Зал астрологии с плотью и кровью

Глава 108

I took a deep breath; carrying someone like this was really tiring. I put Zhuang Jing down. She seemed to be in so much pain that she couldn't even speak. Her face was as pale as paper, large beads of sweat covered her forehead, and her whole body was trembling slightly.

"Don't worry," I comforted Fang Lei, while carefully looking around. There was nothing unusual.

"How can I not be anxious?" Fang Lei stamped her foot and said, "How can we not get out?"

"Where is your hairpin?" I asked.

"What hairpin? You're still thinking about hairpins at a time like this?" Fang Lei asked, looking puzzled. I sighed helplessly. I had forgotten that she was no longer my magical forensic girlfriend, but just an ordinary psychologist.

"It's nothing, I just remembered it wrong," I replied softly.

"I refuse to believe we can't get out." Fang Lei tried taking a few more steps, but nothing happened. I closed my eyes, trying to sense the fluctuations in the air.

There was nothing there either! This made me even more anxious. It couldn't be. Even if there were no other fluctuations, why couldn't I sense any fluctuations from Fang Lei and Zhuang Jing?

Could it be... that they aren't human?

No...impossible. Even ghosts have fluctuations of their souls.

I scratched my head. Was I really going to be trapped here? I never imagined that this small building would become a cage.

Hehe~~~

The familiar shrill laughter, like the sound of something choking one's throat, seemed to echo throughout the building, lingering for a long time...

"Who is it? Who's laughing?" Fang Lei shouted at the air, only to be met with an even more piercing laugh. Zhuang Jing was already frozen in fear, trembling uncontrollably.

It's so cold. I can feel the cold wind blowing up from my feet.

What's under my feet...?

Looking down, I saw that the once dry cement floor was now covered in tiny water droplets. These droplets slowly gathered into puddles, and in the blink of an eye, they had merged into one large pool. The entire cement floor of the building was flooded! If this continued, wouldn't it turn into a reservoir? I'd drown!

"Let's go!" I grabbed Zhuang Jing and yelled at Fang Lei.

“I can’t walk…” Fang Lei took a few more steps, but it was no use; she was still in the same spot.

What should I do? I looked down at the water; it was so clear I could see... something red... a little girl... floating in the water with her feet tied...

And...the completely black eye sockets on her pale face...

"Don't look down." I covered Zhuang Jing's eyes, but Fang Lei still glanced down at her feet.

"Ah~~!" Fang Lei screamed, her body swaying.

"Close your eyes," I said to Fang Lei and Zhuang Jing. Strangely, the water seemed to rise only a few centimeters before stopping. Even stranger, our feet weren't submerged; we were still standing on the surface.

Slowly, many white shadows began to appear on the other side of the water. They seemed to be facing the exact opposite direction from us, standing upside down at my feet. It was as if the water beneath my feet was a giant mirror, reflecting countless white images.

Gradually, the reflected faces became clearer and clearer. I could see the black veins slowly writhing beneath their grayish-black skin, their bloodshot, yellowish eyes, their yellowed teeth, and their black lips. They were all different kinds of dead faces, and although their appearances varied, their movements were almost identical. They would occasionally bend down and put their hands into the water!

I saw withered, shriveled, grayish-black hands emerging from the water every now and then, seemingly groping for something in our space.

What were they touching? Before I could even react, a hand suddenly reached out and was about to grab Zhuang Jing, who was standing next to me.

"Watch out." I instinctively pushed Zhuang Jing aside and reached out my hand to try and shove that hand away.

"Ouch!" It hurts! My hand was grabbed by that hand, and I felt my skin being torn apart by it. I fell to the ground.

"Lin Xiao!" Fang Lei exclaimed.

"Don't come any closer, watch out for those outstretched hands." I tried my best to pull my hand back from that hand, but that hand was surprisingly strong. Before I knew it, my entire palm and wrist had been pulled underwater, into their space.

So...so cold. I felt as if my hand, submerged in the water, was frozen in ice, instantly losing all feeling. Even though I could watch helplessly as the owner of that hand bit my hand like a wild beast, the bright red blood causing all the white shadows to pounce on my hand like a pack of beasts smelling blood.

"Lin Xiao!" Fang Lei rushed towards me, grabbing my hand and pulling me out forcefully. Zhuang Jing, who was already terrified, also rushed over to help after a moment of stunned silence. However, the white figures seemed to become even more frantic, with more than a dozen hands pulling my hand towards them. In an instant, my entire arm was pulled down.

