One hour later, inside the trunk of the car.
Su Mingyao and Jiang Jingwu stared at each other, their mouths sealed shut with thick strips of duct tape.
Meanwhile, the Labrador Retriever had been stuffed into the trunk of another vehicle, bound up tight.
Sui Qiuming, his face plastered with a bandage, climbed into the car while muttering curses under his breath.
“If there weren’t so many people picking up their dogs today, you two would’ve never gotten the drop on me!”
He followed up by kicking Jiang Jingwu.
He hadn’t kicked the Labrador or Su Mingyao because those two hadn’t hurt him much. Besides the dog, Su Mingyao was another one who could make the green leaf glow brightly.
The Labrador could turn the green leaf dull and gray, while Su Mingyao made it shine. The color change he’d seen earlier wasn’t even the final version. Once he’d separated the dog from the man, the green leaf had revealed that both were top-tier offerings… No, not just top-tier—absolute premium!
Sui Qiuming trembled with excitement all over.
With sacrifices of this caliber, he was sure to stand closest to the goddess during the ritual and receive the highest divine blessing. That would give him real hope of resurrecting his mother!
That’s why he hadn’t kicked the Labrador or Su Mingyao. He was counting on these two premium sacrifices to secure his prime spot—he couldn’t risk damaging them.
Poor Jiang Jingwu got the boot instead.
Even trapped in the trunk, Su Mingyao’s mind was racing.
Why did they grab me? Su Shang’s scheme does involve a kidnapping plot against me, but it shouldn’t be happening now. It was supposed to come after the engagement was called off at the earliest, and Luo Shang hasn’t broken off his engagement with Shen Changqing yet. There’s no way the plot would trigger ahead of schedule.
And in his previous life, nothing like this had ever happened… Oh, right—in his previous life, Luo Shang hadn’t brought home a dog, and Su Mingyao had never walked it for him, so they’d never crossed paths with these people.
From what they’d said, this bunch seemed to be cultists, and they’d snatched him and the Labrador to use as sacrifices for some god…
Now that he knew that, Su Mingyao actually calmed down.
At first, he’d been terrified and panicked around these guys. For one thing, nothing like this had happened in his previous life, so he had no idea how to handle it. For another, he wasn’t sure if this was Luo Shang’s doing.
If it wasn’t Luo Shang behind it, showing fear and panic wouldn’t change a thing.
If it was Luo Shang, then playing the part of the scared victim from the plot would be even better.
In the latter case, Su Mingyao might worry a bit that if he didn’t act convincingly enough, Luo Shang would reset the world and make him suffer all over again. But in the former case, he figured he’d be fine.
After all, he was a key piece in the plot Luo Shang wanted to play out, which meant Luo Shang didn’t actually hate him that much.
So Luo Shang would definitely swoop in to save him before he died. There was no way his life was in real danger.
As for that thing that looked like a Labrador, it was just a skeleton to begin with, so life or death didn’t really apply.
Su Mingyao’s only concern was Jiang Jingwu. His friend from his previous life had gotten dragged into this mess because of him and was now marked as a sacrifice too.
Sure, Su Mingyao himself would be rescued by Luo Shang, but what about Jiang Jingwu?
In his previous life, had Jiang Jingwu ever done anything to offend Luo Shang?
From Su Mingyao’s perspective, he had no clue what others had done to Luo Shang, since no one ever showed their ugly side around him. Even with memories from his previous life, the most he could piece together was that Shen Changqing had done something awful to Su Shang, which had indirectly led to Su Shang’s death.
But Jiang Jingwu… had he ever crossed Luo Shang in his previous life? That was crucial!
He couldn’t just ask Jiang Jingwu right now, though. The guy had no memories from the previous life, and in this one, he hadn’t even met Luo Shang yet.
Su Mingyao turned to look at Jiang Jingwu and saw the college guy wriggling around, desperately trying to lick off the tape over his mouth. He even shot Su Mingyao a resolute, reassuring glance, as if to say he would protect him no matter what.
Su Mingyao: …
It should be fine… right?
Compared to Shen Changqing—the ruthless, calculating shark of the business world—Jiang Jingwu was just your average, straightforward college kid!
Jiang Jingwu had no idea Su Mingyao was fretting over his safety once Luo Shang entered the picture. He’d figured out that he, Su Mingyao, and the dog had been nabbed by cultists who planned to offer them up to an evil god—probably as a lethal sacrifice.
What now?
He’d finally met the love of his life at first sight. He couldn’t just die like this!
Jiang Jingwu racked his brain, drawing on every scrap of knowledge from detective novels, forensic science channels, and random trivia he’d picked up online. He strained desperately against his bonds, determined to break free and help both Su Mingyao and himself escape.
He didn’t regret approaching Su Mingyao and striking up a conversation with him. If anything, his hatred for these cultists burned even hotter.
When Su Mingyao turned to look at him, his eyes brimming with worry and guilt, Jiang Jingwu’s heart twisted in pain, as if a steel needle had pierced it.
In a situation like this, he’s still worrying about me!
Jiang Jingwu felt certain once more: Su Mingyao was pure and innocent, a man truly worth loving.
Having snagged such a prime sacrifice, Sui Qiuming and his group floored it. What should have taken until tomorrow evening to reach S City could now be done by early morning.
