Chapter 40

This month has been a roller coaster of events but the end of it has been the worst of all because of the emotional manipulation . Meiyang has never handled a case that had so much turmoil and disorder as this one . Everyone was practically playing one another and that quickly escalated and lead from one thing to the other . The whole truth that they were manipulated by one person who mimicked the traits of zero degree-empathy was practically the climax of the whole plot . It went from confusing to making sense in the snap of a finger that it seemed the whole bias of this as the love of a mother and her wanting the best life for her children but in doing that she has brought immeasurable levels of agony to them which is as loving as it is disturbing because the price she paid for those sacrifices wasn't from her own pocket but the happiness of her own children .

They came to the psych hospital in the far side of town to clear Mingji of a potential demons and they found out that she had passed in the previous week but her mother told them to keep it a secret . That is why they didn't tell anyone . Yee was not surPrised by these news and knew that Madame Mang could have even suggested that they bury her secret and insinuate that she ran away form home. Come to think it of , maybe the same thing might have happened to Enlai`s mother.

The doctors asked if Yee would like to take her home with them but he declined and said that it is best that she is cremated at the hospital since bring her back makes it hard for anyone out morn her .Speaking of which, Mang has since collapsed and was sent to a hospital ran by Siwoo`s father . The service of Mingji`s burial will be headed by a holy person from the temple and thus Yee came to pay his respects . HE was in the temple and was praying for her soul while the cultivators were in a restaurant just across the street.

It was incredibly difficult to eat and like all the times . The primary reason being that they were extremely tired. Ever since the event, Meiyang had been running around the whole place cleaning it of demons. He begun with the mansion, then went to the brothel that Enlai stayed in then went to the Mang`s mansion and finally came back again to the Yee`s mansion. And of course he didn't do it alone , therefore everyone was just as tired as he was which wasn't at all unexpected. Dejang who is like a box of mysteries , had disappeared to avoid the awkwardness of someone asking him why he is keeping his mask on let alone why he iOS not eating .

Truth is he doesn't need the food , he is doing fine from just the energy of the nightmares that he drinks to stay alive .So for the run around with Meiyang , he wont need to feed for a while . If anything he is just exhausted right now 

Meiyang elegantly gave Haoran a glass of milk but he politely declined it saying that he is fine . Out of nowhere , Liuhe snatched the glass aggressively and he drank all the milk before even asking for permission . Meiyang ignored his drama and he poured Horan a new batch in another cup but Liuhe took this one as well and he drank it all . He then processed to steal a large buttered piece of bred from Haoran`s plate and he pushed it all not his mouth .

Shangli rolled his eyes 

Meiyang stood up and then he pulled Haoran `s hand and he blurted out to the resultant owner if they knew of any motels in the area,

Liuhe chocked on his saliva. Haoran asked if Meiyang intends to sleep in broad daylight . Meiyang wasn't even listening to Haoran and he attended to the restaurant owner say that the ones nearby are cheap but the services and privacy are brutally poor .The expensive ones were arguably far away and would take some time and effort to reach .

" Why do you need a motel ?We can rest back at the motel where we left our clothes", Haoran stated foolishly 

" I can't eat in peace so I need a secluded place to eat ", he looked to Liuhe who was still trying to ventilate

"There is only us here.",

" its pointless to explain in parables. Just remember what you said about me having to eat back home ",

" What's so special about eating noodles , bread and ….",

" You…", he paused, "...Don't need to know that ".

Haoran really hated his brain because right now he was completely clueless about what Meiyang was saying and it was driving him crazy .

At that moment Chiang walked in and he walked over to Meiyang .He told him that Yee was still praying in the temple and he looked very distraught and thus doesn't want to be disturb. To be honest it is really weird how Chiang is here to offer Yee support instead of madame Yee and BaiSu but then again it would make less sense for her to come and address such raw emotional displays for Yee over Mingji .In that note , it is partially suitable to have Chiang here . Another thing is that It seems that Chiang has changed so much in the last few hours and finally believes that the cultivators were tying to help the family and not trying to inflict harm as he had initially proposed when he came to the mansion . Even for him ,this has been a restless turbulence of break and repair and it seems that the image of the strong man that he had paint Yee shows that he was merely balancing his sanity on a pair of egg shells which he hopefully prays that they won't break .

