Chapter Two: Astonishing! She Brought a Vengeful Spirit Home

Tang Elegy would never forget that scene for the rest of her life.

Never, not in all her years, would she forget the image of that heroic youth appearing at the mouth of the alley, shrouded in gloomy clouds and swirling sand, naked save for a single sheet of thin paper covering his vital parts.

Song Jing probably assumed the boy was some lunatic who’d escaped from an asylum, so without hesitation, he abandoned Tang Elegy and bolted.

In the alley, the wind and sand gradually settled.

Tang Elegy stared at the boy, watching him walk toward her step by step.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to run—her legs simply wouldn’t obey, so weak she could barely stand.

He stopped before her, reaching out to place his hand on her forehead.

She dared only to tilt her chin upward and gaze into his strikingly deep black eyes.

“Good, no fever anymore.” He cocked his head, revealing two small tiger teeth as he smiled at her. “I’m hungry. Will you take me home?”

Hearing his inexplicable words, Tang Elegy’s mouth twitched.

Madness… he’s out of his mind…!

Mother, I’ve met a lunatic! He wants me to take him home, it’s terrifying!

She didn’t expect it, but even more terrifying things were to come.

As the dark clouds dispersed, beams of sunlight pierced through the thin layer overhead, illuminating the alley.

With every ray that touched the boy, his skin became transparent, until he seemed to melt away entirely before her eyes, finally transforming into a palm-sized spirit coin hovering in midair.

In her ears, his unfinished words echoed again and again…

“I like meat. Wait for me to come home tonight and eat meat with you…”

“Ah—!!!!”

Tang Elegy was utterly traumatized. She staggered, her legs trembling, and fled the alley as fast as she could!

Behind her, the spirit coin hung in midair, seemingly topped with three bold question marks. It scratched its ‘head’ with a stubby paw, twisting its body in an adorably puzzled way. “Eh, where’d she go?”

…

All day long, Tang Elegy sat in her classroom, unable to focus on a single lesson.

Her mind kept replaying the bizarre events of the morning.

The pale, naked boy staring at her with bloodshot eyes, saying: I love meat, tonight I’ll come eat your meat, hehehe…

“Impossible… It must be an illusion. How could a person suddenly turn into a sheet of paper!?”

Her hand shook as she gripped her pencil, tightening reflexively.

“Um, Elegy, are you alright? School’s over, aren’t you going home?” Her desk mate, Ling Fei, had packed her bag and asked quietly, a little worried.

“Ling Fei…”

Tang Elegy raised her head helplessly, clutching Ling Fei’s bag strap. “Can you come to my house to do homework today?”

It was still the holiday period, so school ended at four-thirty with no evening self-study, and since it was late summer, the sky outside was still pale.

Tang Elegy brought Ling Fei home.

---

After some laughter and chatter, the two settled down to do homework. It was after eight when Ling Fei finally shouldered her bag and left.

“Don’t worry, my dad’s waiting downstairs to pick me up. But you—make sure to lock your door since you live alone!”

“Alright…”

Watching Ling Fei disappear around the stairwell, Tang Elegy closed and locked the door.

She turned, intending to return to her desk, but what she saw made her legs buckle, her back pressed flat against the door.

Beside the desk, on the small bed, the boy with gently curling long hair half-lay there, wrapped in her blanket!

Her! Blanket!

He even lifted his hand and waved at her, flashing those tiger teeth in a gentle smile. “Is my meat ready?”

Meat, my foot…

Tang Elegy didn’t hesitate—she spun and tried to open the door to flee!

But just as her hand touched the knob, a cool, solid body pressed against her from behind. At the same time, the boy’s distinct fingers wrapped around her hand…

His chin rested on her shoulder, breath warm against her ear.

“You’ve abandoned me twice now. If you leave me again, I’ll really get mad…”

Tang Elegy’s legs nearly gave out beneath her.

In that thirty-square-meter apartment, the dim light flickered, barely holding on.

Tang Elegy, struggling to compose herself, sat stiffly at the dining table, hands clenched and eyes fixed on the boy across from her, who was eating heartily.

“You don’t even have a piece of meat in your house?” he asked, pinching a spicy snack and pointing to the words ‘vegetarian beef’ on the package. “This stuff isn’t enough for me at all!”

Hearing this, Tang Elegy nervously clenched her hands. “So what should I do…”

“Maybe…” He suddenly looked up, his eyes shining as he gazed at her.

She froze, feeling a rush of wind, and the next moment his face was right before hers. His words nearly made her faint on the spot.

“Maybe I’ll just eat you. You’ve got a few pounds of meat, evenly marbled, you should taste pretty good.”

Eat… eat her…?

Tang Elegy imagined herself being devoured, horror overtaking her.

She startled and leapt back, instinctively dodging! The fierce movement made her stumble, and she fell straight toward the half-open window behind her.

This time, she was doomed for sure!

Well, either way, it’s death—better to fall and leave an intact body than be eaten down to the bone…

Half of her body hung out the window, staring at the meters-high drop below. Tang Elegy truly believed her end had come.

She squeezed her eyes shut, but instead of falling, she unexpectedly landed in a broad, solid embrace…

---

Cold sweat soaked her back. Her eyelashes trembled as she opened her eyes, greeted by the boy’s smiling face.

She looked away, glancing past his shoulder to see a full moon, its cool light sending chills through her bones.

Then she looked down… and saw his legs suspended in midair.

Suspended… in midair…???

Tang Elegy’s eyes rolled back, and she fainted.

Zhao He held her, hovering in the air.

His mischievous smile faded, replaced by a touch of melancholy. His slender fingers gently brushed her soft hair.

“I can’t bear… to let you die, Tang Elegy.”

His whispered words, clearer and colder than moonlight, echoed in the night, lingering as if unwilling to dissipate.

---

In the middle of the night

Tang Elegy’s eyelashes fluttered. Her eyes hazy, she slowly woke.

As her consciousness returned, she felt an undeniable weight around her waist…

Swallowing hard, she stiffly turned her head.

As expected, she saw a handsome face half-buried behind her.

He seemed to sleep soundly, yet the arm around her waist was locked tight, impossible to break free.

She broke out in a cold sweat, nearly collapsing in defeat.

A cool breath brushed her ear, followed by the boy’s low, slightly hoarse voice. “Moving around in my arms in the dead of night is a very dangerous thing.”

Tang Elegy was on the verge of tears.

This couldn’t go on.

She decided to talk to him.

“You… you’re a ghost, aren’t you? Why are you haunting me? Whatever you want, just say the word, I’ll give it to you!” she forced herself to speak bravely.

“I told you, my name is Zhao He. I’m not haunting you—you brought me home.”

His breath was icy against her ear.

On the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month, the Ghost Gate opens. He was just a wandering soul, drifting.

He couldn’t recall where he came from, nor did he know his way back.

So he attached himself to a spirit coin, letting past memories fade away.

All he remembered was his name—Zhao He.

Then, Zhao He met Tang Elegy.