Chapter 101 - 100: Following the Trail

Chapter 101: Chapter 100: Following the Trail

Despite being in someone else’s territory, Gu Qingyin was completely relaxed, having leisurely enjoyed afternoon tea and even taken a nap in the other bedroom.

Xia Zelin, the supposed host, on the other hand, sat stiffly on the sofa, not daring to move. After several hours, by the time night fell, he felt as though his bones were rusting over.

Points of light suddenly flared in the pitch-black living room. A flicker of nervousness crossed Xia Zelin’s face, and he instinctively glanced toward the second bedroom.

The next second, the Array Plate activated automatically, and Lin Wu’s figure appeared once again.

Lin Wu scanned his surroundings, a little surprised. "You’ve been sitting here all afternoon?" The light was dim, so he couldn’t see Xia Zelin’s face clearly, but the man seemed even more pathetic than before.

"Don’t worry," Lin Wu said, his voice soft and reassuring. "I’ve already landed. I’m taking a cab to the hotel now. I’ll be there in half an hour, tops."

Xia Zelin nodded. ’Should I tell him the truth?’ he wondered, hesitating. ’Should I let him leave before he walks straight into the trap?’ But then he remembered what Gu Qingyin had said: Lin Wu was just using him as a scapegoat for the karmic consequences.

Xia Zelin pressed his lips together and said softly, "Lin Wu... you have to be careful."

Lin Wu nodded and deactivated the Array Plate.

Inside a stall in a restroom at Yun City Airport, Lin Wu stared thoughtfully at the Array Plate.

’Something isn’t right with Xia Zelin,’ he thought. ’Is he that scared? What kind of Heavenly Master could have terrified him so badly?’

Lin Wu checked the items he’d brought. ’This should be enough, right?’ He thought it over and over, but still felt a sense of unease. After getting into a taxi, he sent a message to his master.

Forty minutes later, Lin Wu arrived at the hotel and took the elevator to the sixth floor.

The moment he stepped out of the elevator, Lin Wu sensed something was wrong. He didn’t consider any other possibilities, however, assuming only that the Heavenly Master who had been targeting Xia Zelin had followed him here.

With a grim expression, he got his bearings and started down the silent hallway.

He remained tense the entire way, ready for a sneak attack from the shadows, but nothing happened by the time he reached the door to room 6022.

Lin Wu frowned and knocked on the door.

A few seconds later, Xia Zelin’s voice came from inside, panicked but trying to feign composure. "Who is it?"

"It’s me."

It was quiet on the other side for a few seconds before the door opened a crack.

Through the crack, Lin Wu saw Xia Zelin’s pale face.

"Big Bro! You’re finally here!"

In the time it took to say those few words, Xia Zelin’s eyes grew red again. As if he had suddenly found his backbone, a surge of confidence filled him. "Big Bro, I feel so much better now that you’re here."

Lin Wu patted his head. "Let’s go inside and talk."

Xia Zelin nodded, on the verge of tears.

Half of it was an act; the other half was more complex, a mixture of guilt, a desire for revenge, and a touch of fear...

Lin Wu strode into the room first, questioning him as he went. "Tell me, how were you found out? Who’s the other party? Did they introduce themself? Did they make a move on you—"

He trailed off, his words catching in his throat as his gaze locked onto the person on the sofa.

Gu Qingyin, holding a teacup, nodded at him with a smile, looking every bit the host. "Welcome. Have a seat."

"It’s you!" Lin Wu’s face fell. He spun around to flee but was met with a blast of dense Yin Qi to the face, a cold fist wrapped within it.

With a muffled grunt, Lin Wu went flying into the middle of the living room, landing perfectly in front of the coffee table.

He clutched his nose, which was throbbing with pain. It was a long moment before he slowly raised his head. Blood streamed down his handsome face, and combined with his bloodshot eyes, he looked quite ferocious.

Gu Qingyin clicked her tongue in disgust and tossed a box of tissues toward him. "Wipe up that blood. You’ll stain the hotel’s carpet."

