Chapter 25

Qiao Qingshuang heard his little brother call him and turned to talk with him, just as he always did.

Su Xuan and An Yu were the same. These juniors idolized Qiao Qingshuang too much. Qiao Qingshuang believed only evil anomalies deserved killing, and they agreed. The people ahead could no longer strictly be called living humans, yet they paid it no mind.

Of course, the two of them might not have noticed either.

Qiao Qingshuang asked, “Xiao Li, do you want something to eat? You haven’t had breakfast yet.”

Bai Chen, who had already eaten breakfast with Chu Xuzhou on set, replied, “…Just one orange.”

Soon, an attendant brought a very large orange. Qiao Qingshuang peeled it and handed it to Bai Chen. After a few segments of the massive fruit, Bai Chen lost interest, just as before. He held a segment to Qiao Qingshuang’s mouth for him to eat.

Standing beside Qiao Qingshuang, he glanced up ahead. The people there showed no reaction, still absorbed in their newspapers. No one read the complimentary papers provided in the train car anymore, yet this one read with intense focus.

It was a profoundly silent stretch of the journey.

Halfway through the ride, Xiao Li fell asleep again.

When he woke up on set, Chu Xuzhou was right there beside him, truly living up to his promise from the night before: “I’ll be by your side anytime.”

Bai Chen asked, “If you suddenly leave the train, aren’t you afraid Qiao Qingshuang will notice something’s off?”

“He already knows my identity,” Chu Xuzhou replied. “But he doesn’t know yours yet.”

Bai Chen: “…”

Chu Xuzhou: “The Strangeness King doesn’t know his son’s identity either.”

Bai Chen: “…”

For Chu Xuzhou, once suspicion took root, uncovering the truth wasn’t difficult.

For centuries, the Living Dead had lived discreetly in this world, quietly building a vast web of wealth, power, and information.

The two biggest events of the past year in this world: the flamboyant Strangeness King, who never slept around, suddenly had a son; and the Heavenly Killing Lone Star Qiao Qingshuang had gained a little brother.

The night Qiao Qingshuang brought his brother to the set, Bai Chen had headed back to sleep. He’d asked casually if he wanted to see Celestial Master Qiao but hadn’t summoned any assistants. Instead, he’d leaped onto his shoulder and dozed off there.

Suspicion quickly led to confirmation.

From Bai Chen’s reaction, there was no need to visit the Strangeness King.

“You’ve chosen two remarkably powerful figures. That boy looks utterly ordinary, but the energy within him is extraordinarily potent,” Chu Xuzhou asked. “What do you intend to do by selecting people and anomalies with such immense energy?”

At this point, Bai Chen saw no reason to hide it any longer.

Juggling four personas at once was exhausting. So many tasks demanded his personal attention, but Chu Xuzhou’s help would lighten the load immensely. From the very start, Bai Chen had never concealed his true appearance or abilities from him. Chu Xuzhou was the one person he wanted to be completely genuine with.

The one who caused him the least trouble.

Just imagining Qiao Qingshuang and Yin Bujie—those bitter rivals—finding out made Bai Chen want to squeeze his eyes shut.

Chu Xuzhou had no bad blood with any of the three. The only potential friction had been with Jiang Yuanmu, but Bai Chen had smoothed that over in advance.

Jiang Yuanmu always saw himself as a lowly, unremarkable soul. He had no idea that he sleepwalked at night, prowling as the world’s most terrifying predator.

At first, anything went—though he favored graveyard jaunts. During those relaxed nighttime hours, Bai Chen guided him toward malevolent anomalies. Occasionally, he’d even fetch extras from the Underground World for a midnight snack.

By day, he fed Jiang Yuanmu chicken. By night, evil anomalies.

They had coexisted in perfect harmony, paving the way for Bai Chen’s smooth rapport with Chu Xuzhou later on.

After weighing it all, Bai Chen came clean with Chu Xuzhou. “I want love.”

“I don’t care for ordinary food. Even lavish delicacies don’t appeal to me much. I thrive on love—devouring it to grow stronger. It’s an instinct, this craving for love.” Bai Chen explained. “The greater a person’s or anomaly’s power, the richer the love they offer.”

“I step into their lives as the figure they need most, embodying that role to harvest their love,” Bai Chen continued. “Love for a pet. Love for a little brother. Love for a son. Even my stardom—it’s all for the adoration fans shower on their idol.”

Chu Xuzhou: “And me?”

Bai Chen looked at him in confusion. “Didn’t I say it back in the dressing room? Didn’t you hear me clearly?”

After all the hugging and cuddling, he’d asked straight out: Would he be his boyfriend? Date him for real?

