Chapter 62: The Yin Hall Gathering (Part 7)

Yu Xiao felt her scalp go numb, coldness shooting straight from her heels to the crown of her head. A buzzing sound rang in her ears, and her brain experienced a brief blankness.

No wonder… no wonder Ren Dong never called cut today, because everything before her eyes wasn’t real at all. This was a dream!

Fear quickly seized her heart. Yu Xiao let out a terrified scream, using all her strength to push away the strange man holding her, shouting: “Get away! Get away from me! Who are you! Why are you haunting me!”

But the man’s strength was too great. He held Yu Xiao’s waist in a death grip, his cold aura pressing close to her neck, murmuring by her ear: “Wan’er, what’s wrong? Didn’t we agree? You’re going to come with me… you can’t go anywhere in this lifetime… you’re already mine…”

No matter how hard she tried, Yu Xiao couldn’t break free. Terrified to the extreme, her features twisted into a grotesque mask. She screamed sharply toward the people outside the scene: “Help me! Save me! Save me!”

Yet everyone outside the scene seemed to be wearing masks called smiles, merely raising the corners of their lips as they watched them, their bodies completely motionless.

This eerie atmosphere undoubtedly intensified Yu Xiao’s fear. As her strength drained away, countless fragments flashed through her mind, finally settling on Chen Jiu’s warning.

He has countless methods to make you speak, creating dangers and memories in dreams…

Truly impossible to guard against completely.

Yu Xiao bit down hard, having only one thought in her mind: she absolutely could not be dragged away by this ghostly thing. Otherwise she would never leave this dream realm, never return to the real world!

The man’s face gradually began to turn deathly pale, seemingly unable to maintain the original appearance of this physical body. The circles around his eyes also turned bluish black. His skeleton-thin hand viciously clamped Yu Xiao’s chin, turning her face to kiss her, simultaneously transmitting this yin evil energy, so that Yu Xiao would abandon her thoughts of escape sooner and sink into eternal damnation with him.

Yu Xiao desperately shook her head, both hands pressing against his chest, her lips tightly sealed, already streaming with tears.

This was a nightmare… this should just be a nightmare… why couldn’t she wake up?

Someone save me… someone save me!!

In the next instant, the cloudless clear sky suddenly began to flash with lightning and thunder. A clap of thunder exploded, and Yu Xiao instinctively closed her eyes in fright, screaming again.

When she opened her eyes again, all the people surrounding her outside the scene had completely vanished, and the man had also loosened his grip on her. He only stared at her with a terrifying gaze, dark and heavy.

“Who?” he opened his mouth toward Yu Xiao, emitting black air of rotting corpse-like foul stench: “Who wants to take you back!?”

Yu Xiao finally realized something, looking up toward the sky.

“Heaven and earth do not lend, the five directions are not invited. Yin and yang intertwine, thunder and lightning generate themselves. By order!”

A female voice rapidly recited incantations, coming from some unknown direction, echoing leisurely within this small pocket of heaven and earth.

As her words fell, dark clouds rapidly rolled. The firmament soon flashed with several more streaks of lightning. One of them pierced straight through the cloud layer, rushing toward the man like an arrow, unstoppable!

The yin evil had no time to dodge. Instantly pierced through by white light from head to toe, his entire person was burned through like a sheet of paper. It let out a heart-rending, lung-splitting scream, its body beginning to gradually melt from the edges. Black, viscous liquid seeped into the cracks in the ground, then disappeared without a trace.

Yu Xiao stood in place, her legs still trembling uncontrollably, staring blankly at everything before her, seemingly unable to perceive anything at all.

The female voice called again: “Yu Xiao! Yu Xiao! Wake up! Yu Xiao!”

Heaven and earth seemed to suddenly invert several times. Yu Xiao felt a wave of dizziness, then abruptly opened her eyes. She felt her entire body drenched in sweat, as if she had just been fished out of water, gasping for breath continuously. Red threads and copper coins hung all around the bed. A string of small paper people hung from the ceiling, rustling in the wind.

After quite some time, Yu Xiao finally confirmed she had returned to the real world. Trembling, she touched the hand of the person beside her.

Chen Jiu let out a breath of relief, gripping her hand in return, saying: “You’re safe.”

The agent’s cursing poured continuously from the adjacent room: “What are you good for? Three people watching and you can’t even keep an eye on one protective talisman? Are you blind? If something happens to Xiaoyu, what can you possibly compensate with? Forget your three worthless lives, even if you bring your whole families to compensate, you can’t afford her! Something this important can be misplaced while cleaning. Get out tonight, don’t work here anymore! Three good-for-nothings!”

The three young girls didn’t dare breathe a single loud breath, lowering their heads and obediently taking the scolding. One of them already had red-rimmed eyes, tears continuously swirling in her eye sockets.

Chen Jiu still didn’t much like this kind of scene. She glanced at the time and asked Yu Xiao: “Didn’t you listen to my advice?”

This truly wronged Yu Xiao. She had already been frightened and hadn’t fully recovered. Chen Jiu’s questioning made her feel even more aggrieved, and she immediately burst into loud wailing.

Chen Jiu had seen all kinds of scenes, but this move she truly couldn’t withstand. She said in alarm: “What are you crying for! Alright alright, I won’t ask anymore. I’m not saying you did it on purpose.”