Meiyang went to another table along with Haoran and they slumped into the seat . Haoran took the long long chair that allows for more people to join while Meiyang sat in the opposite chair that allowed hims to see the rest of the restaurant as he was in the corner

In the same time , Chiang walked close to the agitated Liuhe . Liuhe scanned him up and down not exactly understanding his intentions. They have never in any situation been peaceful with each other. They are constantly disagreeing and endlessly seeking for ways to trigger each other even when the situation doesn't demand it . HE raised his hand to Liuhe`s face and seeing that he didn't react to it ,he wiped off the jam by his lips and told him to remove the rest of it . He walked off and he seemed to sailed in the opposite direction in which he came in. Liuhe took a deep breath and then he followed the same motions as did Chiang . For the first time in their interactions ,Liuhe didn't explode hastily at Chiang and nor did Chiang say anything provocative or rude to Liuhe that could have triggered him. Liuhe raised his eyebrows at that because for some reason it feels like he has the upper hand over Chiang who feels that he has been wrong but has not apologized for it .

Outside the restaurant , Chiang saw the jam on his thumb and wanted to erase it with on the wall but instead he brought it close to his lips and slowly sucked it off . He innocently smiled before he disappeared into the scenery 

The cultivation team waited for Yee to come out of the temple for over six hours but it seems that they were getting tired. Shangli being the oldest had gone to check on him atleast three times but always came back with the same result that Yee was still kneeling in front of the statues and was just praying . He worshiped in solitude because according to the priest he wanted to be alone 

Nearly fifty customers had come and gone . So many women have flirted with Liuhe but not as many as those that have made a move on Haoran who have a fresh and less fiery aura to him . Some even gave him their addresses so that if he doesn't mind , he can come and share a cup of coffee with their sisters or cousin . The implication was that although Liuhe is pretty , he is actually a little old which was quite a judgmental assumption but a correct one.

Anyway the cultivators had gone over seven pots of coffee and eight bowls of noddles in patience but it was getting physically exhausting to keep this up .Liuhe who has reactions to coffee had not drunk it so was having difficulty staying awake. While on the other hand Meiyang had drank it but still feels tired as it . 

Haoran was currently seating very far away from Meiyang and was reading a book he received from the restaurant owner. She seemed particularly interested in him to only give him such a book of the art of the manipulation. He wasn't particularly enthralled by the concept but was getting reasonably irritable after drinking so much coffee and eating so many noddles from Shanghai who is a natural picky-eater .

Meiyang did at some points see Haoran moving up and down the restaurant , talking to the guest which was good. Since he didn't want disturb him so he carried on sleeping over his arms at the corner setup .When he closed his eyes like all the other times , all he dreamt about was the events from last time particularly the part where he didn't know what was going all and basically just gawked at everything without saying anything . He has not yet reported to his father what has happened .Meiyang is mildly thinking Zhao Zong is gong to find better ways that should have went and lecture Meiyang till he starts to zone out 

In every cultivation , saving and preserving life is the first priority . Nevertheless all he is was listen and even though he had imagined the white silhouette a while ago he should have thought of that as a sign to check on Minji but he didn't . It really annoyed him but he has no choice except to deliver such a report otherwise he will be termed as bent and incompetent to spend his father`s place.

Ten minutes later , Shangli told Haoran that will go check on Yee for the final time and inform him that they have to leave . Haoran agreed and he looked over to find that Meiyang was asleep . He looked so calm like he was supposed to be a model instead of working in the field that he is currently in .Close to Meiyang was Liuhe . His beauty was so intending and he seemed extra down-to-earth which made him look less like flesh eating beast with a strange fetish in annoying their prey to death . To be honest , there is never a dull moment with Liuhe acting so melodramatic all time , always seeking attention even when it is clear that it won't benefit him in anyway . It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that the attention seeking tendencies are due to the fact that Meiyang no longer treats him like he is the light and the air in the sky .

After Shangli left, Haoran went back to Meiyang

" Now I know why you wanted to sleep. Seems like you also can't sleep alone ",he whispered blocking the light that was coming from touching his face .

He wasn't particularly worried about Liuhe overhearing even though he is a light-sleeper. Liuhe has been working on low charge and hasn't tasted an ounce of sleep in three days which is detrimental for everyone . Even Dejang looked like he was feed up

Meiyang parted his eyes and he smiled before he hid his face knowing it was probably red due to the dust allergies from the fatigue causing dust sensitivity. Haoran scoffed at him and he checked the book he was reading then he went on keep reading 

Outside the window , a green phantom passed and headed into the temple . Just after entering , it formed a dome and attained form before striding into the temple