Love, the romantic kind.

The air thickened, flow slowing to a crawl. Chu Xuzhou didn’t confirm if he’d heard. Instead, he said, “This is deception.”

Bai Chen countered, “It’s an equivalent exchange. The love is genuine.”

“With fake identities, how can the love be true?” Chu Xuzhou replied. “Yin Bujie already knows about Qiao Qingshuang’s mysterious little brother. You’ll get exposed eventually. Better to come clean on your own terms.”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than arms wrapped around Chu Xuzhou’s waist.

“I’m so tired. Can’t my boyfriend handle this for me?” Bai Chen murmured, nuzzling into Chu Xuzhou’s chest.

Chu Xuzhou: “…”

Bai Chen sensed Yin Bujie might uncover the truth soon enough. But he never imagined the first real exposure crisis would hit from Qiao Qingshuang’s side.

Xiao Li had slept far too long. Time to wake up. When Bai Chen opened his eyes, they had transferred from the high-speed train to a car. Staring at the increasingly familiar scenery outside, he asked, “Brother, where are we headed?”

Qiao Qingshuang: “A place called Everbright Street.”

Bai Chen: “…”

Bai Chen blinked. “Brother, are there evil anomalies here?”

Qiao Qingshuang smiled faintly. “Evil anomalies wouldn’t dare show their faces here.”

“Brother’s skipping those spots tied to Yin Bujie now.” Qiao Qingshuang never withheld major news from his brother, no matter what. He’d poured all his life’s patience into him. “After last night’s business, Yin Bujie and his evil anomalies won’t stir trouble there anymore.”

Yin Bujie wasn’t an idiot.

“But I won’t let him off the hook. Right now, I’m off to visit the one other person in this world who can take on Yin Bujie and his evil anomalies,” Qiao Qingshuang said.

He chose the word “visit.”

Everyone in the car was accustomed to people seeking out Qiao Qingshuang for their lives or fortunes. Hearing him volunteer to visit someone else felt jarring—that term emerging from his lips.

Su Xuan and the others had no clue at first why Qiao Qingshuang was bound for Everbright Street. Once they arrived and piled out, he merely handed over an address without explanation. Seizing the opening provided by Xiao Li, Su Xuan asked, “Uncle Master, what manner of person deserves a personal visit from you?”

The car veered from a bustling boulevard into decrepit backstreets. Bare branches tangled with sagging power lines overhead, the sky two shades dimmer than elsewhere, pierced only by crows flitting through the drab gray-blue.

Gazing at the bleakness outside, Qiao Qingshuang said, “One side of the world holds me. The other holds him.”

Bai Chen kept his head down. Su Xuan and An Yu exchanged bewildered glances, utterly lost.

Their grandmaster had declared Uncle Master the mightiest celestial master the world would ever see—the sole soul who pierced heavenly secrets. It stood to reason they couldn’t grasp every word he uttered.

“I don’t quite know how to put it to you.”

Since acquiring a little brother, Qiao Qingshuang had shed his icy lone-wolf shell, warming to his juniors. If they hungered for answers, he’d ponder deeply to illuminate the path.

“It’s imprecise, but you could think of it this way, in part: all the good in the world funnels toward me. The bad—the curses, the vitriol—pools around him.”

Su Xuan ventured, “Do you mean the hatred and curses hurled at the world and humanity by people and anomalies alike? He absorbs that malice?”

Qiao Qingshuang offered a nebulous reply: “Perhaps.”

“People dub me hero, savior. I can’t shoulder that mantle or its moral shackles. Still, I’m the face in the light. He’s the shadow savior, unknown and unconventional.”

His gaze drifted to the deep, constricted alleys beyond the window. Offhandedly, Qiao Qingshuang mused, “Does love hold greater power, or hate?”

Silence blanketed the car. He hadn’t been asking them anyway. After the musing, he instructed, “When we meet him, show respect.”

He nudged his brother, on the verge of nodding off, and extended a slender index finger to steady his drooping lashes. “You too this time, Xiao Li. Stay awake.”

Bai Chen: “…”

Su Xuan assented, then inquired, “Uncle Master, where exactly does this person live?”

“I don’t know the precise spot,” Qiao Qingshuang admitted. “Just that it’s somewhere on Everbright Street. Park anywhere; we’ll walk and search. I’ll sense the power fluctuations. Finding him won’t be hard.”

Bai Chen: “…”

The very one warned against sleeping promptly collapsed against his brother the instant they exited the car.

It was a five-alarm fire emergency. Sleep would happen, permission or not.

Meanwhile, in Jiang Yuanmu’s courtyard, “high school student” Cao Mu—enduring a tutoring session—and his “uncle” Du Feili felt that same blazing urgency.

