This Damned Thirst for Survival
Chapter 37

Why do you suspect that you are under a spell when you love someone so much?

Jiang Luo was intrigued, “Miss Bai, what makes you think so?”

Bai Qiu’s eyes were thick with fear, her hands gripping the bag nervously, her nails scratching the skin of the good quality leather bag, “This can’t be something I would do.”

“That man is my agent,” Bai Qiu says, “he’s been with me for eight years, I know he likes me, but I don’t feel anything for him, my preferences have always been clear, and my agent, he’s a million miles away from my preferences. ”

As she spoke, her teeth began to clatter, caught in a whirlwind of self-doubt, “My ambition has never been small. To be honest, I came into the business to be famous, to make a lot of money. I haven’t even gotten a posthumous award yet, and the film I’ve been working so hard on for a year hasn’t even been released yet …… How could I want to quit the industry?”

“But it’s like I’ve been smitten,” she broke down and covered her face, sobs pouring from her fingers, “How the fuck could I possibly think of quitting the ring? How could I possibly be such a dog licker?”

Jiang Luo : “……”

It’s rare for you to be so sober if it’s true that you’ve been head-butted.

Brother Joe mused, “When did you first fall in love with him?”

Bai Qiu wiped his eyes, “Two months ago.”

Brother Qiao asked Jiang Luo sideways, “Brother, do you have something to do this morning?”

“If it’s all right, you can go with Brother to see Ms. White at her home,” invited Brother Joe, “it shouldn’t be too much trouble.”

Jiang Luo was a little curious about what Brother Qiao had said, so he readily agreed: “Yes.”

Bai Qiu drove up and they got into her car and were taken all the way to her home by Bai Qiu.

As a first-rate actress, Bai Qiu naturally has more than one property to her name. She lives in a secluded and well-secured location, with cars parked directly in the car park and lifts to the floors.

Opening the door to his room, Bai Qiu said wearily, “I’ve been living here with him for the past two months …… He’s going to a company meeting today and won’t be back until this afternoon.”

Jiang Luo looked around the room and saw nothing wrong with the feng shui pattern.

The flat is full of life, with dishes in pairs and a bottle of what looks like a bouquet of full-grown stars, bright red like roses, on the coffee table.

Bai Qiu poured them two glasses of water and looked at the half-flipped magazine on the table, her expression suddenly became tender as she lovingly closed it up and carefully placed it in the bookshelf, “This guy is always leaving things lying around.”

After finishing the books, she picked up the rag and wiped the table. When she was about to finish wiping, Bai Qiu’s movements froze, and after she reacted to what she was doing, she threw away the rag with a grimace, “I never used to do such things …… ”

It’s too bad that you can’t control yourself and watch yourself become more and more alien. The more Bai Qiu knows he won’t become like this, the more he feels panic in his heart.

Looking at her performance, Jiang Luo did feel vaguely at odds and asked, “Have you told anyone your birth date?”

Bai Qiu is haunted, “My agent has always known my birth date.”

Jiang Luo’s gaze moves to a photograph of two people in the living room.

The photo shows a man and a woman embracing each other like a sweet couple. The woman is none other than Bai Qiu, with a happy smile, a look of love in her eyes, and a beautiful face to match.

But the man embracing her looks ordinary. If Brother Qiao is only ordinary looking with a decent body and temperament, then this agent is the most ordinary middle-aged man, his hand around Bai Qiu’s waist, smiling with a face of white, greasy flesh, and everyone who looks at this photo will have the stifling feeling of a flower stuck in cow dung.

How could such a pretty girl fall for such a guy?

Jiang Luo leans back and collapses on the sofa, while Yu Guang sweeps through the small objects in the room.

His legs were folded, his long, straight calves dangling lightly above the floor. The leather sofa’s cushioned seat is decorated with a pure white crown, and a triangular spike emerges from the top of his head, making him look as dazzling as if he were sitting in a king’s chair.

It makes one want to be a knight at his feet willingly, and even a lightly reproachful glance from him seems to give a shiver of pleasure to the scalp.

With a slight twinkle in his eyes, Senior Brother Qiao also leaned back on the sofa and humbly asked for advice, “Do you see anything, Senior Brother?”

