Chapter 171 - 170: Is It Good-Looking?

Chapter 171: Chapter 170: Is It Good-Looking?

Kangkang was clearly surprised by their arrival, but he politely invited them in.

As soon as they sat down, Kangkang got straight to the point. "Is something wrong?"

Gu Qingyin gestured for Huo Xingchen to explain the situation.

It was Huo Xingchen’s first time handling something like client communication. He had no concept of tact, so he asked directly, "Do you know Po Ben Kang?"

A flicker of confusion crossed Kangkang’s eyes. "Don’t know him. Is he from the Kang Family?"

Huo Xingchen’s expression was complicated. "He’s your dad’s illegitimate son, only a year younger than you."

Kangkang froze, clearly unable to process the information.

Gu Qingyin shot Huo Xingchen a glare. ’Couldn’t you have been a little more tactful?’

Huo Xingchen looked innocent. ’Better to get the pain over with quickly. Rip the band-aid off.’

"No wonder..." Kangkang let out a breath, pinching the bridge of his nose in exhaustion. "No wonder I always felt it was so fake whenever I saw them acting all lovey-dovey. It turns out it was all an act for me."

He gave a bitter smile. "They must have had it easy these past few years I wasn’t home, not having to put so much effort into keeping up appearances."

Huo Xingchen didn’t give him too much time to wallow in sadness. He quickly added, "That’s not the most important thing."

Kangkang gave him a dark look. ’This isn’t important?’

Huo Xingchen nodded with absolute certainty. "The most important thing is that Po Ben Kang... he wants to swap lives with you."

Kangkang’s eyes showed confusion again. "Swap lives?"

"To put it simply, he wants to take over your life and replace you." Huo Xingchen paused, then asked, "Brother Kang, you’re supposed to be the next Family Head of the Kang Family, right?"

Kangkang understood. His gaze instantly turned cold, but then he couldn’t help but feel a flicker of doubt. ’Something this fantastical... is it even real?’

Huo Xingchen could tell what he was thinking and knew Kangkang wouldn’t believe him without a demonstration. An idea came to him. "Brother Kang, if I remember correctly, you’re pretty brave, right?"

Kangkang didn’t know what he was getting at, but he nodded anyway.

Huo Xingchen then looked at his mom, calling out as if asking for permission, "Mom?"

Gu Qingyin nodded and glanced at Huo Xingye and Huo Xinghai. Understanding the cue, the two brothers walked over to stand on either side of Kangkang.

Kangkang was instinctively wary, but out of trust for Huo Xingchen, he didn’t run. He just frowned and asked, "What are you guys trying to do?"

Gu Qingyin smiled faintly and snapped her fingers.

The next second, a tall man abruptly appeared beside her. He had a ghastly pale complexion, deep-set black eyes, and most importantly, he had no shadow!

Kangkang’s eyes went wide. He subconsciously shot up and opened his mouth... but before he could scream, Huo Xingye and Huo Xinghai grabbed his shoulders and covered his mouth from either side.

"Don’t scream. We won’t hurt you."

"This is the easiest way to prove it."

Huo Xingchen stood up and made the introduction. "This is my dad. He died in a car crash ten years ago. Now he’s my mom’s ghost servant."

Huo Yunjing glanced at Kangkang with a cold gaze. "Hello, kid."

Kangkang’s eyes widened in terror as he struggled, making muffled noises. ℴℴ𝘮

Huo Xingchen stepped forward and patted his head reassuringly. "Don’t be scared, Brother Kang. We really do want to help you."

Kangkang stared at Huo Yunjing, only calming down after a long moment.

Huo Xingye and Huo Xinghai exchanged a look and slowly let him go.

Kangkang shot to his feet.

The brothers moved to grab him again, but Gu Qingyin stopped them. "It’s fine. Let him come have a look."

But Kangkang didn’t approach Huo Yunjing. Instead, he turned to scan his surroundings. He suspected it was a projection—a very advanced one, indistinguishable from the real thing.

