Chapter 22: Two-Faced Evil Spirit Bottom x Celestial Master Top

“Congratulations, Host. You’ve successfully completed the task in your first world. Confetti!”

Jing Chi had waited in the previous world until Feng Qinghan passed away peacefully. The instant the man closed his eyes, he chose to detach from that world.

Every moment from that previous life still seemed to flicker before Jing Chi’s eyes. He couldn’t help rubbing his temples.

“Host, our system is kindly offering a memory wipe service to free up that barren brain of yours.”

Jing Chi shot the system a glare and said speechlessly, “No need.”

The system expressed its regret. “Alright then. Would you like to transfer immediately to another novel world?”

Jing Chi grunted in affirmation.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself standing outside a classroom.

The hallway echoed with the sounds of students roughhousing.

Still unsteady from the teleportation, Jing Chi instinctively took a couple of steps back—and bumped right into someone approaching from behind.

Books and papers scattered across the floor.

Jing Chi turned around at once. A young man was crouched down picking up his things. The oversized school uniform hung loosely on his frame, making him look frail and thin.

As he reached for his items, his sleeve rode up slightly, revealing slender wrist bones. His skin was very pale, though—a sickly pallor.

Just then, the system chimed in. “Host, that’s the villain.”

Jing Chi was taken aback. He hadn’t expected to run into him so quickly this time.

And right into his arms, no less.

While he stood there momentarily stunned, an unfamiliar voice echoed in the young man’s mind as well.

“Think he’ll chew you out?”

The voice carried a hint of malice.

The evil spirit always assumed the worst of everyone here.

The young man had grown numb to the voice in his head. He picked up his things mechanically, his eyes downcast and expressionless. He was used to this sort of thing by now.

“How about this—if he yells at you, we’ll rip his mouth to shreds…”

But before the spirit could finish, Jing Chi crouched down beside him.

A clear, gentle voice sounded in the young man’s ear. “Sorry about that, classmate. Let me help you pick these up.”

The young man’s movements slowed for a beat at Jing Chi’s words. The evil spirit scoffed disdainfully.

In that moment, their fingertips brushed against Jing Chi’s hand as he gathered the items. It was like touching a red-hot coal—the young man yanked his hand back.

He didn’t respond to Jing Chi. Instead, he hastily scooped everything into his arms and hurried back to the classroom, head bowed.

Jing Chi watched his retreating figure, his expression inscrutable.

His instincts told him this world was far from normal, either.

At that moment, the system piped up.

“Host, would you like to receive the memories and novel background now?”

Jing Chi nodded.

As he reviewed the plot the system transmitted, Jing Chi struggled to keep his composure.

He had anticipated this world would be tougher, but he never imagined it would shift straight from a school drama to a supernatural horror story.

The system never failed to surprise him.

The novel centered on a young man named Nan Musheng, this world’s shou protagonist. The story began when he accidentally stepped into an abandoned school campus and, by a twist of fate, entered an illusion realm crafted by an evil spirit.

That evil spirit was the novel’s villain. He had endured brutal school bullying and, for various reasons, ultimately leapt from the school’s tallest building. His soul became trapped there afterward, his resentment growing deeper with each passing day.

After his death, strange incidents plagued the school. When a new campus was built, the entire institution relocated, leaving behind only the derelict site—and one unresting soul.

It wasn’t until over a decade later that the shou protagonist wandered in.

The moment Nan Musheng entered the illusion realm, his memories were erased, turning him into one of its inhabitants.

There, he encountered a boy being bullied. As the illusion progressed, every time the boy was targeted, a bloody incident would follow—always claiming one of the original bullies.

Yet for some reason, Nan Musheng became a target too, even though he had never participated, merely standing by as a bystander.

What he didn’t know was that the real bullies from back then hadn’t died like in the illusion. They had graduated smoothly, started families—and Nan Musheng was the descendant of one of them, which was why he could enter.

