Chapter 138

Ke Xingzhou watched Nie Chen leave and blinked.

For some reason, he felt like Nie Chen was acting a bit strange today.

Before he could figure out what was wrong, he heard the furious voice of Ke Zhengye from behind: "Look! And you still say there's nothing between them? He even took a shower! A man and a man, alone together for so long, and you say there’s nothing? Do you think I’m an idiot?!"

Jiang Wanru rolled her eyes, growing more and more convinced that her choice of a partner was somehow flawed.

Ke Zhengye kept ranting. She couldn’t even speak to Ke Xingzhou without being interrupted. Feeling really annoyed, she simply snorted: "He’s not your son, what does it have to do with you?"

Ke Zhengye: "…………"

"Wanru! You…"

He stammered, unable to finish his sentence. Jiang Wanru, tired of listening, stepped forward and warmly took Ke Xingzhou’s arm, asking him what happened during the show today.

Jiang Wanru: "You don't know, all my friends have been following the live stream, and when that demon king appeared, my phone was blown up. They thought something really happened to you guys."

Ke Xingzhou: "……"

Jiang Wanru continued: "…And after the show ended, was there a young, handsome guy with white hair at the door? Is he from your production team? Can you get his contact info? Not for me, but for my friends."

Ke Xingzhou: "…………"

Ke Zhengye: "…………"

Ke Zhengye, enraged, shouted: "Do you think I’m dead?! Asking for another man’s contact info in front of me?!"

Jiang Wanru ignored him and scrolled through her phone, finding a message from one of her friends who asked for the contact info: "This aunt just got divorced last year, so don’t worry about any moral issues. You can introduce him, mom won’t harm you."

Ke Xingzhou: "……………"

He really didn’t know what to say, so after a moment of thought, he simply said, "I’m tired," and went upstairs to sleep.

Behind him, Ke Zhengye’s furious ranting continued, first questioning his wife for asking for another man’s contact info in front of him, then getting angry that Ke Xingzhou ignored him completely, wondering if they both wanted to elope with some wild man.

Since Jiang Wanru realized how wrong her past way of life was, she not only started caring more about Ke Xingzhou but also learned to ignore Ke Zhengye’s rages.

Saying nothing at all, she felt much better, and recently, when she went to the beauty salon, the staff told her her skin looked much better.

So, Jiang Wanru used the excuse of going to sleep for beauty sleep to leave the first floor, leaving Ke Zhengye alone, still seething in anger.

When Ke Chenyi came back, he saw Ke Zhengye sitting angrily on the couch. His steps paused, and instinctively, he wanted to turn around and go back to the company to work overtime.Behind him was Ke Yuanbai, who had just returned from a night run. The latter, looking clueless, walked into the house, and as expected, was immediately caught by Ke Yuanbai.

This old man, excluded from the family’s decision-making center, now had only his two sons to rely on. He called for Ke Chenyi to stop and pulled both sons close, speaking with great sincerity: "This can't go on."

Ke Chenyi: "……"

Ke Yuanbai: "?"

Seeing the confused looks from his two sons, Ke Zhengye felt that his family was too easy to bully. Frustrated, he sighed, "You two never come home. Have you thought about how much Jiang Wanru and I have to endure because of Ke Xingzhou, that ungrateful son?"

Ke Chenyi couldn't take it anymore: "Dad, what are you planning to do this time?"

Ke Zhengye sharply noticed that his son hadn’t addressed him with the usual respectful tone in a long time. Normally, he was called “Dad,” but now even when they met at the company, Ke Chenyi would just call him “Ke Dong” (Mr. Ke). And now, he didn't even use the polite “you” anymore!

However, he quickly brushed off this small matter.

What made him angrier was the second part of his son’s comment: "What do you mean ‘what am I going to do’? Why don’t you say something about what Ke Xingzhou has done? This is my house! He brings men home, that’s one thing, but he even brings them into his room! And he even took a shower! Does he even care about me, his father?!"

Ke Yuanbai was stunned for a moment: "Ke Xingzhou?"

Ke Zhengye was furious: "Who else could it be?!"

