FI CH76: Berserk Mode

The surging psychic energy came to an abrupt halt.

Lin Su remained motionless, still leaning against He Zhenling’s chest. Faint blue veins surfaced beneath the skin on the side of his neck.

He Zhenling placed a hand there, feeling the weak pulse, his brow tightly furrowed. “…Lin Su.”

He raised his arm to hold him up a bit more.

After a pause, he undid the buttons on the front of Lin Su’s collar with one hand. Once the collar was loosened, he reached inside, his scorching palm pressing against Lin Su’s heart. With a slight push—

Psychic energy flowed into the heart meridian like a warm spring.

The flickering sovereign fire suddenly brightened, stabilizing once more.

Lin Su’s lightly closed eyelashes twitched.

Then, with a shudder, he opened his eyes. He looked up and met He Zhenling’s handsome face, inches away. His thin lips were pressed into a straight line, and his calloused palm was rubbing against the skin over his heart.

“…?”

His face flushed, and he shyly grabbed He Zhenling’s wrist. “You… you’re taking advantage of me while I’m asleep again, doing something so bold…”

A sudden chuckle came from above.

He Zhenling looked down at him, his deep eyes like they held cold stars, yet tinged with fire. His fingertips pressed down with restrained force, and his chest rose and fell twice without a word.

Lin Su felt a pang of guilt under his gaze and let go.

“I…” He subconsciously touched his earlobe, but unexpectedly felt a silver hoop. He froze. “Hm?”

His fingertips traced it carefully, identifying the crane feather design on it.

Lin Su looked at He Zhenling. “Yours?”

He Zhenling’s eyes fell on his earlobe. “…Mhm.”

Lin Su’s gaze immediately darted to his chest, where the outline was faintly visible through the form-fitting fabric. As he was staring, a voice suddenly came from in front of him:

“What are you thinking about?”

He slowly shifted his gaze. “Didn’t you say this was yours?”

He Zhenling’s Adam’s apple bobbed, and he turned his head away. “I had a pair made before. this is the spare.”

“Oh.” Lin Su was still fiddling with the silver hoop. Feeling the pattern with his fingertips, his gaze fell back to He Zhenling’s chest, and his earlobes felt a little hot. So, this is what it looks like.

“Why don’t you wear it on your ear?”

He Zhenling said calmly, “I don’t look good in earrings.”

“…” Lin Su was momentarily stunned. Holy crap, He Zhenling actually considers whether something looks good or not.

The snow-white creature lay limply in his arms. [Boxbox, how else is he supposed to seduce you?]

Lin Su: .

As he was fiddling with it, the figure in front of him suddenly turned back. He Zhenling looked at him, his fingertips tightening slightly. “…Stop touching it.” After a two-second pause, his gaze sharpened. “Being lewd again.”

Lin Su guiltily let go. “The pull from the backlash of a myriad ghosts was too strong…” As he spoke, he buried his face in He Zhenling’s chest. “Sigh… I’m so dizzy, I’ve been drained.”

There was a moment of silence from above.

Then it seemed he took a deep breath.

A hand pinched his earlobe, pressing down. “Wear it properly.”

The pinch made Lin Su’s waist tremble, and he buried his face again, flushing.

The swirling currents of air around them gradually subsided. He leaned against He Zhenling to recover for a while before straightening up. The formation’s eye in front of them had already spat all the ghostly energy back out. He said:

“Let’s go back too.”

He Zhenling looped a long arm around him, helping him up. “Can you stand steady?”

Lin Su squinted. “Ah, okay =u=…”

“Heh…” He Zhenling chuckled knowingly, turning his back. “Get on.”

Lin Su shamelessly hopped on. The backs of his knees were then scooped up, and with a lift, he was securely on He Zhenling’s back. He Zhenling supported him as they walked back, his shoulders broad and his back, firm and warm from diligent exercise.

The silver hoop on his earlobe swayed gently with the movement.

After a long while, Lin Su pressed himself against the back, feeling the suddenly heavier heartbeat beneath him, and squinted.