Just as his life hung in the balance, the gong protagonist appeared and saved him.

And the gong protagonist had his own reasons for being there.

The gong protagonist, Jing Shao, was the shou protagonist’s college classmate. He also hailed from the Celestial Master Family in this era.

He had been secretly in love with the shou protagonist. But when the new semester started, he suddenly discovered that his crush had gone missing. Following the clues, he tracked him here—and realized an Evil Spirit lurked in the area.

Using his spells, Jing Shao smoothly entered the Illusion Realm.

After finding the shou protagonist, however, he realized he couldn’t take him away. All he could do was stay by his side and protect him.

During that time, he unwittingly saved a bullied teenager.

But he never imagined that the boy was the Evil Spirit who had created this Illusion Realm.

Later, for Jing Shao’s sake, the Evil Spirit prepared to let them leave.

To his shock, though, when Jing Shao learned the boy’s true identity, he suddenly decided he had to serve justice. Taking advantage of the Evil Spirit’s distraction, he stabbed him with his magical artifact.

That attack caused the Evil Spirit—who had still retained some sanity—to blacken completely.

Jing Shao was no match for the fully corrupted Evil Spirit. In an instant, both he and the shou protagonist died at the Evil Spirit’s hands.

From that point on, the novel’s world collapsed.

Jing Chi listened in stunned silence at first, then blurted out in utter exasperation, “What the hell! Total squad wipe!”

“I suspect you’re screwing with me. What kind of garbage world is this?”

The world’s downfall was entirely the gong protagonist’s fault for stirring up trouble. The Evil Spirit had been ready to let them go, but he just wouldn’t leave. Getting himself killed? Yeah, he had it coming.

Jing Chi couldn’t help pitying the villain. Bullied to death in life, and even his last spark of kindness betrayed afterward.

The System ignored Jing Chi’s griping and simply said, “Host, what is our goal?”

Jing Chi’s face was blank as he recited, “Keep the protagonists fresh and alive.”

“Correct. Host, you may begin your mission.”

The System vanished in a flash.

Drawing on the body’s memories, Jing Chi quickly grasped his identity. In the Illusion Realm, he was a transfer student.

Outside, he was also a Celestial Master—and the most talented one of his generation. By some twist of fate, he was the gong protagonist’s cousin.

He had come here too, but not to slay the Evil Spirit. His goal had been to exorcise him properly.

Unfortunately, he’d gotten dragged down by Jing Shao and died alongside everyone else.

And now, the story was right at the very beginning—before Jing Shao had even entered the Illusion Realm.

Jing Chi opened his eyes. Just then, a middle-aged male teacher wearing glasses approached him in the hallway.

“You’re Jing Chi, right?”

Jing Chi smiled and nodded politely. “Hello, Teacher. Yes, that’s me—the new transfer student.”

Teacher Wang eyed him approvingly. “I’m your future homeroom teacher. Class is about to start, so come in with me.”

Teacher Wang pushed open the door and strode into Senior Year 3 Class 31.

The once-rowdy classroom fell deathly silent in an instant.

“Look at all of you! You’re in senior year—don’t you want to get into college? And you’re still messing around every day?”

Teacher Wang slapped his palm on a desk.

A cheeky boy shot back without missing a beat. “Teacher, even Yu Xingzhou studies hard every day, and he’s still scraping the bottom of the rankings. What’s wrong with us having a little fun?”

His words sparked roaring laughter from the entire class.

The boy he’d named went rigid, then ducked his head and shrank against the wall, as if he wanted to disappear entirely.

Standing at the door, Jing Chi took it all in. The teenager being mocked—Yu Xingzhou—was the very boy he’d accidentally bumped into earlier. He was also this arc’s villain.

A timid, pathetic-looking kid… who was pulling all the strings behind the scenes.