Lin Wu didn’t want to take them, but the bleeding was heavy, and frankly, he was disgusted by it himself. He silently pulled out a few tissues to staunch the flow, using the opportunity to plan his next move.

He glanced toward the entrance. A handsome, deathly pale man stood there expressionlessly, blocking the exit. Meanwhile, Xia Zelin was cowering by the wall like a frightened quail, not daring to look up.

Lin Wu’s expression darkened instantly. He understood now. Xia Zelin had set him up. ’That ungrateful bastard!’

Although he didn’t recognize the man—no, the ghost—at the door, that single punch had made it perfectly clear that escaping through the main entrance was impossible. ’That only leaves the window.’

Lin Wu turned to size up the windows. The bedroom doors were closed; trying to open one and escape through a bedroom window would take too long. ’Against someone with Gu Qingyin’s skills, I’d never make it.’ That left only the living room window.

Lin Wu’s eyes fixed on the window behind Gu Qingyin. ’Perfect,’ he thought. ’It’s halfway open. I can dive right through.’

He quickly formulated a plan. ’First, I need to distract Gu Qingyin, then make a break for the window as fast as I can... Huh? What’s that?’

Lin Wu looked closer and saw a palm-sized monkey perched on the window frame. Seeing him look over, the little monkey bared its fangs and let out a threatening hiss.

Lin Wu scoffed inwardly, paying it no mind.

The next second, a blurry, spectral figure appeared behind Mao Mao. He couldn’t make out its features, but it radiated a terrifying aura.

Lin Wu: ...

’What the hell are all these things?!’

Lin Wu’s lips formed a thin line. With no escape route, he finally began to feel genuinely nervous.

"Given up?" Gu Qingyin asked, a half-smile playing on her lips. "In that case, come over and sit. We can have a proper chat."

After a two-second silence, Lin Wu got up and sat down across from her.

Gu Qingyin then turned to Xia Zelin. "Stop squatting over there cosplaying a mushroom. Come and join us."

Xia Zelin didn’t move.

Gu Qingyin tutted. "You’re acting as if I’m bullying you. If you don’t come over here, do you expect me to come and personally invite you?"

Huo Yunjing gave him a light kick. "Get over there," he said coldly.

Xia Zelin scrambled to his feet. The pretense between him and Lin Wu was shattered, and he really didn’t want to get any closer, fearing Lin Wu might suddenly lash out and kill him. But he didn’t dare refuse. ’That male ghost is just too terrifying!’

Xia Zelin tried to sit down as far from Lin Wu as possible, but Gu Qingyin had other ideas.

"It’s been a while since you’ve seen your Big Bro Lin Wu, hasn’t it, Zelin? Sit closer so you two can catch up."

Xia Zelin, who had been in the middle of sitting down, froze in a half-squat. He instinctively glanced at Gu Qingyin. Her lips were curved into a faint smile, but her eyes were cold as frost.

A shiver went down his spine, and he quickly shuffled over to sit beside Lin Wu. He kept his expression serious and stared straight ahead, but inwardly he was cursing, ’Gu Qingyin is a real piece of work!’

Lin Wu let out a muffled scoff from behind his hand, his voice thick from his plugged nose. Xia Zelin instantly sat up even straighter.

"Master Lin," Gu Qingyin began, completely ignoring the undercurrents between the two men. "You’re a hard man to find."

Lin Wu wiped some of the blood from his face and cut right to the chase. "Master Gu, you’re looking for me because of your son, correct? I can give you a full refund. You should be able to deal with the Curse Doll yourself. As for the little ghost..." He glanced at Huo Yunjing. "Just find a Fierce Ghost stronger than it and have it devoured. Simple as that."

Gu Qingyin’s expression grew colder and colder as he spoke. "Are you kidding me?"

Lin Wu considered for a moment before asking, "What other demands do you have? You can state them. We can negotiate slowly."

Gu Qingyin nodded. "Tell me who’s backing you," she said coolly, "and we can let bygones be bygones."