Chapter 215
Chapter 215
Edwin looked at Lu Yuanshi. The man suddenly seemed terribly familiar, but Edwin could not remember him no matter how hard he tried.
Worse still, merely staring at him made Edwin’s head ache violently.
What kind of damned mortal was this?
Could his supernatural ability manipulate even a god’s will?
The wound in Xiao Huai’s leg healed. He stood once more and looked around at his companions.
“This is between him and me. Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”
Determination shone in his eyes.
This was the promise and pledge he made to them all.
His voice was calm, settling their hearts once more.
Xiao Huai was not asking them to leave. He was telling them.
He was all that was needed here.
“I trust you, so please trust me too. All right?” Xiao Huai said softly.
All his companions froze for a moment.
Trust went both ways, no matter how powerful the enemy might be.
Believing in him was also a form of strength.
Hanako’s eyes reddened. “Big Brother, I still want to play games with you, so you have to come back safe!”
“Mm.”
The others held their breath, unable to voice their thoughts as Hanako had.
But every look they gave Xiao Huai spoke of their trust and their hopes for him.
They said nothing, yet every gaze declared the same wish:
[You have to come back safe.]
They left one after another, fists clenched tight. Only at the very last moment did they dare look back at Xiao Huai.
Everyone had gone except Lu Yuanshi, who remained where he was.
Xiao Huai raised his eyes and met Lu Yuanshi’s gaze.
He said evenly, “Edwin won’t give me much more time.”
He was a thorn in Edwin’s side now.
To Edwin, Xiao Huai was saying farewell to his friends. He would allow Xiao Huai to say goodbye, but he would never give him long.
A hint of a smile lingered in Lu Yuanshi’s eyes, his gaze fixed on Xiao Huai’s lips. For a moment, they stood so close that the tips of their noses nearly touched.
Xiao Huai instinctively turned away, but Lu Yuanshi’s lips brushed his cheek and pressed a light kiss to his hair.
For a single instant, Xiao Huai’s ears rang.
The flame in his heart flared with a hiss. An unknown emotion grew wild and unchecked, like weeds.
He could hear Lu Yuanshi breathing. There was clearly distance between them now, and the kiss had clearly landed only on his hair.
Yet that single kiss blurred his sense of time and space, leaving him acutely aware of every current in the air.
In that moment, their breaths intertwined.
Xiao Huai turned his head aside and tried to conceal every emotion, unwilling to reveal the slightest clue.
Then he heard Lu Yuanshi’s low voice.
“Goodbye. I hope everything goes smoothly.”
Lu Yuanshi hooked a finger around Xiao Huai’s knuckle, then slowly let go.
Only after Lu Yuanshi walked away did Xiao Huai turn to look at him.
A notification appeared on everyone’s system interface.
[Congratulations to player Lu Yuanshi for completing the main mission. You will now return to the game lobby!]
Lu Yuanshi’s body began to turn translucent.
When Chen Chong brought the master of the Yang Residence and Butler Yang back to the residence, everyone had in fact become eligible to leave the instance.
They had stayed because they wanted to witness Xiao Huai’s choice.
Lu Yuanshi did not. He left the game early.
Xiao Huai watched Lu Yuanshi gradually disappear, and his racing heartbeat slowly steadied.
He pressed a hand over his heart.
Perhaps it was better that Lu Yuanshi had left.
Edwin laughed when he saw Lu Yuanshi depart. “At last, one of you has some sense.”
His gaze returned to Xiao Huai. “There’s still time for you to leave. What could possibly be worth lingering here for?”
Xiao Huai walked toward him with his head tilted. His eyes curved with a smile, concealing a bloodthirsty madness.
“There is. I’ve always wanted to beat you up.”
Edwin stared at him. “…?”
Had he heard that correctly?
He wanted to beat Edwin up.
Xiao Huai continued, “You’ll only agree to be my companion after I beat you into submission, right?”
Edwin had not heard a statement like that in a very long time.
Forget beating him. A mortal could not so much as touch one of his fingers.
But Xiao Huai was far too captivating at that moment. The corners of Edwin’s mouth rose uncontrollably in a wicked grin.
“Fine. If you can beat me into submission, I’ll acknowledge you.”
Xiao Huai raised a hand. Behind him, ring after ring of uncut black diamonds rose into the air, outlining the shape of a rose as they continuously joined and interwove around a core of flame.
Wrapped in the searing heat of the Lotus Flame, the uncut black diamonds resembled assassins dancing along a blade’s edge. The halos of fire exploded outward, tearing through space as the diamonds shot toward Edwin at extraordinary speed.
They were unstoppable.
Edwin smiled. In the span of a few short minutes, Xiao Huai’s strength seemed to have risen to a new level.
In that case, he would play with him a little longer.
He caught the incoming uncut black diamonds one after another with a single hand, and the force of his divine barrier sent a shock wave rippling outward.
Xiao Huai lowered his eyes and rushed toward the well, every black diamond providing cover for him.
The uncut black diamonds naturally shattered into dust. Xiao Huai showed no fear and even flung several hidden weapons from his sleeve.
One of them nearly sliced Edwin’s cheek.
Edwin shifted slightly to evade it, raising a brow with a meaningful smile.
Now, here was someone worth teaching.
Chen Chong had spotted the battle from far away. Though thick fog was gradually engulfing the Yang Residence, their fight was far too dazzling to ignore.
The black diamonds and flames merged together, only to be blasted apart by immense divine power. Ordinary black diamonds probably could not have approached a high-ranking god at all.
Yet Xiao Huai had infused them with the Lotus Flame. Chen Chong’s eyes widened, and his heart raced as he watched the two powers collide.
If it were him, he might have fallen in the very first exchange.
No, he would never even dare defy the will of a god.
It was like fate passing judgment upon a mortal. The mortal could not resist and could only await the cold ending.
The mere sight of Edwin gave Chen Chong the illusion that he was about to be nailed to death.
But Xiao Huai was different. He would not submit, show weakness, or admit defeat.
Xiao Huai’s strength was not limitless. He was pushing his body beyond its limits, burning through his Sanity in exchange for greater power.
After only a few minutes, Xiao Huai’s vision began to blur. The force of the divine impacts had nearly pulverized his internal organs.
He held his breath, fighting back the blood rising in his throat.
He reached the well and pulled with all his strength on a rope that extended down to the bottom.
At the same moment, the black diamonds behind him seemed to receive an order. Dark as the eye of an abyssal black hole, they expanded without pause, like fish making one final struggle at the brink of death.
Edwin’s eyes turned cold. “What other trick are you trying to pull?”
Xiao Huai swallowed a mouthful of foul blood and laughed softly. “Don’t worry. It’ll be enough to screw you over properly.”
…