Who Are You People!

"What do we do now? Do we make a move?" Lishi asked, tense. Before coming, he had never imagined the Zhenyue Ghost King's oppressive presence would be this strong. Nianshi shook his head and changed tactics. "No rush. See that boy? The ghost king keeps circling him, which means it's mainly possessing him. We can go after the boy and use my special ability to draw out some intelligence on the ghost king. If our luck is good enough, we might even dig up word of the Human Dao supreme treasure." "When do we move?" "After school." After a brief discussion, the two climbed the wall and left the school. They crouched near the school gate. In search of the Human Dao supreme treasure, they hadn't even had time for dinner. They had taken the high-speed rail from another city straight to Chang'an, then spent their time inside the school on edge, afraid the ghost king would discover them. Now, squatting by the roadside and finally safe, they were hungry. "I'll go buy something to eat," Lishi offered. He always ate the most. Nianshi waved him off. "No need to go to that trouble." Nianshi beckoned and flagged down a delivery rider at the roadside. The rider looked at him, puzzled and wary. "What do you want?" "Look into my eyes." Nianshi smiled without it reaching his eyes and used his ability. He took control of the rider. The rider lost consciousness and stood blankly where he was. Nianshi went around to the back of the electric bike and opened the delivery box. It was packed full of food, all of it ready to eat. He motioned Lishi over, generous as could be. "Pick whatever you want. My treat." Lishi didn't stand on ceremony. He chose a bag of grilled skewers. The sticks had punched through the plastic, and beads of oil dripped from the holes. It looked appetizing. "All right. Go on and deliver the rest of your orders." Nianshi ordered the rider away. "Won't this get him a bad review?" "What's that got to do with us?" "True." Lishi started eating with a clear conscience. The two ate skewers with both hands, grease all over their mouths. "Stop eating. School's out." Nianshi patted Lishi, who was still sucking on a skewer. Lishi still hadn't had his fill. Nianshi smeared plant-ash water over his eyes and fixed them on Zhou You, making sure that terrifying ghost king was not following him. "It seems that, to guard the Human Dao supreme treasure, the ghost king can't leave the school." There were too many students at dismissal. Making a move here would be too conspicuous. Nianshi and Lishi tailed Zhou You the whole way, and only decided to act after Zhou You parted from Chu Xiaoyao and was walking alone along the sidewalk. Zhou You hummed a little tune, in a fine mood. Wei Hang had framed him today and his reputation had suffered, but on the whole he had studied when it was time to study and cultivated when it was time to cultivate. It had been a wonderful day. Two figures blocked his path, their faces unfriendly. "Kid, stop." Tall, thin Nianshi had a cold sneer at the corner of his mouth and a sharp look in his eyes. Lishi, behind him, was heavily built, like a wall. Zhou You stopped short. His smile vanished, and he watched the two warily. "Who are you people!" "That's not something you need to know." Lishi's voice was low and muffled, heavy with pressure. Zhou You's mind raced. These two were clearly no good. Why had they come looking for him? Robbery? Out of nowhere, who would rob a broke student? Kidnapping? Looking like this, did his family seem rich? After advancing to the Qi Refining stage, Zhou You's mind worked far faster than before. One possibility after another was ruled out. Was it something he had done recently that brought these two to him? Too much had happened lately. Which thing? Cultivating with Chu Xiaoyao? Inviting Nuomi into the classroom? Exorcising ghosts with Su Tingxue? Suddenly insight flashed, and Zhou You worked out where the two had come from. It had to be that the rumors about him and Su Tingxue had spread. He had heard that quite a few rich heirs liked Su Tingxue. A rich heir must have sent people to teach him a lesson! "So that's it." The more he thought about it, the more certain he was that he could not go with these two. Seeing Zhou You calm down and look as if he knew something only flustered Nianshi and Lishi. Did the kid know who they were? Or did he know where the Human Dao supreme treasure was? "Look into my eyes!" Nianshi stopped thinking it over and activated his special ability to control Zhou You. Anyone possessed by a vengeful ghost was tormented by it day and night, mind hazy, easier to control than an ordinary person! "And then?" Zhou You looked at Nianshi in confusion, not knowing what he wanted, and