Chapter 4

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Chapter 4: When Someone Becomes Someone to Rely On

11

Lin Xi had two wads of toilet paper stuffed up her nose, and as usual she was sitting in the corner of the study room reading.

But her head was full of the messy scenes from this morning. She scratched at her hair, which was still a little damp, and thought about having to go back at night to face that man who was so utterly exhausting. She suddenly felt that her life had no hope left.

At noon, Lin Xi was chewing on bread when her phone buzzed in her bag. It was a call from her father. Her throat tightened and she swallowed the dry bread, answering the phone with mixed feelings: “Dad.”

“Xixi, how have you been lately?”

“Mm.” Lin Xi smiled, “I’m fine.”

“Do you have enough money? If not, just tell Dad. Don’t be hard on yourself.”

Lin Xi’s father and mother had completely different personalities. Her father’s temper was much gentler, and he had always doted on her a little more when she was growing up. And it was precisely because her father was such a gentle person that he was able to stay with her mother for so long. But time is always cruel. It wears away all patience and reveals its sharp side, making people go head-to-head against each other.

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a while: “Xixi, tomorrow… your mother and I discussed it before, we said we would go get divorced tomorrow.”

“Mm, Mom already told me about it before.”

“Oh, she must have also told you that she arranged a job for you.” At the mention of this, Lin Changwen sounded a little helpless. “Your mother always has to be strong about everything, and she doesn’t care whether you like it or not, she just arranges it for you! If you don’t want to go with her, just tell Dad. You’re grown up now, you should live the life you want to live.”

She responded softly, but didn’t dare to say out loud that she wanted to take the postgraduate entrance exam. Since she was little, her parents had had many arguments over her education. If she told her father now, when they met tomorrow, they would inevitably have another fight. She didn’t want them to worry about her anymore.

For an entire afternoon, Lin Xi didn’t turn a single page. Thinking that there was no food at home and that there was still a glutton lying around, her mood, which had been sunk for half a day, suddenly fluctuated. She rubbed the vein bulging on her forehead and thought to herself that since she couldn’t focus on reading anyway, she might as well go to the supermarket to buy some things.

Carrying a heavy shopping bag, Lin Xi counted the long receipt and her face fell. There was still half a month left, how was she going to get through it?

She looked up and let out a long sigh. It was sunset. Lin Xi was waiting for the red light across the street to turn green and was just about to step forward when a hand suddenly reached out from behind and yanked her back: “Careful!” In her daze, a car brushed past the sidewalk at high speed, whipping up a gust of wind right in front of Lin Xi. With a loud “bang,” the small car crashed straight into a utility pole, and pedestrians on the roadside all screamed in fright.

The man in a suit and leather shoes on the driver’s seat pushed open the car door, covered in blood. He got out of the car, swaying unsteadily, then suddenly turned around and looked at Lin Xi, his eyes fierce, as if he wished he could tear Lin Xi apart and swallow her whole. Lin Xi felt a chill in her heart from his glare and shuddered violently. The man’s body swayed and he fainted to the ground. The people around immediately crowded around him, some calling the police and some calling 120.

Lin Xi still had lingering fear. If someone hadn’t pulled her just now, she would probably have been hit and killed… She looked back and saw that the person was still holding her arm: “That was dangerous, was that guy drunk driving?” He looked over toward the accident, then turned his head to look at Lin Xi, “Are you okay?”

“Ji… Ji Ran?”

Ji Ran was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized: “Ah, you’re… Lin Xi.” Remembering that scene from yesterday, his face turned slightly red and he immediately let go of Lin Xi’s arm. Although he had told his friends that he didn’t care, seeing this girl again still inevitably made him feel awkward.

And Lin Xi was even more embarrassed than he was.

Lin Xi turned her head to look at the accident scene and found an excuse to slip away: “Ah, the police are already here, it should be fine now, I’m going home first.”

“Oh, mm… okay.”

She walked away quickly, her heart feeling like it was about to jump out of her chest. The boy she had a crush on knew her name, and he had even saved her… Really, so cool! When she reached a deserted alley, Lin Xi couldn’t help the elation in her heart and happily spun around twice. But when she turned around, she caught a glimpse of a figure striding toward her.

12

Having been through too much these past few days, Lin Xi couldn’t help but become vigilant. She looked at the person warily, and when she could see his face clearly, her face turned red again: “Uh, Ji Ran, how…” Before she could finish her question, Ji Ran suddenly gave a strange smile, reached out and grabbed Lin Xi by the neck, pinned her against the wall, and lifted her up.

Lin Xi looked at Ji Ran in disbelief. Was he… going to kill her?

With every breath she took, Ji Ran tightened his grip even more, and the smile on his face grew more and more eerie.

Had he… been possessed by a monster!

