Chapter 60
Chapter 60
The white-bearded man’s eyes widened. He raised an eyebrow and pointed curiously at Xiao Huai’s neck.
“I can smell the manager… Joseph on you.”
Xiao Huai said nothing. His thick black lashes trembled faintly as he stared at the man, signaling for him to continue.
“Joseph has been missing for a long time. He mixed a special substance into his favorite paints, something only a small number of people can smell. Where did you get that red paint? It was his favorite kind.”
Lu Yuanshi’s face flashed through Xiao Huai’s mind. Lu Yuanshi had painted the mark on him personally.
And when the Count tried to touch his neck, the paint seemed to sting him.
But how had Lu Yuanshi known…?
There was another meaning behind the paint after all. The white-bearded man looked utterly sincere, with no sign that he was lying.
Still, one could never be too cautious.
Xiao Huai parted his lips. “Joseph Edward. I know him. What are you to him?”
The white-bearded man froze. After all these years, he had finally heard an outsider speak Mr. Joseph’s full name.
Joseph Edward.
When the man stuck Xiao Huai with the needle earlier, he had not shown the Count the same respect as everyone else. There had even been a trace of resentment in his manner.
It was simply difficult to detect.
The man lowered his head, and the air around him grew heavy.
His hands hung helplessly at his sides. “What could I be? I’m a nobody. Mr. Joseph gave me work so I wouldn’t have to keep wandering the streets without a home.
“Many years ago, the Count’s Diamond Factory didn’t mass-produce diamonds or monopolize the market. Back then, Mr. Joseph was still its general manager. He was a wonderful man who loved nature and art.
“Every diamond he designed became the hottest topic of the season. Then one day, Mr. Joseph disappeared. In his place came a monster that could grow diamonds from its body.
“It brainwashed everyone. Even the Count was blinded by greed. After that, more and more monsters appeared that could grow diamonds, but as they gained beauty, they also lost their minds and became bloodthirsty beasts.
“There were too few of them, though. The Count wanted more people capable of growing beautiful diamonds, and their blood became the finest seed.
“Do you know about genetic engineering? They’re altering human genes and forcing them to fuse. The townspeople have become test subjects, combined with the seeds over and over to replicate your abilities as closely as possible.”
Xiao Huai looked calmly at the white-bearded man. The explanation closely matched his own deductions, so their confirmation did not surprise him.
He began walking forward. “You wouldn’t reveal all this so easily to a diamond fiend. Everyone in this society has been brainwashed into hating us. What makes you think you haven’t been brainwashed too?”
The white-bearded man froze. Xiao Huai was right. What evidence did he have that he had not been brainwashed or driven mad?
It was like the patients in an asylum. No matter how insistently they declared themselves sane, outsiders would always see them as aberrations and monsters.
Xiao Huai and the white-bearded man stood on opposing sides. Neither had any reason to trust the other’s words.
The white-bearded man hurried after Xiao Huai. “I know you won’t believe me, just as I can hardly believe that is Mr. Joseph’s paint on your neck. But I couldn’t bear to see one of his friends meet with disaster.
“So remember what I’m about to tell you. At dinner, you may see diamonds meant to be eaten as seeds by people like you. Whatever you do, do not eat them. Once you do, you may become a monster.”
Xiao Huai glanced at him and kept walking. Then he laughed softly.
“Let me ask you one question. You only need to answer this.”
The man had not expected Xiao Huai to question him. He nodded. “Go ahead. If I know, I’ll answer honestly.”
“Do you think diamonds cultivated from human skin are beautiful?”
Greed flashed through the man’s eyes. It lasted only an instant before he shook his head. “No. Of course not.”
But an instant was enough.
Xiao Huai nodded and waved. “I understand. Thank you for the warning.”
Only then did the white-bearded man stop, reassured.
After Xiao Huai’s figure vanished, he walked into the darkness.
A beautiful woman with brilliant red hair stood there: Victoria.
She leaned against the wall with folded arms, smiling at him.
“Well? He’ll believe it, won’t he?”
The white-bearded man answered confidently, “I followed your instructions from the beginning. First I showed dissatisfaction with the Count, then reverence for Joseph, and finally told him a little of this world’s truth.
“With truth and lies mixed together, he can’t possibly tell them apart. When the time comes, he’ll follow your plan.”
Victoria rubbed a fingertip over her lips and murmured with a soft laugh, “Who would have thought someone would use Joseph’s beloved paint to mark his possession? The curse in it protects him from ordinary contamination, but that doesn’t mean he won’t go mad. Such a clumsy method, though it does show a little cleverness. If someone could devise that, we’ll simply have to work harder. We should put on a better performance and teach Xiao Huai that this isn’t a place he may enter as he pleases.”
She walked slowly toward the dining room.
“Stay in this world, Xiao Huai. It will be so much more interesting.”
* * *
An opulent dining table stood in the center of the room. Its surface was made from a single sheet of mirrored glass, smooth and gleaming like an enormous gemstone.
At its center stood a pair of exquisite silver candelabra. Flames danced above them, their light rippling across the mirrored surface in shifting reflections.
In the dim dining room, candlelight and shadow intertwined across the glass, lending the scene a sinister air.
Two people were already seated at the table. The Count occupied the head, knife and fork in hand, with a beautifully prepared steak before him.
Xiao Huai’s footsteps sounded beyond the door. The Count lifted his eyes toward the entrance.
“Good evening.” Xiao Huai’s cool voice echoed through the vast dining room.
He walked directly to a seat near the Count and sat down. Looking up, he found a young man with beady eyes studying him.
The corner of Xiao Huai’s mouth lifted in a faint smile. “General Manager. A pleasure to finally meet you.”