Cold...cold...

But my mind was unusually clear. My left hand was already clenched into a gesture, trying to sense the warmth rising from my lower abdomen. Slowly, several blue particles of light gathered at my fingertips.

More and more of them flew into the air like fireflies. Then they flew towards the water's surface. These blue particles of light seemed to hesitate for a moment on the water's surface before plunging in, creating ripples.

"Ah!" My arm was immediately pulled out of the water, and the wound on it made me scream in pain. It was covered in blood, as if it had been scratched by the claws of a wild beast, and black smoke was sizzling from the exposed part of the wound.

"Let's go." I didn't have time to treat my wounds anymore. I grabbed Zhuang Jing and ran, with Fang Lei following behind. This time, I let the blue light particles lead the way, and we were actually able to move. We reached the door in just a few steps.

Just as we were about to run out the door, countless hands suddenly emerged from beneath the water. I heard Fang Lei and Zhuang Jing scream simultaneously. Turning around, I saw both of them had fallen to the ground, and those hands were pulling them down by their feet!

"Help me!" they both shouted at the same time.

I quickly reached out and grabbed them one by one, but my strength was no match for those white shadows. Their bodies gradually sank, and almost simultaneously, their feet disappeared beneath the surface of the water.

Damn it! I let go of Zhuang Jing's hand and used all my strength to pull Fang Lei away.

"Ah!!!" But as soon as I let go, Zhuang Jing's body sank in a lot, disappearing down to her calves.

"Go help Zhuang Jing!" Fang Lei tried to push me away. But I didn't let go of Fang Lei; instead, I used the blue light particles I summoned to shoot towards the water's surface. Just as those blue light particles were about to reach the water's surface, a red light shattered them all.

Who? I looked up and saw the little girl in red who had been underwater standing in front of me, but her body was floating a few centimeters above the water's surface, looking at me strangely.

"Hehe, we can only save one!" the little girl in red said with a laugh.

"I have to save them both." I reached out and grabbed Zhuang Jing, trying to pull her out, but it was no use. It was impossible to hold onto two people at the same time. Their bodies were slowly sinking and would eventually sink completely.

Damn it! I released my hands at the same time, clasped them together, and blue light particles surged out from my hand gestures. Unfortunately, they were scattered by the red light from the little girl in red.

Oh no! Fang Lei and Zhuang Jing's entire legs were submerged in the water. To make matters worse, I felt a sense of powerlessness slowly spreading from the wound on my right arm throughout my body. The light from the blue particles was also growing dimmer.

"Grab me!" I grabbed Fang Lei, while Zhuang Jing's body was completely submerged below the water's surface. The white shadows below the surface were frantically biting and tearing at her body, and blood splattered onto the opposite side of the water like blooming plum blossoms.

"Zhuang Jing!" I had no choice but to let go of Fang Lei and pull her out of the water. Although I managed to get her body out of the water a little more, Fang Lei next to me seemed to be in bad shape as well.

"Hehe, didn't I tell you? I can only save one. How can you be so greedy?" The little girl in red grinned from ear to ear.

One? Only one can be saved? What about the other one? Are we just going to watch her get dragged away? I'm feeling increasingly powerless; at this rate, I'm afraid we won't be able to save any of them.

Who should we save? Fang Lei? Or Zhuang Jing?

It must be Fang Lei, because she is Fang Lei! Even if she doesn't remember me anymore, or even if she is actually Su Qiao, I will save her first!

Zhuang Jing? Are you sorry?

I held Fang Lei tightly in my arms and closed my eyes. I couldn't bear to look into Zhuang Jing's despairing eyes and Fang Lei's heartbroken eyes.

If I could, I've done my best. At least let me save one person!

I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I kept repeating myself in my heart. I know I'm selfish; I only saved the person I love. But if there has to be a sacrifice, it has to be Zhuang Jing, whom I don't know very well yet.

"Ahhh!" Amidst Zhuang Jing's desperate scream, I saw the white figure that had been holding Fang Lei turn towards Zhuang Jing. In just a moment, even though I managed to free one hand to grab her, she was still dragged down. Looking into her eyes as she was pulled away, I saw despair, pain, resentment… and… anger! Anger towards me?

Blood gushed out like a spring, instantly blurring the water beneath me. I couldn't see Zhuang Jing being torn apart, nor could I hear her screams, but I could clearly smell the blood in the air, and hear the little girl in red's unrestrained and triumphant laughter: "Hahahaha!! You really are heartless, watching someone die without helping. Another sin! Hahaha~~!"

