When Jiang Luo opened his eyes, he was faced with a crowd of people dressed in black, mourning.
Everyone wore funeral clothes, their backs turned toward him. Jiang Luo paused, glancing around at the eerie atmosphere. But the moment he moved, the mourning crowd suddenly stopped, all turning their heads sharply to look at him. Their black pupils bulged like fish eyes, full of dissatisfaction: "Why aren't you crying?"
Jiang Luo thought this dream was quite interesting. He gave a slight smile, forced out a tear, and rubbed it between his fingers to show them. "I am crying."
The people staring at him turned their eyes away, faced forward again, and resumed their wailing — "Wah wah wah, wah wah" — the sobs oddly rhythmic.
It must have been drizzling outside. Wind and rain shrouded the daylight, damp air drifting in from the window, a light white mist in the room.
Someone beside him said, "Jiang Luo, Brother Chi You is dead. You must be happy, huh?"
Jiang Luo turned toward the voice. Before he could see clearly who it was, his eyes were caught by a lock of black hair slipping off his shoulder.
Long, dark, glossy hair flowed down to the shoulder like smooth silk. Jiang Luo reached out to brush it aside, then noticed a crimson mole on the back of his left hand, bright red like fresh blood.
The angry voice beside his ear continued, "Jiang Luo, you have nothing to say?"
Jiang Luo looked up, finally getting a clear view of the speaker's face.
It was a handsome young man with strong features, full of vitality. Dressed head-to-toe in designer brands and five-figure sneakers, he was glaring at Jiang Luo with fury, as if ready to tear him apart. With a cold snort, he said ominously, "I know you were the one who killed Brother Chi You. Just wait until Chi You's spirit returns on the seventh night — let's see how you talk your way out of it then."
The name "Chi You" sounded familiar.
A few days ago, Jiang Luo had just heard about a novel that had been taken down for being too bloody. The title was Devil. Curious about just how gory it was, Jiang Luo had gone through great effort to find the original manuscript. The protagonist in the story was named Chi You.
Devil told the tale of the shou protagonist, Chi You, who was killed by a cannon fodder character and later cultivated into a vengeful ghost with the help of the gong protagonist, Feng Li.
Coincidentally, the cannon fodder who killed Chi You had the same name as Jiang Luo. After Chi You's death, he turned into a ghost and used all sorts of brutal methods to torment the cannon fodder until he wished for death. When he did die, he was torn limb from limb — not an inch of flesh left unbroken.
Jiang Luo's brow twitched twice. Suddenly, he stepped forward and leaned in, now just a fist's distance away from the hot-blooded young man.
Reflected in the other man's pupils was a face both familiar and unfamiliar to Jiang Luo.
Long hair down to the shoulders, eyebrows arched with arrogance, sharp and stunning features — beautiful, yet full of heroic spirit. The face looked like a vivid ink painting, rich in color and intensity, with every line hiding a dagger-like sharpness.
It was almost identical to Jiang Luo's own face — except his real appearance was more gentle and laid-back, not this vividly intense beauty like a blooming rose or peony.
He didn't have hair this long, didn't have a seductive red mole on the back of his left hand, and certainly hadn't killed anyone named Chi You.
Jiang Luo pinched himself hard.
It hurt.
He took a moment to accept the truth: this wasn't a dream. He had transmigrated.
Into that very novel that had been pulled offline for being too bloody and terrifying.
In Devil, the cannon-fodder character killed Chi You under mysterious circumstances, and after Chi You became a ghost, he was nothing like a typical malicious spirit. Most malicious spirits had complete souls, intact with hands and feet—but Chi You's soul had been cut into several pieces.
He was incomplete—like a human missing limbs and a head, without ears, tongue, or nose.
Such a fragmented soul couldn't be summoned, couldn't speak his thoughts or express resentment. Because of that, Chi You's grievance was sky-high, his ghostly aura so strong it attracted the Taoist Feng Li. With Feng Li's help, Chi You was able to cultivate and take revenge on his killer.
Although Jiang Luo had transmigrated into a bad moment, fortunately, there was still some time before the revenge plot began.
For now, he was banking on the fact that the dead couldn't speak, couldn't be summoned to name their killer. This was his chance to clear his name.
