After Marrying the Evil God - Chapter 29

After Xie Chouzhuang stepped into the room, a sense of unease immediately washed over him. He looked around and found that in such a large space, there were only about a dozen people. The atmosphere was completely different from the social mixer he had imagined; instead, it felt more like a private, intimate gathering.

At that moment, someone lightly tapped his shoulder and said, “Junior, come, let me introduce you. This is the famous Senior Xia Minglang.”

Xie Chouzhuang quickly turned around toward the direction indicated. He saw a tall, handsome man smiling at him—a smile that radiated confidence and a certain approachability.

Since he began studying the occult, Xie Chouzhuang had developed a sense for spiritual energy. Although Xia Minglang appeared sunny and cheerful, he felt an underlying, gloomy aura emanating from the man from the inside out.

Seeing Xie Chouzhuang staring at Xia Minglang, someone nearby teased, “Brother Lang’s charm is as strong as ever.”

Xia Minglang gave a confident smile, clearly satisfied with Xie Chouzhuang’s reaction.

Coming back to his senses, Xie Chouzhuang greeted him, “Hello, Senior!”

Xia Minglang responded warmly, “Hello, Junior.”

As he spoke, he scrutinized Xie Chouzhuang with a gaze that held an undisguised sense of wonder. The bluntness of his stare made Xie Chouzhuang feel uncomfortable. After a moment of hesitation, he couldn’t help but ask, “Is this the social mixer?”

“Yes, Junior, this is it.”

“Why are there so few people?”

Xia Minglang stepped forward flirtatiously. “Because the objects of this mixer are just you and me.”

Xie Chouzhuang took a deep breath at the sheer “greasiness” of the comment but maintained his basic manners. “Stop joking, Senior. If there’s nothing else, I’m going back to study.”

“Junior, don’t go yet.” Xia Minglang reached out to grab Xie Chouzhuang, but was avoided. He didn’t seem to mind, merely giving a crooked smile, assuming Xie Chouzhuang was just being shy.

Taking the rose handed over by Tian Xinyu, Xia Minglang walked over with an expression of deep affection. “Xie Chouzhuang, I like you. Let’s date.”

“Ooh”

“Together! Together! Together!”

Xia Minglang laughed breezily, smoothing back a lock of non-existent hair, and tried to shove the rose into Xie Chouzhuang’s hand.

Xie Chouzhuang’s expression went completely cold. He pulled out the jade ring he wore around his neck. “I’m sorry, but I’m already married.”

He had worn it on his finger for a few days, but later found it inconvenient. After discussing it with Ji Sixian, he wore it on a chain around his neck; other than Shi Zhi, not many people had seen it.

As soon as he said this, the entire room fell into an awkward silence.

Xia Minglang froze, laughing awkwardly. “Junior, you really love to joke. It’s okay if you don’t agree yet; I can pursue…”

“I’m not joking. I am married, and I’ve already met the parents. Senior Tian invited me saying she needed to make up the numbers, and I only came because I didn’t want to make it awkward for her. I didn’t realize it was this kind of situation. I won’t be staying for the party; my spouse wouldn’t be happy. Goodbye.”

Xie Chouzhuang pushed the door open to leave. Xia Minglang watched him go with a grim expression, and a tiny flying insect landed on his body.

“Brother Lang, I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize Junior Xie was married.” Tian Xinyu felt awkward as well. This wasn’t the first time she had done this, and she usually succeeded; she hadn’t expected to run into someone already wed.

Xia Minglang smiled. “It’s fine. It’s not your fault.”

With that, he pushed the door open and followed Xie Chouzhuang.

Just as Xie Chouzhuang stepped out of the activity center, he felt a wave of dizziness.

“Junior, are you okay? Let me take you back to the dorm to rest?” Xia Minglang stepped up quickly to support him, but Xie Chouzhuang shied away.

Xie Chouzhuang gazed at Xia Minglang, an indescribable sense of wrongness surging in his heart. Every time he looked at this person, the world seemed to spin, and his head throbbed heavily. Instinct told him this man must have done something in the shadows.

“Junior, what happened just now was indeed my fault. I hope you can be magnanimous.” While speaking, Xia Minglang reached out to support him again.

However, in the next second, a massive force suddenly struck him, sending him staggering back several steps. He nearly fell flat on his backside.

The friends following behind hurriedly caught him. “Brother Lang, are you okay? Are you hurt?” one asked with concern.

But Xia Minglang had no time to respond, because all his attention was drawn to the stranger who had suddenly appeared beside Xie Chouzhuang, holding his shoulder firmly.

The man stood as tall and steady as a pine tree in a black suit, his dark eyes deep and imposing, commanding instant awe.

“Who exactly are you?” Xia Minglang stared at Ji Sixian with total wariness.

Ji Sixian reached out and tapped Xie Chouzhuang’s forehead. A tiny, grain-sized black insect crawled out from inside Xie Chouzhuang’s collar.

Ji Sixian’s hand was lightning fast, his fingers accurately pinching the small bug.

Seeing this, Xia Minglang’s face turned paper-white, and he screamed in terror, “Stop… don’t hurt it!”

But it was too late. With a light rub of his fingers, the insect instantly turned into a cloud of fine powder.

Simultaneously, Xia Minglang looked as if he had been struck by a heavy blow. He felt a sharp, stabbing pain in his chest, as if thousands of steel needles were piercing his heart at once. Immediately after, he spat out a large mouthful of blood, his body slumped forward, and his eyes closed as he fell completely unconscious.

“Brother Lang!” The surrounding friends panicked, some scrambling to pull out phones to call emergency services.

“What’s happening? Does Brother Lang have some kind of illness?”

“I’ve never heard of one before!”

“Did you call 120?”

“Yes, yes!”

“What did you do?” Tian Xinyu rushed over furiously.

But she felt a momentary trance, and when she looked again, the two men were nowhere to be seen.

“GHOST!”

Xia Minglang had used a Peach Blossom Gu; whoever was cursed would fall irreducibly in love with him. However, since Xie Chouzhuang had already formed a bond with Ji Sixian, the Gu was naturally unable to take effect, which was why Xie Chouzhuang only felt dizzy.

When Ji Sixian destroyed the Gu technique, Xia Minglang naturally suffered the backlash—a case of bringing it upon himself.

The Occultist Association received the news quickly and went directly to the hospital to take Xia Minglang away. As for why Xia Minglang hadn’t targeted Liu Ci, the reason was almost laughable. It was because Liu Ci looked so sickly, as if he might pass away at any moment; although Xia Minglang loved to play around, he didn’t dare risk a human life.

Ironically, this allowed him to dodge a bullet for a time. Had he targeted Liu Ci, he would have been caught by the Occultist Association much sooner.

To avoid a panic, the Occultist Association coordinated with the university high-level officials to give the public reason that Xia Minglang had simply gone abroad to study.