So sleepy, time for a nap.

Back at Yan Guanyue’s house.

Bai Jiang and Yan Tingyun immediately crowded around.

Bai Jiang’s clear eyes instantly welled up with tears. He looked Lin Su up and down. “Teacher…! How are you? You…”

His words trailed off as he noticed the sudden appearance of the earring. 0.0?

Lin Su avoided Bai Jiang’s intense, furtive stare, turning his head slightly. It didn’t feel like much when it was just the two of them, but wearing it so openly now felt like displaying He Zhenling’s most secret possession for all to see.

For some reason, it was a little… titillating…

He changed the subject. “I’m fine, just tired.”

Yan Tingyun also had a worried expression. “There was a huge explosion outside. Are you hurt? We have medicine at home.”

Lin Su waved his hand. “I’m not hurt.”

He Zhenling said, “I’ll take him inside to rest first.” He then supported him back into the room.

Inside the room, the door creaked shut.

He Zhenling placed him on the bed. Lin Su reluctantly withdrew his hands. Just as he got comfortable on the bed, the mattress dipped beside him. He saw He Zhenling sitting on the edge of the bed, looking down at him.

He hugged the blanket. “What’s wrong?”

He Zhenling studied him silently for a few seconds, raised his knuckles, then put them back down with restraint. Just as he was about to speak, a hand suddenly shot out from the blanket and hooked his fingers.

His fingertips curled instinctively as he looked.

Lin Su hooked his fingers and said dotingly, “Go ahead and get handsy if you want. I’m weak and powerless right now, it’s the perfect opportunity for you to do as you please.”

He Zhenling, “…”

He let out a short laugh, his knuckles closing. After a few seconds, he asked in a seemingly calm voice, “What was that formation about?”

“A secret art for large-scale luck transference.”

Lin Su squeezed his fingers. “They used this for the luck-changing ritual 17 years ago. I destroyed a lot of them back then, but I didn’t expect some remnants to still be here.” He then bent He Zhenling’s fingers into a “peace” sign. “But these mass-produced things are mostly shoddily made.”

He Zhenling used the “peace” sign to pinch him. “Those people from 17 years ago, are now…”

“Mhm.” Lin Su looked at their intertwined fingers. The backlash from such a crude secret art came at the cost of one’s life force.

Those people either died of old age or are rapidly deteriorating.

The people in the Yan clan village will face the same fate.

After a moment, He Zhenling’s knuckles loosened. “You should sleep.” He stood up and glanced outside. His eyes were cold and merciless, without a trace of pity. “I’m going to take a look.”

He tucked Lin Su’s hand back under the blanket and left.

The door clicked shut softly.

Lin Su lay there for a few seconds, then took out his phone and sent a WeiXin message to the Ghost King.

[SoSleepyICan’tWakeUp]: The Jishan mineral vein was blown up.

[▼_▼]: I know. I was just discussing the wedding night arrangements. [Angry][Angry][Angry]

Lin Su, “…”

[SoSleepyICan’tWakeUp]: The ghostly energy has broken through the boundary.

[▼_▼]: I’ll go clean it up.

Very good.

Both sides have people to clean up the mess.

Lin Su turned off his phone, buried himself in the blankets, and peacefully drifted off to sleep.

…

Outside the door, a snow-white figure was waiting in the courtyard.

When He Zhenling pushed the door open, Bai Jiang turned his head.

Their eyes met, and he walked over.

Bai Jiang folded his hands in his sleeves, a smile not reaching his eyes. “Only Teacher can suppress the ghostly energy of Jishan Mountain. And the only ones who could have blown up the Jishan barrier are those clansmen. Teacher was injured because of this, right?”

He Zhenling said faintly, “Mhm.”

“I understand.”

Bai Jiang fiddled with the white jade thumb ring on his finger. “I was thinking, since it’s a rare chance to spend the New Year together, we should try to stay as long as possible. But now it seems we’ve let them live for too long.” ^^

He Zhenling glanced at him, for once not refuting.

