Qiao Qingshuang sensed that something was wrong and hurried back to the hotel.
In his mind, he thought that if his fears had come true, the next time he saw Yin Bujie, he would grind the man’s bones to dust and scatter his ashes. He also resolved that once he returned to Frost Mountain, he would personally train Su Xuan rigorously, turning him into a Celestial Master capable of battling Yin Bujie.
He frantically envisioned these scenes to ward off other, more terrifying images, fighting back the anxiety and panic surging within him. Drenched in sweat, he raced back to the hotel. With a touch of trepidation, he cautiously stepped through the hotel room door, only to be enveloped by a soft embrace.
“Brother, Brother.”
Qiao Qingshuang let out a heavy sigh of relief and hugged his little brother tightly, his eyes reddening slightly.
“Brother, I was so scared. There was a man in black clothes with long hair who wanted to hit me.” Bai Chen felt the hug a bit painful, but he didn’t complain. He let Qiao Qingshuang hold him and acted spoiled. “Brother, don’t leave me. I’m scared.”
“Where did that guy go?” Qiao Qingshuang asked through gritted teeth.
The description pointed unmistakably to one person. A glance at Su Xuan, who lay unconscious on the sofa, and the lingering traces of Yin Bujie’s eerie qi in the air told Qiao Qingshuang everything he needed to know.
He had been lured away by an evil anomaly. Yin Bujie had come to the hotel to kidnap Xiao Li and use him as leverage. Upon entering, Yin Bujie had first knocked out Su Xuan and was about to grab Xiao Li when Qiao Qingshuang, sensing the danger, rushed back in time. Yin Bujie had fled in haste upon his return.
The reason Yin Bujie hadn’t taken Xiao Li was likely because they had been too close at that moment. If he had tried to flee with Xiao Li, Qiao Qingshuang would have pursued him relentlessly, no matter the cost.
That meant Yin Bujie probably hadn’t gone far.
Qiao Qingshuang took Xiao Li’s hand and circled the area near the hotel, but he no longer detected any trace of Yin Bujie’s eerie qi. Gnashing his teeth, he growled, “Lucky for him, he ran fast.”
Liu Mo, hiding behind a tree: “…”
He didn’t run. He’s right under your feet!
Bai Chen tugged at Qiao Qingshuang’s hand. “Brother, let’s go. I don’t like it here. This city is no good.”
“With your brother here, don’t be afraid. It’s too late now. We’ll sleep here tonight and leave tomorrow. Your brother will sleep with you, okay?” Qiao Qingshuang patted his head and apologized. “I’m sorry, Brother didn’t protect you well. I promise you, this will never happen again.”
Bai Chen nodded. “Brother should always carry Xiao Li around, like putting him in his pocket.”
He wouldn’t give Yin Bujie another chance to grab him, nor would he allow anyone to dig into the underground and discover Yin Le.
“So clingy?” Qiao Qingshuang, who had been tense for so long, finally cracked a smile. “It’s not impossible.”
The brothers held hands and walked back, chatting as they went.
“Were you scared to tears, Xiao Li?”
“Xiao Li was almost scared to tears. He was so scary! But Xiao Li thought of Brother and wasn’t afraid anymore. Brother will protect Xiao Li.”
Liu Mo: “…”
Even in his invisible state, Liu Mo waited until the pair had walked far away before emerging from behind the tree. He feared not only Qiao Qingshuang but also the boy by his side who claimed he had nearly been scared to tears.
Meanwhile, in the Book Transmigration System Group, everyone was frantically @-ing him, demanding to know what had happened.
After watching the two enter the hotel, Liu Mo finally opened the group chat and scrolled through the messages.
Before he had sent his message, Du Feili had shared some crucial news.
Team One Captain Du Feili: 【The living dead and the boy met up! They even talked! The living dead seems suspicious of the little cat’s identity!】
Team One Captain Du Feili: 【Sorry, we couldn’t stop him. He appeared too suddenly. But he didn’t seem hostile toward the boy. Did he not realize the boy is the one who “eats” corpses?】
Team Two Captain Dong Man: 【Holy crap! So he went to your side!】
Team Two Captain Dong Man: 【He entered Bai Chen’s dressing room. Bai Chen came out, but he didn’t. We’re still looking for him. How did he end up with you guys?】
Team One Captain Du Feili: 【Faraway Group wants to develop Everbright Street. Maybe that’s why he came? The key issue now is that he’s starting to suspect the little cat’s identity. What if he’s discovered? Will it be okay?】
The group had been buzzing with discussion on this until Liu Mo’s cry for someone to save Yin Bujie.
A barrage of “???”
Team Two Captain Dong Man: 【Do you even hear yourself? Save Yin Bujie? That’s some hard-to-comprehend nonsense.】
Team One Captain Du Feili: 【Liu Mo, what exactly happened?】
Liu Mo recounted the events in detail in the group.
Team Two Captain Dong Man: 【You’re saying that person’s power is above Yin Bujie’s?】
They now referred to A Nuan, Bai Chen, Qiao Qingli, and Yin Le collectively as “that person,” since no one knew his true identity.
Team Four Captain Liu Mo: 【Obviously.】
The book transmigrators fell silent for a moment, stunned.
Team Two Captain Dong Man: 【Alright, now we can confirm he’s definitely not a book transmigrator. So what the hell is he? Stronger than Yin Bujie— is he the fifth boss of this world?】
No one could answer her question. The group discussed it at length, but came up with nothing.
