Chapter 281: The Soul Potion
Lu Liangting had no idea that his sister was currently residing in Feng Xi’s body. He hadn’t been informed earlier, and by the time it came up, everyone had forgotten to mention it. Primarily, there was no point in telling him, considering that Nianqiu was deep in slumber and wouldn’t wake up. What if that scared poor Feng Xi?
Now, however, things were different; Nianqiu was awake, and whatever needed to be said could be communicated face-to-face.
As for how to explain Nianqiu’s situation to Lu Liangting, Zhao Mingyue was not going to tiptoe around the subject.
So, when she blurted it out, Lu Liangting was momentarily stunned.
“Mingyue, what did you just say?”
“I said, your sister is with me. This might come as a shock, but that’s the reality. You’d better hurry to the hospital; once you’re here, you’ll understand what’s going on,” Zhao Mingyue said, casting a glance at the obviously nervous Lu Nianqiu. Her eyes signaled her not to worry; she’d handle it.
“Just make sure you come alone and don’t attract any unwanted attention,” Zhao Mingyue added.
This comment was more of a friendly reminder about potential threats from the ghost domain looking for Nianqiu. She was worried they might follow him and discover Nianqiu’s hiding spot.
However, to Lu Liangting, this all sounded rather suspicious.
If this weren’t Zhao Mingyue but some random female madman, he’d definitely be contemplating calling the police.
But wait, his sister was dead, so why would anyone think of kidnapping her?
After two seconds of silence, Lu Liangting replied, “Alright, I’m on my way—give me fifteen minutes.”
“Sure.”
Once the call ended, Zhao Mingyue noticed the conflicted expression on Lu Nianqiu’s face. She gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “Don’t be scared or too tense. Honestly, you should be more worried about your brother right now.”
“Your brother still doesn’t know you’re in Feng Xi’s body. It’s just that there’s been so much going on lately that it slipped everyone’s mind.” Zhao Mingyue felt a bit embarrassed; she should’ve told Lu Liangting about this earlier—after all, he was her sister’s brother.
“Think of it as a surprise. A very big surprise.”
Who knew if Lu Liangting would faint from shock? His sister suddenly showing up in this crazy way—with no time to prepare—meeting him from the moment he learned this news to face-to-face could hardly take more than twenty minutes.
Zhao Mingyue mused. If it were her scenario, she’d be a bundle of emotions if she found out her sister’s soul was trapped somewhere and then saw her right there within twenty minutes.
Nianqiu was still a bit anxious, clutching the hem of her clothes. “I just don’t know how to say what I need to.”
“It’s fine! Just say it like it is. You’ll know what to do once he arrives. What you lack is some courage. Think about it: what’s the big deal being a ghost? As long as you keep your head clear, what’s the difference between a ghost and a human?” Zhao Mingyue comforted her.
“You’ve already awakened; you should’ve reached out to him right away. Sure, he had some affairs to manage outside, but now he’s free. Strike while the iron is hot—why wait for tomorrow?”
“He’s dying to see you; you don’t need me to tell you that.”
After hearing this, Lu Nianqiu nodded slightly. “Yeah, thanks, sister. I really do lack a bit of courage when it comes to this.”
For three long days, she imagined countless ways of meeting Lu Liangting. When the moment came, though, her mind turned into a tangled mess without knowing what to say.
A couple of days ago, she had even mustered up the nerve to reach out to Lu Liangting, but the nurse told her he wasn’t around and couldn’t be contacted. That’s why she figured it would be best to wait until her discharge the next day to tell him.
After about ten minutes, hurried footsteps echoed outside the ward. Lu Liangting opened the door, and the moment he stepped in, he saw Zhao Mingyue and Feng Xi standing on the balcony. His brows knitted in confusion; he scanned the room and confirmed that there wasn’t even a ghost in sight.
Seeing Lu Liangting standing at the door, Nianqiu froze, eyes devoid of much emotion. Maybe it was all too sudden; the call had scrambled all her plans, leaving her without a basic psychological preparation. As Lu Liangting approached, she quickly looked away, pretending to admire the scenery.
Zhao Mingyue noticed her little evasive gestures—the darting eyes, the biting of her lip, and the hands nervously tucking hair behind her ears.
Calling Lu Liangting here so suddenly wasn’t because she hadn’t considered Nianqiu’s feelings; on the contrary, she believed this was the most straightforward way to dissolve the siblings’ emotional knots.
