Chapter 74
Note: Early chapter release, thanks to Sakuradahl's support on Ko-Fi
Early the next morning after breakfast, the assistant drove the car out and parked it in front of Qin Zhongjin's courtyard.
Su Yao silently sat in the co-driver's seat, while Qin Zhongjin, cradling Mu Cai, took his usual spot in the backseat.
Mu Cai, forced to wake up early, was still drowsy.
Qin Zhongjin's method of waking him was very gentle. He would stand outside the scroll, calling his name softly every once in a while. When Mu Cai opened his eyes, Qin Zhongjin didn't rush him but patiently waited outside the scroll.
Mu Cai himself was of an easy-going temperament and never had a morning temper. He blinked sleepily for a while only to realize the other person was patiently waiting for him. It seemed like if he didn't get up, Qin Zhongjin would be willing to wait until the end of time. This made him feel a bit embarrassed, and he hastily got up from the bed.
But as Mu Cai had just woken up, his mind was not completely clear and he had entirely forgotten about his persona. Only focused on his own weakness, he staggered a bit as he walked out.
As soon as he reached the magnolia tree, he felt his hand gently held by someone. The scenery before his eyes changed, and Mu Cai stumbled out of the scroll. Barefoot, he stepped and fell into Qin Zhongjin's arms.
The latter immediately scooped him up, his warm body heat seeping through the fabric onto Mu Cai's cold skin. This made him unconsciously snuggle a bit closer against Qin Zhongjin, completely oblivious to the shudder that ran through him.
With his arm securely held, Mu Cai, who was still half-asleep, naturally snuggled into Qin Zhongjin's arms, intending to go back to sleep. Even when Qin Zhongjin carried him to the backseat of the car, there was no sign of him waking up.
Qin Zhongjin placed the man in his lap, one arm wrapped around him, while he used his other hand to remove his overcoat single-handedly and draped it over Mu Cai.
Mu Cai's head was resting against Qin Zhongjin's chest, and his bare feet were pressed against the other's legs. He was somewhat cold, so he squirmed around on Qin Zhongjin, attempting to find a position where he could curl up and warm himself.
Not until the warm overcoat was draped over him, covering his feet and enveloping the colder side of his body, did Mu Cai finally settle down. He dozed off quietly, nestled in Qin Zhongjin's arms. The latter's stern and indifferent expression finally relaxed.
What a seductive fellow! Qin Zhongjin thought as he held the man in his arms, he couldn't help but gently scrape his slightly upturned nose. Watching Mu Cai bury his face deeper as if harassed, emitting a coquettish and reluctant hum from his nostrils, the stern corners of Qin Zhongjin's mouth curled up slightly.
He was indulging in this pleasure of having a beauty in his arms, when a faint prying gaze came from the rear-view mirror.
Without checking, he knew it was Su Yao's.
A ghost like Mu Cai, who is dazzlingly beautiful, good-natured, prone to coquetry, is irresistible to almost everyone. Not to mention, Su Yao's matrimonial fate is directly linked to Mu Cai, they were destined to have a connection. Well aware of this, Qin Zhongjin also understood that merely verbal warnings were far from enough for Su Yao.
He fully understood the principle that blocking is not as effective as easing, so he didn't keep Su Yao away from Mu Cai. Instead, he chose to have Su Yao accompany them on every trip, allowing him to see how he held Mu Cai in his arms and how unconsciously he leaned on him, hoping that it would make Su Yao back off.
Of course, having Su Yao join them on their outings was not solely for this purpose. Qin Zhongjin had previously calculated Su Yao's horoscope and found that all of his calamities, even those involving life and death, were closely related to him and Mu Cai. Following the idea of breaking and rebuilding, Qin Zhongjin believed it was better for Su Yao to actively face it with them rather than hiding indoors.
As someone entrusted by a friend, he was compelled to do his best to resolve all the trials on Su Yao. As for the so-called matrimonial tribulation, Qin Zhongjin was willing to shoulder it entirely since the world of the living and the dead were different.
