CPS Chapter 5: Agreement

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Late at night, the rain outside grew heavier, its rhythmic patter falling onto the Ten-Mile Bamboo Forest, drumming on the swaying leaves.

The bronze bell at the corner of the roof of the Zhaizing Tower chimed incessantly.

Soon, the palace was left with only him.

Xia Qing finally recovered from the pain that felt like his meridians were burning and his bones were being reforged. His face was pale as paper, kneeling in the center of the hall. His white robes were stained with blood, and his disheveled black hair clung messily to his face. He looked utterly wretched.

Lou Guanxue stood quietly nearby, watching with a smile full of ambiguous meaning. He remarked, "I've never seen myself looking so miserable."

Xia Qing wanted nothing more than to kill him. His eyes were bloodshot, and he gritted his teeth as he rasped hoarsely, "Lou Guanxue, are you insane? Why did you force me into your body?"

Lou Guanxue lowered his gaze slightly. "Weren't you willing?"

Xia Qing glared at him fiercely.

Lou Guanxue met his gaze, his eyes piercing through the superficial flesh to directly confront Xia Qing's soul. The darkness in Lou Guanxue's pupils was sharp and cold, like a blade carving wounds into the spirit.

Casually, Lou Guanxue said, "I didn’t blame you for forcibly occupying my body. How could you turn around and accuse me instead?"

He leaned down, his voice lowering to a mocking whisper. "Xia Qing, you used me to fulfill your sense of justice and kindness. How dare you blame me?"

Xia Qing turned his head away, unwilling to deal with this madman any longer. "Get lost!"

He let out a muffled groan, clutching his chest, and staggered to his feet, trembling with rage. "Fine. I’ve had enough. You're nothing but a curse while alive. You want to summon a malicious spirit to possess your body? Fine. I’ll let you see what happens when that goes wrong."

Damn it!

He was going to jump off the tower!

He was going to make sure this maniac died!

Xia Qing swallowed the metallic taste of blood in his throat, barefoot as he made his way outside. The terrace of the Zhaixing Tower was battered by cold winds and bitter rain, his black hair billowing wildly, his loose white sleeves flowing like drifting snow.

Lou Guanxue laughed behind him for a long time.

Furious, Xia Qing climbed onto the railing, intending to find the highest point to make the fall as fatal as possible.

"I didn’t plan to kill the merman." Lou Guanxue finally spoke from behind him, the laughter subsiding. "We can talk."

Xia Qing threw Lou Guanxue's earlier words back at him with mockery. "I don't want to talk to you."

Lou Guanxue replied, "But I want to talk to you."

Xia Qing ground his teeth.

He was genuinely planning to jump, but as he climbed the railing and looked down from the hundred-foot tower, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of fear.

The Pagoda glowed red, and below was an eerie bamboo forest.

Lou Guanxue was already beside him, his ethereal form amplifying his pale and frail appearance. He spoke unhurriedly, "If you jump, I won't die. On the contrary, if something happens to me, many others will suffer as a result."

Xia Qing shot him a glare but understood deep down that Lou Guanxue’s claim of “not dying” was likely true. The bizarre nature of the Pagoda was enough proof, not to mention the excruciating pain Xia Qing was currently enduring in this body.

Exhausted, Xia Qing felt there was nothing more to say to this man, whose views were fundamentally opposed to his own. The only thing he wanted to curse now was the system.

Lou Guanxue smiled faintly, his voice soft and gentle as he stated, "It's rare for anyone by my side to remain detached and merely watch from the sidelines."

Xia Qing held his anger in check, glaring coldly at him.

Lou Guanxue, sensing the tension, refrained from provoking him further and said softly, "Actually, we could coexist peacefully."

Xia Qing could no longer bear it. "Don’t tell me you did all this tonight just for fun."

Lou Guanxue’s lips curled into that pure and innocent smile again, his tone guileless. "Fun. It was fun."

Damn you!

Half of Xia Qing’s body was already leaning out over the edge when—

Lou Guanxue finally added with a laugh, "But not entirely."

