Chapter 125: Stumbling Into Success

In a quiet, elegant private room with a romantic ambiance, Lu Jin and Tie Ningxiang sat across from each other.

Exquisite dishes covered the table between them, but at the moment, neither of their minds was on the delicious food.

From the moment Tie Ningxiang walked through the door, Lu Jin had been captivated. She was far beyond merely pleasing to the eye. Catching a whiff of her faint, indescribable fragrance stirred an unprecedented possessiveness in his heart.

'She is mine!' Similar voices constantly echoed in his mind. His eyes gleamed as he looked the beauty across the table up and down multiple times. 'Exquisite and completely flawless.'

Tie Ningxiang had long since noticed the undisguised gaze of the man opposite her. She felt disgusted, but Lu Jin had, after all, helped the police station by dispelling the heavy fog. Furthermore, he had a massive background and was not someone to offend lightly.

So, Tie Ningxiang could only endure it silently, turning her head to look at the scenery outside the window.

As for the delicacies on the table, she had no appetite for them at all. She was only thinking about how to get away as quickly as possible.

Status determined one's horizons. Tie Ningxiang was the first woman to make Lu Jin's heart flutter, and to top it off, she was likely the very woman his mortal enemy was desperately pursuing. At the thought of this, Lu Jin couldn't suppress his excitement. 'Gao Jian, I will make you regret this for the rest of your life. I'll steal your true love and make you watch helplessly as she throws herself into my arms.'

Lu Jin was exceedingly confident in his own appearance and temperament. Moreover, he had prepared the Red Cord of Marriage and other miraculous elixirs. In his mind, conquering Tie Ningxiang was merely a matter of time. 'Tonight is truly something to look forward to!'

While wild waves surged in Lu Jin's heart, Tie Ningxiang's thoughts were very simple: 'This is so awkward. Should I text Gao Jian and have him pretend to be someone from the station calling me? Then I could just make up an excuse to leave.'

Lu Jin clearly failed to guess Tie Ningxiang's true thoughts. Acting the gentleman, he retrieved a bottle of red wine from the cabinet. "Would you like something to drink?"

"Just juice is fine. I might have to take a shift at the station tonight."

"Captain Tie is truly dedicated, but you need to relax occasionally and relieve some pressure." He smiled, opening the expensive red wine and pouring it into a goblet. "Give this fine wine a gentle swirl, and it reveals a myriad of brilliant colors. Take a light sip, and you'll slowly find yourself unable to stop."

"Daoist Priest Lu, you are an exalted cultivator. Why do you also like drinking this kind of Western red wine?" Tie Ningxiang picked up the glass. Holding the transparent crystal goblet with her slender, pale hands, she slowly swirled the red liquid and gently sipped its mellow aroma with her red lips.

This scene made Lu Jin's heart pound wildly. The beauty before him bloomed with an intoxicating allure, just like the red wine.

Lu Jin was impatient to have Tie Ningxiang. His heart felt as if it were being scratched by a spirit monkey. Too eager to even estimate my arrival time, he pulled a square Brocade Box, half the size of a palm, from his pocket.

"Ningxiang, since this is our first meeting, I've prepared a small gift. I hope you'll accept it." He opened the Brocade Box, revealing a red cord bracelet threaded with a Hundred Flowers Jade Pendant inside.

Tie Ningxiang broke out in goosebumps all over her body at Lu Jin calling her "Ningxiang." It was simply too uncomfortable. She had already made up her mind to leave quickly. "This is too precious. I can't accept it."

"Beautiful jade for a beautiful woman. For this jade to be worn by you is its honor. Just try it on." Lu Jin insisted repeatedly, so Tie Ningxiang had no choice but to put on the bracelet.

When the red cord tightened, Tie Ningxiang's face flushed, and she found Lu Jin slightly more pleasing to the eye—but only slightly.

She was different from Jiang Fei. With her destiny carrying the general star, a mere Red Cord of Marriage was not enough to shake the karmic entanglements of her fate pattern.

Following the rule of men on the left and women on the right, the red cord linked them together. Lu Jin's gaze toward Tie Ningxiang grew even more passionate and direct.

"Daoist Priest Lu, I'm not feeling well. I'm going to the restroom." Having said that, Tie Ningxiang left her seat and walked out of the private room.

"Please do." Hearing Tie Ningxiang say she wasn't feeling well, Lu Jin assumed the Red Cord of Marriage had taken effect. 'Her heart must be racing right now, pounding like a startled deer. She probably can't even control her own body, can she?'

After Tie Ningxiang went out, his face filled with excitement. "Excellent. Then I'll add a little more fuel to the fire and make you surrender completely!"

