SCWP Chapter 29

Soul Capture

Lin Qichi ignited a fire talisman, and all the grotesque creatures within the Six Corner Tower revealed their true forms.

“Exorcise evil and ward off invaders, let petty ghosts not encroach.” Meng Yu’s words were like golden decrees, and as soon as he finished speaking, the ghosts dissipated into ashes, with only a faint yin energy remaining, enough to indicate that those were not illusions.

Wen Ren Shu closed his involuntarily widened mouth and stammered, “A… are you using verbal charms?”

“No, I just quietly threw out a talisman; it looked real, didn’t it?” Meng Yu turned back to smile at them.

“What kind of talisman is that? It’s so powerful.” Only Wen Ren Shu, the designated hype man, believed him and asked curiously what kind of talisman it was.

“Damage amplification,” Meng Yu winked at him.

“Let’s talk after we’re done here,” Lin Qichi flung out a stack of fire talismans, two fingers pinching the remaining ones in his hand. A stack of talismans was ignited one after another, the flames wrapping around each red-charactered, gold-backed talisman, converging into the shape of a sword.

Lin Qichi knew Meng Yu was definitely hiding many secrets, but he didn’t find him repulsive now. Some things were better discussed away from prying ears.

Lin Qichi’s fire sword, in reality, was only for illumination and didn’t cause any real damage to ghosts or the like.

If Meng Yu’s current situation was really as he suspected, then they could only lie down and let him do as he pleased.

Lin Qichi stayed at the rear, not only to guard the back and look after Wen Ren Shu and En Sihan, but also for “Meng Yu.”

No, perhaps he wasn’t called Meng Yu now, but rather—Qi Feiyu.

The leading boy was illuminated by the firelight and lamplight behind him, blurring the edges around him. He looked thin and lonely, exuding a sense of loneliness and sorrow.

Lin Qichi steadied his mind, throwing out all the chaotic thoughts in his head.

The name Qi Feiyu always unsettled him.

“Are we going up? I don’t think there’s anything here. How could such a small place hold anything?”

After entering the Six Corner Tower, Meng Yu moved to the side, leaving a space for Wen Ren Shu.

En Sihan followed closely behind Wen Ren Shu, and Lin Qichi silently stood next to Meng Yu, his brows furrowed.

Wen Ren Shu saw them standing together again and wanted to say something: “Bro, you guys…”

Before Wen Ren Shu could finish, a burst of strong yin energy, accompanied by a gust of wind, enveloped Wen Ren Shu and En Sihan together.

Lin Qichi threw the fire talisman sword in his hand towards the two. Wen Ren Shu blankly stood frozen in place, while En Sihan unexpectedly caught it.

If a living person, without training, touched a fire talisman with their bare hands, it would be like taking burning coals—not only painful but also scorching their life force.

Lin Qichi had thought that En Sihan would drop it after catching it, but he didn’t expect that before she disappeared with the yin energy, she would tightly grip the hilt of the sword without letting go.

It seemed that in these short ten days, more than just Wen Ren Shu had changed.

“What lies ahead is their opportunity; following them won’t help,” Meng Yu’s detached voice sounded from behind. Only then did Lin Qichi realize that he had subconsciously taken a step towards the direction they had disappeared.

“Yeah, I know,” Lin Qichi didn’t turn around, but his tone softened unconsciously.

“You know nothing,” Meng Yu’s tone was as cold as if it were about to shatter.

“Okay, okay, I know nothing.”

The current Meng Yu gave him a feeling similar to the murderous aura that suddenly appeared after Meng Yu left at the bottom of the well that day.

Lin Qichi had intended to speak as coldly as he did, but he couldn’t help but become doting as soon as he opened his mouth.

Meng Yu didn’t speak. Lin Qichi quietly stared at the place where Wen Ren Shu and En Sihan had disappeared. It would be a lie to say he wasn’t worried. If either of them suffered a loss, most of his plans would have to be scrapped and started over.

For him now, who wanted to investigate this world and Qi Feiyu, it would undoubtedly be fatal.

It wasn’t until dawn that Meng Yu finally said, “Don’t trust me too much, and don’t trust him too much either.”

“If I can’t trust you, then it’s time for me to prepare to switch to someone else,” Lin Qichi said with his head lowered, his eyes dim and unclear.

“You’re not allowed,” Meng Yu’s voice was low and heavy, his tone suppressed word by word, incredibly intimidating.

“What’s not allowed?” Lin Qichi turned back to look at him.

So he had… been entrusting his back to him all this time.

“You, are, mine,” Meng Yu said slowly, his expression gloomy and frightening, with a hint of imperceptible bewilderment.

Lin Qichi noticed his bewilderment, and his heart couldn’t help but ache.