“This sofa is quite comfortable,” Jiang Luo patted the cushions, “Miss Bai, this sofa must cost more than 100,000 yuan.”

“……” Bai Qiu said, “It’s going to be a bit more expensive.”

Jiang Luo’s hand felt under the sofa cushions and found a gap, he reached in and rubbed his fingers over it, but did not feel anything.

As expected, Jiang Luo withdrew his hand, wiped it with a tissue, and re-focused his gaze on the double album.

Brother Qiao was talking carefully with Bai Qiu: “Miss Bai, have you heard of the Harmony Charm?”

Bai Qiu was stunned: “The Harmony Charm?”

“The Harmony Charm can help men and women bind the person they love, it is an evil technique,” said Senior Brother Qiao, “Those who have been placed under the Harmony Charm will fall in love with the person who placed the charm on them without reason or cause, even if the other person is a pig, they will fall in love to the point of delirium.”

“Of course, it’s not just the Harmony Charm that has this effect, the Miao love compulsion can also achieve this effect,” Senior Brother Qiao smiled, “Miss Bai’s flower is quite pretty.”

Bai Qiu 苍白的脸，目光逐渐定定了了了茶桌上的花束，”This thing is also ……”

“It looks like a lover’s flower,” Brother Qiao’s gaze fixed on the bouquet and his smile deepened, “exactly the kind of material used to make a love compulsion.”

Bai Qiu felt like she could hardly breathe. She looked at the bouquet of flowers in full bloom as if she were looking at a horrible monster, and she took a deep breath and locked the flowers in the cupboard with shaking hands.

Jiang Luo also stands up and walks over to the double picture frame.

At first glance there is nothing wrong with this picture of two people, but it is only on closer inspection that one notices the strange placement of the frame. It is almost directly opposite the bedroom door, so that the first thing one sees when coming out of the bedroom is the frame.

People who have just woken up in the morning have cloudy brains and are most susceptible to the suggestion that if there is something in this painting, day after day, it is enough to sink Bai Qiu.

Jiang Luo took the picture off the wall, which was almost easy for his five-foot-eight height. A man posted up behind him and Brother Qiao asked, “Brother, is there something inside the picture frame?”

Jiang Luo unwraps the frame, “I’m looking at it.”

The album was closed tightly and Jiang Luo broke it open with great force, and a yellow piece of paper floated down to the floor from inside.

Brother Qiao picked it up and looked at it, “It’s really a Harmony Charm.”

Bai Qiu was too frightened to approach and looked at the talisman in Brother Qiao’s hand in terror, “Master, is there a way to break this talisman?”

“Just burn the talisman paper with pieces of gold and silver paper,” such a simple thing, Brother Qiao spelled out the method of breaking it without difficulty, “Miss Bai, you can also keep the paper ash from burning the talisman paper, put it in water and let your broker drink it.”

Senior Brother Qiao’s smile revealed a bit of a defiantly grim smile, “So that you can return the favour with a tooth, and those who harm you will eventually reap the consequences.”

Jiang Luo gave a sudden pause as Yu Guang glanced at him in a casual manner.

Bai Qiu’s expression wavered as he looked at the Hehe charm.

Yet her heart was still full of love for her manager, and Bai Qiu could not make any decision against him. She pinched herself to stay awake, “Master, please also help me first to undo this charm of harmony.”

Brother Qiao nodded. Bai Qiu happened to have gold and silver foil paper in his house, and she ran to the other rooms to find it. When Brother Qiao looked up, he saw Jiang Luo looking straight at him.

The dark-haired youth stood with his arms clasped, his eyes sharp as he examined Senior Brother Qiao up and down.

Senior Brother Qiao laughed innocently, “Why is Senior Brother looking at me like that?”

The vaguely perceptible sense of dissonance that had just disappeared.

It’s as fast as Jiang Luo’s illusion.

In Tian Shifu, Jiang Luo was not very wary because of Feng Li’s presence, because Feng Li was much more powerful than him. If Feng Li had not reacted, Jiang Luo would have thought that Chi You could not have possessed or manipulated Tian Shifu’s person.

But here he was, unable to ignore what he had just felt.

He was too sensitive to Chi You. After all, one never knows when the evil spirit will appear out of nowhere and suddenly screw him again.