Before he could finish his sentence, he saw his second son suddenly stand up, quickly distancing himself, as if trying to draw a line between them.

Ke Zhengye realized what was happening and quickly turned his head to look behind him.

To his surprise, Ke Xingzhou, who had earlier said he was tired and going to bed, had somehow come down again. He was now standing at the foot of the stairs, looking directly at them.

Ke Zhengye’s heart skipped a beat, feeling inexplicably guilty. He wanted to ask Ke Xingzhou how long he had been standing there and what he had overheard, but Ke Xingzhou’s expression was calm as he walked into the kitchen, grabbed a cup of milk, and headed upstairs again.

He didn’t say a word and his expression didn’t reveal anything, as though he hadn’t heard anything at all.

Ke Zhengye hesitated for a moment, then quickly regained his confidence—so what if he had heard? He was the head of the household!

A foster son, could he defy him?

He felt he had regained a bit of his dignity as the head of the family and straightened up proudly. However, when he turned around, he realized that both of his biological sons had disappeared.

Ke Zhengye: "……Where are they?!"

Looking around, he saw that both sons had gone upstairs. Even when they heard his voice, they didn’t turn around. When they reached the top of the stairs, they both looked at Ke Xingzhou’s room, exchanged a glance, and then went into their own rooms, looking dejected.

The sensor light in the living room waited for a moment before it turned off with a “click.”

Ke Zhengye: "…………"

They’ve turned against me! All of them!

--

Ke Xingzhou couldn’t be bothered with the little drama downstairs. He took his milk and went back to his room.

The habit of drinking milk before bed was something the old butler had instilled in him. Otherwise, considering Ke Xingzhou’s poor circumstances during his first few years, he could only afford the cheapest sugar, so drinking milk before bed would have been a distant dream.

However, the old butler had gone back home today to celebrate his grandson’s birthday and hadn’t brought him any milk.Ke Xingzhou lay down for a while, feeling that something wasn’t quite right. He tossed and turned, unable to sleep, so he went downstairs to get it himself.

To his surprise, he overheard the conversation between the Ke family’s father and two sons.

Ke Xingzhou paused, finished his milk in a few gulps, and was about to go back to bed. After thinking for a moment, he took out his phone and sent a message to Zhu Chu, asking him to come over tomorrow morning.

Zhu Chu, evidently a heavy phone user, quickly replied with a simple “Got it.”

“By the way, Master, has the Gu family contacted you? I was wondering if I should reject them, considering that today’s situation clearly showed they were hiding something from us. We weren’t prepared and ended up running into the demon King Bo Xun, and had to draw the talismans on the spot.”

The Gu family?

Ke Xingzhou was a bit puzzled. Wasn’t the Gu family issue already resolved today?

After leaving the Wang residence, Nie Chen had explained to him why the filming location for this episode had suddenly changed, as well as the request from Gu Xicheng not to reveal it to him in advance.

Ke Xingzhou hadn’t thought much of it when he heard the explanation.

In the years he spent in the countryside reading fortunes, he had met all sorts of eccentric people. Besides, he had already sensed something was off when he entered the Wang residence—the number of supernatural beings there was unusually high.

Among the creatures the production team encountered in the Wang residence, there were not just supernatural beings but also their souls.

The whole Wang residence felt like the lair of monsters, with a mix of demonic and ghostly energy. Ordinary people living there would suffer both physical and mental issues. If it weren’t for the massive flow of tourists in the area, which diluted the demonic and ghostly energy, people visiting the scenic spot would have to acclimate for a few days.

An He Guang mentioned that the Gu family had moved out of the Wang residence after their troubles, probably because of this.

When the mythical beasts arrived, they casually caught the escaping orange cat, and after the matter was settled, they locked it up with the demon clan. Thus, the issue at the Wang residence was considered fully resolved.

So why couldn’t the Gu family just explain everything at once?

As Ke Xingzhou was replying to Zhu Chu’s message, he suddenly heard a “thump thump” sound from outside the window, as if something had collided with it.

He looked up and saw a bird, shaped like a crane, standing on the windowsill.

