Chapter 132
Chapter 132
Edwin covered his lips with his knuckles, but still could not hide the smile threatening to surface.
He said nothing, yet the new penalty had already been added to the contract.
If another player saw Xiao Huai begging to be punished, they would probably think he was insane.
Only Xiao Huai understood what that punishment truly meant.
A mark worked both ways.
When one party punished and marked the other, did that not create a bond between their souls, a connection that tugged at them both?
Xiao Huai’s supernatural ability, Soul Companion’s Aid, treated anyone who formed a soul relationship with player Xiao Huai as a soul companion.
And what were marking and being marked, if not a kind of soul relationship?
But if he never explained any of this, who would know?
The great being known as the Moon God had been coaxed step by step into a little liar’s trap.
Xiao Huai signed his name on the Soul Contract.
If you were willing to use your authority to create a special instance for me, then you should have considered what it might cost you.
A companion did not have to fight for him willingly, the way a true soul companion would.
Once Xiao Huai chose the right moment, however…
No matter how reluctant or furious his companion might be, that companion would have to fight for him.
After signing the agreement, a chill flashed through Xiao Huai’s eyes. It vanished at once, replaced by a sincere smile.
He watched Edwin leave with that faint smile.
Only after Edwin had disappeared completely did Xiao Huai lean against the wall and breathe deeply for a long time. The pain nearly made him cry.
Fortunately, his vision had only blurred a little.
For some reason, he kept sensing a familiar gaze watching him from the darkness.
He sighed inwardly. It had to be an illusion.
The only ones spying on them in the dark were probably those followers.
Xiao Huai clenched his fist. Faint screams drifted from far away, and the sedative incense had already dispersed from the air.
He looked into the distance, then withdrew into the silence.
* * *
“I’ve been looking everywhere for you. Where did you go?”
As soon as Xiao Huai returned, Xiao Qian’s voice came from inside the room. He opened the door and found Xiao Qian already standing there.
“Did you need something?” Xiao Huai had no strength to explain and simply collapsed onto the bed.
Xiao Qian froze when he saw Xiao Huai’s condition.
The corners of his eyes were pink, and a fine sheen of sweat covered his skin. Taken together… the sight carried an indescribably suggestive air.
“You went to the west wing?”
“Mm.” Xiao Huai gave a listless hum.
Xiao Qian said nothing. What in the world had happened in the west wing?
He had planned to stop asking, only for Xiao Huai to remark airily, “I sold myself.”
“What?! What did you just say?” Xiao Qian’s eyes flew wide.
Damn it. Had his dirty imagination actually been right?
“You’ll find out when the time comes.” Xiao Huai rolled onto his side and pulled a corner of the blanket over his stomach. “What about you? Why were you looking for me?”
“Nothing important. I’m leaving this by your bed, just in case.” He placed a glass bottle containing more than a dozen sugar cubes on the bedside table.
Then he added, “These work better than the last ones.”
Xiao Huai’s nose twitched almost imperceptibly. He smelled sugar.
The corners of his lips curved. “Xiao Qian, I really am quite satisfied with you.”
“Huh?” Xiao Qian stared blankly, not understanding.
“Nothing. Just remember that I’m satisfied with you.”
Xiao Huai suddenly looked at him, his eyes curving ever so slightly.
At the same time, he took a sugar cube and ate it.
Since Xiao Qian made the sugar to restore Sanity and heal injuries, Xiao Huai now had a perfectly legitimate excuse to eat sweets.
“Oh, plenty of people are satisfied with me. I only hope you can satisfy me too.” Xiao Qian replied casually, then realized the words had come out wrong. He coughed twice and tried to explain.
“A customer can rate a game companion, so naturally the game companion gets to rate the customer too.”
Xiao Huai remained silent, narrowing his eyes as though preparing to sleep.
Seeing that, Xiao Qian made the rest quick. “I found a clue about the game. I wrote it down and left it on your desk.”
Xiao Huai heard paper tearing.
Because Xiao Qian had written it himself, it was not necessarily a genuine clue, but intelligence he had gathered.
Calling intelligence a clue showed that he was highly confident in it.
Whether Xiao Huai believed him was another matter.
After Xiao Qian left, Xiao Huai reached for the note. Only one word was written on it: *Honesty*.
He glanced at it. A lighter appeared in his hand, and one flick of the wheel sent flames over the paper, reducing it to ash in an instant.
He rose and locked the door, a cold glint in his eyes.
Someone besides Xiao Qian had entered his room while he was away.
He smelled an unfamiliar scent.
He had said nothing while Xiao Qian was present because whatever had come might still be hiding in the room.
Rather than alerting his quarry, it was better to let the intruder walk into his trap.
In the eyes of the vampires, Xiao Huai was an irresistible prize. It would have been stranger if no one came after him.
The game interface showed that seventy players remained in the human faction, while twenty vampires were still alive.
On the first day, few players dared participate in the games. Those who tried were only a small fraction of the total.
Yet in a single day, ten human players had died.
Xiao Huai had slept through the afternoon and did not know whether any human who entered a game had obtained a gold coin.
For vampires to steal coins from human players, the humans first had to earn them. That meant the vampires would enter the games too and pretend to make an earnest effort to win.
In truth, they would be watching to see who received a coin. They could only steal one if a human possessed it.
But if they struck openly on the first day, whoever took the stolen coin would become the next target.
All in all, acting too conspicuously on the first day was an excellent way to draw everyone’s hatred in a mixed and uncertain crowd.
Xiao Huai was the perfect example.
Nothing had happened to him yet because everyone was waiting, probing little by little.
And the best way to probe him was to sneak into his room and strike when he was not paying attention.
Ten o’clock approached. Thunder rumbled faintly beyond the window as a fine rain began to fall.
Lightning split the night, briefly illuminating the dark emptiness outside and the room within. Xiao Huai’s lashes trembled, like a sleeping beast slowly awakening in the dead of night.
His breathing was shallow because he was listening closely to every minute change in the sounds around him. At the slightest anomaly…
He would show no mercy.
On that rainy night, Xiao Huai sat on the bed as if utterly defenseless. His head rested casually against the headboard, one hand draped over his lower abdomen and the other propping up his temple. He looked ready to fall asleep at any moment.
The doors and windows were shut, yet a faint current of air moved through the room.
Something was moving.
It had no heartbeat and did not breathe.
Could “it” still be considered human?