He searched the room, and the others didn’t stop him, just watched him quietly.

Finally, Kangkang looked at Huo Yunjing for a few seconds before walking over to Huo Xingchen and grabbing his hand.

Huo Xingchen was taken aback. "Brother Kang?"

With a deadpan expression, Kangkang said, "You come with me. I’m scared."

Huo Xingchen didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He took the lead, pulling Kangkang along by the hand and even thoughtfully shielding him with his own body.

Kangkang was touched. ’What a true brother, after all these years!’

As they approached Huo Yunjing, Kangkang swallowed hard and said dryly, "Hello, sir." Then he held out his hand.

Huo Yunjing raised an eyebrow slightly and obligingly reached out, taking Kangkang’s hand.

Kangkang’s eyes slowly widened, filled with disbelief. "So, so, so... so cold!"

Gu Qingyin couldn’t help but chuckle. "He’s a ghost. Of course he’s cold."

Huo Xingchen couldn’t help but laugh too. "Now you believe us, right?"

Kangkang had no choice but to believe, especially when Huo Yunjing sat down beside Gu Qingyin with a commanding air, raising his eyes to stare at him.

Kangkang felt like he was being stared down by the Grim Reaper. An uncontrollable chill ran through his body, and he felt like he could drop dead at any second.

Gu Qingyin noticed and swatted at Huo Yunjing. "Stop scaring the kid."

Huo Yunjing froze for a moment, then silently shifted his position. He leaned back and crossed his long legs, looking every bit the formidable boss.

Kangkang breathed a sigh of relief. It was better than the "Grim Reaper," at least.

Sitting back down, Kangkang was silent for a moment, fiddling with his phone. "What conditions need to be met to swap a life?"

This was a question in her area of expertise, so Gu Qingyin stepped in to explain. "It depends. The simplest method is to bind the swap conditions to an object and leave it in a crowded place. Whoever picks it up is the one whose fate gets swapped."

"That method is highly random, and what’s being swapped isn’t usually anything valuable. But for a targeted attack like the one on you, it requires a person’s exact birth date and time, as well as powerful Curse Power to succeed."

Gu Qingyin frowned slightly. ’For the Curse Power to persist this long, the caster must be incredibly powerful.’

"Exact birth date and time..." Kangkang’s expression turned grim. Prominent families had extremely tight security around their private information, making it very difficult for outsiders to investigate.

The only possibility was that the secret had been leaked by someone close to him.

Only a handful of people knew his exact time of birth. No matter which one of them it was, the betrayal would be deeply painful.

Taking a deep breath, Kangkang asked, "What do you need me to do?"

"We can’t remove it for now, only seal it." Gu Qingyin stood up and walked over to him, motioning with her chin. "Shirt off. Lie face down on the bed."

Kangkang froze for a second. "...Okay."

He stood up, ripped off his T-shirt, and tossed it aside. Then, his hands went to the waistband of his pants.

Gu Qingyin’s eyelid twitched as she quickly stopped him. "The pants stay on!"

Kangkang breathed a sigh of relief. Looking up, he noticed the dangerous glint in the eyes of the men in the room, especially Huo Yunjing on the sofa, who looked like he was about to transform back into the "Grim Reaper."

He didn’t dare to look for long. He lowered his gaze, walked to the side of the bed, and lay face down.

Gu Qingyin followed, taking out vermillion and a brush. Before putting the brush to his skin, she instructed, "Don’t move. This will be quick."

As the cool tip of the brush touched his skin, Kangkang’s muscles tensed in reflex. The youth’s back, defined by a lean layer of muscle, was quite striking. It looked especially alluring set against the vermillion, like a piece of tempting, warm jade.

Gu Qingyin admired the view as she drew, her hand incredibly steady. Just as she was about to finish, a dark voice suddenly sounded by her ear: "Enjoying the view?"

Gu Qingyin’s hand trembled, and the final stroke went crooked.