Chapter 55
Chapter 55
Her mind in a fog, Auntie Hong dazedly raised her knife and thrust it toward Zhao Xiuming’s chest.
When the tip was a dozen or so centimeters from him, Zhao Xiuming caught her wrist, stopping it from advancing.
Auntie Hong strained desperately, her words a muddle. “No, I can’t be arrested.”
“No. I can’t let anyone see…”
“I… I still have a daughter to raise. No, I can’t…”
Zhao Xiuming’s expression softened. He gently lifted his eyes to Auntie Hong. “Don’t worry. I have a dead person in my room too.”
“Would you like to see?”
He released her and stepped aside, gesturing an invitation.
With a savage expression, Auntie Hong instinctively looked up. Her already clouded face showed traces of struggle and hesitation, along with deep bewilderment.
Realizing something was wrong, Zhao Xiuming looked back. Ah Hao and Shuai Zai were huddled in a corner of the rented room, shivering like two chicks trying to keep warm.
In the sitting room, Dahu, now an anomaly, was being held aloft by the throat in one hand, his feet dangling above the floor.
The one holding him was Little Darling, who had appeared without warning.
Wearing his gas mask, Little Darling was tall and powerfully built. The thin shirt beneath his coat clung to his skin, tracing the lines of his body.
His bulging chest muscles and solid arms made Dahu look feeble by comparison. Dahu, barely an adult, clearly couldn’t withstand this treatment from Little Darling.
Little Darling seemed intent on crushing Dahu’s head. His other hand already covered Dahu’s face.
Zhao Xiuming coughed. Ah Hao and Shuai Zai saw the arrogant masked man, who had shown no restraint and seemed bent on killing Dahu, shudder from head to toe.
That towering figure actually looked guilty. He meekly lowered Dahu, gave his head an exaggeratedly kindly pat, and put an arm around him as though he wanted to plant a kiss on him.
Auntie Hong couldn’t understand the scene before her. She muttered, “No… no dead person…”
Zhao Xiuming raised an eyebrow slightly and unhurriedly held out a hand to the side.
The masked man pointed at himself. Zhao Xiuming nodded.
The masked man immediately flung Dahu aside and strode over. In front of Auntie Hong and the two men inside, Ah Hao and Shuai Zai, he twisted his own head off and placed it in Zhao Xiuming’s hand.
Black vapor rose from the smooth neck. The headless body raised two fingers at Auntie Hong: a peace sign.
Auntie Hong looked at the masked head, then at the headless, muscular man.
Suddenly, her eyes rolled back and she fainted.
Zhao Xiuming lowered his head, his shoulders shaking with laughter.
He gestured for Little Darling to take back his head. But the headless body bent down and pointed at its neck, wanting Zhao Xiuming to put it back himself.
Zhao Xiuming didn’t argue over such a small thing. Cradling the head, he set it back, carefully straightened it, and leaned closer to watch the head join the neck.
The masked man rested his hands on Zhao Xiuming’s shoulders and tilted his head back for him to see, cooperating readily.
Only up close did Zhao Xiuming notice how neat the wound was. It left no trace as it fused.
His breath brushed the masked man’s neck. Little Darling’s skin flushed faintly, his Adam’s apple bobbing. He indicated that Zhao Xiuming could come a little closer, and could touch it too.
Zhao Xiuming did neither. He straightened, ignoring the hands still resting on his shoulders.
“Is there danger?”
“That green door in my sitting room has disappeared.”
“I have a feeling something strange is happening.”
Then Ah Hao and Shuai Zai watched Zhao Xiuming hold his chin in thought while the masked man moved behind him, kicked aside Dahu, who couldn’t get up, and possessively drew Zhao Xiuming into a loose embrace.
Still thinking, Zhao Xiuming tapped the beadless red cord at his wrist with his knuckles. His expression relaxed.
Realizing someone was holding him, he scolded lazily, “Let go. What are you, looking to be breastfed?”
The masked man looked at Zhao Xiuming’s chest, then jerked his gaze away as though burned.
Zhao Xiuming laughed in exasperation. “What exactly are you so uneasy about?”
Beside them, Ah Hao sucked in a breath and warned in a quick, low voice, “Mr. Zhao, Mr. Zhao! People are coming. Lots of them.”
At some point, five or six men had gathered at the rented room’s entrance. Holding clubs and other weapons, they looked hostilely at the furniture and windows inside.
Some looked greedy and surprised. Others looked up again to check they had come to the right place.
Seeing the people inside turn toward them, the five or six men spoke in turn, their voices challenging. “Who are you?”
“Did you kill the person outside? Have you killed Granny Snake?”
“Why are you killing people in an apartment building? Don’t you know how dangerous that is? What about our safety if you act so rashly?”
Ah Hao and Shuai Zai thought the residents had misunderstood. They meant to explain that they hadn’t killed the man.
Clearly, Auntie Hong had killed the man in white, then fainted from fright. It had nothing to do with any of them.
But before they could get the words out, the men outside began saying things that sounded wrong. The man holding an axe spoke regretfully, as matter-of-factly as if he were drinking water:
“If you’ve killed Granny Snake, what are we supposed to do about the possessed people in our families? My wife wanted to kill my little sister. I just killed my wife. I need an exorcism.”
The man clutching a steel pipe was panting, his voice excited and relieved:
“I killed the two old bastards at home. I was going to ask Granny Snake to perform the rites for them.”
“I’m a very dutiful son. I’ll give them a grand funeral. I need to buy more offerings from Granny Snake to burn, so my parents can enjoy themselves in the afterlife.”
The man looking around spoke sourly:
“How come you live in such a big place? We’re all crammed into pigeonholes. Why should you get all this space to yourself? It’s not fair.”
“None of us knows him. For our own safety, shouldn’t we…”
Ah Hao and Shuai Zai were utterly baffled. For a moment, they wondered whether they had heard wrong.
Were these people serious?
Why were normal people so calm at the sight of a corpse?
And from the sound of it, had all these men killed someone?
But… how could it weigh on them so little?
They stood at the door discussing murder as though sharing everyday news, talking about what they’d eaten today.
Zimu City hadn’t sunk so low that murder was material for casual small talk. What was wrong with these people?
They said the most horrifying things in the blandest voices. What was funny about killing their own relatives?
A sense of absurdity and unreality washed over them. The two gang members, Shuai Zai and Ah Hao, exchanged looks.
Ah Hao even asked Shuai Zai to slap him, to test whether he was having a nightmare.
Before either could react, the men outside raised their weapons and charged in.
Little Darling looked down and kicked Dahu. Crawling along in a twisted, cringing posture, too afraid to rise, Dahu shrank back.
Zhao Xiuming was about to crouch down and offer a few comforting words, but Little Darling stopped him.
He held Zhao Xiuming back and crouched himself. At last, he got his wish and pulled off Dahu’s head, then kicked it out. The head spun through the air, tendrils shooting from its mouth to wind around the intruders and clamp onto their faces in a deadly embrace.
Having tasted the flesh and blood of NPCs from his own world, Dahu’s remaining body was no longer afraid. It twisted and lunged at the enemies.
Two thuds rang out. Zhao Xiuming turned toward the sound. Ah Hao and Shuai Zai had fainted.
The sight was quite something. A little too much for their minds to take. They just couldn’t handle it.