City of Heavenly Sound 5 (Bonus Update)

Chapter 56

After a brief moment of tenderness, Zhou Xiangzhe offered to search for Lan and The Hound.

Because honestly, no one knows how they got into this maze city, or how to get out. The few confirmed observers have no idea what happened, so among us, Lan might be the only one who knows how to leave.

The Hound might know too, but he’s obviously on Lan’s side, so asking him is the same as asking Lan.

So they started searching for Lan in this strange place.

Shen Wang did know which direction Lan was in, since The Hound had pointed it out earlier. But Shen Wang wasn’t keen on letting Zhou Xiangzhe meet his brother. Their positions were at odds, and given his own involvement, conflict would be too likely. Besides, Lan would never tell him how to leave this place.

They hadn’t come here to leave—they’d come to find their mother and take her away.

So Shen Wang deliberately led Zhou Xiangzhe the opposite way.

After walking for a while like that, they didn’t see Lan, but instead came across a peculiar alley.

The maze was just like the outside, especially the Blood Moon Manor—almost exactly the same. But this alley was very strange.

Although it was spring and plants were reviving, on the outskirts of Chenmo West City there wasn’t enough space to plant a whole alley full of flowers, especially not such vibrantly alive yellow ones.

Shen Wang walked over and crouched down to look at them.

“These flowers… look familiar?”

Zhou Xiangzhe came over too. “Seen them in Central City? Or Chenmo West City?”

“No, Chenmo West City doesn’t have flowers, and it hardly ever rains. This flower obviously couldn’t survive there.” Shen Wang brushed a petal with his fingers, then suddenly recalled. “Right—the gunshot wound.”

“Gunshot wound?”

When Shen Wang first entered the maze, he’d picked up a distress signal from a North Star member and found Tian Qingbai’s body. Flowers just like these had been growing from the gunshot wound.

Shen Wang quickly dropped to one knee and pushed aside the flowers on the ground. Sure enough, beneath the lush blooms, he saw those things.

Bodies lay face down, flowers and stems pushing up from underneath, clustered together to hide the corpses completely.

Lifeless corpses paired with vibrant yellow flowers, a bizarre contrast that sent a chill creeping into the heart.

“Victims?” Zhou Xiangzhe also looked at the bodies. “They died here?”

“These must be the bodies Tian Qingbai mentioned in his records.”

Zhou Xiangzhe froze for a second, then looked at Shen Wang. “You just said Tian Qingbai?”

Zhou Xiangzhe certainly knew Tian Qingbai. His excellent memory let him recall every North Star member’s name and mission roster, whether from Team One or Team Two. Besides, for this trip to the maze, he’d reviewed the maze files again, and of course he remembered who had gone missing on that mission all those years ago.

“You saw him?”

“Yeah, I forgot to tell you.” Shen Wang sighed. “But he’s dead.”

“What I found was his body. The distress signal led me to him.”

Zhou Xiangzhe was silent for a few seconds, then nodded. “I understand.”

“That’s not surprising, really…”

Back then, Tian Qingbai had been ordered to investigate the maze. North Star’s Team One was scattered all over the world, specially tasked with mysterious and abnormal incidents. He’d been in touch with him at the time, quite confident, but ended up vanishing in Chenmo West City.

Afterwards, Zhou Xiangzhe went to where he disappeared to investigate several times, but never found any clues.

Six months later, he was declared dead.

Shen Wang patted Zhou Xiangzhe’s shoulder, then pulled from his pocket Tian Qingbai’s badge and the two sheets of archival records he’d left.

Rather than keeping it himself, as a North Star member, he’d probably rather his captain bring his Marker Tag back.

Zhou Xiangzhe didn’t refuse. He accepted the Marker Tag with both hands. After securing it properly, he took the two pages from Shen Wang and began reading them at the alley entrance.

“Tian Qingbai didn’t notice anything off on the first day. It wasn’t until the second day, after finding the victims’ bodies, that he discovered ‘her’. According to dispatch protocol, after finding the bodies he would have traced them back to their source. That source should be the ‘her’ he referred to in the later notes.”

Shen Wang looked at Zhou Xiangzhe. “Should we go take a look?”

