58 Despicable Smile
The fat guy must have noticed this haunted car from far away, but after he got into the car, he somehow mistook Su Bai for a ghost and Nine as human. Perhaps that was because Su Bai was a vampire poisoned by ice; it would be impossible to completely hide the cold, gloomy aura without giving off the slightest trace.
But Su Bai was not a zombie or any other kind of ghost; of course a spell paper would not work on him. Besides, a vampire was not like classical ghosts in oriental folk tales, even though they were called a ghost due to translation.
Nine waved his right hand and pounded at Su Bai. Su Bai leaned aside against the door so Nine hit the seat; the seat moved backwards and pushed the fat guy who happened to be standing behind it. The fat guy hummed and fell onto the rear seat, with both hands covering his chest and a painful look on his face.
This fat guy looked tough but was actually not. He couldn’t even take a few hits like normal fat guys could.
Su Bai opened the door and got off. On the other side, Nine also got off.
It was late in the night; there were few people in the streets. The breeze was cool and cozy; it would be nice if they could have barbecue outside with beer, but now they were in a life-and-death situation.
"I’m curious, why aren’t you dead yet?"
It was still Nine’s voice, but the tone was definitely not his. It was someone else talking.
Su Bai frowned. He suddenly remembered who this was, or to be precise, who was now possessing Nine’s body.
"Get off Nine, or I will make you pay, even if you’ve become a ghost."
"Ha ha ha ha..."
Nine laughed loudly, "Why! I’ve turned into this crap, why are you still well and alive? You are supposed to be dead! It’s not fair! I want you to be its slave, just like me!"
Nine came at Su Bai again.
As far as Su Bai could recall, Nine was an expert in external martial arts, and his moves were tough and fierce; but now, Nine’s steps were rhythmical and his moves were following a peculiar rhythm. It was obviously no longer an external martial arts because it had a freestyle that belonged to internal martial arts.
It must be the old martial artist’s soul that was possessing Nine’s body.
"Bang!"
Nine was no longer dashing around straightforwardly; instead, he was attacking with more turns and hidden killing intention. Under such attacks, Su Bai seemed to be overwhelmed. Soon, Nine found Su Bai’s weak point and punched him in the chest. Su Bai backed for several steps, then Nine took the chance to come up; he threw himself at Su Bai and kicked with both legs.
Su Bai pushed his arms in front of him and took the kick. Then he bounced off and landed well.
He was short of breath and feeling a taste of blood in his throat. Quickly, he managed to stand up with one hand against the ground and the heavy ice emerging in the other palm.
At the same time, Su Bai’s face also twisted with a ferociousness deep buried in his heart. It was an additional effect on his mind brought by his blood, and now that he was overwhelmed in this fight, his rage broke out.
Nine wouldn’t give up, but he was also confused. Su Bai’s tolerance of damage was far beyond his expectation; normally, after taking a fist and two kicks from him, a man would be dead or at least become unable to move. But Su Bai could get up again so quickly! What the hell was going on? He didn’t look like an internal martial artist.
Facing the incoming fists, Su Bai stretched out an arm and clamped Nine’s fist; then he waved his fist towards Nine while Nine fought back with his other fist.
However, just before their fists hit against each other, Su Bai came back to himself. He gnashed his teeth, loosened his grip and released the chill in his palm. All at once, Su Bai took the hit with his palm. A strong pain went through his arm from his palm all the way to his upper body. Because of a moment of mercy, Su Bai was disadvantaged again.
But he had no choice. There was no way to tell if Nine could survive this right now; if Nine could have survived but his body was frozen by Su Bai like that, then it would be almost the same as killing Nine with his own hands.
Su Bai was not as kind and merciful as a girl, but he hesitated when it came to Nine; he didn’t have many real relatives in the world. Besides, Nine wouldn’t have gotten involved if he didn’t help Su Bai with this bronze chest. How could he be so cruel to kill him?
Just then, that fat guy finally got out of that car. He opened his coat; surprisingly, there were all kinds of tools hanging in it. No wonder he had to wear such a heavy coat in summer.
He took out another piece of spell paper, held it with one hand and started drawing on it with cinnabar with the other hand. After a spell was ready, he directly ran towards them.