“I only, when I was bathing, put it, a little farther away.” Yu Xiao sobbed hiccuppingly, answering through her sobs, her tears nearly soaking the pillow.

Chen Jiu: “Alright, alright, I understand. Don’t cry anymore. Isn’t everything fine now?”

“I almost died just now!” Yu Xiao immediately wailed even louder, throwing herself into Chen Jiu’s embrace. She cast aside all dignity as a top traffic actress, her face covered in tears and snot, aiming to vent her emotions and cry her fill.

Chen Jiao had no choice but to hold her, patting her back again and again: “Oh oh, pat pat the fur, don’t be scared. That thing was just a paper tiger, all fake moves. Your mind is so firm and your will to survive so strong. If it wants to come again next time, it’ll have to weigh whether it has the ability…”

When Chen Ba entered and saw the scene of Yu Xiao curled up in Chen Jiu’s arms bawling, he retreated in confusion. Then he reopened the door and entered again, thinking he had seen wrong.

Indeed, when he entered the second time, Yu Xiao was already leaning against the headboard, elegantly wiping the tears from her face with a tissue.

Chen Ba let out a breath of relief. He had indeed seen wrong just now.

“Temporarily safe for now.” Chen Jiu said, standing up. Looking at the mess on her clothes, she said speechlessly: “Then I’ll head back first?”

Yu Xiao’s reason had returned. Now she was too embarrassed to look at Chen Jiu, lowering her head and making a sound of acknowledgment.

Chen Jiu picked up her peach wood sword, tidied up the circle of objects around the bed, and said to Chen Ba: “Senior brother, I’ll leave the second half of the night to you to watch over. Inform me tomorrow if anything happens.”

“Alright, you’ve worked hard.” Chen Ba escorted his junior sister to the door, then returned and, with a strong sense of boundaries, sat on the single sofa farthest from Yu Xiao.

“Why are you the one watching over?” Yu Xiao was somewhat dissatisfied, asking in a muffled voice.

Chen Ba found it amusing: “My junior sister is also human, she also needs rest. She can’t possibly accompany you twenty-four hours a day, can she?”

Yu Xiao knew this was the logic of it, but if Chen Jiu were willing, she would still be very happy to throw money at the situation.

The agent next door had finished cursing. Putting on her glasses, she switched back to a rational and gentle face, lightly opening the door.

She walked to the bedside and looked at Yu Xiao. Seeing she was indeed unharmed, she finally relaxed and sighed: “I plan to replace them again. These little brats aren’t diligent at all. Such an obvious cloth pouch and they couldn’t watch it. If there’s a next time, even ten of their lives would have to compensate.”

“Sister Zi, actually it’s not their fault. There were so many fan gifts, even I was dazzled looking at them. Accidentally sweeping it to the floor and mixing it in with everything else is normal.” Yu Xiao explained: “If we replace them now, a few new unfamiliar ones coming in, I’d have to get used to them all over again. Just keep them for now.”

Given her former reputation for having a temper that exploded at the slightest provocation, for being spoiled and willful throughout the industry, the agent repeatedly confirmed several times that she was speaking sincerely and not being sarcastic, before finally relenting and agreeing.

“As long as you can accept it, I have no objections.” The agent bent down again to carefully examine her face, feeling her forehead temperature, asking softly: “Anywhere else uncomfortable? Shall I call a doctor?”

Yu Xiao shook her head: “No need. I’m just a bit tired now. A good sleep will fix it. Little Jiu said I need more sun exposure. I’ll go get sun after I wake up tomorrow. Remember to remind me.”

The agent nodded, gave her a few more instructions, then turned to leave.

But before leaving, she saw Chen Ba staying in the corner.

Regarding this young man, she maintained a relatively wary attitude.

“Xingye, your current status is rather special. When entering and leaving this room, you must be careful and cautious, alright? This is good for you, and good for Xiaoyu.” The agent advised sincerely.

The two weren’t even signed to management companies of the same caliber. Once rumors spread, whether black or red, for Chen Ba it would be heaven-descending traffic, with only benefits and no drawbacks.

Chen Ba heard her intention, that she was deathly afraid he might take advantage of something, and thus smiled with understanding: “Sister Zi, I understand. Actually, I don’t particularly want to have rumors with Miss Yu either. It’s all work.”

Hearing the subtle put-down in his words, the agent secretly rolled her eyes in her heart, but on the surface still smiled very politely: “Right, it’s all work. You’ve worked hard. If anything happens, you can come notify us next door anytime. Bodyguards, assistants, and doctors are all there.”

Chen Ba also smiled and nodded.

What’s so great about you, acting all high and mighty. When I get famous, I’ll also bring a logistics team of over a dozen people.

Once the agent left, he immediately dropped his smile, secretly poking and imagining in his heart.

Yu Xiao lay back down again. For a moment she kept her eyes open, afraid to fall asleep. She covered herself with the quilt and called out from afar toward Chen Ba: “Hey, Chen Xingye, do you know who that man I dreamed of actually is?”

Chen Ba looked down at the script, flipped a page, and said offhandedly: “Someone who insists on clinging to the female lead, who else could it be? Either the male lead, or someone who secretly loves the female lead.”