Zhou Xiangzhe read the words over carefully, then let out a soft sigh and folded the pages back up.

“Very dangerous.” Zhou Xiangzhe said, “Tian Qingbai was a Grade B Mutant, and even he was contaminated. This shadow definitely isn’t the Moon Thief—it’s not capable of this.”

So, it must be the shadow of that sealed Grade S Contaminant that the Moon Thief tried to steal.

Just a shadow was enough to contaminate a Grade B Mutant—this shows just how terrifying that sealed Grade S is.

Shen Wang stood up, and looked at Zhou Xiangzhe. “A contaminant whose mere shadow can lure people. You’ve got an excellent memory, don’t you? What contaminant do you think is sealed here?”

Zhou Xiangzhe and Shen Wang locked eyes.

After a moment, Zhou Xiangzhe shook his head. “There’s no high-grade contaminant that fits those conditions.”

“But there is a wanted criminal who fits.”

At that, Zhou Xiangzhe fell silent too.

No. 1 on the Wanted List—unlike Lan, who’s second. A mysterious figure who’s never appeared, no name, no past. The only thing known is that she’s female. She’s held the top spot on the Wanted List for thirty years, and seems to have vanished for just as long.

“But she’s human.”

Zhou Xiangzhe pondered. “The Wanted List is for rogue human Mutants. If it were a contaminant, it wouldn’t be on the Wanted List; it’d be on the high-grade contaminant roster.”

Shen Wang looked at him. “If Xianji came back to life and there was another Vanishing Project, do you think the Science Academy and Anti-Contamination Center might seal Lan away?”

“Even though Lan is human.”

Zhou Xiangzhe understood his point.

Even though they were human, in the eyes of the Anti-Contamination Center and the Science Academy, wanted criminals and contaminants who posed an extreme threat to humanity were lumped together. Since the Vanishing Project could be implemented, dealing with this dangerous Mutant who wasn’t aligned with humanity was hardly a difficult decision.

“That’s exactly it.” Zhou Xiangzhe nodded. “They’d do something like that.”

Shen Wang smiled a little, took Zhou Xiangzhe’s hand, and headed into the little alley full of yellow flowers. “Let’s go see.”

“Anyway, now that we’re here, we should at least see what caused Tian Qingbai’s death.”

They stepped on the yellow flowers. The deeper they went, the more bodies there were. Zhou Xiangzhe examined the victims’ corpses, and his conclusion aligned with Tian Qingbai’s: the fatal wounds were obvious. They didn’t look like they’d undergone Aberration from contamination; it was more like suicide or mutual killing.

Rusted weapons lay scattered on the ground, wrapped in flowering vines. It didn’t feel desolate, just eerily beautiful.

Their deaths weren’t pretty either. Unlike Tian Qingbai, who seemed to have died composed, most of them died with eyes wide open, dead-white eyes frozen with fear yet twisted with a desperate longing, staring fixedly ahead as if something there made them willing to die to reach it.

But they longed for it and feared it, because deep down they knew this desire was wrong.

Knowing it was wrong but being unable to stop, feeling themselves slipping away bit by bit—that was the most terrifying thing.

Passing through the alley of corpses and yellow flowers, they finally reached the end, and saw the strangest thing yet.

Bodies were stacked against the wall like a small mountain, nearly all with hands reaching out, their frozen gazes full of obsession. Even in death, they had to press their hands to the wall.

And on the wall was painted the silhouette of a woman.

The woman wore a yellow dress, a woven bamboo sunhat on her head decorated with the same flowers as in the alley. A basket of flowers sat at her feet, like a youthful, pretty girl.

A breeze blew, as if lifting the hem of her dress, and a faint, elusive laughter rang out.

The laughter was sudden and grew eerier, as if the obsession in the nearby corpses’ eyes deepened.

Only Shen Wang looked at the painting and thought: She looks so young.

Zhou Xiangzhe sensed something off. He grabbed Shen Wang’s hand to pull him away—just then, blood-red moonlight washed over them.

Both looked up at the sky; the eyeball in the blood moon stared fixedly at them.

“Give me the Invitation Letter!”

The Moon Thief’s screech rang out at the same time.

