Chapter 166: Let me show you my heart!

Chapter 166: Let me show you my heart!

With a gentle leap, Chi Shen's eerily pale hand penetrated the ceiling. He seemed to grab onto something above, using it to pull himself entirely through the ceiling.

For ghosts, this was a normal act. Ji Xing Chen could do it too. He simply watched Chi Shen ascend, waiting until he vanished before floating upwards himself. Upon touching the ceiling, he paused momentarily before passing through to the floor above.

The layout upstairs was identical to downstairs; even the floral pattern on the TV cover looked just as tender, and the wear on the sofa was the same. It was as if the room below had been duplicated.

"Why is there another height chart here... The writing on the wall is also identical!" Gui Lian exclaimed, hopping off Chi Shen's shoulder, "But it seems like someone is living here?"

Unlike downstairs, the furniture here wasn't dusty, and the lights were on.

The old incandescent bulb flickered slightly in the darkness, and the TV cover in the living room had been lifted.

The TV screen was lit.

On the screen, a blurry-faced child sat somewhat awkwardly in front of the camera, cautiously saying, "Dad, I feel floaty. It’s strange."

A distant and indifferent male voice from off-screen commanded, "Look at the camera."

The child nodded, "Okay, understood."

"Phase one experiment log," the emotionless male voice continued, "Training a living soul with dark energy."

—— "Don't look."

A pair of cold hands gripped Chi Shen's shoulders from behind, while another hand reached around to cover his eyes. A whisper sounded next to his ear, so faint it was almost imperceptible.

"Don't look."

Simultaneously, from the TV emerged a boy's agonized scream: "No! No! Dad! Dad, save me! Dad!"

Then, even that voice became indistinct, leaving only intermittent cries and sobs.

After what felt like an eternity, the boy's shrieks ceased. The cold male voice from earlier returned: "Year one, feeding on Grade C spirits, one per week. It's feeding time today."

Then, even the sobbing stopped.

Moments later, the boy's voice, now as cautious but cheerful as before, chimed in: "Dad, can I sleep a bit more? Just one more minute!"

The man's tone softened: "Get up soon; your mother has made breakfast. You can't keep her waiting."

"Okay, okay, but let me lie down for just five more seconds!"

……

A cacophony of household noises followed, punctuated by the sounds of doors opening and closing, and the boy's voice saying, "Bye, Dad."

Afterwards, the TV fell silent. The man's detached voice remarked: "The first stage of memory isolation appears successful."

With his eyes covered, Chi Shen couldn't see the TV screen but could sense its fluctuating brightness. It soon lit up again, with the boy's familiar voice asking, "Dad, aren't you sleeping?"

"Ji Xing Chen," Chi Shen suddenly called out.

"Hmm," Ji Xing Chen responded, his voice a soft murmur.

"Phew," Gui Lian audibly exhaled in relief.

While Chi Shen's eyes were covered, Gui Lian could see everything. He not only witnessed the TV's display but also, upon regaining his senses, realized his face – his only form of body – almost disintegrated.

Ji Xing Chen was engulfed in a menacing black aura, spilling from him and tainted with a bloody hue. It was fierce and brutal, casting a dark, reddish tint wherever he stood. The lights, overwhelmed by this aura, flickered dimly. The air grew restless. Though this malevolent energy consciously avoided Chi Shen, Gui Lian wasn't as fortunate. He almost dispersed under the aggressive force, if not for Chi Shen's timely intervention calling out to Ji Xing Chen.

At Chi Shen's voice, the sharp, drifting spirits surrounding Ji Xing Chen began to settle, like feathers after a gust of wind, and the bloody hue in the aura faded gradually.

However, the unsettling disturbance in the air lingered.

The lights did not return, and even the sound from the television series became intermittent — or rather, the boy's screams and cries became fragmented, interspersed with the static, sounding even more harrowing.

The pupils of the ghost face, disproportionately white, suddenly rotated, and he said uneasily, “There’s something wrong here. There are spirits.”

"Did you find Bai Wan?" asked Chi Shen, his voice as calm as ever.

"No, no!" the ghost face nearly shrieked, "What is that thing?"

The temperature inside the room dropped noticeably. Wind blew outside, causing the old window frames to rattle. On the window, there was the sound of fingernails scraping against the glass.

Several faces pressed against the glass. Their faces were right up to it, and they each had only one pair of hands. Those hands left long nail marks on the glass.

A prolonged, echoing voice came from outside the glass: "Brother, I've finally seen you."

Several faces opened their mouths simultaneously, enunciating every word.

"Brother, why, being so weak, did father only think of you? Why didn't he look at me?"

"It’s the same today."

"He went looking for you but sent me here."

"He wanted you to see your mundane and uninteresting past."

"Why does he only remember the uncontrollable you, and not the willingly submissive me?"

……

Tongfu Garden Community, Building 4, Unit 4, 13-4.

On the balcony, a few plum blossoms have already bloomed, swaying gently in the night breeze, seemingly radiating a luminescent white glow. Below the plum tree, the newly placed water basin is trickling with water.

A man stood on the balcony, looked at the view, smiled, plucked a plum blossom, and with it, walked into Chi Shen’s bedroom.

Inside the bedroom, Ji Xingchen’s body was entwined with red threads, hanging upside down by the bed. At this moment, the body wasn’t as calm as before, with a subtle trembling in the chest area. Bright red blood flowed from the chain around the heart, as if the heart was about to burst out.

The man placed the plum blossom on the pillow, looked up at Ji Xingchen's body, seemingly admiring a beautiful painting.

"Long time no see," the man said calmly, "How have you been?"

Blood flowing from the heart quickly gathered, creeping up the walls like writhing worms, swiftly forming chaotic letters made of blood:

—— Die!

More blood emerged from every corner of the room, rushing towards the silhouette standing in the bedroom, dyeing every nook and cranny a shade of blood.

……

Chi Shen stood still in the living room of 7-4, quietly listening to the ghosts speaking outside the window.

"This is bad, Chi Shen, they're after Ji Xing Chen's body!" Gui Lian quickly slid behind Chi Shen and exclaimed.

"Hmm, we've been tricked," responded Chi Shen.

"How can you be so calm? Could it be... you anticipated this?!" Gui Lian relaxed his expression, believing that if this was Chi Shen's plan, they'd certainly be safe.

"No," Ji Xing Chen's hand covered his eyes, concealing his expression, but his voice carried a hint of amusement, "Yet... we can't go back now. There's no other way."

Lifting his head, Ji Xing Chen's glasses reflected a bloody hue. His voice was fragmented and chilling, "Yes, there's no other way."