That evening, after returning home, Su Bingyao noticed Luo Shang still hadn’t come back. It wasn’t a big deal—nothing in this world could hurt him anyway. Let his brother play around outside; the longer he stayed away, the better. It meant less time dealing with them.
But Su Mingyao was missing too, and that struck him as odd.
Luo Shang had always been a night owl, staying out late countless times even before entering the Reincarnation Space.
Su Mingyao, on the other hand, had been the picture of responsibility these past few days, always home before eight.
Su Bingyao tried to reassure himself. Su Mingyao was an adult, after all. Maybe he’d just been too shy at first, and now that he was settling in, going out to have some fun was perfectly normal. No need to get paranoid and make a fuss.
Still, he fired off a message to Su Mingyao, asking what was up.
Su Mingyao’s Live-Streaming Phone, sitting next to Sui Qiuming, lit up with a call from Big Bro.
One of the cultists in the passenger seat shot a questioning glance at Sui Qiuming behind the wheel.
“Don’t pick up,” Sui Qiuming said.
“When we pull over, smash it and bury the pieces in the dirt.”
There were more delicate ways to handle a sacrifice’s contacts, but with the ritual fast approaching, they didn’t have time for finesse.
Su Bingyao’s call went unanswered. He wondered if Su Mingyao was at some nightclub, the music drowning out the ringtone.
He messaged Luo Shang next and got a quick reply: he wasn’t coming home tonight, out playing with friends.
Not coming back… none of them… Su Bingyao suddenly felt like a lonely empty-nester.
The whole villa echoed with emptiness, just him rattling around inside. He hadn’t minded before, but now it felt profoundly desolate.
Whatever. They’re all grown-ups, he muttered to himself as he climbed into bed. Even so, the opening theme from that TV drama played in his head on repeat.
He kind of wanted to binge some shows… Su Bingyao thought glumly.
Meanwhile, Luo Shang was kicking back in a movie theater with his friends, catching a flick.
He’d originally planned to send them packing after a single day, but things had changed. Staying a few extra days didn’t seem so bad now.
All three of them were Extraordinary—no need for food, sleep, or even water. Luo Shang had rented out the entire theater. They picked a few films at random and figured they’d watch for a couple days.
Luo Shang earnestly asked them, the team’s other resident couple, to help vet the Native Plane’s romance movies: which ones would be good for him and Ke Yanjin to watch together?
β-62: …
Chen Guyi: …
Enough already! Why are you—a singleton—rubbing your romance in our faces, and we’re an actual couple right here!
They grumbled inwardly but didn’t complain out loud. Deputy Captain was footing the bill; free movies were free movies.
In the meantime, Luo Shang ordered takeout from Michelin-starred spots or had it delivered. He coached them on dialing down their senses to match the locals’ before digging in.
Otherwise, to β-62, it all tasted like a chemistry lab explosion—she was hypersensitive to chemical compounds. And to Chen Guyi, the lack of Aura made it about as appetizing as a mouthful of shit…
The trio settled into a cozy rhythm. β-62 and Chen Guyi watched, rated, and reviewed the films, while Luo Shang cross-referenced their takes with his own to decide if it was worth queuing up for Ke Yanjin later.
“But at least it’s way better than dealing with the Captain,” β-62 said to Chen Guyi, deadpan, during a break as they swapped to a new movie.
“Captain…” Chen Guyi paused, then nodded in agreement.
Deputy Captain was the easygoing sort, after all. Even Captain was tolerable with him around—but the moment he left? Forget it.
Some of these romances were pure trash, leaving the once-devoted Emotionless Path cultivator Chen Guyi utterly baffled. Still, it beat dealing with Ke Yanjin by a mile.
After all, Ke Yanjin had once genuinely threatened to kill him. Even after they became teammates and Ke Yanjin no longer laid a hand on him, Chen Guyi still harbored that lingering fear.
“I just don’t know how long the Captain can hold out before showing up,” Chen Guyi said.
Ke Yanjin’s obsession with Luo Shang sent chills down his spine.
“Perhaps he’s already here,” β-62 said.
“Just not discovered by the Deputy Captain, hiding in some corner and secretly spying on him…”
The Captain was exactly the kind of pervert who would pull something like that.
“It’s easy enough to verify. You just need to act a little intimate with the Deputy Captain.”
Chen Guyi: “What do you gain if I die?”
β-62: “I like the feeling of being a widow.”
Chen Guyi: …
Well, he had chosen his partner himself, so he had to see it through.
He continued watching the movie, wringing what bitter amusement he could from it.
Meanwhile, Luo Shang completely ignored the two of them, diligently noting down any elements in the movie that might trigger Ke Yanjin.
Truth be told, he and Ke Yanjin could watch anything together—but that was back when they hadn’t been separated for so long. Now that Luo Shang had been away for ages, he had no idea what Ke Yanjin’s mental state might be like.
That was why he needed to make it up to him with a proper date.
Entertaining his teammates was all part of preparing for that date.
They kept watching from the afternoon straight through the night and into the next morning, until even the theater manager started muttering under his breath.
If not for the food deliveries going in, he might have worried the three of them had keeled over inside.
What was so captivating about these movies? They didn’t strike him as people who’d never seen a film before, and yet here they were, booking out the private room for days on end.
By this time, Su Mingyao and the others—along with the dog—had already been delivered to the Life Lady’s Ritual Site.
