Chapter 1 The Jingle

Accompanying Jiang Cheng's movements, the bell occasionally emitted a crisp sound.

"What are you looking at?" Jiang Cheng frowned in displeasure, reaching out to stuff the bell into his clothes, so Fatty couldn't see it. But as soon as he stuffed it in, the bell playfully jingled its way out again.

Fatty, of course, had no idea what was going on with the bell, but according to his thinking, the doctor must be reluctant to part with it, regretted it, and then sought help from Wu Xiongdi. He used some unknown method to get this bell... ah no, the ghost bride, off the bus.

Connecting Wu Xiongdi's abnormal behavior last night, Fatty felt that this was a sure thing. That must be it.

Jiang Cheng went to Wu for help. Wu didn't want to go, so the doctor used both soft and hard tactics, and probably promised a lot of benefits. But after Wu Xiongdi went to great lengths to save the ghost bride, the doctor went back on his word.

Now the doctor's wings have hardened, and with the ghost bride backing him up, he's not afraid of Wu Xiongdi anymore. That's why Wu Xiongdi was so angry last night, swinging his knife at the wall. The wall even had Wu Xiongdi's cautionary motto written on it: *心中无女人，拔刀自然神，剑谱第一页，先杀心上人* (If your heart has no woman, drawing your sword is naturally divine. The first page of the sword manual: first, kill the one you love).

Doctor... you're muddled!

Wine is poison that passes through the intestines, and lust is a knife that scrapes the bones. He's only been with the ghost bride for a short time, and he's already turned against Wu Xiongdi because of her. It's truly disheartening!

No wonder Wu Xiongdi had such a murderous expression when he heard himself mention the ghost bride yesterday.

Fatty was heartbroken. The doctor... he's muddled!

As a brother, Fatty felt obligated to speak up for the wronged Wu Xiongdi, so after a moment of thought, he asked seemingly casually, "Doctor, where did Wu Xiongdi go?"

The doctor has been missing since this morning.

"Him?" Jiang Cheng frowned abruptly upon hearing this.

Seeing this, Fatty understood in his heart that the two of them must have had an unpleasantness last night because of the ghost bride, and the doctor was definitely standing on the ghost bride's side.

Originally, Fatty wanted to say a few harsh words to give the ghost bride a *xia ma wei* (show of strength), but then he thought again, Wu Xiongdi isn't here, and he's no match for the ghost bride, so he swallowed the words back.

But the ghost bride seemed to sense Fatty's hostility and suddenly stopped moving.

Fatty didn't know how to describe this feeling. He only felt as if two eyes had grown on the bell, staring intently at him, and with a very strange look.

"Doctor..." Fatty couldn't help but say.

Jiang Cheng also noticed that Fatty's expression was strange. "What's wrong with you?"

"This... the bell is quite nice!" Fatty squeezed out a very fake, yet very enthusiastic smile. "You know, Doctor, this bell really suits your temperament."

Jiang Cheng seemed to be a little wary of this bell, and his face was unnaturally stuffing the bell back into his clothes. He had originally planned to take the bell off, after all, what proper man wears a bell around his neck? It's not like he works in the nightlife scene.

But he suddenly thought of what Wu had said. Although he knew Wu was bluffing him, probably trying to play both sides, he was worried that Wu had used some method to reach an agreement with the ghost bride.

If he rashly took off the bell, it might cause trouble for Wu.

Every time they left a Nightmare Assault, they would relax for a long time, just like someone who is constantly under high pressure. If the pressure is suddenly released, the body will not adapt.

For a whole day, Fatty did almost nothing, even ordering takeout for his meals, but he refused hamburgers, French fries, and iced cola. This was his last bit of stubbornness.

*Pop!*

Jiang Cheng popped open the tab on a can of cola, took a delicious sip, squinted his eyes, and made a happy sound: "Ah～～" Then he casually picked up a French fry and stuffed it into his mouth.

Fatty, who was beside him, swallowed hard, but still said in a suggestive tone, "Doctor, that French fry you just ate didn't... didn't have ketchup."

"I'm tired of it, just changing the flavor," Jiang Cheng said indifferently.

At 8:00 PM sharp, Fatty, as usual, started reading *The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes*. He bought this book from a street stall. The owner repeatedly assured him that it was a genuine copy, but it had changed hands a few times, and a few pages might be missing, but it wouldn't affect the reading.

Fatty thought to himself, that's right, he wasn't far from being Sherlock Holmes, a few pages of a book wouldn't make a difference, so he paid for it.

It must be said that after studying for this period of time, he could clearly feel his progress. He could understand what the doctor was saying, and even successfully predicted the doctor's next course of action several times.

Just as Fatty was concentrating on reading, suddenly, a burst of bell sounds instantly broke the silence of the night.

It wasn't a normal crisp sound, but a very fast one, like an alarm.

Jiang Cheng, who was lying on the sofa eating French fries, immediately sat up and looked down at the bell.

About ten seconds later, the door outside was knocked on.

Wu was the first to walk in, followed by two familiar faces.

"Long time no see." Number 13 greeted them with narrowed eyes, nodding to both Jiang Cheng and Fatty. His eyes lingered on the bell under Jiang Cheng's neck for less than a second before quickly moving away.

Following Number 13 was naturally his old partner, Number 2. This man's leather shoes were polished to a shine, reflecting people's images. He still wore that cowboy hat on his head, looking out of place and very strange.

"What are you doing here?" Jiang Cheng asked. It now seemed that Wu had sensed the auras of these two people, so he went out in advance to find them and ask them clearly.

"Nothing important, just wanted to come see you guys." Number 13 sat down on the sofa in a familiar manner, smiling at Jiang Cheng and Fatty. "I haven't had time to properly thank you for what happened last time."

Jiang Cheng sized the two of them up and down with suspicious eyes, and after a moment, asked, "So... you came empty-handed?"

"Ah... not really." Number 13, with his social skills, started to improvise, giving teammate Number 2 a look of disappointment. "We bought some fruit when we came, but he ate it all on the way, so..." Number 13 spread out his hands, showing a helpless expression.

"We're here today mainly to see how you guys are doing," Number 2 said in a serious tone.

Facing Wu, and the enforcer on Jiang Cheng's body, he really didn't have as good a mood as Number 13.

He couldn't deal with either of these two guys.

"We're fine, no need to worry," Jiang Cheng said with an official attitude. He was very wary now, and he didn't trust any outsiders except for the brothers around him.

Number 13 moved imperceptibly closer to Fatty, squinting his eyes, with a "I'm very cute and also very safe" expression, and said to Fatty, "Number 10, I had a dream yesterday, it scared me to death. I dreamed that a monster was chasing you. That monster was so ferocious, and I couldn't drive it away no matter what. I happened to be free today, so I came to see you."

Without further ado, Number 13 reached out and took Fatty's hand, and at the same time, a strange purple glow appeared in the depths of his eyes. A completely different world slowly unfolded in Number 13's mind.