【Thanks to Sister Dong Man’s funding support, we’ve finally caught up to Qiao Qingshuang and the others in time this round!】

Team Three Captain Lu Dong

【Alert! Team One, alert! Qiao Qingshuang and company are heading to Everbright Street!】

Team Three Captain Lu Dong

【?】

Team One Captain Du Feili

Why were all the big bosses flocking to Everbright Street lately?

【What’s going on? What brings Qiao Qingshuang to Everbright Street? Traces of Yin Bujie still lingering here?】

Team One Captain Du Feili

【No idea. After they hopped in the car, they gunned straight for Everbright Street. They’re already there.】

Team Three Captain Lu Dong

【Copy that. We’ll stay cautious.】

Team One Captain Du Feili

Moments after sending his reply, he glanced toward the house. His teammate Cao Mu, scribbling notes from the textbook moments ago, now lay slumped over the table. Jiang Yuanmu, seated across from him, had vanished. A large pink sack lay on the floor.

Before long, pain lanced the back of Du Feili’s neck, and darkness claimed him.

Bai Chen ushered the trio into a hotel room across the street in the bustling district.

Chu Xuzhou appeared shortly after he arrived. “Snatching him away like this—Celestial Master Qiao won’t locate him on Everbright Street. He’ll sense the anomaly and scour a wider area with greater scrutiny.”

Bai Chen: “It was urgent. No other way.”

“Keep spiriting him farther afield? Flee to the Underground Strangeness King?” Chu Xuzhou suggested, his tone grave. “Celestial Master Qiao couldn’t reach him there.”

“…” Bai Chen plopped down at Chu Xuzhou’s feet, slumping limply against his leg. “Exhausted. Sleepy’s coming on. You fix it.”

Ever ready to troubleshoot for him, Chu Xuzhou noted, “Jiang Yuanmu’s inner power is formidable. He’ll rouse soon. First puzzle: why the knockout blow to the neck?”

Bai Chen: “Why, indeed?”

Chu Xuzhou explained, “Those two street workers who fawned over him so enthusiastically already knew about the redevelopment plans for Everbright Street. Jiang Yuanmu stood to pocket a massive demolition payout, and that’s exactly why they cozied up to him—they wanted a cut of that money. They knocked him out cold, planning to kidnap and strong-arm him, but some good Samaritans spotted them and rushed Jiang Yuanmu straight to the hospital.”

“When Jiang Yuanmu came to in the hospital, the first thing he saw was his cat, still curled up asleep right beside him. That put his mind at ease; he wasn’t in any hurry to look around.”

“With the little cat sleeping next to the boy and Celestial Master Qiao’s younger brother wide awake, he could keep tabs on the situation over there and buy time to stall Celestial Master Qiao.”

Chu Xuzhou laid it out step by step for Bai Chen.

It sounded workable, but Bai Chen glanced at the two men, out cold as could be. “Will they even cooperate?”

Chu Xuzhou replied, “Leave it to me.”

Bai Chen immediately shifted into his little cat form. He padded over to the pink sack, flopped onto the ground, rolled onto his back with his four paws sticking up in the air, and promptly dozed off.

Chu Xuzhou stepped up beside the little cat. He reached down and gently squeezed one of the pink paw pads, then another… and was tempted to keep going, but time was short.

Instead, he headed to Du Feili, crouched down, and shook him awake.

Du Feili’s eyes snapped open, landing straight on that apocalyptic nightmare of a face belonging to a Living Dead. The jolt was bad enough, but Chu Xuzhou’s words sent his pupils shrinking in raw terror.

“Having a blast jumping between worlds to loot their resources?” Chu Xuzhou’s voice was calm and friendly, like asking a buddy if dinner hit the spot.

He went on, “What if all those worlds you’ve trashed could flip the script and break into yours?”

“Quick! Cut every link to Mad Flower Blood Moon!”

Chu Xuzhou’s face loomed not only in Du Feili’s trembling pupils but also on the giant screens back at the Book Transmigration Bureau. His words echoed not just in Du Feili’s ringing ears but through every conference room, reaching all the observers there.

Cheng Feixue bellowed “Sever the links!”—and right then heard Chu Xuzhou add to Du Feili, “Easy now. I just need you two to help me stage a little act.”

“Good. Good. Good.” Du Feili’s throat clenched so tight his voice came out strangled. Sweat streamed down his face as he forced out three “goods” before it cleared. “I’ll cooperate completely. Whatever it takes—even if it kills me.”

After all, this mess was his fault. If one death could buy safety for their world, he’d take it.

