Chapter 205: Poor Lu Liangting
Lu Liangting was really at the end of his rope, you could tell just by looking at his face.
His bloodshot eyes and dull complexion were only a bit better than before but were nowhere close to his usual self.
With his hands buried in his messy hair, Lu Liangting lowered his head. “Yesterday, I was trying to rescue Rose from the White Day Amusement Park. Rose is like my own sister; she’s family.”
“But I failed. I couldn’t save Rose, and Zhizi is still stuck in there.”
“If it weren’t for Zhizi saving me, I probably wouldn’t have made it out either.”
“At least they’re not in any immediate danger for now.”
“Then, as soon as I got home, I received some bad news. My father got kidnapped by some people, and they wanted something from him, but he refused to give it.”
“My family is somewhat well-off in Tianchang City, mainly because of my father.”
“Almost no one dares to mess with him in Tianchang City. After a whole day of digging through information, I found out that his disappearance might be tied to an organization.”
“That organization is called the Gatekeepers.”
“They’re from another province, have a large number of members, and are very powerful. I tried going in last night to negotiate with them all by myself.”
“And there were at least seven of them that I saw.”
“Who knows how many more were lurking in the shadows? It’s safe to say they have at least five Red Clothes members among them.”
“They gave me three days. If I can’t deliver whatever they want in that time, they will k*ll my father.”
After saying all that, Lu Liangting’s expression lightened a bit. Just getting it off his chest, it seemed, was a relief; he’d really needed to vent.
The pressure was mounting—Rose’s issue, the White Day Amusement Park, and now his father’s kidnapping. Just listing any one of these would be enough to make him feel suffocated. How could he possibly handle them all at once?
For now, Rose could wait; he had time to figure that out.
But his father? No way he could wait on that.
Three days, and relying on only himself? Absolutely impossible.
Counting on the family’s influence wouldn’t work; this was a completely different level.
“Gatekeepers!?” Zhao Mingyue’s eyes widened, sensing coincidence in the air.
Last night, a whole batch of Gatekeepers suddenly popped up, and now Lu Liangting arrives to tell her his dad’s been taken by them.
So these guys weren’t even after the Evil Spirits, they were after Lu Liangting’s dad! The Evil Spirits were just collateral damage.
“It’s them, I heard it from Old Yang,” Lu Liangting said, his eyes cast down. “Old Yang is one of my Red Clothes; we’re really close. He usually dwells in my shadow.”
“Our relationship is kind of like yours with Bai Yu—maybe just a tiny bit weaker.”
“Before I left yesterday, Old Yang offered to stick around and gather intel for me.”
“He told me he’s dealt with this group before and that he knew them well, so it’d be fine.”
“And then he got captured.”
He covered his face with both hands; you could hear how tortured and conflicted he was.
But for some reason, Zhao Mingyue found it oddly comical.
Yet compared to that, she really wanted to poke fun at this ‘Old Yang’ and Lu Liangting’s relationship.
If she remembered correctly, wasn’t Old Yang a male ghost?
Good grief, here’s a man and a male ghost claiming they have a bond similar to hers with Bai Yu. Why did that sound so weird?
But, thinking it over, it was actually quite similar.
Wasn’t she just a girl with a female ghost as well?
“Now, both Old Yang and my father are in their hands. They probably won’t k*ll my father just yet, but Old Yang is another story; he’s just a Red Clothes, killing him won’t impact anything.”
Hearing this, Zhao Mingyue felt a soft pang in her heart.
This was too tragic.
In just a week, it was like a harem of maids had been captured. No one saved Rose, now her father had been taken, and before she even got a chance to rescue anyone, her partner—wait, her wife—got snatched too!
No wonder Lu Liangting came to Bai Yu; he was truly at his wit’s end.
It couldn’t get any worse. If he had been just a moment late, he probably would have lost his wife to a sacrifice, or worse, she’d get turned into someone else’s wife.
“Lu Liangting, I know you’re anxious, but calm down first.” Zhao Mingyue gently soothed him. “I just spoke with Bai Yu, and she’s willing to help; you’re her old friend after all.”
“Though Bai Yu might not be able to lend her power directly, I’ll also go with you.”
“If it comes down to it, when we’re close to the task location, she can possess you to help save your—uh, your father.”
She almost let it slip; Zhao Mingyue quickly corrected herself.
As she said that, a visible brightness returned to Lu Liangting’s eyes, a spark of hope in the dark.
For Lu Liangting, just the thought of Bai Yu accepting his plea felt like finding light in the darkness.
He couldn’t think of anyone more reliable or powerful than Bai Yu.
If she didn’t help, he truly had no other options.
“Thank you, thank you!” Lu Liangting was truly moved. “Please thank Bai Yu for me.”