Jiang Luo had some suspicions at this point, but was not sure, and his suspicions grew even stronger as he reviewed Senior Brother Qiao’s previous performance.

He asked in a casual tone, “Senior Brother Qiao, when did you enter Tian Shifu ?”

Brother Joe pondered for a moment, “It’s been eight years.”

“Eight years ago, you would have been small, right?” Jiang Luo put his hands behind his back and gently shook the Yin-Yang ring on his right hand.

“A teenager is not too young,” Senior Brother Qiao looked at him strangely, “Don’t you know that, Senior Brother?”

He asked rhetorically, ” Most of Tian Shifu’s disciples were taken under the name of the Heavenly Master when they were in their teens, and you must have been at that age when you were taken under Uncle Chen’s tutelage.”

Jiang Luo snorted with him and had finished shaking the yin-yang ring three times. He looked down towards his wrist, but the reaction of the yin-yang ring told him that there was no ghostly presence here.

Jiang Luo’s frown did not go away.

Is he sensitive, or does the Yin-Yang ring fail to detect Chi You’s puppet too?

Jiang Luo suddenly held out his hand, “Brother Qiao, show me the Harmony Charm.”

Jiang Luo took the opportunity to touch his wrist, but his skin was warm and he had a pulse. Since Brother Qiao was a living person, it was understandable that the Yin Yang Ring could not detect him.

Jiang Luo still trusted his own senses more, and the more he looked at Brother Qiao the more suspicious he became, so after pretending to look at the Harmony Charm for a while he said, “Brother Qiao, I’m going to the toilet.”

Brother Qiao said thoughtfully, “Go on, Brother can handle things here on his own.”

Jiang Luo hid in the toilet. Although he couldn’t use the Yin Yang Ring to find out if Master Qiao was Chi You, he could use another way to ascertain his guess.

Jiang Luo took three coins out of his pocket. He had not practised the art of divination very well, and could only make a vague estimate, but that was enough.

“Is Brother Joe a good help to me?”

The three coins are combined in the palm of the hand and thrown six times in a row, with the character Yin and without the character Yang, thus giving rise to the 64 trigrams. Jiang Luo looked at the final trigram with an odd expression on his face.

The Gua of No Delusion.

This hexagram is the lower hexagram, which means unpredictable and unexpected. The meaning of this hexagram is that the person whose hexagram is being tested will cause unexpected trouble for the main party, and this trouble is extremely absurd and unreasonable.

Jiang Luo couldn’t believe that he could tell such an unlucky trigram at first. He didn’t believe in his unlucky constitution, so he shook the Yin Yang ring twice and opened the “Two Movements to Discern Good and Bad Luck”.

Jiang Luo didn’t want to rely much on the Yin Yang Ring if he could help it, but this time it was an exception. The golden runes soon densely formed two words before his eyes: great evil.

Jiang Luo : “……”

There are times when one has to admit to oneself.

Jiang Luo reassured himself on the bright side that at least he could be sure that Brother Qiao was not Brother Qiao anymore.

And why else would Brother Joe have a bad influence on him?

The odds are that Brother Qiao has become Chi You. I don’t know if Chi You really entered Tian Shifu eight years ago, or if he took the opportunity to escape from the paper man’s body during the fight with Feng Li and possessed Brother Qiao’s body.

Bai Qiu’s nervous voice came from outside the toilet, “Master, I’ve found the gold and silver foil paper!”

Jiang Luo adjusts his expression and walks out with a calm demeanour.

The last time he exposed Chi You’s waistcoat was when Jiang Luo had just been played by Chi You in a Spiderman body. But this time, he’s going to play it safe and stay in the shadows to see what Chi You is up to.

Bai Qiu did not have a fire pit at home, so he brought an unused white porcelain pot. Brother Qiao put the gold and silver foil in it, lit it, and then threw in the Harmony Charm.

Bai Qiu stared at the healing talisman until it burned out and became dust, and only then did her heart feel as if a boulder had shattered, and she suddenly relaxed.

She looked tentatively at the picture of herself and her agent, but the love she felt for him was no longer there in her heart; instead, disgust and hatred raced up to her heart, making her expression twist.

“He Meng ……” Bai Qiu shouted his agent’s name with almost blood and tears.

