Chapter 60: Station 22: Unsealing

Chapter 60: Station 22: Unsealing

"Who exactly are you?"

Ming Yiyang chose a question that couldn't possibly be wrong at this moment.

He wasn't even sure if Yan Qiling would respond.

But the person turned around, lifting his chin gently with an unassuming finger, while his middle and index fingers softly rested against the side of his face. With a voice as gentle as flowing water, he said,

"You're better off not knowing."

"I want to know," the young man replied firmly and swiftly, "Tell me, Yan Qiling, you can't keep everything from me... At the very least, we're partners, aren't we?"

"I don't wish for you to regret knowing me. So, please don't."

Yan Qiling once again wore that irritating, standardized smile.

The touch that had been against the side of the young man's face retreated, and the white paper fan rose into the air, like a buoy floating in water, pointing out a way out from the endless darkness.

"Because I'm here, no matter what, it will lead to a dead end. If I leave, you just follow it, and you'll get out."

But Ming Yiyang didn't let go.

He still held onto the dark gray coat tightly, and the nearly dried wound bled more under the strain, igniting delicate, star-like white flames at their feet.

When he spoke again, his voice was already hoarse from blood loss:

"No matter what you are, I won't regret knowing you. Do you think you've disguised yourself well?! A freezing body temperature, barely there breath, eyes shifting between black, red, and blue - do you think this is how a normal person should look?! I'll accept anything you are! Now, all I want is the truth."

His already deep voice seemed to be laced with blood:

"I just want the truth..."

"Why should I say it? You've already guessed everything."

Yan Qiling's eyes lowered.

Ming Yiyang still held onto him:

"I can't guess what I haven't seen. I want to see the real you."

The young man's words were met with a long silence, but he didn't give up:

"I know that if I want to see the truth, I need to break the seal on the Qingdu Ziwu Yin-Yang Pupils."

Yan Qiling's voice was frighteningly calm:

"You know this, yet you still dare to make such a request? Aren't you afraid that I might casually remove the seal and leave you without reincarnation or eternal damnation, reducing you to dust forever?"

Ever since he had laid eyes on those Yin-Yang Pupils, Yan Qiling knew that their full potential had not been unlocked.

Upon discovering the connection between Ming Yiyang and Chi Zihe, he realized that the reason they remained sealed was not due to incapability, but rather out of compassion for this child.

Living in such a perilous world, the youth faced constant danger of death, but as long as his lifespan wasn't exhausted, there was always a chance for him to come back to life.

Yet, once the Yin-Yang Pupils are activated, the concept of lifespan as mortals know it no longer applies.

His destiny chart would be erased. Once dead, he would be truly gone, leaving not a single trace behind in the heavens, earth, the netherworld, or the vast blue skies.

The young man's hand persistently held onto him, his hoarse voice devoid of much emotion as he spoke.

"At eighteen, I was supposed to break this seal. My master said the time was not ripe and asked me to wait."

"Now, I have arrived at the moment when the seal should be lifted."

"This is the moment."

Ming Yiyang met his gaze directly, showing no intention of averting his eyes:

"Undo it, let me see."

Yan Qiling remained silent.

The young man, however, caressed his icy right hand, like seawater, and pressed the cold fingers against his own forehead.

"Hurry up, don't keep me waiting."

As he spoke, he heard a sigh from the person in front of him.

Ming Yiyang keenly sensed a chill akin to cold water swiftly flooding into his eyes, reaching deep within and gently enveloping something secret.

That breath was like a hook.

It unlocked a vast, molten power that had only sporadically flashed in his youth—a power as intense as lava!

An uncontrollable surge burst forth from his eyeballs!

Not just his eyes, but all his senses opened up, spewing countless white flames that rapidly engulfed everything around them!

The malevolent spirits nearby screamed and fled, while the person before him stood resolutely against the light, surrounded by streaming flames and smoke that seemed to harmoniously blend with him.

It was the first time Ming Yiyang truly saw Yan Qiling.

In the darkness, Yan Qiling's translucent purple eyes widened, radiating a dazzling, diamond-like brilliance that refracted a rainbow's splendor amidst the extreme darkness.

A youthful, handsome face wore an unprecedentedly vivid expression of astonishment.

He had initially assumed that it was Yan Qiling's icy aura that had repelled the evil spirits around them.

But now, he clearly saw that those things he had taken for "aura" were in fact countless crimson threads, wrapping them layer upon layer. With a seemingly fragile yet unyielding posture, they forcefully separated the evil spirits.

Those "shadows" he had once found indistinct had transformed into writhing serpents.

Each segment of these entities consciously assumed various shapes, intertwining like snakes coiling around their prey, encircling them.

He also gained clarity about his own power.

That "white flame" he had utilized countless times was, in fact, a controllable "light" akin to consciousness.

When they gathered, their radiance condensed into flickering "flames"; when they dispersed, they scattered like stardust, illuminating wherever they fell.

He had thought that these "flames" burned eternally, but in reality, these "lights" greedily devoured the surrounding evil spirits before swiftly reproducing more "light." Throughout this process, they continually multiplied and aged, only to die swiftly.

There were only two ways to extinguish them.

Either his own kind would be completely eradicated.

Or the malevolent spirits, having devoured each other until none were left to fuel their reproduction, would wither away collectively as age took its toll on the remaining "lights."

He gazed at these "lights," unable to articulate his emotions.

His previous understanding had been utterly shattered.

Yan Qiling before him didn't seem to have changed much, but Ming Yiyang could trace the origin of those faint threads to the back of Yan Qiling.

The man's features remained as exquisitely perfect as a sculpted masterpiece, unchanged in the slightest. However, the exposed skin was now crawling with those bizarre, quadrupedal characters, shimmering with a blood-red luster between the runes.

