Chapter 13: Diamond

Heavy rain suddenly poured from the skies. Raindrops landed on the car’s windshield with pitter-patter sounds.

Sensing another yao in the car, Fu Li smiled. “Sorry, I saw that the empty car sign was lit up, so I thought that the taxi was empty.”

“No problem,” There was a coldness to the painted skin ghost’s voice. “Two for the price of one; I’m not losing out.”

Chu Yu covered his face, feeling that this new yao was a fool. Even if a white bone spirit really did drive a taxi at night, why would it reveal its original form?Surveillance cameras were located all over the city; a headline like ‘shocking, a human skeleton actually drove a taxi to earn money’ would probably appear on the various major platforms tomorrow.

“This is my first time taking a taxi,” Fu Li glanced out the window at the streetlamps shrouded in a curtain of rain. ‘It’s quite interesting.”

The rain grew even heavier. When the taxi ran a red light, Fu Li furrowed his brows. “As the saying goes, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Running a red light is very dangerous behavior.”

“It’s okay, I’ll be doing even more dangerous things later,” It had been a very long time since the painted skin ghost had met such a foolish yaoguai. It sneered, “The faster I drive, the earlier I can send you home.”

“But I haven’t even told you the address, how would you know where I live?”

Idiot, because he’s going to slaughter you! Chu Yu yelled internally. The moment Fu Li got onto the taxi, the painted skin ghost had used some strange method to prevent him from speaking.

Like a speeding arrow, the car very quickly drove out of the urban district and came to a stop at an abandoned construction site. The painted skin ghost didn’t open the car door. It turned and glanced at Chu Yu, sharpening its five claws as if they were knives. An eerie cold light flashed off its claws.

“Brother.”

A hand so fair that it resembled jade gently pulled on its bony hand. “This passenger at the back has virtue and intelligence; he’s a yao cultivator that walks on the right path. Isn’t it a bit too much to make a move on him?”

“Laozi walks the path of evil cultivation,” The painted skin ghost smiled icily. “Don’t worry, you’ll be next after I finish eating this fish’s internal core.”

“Our yao world has its rules – no feeding on living creatures with intelligence, excluding evildoers,” Fu Li hadn’t expected to encounter this sort of yao-killing scene during the first taxi ride of his life. He had merely woken up after a nap, realized that the world had already progressed rapidly after watching , and decided to come out and experience human life. Why was he always running into things like killing humans and yao?

No wonder those famous bards in the past liked to live in seclusion in rural areas. It turned out that it was because there were too many annoying things in the human world.

“Scram!” The painted skin ghost didn’t feel like spouting rubbish with Fu Li and moved to take Chu Yu’s life with a flip of its hand. Its nails lengthened dramatically within the blink of an eye, reaching Chu Yu’s chest.

Kacha.

Just as Chu Yu thought he was toast, the joints of the fingers in front of his chest snapped off cleanly, and then transformed into finger bones, dropping into the car.

“You’re courting death!” The painted skin ghost raged. The hands that had snapped off grew back again. Disregarding Chu Yu, the painted skin ghost vaulted against the windshield, turned, and attacked Fu Li.

In Fu Li’s eyes, the movements of this white bone spirit were as slow as a snail. Its magic power was even more feeble; even the sparrow spirit who lived at the entrance of his cave dwelling in the past had greater prospects than it. In a very relaxed manner, he pinched the bone dagger the white bone spirit thrust at him. With a quick palm motion, the white bone spirit’s skeletal structure instantly came apart, transforming into a pile of shattered white bones.

Seated in the backseat, Chu Yu pinched his neck, his eyes as large as bells.

Fu Li wiped the raindrops on his face and glanced at the windshield behind him that was completely smashed to bits. Without any better option, he pulled open the car door to the backseat and squeezed together with Chu Yu.

Seeing that Fu Li was about to sit with him, Chu Yu was so frightened that he started trembling. His buttocks inched towards the car door at the side.

The Three Pure Ones above, he was just a yin-yang fish from a thousand-year-old temple that had taken on a human form. Although he had the ability to distinguish qi and appearances, this tiny ability was all he had. He couldn’t even forward a photo of his original form for a change in fortune.

The rain became heavier and heavier. Rain seeped from the front of the car to the back, very quickly wetting the bottom of their seat.

“Do you have relatives or friends? Why don’t I help you send out a Thousand Mile Sound Transmission and let them fetch you?” Fu Li saw that this fish had received quite a huge shock, so he very warm-heartedly proposed to help.

Chu Yu shook his head and pointed at his throat.

“You were struck with a voice silencing skill?” Only now did Fu Li realize that Chu Yu couldn’t speak. How low was this fish’s cultivation base for this sort of trivial skill to actually be effective on him?

After releasing the silencing skill on Chu Yu, Fu Li said, “Done. Tell me your relative or friend’s address and name, I’ll help you contact them.”

“No-no need,” Chu Yu’s neck shrank back. He cautiously took out his handphone and then stole another peek at Fu Li. Only after seeing that he didn’t object to his actions did he dial his boss’ handphone number.

After finishing the call, Chu Yu felt that Fu Li looked more and more familiar to the eye. He thought carefully. Wasn’t this that little yao who was picking up plastic bottles at the hospital entrance? At that time, he had even sympathized with the other party for not leading a good life. Now that he thought about this, his face really did turn a bit red; he didn’t have that much face.

Chu Yu stuck out his head and glanced at the pile of smashed white bones outside, saying to Fu Li, “Many thanks to senior for saving my life. This painted skin ghost uses very ruthless means and is wily and deceitful. If not for senior, this younger generation would have been laid to rest at this place tonight.”