A massive tentacle of black mist slammed down. Zhou Xiangzhe shoved Shen Wang aside and dodged the other way. With a boom, the black mist scattered the yellow flowers, and all the corpses were thrown out.

It didn’t stop; it kept attacking.

The Moon Thief was barely a shred of consciousness, so out of control that all it could think about was the Invitation Letter. It couldn’t even control the shadow it had stolen. It was just rampaging on pseudo-Grade S power.

Shen Wang dodged another tentacle, then slammed into a wall, frowning a little.

He drew his sidearm, and just as he was about to fire, a cold fragrance flooded his nostrils.

The whole way, the alley had been full of corpses and flowers, but none of them smelled. The air only held a faint dustiness, so this sudden cold fragrance was startling. Shen Wang’s eyes widened slightly. Before he could turn, he heard Zhou Xiangzhe’s slightly panicked voice. A pair of cool arms wrapped around him from behind.

But surprisingly, Shen Wang felt no fear. Instead, an indescribable sense of security washed over him, as if the person holding him from behind was someone he could trust implicitly.

“Shen Wang?!”

In an instant, those arms dragged Shen Wang into somewhere.

Zhou Xiangzhe tried to rush over, but was blocked again by the Moon Thief’s huge black tentacle.

He frowned and dodged the tentacle, reaching to remove the Contamination Suppressor on his finger. But at that moment, the two black tentacles were suddenly encased in thick ice from top to bottom. In just a few seconds, the ice exploded, shattering them both.

The Moon Thief let out a piercing shriek.

“It hurts, it hurts so much!”

Zhou Xiangzhe stopped removing the Ring and looked up at the wall not far away.

On the wall, as always, Lan in his black coat and hood held a book in one hand, looking down at him.

“Zhou Xiangzhe?” Lan looked at him. “What are you doing here?”

“Now’s not the time for that.” Zhou Xiangzhe said. “She pulled Shen Wang in.”

Lan’s ice-blue eyes held Zhou Xiangzhe’s for three seconds, then he looked at the wall. The painted figure had slightly turned her head, but her face was all pixels. No one could see her face, yet everyone knew she must be stunningly beautiful.

It made you want to keep staring at her forever.

Lan frowned slightly, looked down and flipped through the pages of his book. After a moment, he looked up again.

“I’m surprised.” Lan said. “The first thing you do upon seeing me isn’t to accuse me.”

“I don’t have time to accuse you.” Zhou Xiangzhe said. “Shen Wang’s safety comes first.”

Zhou Xiangzhe didn’t trust Lan. They were adversaries, enemies. But when it came to Shen Wang, they were in sync—neither wanted Shen Wang harmed.

Lan looked at Zhou Xiangzhe with a subtle expression. After a moment, he spoke. “Don’t worry. He’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m a Talent: Foresight Mutant.”

Lan gave his book a shake. “If you want him out sooner, then help me deal with this pseudo-Grade S Moon Thief. Once it’s dead, Shen Wang will be that much safer.”

/

Shen Wang was down on one knee. He looked up, taking in his surroundings, his dark eyes emotionless.

He had been moved to a different place now, a world of earthy yellow all around, no blood moon, no clouds, as empty as that wall.

Shen Wang slowly stood up, the reflection of the woman’s shadow in his eyes.

“Why did you pull me here?” Shen Wang asked.

“You’re just a shadow, aren’t you? Do you know who I am?”

The shadow didn’t move. Just like on the wall, it had its back to Shen Wang, like a painting.

Shen Wang walked over, calmly moving to the shadow’s front. Yellow flowers brushed his trouser cuffs with a soft rustle, cold fragrance filling his nose. But just as he’d thought, the shadow’s front had no face, and even her shape was barely discernible.

Because it was only a stolen shadow. Seeing his mother’s face through it was impossible.

It wasn’t exactly regret, but Shen Wang felt a certain bitterness.

The Anti-Contamination Center and the Science Academy created the Vanishing Project to seal all the world’s Grade S Contaminants. But his mother was only human. She’d done nothing wrong. She merely possessed a powerful talent, and losing control of it wasn’t her fault. Yet she had to suffer this fate.

So why should she be sealed here for over twenty years.

“Can you tell who I am?” Shen Wang faced the shadow, repeating it as if unwilling to let go.