Finally, the anomaly of those "heterochromatic eyes" became apparent. When Yan Qiling looked at him, his blue left eye didn't move in unison, instead remaining rigidly in place, emitting a dull, inorganic glow.

It was, surprisingly, an artificial eye!

The red eye swiveled deftly, and Yan Qiling offered him a smile.

"The Clear Capital Purple Pheasant Yin-Yang Eyes, piercing through all illusions and truths – indeed, the reputation is well-deserved."

"Look behind you."

Ming Yiyang turned his head. Amidst the swirling darkness where the black python resided, he saw countless spots of light, big and small. Even with obstructions, he could perceive their essence by focusing slightly through the darkness.

Those were all exits from the picture frames!

From this moment on, this space could no longer hold him captive.

But when he turned back, Yan Qiling had vanished without a trace!

The hovering red threads began to dissolve slowly, carrying with them the unique chill of that person.

Such brief use had already left Ming Yiyang's eyes feeling dry, as if he was suffering from dry eye syndrome.

Yet, he strained his vision, but found no more clues.

The white flames dripping continuously from his wrists flourished swiftly on the soil of this "darkness." The malevolent spirits that had previously drained his energy retreated as if they had encountered their nemesis.

As the "flame light" continued to spread, he noticed someone lying prone at his feet.

It was the blind youth who had clung tightly to Yan Qiling before, now lying unconscious on the ground at some unknown point in time, like an empty shell devoid of its soul.

Leaving in a hurry and even leaving behind a hassle.

Ming Yiyang reached out to touch his waist and abdomen, pressing down firmly twice with great force.

It doesn't hurt.

He untied the tightly bound triangular bandage and reached in to examine the wound directly.

Such a lengthy wound has already healed.

He recalled the dampness he had felt in the fabric when it was being bandaged... Yan Qiling must have applied something to it.

"..."

With one hand, Ming Yiyang hoisted the blindfolded youth onto his shoulder, not rushing to leave.

With his "Flame Essence," he directed their growth using his consciousness, wielding a wooden blade imbued with flames to effortlessly torment these "giant serpents" in search of any trace of Yan Qiling.

Little did he expect that the seemingly endless darkness actually had boundaries.

Within this confined world, there was no Yan Qiling.

Perhaps he had ventured into another dimension.

The white paper fan left behind by Yan Qiling, however, continued to follow Ming Yiyang, altering its course continually.

At this point, Ming Yiyang followed the fan to the side of the glass where light was most abundant. Through this pane, he caught a glimpse of the hotel lobby.

Tearing through the linen, he shattered the entire pane of glass, leaping out from within the frame, then casually deposited the sightless youth beside him.

The darkness behind him roared wildly, but before it could take form into a gargoyle, he swiftly slashed through its forehead, reducing it instantly into a puddle of viscous, multicolored pigment that spilled messily across the ground.

His gaze swept across the grand hall, abruptly pausing on a small storage closet beside the staircase on the right.

The whine of a hand-held chainsaw echoed, and a man suddenly rushed out from the corridor—it was Qi Yongxin, still alive?!

He seemed to have tumbled through mud and blood, dragging his limping leg as he stumbled up the stairs.

Behind him, the waiter who was chasing with a hand saw was laughing merrily, utterly deranged, completely captivated by the desire to kill.

Qi Yongxin left a trail of bloody footprints behind him as he cried out for Ming Yiyang to save him. The young man, however, merely watched him approach with an indifferent expression, before suddenly brandishing his wooden blade, the edge facing Qi Yongxin.

In a panic, Qi Yongxin hastily hit the brakes, only to be swiftly struck in the abdomen with the hilt of a knife, causing him to collapse onto the seat in pain.

Before he could even utter a curse, he watched helplessly as the youth nimbly stepped over him. Throughout the entire maneuver, he had been staring fixedly, yet it all seemed to transpire with such speed that it eluded clear perception.

The young man evaded the chainsaw's assault and pierced the waiter's chest with his knife, then promptly withdrew it.

With a chainsaw in hand and blood splattering, the young man severed the waiter's right hand without blinking an eye. Then, he did the same to the left.

Casually, he kicked both severed limbs downstairs. One thumped onto the countertop at the reception, while the other landed in the shadows, disappearing from sight.

Qi Yongxin trembled uncontrollably. He wanted to run, but his fear had sapped all his strength—he suspected that this person was also infected with some sort of madness, and might be even more dangerous than any of them.

The young man turned to face him. The bloody back of the blade lifted Qi Yongxin's chin, and with a low, unsettling calmness, he spoke:

"Hand over the access card."

Qi Yongxin attempted to maintain composure:

"The... access card isn't with me..."

"The body of Song Yuan is in the storage room, I saw it."

The young man's face was devoid of any emotion, but Qi Yongxin's expression changed drastically upon hearing this.

"If you lie again, I'll send you to join him," the youth threatened.

Shivering, Qi Yongxin clutched himself, on the verge of collapse.

"No, don't kill me... I'm telling the truth... I wanted the access card too! If I had it, why would I still be in this room? I'd have run away already! Have mercy on me, I really... didn't lie to you."

The youth swiftly stabbed the knife into his left leg.

Qi Yongxin let out a sorrowful and anguished scream.

"I'm telling the truth!! Why do you have the right to kill me?!"

"I'm not killing you."

This silver-haired young man seemed like an emotionless beast, with only the law of the jungle in his eyes, as if it was the most natural thing in the world:

"I'm just taking what you owe."

Qi Yongxin looked at him in disbelief, and that disbelief soon turned into sheer terror.

The scene was even more maddening than encountering the Master of Oblivion himself.