Qi Changying didn’t think for very long.
He answered:
“No.”
“Liar.”
Fu Sang narrowed his eyes slightly and denied his answer without thinking.
“I never lie, Fu Sang.”
Qi Changying sighed softly.
“…That set of chime bells did indeed give me a strange sense of familiarity, as if I had seen it somewhere before, but that was all. I really don’t remember anything more. I don’t want to lie to you, and I won’t lie to you. Can you perhaps try to trust me a little sometimes?”
Qi Changying had forgotten far too much, and every single thing was something Fu Sang desperately wanted to know.
He could never give him a specific, accurate answer.
Fu Sang could still remember the expression on this ghost’s face as he walked through the exhibition hall and looked at the other ordinary exhibits.
The seemingly insignificant objects that people faced everyday a thousand years ago had been dug out of the dust by people a thousand years later and placed inside exquisite glass display cases, becoming some of the few pieces of evidence proving that they had once existed.
For the person involved to see them, it would indeed stir up many emotions.
This ghost couldn’t hide things from his face. For example, if an exhibit could really evoke his memories, he would stand beside the display case and look carefully. Occasionally, he would raise a hand and lightly touch the patterns on them through the glass with fingertips that were just as cold as the exhibits.
There were many exhibits in the museum. But he didn’t carefully examine every single one. With some objects, he only took a brief look before stepping forward with the crowd toward the next display case or the next area, without paying them much attention.
As for why those objects had failed to arouse his interest, Fu Sang guessed that perhaps they weren’t very important, or perhaps the archaeologists had judged incorrectly. Those objects might not have belonged to Chifeng Pass, at least not the Chifeng Pass from a thousand years ago where Qi Changying had existed and been familiar with.
Leaving aside the first two possibilities, his reaction to the chime bells was different.
He seemed somewhat dazed, unable to take his eyes off the object inside the display case, yet his brows were slightly furrowed, as if he were thinking and trying to recall something…
The weeping-soul coins on the chime bells confirmed to Fu Sang that this object was a magical artifact, while Qi Changying’s expression confirmed to Fu Sang that this magical artifact was related to Qi Changying.
The chime bells being connected to Qi Changying’s death was exactly in line with Fu Sang’s original guess.
But Qi Changying had been a ghost for a thousand years, and many of his memories were blurred and unclear. He didn’t even remember Su Li, so forgetting a chime bell wasn’t a big deal. Even Fu Sang knew that if Qi Changying remembered all the details related to the chime bells, he wouldn’t have shown that expression at the time.
So, theoretically, Fu Sang didn’t actually need to ask Qi Changying this question, because he knew very clearly what kind of answer he could get.
But he still asked.
As for why he had gone out of his way to ask, he himself wasn’t very clear either.
Perhaps he simply wanted to eliminate every uncertainty.
That was all.
Fu Sang raised an eyebrow slightly. Without saying anything, he put down his bag and coat, removed the copper coin bells from his waist, and walked toward the bathroom.
But just as he was about to close the door, he heard Qi Changying’s voice from the other side of the room.
“That set of chime bells doesn’t seem to be an ordinary object. Its scent is similar to the smell of those copper coins on you people. Perhaps it belonged to some… spirit master?”
Qi Changying spoke very slowly, probably doing his best to recall for Fu Sang.
“I only vaguely remember the scene when it shattered. There was a huge fire at the time, and it was very noisy around us. Those bells exploded one after another, from small to large. Every time one shattered, the noise would become a little quieter… I really don’t know anything else.”
‘…Fire?’
Two memories related to fire had appeared in Fu Sang’s mind before.
One was in Mitou Village, where two scenes filled with flames had alternated. One of them belonged to Wu Renmei, while the other, if Fu Sang’s guess was correct, probably belonged to Su Li.
The other had been last night. Amid countless fragmented, storm-like dreams, Fu Sang also felt the scorching heat of flames, accompanied by a pain coming from his left eye that had nearly torn his soul apart.
Now, the word fire had come up again from Qi Changying’s mouth.
If Fu Sang’s speculation was correct, and the chime bells were indeed related to the Seventh Watch Blood Crying Prison, then all the fragments of clues he possessed right now would point toward one thing: “Qi Changying’s death.”
Fire was also one of the symbols of death.
So, it was Su Li again.
These two people really were entangled in life and death without end, even the last scene before Qi Changying’s death had Su Li appearing in it.