Nianqiu was a ghost, having been dead for many years, long accustomed to her identity as an evil ghost.
Years had changed everything around her; thus, she had no idea how to face Lu Liangting or address her own situation.
Decisions like these should be made through gritted teeth; sadly, it’s also the hardest part.
The courage she eventually gathered could easily fizzle out from any sudden thought.
The more she envisioned their reunion, the less assured she felt, thinking maybe it was still too early for such a meeting.
After all, who can truly predict the future? Lu Liangting could say anything—there could be a hundred or a thousand scenarios. Could she really come up with a response for every possible situation?
“Mingyue, didn’t you say something about, uh, my sister?” Lu Liangting walked over, scratching his head, looking rather dim-witted.
“Here’s the deal: your sister’s a ghost. You know that, right? So technically, she’s always been by your side. However, she’s had a bit of a mishap lately,” Zhao Mingyue softly explained. “She was injured—seriously hurt. So she’s been hiding in someone’s body to recover, sleeping until three days ago.”
“The body she’s been in is named Feng Xi.”
She shot Lu Liangting a glance, eyeing the girl nearby who was pretending to admire something while occasionally sneaking glances back at them.
Lu Liangting looked between Zhao Mingyue and Lu Nianqiu, still trying to wrap his head around it. Once he verified that Zhao Mingyue wasn’t joking, his breath became heavy, like a stone had dropped in his chest. He wanted to say something, but his brain felt rusty and couldn’t get into gear. He just didn’t know what to say right now.
His fingers trembled lightly, mouth opening and closing, “Nianqiu?”
“Brother, it’s me.”
Finally turning to face him, Lu Nianqiu lowered her head. “Just like Sister Mingyue said, I’m in Feng Xi’s body. It’s special enough to accommodate me while I recover. I woke up three days ago and talked with Feng Xi for quite a while to catch up on the recent events. I was planning to tell you about it tomorrow when I discharged.”
“And I owe it all to Sister Mingyue for helping me realize something.”
At this point, Nianqiu paused, took a deep breath, and looked up. “Long time no see, brother!”
“Uh, yeah, long time no see.” Lu Liangting replied, feeling a bit stilted, even stammering.
His awkwardness eased the tension in the air considerably. Even Lu Nianqiu couldn’t hold back a giggle, “It’s been years; you’re still stuttering like before.”
This was a whole new Lu Liangting. The old version could easily be described as a spoiled rich kid or a delinquent.
“I just remembered I have something to deal with—excuse me for a moment,” Zhao Mingyue said, pointing to the door and looking for any excuse to leave.
After all, those two siblings hadn’t seen each other in ages; she didn’t want to interrupt.
She could use this opportunity to check if there really were people from the ghost domain lurking around here.
According to Nianqiu, they had already shown up last night and were using ghosts to find people. It was said they would remove the souls of the deceased from the hospital—wonder what they’d do with them.
“Bai Yu, what do you make of the ghost domain’s situation Nianqiu just mentioned?”
Walking through the busy hospital, Zhao Mingyue put on her mask and hoodie, using her spiritual communication abilities to chat with Bai Yu.
“It’s normal for them to look for Nianqiu, but why are they also capturing ghosts?”
“I remember you mentioned that ghosts played a significant role, especially in creating a special potion that could restore souls. Is there anything else?”
“Not sure about anything else for now, but fixing and strengthening souls is quite valuable.” Bai Yu pondered. She had been thinking about this too. If the ghost domain was under the control of a nightmare, why would they be capturing ghosts? Strengthening souls shouldn’t be beneficial for her.
Then again, maybe nightmares really needed that.
If she wanted to find out why they were doing this, she’d just have to interrogate someone from the ghost domain.
The interrogation could be left to Chen Yunshi and Qian Mu; those two were pros at this sort of thing.
“Where should we start?” Zhao Mingyue stood in the lobby feeling a bit lost.
Just as she finished speaking, Bai Yu’s voice echoed in her mind.
“Head to the left corridor.”
“Do you sense something?”
“There’s the smell of ghosts; it’s over there. They were there when we arrived; let’s check it out.”
Following Bai Yu’s instructions, Zhao Mingyue made her way to the front corridor, finding it connected to another building—the inpatient department. She didn’t even need Bai Yu to speak; she could already see the issues unfolding here.
Note: Today’s mood is low; writer’s block was intense. Tomorrow, I’ll work to outline things and see if I can bump up to five updates since it’s Friday. If not, I’ll aim for Saturday. Expect at least three updates.