When they were separated, he was far too young—couldn’t talk or walk. He didn’t remember Lan, or his parents. He’d grown up sick in an orphanage. Zhou Xiangzhe was a gift he’d found by chance, but family was a treasure he should have had from the start.

Twenty-some years had passed in the blink of an eye. Could she still recognize him? Would she know he was her child?

“I really want to see you.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the shadow raised its head. Slowly, it lifted a hand, holding a piece of paper.

Its posture froze again, as if it meant to give the paper to Shen Wang.

Shen Wang’s fingers trembled. He gazed at the faceless shadow, and after a moment, reached out and took the paper. Only once it was in his hands did Shen Wang realize: it was an Invitation Letter.

An Invitation Letter exactly like the one he’d gotten when he entered.

Lan said he couldn’t get an Invitation Letter because he had no musical talent, so he had to find a contaminant that could open space to enter the maze. But he’d never worried about not being able to enter other areas after getting into the Blood Moon Manor, because Lan knew: a mother wouldn’t care if her child had talent.

She would prepare Invitation Letters for her children, bringing them into her concert.

In this way, it was telling Shen Wang… yes, it knew. This was her child.

Shen Wang clenched the Invitation Letter tightly. He closed his eyes and forcefully swallowed the emotions surging in his chest.

His vision returned to normal. Before him was the wall with the painted figure, surrounded by dead bodies and yellow flowers. The shadow had turned back, frozen on the wall again. Shen Wang stared at it in silence.

But this still wasn’t where he’d been pulled in. The yellow flowers gave off a scent, and a faint smell of rot reached his nose.

He must still be inside the wall.

Creak. Sure enough, a corpse lifted its head from the wall.

Its eyes were blood-red, black long hair draped over it. It stood two meters tall, radiating a murderous air. Upon closer inspection, it looked so much like the Moon Thief outside.

“Why are you special?”

It glared at Shen Wang with bitter envy.

“I stayed by her side for so long. Even though she’s the shadow I stole, in the end I’m the one who stayed with her. I know she has an Invitation Letter, but she never gives it to me!”

“Why? Why, when you already have an Invitation Letter, does she give you another one!”

“Does she want to see you that badly?”

It rose from the countless corpses, half its body torn apart, burn marks covering its skin, sticky blood dripping steadily from its body.

“I sacrificed so much for her! I even became this! Why doesn’t she love me!”

Shen Wang looked at it coldly.

“Moon Thief?”

“It’s me.” The Moon Thief howled with envy. “Everyone’s dead. No one can win her favor. Why can you!”

The ravaged Moon Thief had long gone out of control, almost no reason left, only able to cower in the Blood Moon Manor. But it knew the shadow it had stolen was its lifeline, so it always hid where the shadow was. Over the years, it, too, had been helplessly drawn to the shadow.

But the shadow would never respond to it.

“Give me the Invitation Letter!” the Moon Thief said. “I want to see her, I want to see her!”

Shen Wang raised the Invitation Letter and said expressionlessly, “The Invitation Letter is mine. You don’t get a single one.”

The Moon Thief let out a furious shriek, its black tentacles lunging at Shen Wang, but instantly sensed something wrong.

It looked down. Hidden among the lush yellow flowers were one after another blood-red thorns.

The thorns climbed along the flower vines, wrapping around its entire leg, piercing into its body and dragging it into the flowers in an instant.

Shen Wang’s pupils were gradually tinged red, his black hair bleaching white.

Shen Wang watched calmly as the Moon Thief was wrapped in thorns and pressed to the ground.

“Ah!” the Moon Thief screamed.

“So noisy.” Shen Wang narrowed his eyes slightly, and instantly a thorn pierced its throat.

“Do you know why she doesn’t like you?” Shen Wang looked at the sky, his tone flat. “Because she’s the most talented singer in the world. Her voice spreads across the whole world, her ears filled with melodious tunes, but you only scream, only hurt her ears.”

“She will never like you.”

“Impossible!” the Moon Thief shouted hoarsely. “Why would you know what she likes?! You think what you know is everything?!”

“No, no!”

Shen Wang waved his hand. With a crack, the thorns tore apart its already shredded body. The yellow flowers churned with thorns, the thorns staining the walls red.