Perhaps they had even died together.
How romantic.
“Bang!”
Fu Sang frowned slightly. He did not respond to Qi Changying and instead turned around and slammed the bathroom door shut.
He originally planned to take a shower and go straight to sleep. After all, his current condition could hardly be described as comfortable.
He had had a high fever the night before, got up early to stand on the city wall and be blown by the wind, and then spent more than half a day sitting in a car. Now, even the gaps between his bones were filled with exhaustion.
If it had been any other time, that would have been fine, but right now, Zhuge Lin was still alive, so he could not die either.
Facing Zhuge Lin in his best possible condition was the greatest respect he could give this master of his.
But after entering the bathroom, Fu Sang supported himself against the cold washbasin, splashed some cold water on his face, and then stood in front of the faucet, listening to the sound of running water for a long while without making his next move.
Water was still dripping from the ends of his wet hair, and tiny droplets clung to his eyelashes.
He raised his eyes and stared at the face in the mirror for a long time.
A long strand of wet hair lay across the bridge of his nose. Water slowly gathered at its tip, yet never quite fell.
Only when Fu Sang blinked slightly did that extremely subtle movement finally push the droplet to its limit, causing it to fall and shatter into tiny drops in the porcelain-white basin.
Fu Sang snapped out of his daze. Slowly, he took his phone from his pocket, opened Zhuge Buhuo’s WeChat, and sent him a question mark.
Idle Man Zhuge Buhuo kept his phone in his hand all day long, and he was always very quick to reply. He sent Fu Sang an identical question mark.
.：[Use the Seven-Life Fate Wheel to find someone for me. In exchange, I’ll give you some news you’ll definitely be interested in.]
Embodying Indifference：[?]
Embodying Indifference：[What makes you think I’ll definitely be interested? I’m not the person in charge of the archives. Making up an excuse for my mom is troublesome. Show me some sincerity first.]
.：[It’s related to business and must not be disclosed to outsiders. Swear an oath.]
Embodying Indifference：[Fine, so mysterious! No matter what you tell me, I absolutely won’t tell anyone else. Even if it goes into our blood oath, okay?]
Seeing this, Fu Sang stopped keeping him in suspense.
He only told him one thing.
.：[Zhuge Qianyi.]
Embodying Indifference：[Give me the name and birth characters. I’ll give you the result within half an hour.]
Fu Sang had no way to obtain Su Li’s accurate birthday characters. He could only use the conversations he had heard in his fragmented memories, as well as Qi Changying’s age and the season he had been in, as references to make an estimate, then find something close enough according to the destiny pattern and give it to Zhuge Buhuo together with the name.
The Seven-Life Fate Wheel could only trace back seven lifetimes, but Su Li was a person from a thousand years ago. Even if Su Li had lived out each subsequent life to a natural death and reincarnation had progressed slowly, by now, the possibility of Fu Sang hearing his own name from Zhuge Buhuo was still extremely low.
But he asked anyway.
Fu Sang felt that he had become a little strange. It was not only his emotions and feelings; even his thoughts had begun to get somewhat out of control.
He did not know what he wanted to do exactly or what kind of answer he wanted to obtain.
What exactly was he trying to prove?
If Su Li’s birth characters were entered into the Fate Wheel and his birthday characters appeared, completely proving that Su Li was some unknown past life of his, what then?
Did he want to make himself feel a little more relieved, or a little more disgusted?
Fu Sang did not know.
He used to know himself inside and out. In this lifetime, there have been very few moments when he did not know what he wanted.
His head was muddled. And while he was muddled, he simply did it.
Zhuge Buhuo’s efficiency rarely improved for once. Only fifteen minutes after receiving the name and birth characters, he sent Fu Sang a reply.
The phone lying to one side lit up, and a message notification from the green app popped up. Fu Sang glanced at it but did not open it immediately.
He rinsed his face with cold water again, turned off the faucet, and dried the water from his hands with a towel before swiping open the screen.
The result he could get was nothing more than “it really is you” or “it has exceeded seven lifetimes and cannot be traced.” Whichever it was, Fu Sang could accept it.
But after opening the chat window and seeing Zhuge Buhuo’s reply clearly, he was slightly stunned.
Embodying Indifference：[No result, bro.]
Embodying Indifference：[Did you give me the wrong birth characters or the wrong name? This person hasn’t reincarnated since he died. Otherwise, go confirm it again?]