With this in mind, he paid no mind to that prying gaze and continued to hold Mu Cai.
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The villa Han Dan resided in was not particularly far from the Qin residence; it only took around twenty minutes to arrive by car. Leaving the overcoat on Mu Cai, Qin Zhongjin, wearing only a shirt, carried him down.
Having received the news of Qin Zhongjin's arrival the previous night, Han Dan was waiting at the main gate early. He and Qin Zhongjin had known each other for a long time, so there was no need for the overly enthusiastic reception they had in the past. Rather, Han Dan had his own little thoughts in mind.
Although he had only been in Qin Zhongjin's courtyard for a short while during their last encounter, the cold treatment of the red-clothed beauty left him utterly disheartened when he departed. However, Han Dan couldn't find it in his heart to loathe such a person, and once he was back home, he couldn't shake the memory of that single careless glance cast his way.
On this occasion, he invited Qin Zhongjin over specifically in the hopes that the red-clothed beauty would accompany him. Then, he would try even harder to advance their relationship, or at the very least, make the red-clothed beauty hate him a little less.
Now, Han Dan was able to see the red-clothed beauty as he had hoped, but the sight he was met with was that of him being held in Qin Zhongjin's arms, even draped with the coat of his closest friend. Such an intimate pose.
Feeling as though a bubble had burst, Han Dan's small hopes seemed to struggle, unwilling to dissipate. He walked up and faced Qin Zhongjin, but his eyes couldn't help darting towards the person held in his arms, "You're here. Come in."
Mu Cai had slept through the journey and, being roused by the wind when they got off the car, he was starting to wake up. He lazily glanced at Han Dan before indifferently looking away as if he didn't exist. Han Dan's heart seemed to have been through a ride, much like a roller coaster, which left him cool as if questioning his choices.
At that moment, Qin Zhongjin took initiative, "Let's go, let's see the relics from the Da Liang period that you've collected."
Han Dan muttered in consent, "Mm."
Watching this scene in silence from behind, Su Yao couldn't help but feel a certain kinship with Han Dan in their shared predicament.
Han Dan's villa was vast. Much like Qin Zhongjin, who had a dedicated room for storing various Taoist instruments, he too had a large room for displaying the collection he valued.
Three walls of the room were fitted with antique shelves, artfully filled with ceramic figurines, ornamental curiosities, and other trinkets. Under the warm lighting, these curiosities cast a soft glow which contributed to an overall elegant ambiance.
Spoiling this unified elegance, however, were the several tables placed in the center of the room. These tables were also lined with varied antiques, but their style contrasted starkly with those on the shelves.
On the largest porcelain vase, the painting was imaginative and unrestrained. On the yellow-brown body of the vase, a group of matchstick-like small black figures held a box, seemingly about to throw it into the fire.
At first glance, the scene resembled a miniaturized mural, seemingly depicting a ceremony. It appeared somewhat bizarre.
Han Dan walked up to the table and turned to Qin Zhongjin, "These are all the antiques from the Da Liang period I could find. If you want more, I'm afraid you'll have to fish me out of jail."
Qin Zhongjin didn't respond.
Mu Cai had already left Qin Zhongjin's embrace. He knew that Qin would be examining the antiques, which wouldn't be convenient while holding him. Mu Cai himself wasn't interested in nor knowledgeable about antiques. After glancing around, he decided to find a place to sit or lie down.
The room didn't have an elegant bed, but there was a small, narrow sofa. Mu Cai's figure was slim, so there was enough width, but the sofa's length was slightly short. Nonetheless, he didn't mind; he lay down on his side and propped up his head with one hand.
His black hair draped down like spilled ink. Mu Cai's skin was fairer than snow, his red clothing fiery, and his eyes shone like the twinkling stars in the sky. Despite their focus being on the antiques a moment ago, everyone's attention was now drawn to him.