With the back of his hand, Brother Qiao swept the gold and silver foil paper that had burned to dust in the white porcelain basin to the sides and drew a circle where the Hehe talisman was burning, and the paper ashes from the Hehe talisman automatically converged and were collected by Brother Qiao into the clean white paper.

Senior Brother Qiao said slowly, “This is the paper ash of the Harmony Charm, and when given to the person who placed the charm to drink, it will have an unexpected effect.”

Bai Qiu stared at the paper ashes with hatred, Jiang Luo could even hear her grinding her teeth, after a few minutes, Bai Qiu calmed down, “Thank you, Master, I’d rather not use this charm ash.”

She withdrew her eyes from the talismanic ash in disgust and ruthlessness surfaced, “I will show him the consequences of doing this in my own way!”

But she quickly put her ruthlessness away and thanked Jiang Luo gratefully, asking for their card numbers to give them the money.

Senior Brother Qiao smiled and said, “It’s just a small matter, Miss Bai is very kind.”

Jiang Luo also smiled and said, “It’s okay, the share that Brother Qiao doesn’t want can be credited to my card in one piece.”

Bai Qiu broke into tears and nodded her head in agreement, then looked at them seriously: “If you need any help from me in the future, just let me know and I will do my best to help you.”

After saying that, she couldn’t help but look at Jiang Luo twice more, “This master, do you have plans to enter the entertainment industry?”

Bai Qiu’s question, the more he saw Jiang Luo, the more he thought he was a talent in the entertainment industry. You’re not a vase, but a metaphysical persona is also very popular nowadays. There’s a talent show coming up soon, I can get you a spot.”

Jiang Luo said calmly, “No, thank you.”

Bai Qiu unfortunately sends them out the door.

When it was almost noon, Brother Qiao wanted to invite Jiang Luo to dinner, so the two of them went to the restaurant together and ordered a private room that was not disturbed.

Jiang Luo went out to wash his hands before the meal, leaving Brother Qiao alone in the box.

Brother Joe poured a cup of tea slowly and methodically.

He took out a tightly wrapped piece of white paper from his body and with a graceful movement opened it to reveal the grey paper ash of the Harmony Charm inside.

Brother Qiao picked up a chopstick and gently tapped the wall of the cup. After a crunching sound, Brother Qiao poured a third of the paper ash inside the white paper into the teacup.

He poured in all the paper ashes in three batches, during which he knocked on the wall of the cup three times, and at the end of the day, Brother Qiao took out from his body a bright red flower shaped like a full-blown star.

Exactly one of the bouquets plucked from the lovers’ flowers on Bai Qiu’s coffee table.

With a loose and subdued smile on his lips, Brother Qiao crushed the saffron into dust and poured it into the teacup as well.

As the chopsticks stirred in it, the contents of the cup gradually melted into the water as it stirred, disappearing without a trace.

Brother Qiao looked at the glass of water with downcast eyes and pushed it, without haste, to Jiang Luo’s seat.

The amulet of harmony that someone else bought and used on someone else’s birth date, even if he used it for Jiang Luo, would only last for less than a day more.

But with the addition of the ingredients of the lover’s flower, the day’s effects are unparalleled, and there are also some sorceries that, although not to the point of death, will make life worse than death.

Since Jiang Luo said he loved him so much and showed so much affection, he could not afford to let him down.

What words were spoken, then let this word come true to him.

As for the small penalties inside.

Who let him always disobey his teachers.

Brother Joe sighed.

But the corners of the evil spirit’s mouth had lifted high, brimming with undisguised malice.

Half a minute later, Jiang Luo returned.

He brought back a silver-white e-cigarette and casually raised it, saying, “Menthol flavoured, if Brother Qiao minds, then I’ll go out and smoke it.”

Senior Brother Qiao smiled and shook his head, “Sit down, the meal will be here soon.”

Jiang Luo sat casually beside him, leaned back and smoked a cigarette in a relaxed manner.

He was wearing a white shirt with a turtleneck jacket over it. It was hot at the moment, and the jacket had been taken off when he first entered the room and rested on the back of the chair, his dark hair crinkled by the clothes between his shirt and jacket, but he didn’t much care, flicking his hair back and enjoying the smell of smoke with his back slightly bent.