The Moon Thief lost its voice, writhing in agony among the flowers.

“If I didn’t know, why would she send me the Invitation Letter?” Shen Wang’s voice was utterly flat, but such a flat tone could provoke anyone’s anger. “She even sent me two, and you—you’ll never get an Invitation Letter.”

The Moon Thief opened its mouth silently, staring fixedly at Shen Wang.

After a few seconds of this staring, the Moon Thief suddenly smiled.

Its mouth opened and closed, forming silent words.

‘It doesn’t matter. It’s fine if she won’t give me the Invitation Letter.’

‘Her shadow will stay with me forever.’

‘I will always be here with her shadow.’

‘So what if you can go to the City of Heavenly Sound? Even if you go there you won’t see her, but I have her shadow!’

Shen Wang looked at it, then curved his lips slightly.

“So that’s what you think.”

Shen Wang snapped his fingers. With a click, the blood-red thorns retreated. His hair lengthened, instantly reaching his waist, and his blood-colored pupils began fading, turning into a light purple. Countless strange eyes floated around him, blinking, looking extremely bizarre.

“Thank you for reminding me.”

Shen Wang pointed at the shadow on the wall. In the next instant, a picture frame appeared on the wall. The Moon Thief, eyes splitting with fury, watched as the shadow on the wall was placed into the frame.

‘No!’ it shouted hoarsely.

Shen Wang took down the frame and looked down at the Moon Thief on the ground, giving it a smile.

“I won’t even leave you the shadow.”

‘Monster! Monster!’ the Moon Thief hissed silently. ‘Give back the shadow, give back her shadow!’

“How rude. How can you call someone else a monster?”

Shen Wang calmly admired the painting in his hand. “She’s truly beautiful. From now on, she no longer belongs to you.”

“How pitiful.”

“Since you’re so pitiful, why don’t you just die.”

Shen Wang stared coldly at the Moon Thief on the ground.

/

On the other side of the wall, Lan and Zhou Xiangzhe were dealing with the Moon Thief’s phantom outside.

A pseudo Grade S naturally wasn’t a match for two Grade S Mutants, even if Zhou Xiangzhe was currently restricted from using his talent.

After cutting the last black mist tentacle and clearing away what was connected to the Blood Moon’s eyes, Lan frowned slightly at the gradually recovering Moon Thief.

“The Hound.” Lan called out. “Is its real body really here?”

“Right here. You have to trust me, I never lie.” The Hound, who had been watching from the side, pointed at the wall at the alley entrance. “This one.”

“Why don’t you just smash the wall and see?”

“No.” Zhou Xiangzhe said. “Shen Wang is inside.”

The black mist gathered again. The Moon Thief in the sky twisted and reformed. It wasn’t the Moon Thief’s real body, but its power came from the real body. So if the real body were killed, it would disappear; conversely, if the real body didn’t die, it would keep re-forming.

After all, it was just a runaway power.

Lan let out a soft breath. He wanted to check the prophecy book to determine Shen Wang’s situation, but before he could open it, a crisp sound reached their ears.

The three present quickly looked at the wall where the sound came from.

Crack. A fissure split open on the wall.

The Hound went from a crouching position to standing, even saying with some surprise, “The real body’s contamination is disappearing?”

“Disappearing?” Lan turned to look at the Moon Thief in the sky. The one that had been re-condensing was now entirely collapsing, letting out a miserable scream. The Blood Moon in the sky was also shaking, and the eyeball hanging high in the air filled with countless red veins.

“Ah!”

The Moon Thief screamed and burst into a mass of blood plasma. At the same time, the wall at the alley entrance shattered and collapsed to the ground.

Behind the wall stood someone.

As they looked over, the person also looked this way at the same time, and their eyes met.

It was a young man with an obvious strange appearance: long silver hair and pale purple eyes, surrounded by countless floating eyeballs. He wore a loose white coat, looking at first glance like an albino fairy. He looked far, far more inhuman than Zhou Xiangzhe.

At his feet lay a corpse. The body had been torn into pieces, covered with countless sheets of painted paper, stained bright red with blood, like a bizarre art exhibition.

The Hound quietly drew in a sharp breath.

Wasn’t this Shen Wang?!