Was he… constantly confusing the memories of the previous world? Why was his personality so changeable? Could he be suffering from split personality?

“My independence and personality belong only to myself,” Lin Qichi said firmly.

Meng Yu opened his mouth, preparing to refute something, when a “thump” drew their attention.

It was Wen Ren Shu and En Sihan, who had disappeared all night, but they were both unconscious.

Lin Qichi tried to drive as smoothly as possible on the way back. Meng Yu refused to sit in the back, so the two in the back suffered as they were tossed and rolled around. Although they were tightly strapped in with seatbelts, there was no need to worry too much about them rolling onto the floor while driving.

However, listening to the thumping sounds, the two were not comfortable either.

By the time they arrived at the hotel, it was already broad daylight. En Sihan had faintly woken up on the way, and girls were meticulous in taking care of others, so there was no more thumping sound on the way down the mountain.

The rooms were the same as before, with Meng Yu and Lin Qichi in one room, and En Sihan and Wen Ren Shu in separate rooms.

En Sihan nodded obediently, but remained silent about what happened after they disappeared.

Lin Qichi expressed his understanding. After settling both of them into their rooms, he quickly took a shower and couldn’t wait to pounce onto the bed.

Meng Yu came back to the room after showering, and saw him occupying most of the bed, his arms outstretched, as if welcoming someone, but the person he was welcoming was already sound asleep.

Meng Yu tiptoed onto the bed and, unusually assertively, pulled Lin Qichi into his arms, his whole body shaking uncontrollably, and devoutly buried his head in the hollow of Lin Qichi’s neck.

There was a faint honey scent, from the fragrance provided by the hotel, but more… was the rich, alluring scent of gardenias.

Meng Yu was like a hiker who had been trekking through a desert for too long, finally encountering a patch of sweet dew, and kept nuzzling Lin Qichi’s shoulder.

Lin Qichi usually had a very light sleep. Meng Yu’s tossing and turning only made him frown, which Meng Yu smoothed out with his hand.

Lin Qichi was in a dream, a dream that felt very familiar.

In the dream, he saw a person standing in a dark alley. The light in his flashlight seemed to have run out, and there was no new supply. It was so dark that he couldn’t see his fingers when he first came in.

Lin Qichi stood there for a while, and after his eyes could somewhat adapt to the darkness, he recognized that the person was himself from the previous world.

Suddenly, a curse came from the alley. Lin Qichi didn’t know why, but he ran over quickly, and only saw a group of burly men with bare torsos, fighting each other.

A familiar person was on the side, making a phone call.

“Okay, okay, I guarantee to lure him over and take care of him. Rest assured.”

Lin Qichi recognized him. He was a subordinate of his rival in the previous world.

Hearing him say that, he must be setting up a trap for someone.

Who? Him, or Qi Feiyu?

Next, Lin Qichi saw an unbelievable scene.

The man made another phone call. As soon as the call ended, Qi Feiyu appeared in the alley, but there were two Qi Feiyu.

One was a physical body, and the other was the ghost state that was supposed to appear in the second world.

There was no communication between the two. One killed and the other incinerated. The coordination between their actions was terrifyingly tacit.

In just a few moments, all those people had disappeared into the night.

The leader, in his death throes, shouted out:

“Qi Feiyu, you will not die a good death!”

The Qi Feiyu in the soul state frowned, and the leader was instantly incinerated into ashes, swaying with the wind until they decomposed to the point where they were invisible to the naked eye.

Only then did Lin Qichi notice that the eyebrows and eyes of that soul body seemed to have a heavy sorrow that could not be dispelled. His facial features were those of a thirty-something-year-old man, and he was extremely handsome, but he kept frowning, making people couldn’t help but worry.

Lin Qichi heard the commotion coming from the other end of the alley. According to his memories from the previous world, it could only be himself who had come after hearing the news.

But he knew very well that he must not let the current him see this scene, he had to stall him, otherwise it might endanger the three of them.

Lin Qichi thought of the old man from the previous world and decided to impersonate him first.

“Hey, sir, please wait a moment.”

The Lin Qichi from the previous world turned around to look. It was an old man, but it was too dark to see what he looked like.

“What’s the matter?” Lin Qichi himself had never had much awe for old people, after all, he didn’t even know how old he was. If he were to calculate, he might even be several rounds older than them.

The Lin Qichi of two worlds strangely met, respectively, the Lin Qichi 1.0 version of the first world, and the Lin Qichi 2.0 version who had experienced two worlds.

Lin Qichi 2.0, disguised as an old man, saw that he had stopped and quickly ran over, learning from the memories of the previous world.

His body was unsteady, so he ran fast and his left foot was heavy and his right foot was light, pretending to be a lame man. But his clothes were decent, and the material was high-grade, so he didn’t look like a vagrant.