The bird had only one leg, its blue feathers had red stripes, and its white beak opened, emitting a small burst of sparks, nearly melting a portion of the glass.

Ke Xingzhou: “...Bi Fang?”

The bird in front of him was unmistakably the mythical beast Bi Fang.

When Bi Fang saw that Ke Xingzhou recognized him, he happily chirped, “It’s me!”

As he spoke, a burst of flames shot from his mouth, melting a hole in the window.

Ke Xingzhou: “...”

Ke Xingzhou hesitated for a moment, wondering whether to let Bi Fang in. After all, the bird looked like the type who could burn down the whole house.

But before he could make a decision, Bi Fang stretched his head in, unlocked the latch from the melted hole in the glass, pushed open the window, and walked in.

“...” Ke Xingzhou fell silent.

He wasn’t the type to be very good at socializing, as anyone could tell from the fact that he didn’t have many friends over the years. The few people he was close to were Nie Chen and Lu Li.Lu Li and Xie An met Nie Chen only after they had separated.

Although they had seen Bi Fang during the previous ritual, there wasn’t much interaction at that time. Bi Fang had come to visit him directly in the evening, and for Ke Xingzhou, that was a bit too enthusiastic.

He hesitated for a moment, seeing that Bi Fang wasn’t planning to explain the reason for his visit. He decided to speak first: "Is there something the Special Incident Handling Bureau needs from me?"

Bi Fang was looking around Ke Xingzhou’s room, thinking that the family’s conditions were pretty good, not bad enough to disgrace his idol. He paused for a moment before reacting, shaking his head repeatedly: "No, no, I came on my own, nothing to do with those guys."

Ke Xingzhou: "?"

It didn’t sound like the members of the Special Incident Handling Bureau were getting along well.

Ke Xingzhou blinked, waiting for Bi Fang to continue.

Bi Fang was still immersed in the excitement of seeing his idol again. His eyes were fixed on Ke Xingzhou for a long time. Then, as if remembering something, tears began to well up in his eyes.

After a quiet pause, he finally realized something, quickly shifted back into human form, fumbled in his pocket, and handed over an object: "I came to return this to you."

Once in human form, the excitement on his face became even more apparent. Ke Xingzhou looked at him curiously and realized that Bi Fang might have recognized his past self.

He fell silent for a moment.

Was his merit that low in his past life?

He had met so many mythical beasts; it must have been something that happened thousands of years ago. How long did he have to wait in line before being born?

Lost in complicated thoughts, Ke Xingzhou looked down at the object in his hand: it was a strange stone, not like jade or any other gemstone. It shimmered with light and looked quite beautiful.

It looked expensive.

Why was everyone giving him gifts? Ke Xingzhou felt a bit odd: "What is this?"

"This is yours! I'm just returning it to its rightful owner," Bi Fang said, looking at the stone with deep emotion, his tears on the verge of falling again. He wiped his face and continued, "This is a spirit stone. It was used by cultivators before the world's spiritual energy fell, and it can also be used as currency. This one is an extremely rare one; it could exchange for a whole vein of ordinary spirit stones."

Ke Xingzhou said, "Ah."

He knew about the fall of spiritual energy; when Xiang Ting and the others talked, Ke Xingzhou overheard it, and it had started after the sealing of the demon thousands of years ago.

So, he had to wait in line for nearly ten thousand years?

Ke Xingzhou rubbed the spirit stone in his hand, feeling that he must have done something bad in his past life. While others only had to wait a few hundred years, he had to wait for over ten thousand years.

But despite his low merit, he still managed to be born in the human realm, even with the third eye and metaphysical talents. It seemed strange.

Bi Fang didn’t know what Ke Xingzhou was thinking. He only noticed that after handing over the spirit stone, Ke Xingzhou’s expression became a bit odd.

With his limited life experience, Bi Fang didn’t understand Ke Xingzhou’s obsession and struggle about not having accumulated merit in his past life. After realizing that he had barged into someone’s home, he hesitated for a while and decided not to scare Ke Xingzhou. He walked back to the window, turning back every few steps.

