Chapter 19: Madness
Li Wan looked at Xiang Er’s neck with suspicion.
On that smooth, flawless skin, a string of purplish-red hickeys trailed down, disappearing beneath her collar, hinting at the passionate scene hidden beneath.
But Xiang Er’s expression was cold and indifferent, numb and weary. This wasn’t the look of someone after a passionate encounter, it was more like…
Li Wan realized. These hickeys must have been the work of her unfaithful boyfriend!
She turned and glared at her boyfriend, hissing:
“You scumbag! We’ll settle this later!”
She turned back to Xiang Er, composing herself, and said:
“I know about what happened yesterday. I came back today mainly to tell you that we’re moving out.”
Xiang Er didn’t react, her eyes unfocused as she gripped the doorknob.
On the other side of the door, hidden from Li Wan’s view, several tentacles were brazenly coiling around Xiang Er’s ear, sniffing her cheek and hair, pressing their suckers against her skin.
Like the wet noses of puppies, the sensation made it impossible for Xiang Er to concentrate, and she struggled to remain silent.
Li Wan continued:
“But I need an explanation for you injuring my boyfriend yesterday! The hospital bills cost several thousand yuan. You have to take responsibility!”
Xiang Er’s eyes shifted, looking towards the living room, or perhaps at nothing at all. An unnatural blush crept up her cheeks, puzzling Li Wan.
“Did you hear me?”
Li Wan yelled, slapping the door.
“What?”
Xiang Er snapped out of her daze, tilting her head in confusion.
“You didn’t hear a single word I said!”
Li Wan, enraged, raised her hand and slapped Xiang Er across the face.
Xiang Er didn’t dodge, seemingly stunned.
But Li Wan’s hand was intercepted. She turned around in astonishment, and saw that it was her dear boyfriend who had caught her arm.
His gaze was fixed on Xiang Er, a strange greed in his eyes. He held Li Wan’s arm and said to Xiang Er:
“You don’t have to pay the money back. Just agree to play with me, and we can forget about what happened before.”
Li Wan:
“What the fuck—”
She turned and started hitting her boyfriend, her hair flying, her eyes red with rage.
“Do you think I’m dead! Hitting on someone else right in front of me? Are you crazy? What kind of love potion did that Xiang girl give you! What the fuck…”
Li Wan clawed at her boyfriend’s arm and face, lashing out like a madwoman.
Xiang Er watched the scene unfold, unconcerned about the seemingly crazed Li Wan. She was focused on the man.
Even while fighting with Li Wan, his eyes remained fixed on her, a disgusting, viscous look in them, as if he wanted to devour her.
It was the look of a predator eyeing its prey, a look Xiang Er had seen before.
On the dog-like mutant creature.
Xiang Er took a step back and subconsciously glanced to the side. Several tentacles were curiously peeking through the gap in the door, like onlookers watching a spectacle.
A strange smell began to fill the air, and Xiang Er’s eyes widened.
Right in front of her, Li Wan slapped the man, her long nails catching his cheek, leaving a deep gash. Thick, black blood oozed out.
The man, like a rotten, peeled fruit, emitted a putrid odor, and yet he was still smiling at Li Wan.
Li Wan froze. She realized… something was terribly wrong with her boyfriend, and that substance oozing out wasn’t blood!
Her beloved boyfriend smiled at her and said:
“What’s wrong, honey? Don’t be angry. She can be the mistress, you’re my wife.”
As he spoke, another piece of skin fell from his face. The yellowish-black skin began to peel off along the wound, piece by piece, falling to the floor with a series of “splats.”
“Ah… aaaaaaah, stay away from me—!!!”
Li Wan truly lost it this time. She ran towards the balcony, tears and snot streaming down her face, her body trembling with fear, her legs weak, unable to run properly!
Her boyfriend chased after her, the skin on his body continuing to peel and fall to the floor, leaving a trail of black blood and splattering sounds, his voice hoarse and strange:
“Honey? Honey, don’t run! Honey, I love you, come here… hahaha! Come here!”
Li Wan reached the balcony, then changed her mind, turning and running towards the entrance! But as she turned, she came face to face with her boyfriend and screamed:
“Aaaaaaaah! Get away from me! I’m not your wife, whoever your wife is, go find her! Xiang Er, Xiang Er is your wife, over there, she’s over there!”
Screaming, she pointed wildly towards the guest room.
Xiang Er stood there silently, watching everything unfold, motionless, her grip on the doorknob unwavering.
But the boyfriend understood Li Wan’s frantic gesture. He turned with a grin and walked towards the guest room. Li Wan seized the opportunity to escape, running to the entrance, throwing open the door and running out, slamming it shut behind her, as if afraid the monster would follow.
