Chapter 71: Confession
Winter was a hateful, dreadful season. The world grew stiff yet damp, exuding a thick, cloying air of sorrow and pain. Everything buried deep within people’s memories surfaced like phantom bubbles, threatening to drown their souls. It was a time for nostalgia and tears, the perfect season for a rendezvous with ghosts and monsters.
That’s why fragile humans created so many festivals in winter, hoping to dispel the gloom with joyous celebrations, hoping that human connection, however superficial, could offer some warmth… to shield them from the harsh reality.
Today was December 29th, and many people were preparing for New Year’s Day. Shops were decorated, office workers were cheerful, the sky slightly overcast, perhaps it would snow tonight, a romantic backdrop for their celebrations, holding their loved ones close, creating fleeting memories amidst the mundane chaos. This was the meaning of life for most people.
But tonight, when people should have been out celebrating, a subtle melancholy permeated the air, a collective consciousness infecting everyone, a wave of sadness and pain, making them dwell on their misfortunes, even canceling their plans, just wanting to go home and lie down.
Their emotions were like puppets on strings, manipulated by some unknown force, sorrow flowing through them like a river, through their hearts, their eyes, their lips, an unending stream.
The source of this heavy, indescribable sadness was an unremarkable old district, its grey and black buildings standing silently, the elderly residents, like stone statues, their eyes clouded, watching the absurd comedies and tragedies unfold.
In the oldest building, in the furthest corner of the old district, on the top floor…
Inside the bathroom, Shen Yuhe was washing her human skin, a tentacle holding the showerhead, carefully rinsing away the dust with warm water.
The black tentacle was covered in suckers, its red eyes, unblinking, drifting in the murky water, seemingly lifeless.
Black slime accumulated on the bathroom floor, a growing puddle, mixing with the water, like thick mud.
And the tentacle washing the skin was steady, its movements precise, as if the Evil God felt no emotion, despite the wave of sorrow and pain engulfing the city.
The Evil God’s tentacle emerged from the slime, submerging the human skin, Shen Yuhe’s beautiful face now smeared with the black mud, a grotesque sight.
The Evil God could clearly hear the sounds from the next room.
Getting out of bed, stumbling, walking unsteadily, opening the door, entering the living room, continuing to stumble, her movements erratic.
The sound of her breathing, heavy and anxious, her hair swaying, her body moving through the air, the shuffle of her slippers, the tingling of her skin. The voice in her heart, screaming, yearning for Shen Yuhe, wanting to surrender to her.
It could hear everything.
But It continued methodically washing the skin, its pace unhurried.
Outside the bathroom, Xiang Er searched the master bedroom, then, hearing the sound of running water, realized that Shen Yuhe must be showering.
Ah… she was showering!
Just the thought made Xiang Er’s face flush, and she walked to the bathroom, her hand reaching for the doorknob, wanting to open the door, to go inside.
She could join her… wouldn’t that be wonderful! Shen Yuhe’s body, glistening with water… She turned the doorknob forcefully, but the door was locked.
Xiang Er gritted her teeth and twisted the doorknob, a sharp pain shooting through her wrist as the doorknob snapped off!
She had never been so strong.
She wasn’t surprised, only anxious, now she couldn’t even open the door! She pressed her ear against the door and called out:
“Shen Yuhe! Are you in there? Are you showering?”
Her voice, high-pitched and frantic, like a madwoman’s, penetrated the door. She peered through the crack, a sharp pain in her palm, but she ignored it, her gaze fixed on the sliver of the room visible through the gap.
She couldn’t see anything… and there was no response.
Where was her Shen Yuhe? Why didn’t she answer?
Xiang Er’s hand, pressed against the broken doorknob, was bleeding, the blood dripping onto the floor, but she didn’t feel it, only the burning anxiety, the desperate need to see Shen Yuhe.
“Shen Yuhe, open the door, let me in, I have something to tell you, I need to tell you in person!”
She pounded on the frosted glass of the bathroom door, leaving bloody handprints, then pressed her eye against the glass, trying to see inside.
She couldn’t see anything, only a swirling white mist, as if no one was there.
But the water was still running.
Xiang Er, frantic, began tearing off her clothes, ripping her fluffy pajamas, the sleeves tearing, the neckline stretching!
Soon, she was naked, her body bare and exposed, like a glass statue of a young woman, her skin flushed an unnatural red, as if consumed by invisible flames.
