesson?” she asked calmly.
Su Jin, weakened by Bei Xing’s talismans and Su Mingxiu’s ghostly energy, was now under Su Mingxiu’s control.
But there was no hint of submission in her red eyes, only a look of arrogant confidence, as if she was still the dominant one.
Seeing Su Mingxiu’s silence, the grey mist dissipating, she continued her provocation. “Was I wrong? You’re just a ghost now, your yin energy too strong for mortals, but there’s a solution—”
“Once we reunite our three souls, even without our dragon body, with the dragon pearl, we can regain our divine form. A divine body is pure yang energy, and in this degenerate age, with its scarce resources, you won’t be able to touch her.”
“Even in ancient times, many couldn’t withstand a dragon’s power, let alone a fragile mortal.”
Su Mingxiu’s eyes narrowed, gleaning information.
So, in this life… she wasn’t just a ghost, but a fallen dragon, her soul fragmented, her body destroyed, her dragon pearl in a mortal’s possession.
Su Jin’s form revealed her origins, a snake who had ascended to dragonhood, now reduced to her original form.
Compared to a born dragon god, a snake’s path to ascension was arduous, requiring the unification of three souls, the merging with a dragon vein, a righteous path of cultivation.
Otherwise, falling into darkness, there was no hope of becoming a dragon. Even then, there were still trials and tribulations: transformation of form, heart, spirit, and the thunder tribulation, each one perilous, from snake to jiao, then to dragon, each transformation a near-death experience.
But…
How did Su Jin remember all this?
Su Mingxiu’s ghostly energy flickered, then stabilized. She wasn’t in a hurry to uncover Su Jin’s secrets, a snake’s nature was cunning and deceitful, she could wait until she had absorbed its power.
Seeing her unmoved, Su Jin, bored, started chasing her own tail, even tying herself into a knot.
Bei Xing felt a cool, damp cloth on her forehead,
A soothing relief from her fever.
She stirred slightly, but didn’t open her eyes, her body recognizing the familiar scent, her head nuzzling against the touch, seeking more.
Su Mingxiu, seeing her fluctuating temperature, knew that the Pixiu’s curse had to be lifted soon.
She stroked Bei Xing’s head, thinking, I have to bring Chu Yinxi here tomorrow.
Thankfully, Chu Yinxi was reliable, also concerned about Bei Xing. But her early morning visit startled Bei Xing’s father, who had been awake all night, bombarded with bad news: factories catching fire, deals falling through… if it weren’t for his wife and daughters’ sudden fevers, he would have thought he had offended someone.
“Xiao Chu?”
The Chu and Bei families were well-acquainted. Worried about Chu Yinxi’s safety, he greeted her at the door.
Chu Yinxi, unaware of the situation, politely explained her visit, and Bei Xing’s father frowned.
“Xingxing is being unreasonable, Xiao Chu, I remember your family practices… cultivation, perhaps you should ask your elders for help, our situation… I don’t want to put you in danger, this isn’t something you can handle.”
Just then, a voice behind him: “Chu Chu, you’re here, Dad, move aside.”
Bei Xing’s father: “?”
He turned around, about to speak, then saw the red-clad woman standing beside Bei Xing. His face lit up. “Master Su.”
The dragon pearl on Chu Yinxi’s chest started to burn, she had thought it was Su Jin and was about to greet her, but the heat radiating from the pearl made her wary.
Su Mingxiu, still unaware of why the dragon pearl resonated with her, sensing the potential complications, gave Bei Xing a look and went back to her room, releasing the snake.
Su Jin, guessing the situation, didn’t transform into her human form, but slithered onto the table, coiling herself lazily, a malicious glint in her red eyes.
“Want my help? Beg—”
A sudden, sharp pain throughout her body, a reminder of the ghost’s torment, and she quickly begged for mercy. Su Mingxiu’s voice, slow and deliberate: “Help me with this, and I’ll let you see your Chu Chu again, otherwise, I’ll devour you.”
Su Jin: “…”
Hmph!
Bei Xing’s father was sent away, leaving only Chu Yinxi, Su Jin, and Bei Xing in the living room, Su Mingxiu hidden.
Wanting to help, Chu Yinxi agreed to lend her amulet. She vaguely knew that the bead was special, and that no one could take it from her without her consent, so she wasn’t reluctant.