Sin? I gave a bitter smile. A sinful person?

Cold! The water froze instantly. The cold and helplessness made me only vaguely feel Fang Lei in my arms. Darkness... was creeping in on me...

Volume 3, Hell's Delicacies, Chapter 52: The Spinning Top

Volume 3, Hell's Delicacies, Chapter 52: The Spinning Top

I struggled to sit up in bed, drenched in sweat, surrounded by darkness...

"Zhuang Jing? Zhuang Jing?" I murmured, as if under a spell.

"Hehe..." A woman chuckled softly. I turned my head and saw Fang Lei sitting in the chair in front of me, laughing so strangely that I began to doubt my eyes.

Who is this woman?

"Who...are you?" I looked at the familiar face and the unfamiliar eyes in front of me. There was a kind of satisfaction in her eyes as she toyed with her prey.

"What did you say?" Fang Lei stood up and walked in front of me. I felt a strange pressure that made it hard for me to breathe.

I closed my eyes, and everything seemed deathly still...

"Look at me, do you love this face?" Fang Lei's breath hit my face, warm and ticklish. I opened my eyes but didn't speak. I was certain, however, that she wasn't Fang Lei.

I chuckled softly: "You may have this face, but you don't have her soul. You will never be Fang Lei."

"Hehe, did I say I wanted to become her?" Fang Lei raised her chin smugly and said, "I just want to see what it's like when someone sees a stranger with the face of their loved one, while their loved one has the face of a stranger. Isn't that... interesting?"

Taking a deep breath, I didn't let myself go crazy. I just quietly watched her, Su Qiao, without saying a word.

“It’s really not easy to hypnotize you.” Su Qiao sat down next to me like a lover, but I only felt goosebumps rise all over my body.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"Nothing much, I just wanted to see your expression, but I didn't expect you to be so calm. It's not fun at all." Su Qiao spoke as if she were a child who hadn't gotten the toy she wanted, and I was the toy she didn't want.

"Indeed, it's not fun at all!" I suppressed my anger. But Fang Lei's face was still in front of me, even though I knew she wasn't.

"Don't even think about doing anything to me..." Su Qiao smiled sweetly, "If I die, this hypnosis will never be lifted. Are you willing to never see Fang Lei's face again?"

Forever? My heart clenched. Never to see my lover's true face, even if she stood alive right in front of me, and all I saw in my eyes was the face of someone I loathed? How cruel that would be! Perhaps some could accept a lover's ugly or even disfigured face, but who could accept the face of someone they hated?

A helpless, bitter smile. I know that no matter what, I have already lost in this bizarre contest.

"What do you want?" I asked. Her actions always had a purpose. In any case, I just wanted to break the hypnosis.

"I don't want anything." Su Qiao's answer gave me a headache. If she wanted revenge, what would it be for?

"Well..." I decided to change the subject: "What about Li Yang? Did you hypnotize him too? He doesn't even remember A Bao."

"That was just a prelude!" Su Qiao proudly raised her chin.

I got out of bed, straightened my clothes, looked at her, and asked, "What about Zhuang Jing? Was it a hypnotic hallucination? Or was it real?"

"It was all just a prelude." Su Qiao smiled faintly, took something out from around her neck—a necklace with a round piece on it—and took it off.

She walked over, gently placed it in my hand, and said with a smile, "Let's play a game."

I held that round piece in my hand; it was scalding hot, burning my skin and causing pain, but I didn't let go.

"I'll give you three days. If you can find the secret in this necklace, I'll break the hypnosis on you," Su Qiao whispered in my ear.

"Why should I believe you?" I asked, but gripped the disc even tighter.

“Because you can only trust this.” Su Qiao walked away from me and went to the door. She opened the door and said to me, “Prince, you should go back quickly. The princess is coming to see you.”

I stared intently at her; it was still that same face, Fang Lei… Su Qiao…?

I stepped out of the room. I looked at the round necklace on my hand. Su Qiao's actions seemed meaningless. Was Zhuang Jing's death related to her or not? I felt a thousand thoughts swirling before me, with no clue whatsoever. The only hope lay in this round necklace on my hand.

As soon as she closed the door, Su Qiao leaned against it, seemingly exhausted. Before her, the little girl in red appeared silently, her eyes bulging with a smug smile.

"You're helping him?" Su Qiao looked at the little girl in red in disbelief.