Bai Jiang turned his head. “Let’s go, President He, time to get to work~”

In the front village of the Yan clan.

The secret art backfired. All the clansmen who had participated in the blood pact aged at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Age spots appeared on their faces, their skin turning like tree bark.

Horrified wails swept through the entire front village.

“Ah…!! My face…”

“Why did it backfire? Weren’t we supposed to share in the great luck!?”

The already old and frail collapsed onto their beds.

The slightly younger and stronger ones, unable to accept the loss of their vitality, grabbed their hoes and rushed to the clan leader’s house, pounding on the door. “Bang, bang!”

“What’s going on!”

“We need an explanation!!”

Bang, “Come out—”

Inside, Yan Shu lay on the bed, almost shriveled to skin and bones. His throat wheezed like a broken bellows. “Heh… heh…” he gasped. A loud bang on the door from outside nearly made him stop breathing.

He swallowed two pills and caught his breath.

His eyes were cloudy, filled with confusion and unwillingness. “It backfired… how could it? My clan’s great luck was clearly supposed to be this year. There must be, there must be some other turn of events…”

The clamor outside continued.

Yan Shu’s gaze shifted, and he pointed outside. “Go deal with them first, stabilize the situation.”

In front of him, Elder Yan also had a full head of white hair.

He pushed himself up from his chair by his knees: The secret art backfired, the clansmen definitely won’t let this go. He had some prestige in the clan; it was best to seize this opportunity to regain control.

Elder Yan thus took a cane and shoved the door open.

Before he could speak, a rotten vegetable hit him squarely on the head! The person who threw it hadn’t expected to be so accurate, and the surroundings fell silent for a moment. Elder Yan clenched his jaw and endured it for a few seconds before removing the vegetable leaf.

He scanned the crowd, all of them wearing eager, aggressive expressions. After brewing his words for a moment, he spoke:

“This isn’t a backlash, it’s the work of that great ghost.”

The crowd immediately stirred.

Seeing the people waver, Elder Yan pressed his advantage. “Now that Yan Guanyue has betrayed our clan and sided with the great ghost, our only choice is to capture Yan Tingyun and threaten them to stop their persecution of us.”

A clansman said, “But isn’t there a ghost wall around Yan Tingyun’s place?”

Elder Yan pondered for a few moments, then suddenly asked, “Among the clansmen who didn’t participate in the pact, who is closest to Yan Guanyue’s family?”

Someone below quickly answered, “It’s Lijuan!”

Elder Yan said slowly, “Very good…”

Internal conflicts that cannot be resolved can only be redirected externally. As for who this person was, or whether they had truly betrayed the clan, it was completely unimportant.

If they could use this to force Yan Tingyun out, even better.

He said sharply, “She didn’t participate in the pact. Perhaps she received news in advance. Seize her!”

“That makes sense…”

“She never missed out before, but this time she didn’t come. Maybe she’s a traitor too!”

“Only looking out for herself, we absolutely can’t let her off!”

The group marched menacingly towards the back village.

In the room, Lin Su dozed for a bit.

Before long, he was awakened by the commotion outside.

He sat up, a red mark pressed onto his face from sleeping. The snow-white creature stopped its gentle massaging paws and poked its head out. [You’re awake?]

Lin Su played along, “17 years have passed.”

The snow-white creature retracted its paws. [Don’t say that!]

…Sigh, time for desensitization training again.

Lin Su sighed softly and pushed the door open.

As he went out, he saw Yan Tingyun anxiously rushing into the backyard, saying to He Zhenling, “Big Brother He! Auntie Juan was taken away by the villagers…” She then turned her head to look for someone else. “Where’s Brother Kangzi?”

Lin Su walked over. “When was she taken?”

“Mr. Lin…!” Yan Tingyun was startled, then immediately said, “Just now, I saw it from the window. And those clansmen, they looked very… very…”

She searched for a descriptor. “Ever-changing.”

The snow-white creature marveled: [The Yan clan’s euphemism.]

