Capturing My Demon King Costar

MY COSTAR JUST WANTS TO RELAX

[Gao Wu: I don't want to do this anymore]

That's the last message Gao Wu sent Jia Hao. Yao Shen reads it aloud to Xin Hulei, who frowns.

"Was it Jia Hao who lured him to the garden?"

Yao Shen stammers, trying to make sense of his own thoughts. "I- it's not like he could have killed him. He's a ghost, just a regular ghost, not a hungry ghost or any other corrupted form that could have caused harm to a human."

Xin Hulei stays silent for some time, his dark eyes narrowed. "What else does their conversation show?"

Yao Shen scrolls up, scanning all the back and forth texts quickly.

There's more than he anticipated, considering Gao Wu's initial reaction when Jia Hao started messaging him.

That last message was sent unprompted. Jia Hao hadn't been texting Gao Wu for some time when he made the decision to send that last text. What did he mean by 'I can't do this anymore'. Those words sounded so ominous, as if Gao wu had some inkling of what was going to happen to him.

But even before that last eerie text, their conversation wasn't what Yao Shen would expect.

[Jia Hao Hao: I didn't think you'd want to keep talking with me after you found out I was a ghost]

[Gao Wu: Why not? Did you think I would be afraid?]

[Jia Hao Hao: most people are]

[Gao Wu: I think it's wrong of you to stay here, you should have moved on a long time ago, but I'm not scared of you]

[Gao Wu: Don't you want to reincarnate?]

[Jia Hao Hao: I've been dead for such a long time, I don't even remember what being alive feels like]

[Gao Wu: hahaha you know what's funny? I'm alive but I feel the same way]

[Jia Hao Hao: I don't think that's funny]

Yao Shen doesn't think it's funny either, and he needs to take a moment to stop reading out the texts to Xin Hulei.

"I think...I think there was more going on with Gao Wu than we thought."

"You mentioned...he was an orphan?"

Yao Shen nods.

"What his family does is dangerous work. Not only because exorcising innocent demons isn't easy, and no demon will go down without a fight." He pauses. "Unless they are cowardly ambushed."

Yao Shen can tell Xin Hulei's pride took a hit from falling into Gao Wu's trap. He's been moodier than usual ever since he woke up from the coma. Yao Shen will do his best to make him feel like a big, scary demon in bed again very soon.

He clears his throat, pointedly ignoring Yao Shen's knowing smirk. "In any case, there are legitimately dangerous creatures that benefit from being sent back to Youdu, from hungry ghosts, to jiangshi... his family would have handled all of them."

"And you think they died as a result?" Yao Shen asks.

"It's possible." Xin Hulei shrugs, shifting his weight and bracing himself on his hands against the counter. "I think it's also possible that he felt a huge amount to pressure from being the last descendant. He should have been training up a successor, whether a child or an apprentice."

"I don't think he was."

"'I can't do this anymore' could have referred to that." He shrugs again, the fabric of his t-shirt pulling against the breadth of his shoulders distractingly. "He could be having an identity crisis after his confrontation with you and Liansi."