Chapter 55
Chapter 55
Xiao Huai’s Adam’s apple bobbed, and every muscle in his body went taut.
Lu Yuanshi’s gaze was like the sharp barb of a rose. It felt as though if it shifted even half an inch, danger would descend with it.
Yet the greater the danger, the higher some desire buried in the depths of Xiao Huai’s soul was pulled.
Then a faint smile appeared on his lips. Like another invisible blade, it met Lu Yuanshi’s gaze without the slightest fear.
His lips curved as he leaned forward. The hair over his brow stirred, and his bloodred eyes stared into those abyssal depths.
“Whatever you want to do, go ahead and try. If you’ve got the nerve.”
He shaped his hand into a gun and lightly pointed it at Lu Yuanshi’s forehead. Light shimmered in his eyes, illuminating their defiant, lively gleam.
Lu Yuanshi froze, then let out a soft laugh. He stood and looked down at Xiao Huai. “For a moment, I almost thought you meant it.”
Xiao Huai raised an eyebrow. Had Lu Yuanshi not wanted to fight? That look just now had been so dangerous. What else could he possibly have wanted?
Lu Yuanshi only smiled without explaining. Before leaving, he said, “You’re far more interesting than I imagined.”
Xiao Huai watched his retreating back. What was that supposed to mean?
He could not be bothered to think about it. After yawning several times in succession, he lazily burrowed beneath the covers and fell asleep.
Silence descended. The manor grew so quiet that only the players’ even breathing could be heard.
Shortly after two in the morning, everyone was deep in their dreams.
But in Room 203, the person on the bed abruptly opened his eyes. His body shook continuously with pain, his long-jointed hand clutching the blanket in a death grip as sweat misted his lashes.
Xiao Huai struggled upright and rolled up his sleeve. Intricate black markings were faintly visible across the exposed skin.
He cast a cold glance out the window. The gale howled, whipping countless snowflakes through the air.
This was destined to be no ordinary night.
Xiao Huai threw on a coat and bit hard into his lip. Only then did the black markings gradually fade.
He entered the bathroom and turned on the tap. The instant the icy water struck his face, the intense shock made him suck in a sharp breath.
His mind cleared along with it.
He raised his head toward the mirror.
The bathroom light was off. In the darkness, a bloodthirsty madness gleamed in the man’s bloodred eyes, and faint shadows ringed them.
Xiao Huai looked away from the mirror.
He did not have much time. His Sanity was below half, and not long ago, he had even felt an urge to eat a diamond.
His contamination had begun.
* * *
A long, slender hand pushed open the door of the red-house studio.
Without making so much as a footstep, Xiao Huai quietly reached the painting of the starry sky.
There was no expression on his pale face. The instant his fingertips touched the oil painting, the creatures inside seemed to sense something. He did not even have to open the way himself.
The secret room opened for him.
Xiao Huai raised his eyes and silently regarded the long, dark alley stretching into the depths.
The smell of blood inside had faded considerably, but the stench of decay had grown stronger.
As soon as he stepped into the secret room, the open painting closed once more.
He was alone again in the dark space, his soft footsteps echoing faintly around him.
“Human, you came to keep our appointment.”
The voice came from behind him. Xiao Huai turned.
Joseph’s green eyes looked especially vicious against his pale face as they fixed upon Xiao Huai.
“Human, it has only been one day, yet you already seem close to madness.”
Xiao Huai gave a cold laugh. His eyes were shadowed and icy, his smile concealing what might have been a thorned rose.
“Perhaps I’ve been mad all along.”
As the words fell, Joseph saw what Xiao Huai held. His pupils contracted violently, and he reached for the half-heart in shock.
Before his fingers could touch it, Xiao Huai returned it to his system inventory.
“That belongs to me!” Joseph’s voice rose, edged with menace.
The corner of Xiao Huai’s mouth lifted. Intricate black runes crawled across his cheek, yet a careless smile remained on his face.
The contamination caused by his falling Sanity gave his features an eerie, seductive cast. Thick lashes lowered, concealing the faintly irreverent amusement in his eyes.
“Yes. It used to be yours,” he replied lazily.
The next instant, a cold hand closed around his throat with speed too great for the naked eye to follow. The force of the impact made Xiao Huai squeeze his eyes shut.
Those fingers could cut off the flow of blood at any moment, crush his Adam’s apple, and tear through flesh, bringing everything to an end.
Joseph glared at the overconfident human with an icy expression and ground out, “Human, you should understand that I can kill you whenever I please and leave you without even a grave. You are nothing but a diamond fiend.”
Yet Xiao Huai laughed.
He opened his eyes. Blood vessels webbed them from suffocation, but crazed laughter shone within as he looked at Joseph mockingly.
The outer corners of his narrow eyes had flushed red from the strain, and a watery haze veiled his gaze.
But there was no hint of surrender in him. His eyes seemed to open upon an endless passage to devastation and ruin. Joseph lost focus for a moment, and his grip slackened slightly.
Xiao Huai’s voice slowly reached him.
“I want…”
When Xiao Huai whispered the rest into Joseph’s ear, Joseph’s pupils contracted sharply. He had heard every word.
Joseph frowned and released him. “You are a mere mortal. How could you possibly accomplish that?”
Xiao Huai nearly collapsed as his strength gave out. He leaned against the wall, coughing violently, the fair skin around his throat flushed deep red.
He coughed until tears filled his eyes, but he paid them no mind. He wiped his face, then looked up at Joseph without the slightest fear or retreat.
“That’s why I need to cooperate with you.”
The corner of Joseph’s mouth rose. “Not a transaction, but cooperation?” The longer he studied Xiao Huai, the more unusual he found this human.
Xiao Huai folded his arms lazily. “In practical terms, you’re the principal and I’m the contractor. Either way, this partnership benefits us both.”
“What do you want?”
“I want to borrow all of your power.”
Joseph burst out laughing. “Are you hopelessly naive, or simply a madman?”
Countless black crystals emerged around him and floated behind his back. Every one of them carried a ceaseless flow of contaminated, accursed power.
He lowered his voice. “Do you know what price you must pay to wield all my power? First, you must become a monster. You must be completely contaminated!”
Every eye growing from Joseph’s body bulged wide, as though they might fall free in the next second.
Xiao Huai pressed his palm against the wall and used the force to push himself toward Joseph. Not a ripple disturbed his calm gaze as he lifted his head.
“Then let’s see which happens first. Do I become a monster, or do I achieve my goal?”