The red mole on the back of the hand reflects the silver and white electronic cigarette, like a scarlet flower blooming decadently in the sludge.

Brother Qiao’s eyes slid carelessly from the red mole on the back of his hand to his lips, waiting for Jiang Luo to exhale a puff of white, distant smoke before he said, “Brother, remember to have a sip of tea to moisten your lips after you smoke before you eat.”

Jiang Luo’s nerves, which had been secretly tense, were keenly aware of the word “tea”.

He nodded as if nothing had happened and glanced down at the cup in front of him.

The cup was thoughtfully poured full of water, the barley tea glowed a clear yellow and the cup was dry and clean, just an ordinary glass of water.

But then he remembered the divination he had made in the morning at Bai Qiu’s house.

The Gua of No Delusion.

Unexpected trouble that is absurdly unreasonable.

Jiang Luo’s eyebrows jumped, calling him suspicious or overly cautious, but he did not want to drink this cup of tea.

But he doesn’t want to tear himself away from Chi You’s puppet now.

Jiang Luo pursed his lips, Yu Guang swept his eyes from the cup of tea in front of Brother Qiao, and with a twinkle in his eye, he had an idea.

He slowly put his e-cigarette down and lifted his cup, the wall of which was just about to touch his lips when Jiang Luo frowned again and put the cup down, catching the long hair that was falling again and tying it up impatiently with his hands, “Brother Qiao, do you see that my hair is fully tied?”

Brother Joe looked at his dishevelled hair, “No.”

Jiang Luo simply took the leather strap off again and looked up at Brother Qiao with his chin propped on his arm, “Then I’ll ask Brother Qiao to rearrange it for me.”

He looks like a big cat waiting to be groomed, his lush eyebrows lazy, the strands of snow-white hair emerging unbidden at the corners of his rosy lips, and the faint smell of mint on his exhale, a request no one could deny.

Senior Brother Qiao looked at him steadily for a few seconds before he smiled and said, “Good.”

Jiang Luo moved closer to Brother Qiao and his silky black hair was spread out in front of his eyes. He tidied his hair without fuss, his cold fingers running through the strands, brushing Jiang Luo’s soft scalp several times.

Jiang Luo straightened up and blocked Master Qiao’s view perfectly.

After every hair was smoothed out, Brother Qiao tied it up, leaving it hanging loosely behind Jiang Luo’s shoulders, adding a touch of gentleness to Jiang Luo’s look.

Jiang Luo stood up briskly, hiding the smile at the corners of his mouth, “Thank you, Brother Qiao.”

He returns to his seat and neatly takes a glass and pretends to take a sip. As he takes a sip, Jiang Luo’s eyes curve up for a moment under the cover of the glass, then narrow again.

He switched the water between himself and Chi You.

It is best if there are no problems, but if there are problems, then Chi You is hurting people.

After seeing him drink the water, Brother Qiao also smiled and drank half a glass of water. Both of them were pretending, but there was harmony on the surface. When the food came, Jiang Luo had only taken two bites when he noticed that Brother Qiao was moving his chopsticks more and more slowly.

Jiang Luo looks on strangely.

It was right into the gaze of Senior Brother Joe looking straight at him.

This gaze had an overly viscous quality to it, a chilling look that plucked at the flesh like a bone scraper, causing goose bumps to rise all over Jiang Luo’s body. He reflexively felt bad, and almost without hesitation, he immediately got up and apologised, “Excuse me, Brother Qiao, I’ll go to the washroom again.”

Senior Brother Qiao smiled good-naturedly and didn’t look out of place, “Go ahead.”

Jiang Luo immediately left the door.

He didn’t go to the bathroom, of course, but headed straight for the entrance of the hotel, intending to take a taxi straight back to school.

Instinct told him about that unexpected trouble that was going to come to him if he didn’t leave.

Jiang Luo’s temples ache dully, but as he passes an empty, unoccupied booth, a black mist suddenly gushes out from inside the booth, wrapping him up in an instant before quickly retreating back into the booth.

BOOM–

The door to the private room slammed heavily.

A member of staff who had delivered the food arrived at the sound of the noise, but saw nothing and left in wonder.

The corridor fell back into silence.