This was destined to be an extraordinary night.
Xie Haoqiang clutched his stomach, looking extremely disheveled. "Brother, why did you make me drink those medicines... It hurts so much!"
The main hall, emitting a dark aura, enshrined a statue of a deity whose identity was indistinguishable. On the table were various paper talismans, all charred black.
A little ghost scurried up and down at a rapid pace. Its face was blurred, but one could clearly hear its eerie cackles.
On the cushion right in front of the enshrined statue knelt a man, none other than Xie Kuihai.
However, at this moment, Xie Kuihai no longer looked as young as Lin Qiao had seen him in the illusion. His face was gaunt, his eye - sockets sunken, and there was hardly a trace of youthful vitality left on his face.
It was only two years that Xie Kuihai was older than Xie Haoqiang standing beside him.
The ghost baby seemed impatient. It cackled twice and suddenly pounced on Xie Kuihai, biting him.
Xie Kuihai seemed numb, allowing the ghost baby to bite and gnaw on his shoulder. "Drink when I tell you to. Don't ask so many questions. Have you planted the Gu on that young couple?"
That young couple probably referred to Luo Nanchen and Lin Qiao.
Xie Haoqiang rubbed his stomach. "Yes, I have. But... Brother, what exactly does that Gu do?"
Xie Kuihai smiled. The sunken eye - sockets seemed to emit a glimmer of light. "Good, it's good that you've planted it, it's good..."
He was acting like a madman.
The candlelight flickered, looking extremely terrifying in the pitch - black night. The ghost baby scurried around non - stop.
In the shadows, a person unexpectedly appeared.
It was Taoist Priest Cen, the one who had created the ghost baby!
Taoist Priest Cen waved his whisk and walked out. Only when he came under the candlelight could one see that the evil aura on him was three times stronger than in the illusion.
Xie Haoqiang was a bit afraid of this Taoist Priest Cen. "Brother... Can I go back first?"
Xie Kuihai nodded and looked at Taoist Priest Cen. "I've done everything as you asked. What's next?"
"Hahaha, you're really efficient in handling things. Once our lord accomplishes his great deed, you'll surely be rewarded handsomely," Taoist Priest Cen pretended to stroke his beard. "Next, lead them to the Great Forest in Endian City, and then you're done."
"What about Tingyu?"
Taoist Priest Cen seemed to find it funny. "You're really strange. You were the one who heartlessly turned her child into a ghost baby. Now you're pretending to want her to be resurrected. Are you playing around?"
Xie Kuihai closed his eyes wearily. "I regret it. I want Tingyu back."
Taoist Priest Cen sneered disdainfully. "Fine. After our lord accomplishes his great deed, I'll mention it to him."
Xie Kuihai looked at the ghost baby tenderly, then his expression turned indifferent. "Thank you."
"You're really crazy."
Taoist Priest Cen took out a Qiankun bag and put the ghost baby into it. The ghost baby let out a shrill wail, which sounded extremely creepy in the ghost - filled room, but the sound didn't spread outside at all.
"Alright, I've completed the task assigned by our lord. I'll take my leave first."
Xie Kuihai remained unmoved, as if he was also indifferent to the ghost baby. He continued chanting scriptures whose content was unknown.
He looked like an old and dying eminent monk.
On the roof, Luo Nanchen and Lin Qiao closed the roof tiles.
Back in the room, Luo Nanchen habitually set up a barrier again.
Lin Qiao propped her chin on her hand, lost in thought. "Do you think what exactly is that Xie Kuihai up to?"
"I'm not sure, but it's definitely not something good," Luo Nanchen tapped on the table. "But my lady, what I do know is that if we don't go to bed soon, it'll be dawn."
Lin Qiao shook her head. "No, I can't sleep until I figure it out. And that lord, the medicine Xie Haoqiang drank, the ghost baby, the Gu - planting, and leading them to some great forest..."
Luo Nanchen rubbed his forehead. "Xiaolin, this matter hasn't been investigated clearly yet. There will surely be an answer. Don't worry. Go to bed, okay?"
When Lin Qiao was in a daze, she would always unconsciously pout and frown slightly, looking like a koala.
Luo Nanchen thought for a moment and leaned over to kiss her.
Lin Qiao instantly widened her eyes, looking incredulous. But then she thought about Luo Nanchen's rascal behavior in the past few months and decided that it wasn't that unbelievable after all.
Fine. Since the tough approach didn't work, she'd try the soft one. Lin Qiao guessed that Luo Nanchen would fall for this.
So, she decided to use the coquettish - girl technique.
Throughout the ages, in all kinds of novels, whether they were exciting, sweet, or sad, the most effective method was coquettishness.
It was simply an unchanging law in novels: Coquettish women are always lucky.
"Come on, I know you're the smartest. Just tell me," Lin Qiao tugged at the corner of Luo Nanchen's sleeve and coquettishly said, "I can't sleep if I don't understand..."
"Okay, but you have to get into the quilt first."
It was early spring, when the weather was still changeable. The night was deep and the dew was heavy. If she caught a cold...
Luo Nanchen sighed, as if helpless. He picked Lin Qiao up horizontally and put her on the bed.
Lin Qiao rolled over on the bed after being put down, then sat up, looking like a well - behaved listener.
Luo Nanchen smiled helplessly. Looking at Lin Qiao's cute appearance, his eyes deepened. He gradually leaned over, getting closer and closer to Lin Qiao. The atmosphere gradually became ambiguous.
Lin Qiao felt something was wrong. She reached out and pressed against Luo Nanchen's chest. "Wait, what are you doing?"
Luo Nanchen let out a soft sigh and then... covered Lin Qiao with the quilt.
Lin Qiao: "..."
She thought Luo Nanchen was going to do something else. She was so embarrassed!
Just as Lin Qiao's suspicion was put to rest, Luo Nanchen suddenly leaned over sneakily to Lin Qiao's ear. "I know what kind of Gu Xie Haoqiang planted on us."
"What kind of Gu?"
"The Eternally Passionate Poison."
Lin Qiao was stunned.
Wasn't the Eternally Passionate Poison a kind of aphrodisiac?
Moreover, it was an aphrodisiac that could turn a sage into a devil with just a little bit of it.
Was Xie Haoqiang crazy? Why would he be so insane as to plant that kind of medicine on them?
Lin Qiao looked at Luo Nanchen with a skeptical look.
Seeing that Lin Qiao didn't believe him, Luo Nanchen pointed out of the window. There was a patch of purple flowers outside. They hadn't noticed during the day, but now looking out, the purple flowers were dotted with glistening light.
Lin Qiao had seen them in a medical book. These were the mother insects of the Eternally Passionate Poison.
Luo Nanchen's voice was low, as if it also carried a kind of allure. "Xiaolin... okay?"
Lin Qiao's mind was clear. She dodged Luo Nanchen's gentle kiss, being ticklish. "But, we don't have the child Gu, do we? Didn't you... didn't you destroy that Gu..."
Luo Nanchen continued to lean over until he completely pinned Lin Qiao under him. "But we should at least act the part for them, right?"
This was destined to be an extraordinary night.