Fu Sang frowned.
.：[The year pillar, month pillar, and day pillar are all confirmed. There is no accurate time for the hour pillar. Run through all twelve hour pillars for that day.]
Embodying Indifference：[Fuck, are you human? You can brute-force this too?]
Despite his complaints, Zhuge Buhuo still had to obediently bury his head and run through them for the sake of finding that girl.
Another fifteen minutes passed, and the message notification appeared again.
Embodying Indifference：[None of them are right. All of them bring no result. Either the name is wrong, or the birth characters are wrong, or he didn’t reincarnate. Of the three explanations, pick whichever one you like and believe it.]
Three explanations?
If this person wasn’t called Su Li, what else could he be called? Perhaps there had been a surname before his name, but lacking a surname would not matter much. It was not enough to affect the use of the Fate Wheel.
The birth characters were wrong? That was possible. After all, Qi Changying’s true birth characters had also been hidden from birth to death, misleading everyone for a thousand years. It was entirely possible that Su Li was the same.
He did not reincarnate?
This possibility was the one Fu Sang found hardest to understand.
If Su Li had never reincarnated afterward, then what was he?
In other circumstances, he might still barely be able to come up with the possibility that they were not connected by a past life and present life, but he and Su Li looked exactly the same, and their personalities were also almost identical. Either there really was such an absurdly extreme coincidence in this world, or…
Or Su Li and Fu Sang were the same person.
That was even more impossible.
Fu Sang had no missing memories. He also had complete memories of his growth, and he had not forgotten a single day of that process.
It was those experiences filled with pain and resentment that had created the Fu Sang of today. Therefore, Fu Sang was Fu Sang, and he had absolutely nothing to do with Su Li.
But because of this, it became even harder to distinguish exactly what his relationship with Su Li was.
.：[Got it.]
.：[Zhuge Qianyi is with me.]
Embodying Indifference：Where are you??
.：[I’ll be in Jinguan tomorrow.]
Embodying Indifference：[Fuck, I just came back from Jinguan yesterday. Are you fucking playing me?]
.：[You don’t have to come. I think my boss probably isn’t very happy to see you either.]
Embodying Indifference：[Boss?? How did she become your boss? Aren’t you a funeral director, professional in arranging funerals and sending people off or something?!]
.：[That isn’t the kind job she chose, but if you want, I’d be very happy to provide you with the service.]
Embodying Indifference：[？？？]
Fu Sang ignored Zhuge Buhuo’s question marks.
He raised his hand, took off his shirt, and turned on the water to take a shower.
When in a bad mood, even everyday little things could not be done properly. Only after finishing his shower did he realize that he had forgotten to bring clean clothes to change into, so he could only walk out wrapped in a bath towel to look for them.
He originally thought that Qi Changying had already gone back into the nail.
He had humiliated and forced him just the day before. Even a saint would be angry, disheartened, and resentful after being treated that way.
In Fu Sang’s eyes, Qi Changying had no reason to stay outside and continue looking at his unpleasant face, enduring his silence and sarcastic remarks.
Hiding inside the artifact was his best choice. After all, he could not enter the nail to catch him.
However, just after walking out of the bathroom filled with warm steam, Fu Sang caught sight of a flash of red from the corner of his eye.
He raised an eyebrow slightly and subconsciously turned his head.
He saw Qi Changying sitting on the small sofa in the room, still wearing the collar and chain he had locked around his neck, which was covered with talismans.
Fu Sang looked away and ignored him, treating the entire room as if it were full of air. He walked to the side, opened his suitcase, and took out clean clothes.
Fu Sang calmly exposed himself.
The lights in the room were very bright, bright enough for Qi Changying to see his body clearly.
Fu Sang was slender, but not particularly thin. There was a thin layer of muscle on his body, just enough to make his lines look very beautiful.
His skin always had a pale complexion, as though he had not seen sunlight for years. It was not only his face; his body was the same.
However, his neck and both arms were covered in many dark-red knife scars. There were some on his body too, but not as many as on his arms.
Qi Changying’s gaze slowly descended, carefully examining every inch of his skin and scars.
He thought he had probably found the knife wounds Huo Wei had mentioned, the ones Fu Sang had used to cast the curse back then.
There were three in total: one below the heart, one in the abdomen, and one below the navel.