“What’s so funny? Shut it, all of you.” Teacher Wang frowned. Glancing up, he spotted Jing Chi still lingering outside and remembered what he’d almost forgotten. “It’s your fault for getting me worked up—I nearly overlooked our new student at the door.”

“Come on in, Jing Chi.” Teacher Wang beckoned him over. “Everyone, this is our new transfer student. Jing Chi, why don’t you introduce yourself?”

Jing Chi stepped inside with a friendly wave and smile. “Hey, everyone. I’m Jing Chi—Jing as in beautiful scenery, Chi as in a serene pond. Looking forward to getting to know you all.”

The boy who entered stood tall and straight like a pine tree, his lanky frame accentuating refined features that were on full display. He carried himself like a cool summer breeze, refreshing and effortless.

A small stir rippled through the room. “Whoa, he’s hot.”

In the corner, the boy’s ears twitched. He’d noticed it—this guy’s voice sounded just like that other person’s.

The Evil Spirit grumbled inwardly, “That’s exactly him. Not just similar.”

The homeroom teacher glanced around and saw only one empty seat. “Jing Chi, take the spot next to Yu Xingzhou for now.”

His words ignited a fresh wave of whispers.

Everyone was surprised that someone was actually sitting with Yu Xingzhou.

Jing Chi ignored the murmurs and walked straight over with his backpack. Yu Xingzhou’s seat was right by the back door.

“Hello, desk mate.” After sitting down, Jing Chi greeted him with a smile, feigning surprise as he asked, “Was that you I bumped into earlier?”

The moment the young man met his gaze, he whipped his head away. He shook it slightly while scooting his belongings to the side, treating Jing Chi like some kind of ferocious beast.

Jing Chi raised an eyebrow. “?”

Up on the podium, Teacher Wang had already begun the new lesson.

Jing Chi could only pull out his textbook and stare intently at the front.

What he didn’t notice was the boy beside him sneaking a glance his way.

Meanwhile, the apparently studious Jing Chi was actually chatting with the System in his mind.

“Won’t Yu Xingzhou think it’s weird that I popped up out of nowhere?”

The System replied, “No, Host. This place is built from his original memories, and with time having passed, he’ll automatically smooth over any inconsistencies to make them feel reasonable.”

“For instance, Host, in his storyline, you’re a transfer student who kicks the bucket after a month. Since you weren’t in his original memories, it just assumes you were here but died.”

Jing Chi nearly choked. “Wonderful. Guess I’ll work hard to survive past that month, then.”

He glanced at the boy beside him, who was meticulously jotting down notes. Right now, he didn’t look the least bit like an evil spirit.

The boy’s wrist was slender, fragile enough to snap at a touch. His fingers gripping the pen were translucently pale, faint blue veins tracing across the back of his hand.

Seeing Yu Xingzhou suddenly stiffen under his gaze, Jing Chi looked away.

A bit puzzled, he then asked, “He’s stuck in an illusion he created himself, and he’s still studying and taking notes? Talk about self-torment.”

The System fell silent for a moment before explaining, “Host, the current Yu Xingzhou is more like he has a dual personality.”

Surprise flickered in Jing Chi’s eyes. “What do you mean?”

“His primary personality is just the regular Yu Xingzhou. The secondary one is the evil spirit. Whenever he’s bullied, the evil spirit takes over—and those bloody incidents were all its doing.”

Lost in thought over the System’s words, Jing Chi failed to notice the strange look on the face of the person next to him.

“Were you peeking at him just now?”

A gloomy voice suddenly rang out in Yu Xingzhou’s mind.

His hand paused, but he replied calmly, “No, you saw it wrong.”

At that moment, the boy showed none of the timidity he’d displayed toward Jing Chi.

“You’re lying!” the evil spirit huffed, cheeks puffed in indignation.

Yu Xingzhou kept on writing, ignoring it completely.

The evil spirit, still waiting for a response, got nothing but silence.

Evil spirit: ??