Chapter 123 - Women

Li Feng clawed on the tablecloth. It wasn't because he didn't believe Chuan Nayi or that he disagreed with her chosen path to get rid of Guangru. It's just that… "Too risky..."

Chuan Nayi eyed Li Feng who was coincidentally across the table from her spot. The man then continued, "That's too risky. I'll let you remember that aside from us, other people could have been marked by the child. Do you think they want to be bound to a demon for life?

"Let's say we made Guangru release Xiaodan… what about the others? Would he stay away and not bother us again? Yes, I thank Guangru for not letting my father die, but he doesn't deserve to get dragged into this. I need Guangru to let him go as well as everyone else.

"But I doubt that would be his biggest problem because Xiaodan is losing control. Do you even know what that meant? Once Xiaodan loses control, he can either retain sanity and give up being human… or he will be taken by Guangru to move around for free and use his body to create a vessel.

"Are you not afraid of losing Xiaodan? Because if that was me, I'd kill to keep such a demon from possessing the person I love."

Chuan Nayi regarded him, but his words didn't make her eyes quiver. It was as if she had gone to this juncture before. She then took a deep breath. "Li Feng, you need to calm down. Your father just got off surgery and is discovered to be held by the neck by some… demon. Everyone will panic…"

She then shook her head. "A quick fix isn't going to do anything good. I know it's scary to think that Xiaodan is losing control, but that's only because he was being pressured to keep an eye now that we all didn't want Guangru to be the one doing that. Tell me, what was happening when Xiaodan came to you that day?

"Wasn't it because you're getting your a.s.s mopped around?"

"It was..."

"No need to explain. I know what you're going to say." Chuan Nayi shook her head again. "Ruan Jin gets in trouble, too, but he had another ghost to keep an eye on him. I got in trouble, too, but it was Guangru's doing. Do I expect him to show his face around me again?

"As for you, you're just dragged down into this. You're just a good guy shaman who wanted to help everyone in school, and Guangru… his actions ruined you." Chuan Nayi sighed. "Like I said before… Xiaodan is taking full responsibility for every crime Guangru has done.

"It's normal for him to push his hardest to make sure you'll be fine. Even if it's at the expense of his own sanity." Chuan Nayi began to feel cold. "Xiaodan didn't even try to fight for me because he knows that I would suffer the same way you are now, carrying a burden because of your involvement."

She then eyed Li Feng. "Li Feng, we're all scared. For both Xiaodan and the people who are not supposed to be dragged into this. Xiaodan is also thinking about the same things, I'm sure. I have a feeling that he could only give himself now that he couldn't give the child a mother and a vessel.

"Before you decide on how to force the connection off, let's go see Xiaodan for now. Will your father be okay on his own?"

Li Feng only leaned against his chair. He only nodded silently.

He called for this meeting exactly because he was scared and lost as to what could be done. He first thought that he could beg Liu Xiaodan to disconnect things from Guangru's hold, and perhaps his friends should be able to say things to help Li Feng win over Li Xiaodan's sympathy.

Listening to Chuan Nayi right now made him calm down a little. If he could alleviate a few of the weight, that would be very good for his mental health. It's just that… he might have to owe it to the woman who almost died because of his foolish prank.

"Wow, Guangru's mommy is good."

Everyone else twitched at the new voice they heard, but they were quick to realize that it was just Ye Ling. It's just that her words were strange.

Chuan Nayi eyed the woman who came out that night. "I'm not his mommy."

"Heheh, he doesn't have a new one yet so it might still work." Ye Ling chuckled and sat down on Ruan Jin's l.a.p, letting her body materialize fully and confusing Li Feng and Li Yunru. "Do you know? He woke me up that night, not because of Ruan Lang.

"Xiaodan could feel that you are in danger, and so he kept on begging Guangru to save you. It's just that… Cherry Med is a bad place. Guangru won't be able to leave at all. We were only lucky Ruan Lang was already with you, or else we would have to run all the way to make sure you're well."

"Is that what he did for Li Feng before?"

"Yep."

Chuan Nayi only turned away. "So it's true? Xiaodan is losing control?"

Ye Ling only turned to Li Feng before speaking to Chuan Nayi again. "At first, it seemed that way. However, it becomes easier for me to tell that it isn't the case. The attacks and possessions going haywire is a product of him harnessing more power than his body and mind could handle.

