Chapter Sixty-Four: The Reign of the Fiend (2)

Night, nine forty-five.

The lights on the twenty-second floor suddenly went out, but the entire floor remained eerily quiet.

That was because only two guests stayed there: Gu Zhiheng in room 2208, and a fifteen-year-old girl, Ye Wenjing, in room 2209.

Ye Wenjing was a high school student from the countryside who had come to Yang City to study. Every year during the holidays, she never returned home, instead staying in the city to work odd jobs.

This year, she had originally planned to work again, but her remarried mother suddenly reappeared, bringing tens of thousands of yuan for her family. Her mother claimed she was now capable, wanted to see her daughter, and offered money as compensation for the years of absent company.

She told Wenjing not to work so hard anymore, and that from now on she would send five thousand yuan per month as living expenses. All Ye Wenjing needed to do was focus on her studies, without worrying about anything else.

Ye Wenjing was a diligent student, so she listened to her mother's advice and gave up her holiday job. School had been out for some time, and she had worked a few days, but her mother's intervention convinced her to quit just two days before.

Tonight she was staying at Yang City Grand Hotel for one night, before taking the early morning bus back home to the countryside.

Ye Wenjing definitely felt reluctant to stay in such an expensive hotel—it was her mother who brought her, booked the room, and left. Wenjing was alone in the hotel room.

“Brother, it’s time, get ready!” As soon as the clock struck nine forty-five, Jun Luan called Gu Zhiheng to action.

“Mm, the ghostly aura is growing stronger. Protect yourself.” Gu Zhiheng handed Jun Luan several high-grade spirit talismans, pasted a few on himself, and then grabbed Jun Luan, both passing through the wall to the next room.

But they went the wrong way, ending up in room 2207.

Gu Zhiheng slapped his forehead in exasperation, then changed direction and dragged Jun Luan over to the correct room—2209.

Upon entering, Gu Zhiheng nearly swore aloud. The television was playing that sort of… content again.

Ye Wenjing lay quietly on the bed, breathing evenly, clearly asleep.

A man sat on the sofa, scrolling through his phone restlessly, his expression impatient and irritable.

“Can you stop bothering me? I’ve said I don’t want to live anymore. Can’t I just die?” The man’s anger made the veins on his forehead stand out. He barely exchanged a few words on the phone before hurling it aside.

He looked at Wenjing on the bed with undisguised disgust, wishing he could throw her straight out the window.

It wasn’t that Ye Wenjing was unattractive; the man simply felt nothing.

Ye Wenjing’s appearance matched her name—delicate and demure, a truly gentle girl.

“Since you’re here, why not come sit for a while, Young Master Jun,” the man’s voice was cold, as icy as his face.

“Oh, the great one remembers me—what an honor!” Jun Luan let go of Gu Zhiheng’s hand, swaggering up to the man with a careless attitude.

“What, won’t you sit for a while? Aren’t you tired standing?” The Gu family—interesting.

“Thank you. As long as you don’t touch her, everything can be discussed.” Gu Zhiheng was blunt, tearing off his spirit talisman and sitting opposite the man.

“I am Ye Qingyun. May I ask which elder of the Gu family you are?” Ye Qingyun introduced himself politely, but Gu Zhiheng didn’t even glance at him.

Gu Zhiheng was rapidly scrolling through his phone, disbelief written all over his face.

Finally, after reading the information, he looked at Ye Qingyun in confusion, double-checking his phone.

“You and Chen Yuan have nothing in common. She’s adorable, you’re not.” Gu Zhiheng’s words made Ye Qingyun roll his eyes.

A grown man described as “adorable”? Was the Gu family head here to joke?

“She’s my cousin, not a direct relation. Isn’t it normal we’re different?” Ye Qingyun was speechless, always compared to his cousin wherever he went.

“What’s your purpose? Who’s orchestrating all this? Her mother, Liu Yuer?” Gu Zhiheng didn’t know why he suspected that woman, but he couldn’t shake the feeling she was involved.

“You haven’t told me which Gu family member you are. Answer my question first,” Ye Qingyun leaned on the sofa, his cold demeanor at odds with his words.

“I am Gu Zhiheng, current head of the Gu family.” Which generation, he wasn’t quite sure.

“Oh, so you’re Gu Zhiheng. My brother used to mention you often.” Ye Qingyun arched an eyebrow at Gu Zhiheng, instantly betraying Jun Luan.

They’d known each other for fifteen years. Jun Luan’s death was due to a fire Ye Qingyun started, though not intentionally.

To make amends, Ye Qingyun had raised Jun Luan.

“Come, brother, let’s hear your excuses today!” Gu Zhiheng smiled slyly, his sharp gaze fixed on Jun Luan’s strikingly handsome face.

Jun Luan was embarrassed, squirming under Gu Zhiheng’s scrutiny, unsure how to explain.

“Brother, hear me out—I mean, let me explain. I really don’t know him!” Jun Luan grabbed an apple from the table and hurled it at Ye Qingyun.

Seeing Gu Zhiheng’s gaze, he felt guilty. He hadn’t intentionally concealed his acquaintance with Ye Qingyun; he just…

Never mind. He’d hidden it on purpose, not wanting Gu Zhiheng to know he and Ye Qingyun were of the same ilk.

“Enough. In that case, don’t blame me for being harsh.” As he finished speaking, the talisman on Jun Luan burst open.

The sudden blast left Jun Luan defenseless; he collapsed instantly.

He hadn’t trained much, so his ghostly aura was weak. He’d lasted this long only because Ye Qingyun protected him.

And he carried the Gu family’s aura, so ordinary spirits wouldn’t approach, let alone harm him.

Seeing Jun Luan fall so easily, Ye Qingyun shook his head helplessly.

He flicked a strand of ghostly energy toward Ye Wenjing on the bed, then stood before Gu Zhiheng.

He had no desire to live, unable to die, and now could finally fulfill his wish.

“Kill me, and the truth of those matters will come to light. You can take him with you.” Facing death, Ye Qingyun’s eyes shone with relief.

After so many years, having caused so much harm, it was time to die.

As for the rest, others would handle it.

“Those girls are not human, Wenjing neither. These matters have nothing to do with Yang City’s people.”

“All arrangements were made by Liu Yuer. She is my wife, not Wenjing’s mother.”

“Wenjing’s real mother died many years ago. Yuer took over her body; after I die, the girls will return to life.”

“I did not harm them. I merely imprisoned their souls. When I die, they will be freed.”

Ye Qingyun spoke everything in one breath, took the talisman from Gu Zhiheng’s hand, and pressed it to his own heart.

Just before the talisman burst, he tore out his heart and handed it to Gu Zhiheng—a final act of goodwill before death.