The old man mysteriously approached Lin Qichi 1.0 and said, “Your bedfellow will become a fierce ghost and kill the whole world. Only you… only you…”

Lin Qichi 1.0 patiently listened to the old man’s nonsense. Nowadays, elderly people with Alzheimer’s disease should have their family’s contact information on them.

Lin Qichi 1.0 looked the old man up and down, but he couldn’t find any clues, so he first listened to the old man’s unprovoked curse.

“Heh, your life is also coming to an end, you’re beyond saving.”

In fact, Lin Qichi 2.0 was just stating the facts, only hoping that the Lin Qichi 1.0 of this world could understand what he meant and not run around, so that he could die later.

Faced with the sudden curse, Lin Qichi 1.0 not only didn’t argue with him, but also had a decent smile on his face.

The old man version of Lin Qichi thought highly of him for a few points, thinking that if he could persuade one, he would. He continued, “It’s not too late for you to withdraw now.”

Don’t get trapped in it, just treat it as a game…

“Then I won’t bother you,” Lin Qichi 1.0 said with a smile, supporting the old man version of Lin Qichi. He must have regarded him as a pitiful, demented person.

The old man saw that he was stubborn and unyielding, as if he had suddenly taken away the “giving up” that he should have learned, shook his head, refused Lin Qichi’s support, and scorned the fate that could not be changed.

Lin Qichi 2.0 limped away, looking more difficult to walk than when he first met.

Thinking that before leaving, he would go see that cute little fish again.

Lest he be angered by himself and go back with a belly full of fire.

He must not let him discover, him?

Lin Qichi pondered in confusion, the word that suddenly appeared in his mind, him? Who was it?

Before he could figure out anything, Lin Qichi woke up.

His chest felt stuffy, and the first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was a large expanse of snow-white skin.

“Little Fish,” Lin Qichi called out dazedly, most of his consciousness still in the dream, not fully awake.

The arms around him tightened, and a low male voice came from above his head: “Hmm?”

The familiar yet unfamiliar voice made Lin Qichi completely awake.

What was that just now?

Lin Qichi leaned against Meng Yu in his arms, not feeling awkward at all. On the contrary, the dream he had just experienced made him a little lost in this strong feeling of rediscovery.

Replaying that strange dream, from the initial consciousness awakening to the later near-lostness in it, wasn’t that… the ability he had obtained in Infinite Flow—”Dream Walking”?

Lin Qichi didn’t understand. Among all his abilities, “Dream Walking” was the least used and the most lethal.

He could change things that had happened by dreaming. As long as the main consciousness gained the dominance in the dream, he could even control that period of time, thereby affecting everything that followed.

But because this ability was too overbearing, he was prone to lose himself in the dream, unless he had someone he trusted enough beside him, otherwise he would never use it.

But why did he unconsciously use “Dream Walking” in the Quick Transmigration world? Not only did the world consciousness not smite him, but he also changed a small stage of the previous world.

Thinking about it carefully was terrifying, and thinking about it roughly was also terrifying.

Lin Qichi suddenly shouted and then didn’t move, Meng Yu impatiently bit his side neck.

His body was surprisingly hot. Lin Qichi shrank back from his heat and muttered softly, “Shouldn’t it be cold?”

Meng Yu lazily rubbed Lin Qichi’s hair with his chin: “I heard you.”

“Don’t hug me like that,” Lin Qichi twisted uncomfortably.

“Don’t move,” Meng Yu’s voice was a little hoarse, and the force of his embrace tightened.

The two were very close. As Meng Yu moved, Lin Qichi felt the strangeness of his particularly intimate place.

Having been in love for so long, Lin Qichi thought that he had nothing to be shy about with him.

His seemingly slender fingernails slid slowly down the snow-white skin in front of him. Meng Yu’s breathing became heavier and heavier, and the blanket where their bodies were touching was crumpled into a ball.

In Meng Yu’s urgent gasps, he intermittently threatened, “Dare… to have a real, hard-fought… fight with me…”

“Be good, I don’t dare,” Lin Qichi suppressed his hand that wanted to explore behind him, his tone gentle, but with a firm refusal.

Meng Yu’s threat had no momentum, only like a hook, Lin Qichi’s hand applied a little force, and he obediently dismounted.

The two fought in bed for a long time. It wasn’t until En Sihan knocked on the door to say that Wen Ren Shu was awake that Meng Yu reluctantly agreed to cease fire.

Lin Qichi gently left a mark on his forehead, and Meng Yu bit his lower lip unwillingly, leaving a bloody mark.

“You’re really willing to do it.”

“I’m crazy,” Meng Yu squeezed out the words Lin Qichi had used to scold him in the previous battle from his teeth.