“No need for that; she’s right here, and can hear everything we’re saying.” Zhao Mingyue said softly, then asked, “What do those Gatekeepers want with your father that they’re risking so much?”
“I don’t know; it must have something to do with my sister.”
“Your sister?”
“Yeah, she’s already dead. What those Gatekeepers want is either her belongings or her corpse…”
They kidnapped his father and now wanted his deceased sister’s remains? Every time he thought about it, he couldn’t help but feel a burning rage. Even with his kind nature, he often fantasized about skinning those guys alive.
“Don’t worry, Lu Liangting. You’ve helped me out plenty of times; I’ll definitely help you this time. Just give me an address and a list.”
“Alright!” Lu Liangting agreed instantly, taking the paper and pen Zhao Mingyue offered and jotted down an address and time.
“Tonight at 8:30, I’ll come to get you and Bai Yu.”
Leaping to his feet, fists clenched tightly, Lu Liangting declared, “I’ve arranged to meet those jerks tonight right at that spot!”
“That’s good. As long as they don’t make their move during the day, everything should be fine.”
Each step back was merely a tactical delay; Lu Liangting had wanted to call on Bai Yu for help the moment someone was pointing a g*n at his head. He had to get her involved, no matter what!
Before he could even leave, his phone began vibrating, ringing with a piano melody that his sister used to play.
Pulling out his phone and seeing the caller ID, his expression darkened. He glanced at Zhao Mingyue, signaling her, then answered the call, activating the speakerphone.
A young man’s voice came through, sounding way too relaxed. “Hey, Little Lu, we’ve got two of your people now—one person and one ghost, to be exact.”
“We’re not trying to make it hard for you. Here’s the deal: you trade us your two items for a fair exchange, what do you say?”
“Actually, I wanted to talk to you last night, but we were just workers and didn’t know what the boss wanted. We just got a message that our boss, considering your family situation, won’t even ask for anything too valuable.”
“He doesn’t want your family property or assets; that wouldn’t mean a thing to the Lu family.”
“Now you tell me what you want.” Lu Liangting almost spat those words out through gritted teeth.
“What we want is your sister, Lu Nianqiu…” There was a pause on the other end, “her ashes, hahahahaha.”
The man thought he was being funny, his tone dripping with mockery, “Just kidding! I know your sister’s dead, and it was a terrible d*ath. So we just want her ashes.”
“Isn’t that funny? A noble young lady, but she ended up dead just like the common folk.”
“By the way, if your sister wasn’t cremated, we could take her corpse too.”
Lu Liangting’s whole body trembled with rage, the phone creaking under his grip.
Zhao Mingyue had never seen such a deep murderous intent in Lu Liangting’s eyes before. He hadn’t even been this angry back at Tianyang psychiatric hospital; that time was more despairing.
“Here’s what we’ll do. I’ll give you some time. Meet me at the usual place tonight. Bring your sister to trade for your father. As for the ghost, we might change our minds. If you’re late, well, he won’t be your ghost anymore; we might just chop him up and have a feast.”
“Or how about this? You come tonight and kneel in front of me. You didn’t kneel last night; tonight, it won’t be so easy to talk.”
“Just kidding! Alright, Little Lu, I’m hanging up.”
The man hung up, leaving behind a short conversation that told Zhao Mingyue all she needed to know about him.
Arrogant and cocky, his innate insecurity made him look down on Lu Liangting.
Yes, insecurity. Zhao Mingyue was sure of that.
Most of what he said dripped with sarcasm, often aimed at belittling Lu Liangting’s status.
Perhaps for him, stepping on a rich kid like Lu Liangting was the most exhilarating thing ever.
But they should really check just what kind of “rich kid” Lu Liangting really was.
“I’m leaving.” Lu Liangting lowered his head and walked away.
He looked incredibly defeated, lacking the bravado and bright demeanor he once had. It was as if he aged ten years in an instant; it was hard to believe this was the same Lu Liangting.
He never had much youthful arrogance to begin with, and hearing that man on the line made it clear he had even wanted Lu Liangting to kneel down.
Zhao Mingyue was already quite unhappy with the Gatekeepers and didn’t think they were any sort of righteous organization; they were nothing more than another level of the Ghost Domain, just slightly better at following the rules.
“Lu Liangting.”
Hearing a voice from behind, Lu Liangting paused, turning back to glance at Bai Yu.
Bai Yu stood beside Zhao Mingyue with her arms crossed.
“Tonight, I’ll help you.”
Lu Liangting’s eyes flickered as he bowed respectfully toward Bai Yu at the door, mouthing a silent thank you before turning to leave.
Tonight, he was going to make those guys regret their actions!
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