Lin Su skipped over that and shook his head. “Let’s go.”

Yan Tingyun, “Huh?”

She was still a bit dazed. “Go directly? Is… is there no deployment, or plan?”

“There is.” Under Yan Tingyun’s expectant gaze, Lin Su gestured with his hand. “The few of us will go surround them.”

“…” Yan Tingyun: One swing of a hoe, and my whole family will be reunited in the afterlife.

He Zhenling turned his head. “Weren’t you just weak in the knees and limp in the arms?”

Lin Su was already walking out of the house. “I’m also ever-changing.”

“Heh, you’re ever-disappearing.”

“…Nonsense.”

…

On the road to the front village.

Auntie Juan was being pushed along by a group of people. “What are you doing!”

“You’re asking us?” The clansman pushing her gave her a shove. “Speak! Did you collude with Yan Guanyue’s family to harm the clan!”

Auntie Juan had indeed spoken with someone, but seeing their aged faces, she knew something must have gone wrong when they gathered the clansmen. She spat fiercely and cursed:

“You bring disaster upon yourselves and then blame others!”

The clansman’s face turned ugly. “What did you say!?”

Auntie Juan glared at them. “You offered Guanyue up for a ghost marriage. If you ask me, this is your retribution!”

“You son of a b—”

The clansman was instantly enraged and raised his stick to strike. Just as he lifted his arm, there was a sudden sound of something cutting through the air! Accompanied by a blood-curdling scream, a gleaming Tang sword pierced straight through his arm. “Ah…!!”

He writhed on the ground, screaming in pain.

The surrounding people turned their heads in shock.

They saw a tall man standing behind them, his hand, not yet withdrawn, showing well-defined bones and sinews. Beside him stood an excessively handsome youth, his face almost blending in with his white underclothes.

Following them was Yan Tingyun.

In the moment the crowd was stunned, Auntie Juan violently broke free from the person beside her and ran towards Lin Su’s group.

The clansman next to her failed to grab her and cursed in frustration.

Then they all came to their senses and questioned:

“…Who are you people?”

“Where did you come from!”

“Well, well, Yan Tingyun! You really have colluded with outsiders. Today, we will cleanse the clan in the name of our ancestors.”

The group of clansmen all tightened their grips on their weapons.

Before them were just a young girl, a woman, and a youth who looked like he could be blown over by the wind. Although the remaining man looked intimidating, his weapon was already out of his hands. Were they afraid they couldn’t beat an old master to death with a flurry of sticks!

This place was full of typical vicious and unreasonable people.

After exchanging glances, they raised their tools and charged—

A group of clansmen rushed over with sticks and hoes.

Yan Tingyun pulled Auntie Juan back, shrinking in fear. Seeing the two men in front of her standing motionless, she couldn’t help but say tremblingly:

“Big Brother He… Mr. Lin, maybe we should run?”

“Don’t panic.”

Lin Su stood in front of her, calmly tucking his hands into his sleeves. “Didn’t I say we were going to surround them?”

Just as he finished speaking, there was a loud bang! A burst of fire erupted at the feet of the clansman in the lead.

He tripped in shock and rolled to the ground.

The crowd screeched to a halt and looked around.

They saw a snow-white figure standing on a raised mound of earth on the periphery. Bai Jiang’s sleeves fluttered as he held a talisman between his fingers.

The clansmen were shocked and angry. “…It’s you!?”

“We meet again. Good afternoon~” ^^

As he spoke, a row of people in uniform appeared neatly behind him. Looking around again, they saw that at some point, they had been surrounded by members in the same uniform.

The white and blue-collared uniforms were perfectly uniform.

The emblem on their chests belonged to the headquarters of the Celestial Master Association.

Bai Jiang stood at the very front, smiling as he raised his hand to give an order: “Or not, whatever you like.”

__

Author’s Note:

Xiao Bai: I have rabies, don’t mess with me. ^^
Big Bird He (turning his head): Did you hear that? He’s sick.
Sleepy: …

Support me on Ko-fi