Only the monster and Xiang Er remained in the apartment.
Splat, splat, splat, the viscous sound of footsteps accompanied by heavy breathing, his pace several times faster than before. The man seemed to be quickly adapting to his new identity, his grin growing more predatory and cruel as he walked, the skin on his face almost completely gone, revealing black veins, swollen muscles, and glimpses of white bone and teeth.
The man opened his mouth, his white teeth glinting, and said to Xiang Er:
“I like you, beautiful. Be with me… be with me…”
Xiang Er, watching this scene, felt a sense of detached absurdity. She had seen this kind of monster before, and now, seeing this one, she felt more shocked than terrified.
Having a point of comparison, she realized that her fear of the tentacles and the sculpture was much stronger than her fear of this ordinary monster.
But now… how should she react?
This wasn’t a human threat, this was a monster, far beyond her ability to handle. She had been able to deal with the sexual harassment herself, but this time…
She glanced back. The sculpture sat quietly on the desk, its eye gleaming, the tentacles behind it swaying slowly.
The monster’s stench grew stronger. At this crucial moment, Xiang Er turned and looked at the sculpture.
As if… in the whole world, there was only her and the sculpture.
The sculpture swayed its tentacles leisurely and playfully, paying no attention to the approaching monster at the door. Its gaze was fixed on her, and only on her.
This was a moment between her and It, a silent exchange of gazes, a first, intimate connection between her and It in this fractured world.
It waited, patiently, unhurriedly, using a tentacle to gently brush a stray strand of hair from Xiang Er’s face.
Even with the man-eating monster inches away, the strand of hair floated lightly, like… a line of poetry, a work of art, a fleeting glimpse of the beauty of life.
It savored this beauty, unhurried.
Like a spider sitting in the center of its web, waiting for its prey… to walk into the trap.
Xiang Er frowned at the sculpture. She was reluctant, but she had no choice. She knew the Evil God was forcing her, forcing her to utter the plea she had desperately refused before, forcing her… to submit.
The black slime had already reached the doorway, spreading to her feet, the overwhelming stench filling the room, suffocating her.
Chunks of flesh splattered on the floor. Behind her, the putrid breath of the monster brushed against her neck, his hoarse, grating voice chuckling, so close that it vibrated in her ear:
“Good girl… that’s right, don’t move, I’m coming…”
As the stench reached her neck, Xiang Er finally gave in.
From the corner of her eye, she could see the monster’s skinless, bloody face, only inches away from her neck, his fangs about to pierce her skin…
She sighed, her lips barely moving:
“Akhe, I need you… to save me.”
Xiang Er seemed to hear a soft chuckle, but it was so faint, she couldn’t be sure.
In an instant, the world turned upside down, the sun and moon turned blood-red, a giant eyeball hung in the sky, and the black river surged forth, cleansing everything, devouring everything!
Xiang Er turned to look behind her. Countless thick, giant tentacles extended, trembling with excitement, wrapping around her, lifting her into the air.
The world turned dark red, the apartment vanished, the sky became an endless twilight! She looked up and saw the giant eyeball staring at her, its gaze making her head buzz, her body going limp.
Numerous thin tentacles emerged from the river, like countless writhing roots.
The man who had been chasing her lay in the river, his body quickly being filled with the asphalt-like water, his limbs bound by thin tentacles…
He shouted and screamed frantically, but not a sound escaped his lips.
This place seemed to follow certain rules, and sounds that weren’t permitted couldn’t be made!
Soon, the man’s struggles ceased.
Every part of his body was being devoured by the river and the tentacles, the crunching of bones echoing endlessly.
He struggled violently, but it was like a moth to a flame, not even a whimper escaping his lips.
Beneath the twilight sky, the girl in the white dress, lifted by the eerie tentacles, floated gracefully, clean and beautiful, high above. Thick tentacles gently caressed her face, their movements incredibly gentle and careful, as if handling a precious, fragile piece of porcelain.
Xiang Er’s mind still buzzed, but her thoughts were clear again. She looked at the monster slowly dissolving in the river ahead, then at the tentacles in front of her.
She looked intently at the translucent red tip of the tentacle and said:
“Akhe, thank you.”
It was the first time she had sincerely thanked Akhe.
Hearing these words, the tip of the tentacle flushed a deeper, more translucent red, until the entire tentacle glowed red.
Even the dim sky in the domain was tinged with blood-red, shimmering and shifting, like an aurora.
Xiang Er thought: I never imagined seeing the aurora for the first time would be in a place like this, with a being like this.
But it was quite beautiful.
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