Su Jin explained how to use the pearl’s power to extract the dragon scales from the Pixiu, then gave Chu Yinxi time to practice.
Soon, Chu Yinxi stood before the black Pixiu statue, her eyes closed, chanting something, and a golden light filled the room—
A long, resonant roar!
Su Jin stumbled back, her face pale, and Bei Xing’s knees buckled. A cold hand covered her ears, steadying her.
She stared, her eyes wide, as the Pixiu’s eyes also widened, its body glowing with a golden light.
One by one, the dragon scales lit up, the surrounding area as if scorched by lava, the Pixiu screeching in pain, black smoke rising from its jade body, which started to melt.
They watched as the Pixiu turned into a puddle of liquid, then evaporated in the golden light, leaving nothing behind.
At the same time, Bei Xing felt a lightness, a heavy burden lifted.
The Pixiu’s curse was gone.
She breathed a sigh of relief and, as the light from Chu Yinxi’s pearl faded, thanked her sincerely, even inviting her to lunch.
Su Jin, seeing the blackened dragon scales, silently collected them.
Su Mingxiu remained hidden.
But Chu Yinxi, touching the pearl, which seemed to be guiding her towards the lingering ghostly aura, looked at Bei Xing and asked hesitantly: “Are you… still determined to be with her?”
Bei Xing instantly knew who she was talking about.
The lies she had told to survive, to change her fate,
Now seemed to have trapped her. Her connection with Su Mingxiu was undeniable.
She didn’t answer, but her firm expression was an answer in itself.
Chu Yinxi sighed, feeling that there was nothing more she could say. A relationship with a ghost would only bring misfortune, she had helped today, but she couldn’t always be there. Remembering what Su Jin had said, she thought for a moment, then said: “Since you can draw such powerful talismans, it means you have potential, I heard there’s a metaphysics conference soon, I can’t help you, but perhaps… someone there can.”
“If you need it, I can send you an invitation.”
Bei Xing, surprised by this unexpected offer, readily agreed. “Okay, thank you.”
Chu Yinxi left with Su Jin, refusing Bei Xing’s father’s offer of payment, while Su Jin accepted a large check.
The Bei family’s estate, damaged by Bei Xing’s talismans, was uninhabitable. They decided to stay at their other villa in the city center.
By afternoon, Zhou Yun and Bei Qiming’s fevers had subsided. Zhou Yun checked on Bei Xing, who was asleep, and didn’t disturb her. Bei Qiming went to help her father at the company.
Early evening…
Bei Xing woke up in the new villa, stretched, feeling much better, then, remembering something, jumped out of bed and almost tripped on the carpet.
A cold hand steadied her.
“In such a hurry?”
Bei Xing, turning to Su Mingxiu, asked, confused: “Have you… been here all day?”
Su Mingxiu, frowning slightly, “Where else would I be?”
Bei Xing, after a moment, smiled at Su Mingxiu and went to ask the housekeeper about the things she had requested earlier. Soon, a table was set up in her study.
Two bouquets of chrysanthemums, a wooden memorial tablet, an incense burner, and, besides the usual offerings, what caught Su Mingxiu’s attention were the other items: clothes, jewelry, a miniature house… and a bag of gold ingots.
Her eye twitched.
She knew it was her seventh day, having been showered with gold ingots by the Su family earlier, thankfully only for an hour.
But she hadn’t expected Bei Xing to have prepared all this… for her.
When the housekeeper brought in a chilled cake, she was even more surprised. It wasn’t a funeral, but a birthday celebration.
The cake was exquisite, decorated with delicate chrysanthemum petals, two layers of yellow and white, with green leaves, more like a beautiful painting than something to eat.
Bei Xing lit three incense sticks, then, looking at Su Mingxiu’s unchanging red dress, started burning the paper clothes and accessories she had bought, traditional and modern outfits, a complete wardrobe.
“Even though you’re… different now, a beautiful woman can’t only have one outfit, I bought so many, you can change every day for a month!”
“I wanted to get you a cake you could actually eat, but they don’t make those. So I’ll cut this one and offer it to you with incense, you can still… taste it, right?”
The flickering flames, brighter than the lights in the room, danced in Bei Xing’s eyes,
Her cheeks flushed, whether from the warmth of the bed or the fire.
