Chapter 62.2 Crazy Love Season
Sanatorium, data room.
Here, an additional round table was present. The environment was pitch black except for a single old light bulb hanging directly above, casting its glow.
The first to appear in the data room was a stunningly beautiful and serious-looking woman. Shortly after, a teenager materialized on another high chair. He lazily reclined in a rather improper posture, yet his arrogant demeanor was apparent with a single glance.
The demon’s tail suddenly slapped against the ground, causing the tiles to crack open. The teenager sneered, “Show yourself.”
A blurred outline emerged from the shadows. Jian Qingrong held the title of【Gatekeeper】and since the tea party was within his domain, he had the freedom to come and go.
He personally prepared the tea party treats dominated by green colors. Even the tea was green tea, the reference to whom was self-evident.
“Do not harm the home guardian” was a rule of the homestead, but what the teenager disliked the most was restraint. Not being allowed to harm didn’t mean he couldn’t cause injury. A partial silhouette appeared in front of Jian Qingrong, his tail, filled with terrifying power, issued a warning.
Astonishingly, Jian Qingrong took the initiative, attempting to have that tail pierce through his own shoulder blade. The teenager was well aware that this person wasn’t fond of being tortured, and the instant the tail got bloodied, he sensed something amiss. Suddenly, he looked towards a certain blinking red dot, unsurprisingly discovering it was a hidden camera once again.
It was clear who the hidden camera was intended for.
The teenager wished he could pierce this person’s heart on the spot.
Xie Tangyan looked at the chaotic scene and spoke just two words, “Annoying noise.”
The energy in the air grew increasingly volatile. There was no wind here, but the breeze that passed by was a tangible intent to kill.
“Apologies,” Jian Qingrong’s eyes, icy and ruthless, lowered, “You’re more than welcome to confront me directly, but please refrain from damaging the sanatorium.”
This time, the teenager reacted swiftly, “I just care too much about my big brother. I’m worried he cares more about outsiders than me.”
The outsider took it very seriously.
Xie Tangyan watched the sudden change in both of their expressions and knew that Wen Shi had arrived.
A young man with a smile in his eyes appeared in the room. His presence slightly eased the tense atmosphere.
Wen Shi was the last to arrive, holding a baby doll in his arms. He believed this adorable little bundle would surely win everyone’s affection. He could already picture everyone scrambling to hold A’Sang.
Just as he appeared, he saw Jian Qingrong and the teenager vying for dominance.
Wen Shi knew these two couldn’t be dealt with, but that was alright. A’Sang’s presence would definitely shift everyone’s attention.
The teenager only saw Wen Shi, his ivory-colored corners regaining their luster. “Big Brother.”
His lips hadn’t fully curled into a smile when his gaze turned cold, “Big Brother, why are you holding a filthy little doll?”
Wen Shi: “……”
This was quite different from what he had imagined.
The teenager was attached to his big brother, not to his siblings. Ignoring A’Sang, he pinched a piece of pastry from the plate. Unfortunately, the overly sweet treat couldn’t melt away the venom between his lips. “It’s this jerk’s fault that I missed saying goodbye to my Big Brother.”
The teenager was talking about Jian Qingrong.
To destroy those backups, he had nearly dug the entire factory into the ground.
Jian Qingrong didn’t offer any explanation. He stood there as if allowing himself to be insulted.
The teenager couldn’t tolerate his big brother having “tea” with someone else. The tip of his tail once again assumed an attack posture.
Wen Shi sighed, looked at Xie Tangyan, and greeted her with a smile, “Big Sister.”
Wen Shi finally realized that the versions of himself in parallel worlds were like coordinates radiating out from him. He and these people had similarities, yet they seemed quite dissimilar to each other.
Why was it like this?
Before two seconds had passed, the teenager and Jian Qingrong were at odds once again.
The demon stared quietly at the man feigning meekness. As he controlled his power, special patterns appeared on his skin. Finally, his smile returned to calmness, and his star-like eyes turned icy. “Big Brother, between the two of us, who do you prefer?”
Jian Qingrong appeared hopeful, but he said, “Don’t make him uncomfortable.”
A question that demanded a life.
In the silence that followed, A’Sang, with the most innocent expression, piped up, “I’m a little full.”
With this statement, he successfully diverted all attention to himself.