"Well, I just came to return this. Nothing else," he paused, puffed out his chest slightly, "After all, we were good brothers before!"

Ke Xingzhou’s expression shifted: "Good brothers?"

Bi Fang shivered and nodded vigorously, his eyes filled with hope: "I was the first friend you met when you went down the mountain to travel, of course I’m your good brother! Do you... remember?"Ke Xingzhou thought, "Is the matter of Meng Po's soup being diluted already so open? We're already talking about memories from the past life?"

He shook his head, and in the face of Bi Fang's sudden disappointed gaze, he sincerely expressed that he had no recollection.

Bi Fang was only down for a moment before he quickly perked up: "It's okay, didn't I come to find you? As long as in this life, we’re the best brothers in the world, that's all that matters!"

Ke Xingzhou: "…"

Ke Xingzhou was about to say something but stopped.

Bi Fang didn’t notice anything wrong because the door to Ke Xingzhou’s bedroom was suddenly opened.

Ke Zhengye, who was about to go to bed, heard voices in Ke Xingzhou’s room. He rushed in and saw that the window was wide open, with a delicate-looking young man standing on the balcony, looking at his adopted son with eager eyes.

Ke Zhengye: "…"

Ke Zhengye immediately flew into a rage: "Well, well! So there's another one hiding here! You little bastard, it’s bad enough that you have this messy relationship with men, but now it’s one after another! Taking turns! If the neighbors find out, where will I put my face?!"

Ke Xingzhou: "…"

Bi Fang: "?"

Bi Fang was about to explain that it wasn’t like that, that his relationship with his idol was purely brotherly. Moreover, they had only just met in this life—how could there be a turn-taking situation... Wait, turn-taking?

Who got ahead of him?!

Bi Fang’s expression was one of shock, looking deeply wronged. This only made Ke Zhengye more convinced that Ke Xingzhou was playing the field.

He shot Ke Xingzhou a furious glare, then immediately started lecturing Bi Fang: "And you! Young as you are, not learning properly, no self-respect or dignity! What kind of person would climb over a wall in the middle of the night to see? Let this one slide for today, but don’t ever come to my house again! Or I’ll tell your parents!"

This was a far cry from how he’d spoken before; it was almost friendly now. Ke Xingzhou couldn’t help but glance at Ke Zhengye again.

Ke Zhengye shot him a fierce glare in return.

This ungrateful child!

He had never felt so wronged in his life.

Although Ke Xingzhou wasn’t his biological son, he had been raised in the Ke family. How did he end up like this, becoming such a scoundrel? Now he had no confidence to even discuss marriage matters with others.

This brat still dared to look at him!

Meanwhile, Bi Fang was completely bewildered. He had come to see Ke Xingzhou of his own volition. How did this turn into Ke Xingzhou not being a good person?

He opened his mouth: "No, I came here on my own…"

Before he could finish, he was cut off by Ke Zhengye, who was practically fuming with anger: "What do you mean 'you'? I see, this kid’s been PUA’ing you! Get out now, and never come back!"

Bi Fang was pushed all the way to the door by Ke Zhengye, completely dazed.

Standing at the entrance of the villa, he looked up at Ke Xingzhou’s room, and finally couldn’t hold back a long, drawn-out sob: "Wuu..."

His idol! His golden opportunity to become his idol’s best bro had just slipped away!Bi Fang opened his mouth, and a burst of flames suddenly shot out, setting the leaves in front of him on fire.

Ke Zhengye’s century-old tree, which had been transplanted from the old family home with great effort, began shaking wildly. It didn’t look like it was being swayed by the wind, but as if it were enraged.

Bi Fang was immediately startled. He quickly said several "sorrys" and hurriedly slapped at the fire to put it out.

When he regained his senses, the lights upstairs had already been turned off.

Bi Fang: "…"

Wuu…

Ke Xingzhou was sleeping when he suddenly felt something was wrong.

The area where his body was touching the bed gradually became hot. He felt as though he was being roasted over a fire and was incredibly thirsty. He tried to get up to find some water, but it felt as though something was pressing down on him. His limbs were weak, and he couldn’t even open his eyes.