Chu Xuzhou said, “There could be some real danger to your life.”

“…”

When Jiang Yuanmu woke, his eyes immediately searched for A Nuan. There the cat was, sprawled across his arm in deep slumber. He exhaled in relief.

Only then did he take stock of himself and his surroundings. The throbbing at the base of his neck had dulled, and nothing else hurt or felt off. He lay in a hospital bed in a double-occupancy room, but he was the only patient. The sharp tang of disinfectant hung reassuringly in the air.

The nurse saw he was awake and came over to fill him in. “Looks like the police hauled them off. You’re in the clear—rest easy.”

“No wonder they were being so chummy,” Jiang Yuanmu said with a wry smile. “I actually thought that one… ah, forget it.”

“They footed your medical bills, nutrition costs, and all that. Stick around a couple days for a thorough checkup. Cafeteria meals are on them too,” the nurse added. “Need anything else? Just holler.”

Jiang Yuanmu’s immediate question: “Does the cafeteria serve chicken legs and chicken livers?”

The nurse paused. “…Yes.”

Jiang Yuanmu broke into a grin. “Thanks.”

The nurse, who’d felt a prickle of unease deep in her gut, found it baffling. The guy looked downright cheerful about getting clocked, even though he’d seemed a little downcast just moments before.

Outside the hospital, Chu Xuzhou kept checking his phone. Nothing.

He turned to Du Feili. “How’s the situation over there?”

Du Feili: “…”

The man was almost too easy to manipulate.

After a two-second hesitation, Du Feili pulled up the System Group. He meant to check in with Lu Dong about Celestial Master Qiao’s side, but another explosive message jumped out first.

Team Four Captain Liu Mo: [Yin Bujie is heading to Everbright Street! Team One, heads up!]

The teams on site—Team One and Team Three—couldn’t process the scene unfolding before them. Only Liu Mo, who had been shadowing Yin Bujie while cloaked in stealth, had the full picture.

Yin’s doubts hadn’t faded. He’d only pretended to buy Yin Le’s story!

The Little Devil King hadn’t stirred all day. Yin Bujie barged into his room and roughly mussed his hair twice. No reaction.

Expression blank, Yin Bujie stared down at the Little Devil King for a long moment. Then he scooped up the boy and strode out of the Strangeness King Palace.

A strangeness lurking on the ground was waiting, ready with the tip: Celestial Master Qiao was at Everbright Street.

And just like that, Yin Bujie bolted straight there, son in arms. Qiao hadn’t come hunting him—yet Yin was charging right at Qiao? Wasn’t he terrified of getting cut down?

Sure enough, the moment Qiao Qingshuang laid eyes on him, a sword flashed into his grip.

No one there—not even the Team Three members tailing Qiao—had ever seen him unsheathe a blade. This one gleamed like the sun had been hammered into its steel, golden light blinding against the stark contrast of Qiao Qingshuang’s face, chill and still as a dead pond.

The longsword sliced through the air, arrowing straight for Yin Bujie’s heart.

Cool as ice, Yin Bujie simply turned the sleeping little boy in his arms to face it.

Clang! The blade screeched to a halt, like tires skidding on asphalt. Air pressure blasted outward in waves.

Qiao Qingshuang’s gaze fixed on the boy slumbering peacefully in Yin Bujie’s hold. Yin Bujie glanced across at the boy leaning against Su Xuan, also fast asleep. The tension thickened the air to a standstill.

Team One – Niu Lingyu: [Wh-what’s going on?]

Team Four Captain Liu Mo: [They must have sensed Yin Le and Qiao Qingli share the same origin—hell, maybe even clocked them as the same being. At their tier, it’s all about energy signatures and auras for spotting and tracking.]

Team Three Captain Lu Dong: [Holy shit, my heart’s pounding. Can’t even breathe. Du Feili, where are you? Tell us what to do here!]

Without Jiang Yuanmu, Everbright Street itself seemed to shudder—humans and strangeness alike quaking in fear. The whole street hung in eerie silence.

Bai Chen stirred awake on top of Xiao Li. His eyes flew open to the sight of Yin Bujie and Yin Le.

“…”

He squeezed them shut again.

Opened them—Yin Bujie and Yin Le still stared back from across the way.

He whipped his head around. There he was, propped against Su Xuan, with Qiao Qingshuang standing ramrod straight beside him, sword in hand.

“…”

Bai Chen flicked his gaze to Yin Bujie, who sat against the opposite wall, long hair whipping in the wind, utterly silent. Then to Qiao Qingshuang, gripping his sword like a statue, head tilted up at the bare branches overhead, not a word.

Save me, Chu Xuzhou.

Help.