feeling that something was wrong with his mind. Could the rich heir have found two mental patients to deal with him, so that even if something happened to him, the other side would not be held responsible? How calculating! Nianshi had not expected Zhou You to be completely unaffected. How was that possible? This move ought to work without fail on ordinary people. Was it the effect of being possessed by the ghost king? "You hit him. Beat him until he isn't clear-headed." Nianshi spoke to Lishi, who was itching to try. Since Zhou You's mind was clear, they would beat him until it wasn't. Then he would be easy to control. Lishi lunged. The sight made Zhou You's eyelid twitch. Lishi's frame was huge. Zhou You had thought his movements would be clumsy, and had not expected him to be so fast. But Zhou You had advanced to the Qi Refining stage, worlds apart from the half-step Qi Refining stage. He was not so easy to handle. He showed not the slightest panic. Facing Lishi's fist, he swung his own and threw a punch as well. Thud. With a muffled impact, Zhou You and Lishi both fell back. Lishi's expression did not change, but Zhou You bared his teeth in pain. After advancing to the Qi Refining stage, Zhou You's strength had changed completely. He had been fully confident in his power, and had not expected the other man's force to be even greater than his own. Seeing this, Lishi spread his arms like a bear, strode in, and lunged again and again to grapple Zhou You. Zhou You was agile. He dodged one after another and kept retreating. "Kid, if you've got the guts, quit dodging." Lishi grinned and laughed, his words full of provocation. Zhou You wasn't falling for that. If he couldn't match the man's strength, why wouldn't he dodge? Suddenly, as he backed up, Zhou You bumped into a streetlight. Lishi swung a punch. Zhou You used the momentum to slip around the streetlight, and the punch smashed squarely into the lamppost. With a huge bang, it left a clearly visible imprint of a fist. Zhou You was astonished. Lishi's strength was even greater than he had imagined. Where had that rich heir hired an expert like this? He didn't seem like an immortal cultivator either. They had fought this long without using a single spell. Nianshi narrowed his eyes. He knew Lishi's fighting strength. Against an ordinary person it was a matter of one punch, yet Zhou You had held Lishi off this long. His movements were far too nimble. Did possession by a vengeful ghost have this kind of effect? He didn't seem like an immortal cultivator either. They had fought this long without using a single spell. Unable to take Zhou You down for so long, Lishi was starting to lose face. Besides all-around strengthening, his ability could also strengthen him in part. For example, he could give up a portion of his strength and strengthen his speed instead. Huge as he was, if he chose to sacrifice some strength for speed, he could move like a bolting hare. "So fast!" Zhou You could clearly feel Lishi's speed suddenly increase. Until then he had still been able to dodge, with room to maneuver, edging toward Nianshi as he dodged. Nianshi looked too frail to stand a gust of wind, easier to deal with than Lishi. Zhou You could seize him and make Lishi afraid to strike. But Lishi's change forced Zhou You to drop the plan. Right now he could barely keep himself safe. "Not good!" Lishi seized on a slip. A fist the size of a sandbag swelled without limit in Zhou You's eyes. Too late to dodge! Seeing that he was about to land the blow, Lishi broke into a smug smile. The next second, Lishi's vision went black, as if someone had covered his eyes. No—not as if. His eyes were covered! Nianshi, watching the fight, was struck dumb. Zhou You, who had been about to be hit, had for some reason appeared in an instant behind Lishi and covered his eyes. His figure was like a ghost's! What kind of move was this? Zhou You gasped for breath. This was a move he had suddenly been able to use in the emergency, entirely beyond his expectations. Though it was the first time he had used it, he was intimately familiar with the move. He had just run into it the day before yesterday. Ghost Blocks the Eyes. Zhou You was stunned. What was going on? Could it be that after eating the Eye-blocking Ghost, he had gained the ghost's ability? An Eye-blocking Ghost could appear behind someone without warning, but could only cover the eyes. The move had no offensive power at all. He, though, was human, and there were many things he could do. "Let go!" Lishi roared, trying to pry Zhou You's hands away. Instead, Zhou You raised a hand and slapped him across the ear. The blow left Lishi's ears buzzing, his head spinning and his vision swimming!