A’Sang casually recounted his experience of devouring monsters. When they learned he had consumed fourteen creatures without any restraint from external powers, the three present individuals ceased their dispute, lost in thought.
After a while, Jian Qingrong walked up to A’Sang. He gazed at the smiling boy and smiled in response.
A’Sang was even friendlier, “Hello, Big Brother.”
Seeing this, Wen Shi felt relieved. It was good that they were getting along well.
“Give me a few vials of your blood.” Jian Qingrong’s interest grew stronger. He had discovered that this child possessed a myriad of contaminants.
“An eye for an eye.” A’Sang took out a bowl, seemingly quite interested in Jian Qingrong’s blood. He wanted to exchange a bowl of blood as a return gift.
Both sides reached an agreement and began openly bleeding onto the table.
Wen Shi, who was about to take a sip of afternoon tea: “……”
Xie Tangyan and the teenager were engaged in a friendly discussion about the power system, their voices unknowingly rising.
“Cultivating external objects is not as effective as cultivating internal strength.”
Xie Tangyan caressed her sword’s hilt. “With this external object of mine, cutting off your tail wouldn’t be a problem.”
Wen Shi silently put down his teacup.
Anyway, the purpose of coming out this time had been fulfilled. Despite the current chaos, he believed that after they returned, these people would contemplate the reasons behind discrepancies in the game involving A’Sang.
Wen Shi waved his hand lightly. “Everyone, I have an important event to attend to shortly. I’ll take my leave for now.”
Continuing to stay here would eventually lead to the flames of trouble reaching him.
With that said, he directly sent a request to the game and disappeared from his original spot in the next second.
The teenager frowned slightly as he belatedly asked, “What event?”
There were bloodshot veins in his big brother’s eyes, suggesting he hadn’t rested well.
Both Jian Qingrong and Xie Tangyan turned their eyes to A’Sang.
This seemingly innocent child didn’t reveal any hint of secrecy, nor did he show any displeasure about them placing Daddy at the center of the Shura Field. He simply smiled cutely and said, “All the Big Brothers and Big Sister here are so capable, why not go see for yourselves?”
The atmosphere turned stiff and silent.
“That’s a good idea.”
Jian Qingrong’s expression grew complicated. He was the first to break the silence, as the light from above shone down on him, failing to dispel the darkness hidden in his gaze.
He stood up and fetched a delicate instrument, carefully sterilizing it on the afternoon tea table. Then, holding a surgical knife, he personally began to remove the entire eyeball from his left eye socket.
The intense scent of blood spread through the room, even tainting the pastries with its gruesome odor.
Ever since Wen Shi had returned his files, Jian Qingrong had sensed a mysterious power reviving inside his body. His eyes in particular felt as if they possessed their own vitality, capable of seeing infinitely far and wide. Once, while riding an elevator, his mind had drifted for a few seconds. When he snapped back to reality, he only saw a pair of cold pupils reflecting off the elevator walls. In the depths of those dark eyes, there lay a sense of authority that didn’t belong to him.
Jian Qingrong disliked things that were out of his control, except for Wen Shi.
He had once wanted to destroy these eyes, but now they had a new purpose.
The quiet atmosphere of the room was now only interrupted by the sound of a blade cutting through flesh.
The expressionless teenager sat quietly on the side, sensing something amiss. Even though he was made of human flesh and blood, the blood on his tail was reminding him that the temperature of the other person’s blood was icy cold.
A vial containing an unknown liquid had been prepared in advance. Jian Qingrong placed his eye into the vial and proceeded to tend to his wound. His complexion turned slightly pale, his hair was disheveled, and his left eye was wrapped in bandages. The bloodstains seeping through the bandages gave off an extremely eerie aura.
“As expected.”
Jian Qingrong admired the eyeball inside the vial under the light for a moment. Even after being removed, the eye remained alive. Moreover, it could transmit everything it saw directly into his mind.
He tied a string around the neck of the vial and approached A’Sang. With an undeniable tone, he softly instructed, “Wear it.”
The eye submerged in the solution seemed almost like a living being. A’Sang had thought about discarding the vial, as he couldn’t eat what was inside. But in the instant he met the gaze of the eye, he found himself involuntarily lowering his arm.
A’Sang furrowed his brow… he couldn’t discard it.
A mechanical voice reverberated in the room.
“Afternoon tea party is over. The homestead will be temporarily closed. Please make preparations.”
