Chapter 36

Chapter 36

A second later, the Doppelganger wrested back control of the body and lunged at Yun Jianyue, clawing wildly in an attempt to kill her.

But even as it attacked, Zhou Benxin was fighting to reclaim his body.

The man and his Doppelganger waged a fierce battle within him. His body twisted and jerked chaotically as if he were possessed, until it became impossible to tell who was in control.

Several minutes later, Zhou Benxin collapsed onto the floor, gasping for breath.

Was the struggle finally over?

Yun Jianyue called out tentatively, “Zhou Benxin?”

Zhou Benxin slowly raised his head and gave her a weak smile. “Thanks, Senior.”

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and Fang Lin’an hurried over.

But the moment he reached Zhou Benxin, Zhou Benxin toppled backward. The back of his head struck the floor with a heavy thud.

“Zhou Benxin!” Startled, Fang Lin’an quickly reached out to support him. Just as he gathered Zhou Benxin into his arms to lift him, he sensed that something was wrong.

Fang Lin’an carefully lowered him to the floor and held trembling fingers beneath his nose.

He wasn’t breathing.

Fang Lin’an’s face went pale. He checked Zhou Benxin’s pulse, then listened for a heartbeat.

Every sign pointed to the same conclusion: Zhou Benxin had no vital signs.

“I’ll do chest compressions. Help me give him rescue breaths!”

Yun Jianyue pushed Fang Lin’an aside and laid Zhou Benxin flat on the floor. Her technique was practiced and precise as she began performing CPR.

After several minutes of compressions, Fang Lin’an cast aside his embarrassment and quickly took over to give Zhou Benxin rescue breaths.

They had no effect, so Yun Jianyue resumed CPR.

They repeated the cycle again and again. Before they knew it, an hour had passed.

Daoist Chu walked over to them and said softly, “My condolences.”

Yun Jianyue sank onto the floor and raked her hands through her hair in frustration. Eyes red, she stared at Zhou Benxin’s pale face without saying a word for a long time.

Tears fell from Fang Lin’an’s eyes and splashed against the floor. He turned his head away from Zhou Benxin’s lifeless face and murmured, “We tried so hard. Why did it still end like this?”

Daoist Chu signaled to the young Daoists, and they left, giving Yun Jianyue and Fang Lin’an some privacy.

Several minutes later, Yun Jianyue got to her feet. She patted Fang Lin’an on the shoulder and asked, “Didn’t he successfully regain control of his body? Why did he still die?”

“The Doppelganger’s resentment was too powerful, and Zhou Benxin was intersex, so his soul was already weaker than an ordinary person’s. He managed to reclaim control through sheer force of will, but he couldn’t completely devour the Doppelganger. Its resentment turned against him instead, and he ultimately died suddenly.”

Fang Lin’an wiped away his tears. He looked at Yun Jianyue and forced a smile uglier than a grimace. “This was the first time I ever left my master, senior martial brothers, and Junior Martial Uncle to help someone on my own. Did you know that?”

In the past, his master, senior martial brothers, and Junior Martial Uncle had always been with him. Whenever he encountered vengeful ghosts or supernatural creatures, they had always managed to subdue them, and the victims had always made it out safely.

Only now did he realize just how insignificant his own strength was. He couldn’t even save a single life.

Just yesterday, he and Zhou Benxin had ridden in the same car and slept in the same room.

Today, a living, breathing man was simply gone.

“Pull yourself together. I’ll ask Daoist Chu if they have a coffin.” Yun Jianyue patted Fang Lin’an on the shoulder once more, then walked away alone.

Watching her leave, Fang Lin’an murmured in confusion, “Why isn’t she crying? Isn’t she sad?”
No one knew where Lu Changxue had come from, but she was suddenly crouching beside Fang Lin’an, gazing at Zhou Benxin with unfathomable eyes.

At last, she sighed and explained, “My Darling hasn’t cried once since her mother passed away. She always says people have to keep moving forward instead of dwelling on the sorrows of the past.”

“She’s pretty hard-hearted, huh?” Fang Lin’an remarked.

“She is not! She’s the softest-hearted person in the whole world.” Lu Changxue glared at Fang Lin’an, gave an angry huff, and floated off in the direction Yun Jianyue had gone.

The Chongguang Mountain Daoist Temple kept spare coffins on hand. Yun Jianyue had no idea why a Daoist temple would have coffins lying around, but she paid Daoist Chu for one anyway and placed Zhou Benxin inside.

By the time Fang Lin’an finished making Zhou Benxin presentable, it was already half past midnight.

“Let’s get some sleep. First thing tomorrow morning, we’ll carry Zhou Benxin’s body down the mountain with the senior brothers from the temple,” Fang Lin’an said when he returned to the room.

Only Fang Lin’an and Yun Jianyue were sleeping in the side room that night. One took the corner by the eastern wall, while the other took the corner by the western wall, with six empty beds between them.

About half an hour after Lu Changxue blew out the candle, Fang Lin’an’s voice broke the silence.

“I can’t sleep. Are you asleep?”

Yun Jianyue gave a quiet murmur of acknowledgment.

Fang Lin’an did not get up. He remained sprawled on his bed, idly chatting with her. “Have you told Zhou Benxin’s sister yet?”

“Not yet. I’ll tell her after we get down the mountain tomorrow,” Yun Jianyue replied.

“Fair enough. Something like that is hard to say. If you can put it off until tomorrow, you might as well.” Fang Lin’an sighed. “You know, I really miss my Junior Martial Uncle right now.”

“Oh,” Yun Jianyue said. “So you’re into incest? He looks like a total top, though.”

Fang Lin’an spluttered. “A cute but assertive top? Bah, what the hell are you talking about? I’m completely straight, okay?”

“Really? I don’t believe you.”

Fang Lin’an was speechless. Even though Yun Jianyue was all the way across the room, he still rolled over emphatically to turn his back on her. “I can’t be bothered with you. Let’s just sleep.”

Silence descended once more, though both of them knew the other was still awake.

Only much later did their breathing finally become slow and even, signaling that everyone in the room had fallen asleep.

An unknown amount of time passed before footsteps sounded in the courtyard.

They slowly approached the door, and a hulking shadow like a small mountain fell across the wooden panels.

The person outside pushed on the door. Finding it bolted from within, they raised a hand and knocked.

“Knock. Knock. Knock.”

Beneath the boundless night sky, on this deserted mountaintop, the knocking sounded eerily drawn out.

It came at a steady rhythm, neither hurried nor slow. One knock after another.

At last, Fang Lin’an could take it no longer. He shot upright. “Yun Jianyue, what the hell is wrong with you? You went to the bathroom, so open the door yourself! Did you really have to wake me up?”

Yun Jianyue’s voice came from inside the room. “I thought you were the one coming back from the bathroom.”

The knocking continued.

A deathly silence fell over the room.

Lu Changxue floated over to the door and peered through the crack. Zhou Benxin’s deathly pale face filled her vision.

The next instant, Lu Changxue let out a bloodcurdling scream. “Ahhh! The corpse has come back to life!”

Outside, Zhou Benxin froze mid-knock. He covered his nearly deafened ears with a look of agony. “Lu Changxue, what the hell is wrong with you? Why are you screaming like that? Hurry up and open the door!”

The sound of Zhou Benxin’s voice instantly jolted the two humans and one ghost wide awake. Yun Jianyue sprang from the bed with a kip-up and yanked the door open. She and Zhou Benxin stared blankly at each other.

“Did you turn into a ghost too?”