Chapter 73: The Soul
An Yue stood frozen on the stairwell, wondering if she had misheard.
Her eyes, stinging and blurred from looking directly at the Evil God’s true form, still searched for information, blood trickling from her nose, but she didn’t retreat.
She waited, and a thick tentacle suddenly shot out from the apartment, wrapping around her waist, pulling her inside, lifting her into the air before Xiang Er.
The door slammed shut behind her, several black tentacles severed by the sudden movement, the remaining tentacles writhing wildly, as if the Evil God itself was in a frenzy!
An Yue hung suspended, like a rigid wooden stick, a tentacle gently touching her eyes, and the pain subsided, her vision clearing.
She was pulled closer to Xiang Er, her gaze fixed on the girl’s current state…
A sudden realization made her gasp:
“That wound… she did that to herself?”
The entire room trembled, the black slime churning and bubbling like boiling water, the tentacles writhing in agony and frenzy, some of them suddenly sharpening, like blades, severing other tentacles!
The severed tentacles let out horrifying shrieks, falling into the slime, dissolving into bloody red clumps…
The Evil God was self-harming, tearing at Its own flesh, trying to feel the same pain as Xiang Er, but it was useless. A Evil God wasn’t human, It couldn’t feel the same fragile pain.
A long, mournful wail, low and reverberating, echoed from the Evil God, a sound of pure agony!
An Yue, stunned and incredulous, couldn’t help but ask:
“What happened? What exactly happened? Why did she… was it suicide?”
The next second, the world blurred, and An Yue saw everything.
Xiang Er lay on the bed, her body, from the neck down, completely enveloped in thick, red tentacles, not an inch of skin visible.
And the source of these tentacles… was Shen Yuhe’s head.
…Just a head.
From the side, it looked like two heads sprouting from a mass of tentacles.
And Xiang Er’s face was flushed crimson, as if she had just experienced an intense release, her eyes vacant as she stared at the ceiling, her voice hoarse:
“Who… are you?”
Shen Yuhe’s beautiful head spoke, her voice soft:
“I’m Shen Yuhe, your Little Fish.”
Xiang Er continued to stare at the ceiling, as if unwilling to look at the tentacles, her expression unchanging, not asking any more questions, just breathing slowly.
Shen Yuhe’s head spoke again, her voice incredibly gentle and soothing:
“I’m also… Akhe.”
Xiang Er still stared at the ceiling, her eyelashes fluttering, her voice trembling:
“What did you do to my Little Fish… did you eat her?”
Shen Yuhe shook her head, her disembodied face a mask of sadness and a deep sense of being wronged.
“No, it’s always been just me, just Akhe. Little Fish is me, Shen Yuhe is me, Akhe is me.”
Xiang Er gritted her teeth, blood welling up on her lips, tears escaping her eyes:
“So… you’re saying… Shen Yuhe never existed? Is that it?”
Shen Yuhe’s… Akhe’s head, looking frantic, immediately moved closer:
“She exists, Shen Yuhe is me…”
But Xiang Er closed her eyes, her voice firm:
“Shen Yuhe never existed.”
Akhe’s head swayed frantically, unsure what to do, then pressed against Xiang Er’s face, her full, red lips gently kissing Xiang Er’s cheek.
And Xiang Er, her eyes closed, her face ashen, passively endured it all.
After a long time, the tentacles turned crimson again, their tips restlessly exploring Xiang Er’s body.
Xiang Er opened her eyes slightly, her gaze hazy, and she whispered:
“Then… become her, let me see her again.”
Akhe, hearing this, immediately retracted its tentacles, transforming back into Shen Yuhe, her naked body, smooth and glowing, pressing against Xiang Er, her arms wrapping around her, her lips eagerly kissing Xiang Er’s neck:
“Have you… changed your mind? I can hear it… you’ve changed your mind… you’re right, I am her, she is me, and from now on, we’ll be together…”
Xiang Er gently turned her head and kissed Shen Yuhe, a deep, lingering kiss.
A kiss of love, and a kiss of farewell.
Shen Yuhe, lost in the kiss, completely relaxed her guard.
And in that moment…
Xiang Er raised her arm, a rusty piece of metal clutched in her hand.
The bed in the master bedroom was old and worn, and pieces of metal from the frame often came loose. Held in her hand, it became a crude, makeshift blade.
The next second, Shen Yuhe cried out, reaching out to stop her, tentacles erupting from her back!
But… Xiang Er didn’t give her a chance.
One moment, their lips were locked in a sweet, dreamlike kiss, the promise of a future together.
The next, blood splattered.
With all her might, Xiang Er slashed her own carotid artery!
A crimson arc of blood sprayed outwards, covering Shen Yuhe’s face and body.
“Aaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!”
Shen Yuhe’s scream echoed, a powerful shockwave ripping through the apartment, the building collapsing around them!
Amidst the roar of the collapsing structure, the dust and debris, black slime and tentacles surged forward, enveloping Xiang Er…
And Shen Yuhe, Akhe, shattered, reduced to a pathetic puddle of black slime.
Frantically trying to heal her, to repair the wound with its tentacles, to pry open her eyelids.
But it was no use.
The black slime could rebuild the collapsed building, restore their cozy home, but it couldn’t… bring her back.
Having witnessed all of this, An Yue immediately injected herself with a tranquilizer.
She couldn’t believe what she had just seen, her mind reeling, quickly skipping over the details, she said:
“If it’s just the carotid artery, I have a special medication that can…”
But the mad, broken voice screamed:
“No!!! No!!! You useless thing!!!”
A tentacle lashed out, striking An Yue across the face with a loud crack, her cheek instantly swelling, her teeth aching.
An Yue spat out a mouthful of blood and raised an eyebrow:
“Do you still want my help or not?”
The voice sobbed, a high-pitched wail, and the tentacle that had struck her was severed, black and red slime mixing together, the stench almost unbearable.
An Yue:
“If it’s not the artery, then what?”
The voice, now a choked whisper, replied:
“It’s… her soul. I can repair her body, but I can’t bring back her soul, her soul doesn’t want to see me, I can’t find it… she’ll become an empty shell…”
An Yue understood. The physical wounds could be healed, but Xiang Er would be left an empty shell, her SAN value at zero.
“Oh, we happen to have some… experience with souls.”
An Yue opened her bag and pulled out a bottle of painkillers and a syringe, her usual emergency supplies.
As she was about to inject Xiang Er, a tentacle snatched the syringe and the medicine, pushing her aside.
An Yue watched as the tentacles clumsily, then with increasing dexterity, mimicked her actions, having absorbed the knowledge of how to use the syringe from her mind.
It was a SAN value stabilizer developed by the Special Investigations Bureau, different from ordinary tranquilizers, designed to affect the mind and, to some extent, retrieve a lost soul.
An Yue, watching the tentacles carefully handling the large bottle of medicine, as if holding a precious lifeline, one tentacle holding the bottle, another drawing the liquid into the syringe, couldn’t help but say:
“But even if you can bring back her soul… are you sure she’ll want to see you?”
Although she hadn’t understood the details of their relationship, she instinctively felt that Xiang Er wouldn’t want to come back.
The tentacles paused, then continued their task. Shen Yuhe’s voice echoed:
“As long as she wakes up, I’ll do anything…”
An Yue:
“What if she wants you to disappear completely?”
Silence. Only the gurgling of the black slime, and the sound of tentacles writhing within it, no comprehensible answer.
The tentacle holding An Yue carried her to a corner, while the other tentacles, carefully parting the black slime around Xiang Er, gently inserted the needle into a vein in her arm.
Meanwhile, some of the black slime was clinging to Xiang Er’s neck, the jagged, bloodstained wound already closed, new flesh growing, clearly being healed.
The injection seemed to have no effect, and the tentacles were about to lash out at An Yue, when An Yue quickly said:
“You have to inject the whole bottle! She’s already…”
Before she could finish the sentence, she was thrown to the ground, her face landing in the black slime, almost suffocating her.
“You’re lying!!! Get out!!! Get out of here!!!!”
The chaotic scream, rising in pitch, became an unbearable, high-frequency sound, and An Yue, wiping the slime from her face, stood up, blood trickling from her eyes, her ears, her nose!
Amidst the pain and chaos, she raised her hands:
“Okay, okay, I was wrong, she’s fine, calm down, she’s about to wake up… don’t scare her.”
It seemed to work.
As the tentacles continued injecting Xiang Er with the stabilizer, the black slime began to recede, revealing the room beneath.
The floor was covered in debris, cracks in the walls, pieces of plaster and concrete clinging precariously, the whole place about to collapse.
The black slime gently caressed Xiang Er’s neck, the tentacles, as they administered the injection, carefully wrapping around her body, carrying her to the sofa, and gently laying her down.
An Yue, watching the tentacles’ gentle movements, then remembering how roughly she had been handled, couldn’t help but click her tongue.
This Evil God… seemed hopelessly in love.
The person on the sofa finally stirred, her fingers twitching, her eyelashes fluttering.
Suddenly, another figure appeared beside the sofa.
Shen Yuhe, dressed in a long white dress, like a first love, her face pale and ethereal, leaned over Xiang Er, her gaze intense and anxious.
She had to make sure that when Xiang Er woke up, the first thing she saw was her.
Leave a Reply