Xia Qing, clutching the railing, turned back coldly. "Then what was it for?"

Lou Guanxue thought for a moment and said, "I’m afraid of pain."

What the—

Xia Qing was so furious his jaw trembled. "You summoned a ghost because you're afraid of pain?"

"Yes." Lou Guanxue didn’t deny it, raising his chin slightly as he gazed at the ominously glowing nine-tiered pagoda across the way, his voice calm.

"Every year, starting in early March during the Waking of Insects, the great demon inside the pagoda begins to stir. The royal family of Chu must endure the demon’s chaotic energy within the Zhaixing Tower to soothe it. The energy grows heavier each year. Last year, I suffered unbearably. This year, I didn’t want to experience it again."

Xia Qing: "..."

He turned to Lou Guanxue in disbelief. "So you dragged me in to take your place?"

Lou Guanxue considered it seriously and said, "I thought ghosts couldn’t feel pain like that. I didn’t expect… Sorry."

Xia Qing was utterly dumbfounded.

Lou Guanxue smiled again. "Aren’t you cold? Let’s go inside. Since I’ve given the order, they’ll save the young merman. Don’t worry."

Xia Qing now looked at Lou Guanxue like he was dealing with someone with multiple personalities.

But jumping off the tower really wasn’t an option anymore. After a moment of silence, Xia Qing climbed down from the railing. Facing Lou Guanxue’s gaze, he awkwardly asked, "I’m using your body right now. Isn’t it weird for you to see me like this?"

Lou Guanxue smiled faintly. "I’m not looking at myself."

Xia Qing: "What?"

Lou Guanxue said, "I’m looking at you."

Xia Qing paused for a moment. "You can directly see my soul?"

Lou Guanxue: "Yes."

Xia Qing: Unreal.

Feeling miserable, Xia Qing entered the warmly lit palace. Wrapped in a blanket and looking like a grumpy cocoon, he muttered, "I don’t want to coexist peacefully with you. Let me out of here."

Lou Guanxue: "Aren’t you here to accumulate virtue?"

Xia Qing froze and stiffly lifted his head.

Lou Guanxue said, "How about mutual assistance? You’re already dragged into the mortal world by me. You can’t be a mere bystander anymore."

Xia Qing stared at him, his pupils narrowing. His voice was hoarse as he asked, "How much did you overhear of my conversations with the system?"

Lou Guanxue tilted his head slightly and smiled. "Pretty much all of it."

Xia Qing: "..."

Damn it! Every day, this man found a new way to shake Xia Qing’s worldview.

Lou Guanxue spoke quietly, "I heard about how I’ll die in three months. Heard that you could occupy my body, become me, and gather enough karma to revive yourself. Heard..." His lips curved into a gentle, innocent smile. "Heard how I’ll love Wen Jiao unrequitedly and eventually die for him."

Xia Qing was incredulous. "You’re not afraid of any of this? If I told you this was a world inside a book, would you believe me?"

Lou Guanxue recalled how the system’s flame had cowered before him and let out a faint smile. "If you say it, I’ll believe it."

Believe my foot!

You’re practically a god at this point!

Xia Qing no longer wanted to delve deeper. Worn out, he muttered, "What do you want?"

Lou Guanxue lowered his gaze, his tone fragile and weary. "Year after year, the demonic aura has worn me down. My soul is now incredibly weak, and I frequently need deep sleep to recover. But the palace is full of dangers, and I can’t afford to show any vulnerability. So I hope you can stay awake in my place when necessary."

Xia Qing stared at him. After a long pause, he raised his voice. "That’s it?"

Lou Guanxue: "Yes."

Xia Qing was speechless. That’s it? Was all this drama really necessary?

But to be fair, if Lou Guanxue hadn’t forced the issue, Xia Qing had indeed planned to spectate for six months.

The system was a scam. Accumulating good karma with a tyrant? Ridiculous. Fortunately, he hadn’t agreed to its terms.

Not that Xia Qing felt the need to explain all these details to Lou Guanxue. After all, he was destined to drift around him anyway. Could he really remain indifferent in similar situations in the future?