Lan also sensed something. He didn’t speak, just glanced at Zhou Xiangzhe.

Zhou Xiangzhe looked at the strange young man and after a long pause finally spoke. “A contaminant?”

Shen Wang tilted his head slightly, his pale purple eyes meeting Zhou Xiangzhe’s, a hint of something subtle in them.

He didn’t speak.

Though it was a bit abrupt, Zhou Xiangzhe hadn’t recognized him yet. When using his Contamination Talent, Shen Wang’s appearance changed drastically. The inhumanity brought by [Hundred Eyes] also transformed his aura completely, so much so that even The Hound couldn’t recognize him at first sight.

But appearance changes didn’t mean internal changes. Shen Wang’s voice was still his own; he couldn’t change his timbre.

But Shen Wang wanted to hear what Zhou Xiangzhe would say.

“Have you encountered a person?” Zhou Xiangzhe asked him. “Adult male, black hair, black eyes, very good-looking, my boyfriend.”

Zhou Xiangzhe said, “He was dragged into the wall by the shadow just now. If you’ve been here all along, you should have seen him.”

Shen Wang: ...

“I’m very worried about him.”

Shen Wang raised an eyebrow slightly, the corner of his mouth curving up.

Lan, who was flipping through the prophecy book, tightened his grip, his expression growing darker. He kind of wanted to throw the book, but before he could, The Hound grabbed him and held him down.

Lan, being a brother complex, didn’t agree with the two of them being together and really wanted to ruin their private moment. But The Hound could tell they needed some alone time now, even though Zhou Xiangzhe didn’t know the ‘contaminant’ in front of him was the boyfriend he couldn’t stop thinking about.

Oh dear, wasn’t this the perfect ‘mutual kill’ atmosphere?

“Hey!”

“Let’s go, let’s go! I’ll help you find the exit door!” The Hound forcibly dragged Lan away.

Zhou Xiangzhe watched oddly as Lan and The Hound just left like that, but Shen Wang still hadn’t come out.

He looked toward the wall and saw that the suspected contaminant youth had climbed over the collapsed wall and was walking toward him. The young man stared at him without blinking, his pale purple eyes seeming to glow in the dim sky, the floating eyes around him swaying with the air.

The youth walked unhurriedly, his loose white robe fluttering in the wind. He was still smiling, though the smile was soundless.

“You...”

The young man came closer and closer, even crossing the distance Zhou Xiangzhe allowed strangers to get. He showed no intention of stopping.

“Stop!” Zhou Xiangzhe had to halt his approach.

“Don’t come any closer.”

If Shen Wang listened to him, he wouldn’t be Shen Wang.

Since childhood, Shen Wang had had a bad temper and a bad personality. He didn’t like rules at all; what he liked best was exploiting loopholes. He could accept that Zhou Xiangzhe was a by-the-book person because he liked Zhou Xiangzhe himself, but occasionally he also tried to make boring things a little more interesting.

He hadn’t wanted his contaminant form to appear in front of Zhou Xiangzhe, but since it had already happened and the other party hadn’t recognized him...

How could he not stir Zhou Xiangzhe up a bit?

Just like that time in the first painting of Hundred Eyes, when Shen Wang took advantage of Zhou Xiangzhe not being able to see and did bad things right in front of him.

It was the same now.

After all, Zhou Xiangzhe hadn’t recognized him, right?

Using the unfamiliar face, Shen Wang freely invaded Zhou Xiangzhe’s personal space. Zhou Xiangzhe had never encountered such a completely uncommunicative contaminant before, but judging by his humanoid appearance, this was probably a high-level contaminant, at least Grade A.

Drawing the gun at his waist, Zhou Xiangzhe pointed the muzzle at Shen Wang, but by then Shen Wang had already walked to within a meter of Zhou Xiangzhe, the gun muzzle pressing against his chest.

“Go away.” Zhou Xiangzhe said.

Shen Wang smiled, grabbing Zhou Xiangzhe’s wrist. Zhou Xiangzhe had already anticipated this, dodged to the side, transferred the gun to his other hand, and pulled the trigger without hesitation. That’s when he found the trigger wouldn’t budge.

Tiny blood-red thorns sprouted from the gun barrel, densely climbing over the gun body.