Lin Xi struggled hard, her eyes rolling back as she hoarsely called out: “Wu Shuang, Wu Shuang…” She had worked so hard to support him, wasn’t it just so that at a time like this there would be someone who could come and save her life! Where the hell had that guy who ate her food and did no work gone now! Weren’t they supposed to share a linked fate!

“He won’t come, you know. He won’t come to save you.” Ji Ran let out a sinister laugh, “As long as you don’t have any wounds left on your body, he won’t notice that something has happened to you, because neither of you can feel the other’s pain. By the time I strangle you to death, he’ll probably know. Hehehe, once he’s dead, the honored position will be mine.”

No one could save her… Lin Xi began to feel dizzy from lack of oxygen. She suddenly thought of the phone call her father had given her at noon today. If she died a strange death the day before their divorce, what would her parents think? They… would probably be heartbroken. How could she die today?

Besides, she hadn’t even taken the postgraduate entrance exam yet, how could she die today!

No matter what, she had to live until the day the exam results came out!

Lin Xi gritted her teeth and opened her eyes wide. Ji Ran’s expression changed: “How can there be magical power inside your body!” In that moment of distraction, his grip loosened a bit. Lin Xi took a big gulp of air, lifted her foot and stomped on Ji Ran’s face. Ji Ran let go in pain, and Lin Xi fell to the ground. While apologizing in her heart to Ji Ran, whom she adored, she scrambled to her feet and ran toward home.

Ji Ran was unwilling to give up and immediately gave chase.

Lin Xi was just about to run out of the alley, with the bright lights of the street outside right before her eyes, when suddenly a figure darted out from the side. Lin Xi couldn’t stop in time and crashed straight into the person’s arms. Like a frightened rabbit, she let out a cry and turned to run back again, but someone grabbed her by the collar and dragged her back. A solid arm encircled her and pulled her into his embrace. Wu Shuang’s voice sounded above her head: “Can you use your brain and figure out friend from foe? Running away from everyone you see, nice going.”

Lin Xi felt slightly more at ease, and then she felt angry again. If she hadn’t suddenly erupted with the will to live just now, how could she have waited until he came? And now this guy actually had the heart to make sarcastic remarks!

Wu Shuang waved his hand and a huge scythe appeared in his hand. With one arm holding Lin Xi, he walked slowly toward Ji Ran, his footsteps steady and reassuring.

Ji Ran on the other side grinned eerily when he saw Wu Shuang. Seeing the person she had a crush on make such an expression, Lin Xi turned her head away, unable to bear looking at him. Wu Shuang let out a cold laugh and said: “Fu Ling, you have a lot of courage. Tell me, how do you want to die?”

After hearing Wu Shuang’s words, Lin Xi turned pale with shock: “No! You can’t kill him!”

When people from that other world died, they turned into a firework that exploded, and Lin Xi could still deceive herself by saying she saw nothing. But Ji Ran was a living, breathing person. If he died, he would be a corpse. And Wu Shuang and she would from then on be branded as murderers, never to be free again.

Wu Shuang frowned: “Tsk, women are such a hassle.”

“Hehehe, so there are times when even a death god hesitates to kill. I won’t fight with you today, I’ll be going first.” As he spoke, he turned on his heel and ran.

13

Wu Shuang dropped Lin Xi and chased after him. Lin Xi came to her senses and saw that both of them had disappeared. She hurriedly chased after them, but as soon as she ran out of the mouth of the alley, she saw Ji Ran lying face down on the ground, covered in a sorry mess from his fall. Lin Xi looked around and didn’t see Wu Shuang anywhere. She hesitated a little, crouched down, and touched Ji Ran’s shoulder: “Ji Ran?”

“Mm…” Ji Ran groaned, covering his face as he sat up, “How come… I’m lying here?” His tone was as usual, so it seemed he had returned to normal. Lin Xi felt a weight lift off her chest and let out a long breath. Ji Ran turned to look at her: “Lin Xi, you’re here too? What happened to me?”

Seeing the red mark on Ji Ran’s face left by her own foot, Lin Xi felt a little guilty: “Uh… umm, I… I saw you suddenly faint and came over to check on you.”

“Fainted?” Ji Ran scratched his head strangely, “Has my health gotten that bad lately? Anyway, thank you for looking after me. I’ll treat you to a meal next time.” Ji Ran got up and left. Lin Xi watched his back and thought infatuatedly, what a nice, gentle boy.

“Tsk, why don’t you just pounce on him? Watching you dither like this is really irritating.” Wu Shuang had landed beside Lin Xi at some unknown time. He suddenly thought of something, grabbed Lin Xi by the collar and lifted her up, squinting at her, “Hey, you weren’t staying out this late to go on a date with this kid, were you?”