If all he wanted was to pique Chi You's interest, then a secret admirer might not catch his attention—but someone who claimed Chi You liked them? That would definitely amuse a vengeful ghost.
More importantly, if the living believed that Chi You had secretly loved him, then even if Chi You came to kill him, others wouldn't think it was a murder out of hatred—they'd think it was an act of obsessive love.
That way, the living would protect Jiang Luo as the "innocent victim." It would buy him precious time to grow stronger and stay alive.
Luo might not be the killer—and may have even been someone Chi You liked—his attitude toward Jiang Luo softened.
Still, remembering how he had just treated Jiang Luo roughly, he felt a bit awkward. He mumbled, "So you really weren't the killer… I'm sorry, I misunderstood you earlier. Don't worry. When Brother Chi You's seventh day comes, we'll know the truth."
Jiang Luo tearfully expressed his thanks.
He thought to himself, Sorry, but your beloved Brother Chi You's soul won't be returning on the seventh day after death.
Jiang Luo turned and took one last look at the coffin, then said, "Weren't we going to handle the case at the 129 Hotel? Let's go now."
All three of them were students in Class 01 of the Department of Natural Sciences and Social Research at Baihua University.
This department existed solely for practitioners of metaphysics—ordinary people didn't even know it existed. There was only one class in the department, with a total of eight students.
They had been granted leave from school this time to handle a commissioned case and earn academic credits, and they had made a special stop to pay respects to Chi You.
Jiang Luo was eager to witness a supernatural event in this new world. A sense of urgency pressed on him, driving his desire to grow stronger quickly. "I used to be so unambitious," he said. "I'd get smug over the smallest progress. But now that I want to avenge Chi You, I realize how little I actually know…"
He even conveniently gave himself a reason for his sudden change in attitude. "I want to become stronger, to avenge Chi You. Starting from the 129 Hotel, I'm saying goodbye to my old self."
Lu Youyi admired people who charged forward fearlessly. His blood surged with excitement as he clapped Jiang Luo on the shoulder. "That's the spirit, brother! That's exactly what you should do!"
Ye Xun tugged on his bunny plush's ears and looked at Jiang Luo as if watching a prodigal son return to the right path. "It's not too late to change now."
Jiang Luo forced a smile. "No, it's already too late."
The three of them stood quietly for a moment, then slipped out of the crowd without drawing attention.
As they reached the gate, a pot-bellied older man suddenly reached toward Jiang Luo. Lu Youyi, as if he had eyes on his back, quickly pulled Jiang Luo out of the way and suspiciously asked, "What are you doing?"
The pot-bellied man had a narrow philtrum, dull and muddy features—a typical face of someone with depleted kidney essence due to overindulgence. His eyes darted evasively. "I didn't do anything."
Jiang Luo stood behind Lu Youyi, eyes narrowing as he looked at the man.
Ye Xun, still hugging his bunny plush, suddenly bent down and whispered toward the toy's mouth, "What's that? You say this man's tendons don't bind his bones, and his pulse can't hold his flesh together? He shows signs of 'ghost agitation'? That he'll soon face a deadly calamity?"
The man froze in place. "What nonsense are you talking about!"
He wanted to curse, but as he met Ye Xun's pitch-black eyes, the words caught in his throat. A chill crept down his spine. Somehow, he knew Ye Xun was telling the truth. He really might end up dead soon.
Lu Youyi cursed under his breath as he pushed Jiang Luo along to leave. Ye Xun trailed behind lazily, adding, "Oh, looks like I misread it. There's just black mist shrouding his mountain root—he's merely in for a string of bad luck."
The pot-bellied man let out a long sigh of relief. As he came to his senses, he realized his legs had gone weak.
Once they were outside, Jiang Luo said, "Ye Xun, I didn't expect you to stand up for me like that."
Ye Xun replied slowly, "No need to thank me too much. But if you're willing to tell the story between you and Chi You, I'd be very interested to hear it."
Lu Youyi's eyes lit up, and he turned to stare at Jiang Luo.
Jiang Luo pondered for a moment, twisting a strand of his black hair. After rapidly stitching together plotlines from various idol dramas and novels, he began to feel excited.
He looked up at the overcast sky, sighed deeply, and let his expression fill with bittersweet longing. "It's a long story."
"Chi You… was deeply in love with me."