Xia Qing felt he must have been a hero in ten past lives to have this much sense of justice.

Hatred for killing seemed to be etched into his very being.

Lou Guanxue asked, "Have you decided?"

Xia Qing sighed deeply, resigned. "No."

Lou Guanxue: "Does it hurt that much?"

Xia Qing: "What do you think?"

Lou Guanxue chuckled and suddenly extended his hand, the snow-white sleeve falling back to reveal a pale, slender wrist.

He leaned closer and gently touched Xia Qing’s forehead with his fingertip.

Piercing through the outer surface, he touched Xia Qing’s very soul.

Xia Qing, bundled in his blanket, was stunned.

The next moment, a warm flow spread through his entire being. The fiery, bone-crushing pain began to fade. When a burst of white light cleared his senses, Xia Qing found himself floating out of that tormented body.

Now a bystander, he stared dumbly at Lou Guanxue—who had transformed into a blanket-wrapped cocoon, trembling, grimacing in pain, lips bitten pale from agony.

When Lou Guanxue’s true soul returned, his demeanor instantly changed.

Lou Guanxue seemed unaffected by the pain, calmly unraveling the blanket and tidying the hair Xia Qing had messed up.

His raised sleeve revealed graceful fingers lightly brushing his damp eyes. Feeling the moisture, Lou Guanxue paused, then chuckled softly.

Xia Qing: "..."

He seriously considered escaping through the window.

Lou Guanxue’s smile deepened. His voice was soft. "You cried, did you?"

Xia Qing shamelessly retorted, "It’s your body. If anyone’s crying, it’s you!"

Lou Guanxue nodded. "Alright, I cried."

Xia Qing scrutinized him, searching for signs of pain, struggle, or vulnerability. But unless Lou Guanxue deliberately acted out such emotions, none were visible.

Xia Qing asked, "Aren’t you afraid of pain?"

Lou Guanxue glanced at him. His tone was calm. "Being afraid of pain doesn’t mean I can’t endure it. I can’t let you suffer in my place."

Xia Qing: "Oh."

Now he’s acting all noble?

Lou Guanxue asked again, "Have you decided?"

It was the second time he’d asked this question.

Xia Qing was ready to kneel before this madman. He was the first ghost to be driven to such desperation.

Xia Qing exhaled sharply and resigned himself to fate. "You should feel lucky to have run into a meddlesome ghost like me."

Lou Guanxue found this amusing, his lips curving into a faint smile. He didn’t reply.

Xia Qing sighed, floating to the desk. "You didn’t have to force me. If you’d explained clearly, I wouldn’t have refused to help."

Lou Guanxue responded with a soft "hmm."

Xia Qing ruffled his hair, frustrated but resigned. It always felt better to mess with his own hair.

"Fine. I’ll help you. Just promise me not to lose your mind and start killing people. Half a year, and that’s it."

Lou Guanxue asked, "Do you hate killing that much?"

Xia Qing absentmindedly pulled at a strand of his hair. "I really hate you killing people in front of me and then telling me I can save them at no great cost."

Lou Guanxue: "As expected."

Xia Qing exhaled in resignation. "Whatever. I’m just a ghost. Saving a few lives to rack up good karma might get me a better reincarnation next time."

Lou Guanxue chuckled. "You’re very interesting."

Xia Qing: "Oh."

Lou Guanxue: "How do you think I did with reincarnation?"

Xia Qing: "..." He already knew what was coming.

Lou Guanxue said lightly, "Even as a puppet, I’m the Emperor of Chu. Power, wealth, beauty—whatever you desire, you can have."

Xia Qing wasn’t falling for it. "Then you should cherish this life." See you in the eighteen levels of hell.

Lou Guanxue observed him for a moment before commenting, "You don’t act like a ghost most of the time."

Xia Qing: "You don’t act like a person most of the time, either." You’re more like a ghost than I am!

Lou Guanxue tilted his head, pure and harmless, genuinely curious. "Then what do I seem like?"

A mad dog.

Of course, Xia Qing didn’t say it aloud. No need to ruin their precarious alliance.

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