Eight

Li Yuxi felt like her brain was going to explode at any moment from everything she had just experienced. She was still trying to wrap her head around the fact that she had just witnessed an unknown man from nowhere disappear and appear around her room like he was a magician at an amusement park. On top of that, he had pushed Lee Qiang. She did not care if her husband got hurt from the push but she knew she was going to be in serious trouble for it.

The man barely even acted like he was scared or bothered by anything. Instead, he looked sly and that unnerved Li Yuxi.

"Ow."

Li Yuxi released the clothe she clutched and rushed back to Lee Qiang who was now getting up while rubbing the back of his neck and hip. She swallowed and tried to touch him but the fear she had for him would not allow her to. When he stopped rubbing his neck and back and looked at her with anger in his eyes, she bit her lip, waiting for the worse to be unleashed.

"Since when did you start becoming violent?" He asked and grabbed her arm in a vice grip. "You not only act like a rebellious wife but now hit your husband?"

Li Yuxi whimpered and tried to pull away from his grip but he was stronger. She could feel her arm going numb from the lack of blood flow. She pressed her hand on his chest and tried to push him but he stayed still. Li Yuxi looked over her shoulder and saw that the man was still there, watching with a dull expression.

"Tell me why I shouldn't punish you for pushing me?"

"I didn't push you, Lee Qiang," she retorted. "I was unconscious when you came into the room, I'm sure you saw that. I didn't push you, I swear."

Lee Qiang pushed her, making her stagger. She stood firm on her feet and watched Lee Qiang look around the room as if he was looking for someone. Li Yuxi silently hoped that her husband didn't see the man standing behind her. There was nothing she could say to Lee Qiang that would make him understand that she had nothing to do with him.

"I came here to remind you to make lunch for me and my guest. Failure to do so will bring dire consequences."

With that, Lee Qiang left the room, giving her the space to breathe comfortably. She covered her forehead with her hand and focused on calming her beating heart.

"Husband?"

Li Yuxi jerked at the voice of the man sounding so close to her ear. She stomped her foot and pointed at him after spinning around to face him.

"You need to leave right now," she said. "I don't know who you are but I am not comfortable with what has just happened. Leave now."

He smirked. "I am afraid not… Li Yuxi. You brought me back and we have already seen our lives. Aren't you curious to know why I am here before you?"

Li Yuxi could not deny that she was truly interested in the man that came out of nowhere. Her need to learn more about something that she thought never existed, was high.

"So… what do you say?" He asked, smirking.

‡‡‡

Li Yuxi laughed as soon as he stopped talking. She covered her mouth with her hand and laughed for some seconds before stopping when she saw the deep frown on his face and how the red sash tied around his waist glowed. She raised an eyebrow and drummed her fingers on the table between the both of them.

"You're telling me that you are a ghost who is supposedly here to take revenge?" She asked in an incredulous tone. "Zhao Ling or whatever your name is… this is the twenty-first century. So many years have gone by and the people who murdered you are dead and their bones are what is probably left of their bodies."

Li Yuxi got up and went to his side of the table. She leaned against the table and crossed her arms then stared at the crown of his head.

"The people you are looking for no longer exist. If anything, I am sure it is only someone related to the killers that are alive. Even so, how are you going to find them in China, a country filled with millions of people."

Li Yuxi eyed the man closer, accessing his features. He looked immaculate with a perfectly structured face that fit the modern celebrity standards. His skin was a healthy pale tone and his long black hair was tied in an updo. His clothes were pristine and of good quality for a ghost.

"I will seek those who killed me, no matter what," he said.

"Why don't you just rest in peace?" Li Yuxi asked and chuckled. "You stayed in your ghost form, probably wandering around until today. You should rest in peace because they are dead. Gone."

Feeling fed up, Li Yuxi shifted away and started making her way to the bedside table where she left her phone. As her fingers brushed the phone, she was forced away from it and pinned against the wall by a strong force. She grunted and glared at Zhao Ling who casually walked toward her with his hands behind him.

"Let me go," she demanded and he hummed.

"I would but something about you has me stuck here. You are part of my destiny, Li Yuxi. You freed my spirit and as such, I cannot let you go just like that," Zhao Ling said and placed his hands on the wall.

Li Yuxi held her breath as the man leaned closer, invading her space. She parted her lips to say something but couldn't think of what to say. Hesitantly, she fluttered her eyes to his and maintained eye contact. She stared deeper into his light brown eyes, seeing the flecks in them and almost counting his long lashes.

"As my curse breaker, you shall serve me," he spoke in a low voice while leaning toward her face.

Li Yuxi could feel the warmth from his proximity which confused her because he was nothing but air. To test the theory, she flexed her hands. Seeing that he had not pinned her hands, she placed them on his broad chest and tried to push him away. She grunted while trying but failed. Li Yuxi gave up and stared back at him with a fit of strong anger in her heart.

"I will never serve you," she whispered and he smirked.

Li Yuxi swallowed at the dazed look in his eyes. She felt a stirring in her stomach from the way his hooded eyes traced her face, especially her lips.

"I don't even want your response," he whispered back and grabbed her right wrist.

Li Yuxi panicked at the sudden touch and fought against his grip. She tried to move but failed then gasped when he brought the inside of her wrist close to his face. He kept his eyes on hers while his cold lips brushed her wrist. Li Yuxi shuddered and felt a wave of cold run through her body.

"You shall serve me from now on. If you think you can escape me, you dream a childish dream," he said in a deeper tone of voice.

The brushing of his cold lips against her skin made her feel delirious. It was almost as if he was hypnotizing her with his eyes, his voice, and his touch. She felt as if she could succumb to his word and at the same time, her brain was fighting against staying focused on something else that wasn't the man.

"I will not… serve you," Li Yuxi stubbornly said and the man smiled wide, showing his straight teeth and sharp canine.

"You leave me no choice, my darling," he said in a voice booming with a dark aura.

Before she could react, his teeth sunk into the flesh of her inner wrist and a rush of cold and heat balanced together filled her body. His teeth sank more into her flesh and instead of feeling pain, she felt something different. The cold made her shiver yet the heat made her feel sensually high and at the same time, it was as if something was moving through her veins from where he was biting. Li Yuxi felt herself melting on the inside when his tongue lapped against the bitten area after pulling his teeth away.

Li Yuxi whimpered and felt her eyes getting droopy. Her head felt too heavy to control that she tilted it every which way. Zhao Ling cupped the back of her head and pulled her close to his body while sporting a smirk on his bloody lips.

"Forgive me. But you are bound to my spirit now, Li Yuxi. You can never escape me until we are done with one another. If you want to be free of my mark, you will help me find justice. Do you understand?" He whispered in her face.

Li Yuxi moaned as sleepiness clouded her mind and body.

"No…" she dragged on before accepting the pull of sleep.