Sleep paralysis?

Ke Xingzhou couldn’t believe it. Where did this ghost come from, to press a Daoist’s bed?

He didn’t panic, instead silently chanting protective and exorcism spells in his mind.

But strangely, these two spells had no effect. He still couldn’t move, and the area of his back pressed against the bed was burning up.

Since opening his third eye, he had never experienced such a situation. Ke Xingzhou was confused, not knowing who to turn to for help.

His mind became increasingly heavy, and in a half-dreaming state, he instinctively opened his mouth: “Nie Chen…”

The next moment, a cool breath leaned beside him with a light sigh.

Ke Xingzhou couldn’t hear the other person’s voice, but the cool sensation was like a refreshing spring to him in his current state, making him instinctively want to move closer.

Fortunately, the other person seemed to sense his thoughts and actively moved closer, placing a hand on his forehead.

Ke Xingzhou closed his eyes, unable to help but sigh, and the hot air from his breath rose into the air, mixing with the cooling sensation that entered his body. His consciousness became blurry.

A calm and indifferent voice suddenly sounded in the room: “Stop struggling. You cannot break my seal.”

Nie Chen, who was supposed to be working overtime at the company, was inexplicably here. There were only the two of them in the room, and the voice came from him.

Nie Chen’s gray-green eyes landed on the hand that "he" had placed on Ke Xingzhou’s forehead. In an instant, he felt a surge of anger rising to his mind: “Who are you? What do you want to do to him?”

“…” Lian Cheng’s tone grew heavy. “I occupy your body, and yet you only care about my threat to him?”

Nie Chen didn’t answer. He silently tried to break the shackles holding him in his body.

He was trapped inside his own body.

He could see and hear everything outside, but the control over his body didn’t belong to him.

This situation was a bit like when the Nine-headed Dragon used animal souls to possess human bodies. He instinctively felt that his body had been occupied by another soul. Recalling some related incantations, he silently recited them over and over in his mind while drawing symbols in his thoughts.

Lian Cheng sensed the rejection from the body and couldn’t help but furrow his brows. “Behave yourself.”Nie Chen didn't respond, only repeating the symbols and incantations in a simulation.

He had no talent in metaphysics, and this behavior actually had little effect. Moreover, Lian Cheng was neither a ghost nor an outsider trying to possess his body.

"Useless." Lian Cheng said in a deep voice. "During this time, you should have seen from your memories that I am you. You are just a part of my soul. How can you reject someone who already belongs to this body?"

"Heh." Nie Chen finally reacted to his words, but his attitude showed no sign of softening. On the contrary, it became even more confrontational: "Isn't your body that bow? Does Ke Xingzhou know that you gave him something that can sense things, constantly monitoring everything happening around him?"

Lian Cheng didn't answer that question.

He lowered his gaze indifferently, watching Ke Xingzhou’s skin redden from the high body temperature as he suffered: "Without me, you wouldn't have been able to reach him so timely."

His tone was calm, as if stating a fact.

"……"

Nie Chen was silent for a long time until Ke Xingzhou murmured in his sleep again, calling out Nie Chen's name.

The stagnant air in the room suddenly relaxed.

He chuckled lightly: "Then ask him himself, does he need me or you?"

Lian Cheng: "……"

"Besides, this body of mine is full of immense merit but cannot learn any techniques. Isn’t that your fault?" Nie Chen's voice grew heavier. "Do you still have the face to approach him? To coldly watch his suffering, restrict my abilities, and then appear as a savior, trying to replace me…"

"But you two have already broken up." Lian Cheng suddenly interrupted him, his tone uncharacteristically urgent.

He reached out to stroke the side of Ke Xingzhou’s face, watching him instinctively nuzzle his palm. His voice softened: "It’s because you couldn’t hold on to it yourself."

The next moment, they heard a "slap" sound. Ke Xingzhou, who should have been unable to move, suddenly slapped his hand away.

Ke Xingzhou’s consciousness was still trapped in the dream, murmuring in discomfort: "Nie Chen, I feel terrible."

"……"

In the silence of the room, someone suddenly let out a light laugh.