Team Four Captain Liu Mo: 【That’s not the point. There’s still someone… a strangeness waiting to be saved. Shouldn’t we deal with Yin Bujie first? Is he going to die?】
Team One Captain Du Feili: 【Probably not. The underground world is his home base. Besides, that person seems good to the boy and Qiao Qingshuang, and not bad to the living dead either. He should be okay with Yin Bujie too—won’t kill him.】
Liu Mo thought for a moment before replying, 【Not necessarily.】
【…】
Team Three Captain Lu Dong: 【Just got off the train. Looks like I missed something. Liu Mo, check the underground world. Yin Bujie might have gone back already.】
Team Four Captain Liu Mo: 【Got it. Heading back now. Oh, and Qiao Qingshuang and them plan to leave tomorrow. Get your travel money ready quick.】
【…】
Yin Bujie had indeed returned to the underground world.
As soon as he stepped into the Strangeness King Palace, he asked, “Where’s Yin Le?”
“Probably sleeping in his room,” the Heart-shaped Strangeness replied. Everyone among the strangeness knew the Little Devil King loved to sleep, had a violent streak, and a bit of morning grumpiness. No one dared disturb him while he slept, keeping their distance.
“You didn’t see him go in or out?” Yin Bujie pressed.
The strangeness shook their heads.
Yin Bujie strode into Yin Le’s room. Normally, he wouldn’t enter without knocking—the Little Devil King would fight him tooth and nail for a whole day. But today, he didn’t care. He pushed open the bedroom door directly and saw the Little Devil King sleeping peacefully on the bed, his sleeping face as innocent as a little angel’s.
Yin Bujie stared at him for a few seconds, then reached out and touched his head.
The child was still asleep.
Yin Bujie sat thoughtfully on the edge of the bed. The Little Devil King hated it when he touched his head; normally, he’d leap up higher than Yin Bujie himself in outrage.
He began replaying the night’s events.
He had only learned during the day in the surface world that Qiao Qingshuang had a younger brother. Kidnapping the brother had been a spur-of-the-moment idea; he hadn’t told anyone beforehand. Almost as soon as he got the hotel info where Qiao Qingshuang and the others were staying, he had rushed over.
Had Yin Le beaten him there? Who told him which room Qiao Qingshuang’s brother was in?
When he arrived, the room held only Su Xuan and Yin Le—no sign of Qiao Qingshuang’s brother.
Yin Le had been furious at the time. Normally, Yin Le’s fury meant turning the place upside down in a fight with him, but this time, he hadn’t. It was as if he were in a hurry, knocking him out swiftly.
How could Yin Le knock him out? Yin Bujie knew Yin Le was powerful, but not more powerful than him.
Then he had woken up suffocating. Who buried him? The soil pressing down on him wouldn’t budge under his power—it felt like Qiao Qingshuang’s handiwork. But why just bury him?
Moreover, only the top was sealed; he could break through from below.
He had immediately tunneled back to the underground world. Yet Yin Le was sleeping, and he hadn’t even stirred when Yin Bujie touched his head.
Yin Bujie stared at his sleeping son for a while. Just a few minutes after he entered, Yin Le woke up.
“Why were you there?” Yin Bujie skipped over many questions and went straight to it. “What did you do with Qiao Qingshuang’s brother?”
Bai Chen said, “I hid him. I was stopping you from getting yourself killed. If Qiao Qingshuang found out you tried to kidnap his brother, I’d have to bury you with him. Can’t you just stay out of trouble for once?”
Yin Bujie: “…”
By timely transforming into Yin Le at the hotel, Bai Chen seemed to have averted this sudden identity reveal crisis. He exchanged a few more words with Yin Bujie, then finally got up and left, letting him go back to sleep. Bai Chen felt utterly exhausted.
The thought of returning to the set to film made him even more tired. The identity crisis there was far more severe.
When he woke up, Chu Xuzhou wasn’t by his side, and Bai Chen breathed a slight sigh of relief.
After filming two night scenes, Chu Xuzhou still hadn’t returned. Someone should carry him back to sleep by now, but Chu Xuzhou still wasn’t back.
Bai Chen sat unhappily in the RV and messaged him: 【You’re not listening. You left your master on your own, and you’re not here when your master needs you. Disqualified.】
Chu Xuzhou replied instantly: 【On my way.】
Sure enough, he appeared just before the car set off and crouched down in front of Bai Chen.
Compared to riding back to the hotel in a car, Bai Chen preferred being carried on his back. Chu Xuzhou had broad shoulders and a steady gait; once accustomed to the heat, lying against his back and absorbing the affection transmitted through their contact was one of the few moments Bai Chen genuinely looked forward to in his day as they approached the hotel.
But this time, he wasn’t as relaxed.
Bai Chen waited the whole way, but even as they neared the hotel, Chu Xuzhou didn’t ask.
Dodging was shameful but easy. Bai Chen buried his face in the crook of Chu Xuzhou’s shoulder and turned the tables. “You’re the one who’s wrong today. You have to be by my side at all times. No running off.”
Chu Xuzhou said, “Got it. I’ll stay by your side whenever you need.”
The next morning, Qiao Qingshuang took his brother and left.
Sensing Xiao Li’s fear of the place, he didn’t linger a moment longer and took the earliest high-speed train to the next city.
By the time Bai Chen woke up here, they were already on the high-speed train.
Whenever they took the high-speed rail, Su Xuan always booked them the best compartment. This time, there were only six seats in the car, one at each window. Su Xuan sat behind Bai Chen, An Yu in front, and Qiao Qingshuang across the aisle in the same row.
Bai Chen called out, “Brother,” about to say more when he noticed the man sitting in front of Qiao Qingshuang, quietly reading a newspaper.
Seeming to sense his gaze, Chu Xuzhou turned his head from the newspaper and looked back at him.