The old light bulb flickered a few times, and save for Jian Qingrong and a table stained with blood, the figures sitting around the table gradually disappeared.
As a home guardian tasked with cleaning, Jian Qingrong diligently took a cloth and started wiping the table. The remaining eye flickered with an unusual brilliance. “Now I can go and see for myself.”
Sealed Coffin Village.
Shortly after Wen Shi returned, the production team sent someone to inform him that he didn’t need to gather at the village entrance. All the guests would come to offer their blessings to him later.
It was raining, and the whole Sealed Coffin Village was shrouded in mist. The mournful sound of suona could be heard through the thin paper windows. In Sealed Coffin Village, red was the most inauspicious color. Now, Wen Shi was forced to wear a red outfit.
The clothes sent by the tailor didn’t look like something a groom would wear. They resembled an odd bridal robe more than anything else. At first glance, they were embroidered with auspicious dragon and phoenix motifs. When the light hit them, each pattern was composed of tiny ‘longevity’ characters. Exquisite yet eerie, upon closer inspection, each ‘longevity’ character contained a face expressing a mix of joy and sorrow. In the blink of an eye, these faces disappeared again.
Uncle Li knocked on the door, his voice hoarse. “Young Master, the auspicious hour is approaching. The guests have all arrived.”
Wen Shi put on the strange wedding robe. The intricate attire brought only a chilling sensation. The red and gold threads seemed to writhe, as if they were feasting on his flesh.
He fastened the final button with his pale fingertips, the knot almost pressing against his neck. Unconsciously, Wen Shi’s throat tightened for a moment.
He walked to the window and casually leaned against it. Through the thin window, he could vaguely see numerous cameras pointed at the door. Most of the cameramen’s faces were obscured by machinery, but he could sense their inexplicable excitement. To match the occasion, the host’s pink attire now had several additional ruby buttons. Amid the drizzle, the gems emitted a crimson radiance.
The pale-faced servants lined up in rows, while a few cages stood on either side, containing chickens and geese.
This was just in the third courtyard.
In the part unseen by Wen Shi, in the second courtyard, Uncle Li was directing the servants. “Lower the coffin—”
The coffin brought back from the graveyard was placed silently in the center of the courtyard. The pitch-black coffin emitted a foul odor. Inside the coffin was packed with incense ash. As the coffin touched the ground, it automatically began to sink into the earth. White paper money scattered all around, and Uncle Li knelt on the ground, devoutly lighting incense. Despite the rain, the incense didn’t extinguish. Thin tendrils of smoke floated towards the first courtyard.
The first courtyard.
The banquet hall was decorated with silk and paper flowers, a red so intense it was blinding.
The front row of three tables remained empty, with only bowls of rice mixed with incense ash placed on them. Chopsticks were inserted upright into the rice. In the middle row, about ten villagers sat as observers. The Red Jacket Lady’s family was initially in charge of road repairs, but after the incident, her family became the subject of complaints from other villagers, leading to reduced interactions.
In the back row were the crew members and the guests.
Liu Yun was staring at the prime instigator of it all.
Across from them, Yan Yan was seriously examining the food for any signs of death rules. Sensing the gaze upon him, he smiled indifferently. “Don’t tell me you’re not curious about Pei Wenwei’s hidden cards, the process, and rules of the Dark Wedding? It’s possible we might experience it too, unless nothing unexpected happens.”
With a living example right in front of them for research, wasn’t it an advantage?
Whatever Liu Yun wanted to say was halted by Ji Yuanzhi, the latter shaking his head. “Those who commit too many wrongs will eventually self-destruct.”
The auspicious time had not yet arrived, so Wen Shi remained in his room.
Everything in sight was a deep crimson, the sound of suona growing louder, signaling the imminent start of the wedding. Wen Shi lowered his gaze slightly. “Quite lively.”
How could such liveliness be without song and dance?
When the skill【One Strike Flattens All】was used for the second time, it could activate the effect of the Peerless Sword Dancing Princess. The skill description mentioned that when he performed a sword dance, it would create a sensation far and wide.
Wen Shi looked towards the corner where the wardrobe stood. The Wandering Corpse was holding a vertical harp there, almost blending into the shadows.
“Are you ready?” He smiled gently. “Later, I will dance, and you will play music to celebrate my first wedding in this lifetime.”
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