"Can you give me a reason? Why do you want him to join the gang?" Gu Yuan asked.
"The reason is that Hu Qingluan has always wanted to kill me. Bai Hu is quite powerful. When you're not around, he can surely protect me. For example... on the fifteenth and sixteenth days of the lunar month."
Gu Yuan slightly lowered his eyes, as if something in his heart had been touched. It flashed by in an instant, and then he hooked the corner of his mouth and replied, "Okay, I'll help you."
This time it was my turn to be stunned for a couple of seconds. He actually agreed?
Before saying this, I had already prepared myself to be scolded by him.
Unexpectedly, not only did he allow Bai Hu to join the gang, but he also agreed to help me.
"Are you serious? You're willing to help me... compete with Hu Qingluan for Bai Hu?"
I still couldn't quite believe it and had to confirm it one more time.
Gu Yuan propped his head up with one hand, the corner of his mouth hooking up into a perfect arc.
"Since my wife has spoken, if I don't comply, you'll probably run off with someone else."
I pouted pretending to be angry. "Humph! No matter where I run, I can't escape your grasp."
Gu Yuan gently scraped the tip of my nose and said, "It's because I can't do without your gentle touch."
"Don't worry. I have no interest in a woman like Hu Qingluan at all. You're the one for me." With that, he pulled me into his arms and gently kissed my neck...
Actually, at this moment, I really wanted to ask: Since I'm your wife and I meet your aesthetic standards, why haven't you branded me with the soul mark? Is it because you're afraid it'll hurt me?
This doesn't seem to hold water, as he's never been afraid of me getting hurt.
Forget it. I just thought about it. I'm really afraid that if I ask, I'll anger him again, and the consequences would be unimaginable.
I said I didn't care about the soul mark, so I shouldn't care. Gu Yuan promised to protect me for a lifetime. I don't dare to expect an eternity. This lifetime is enough.
As for his deal with Hu Qingluan, if he wants to tell me, he will. If not, I don't want to ask too much.
...
The next day, I got up early to wash up and had breakfast.
I also left a note on the table for Gu Yuan and He Bi: I'll buy a phone after class. You may not be able to reach me this morning.
My backpack had been burned beyond recognition yesterday, but the plush doll was still intact.
I took the plush doll off and hung it on another backpack of mine.
Bai Qi said he was going to investigate Xu Xiaocui's cause of death. I thought he would surely come to find me again. By then, I would try to persuade him. If it didn't work, I would mention Gu Yuan's name. It would probably be much more reliable than that Hu Qingluan.
Sure enough, my words came true. When I rode my bike to the artificial lake on campus, I saw Bai Qi.
He still looked like a young boy. At the moment, he was sitting on the bench where we sat yesterday, staring blankly at the lake. He was holding a cup of milk tea and a breakfast in his hand.
I slowed down my steps. When he saw me coming towards him, he curved his eyebrows and gave me a sweet smile.
"Sorry about yesterday. I didn't know you had a feud with Hu Qingluan. I got you injured." Bai Qi patted the seat next to him, signaling me to sit down.
I nodded slightly. Just as I sat down next to him, he stuffed the breakfast in his hand into mine.
"You didn't get to eat yesterday. I'll treat you today."
I was about to say that I had already had breakfast, but then I suddenly remembered his disappointed look yesterday, so I swallowed the words back.
"It's not your fault. My feud with her wasn't caused by you, so you don't need to blame yourself."
"How did you know that I had a conflict with her yesterday?"
"I heard it from her. She came to find me today and wanted to make a deal with me."
This Hu Qingluan really loves to make deals with people.
I took a sip of the milk tea and said, "Don't trust her. She's always up to tricks."
He watched me drinking the milk tea and smiled so sweetly that it seemed even sweeter than if he were the one drinking it.
"Did you go to investigate Xu Xiaocui's cause of death yesterday?"
I was chewing on the breakfast he gave me. It was really hard to swallow as I was so full. My words were all slurred.
"I checked. She didn't commit suicide at all. Someone controlled her to jump into the river."
"I knew it. Just because of a broken heart, it's not worth committing suicide. And the water in that lake is so strange. Maybe she was sucked in by the lake water."
"You guessed right. There's a blood spring at the bottom of the lake. Every once in a while, someone will die here, and they're all young girls."
"Do you think there are already a lot of bodies buried at the bottom of the water?" I licked the residue from the corner of my lips and said.
"Very likely. The reason why it's called a blood spring is that it's formed by sucking the blood of people with grudges.
"The gathering of grudges will attract more girls with stronger grudges to jump into the river to sacrifice to the blood spring. This cycle repeats, and the power of the blood spring will become stronger and stronger. Then the magic power of the person behind it will multiply."
"If the entire lake is invaded by the blood spring, it will be out of control."
"Do you know who did it?" I turned my head and asked.
"Someone secretly worships the evil god, the Five - Toned God, in order to increase their wealth. They specifically look for young girls to sacrifice."
"The Five - Toned God? Aren't they those five lecherous evil spirits?"
Bai Qi's handsome eyebrows twitched slightly. "You actually know about the Five - Toned God."
"I just heard about it by chance. That evil god is lustful. As long as the worshiper sacrifices enough women, the five evil spirits will make the worshiper rich. But it's said that the Five - Toned God has long been destroyed. Why did it appear again?"
"Yeah, it's long been lost. Why did it appear again?"
Bai Qi sat on the chair lost in thought. He looked so cute. His fox eyes squinted slightly, and his two furry ears were so adorable that I couldn't help but want to touch his head.
But I held back.
"Do you want to get involved in this?" I asked.
"Yeah." He nodded.
"Then I'll accompany you."
Bai Qi was stunned for a couple of seconds after hearing this. He couldn't believe that I didn't hesitate at all.
Of course, he didn't know that I had my own selfish motives. I wanted to recruit him into my gang.
Bai Qi advised me not to get involved. "You have an inherently yin constitution. If the immortals in your gang aren't powerful enough, you'd better not get involved."
"Well, if I can help you, will you join my gang? There aren't many immortals in my gang. Counting you, there will only be four. It's just the right time to recruit more people."
"Are you brave enough to recruit me into your gang?"
"What do you mean by 'brave enough'? Have you done something wrong?" I asked curiously.
He curved his charming eyes again and said, "No. I'm a troublemaker, so I said that."
"Hu Qingluan dared to recruit you. Why can't I?"
I glanced at my watch and said, "I'm going to class. You stay here and wait for me obediently. After class, I'll go with you to meet the grand master of my gang. Then you'll know why I'm brave enough to recruit you."
I picked up my schoolbag, gave him a bright smile, and then rushed towards the classroom.
As soon as the class bell rang, I picked up my backpack and ran towards the lake to meet Bai Qi. But he wasn't there.
I couldn't help but regret why I didn't ask for his contact information just now. Where could I find him?
I stood by the lake for quite a while, but there was no sign of him. Just when I was about to leave.
The water in the lake started to bubble.
The green water in the center of the lake began to churn up red blood, spreading out from the spring eye in the middle.
There were quite a few students sitting around the artificial lake. When they saw this strange scene, they all looked towards the center of the lake.
I heard Bai Qi say this morning that if the lake water completely turned red, it would be unimaginable.
I shouted towards the lake, "Run! Don't stay here and watch. This place is about to fall!"
But no matter how much I shouted, it seemed to be in vain. They couldn't hear my voice at all.
I looked back at the lake again. My heart tightened. There was actually a dead white fox lying on the shore of the artificial lake. Its whole body was soaked.
"Bai Qi, is that you?" I didn't care about anything else and just ran towards the white fox.