“Painted skin ghost?” Fu Li was astonished. “So it was just a ghost cultivator, I even thought it was a white bone spirit.”

Chu Yu smiled dryly. “The average painted skin ghost can only walk in this world by borrowing human skin. This painted skin ghost has profound cultivation and had already produced a skeleton through refinement. Even without the support of human skin, flesh, and blood, it can still walk on this earth.”

“It dares to walk in this world just by relying on those fragmented, rotten bones?” Fu Li was starting to wonder if he had misunderstood the phrase ‘profound cultivation’.

“Senior’s cultivation base is profound, why…” Chu Yu wanted to ask why he had fallen to such dire straits, but feared angering the other party into smacking him, so he inquired in a very tactful manner, “Why live in such a lowkey manner?”

Now that he was hearing the two words ‘profound cultivation’ again, Fu Li didn’t feel like he had been praised at all. He answered very casually, “Ever since birth, I lived on a small mountain. Occasionally, I’ll hear the other yaoguai on the mountain mention those yao kings outside. However, my cultivation was ordinary, so I never went out of the mountain. On a normal day, I’ll either cultivate or sleep. Many years ago, something happened and I lost my cave dwelling. I didn’t dare to snatch another great yao’s territory, so I found a forest deep within a mountain and went to sleep.”

“When did you wake up?” Chu Yu felt that this yaoguai lived quite a dull life.

“Three years ago,” Fu Li still hadn’t fully adapted to this new society. “I went to a human house and secretly watched and then found out that society outside had already changed.”

Chu Yu, “…”

Daring to join society after watching , he had such huge guts that it put the average yao cultivator to shame.

“You’ve lived for so many years and should have some good things. You can sell those in exchange for money,” Chu Yu felt that he wouldn’t need to sell plastic bottles if he did this.

“No. If I did that, how would I have the sense of accomplishment that comes with starting from scratch?” Fu Li shook his head. “Moreover, those things of mine are of little value.”

Chu Yu, “…”

This yaoguai even wanted to specially start from scratch, was he sick in the head?

Half an hour later, the water in the car had already reached their ankles. Fu Li curled up his legs as he sat on the seat, asking somewhat doubtfully, “Is your friend really coming to fetch you?”

If he had known that the person wouldn’t come even after this long, he wouldn’t have sat here and waited foolishly. He had merely thought of taking slight advantage of this situation to get a free ride, why was it so hard?

Chu Yu glanced out the window. “Probably?”

Just as he said these words, a man wearing a black shirt walked to the car and looked at the two of them through the broken windshield.

“Boss!” Upon seeing Zhuang Qing appear, Chu Yu straightened his waist and no longer shrank his neck back. Without caring about the raindrops wetting his clothes, he pulled open the car door and ran over. “Boss, I’m really sorry for calling you out in the middle of the night.”

Zhuang Qing shot a glance at him and took a step back, concerned that the rainwater on him would splash onto his body. “Hundred fifty for petrol.”

Chu Yu, “Sure…”

Zhuang Qing looked at Fu Li who was in the car and asked Chu Yu, “He saved you?”

Chu Yu nodded shamefully.

“I think he’s more suited to be my assistant.”

“What about me then?” Chu Yu asked.

“You can pick up plastic bottles,” Zhuang Qing strode to the car door and spoke to Fu Li through the window, “Mr Fu, I didn’t expect us to meet again so soon.”

Fu Li pushed the car door open till a small slit formed and told Zhuang Qing, “Excuse me, move the umbrella over a little.”

Zhuang Qing didn’t understand what he meant, but still shifted the umbrella over slightly.

Fu Li took the chance to make his way out from the car door, hiding under Zhuang Qing’s umbrella. A few raindrops on him splashed onto Zhuang Qing’s sleeves. Zhuang Qing looked down at the few raindrops on his branded shirt, his expression icy.

Chu Yu turned his head, pretending not to have seen anything.

“Let’s go,” Zhuang Qing’s voice was so cold that it was nearly dripping shards of ice.

The three people had only taken a few steps when Zhuang Qing stopped and turned to glance at the discarded taxi and the pile of bone fragments. Raising his head, he glanced at the sky. Suddenly, lightning shone, and two bolts of lightning struck down. The taxi and bone fragments vanished in a puff of smoke and ash, yet the surrounding flowers and plants were completely unharmed.

Fu Li exclaimed in admiration, “Mr Zhuang has a good cultivation base.”

“Not as good as Mr Fu’s natural state.”

Fu Li’s arm bumped against him by accident, creating yet another water mark on Zhuang Qin’s sleeve. The tip of his brows moved slightly. “Has Mr Fu ever sent clothes to the dry-cleaning store?”

“No. My clothes are very cheap,” Fu Li tugged at his shirt. “This piece is only thirty yuan, it doesn’t need to be dry-cleaned.”

“The member fee for my shirt to be dry-cleaned is sixty-eight yuan,” Zhuang Qing said expressionlessly.

“Ah?” Fu Li blinked his large eyes. A while later, he had a flash of realization. “Mr Zhuang, you’re very rich.”

Zhuang Qing ignored him. He pulled open the car door and got in while Fu Li sat at the back. Looking up, Fu Li caught sight of a few perfectly cut diamonds on the roof of the car. The refracted rays of light from the streetlamps caused the diamonds to give off an enchanting radiance.

Fu Li stretched out a thumb, wanting to give it a small touch. Just a small one.

But before he could extend his hand, he saw Zhuang Qing turn around and stare at him with a severe expression.

Rich people truly had strange hobbies; they could even think of inlaying diamonds into their car to flaunt their wealth.