"Just earlier, Guangru was forced to channel excess energy to me and Old Xiong—you know him, the huge bear back in the hospital?" Ye Ling smiled strangely. "That king from school would be too much for Xiaodan and Li Feng to digest so..."

"Too much for me to what?" Li Feng twitched.

"Aiya, I haven't really clarified this… but you seemed to be strangely connected to Xiaodan." Ye Ling chuckled again. "It's probably the blood. Anyway, when you subject yourself to despair or be in a place where it abounded, you are absorbing a portion of it and feeding it to Xiaodan."

Chuan Nayi's eyes widened, but she kept her gaze from straying in a flash. She then looked at Ye Ling again. "So Xiaodan is behaving like a ghost now, too? But his body couldn't handle much of it? Is there a chance for him to… be able to handle more of it in the future?"

Ye Ling only hummed in cluelessness. "I'm not really sure. Xiaodan has a strange aura even for a human. Maybe because he's a strange kind of medium. Either way, there should be a fraction of it. Else, Guangru wouldn't allow him to swallow ghost kings freely."

The mother sighed. "So it's real… he's going to consume ghost kings himself. I wonder why Guangru is letting him destroy his body like that. Wouldn't that… affect Xiaodan's ability to grant his wish?"

"Yin…" Ren Shanyue then twitched, finally joining the conversation. It seemed like hearing Chuan Nayi mention 'wish' sparked something inside her mind. "Maybe if Xiaodan gets to collect natural yin energy, he would be able to condition his body better so he could take on more negative energy from ghosts."

"Yin?" Li Yunru then covered her mouth as if stopping herself from laughing.

Li Feng only eyed Ren Shanyue as if making her apologize for her words. 'Is it really necessary to bring that into the table at the moment? I mean, even if it's plausible, I doubt his willingness.'

However, Ye Ling whistled at the answer. "Well, that could probably work. However, I can't see him as the type who would do such things just for power."

Chuan Nayi then glared at Li Feng. "What do they mean? What yin? Why do I have a feeling that—?"

Xu Disung cleared his throat. "Ehem-women-ehem."

"Huh?"

"For quite some time, it was believed that women had strong yin energy in their bodies, and those are not corrupted yet. That's why it's easier for women to turn into ghosts." Li Feng only tried to be careful in case Chuan Nayi began throwing things. "If he could extract… harvest… get… collect… that from women…"

"Honey, it's s.e.x," Ren Shanyue spoke again.

Chuan Nayi inadvertently glared at Ren Shanyue. "Why would you suggest such a thing?! You think Xiaodan is just like Li Feng and his friends?!"

Ouch. Li Feng was still hit, Li Yunru patting his shoulder.

A smile bloomed on Ren Shanyue's lips nonetheless. "Well, we're all wondering how to save Xiaodan from the crisis, and even if it's not an actual fix as well, he needed to strengthen his constitution to hold on longer. We can't make Guangru go away overnight; what we could do overnight is…"

"N-No! I'm not going to agree to this!" Chuan Nayi felt a pain radiating from her spine, but she was still slamming her fist at her wheelchair's armrest.

"Oh, what are you so mad about?" Ren Shanyue raised her brows. "You don't have to participate—"

"That's my problem!" Chuan Nayi slammed one last time before succ.u.mbing to the pain of her back and abdomen. Even if she was curling down, her eyes continued to burn.

Ye Ling then eyed Ren Shanyue and gauged the woman's intention. She couldn't read her thoughts, but there was something in her eyes that Ye Ling seemed to be quite familiar with. She then looked at Chuan Nayi who was visibly furious. Guangru's mommy wasn't embarrassed; she was seething in anger.

Then, it hit Ye Ling. She then got to her feet and vanished, reappearing next to Li Feng. "Big Brother, when are you going to see Xiaodan again?"

"Why are you calling me Big Brother all of a sudden?" Li Feng darted a glare at the ghost, feeling uncomfortable with being called brother by strangers. First, it was a horse; now, it was a strange girl.

"Doesn't matter. You said you can take two of us at most, right? Why not just take Mommy and Ruan Lang? I doubt they"—she gestured to Wen Taio and Xu Disung—"would be able to endure the asylum's kings. They might get corrupted easily. As for those girls, they can get their own ticket, right?"

"Of course, I can." Ren Shanyue frowned at the ghost before glancing at Chuan Nayi again. "Our first plan already failed. Now that we have something else to work on, let's just go with that."

"Fine." Chuan Nayi huffed. She then relaxed. 'Xiaodan… wouldn't sleep with random women just for this, right?'