Su Yao's reaction was particularly intense.
The posture that Mu Cai assumed was the same as the one in the painting he had seen before. Back then, Mu Cai's eyes were closed in the painting, and Su Yao had secretly wondered what it would look like if the eyes were open.
Now, it was clear that no matter what posture the beauty took, they would always be captivating and breathtaking, causing people to fall into their charm.
Seeing the looks on the faces of the two men, Mu Cai shot them a disdainful glance and said petulantly, "What kind of look is that? Why, can't I lie down on this sofa?"
He was so handsome that even his roll of the eyes seemed like a coquettish move, and no one could muster the energy to be annoyed with him.
Han Dan contemplated this look of Mu's for a while before hurriedly responding, "No, no! We just thought the sofa might be a bit small for you. Are you comfortable? If not, I can have someone change it for you."
His tone was incredibly solicitous, which made Mu Cai feel curious.
According to the fragments of memories from his past life, Han Dan had always been rather cold towards him. Now, however, that he was being so blunt with Han, he started trying to please him.
Contemplating this, Mu Cai concluded that Han Dan might be a bit masochistic.
Unaware of what the stunning man in red on the sofa was thinking, Han Dan would probably cry injustice if he knew. Seeing Mu Cai fall silent, Han Dan began to feel nervous, not daring to press for a response, so he kept his eyes on him.
His gaze first fixated on Mu Cai’s delicate face, then drifted down to the glimpse of his thin, fair chest peeking from the top of his shirt, further down to his slender waist.
The waistband, just wide enough for a hand, cinched at his waist, with a pendant hanging from it and resting on his red skirt. Quite conspicuous. The jade pendant had a unique shape, resembling a warped droplet. If there were to be a hole in the pendant, it would look like half of a Tai Chi diagram.
The more spectaular and familiar it appeared the more Han Dan looked at it. Finally, he clapped his hand to his head and fumbled in his inside pocket to pull out a transparent bag.
His actions attracted the attention of the crowd. As everyone collectively looked over, they saw that there was also a jade ornament in the transparent sealed bag. This jade ornament had a peculiar shape, resembling a crooked water droplet, and it was strikingly similar to the one hanging from Mu Cai's waist!
Mu Cai was stunned on the spot.
Whether it was in the script provided by the system or in the fragments of his original memories, Mu Cai had never seen any scene related to this jade ornament. He had always thought it was just a decoration. Could it be a hidden clue???
At this moment, Qin Zhongjin's eyebrows were tightly furrowed.
With his eyes closed, he reached out and snatched the sealed bag from Han Dan's hand. Amidst the other party's angry protests, Qin Zhongjin walked in front of Mu Cai.
Mu Cai stared at him with wide eyes.
The man knelt on one knee in front of Mu Cai and took the jade ornament out of the sealed bag. He then gently picked up the other jade ornament that had fallen onto the red clothes from Mu Cai's waist, and Qin Zhongjin compared the two in his hands.
Although the two jade pieces had no jagged edges and smooth surfaces, they unexpectedly fit together perfectly!
At the same time, the overhead lights flickered, and the entire room was plunged into darkness for an instant. A click came from the door, sending a chill down Han Dan's heart. He quickly rushed to pull the door, only to find that he couldn't move it at all.
Han Dan's face turned pale as he said, "The door has been locked from the outside."
To protect the antiques in his room, he had specially chosen the most robust security door with multiple layers of protection, even the walls had been thickened, and the glass was both soundproof and bulletproof.
He never expected that today it would trap him instead!
In the midst of the panic, a low and hoarse voice came from the porcelain vase behind Su Yao. It seemed like the voice hadn't spoken in a long time:
"Cai Cai, my Cai Cai..."
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Author's note: A small news report: Shocking! A hundred-year-old ghost boldly cuckolds the greatest exorcist on the spot! Is this a loss of human nature or a decline of morality!
Now let’s get to the main plot=w=
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