The corner of Lin Xi’s eye twitched. She held back the emotions churning inside her and said lightly: “I went to buy groceries. Over there.” She pointed, and in the alley lay a white shopping bag, the one she had dropped on the ground when that person had grabbed her by the neck. She pushed Wu Shuang’s hand away, walked over, and picked up the shopping bag.

Wu Shuang walked behind Lin Xi with his arms crossed, dissatisfied: “I told you to be home before five o’clock. If you have something to do, don’t you know how to do it earlier? If you die, that’s one thing, but don’t drag me down with you.” Before he could finish speaking, a can came flying at his face. Wu Shuang effortlessly reached out and caught it. Then he saw Lin Xi’s face was purple with anger. She mustered up courage from who knew where and pointed at his nose and cursed:

“Just who is dragging who down!” All her repressed emotions had a day when they would erupt, and Lin Xi poured out her grievances, “What kind of messed-up things are these! 118 monsters, that’s even more monsters than were killed on the Journey to the West, okay! What’s even more outrageous is that those monsters have no grudge against me at all! I just want to take the postgraduate entrance exam, get a PhD, and live a peaceful life. Which bastard dragged me into this! Up to now, I don’t even know why this is happening…”

“Oh, so you do have a temper after all.” Wu Shuang pulled open the can and, amidst Lin Xi’s nagging curses, calmly ate while correcting her: “First, those aren’t monsters, they’re killers. Second, I’m not the one who linked your life to mine. So don’t point at my nose and curse me. If you want to blame someone, blame the heavens for being clumsy and not cutting off the connection between us. Third… Mm, what flavor is this canned beef? Not bad.” Wu Shuang took two big bites and then continued: “Third, didn’t I explain to you why they are trying to kill me?”

Lin Xi stared at him with dead-fish eyes.

Wu Shuang tilted his head back and poured all the meat from the can into his mouth, chewed it twice and swallowed it whole. He stepped forward and took the shopping bag, saying: “Let’s go back. I’ll talk as we walk.”

14

“Every person has a corresponding individual in the other world, it’s just that the connection between the two worlds is cut off from each other. Under normal circumstances, you can’t perceive the existence of the other world, but ordinary people can occasionally see their other self in the gaps. For example, when dreaming, an information exchange forms between the two spirits, but it’s only for a short time, and both sides quickly forget it. But for some reason, there’s been a problem between you and me, and there’s always been some kind of connection between our bodies, to the point that it has already affected our physical forms.”

“I already understood this situation a few days ago.” Lin Xi sighed helplessly.

Wu Shuang glanced at her and said: “The organization I joined in that world is called ‘Ten.’ There are two hundred families in the organization, and each family has different abilities. That Fu Ling just now, his ability is possession. He can attach his soul to any living thing. His weakness is that when his soul possesses someone, his real body actually has no ability to fight back at all. He got lucky this time and managed to run away. Next time… Hmph.”

The murderous intent in Wu Shuang’s eyes made Lin Xi shudder. She actually felt quite relieved now. Luckily she shared a linked fate with this person. Otherwise… if he asked her lightly how she wanted to die, Lin Xi feared she would be so scared she wouldn’t even be able to open her mouth.

“The first person I killed when I saved you was Zong Qi, the best tracker among the two hundred families. The second man, covered in bandages all over his body, is called Shi Man, and he has the ability of immortality.”

Lin Xi was stunned: “But he was already…”

She hadn’t even gotten the words out — that his head had been chopped off with one slash — when Wu Shuang suddenly curled his lips into a smile: “Because, I am the God of Death. Whose life I want, he has to give me.”

The chill in his tone made Lin Xi’s skin crawl, and she quickly changed the subject: “But, you are in the same organization, why do they want to kill you?”

“A change of power.” The display screen on the building across the street was broadcasting some news about an upcoming government meeting. Wu Shuang glanced at it lightly, “There is only one honored position that commands the two hundred families. It must be held by the strongest person in the organization to ascend to it. Every time the honored position changes hands, there is bound to be a bloody battle among the two hundred families. So in order to reduce losses, I don’t know which idle previous lord made a rule that the strongest among the two hundred families are picked out to duel. The person who lives to the end is the next lord.”

His tone was indifferent, as if he disapproved of this rule very much: “Among the two hundred candidates picked out, the person most likely to succeed to the throne becomes the target of everyone from the very beginning. But killing me is really too difficult, and at this moment someone just happened to leak information to them, saying that in the other world there is an existence like you.” Wu Shuang turned to look at Lin Xi, poking her between the eyebrows with some smugness and some disdain, “So, you became the target.”

Lin Xi was stunned and lost in thought. To a girl who had been educated in Marxism-Leninism since she was little and who wholeheartedly only wanted to take the postgraduate entrance exam, all of this sounded too fantastical, didn’t it…

“Be content. The fact that two hundred people didn’t come after you together to kill you is enough for you to laugh about.”

“Heh… hehe.” As he said, Lin Xi let out a dry laugh.