Su Mingxiu had wanted to explain that her red dress wasn’t because she lacked clothes, but because a ghost’s power was unstable before the seventh day.
But she didn’t say anything, only watching as Bei Xing bustled around, her face illuminated by the firelight, Su Mingxiu’s gaze softening.
Until—
Bei Xing started tossing gold ingots into the flames.
Su Mingxiu: “!”
Remembering the mountain of gold in her own space, she stopped her. “Don’t burn any more money, it’s enough.”
“The more, the better?” Bei Xing, not understanding, only wanted to offer more.
Actually, she could have simply taken the ingots into her space, no need for this dramatic display.
But after a moment of thought, she nodded, letting Bei Xing burn a few more, then she pulled Bei Xing into the grey dimension.
“Why… ow!”
Bei Xing, initially confused, then yelped as a heavy gold ingot landed on her shoulder.
She looked up at Su Mingxiu. “So… every time I burn money for you, you receive it like this?”
Su Mingxiu nodded.
Bei Xing’s eyes lit up. “What about the clothes?”
“Uh…” After a moment of silence, the ghost’s red dress transformed into a moon-white robe, embroidered with cranes and clouds, her alluring, slightly manic aura replaced by a serene calmness. If not for her pale skin, she could have passed for a mortal.
“Wow,” Bei Xing gasped, admiring the transformed Su Mingxiu. “Another one?”
Su Mingxiu indulged her, changing into several outfits, then, seeing Bei Xing’s eagerness, she flicked her forehead. “That’s enough.”
Now, she was wearing a black dress with a crisscross neckline and a floral print, Bei Xing touching the fabric, its coolness like water.
Feeling feverish and tired, she reached out to Su Mingxiu. “Carry me back.”
Su Mingxiu, seeing her efforts, sighed and lifted her into her arms. As they stepped out of the grey dimension, Bei Xing, her hands on Su Mingxiu’s shoulders, sniffed her, realizing she smelled like incense ash.
She had bought the most expensive incense, and it smelled…
…quite nice.
Feeling Bei Xing’s warm breath on her neck, Su Mingxiu sat on the bed, about to put her down, then paused. “What are you doing?”
Then, Bei Xing suddenly bit her neck.
The bite wasn’t hard, and she even licked the spot afterwards.
Compared to the ghost’s icy coldness, Bei Xing’s feverish skin was indeed hot.
Su Mingxiu froze, then pulled Bei Xing onto her lap, her dark eyes meeting Bei Xing’s, who was licking her lips. Su Mingxiu’s gaze was questioning.
Bei Xing, flustered, how could she explain?
That she had suddenly felt that this ghost really liked her, so she had tested the boundaries with a playful bite?
It sounded narcissistic.
And… the lies they had told each other, like smoke and mirrors, made it difficult to discern their true feelings.
“You… smell nice,” she finally said.
Is that a reason to bite?
Su Mingxiu’s eyes lowered, the tear mole under her left eye even more alluring, like a delicate peach blossom.
Just as Bei Xing felt uneasy, wanting to get down, Su Mingxiu lifted her chin, their faces closer.
Then, she heard Su Mingxiu’s cool voice, a playful taunt: “Really? Then have a taste.”
And she kissed Bei Xing, silencing her surprised gasp.
So cold.
She remembered those cheap popsicles from her childhood, soft yet icy, a sudden shock to the senses. Su Mingxiu’s kiss was like that, but even more… intense.
This coldness couldn’t be melted, it clung to her,
A constant chill, her own body heat unable to warm it.
Bei Xing was overwhelmed, her breath coming in short gasps, her face flushing, tears welling up in her eyes.
When Su Mingxiu finally released her, she was trembling, her warmth seeping into Su Mingxiu’s ghostly form.
Su Mingxiu didn’t want to let go.
But seeing Bei Xing’s flushed face, her slightly parted lips, she gently wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes.
She’s so warm.
Su Mingxiu thought, Too bad, she can’t even handle a few kisses, if I used my other mouth… she would probably cry.
She traced Bei Xing’s lips with her fingertip, a smile in her dark eyes.
“Now,” she asked, her voice serious, “still think I smell nice?”
Leave a Reply