The scars were horizontal, as though they had been caused by a wide-bladed dagger being thrust horizontally into him. Although they had completely healed now, the skin that had been injured was slightly lighter in color than the surrounding skin, making the scars very noticeable.
Qi Changying was slightly lost in thought until the black hem of his clothes fell, covering all that white.
“What are you looking at?”
After putting on his shirt, Fu Sang raised an eyebrow slightly, casually untied the bath towel around his waist, and tossed it aside.
Qi Changying’s gaze instinctively followed it downward. When he realized what he was looking at, he hurriedly looked away.
“You’ve already tasted it, so why are you embarrassed to look?”
Fu Sang gave a soft scoff.
He was always very good at catching Qi Changying’s weak points.
“…” Qi Changying didn’t say anything, only frowning very slightly.
He deliberately kept his gaze away from that direction.
When he came back to his senses, he realized that, somehow, he had once again let that patch of pale skin enter his field of vision.
Two slender but well-proportioned legs.
He really was too thin.
Because he had never eaten properly before.
He had not eaten properly today either.
Was it because he did not often get sunlight? This person was so fair skinned that even his blood vessels were blue-purple.
His texture looked like some kind of fragile porcelain, and his personality was fragile too, except that it was the kind of fragility that could “easily shatter others.”
Only when the black trousers once again covered the pale skin did Qi Changying blink very lightly.
When you came to this senses, he truly did not know what nonsense he had been thinking.
He sighed slightly, feeling that he was not very calm and that his heart was somewhat unsettled. Just as he was about to return to the long nail, he suddenly realized that Fu Sang had approached at some point.
“What are you looking at?” Fu Sang asked again.
He raised an eyebrow slightly. Seeing that Qi Changying did not answer, he continued:
“Is it so good-looking that you love looking?”
He stood in front of Qi Changying and lifted the hem of his shirt:
“Come closer. I’ll let you take a good look.”
“…”
It was very strange.
Qi Changying himself was a man. He had grown up in military camps, eating and living together with soldiers for many years, and he had seen plenty of bodies like this.
Yet Fu Sang’s body could still make him feel scorched.
He sighed slightly, ignored Fu Sang’s question, and was just about to return to the nail before Fu Sang could continue making an issue of it, but the chain around his neck was suddenly grabbed and pulled:
“Don’t run. I told you to look.”
“…” Qi Changying frowned, his entire body filled with refusal:
“…Don’t be like this.”
“I insist on being like this.”
Qi Changying’s refusal and retreat gave Fu Sang a trace of malicious pleasure:
“Is looking enough? Do you want to touch? I’ll let you touch.”
As he spoke, Fu Sang did not give Qi Changying a chance to refuse. He directly pulled up his hand and pressed it against his side.
Qi Changying’s cold fingertips trembled slightly when they touched that warmth.
He had once touched this place through the thin fabric of Fu Sang’s clothes when all four of his senses had been lost, but the sensation of fabric was ultimately different from directly touching skin.
“Does it feel good? Should we continue? Want to touch for a little longer, or maybe have a taste?”
There was a hint of mockery in Fu Sang’s tone and smile:
“Aren’t ghosts supposed to have neither the desire nor the ability in this regard? Then what is your situation now? Do you simply think I’m good-looking, or do you simply think I’m suitable for getting on the bed?”
Fu Sang naturally did not really think this way. He was purely talking nonsense.
He did not think that Qi Changying’s few glances at him had anything to do with lust. This morally upright ghost would not actively think about such things, but since Fu Sang had caught him, he insisted on dragging the topic in this direction.
He simply liked watching Qi Changying’s expressions of resistance, embarrassment, and retreat. He wanted to take control of this unclean relationship, wanted Qi Changying to feel that this was a humiliation, and then abandon all his good qualities and hate him with everything he had.
“Have a taste” was also just nonsense, but he did not expect Qi Changying to actually come closer.
Only, it was not a kiss, but a bite that landed on his side.
Qi Changying did not bite very hard, but it carried a hint of venting and retaliation when he had no words with which to argue. His sharp teeth pierced Fu Sang’s skin, bringing him threads of pain.
Fu Sang narrowed his eyes very slightly, and he actually seemed somewhat satisfied.
“Fu Sang,”
Qi Changying quickly moved away, but left the pain behind.
His voice carried an almost imperceptible sigh:
“You really are… very bad.”