Zhou Xiangzhe was a bit surprised. The thorns instantly climbed onto his wrist; it didn’t hurt because the thorns hadn’t pierced the skin. He instinctively stepped back, only to find he was already against the corner, and backing up further only pressed him against the wall.

“Blood thorns?”

More tiny thorns wriggled out from Shen Wang’s clothes, flaunting his current identity, but Zhou Xiangzhe found it strange.

He had glimpsed blood thorns before at the Grade C contamination source, and though the other party had run away very quickly, it definitely wasn’t in this form.

What was going on?

But...

“Let go of me.” Zhou Xiangzhe issued a final warning, his golden eyes dangerous.

The thorns wound their way up Zhou Xiangzhe’s wrist and soon reached his collar. They squeezed out through his collar, popping a button off his collar. Zhou Xiangzhe’s eyes darkened further, the aura around him growing even more terrifying.

This was the first time Shen Wang faced Zhou Xiangzhe’s anger so directly.

Those brilliant golden eyes of his brimmed with coldness. Something dark dripped from his eye sockets, staining the whites of his eyes a deep black. In an instant, Shen Wang felt the tiny thorns erupt with fear.

‘Scary human!’

‘Ahhh! So scary! Master, run!’

‘Waaah! Scary chocolate!’

Zhou Xiangzhe grabbed the thorns at his collar, completely unconcerned about the spikes. Instantly his palm was pierced through by the thorns, bright red blood dripping onto them. The thorns tried to escape but couldn’t, all of them yanked out by Zhou Xiangzhe. Shen Wang watched Zhou Xiangzhe’s bloodied palm, his gaze dimming.

He hadn’t dared to let the thorns pierce in, but Zhou Xiangzhe went and pulled them himself?!

It was bleeding.

A dense contamination aura emanated from Zhou Xiangzhe, making even Shen Wang feel uncomfortable. He frowned slightly and turned to evacuate with the tiny thorns, but Zhou Xiangzhe didn’t want to let him go. He aimed the gun at him again, this time without any thorns blocking it.

After dodging the first shot, Shen Wang clicked his tongue. He actually wanted to curse Zhou Xiangzhe a couple of times, but thought about it and realized he himself had started it.

Forget it.

Shen Wang waved at Zhou Xiangzhe, then dropped into the ground and vanished in an instant. Zhou Xiangzhe walked over and saw a white piece of paper on the ground.

“Paper?” Zhou Xiangzhe picked it up. On the paper he saw a fragment of a corpse.

“...A painting?”

Before Zhou Xiangzhe could examine it closely, a sound came from behind a nearby wall. He turned to look and saw a familiar person standing there, watching him.

Shen Wang had just come out from another painting, having already returned to his original appearance.

“Zhou Xiangzhe?” Shen Wang looked at him. “What are you doing?”

Zhou Xiangzhe then remembered that he himself didn’t seem to be in a normal state.

He quickly turned his back to retract the contamination on him, his eye whites rapidly returning to normal, and prayed that Shen Wang hadn’t seen anything just now.

But Shen Wang patted his shoulder from behind.

Warm breath by his ear, Shen Wang’s voice carrying over with the warmth.

“What’s with your collar?”

Zhou Xiangzhe froze for a moment, then looked down at his collar, only then remembering that the blood thorns had popped off the button.

“And your hand.” Shen Wang stared at his hand. “What’s with your hand?”

Zhou Xiangzhe: ...

How was he supposed to explain this?

Not far away, The Hound, who had watched the whole thing, clicked his tongue after making sure which painting Shen Wang had left from and which he came out from.

He looked at Lan beside him. “Your little brother is so bad.”

Lan gave him a glance.

“Look, it was obviously your brother who popped Zhou Xiangzhe’s button, and Zhou Xiangzhe hurt his hand because of your brother, but now your brother is pretending not to know and interrogating him. Isn’t that super bad?”

“It’s Zhou Xiangzhe’s fault.”

Lan, as always, was double-standard. “He could have kept the blood thorns away. If the blood thorns hadn’t approached, he wouldn’t have had a problem. So it’s all Zhou Xiangzhe’s fault for not avoiding them in time.”

The Hound: ...

What a terrifying pair of brothers.