He took a bottle of pink liquid from his pocket and poured it into Tie Ningxiang's wine glass. "Gao Jian, oh Gao Jian. This is the consequence of offending me. Tie Ningxiang is only the first step. I will make your heart turn to ash while I slowly strip away everything you have, and in the end, you'll crawl before me like a mangy dog begging for mercy!"

Stepping out of the private room, Tie Ningxiang entered the empty restroom. She felt her face heating up inexplicably and looked at herself in the wall mirror. 'Why is my face so red? Is it just too hot in that room?'

She turned on the faucet, leaning over to cup some water and moisten her cheeks. At this moment, she was the only one in the restroom, and the entire sixth-floor corridor of the hotel was completely deserted.

The redness faded from her flawless, delicate skin. Tie Ningxiang stared at herself in the mirror. 'Something feels off today. I'd better call Gao Jian early and figure out a way to get out of here.'

Just as she took out her phone, she suddenly felt something dart past behind her, bringing a gust of cold air.

Turning her head to look, she saw nothing in the room. The clean floor tiles only reflected her own silhouette.

She turned around to scan the room, completely failing to notice that at this very moment, her reflection in the mirror hadn't turned with her. Instead, it stared straight at her, revealing a bizarre smile.

'Have I just been under too much pressure lately?'

With her back to the mirror, Tie Ningxiang couldn't see the danger behind her. A pair of thin, withered hands reached out from the glass surface, slowly resting on her shoulders before gradually tightening.

In a stall in the adjacent men's restroom, Shi Youfu lay unconscious on the floor. Beside him stood a tall, thin man wearing a baseball cap.

This man drew talismans in the empty air. A pure black eyeball rolled in his palm, and faint black lines woven from resentment could be seen slowly seeping into the next room.

Those skinny, terrifying fingers clamped deathly tight around Tie Ningxiang's neck. Still unaware of the approaching danger, Tie Ningxiang only felt a stifling tightness in her chest. Her legs grew weak, and she felt like she couldn't catch her breath.

Leaning her back against the sink, she slid weakly downward.

The Soul-Reaping Fate Ghost was personally claiming her life. Casting a shadow but lacking physical form, not even the general star could escape its venomous grasp.

Right as Tie Ningxiang's consciousness began to blur, the red cord's Hundred Flowers Jade Pendant on her wrist shattered with a sharp snap. A few resonant sounds of Talisman Incantation chants entered her ears, instantly snapping her awake.

'What's going on? Was there something wrong with the wine?' Still unaware that the red cord had snapped and the jade had shattered, she shook her head and hurriedly walked out of the restroom.

"Dao Seal Body Protection?" The Fate Ghost's failure left Lu Xing somewhat irritated. He clenched his fingers, grasping the eyeball in his palm. "I will take your life today!"

"Fate Ghost possession! Reap the soul and snatch the spirit!"

Waiting alone in the private room, Lu Jin was immersed in a beautiful dream when he suddenly felt a hollow sensation in his heart, as if something was missing.

He looked down at his left wrist. The red cord tied there had snapped.

'The red cord broke? I only just tied it on. Did Gao Jian tear the cord off Tie Ningxiang's wrist? Is he already here?' Lu Jin's expression turned gloomy. How could he just give up on the beauty he was so close to claiming? He took two Talisman Papers from his suit pocket and pinched them in his hand. "This time, I'll make sure you never return!"

Barely a few steps after stepping out of the restroom, Tie Ningxiang felt a deep drowsiness flood her mind. She could hardly move her legs, forced to support herself with one hand against the wall while holding her forehead with the other.

Lu Jin walked out of the private room and happened to see Tie Ningxiang in the corridor. He didn't approach immediately, but vigilantly observed the surroundings. 'Is Gao Jian here? Is he hiding somewhere?'

Having learned his lesson, Lu Jin was a bit smarter this time. He stood where he was.

A short while later, the restroom door pushed open again, and a man in a baseball cap walked straight toward Tie Ningxiang.

"So you did come!" Lu Jin sneered, pressing the Talisman Paper into his palm. He shouted at the baseball cap, "Since you're here, stop sneaking around! She is my woman now!"

Lu Xing pulled his baseball cap lower. His entire focus had been on Tie Ningxiang, who was possessed by the Fate Ghost, so Lu Jin's sudden shout genuinely gave him a start.

He didn't look up. The corridor was full of surveillance cameras, and he was afraid of getting his face caught on tape, so he merely shot a glance at Lu Jin using his peripheral vision. 'He doesn't look quite like the person in the security footage. Could this one be the real Gao Jian?'

Lu Xing himself had never seen me in person. Upon seeing Lu Jin's handsome, pale face, he subconsciously touched the half of his own face that was covered in scars. 'No wonder he could completely captivate my sister's heart. He really is quite good-looking.'