The blood from her hand smeared across her body, like blooming red camellias, staining her pale skin…
“Shen Yuhe… open the door…”
Xiang Er’s voice was hoarse and broken, her body pressed against the cold door, the only thing that could slightly alleviate her burning anxiety.
She tried to distract herself, but her thoughts, like a broken compass, always returned to Shen Yuhe, her obsession consuming her.
A wildfire raged within her, her usual caution and restraint gone, her actions more reckless than any monster’s!
She vaguely sensed that something was wrong, but… she loved her so much! She would go mad if she couldn’t see Shen Yuhe!
Her thoughts were hazy and confused, Shen Yuhe’s every smile and frown filling her mind, but for some reason, images of tentacles, black slime, flashed through her mind, merging with Shen Yuhe’s face. Those images, strangely, brought moments of clarity, fleeting doubts amidst the madness.
Why… ah, I love her so much… why am I like this? …She’s so beautiful, she’s the one I love… but I’m not… why isn’t she coming out… what happened before… she’s showering, she’s showering, she’s showering… it hurts, it hurts so much, did I die… her body, her hands, her legs…
Fragmented thoughts raced through her mind, elusive and intangible, and Xiang Er gasped for breath, her hand clutching her chest.
The water in the bathroom suddenly stopped. Xiang Er, realizing this, immediately stood up, her bloody hand pounding on the door, screaming Shen Yuhe’s name! She couldn’t wait any longer!
After an eternity, a soft click, and the door opened from the inside.
A wave of warm, damp steam billowed out, enveloping Xiang Er, obscuring her vision.
Like the morning mist in a forest, the steam carried a sweet, intoxicating fragrance, a scent so familiar to Xiang Er, so maddening.
She stared, her eyes wide, peering through the mist.
A graceful, feminine silhouette slowly emerged from the steam, a ghostly yet tangible figure, stepping out of the mist, gradually materializing before her eyes.
It was Shen Yuhe.
Her body glistening with water, her waist slender, her legs long, her delicate arms framing her willowy figure, her wet hair like black ripples cascading down her back, her eyes like the deepest pools.
Her body, from head to toe, was perfect, every curve and contour soft and yielding, adorned with shimmering droplets of water, like countless pearls, reflecting the light, a breathtaking, alluring sight.
Even Xiang Er, in her current state of madness, gasped at the sight.
This was the first time she had seen Shen Yuhe completely naked.
Unveiled, unhidden, completely exposed before her.
Her beauty was absolute. Flawless, her body a perfect symphony of curves and contours, the ultimate expression of human form.
No words could describe such beauty, no image, no photograph or video, could capture its essence.
Shen Yuhe stood there, amidst the swirling mist, her face, like a Madonna’s, a mixture of gentle serenity and profound sadness, her gaze soft and luminous, fixed on Xiang Er, a wave of sorrow emanating from her.
They stood there, naked, facing each other, no more secrets, no more lies.
Xiang Er whispered:
“You’re so beautiful.”
Shen Yuhe’s blood-red lips curved upwards, the mist slowly dissipating, the world brightening.
The bathroom floor was covered in black slime, red eyes swirling within it, those eyes, too, seemingly intoxicated, their gaze unfocused.
Shen Yuhe stepped forward, her foot sinking into the black slime, crushing several eyeballs, a strange, squelching sound.
But Xiang Er, oblivious to everything else, her gaze fixed on Shen Yuhe’s face and body, as if she couldn’t look away.
Shen Yuhe’s voice, soft as a whisper, as if afraid of breaking the spell, replied:
“Then… do you like it?”
Xiang Er, without hesitation, nodded:
“I like it.”
She wanted to say more, to tell her how much she liked it, that she had liked it since the moment they met, that she had never liked anyone else, that she was grateful for her existence in this world, to say… everything.
But a lump, like dried blood, was lodged in her throat, a painful obstruction, and she couldn’t speak, just stared at the woman before her, her eyes wide with anticipation.
Her face flushed, her eyes hazy, her naked body covered in bloody handprints, she reached out her hands, as if seeking an embrace.
And the woman, a head taller than her, stood silently, watching.
The woman’s smile widened, her bright red lips stretching, almost reaching her ears.
And behind her exquisite body…
A thick, dark red tentacle rose, its blood-red suckers contracting and expanding, the entire tentacle swaying slowly, rhythmically.
“I… like you too.”
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