However, Nine seemed to have noticed the fat guy’s tricks behind him. He turned around and kicked the fat guy in the underbelly. The fat guy fell onto the ground, rolled over twice and finally leaned onto the car.
Su Bai took the chance and stepped forward. He grabbed Nine’s neck with one hand, pressed on Nine’s shoulder with the other and started to give out a certain chill from both hands.
Coldness would stimulate human body. Nine’s body didn’t react at all when Su Bai burned him with the lighter, but now the chill from Su Bai’s body was actually working.
Nine’s struggle became weaker and the faint light in his eyes started to flicker.
"Fatty! Hurry!"
Su Bai shouted to that fat guy.
The fat guy rubbed his butt and stood up again. Holding his spell paper, he walked lamely to them and tagged it onto Nine’s forehead.
Nine’s body quivered and paused.
Su Bai slowly let go of him, but Nine was still standing there with his eyes closed. He looked like a zombie paused by a spell in a Hong Kong movie, but Su Bai would not let Nine turn into a zombie.
"Finally under control."
The fat guy squatted slightly with his hands against his knees, breathing heavily.
Just then, the trunk shivered again. Apparently, that bronze chest was messing with something again.
"F*ck! If the worst comes to the worst, let’s die together!"
Su Bai also get infuriated by that bronze chest. He shouldn’t have thought about bringing it with him so it might be useful, because it had turned out that he had no such power to control this chest. He would rather destroy the chest— melt it, sink it into a river or something. Anyway, this damn chest should never show up in the world ever again.
"Buzz!"
With a white smoke, there appeared a figure of a woman. It was the ghost lady from school; she looked at Su Bai with an obvious fear.
"Let’s negotiate. I’m here to negotiate with you, on behalf of it."
The ghost lady said gently and softly.
"Negotiate? After turning him into this? Now negotiate?" Su Bai pointed to Nine, who was standing there motionlessly, with a spell paper tagged on his forehead.
The ghost lady looked at that fat guy, "It was irritated by this lame smattering Taoist and his spell paper with spiritual power. It was just looking for a proper place to get a little sacrifice."
"Bring him back, or..."
The ghost lady nodded. "It has sensed your mind. It knows that you want to destroy it or bury it forever. That’s why it send me here to negotiate."
Su Bai felt a little funny. The chest wouldn’t take any friendly request but would yield to force.
The ghost lady looked at the trunk. A white light came from the trunk and then a black smoke came out of Nine’s body and merged into the light. Then, Nine fell down.
"He’s been possessed for a little too long and lost some energy. But he will be alright after a couple days of resting."
The fat guy stretched out his hands, opened Nine’s eye and then nodded, "Nothing serious. Only he won’t be able to get it up for a whole month."
"Where is it planning to be placed?" Su Bai asked.
"Your home. It knows your secret, and you will offer it sacrifice."
"No way." Su Bai refused immediately. Put this thing in his home? That was too far.
"It can offer what you want.."
Just when the ghost lady was talking with Su Bai, The fat guy hobbled to the car. He was breathing heavily, and there were many bruises on his face and body. Because he had appeared to be very weak and fragile, no one had noticed him— Su Bai, the ghost lady, or even the bronze chest in the trunk.
"Sh*t! Let me see what devil you are!"
The fat guy was foul-mouthed and stretched out his hand to open the trunk.
"Don’t look at it.." Su Bai cried out at once. He knew how weird that chest was, but before Su Bai’s words came out, the fat guy had already opened it. The warning seemed to be a little too late; after all, Su Bai had no idea that the fat guy would be so reckless.
The ghost lady looked a little disdainful. She apparently knew what tragedy would happen to this lame Taoist.
However, to their surprise, nothing happened after the fat guy opened the trunk. On the contrary, the fat guy turned around and gave Su Bai a gesture of "victory". Su Bai and the ghost lady both saw that the fat guy had somewhen put on a pair of sunglasses!
The bronze chest suddenly started quivering as if it had sensed something.
And the despicable smile on the fat guy’s face was becoming more and more obscene, like a cat that had finally caught the fish.