Chapter 61 – Station 22: Madness

Chapter 61 - Station 22: Madness

Qi Yongxin never imagined such a scene would unfold in the Realm of No End.

He watched as the calm madman shattered the glass of another portrait and sliced open the linen canvas with his knife. The black sludge inside surged out, only to be slashed to death before it could transform into a gargoyle. Countless splashes of paint flowed down, emitting mournful sighs.

During this chaos, a hotel employee armed with a wrench rushed out, screaming, but was swiftly knocked down by the young man. Just like before, the man's hands were severed and casually kicked downstairs, one even rolling to the stairway entrance.

This level of violence exceeded Qi Yongxin's comprehension, leaving him without any thoughts of resentment or resistance.

After disposing of the obstacle, the young man turned back to rummage through the paint as if searching for something. His amethyst eyes shimmered with the fragmented glow of gems.

Seemingly unsuccessful in his search, he proceeded to destroy another portrait in the same manner. The shattering of glass echoed loudly as Qi Yongxin watched him leave his line of sight. The sounds of glass fragments exploding continued, albeit growing increasingly distant.

In this way, he bore witness to the birth of a monster.

-

The floating crimson thread stretches endlessly, making the depths of darkness seem insignificant in comparison, as if it falls short by a mile.

Yan Qiling extended his right hand, with his index finger pointing downward. A new red thread descended swiftly, intertwining into a vivid red lotus wherever it touched.

This lotus is unlike innocuous flowers; upon touching the ground, its roots swell rapidly, and in an instant, hundreds of crimson filaments unfurl from its tuberous stem, each giving rise to several fresh blossoms of the aquatic beauty.

Subsequently, lotus upon lotus bloomed, their roots and stems sprouting exquisitely dense thorns that pierced deep into the sustaining ground, rendering any parasitic entities irreversibly ensnared.

"Since you're here, might as well make yourself known. Why not reveal yourself, sir?"

He spoke with a cool detachment, his words echoing in dozens of different languages, resounding provocatively throughout the space.

The black python, under the parasitism of the red lotus, was forced to retreat into a canyon shielded by darkness.

Beneath the canyon, thousands of fire lotuses bloomed rapidly, illuminating the darkness and turning it into a vibrant floral haven.

These flourishing fire lotuses formed a crimson bridge, supporting their master.

A flowing rainbow substance dripped down from the seemingly endless darkness, creating a viscous and indistinct shadow.

Wherever it reached, it corrupted the scarlet lotus, yet the lotus showed no fear. Instead, it flung open its floral disk to an immense extent. The very core that should have birthed a pod of lotus seeds bristled with countless sharp thorns, ensnaring and devouring the shadow without mercy. Not even a whisper of a dying breath escaped before the encircling petals sealed its fate in digestion.

"Isn't it a bit inappropriate to use an ordinary Messenger of the Void for this communication?"

Yan Qiling still wore a gentle smile, as if talking to himself.

"It couldn't even withstand my Flame Bridge for three seconds."

A sudden flurry of snowflakes descended upon the world engulfed in fire and darkness, as if a swan's feather had gracefully tumbled into the abyss of chaos.

Yan Qiling reached out and held one of the feathers in his palm. The heron's gray feather lay quietly there, but against the backdrop of his abnormally pale hand, the marks of ash on it were strikingly evident.

Yan Qiling understood then that this was not the plume of a red-crowned crane, but the ashen feather of a heron.

An endless array of feathers approached him.

The feathers that had fallen into the lotus flower were silently stained a pure red, then swallowed by the crimson blossom, becoming a part that nourished its growth.

At that moment, he heard the tick-tock of a clock.

That was the sound of the seconds hand pulling the hour hand along.

Then came the creaking of winding gears.

"Creak, creak, creak."

One turn, two turns, three turns.

The closed lotus flower opened its petals in reverse time, but the colorful shadow did not return—three seconds rewound.

The vibrant red threads surrounding Yan Qiling pierced towards the shadowy figure hiding in the darkness, clutching the clock, unaffected!

However.

Time rewound three seconds once more!

Reversal.

An endless cycle.

It turned out to be the two of them.

This thought flashed across his mind as the mesh woven from ash feathers condensed in the repeating three seconds, forming tiny grids that charged relentlessly towards Yan Qiling, trapped in time!

-

The hotel transformed into a silent abyss of hell.

Chi Zihe and Si Shuhao stepped over the scattered glass shards and dried paint on the corridor floor.

The pungent smell of acrylic paint filled the entire hotel.

Crystal fragments refract a kaleidoscopic world, while the picture frames hanging on both sides of the hall have been slashed open, resembling black, cavernous tree trunks riddled with countless holes, watching over humanity with an oppressive density.

A waiter lay askew in the corridor, his limbs severed; one suspended from the staircase, another resting by the blood-soaked leather boots of the young man.

The ashtray on the coffee table was filled with cigarette butts.

The silver-haired young man sat on the sofa in the grand hall, his sharp and handsome features illuminated by the bright light.

In such a chilly moment, he unzipped his down jacket, revealing the undulating rhythm of his chest, still not yet calm.

The wooden knife, its blade now solidified by congealed blood, was thrust into the plush cushioning of the sofa. In a distant corner, ensconced in another couch, lay a slumbering golden-haired youth, his state of life or death indiscernible.

Slowly, smoke diffused through the hall, tendrils curling around fingers stained with pigment and blood. Amidst the haze, the young man concealed his intensely suppressed emotions with each puff of smoke.

Before him stood Ada, a woman with a veil of black silk.

In the woman's light brown eyes lay a mournful silence.

"…His warning that day is what kept me alive. I never imagined that the grass ring would become a tool for the Master of the Abyss to track others. He blamed my arrogance, and now I am paying the price for it… Yes, death once meant nothing to me, but now, everything has changed."

From the moment I uncovered these truths, I had to concede that he was indeed an enchanting man, captivating me consistently...

The indifferent youth, with a puff of smoke lingering around his lips, gazed at her as she finished her sentence.

It was a gaze that crawled up from beneath, filled with a savage thirst for blood, instilling a chilling desire for slaughter.

The woman instinctively took a step back because of this look, but she was never one to suppress her thoughts:

"Even after his death, that allure did not dissipate..."

The knife embedded in the sofa slashed against her slender neck with a sharp ring.

The young man slightly tilted his head, seemingly observing her, as if searching for some difference on her face.

Finding nothing unusual, his gaze turned even more malevolent, and his words were laced with icy cruelty:

"If you dare utter another word about Yan Qiling, I'll make sure you shut up immediately."

Ada couldn't bear to look into his eyes, for the dazzling diamond-like glow in his purple irises would pierce her eyeballs.

It was a tangible spiritual power she couldn't perceive through her sense of smell, akin to a divine spell that forbade people from gazing directly at the supreme visage of a deity, instilling an unwavering reverence in all.

Silently, she retreated, but the young man neither retracted the knife nor pursued her, allowing her to retreat beyond the safety line.

He coldly pressed his lips to the cigarette, exhaling a thick haze of smoke:

"He isn't dead. Remember that."

Amidst the swirling mist, crimson liquid trickled down his chiseled cheek, dripping onto the wrist holding his cigarette.

Chi Zihe practically raced down.

"Ming Yiyang, your eyes…!"

Ignoring the other's intimidating aura, he rushed over in shock and turned the man's face to look at him.

However, upon meeting those eyes, he immediately took a few steps back in pain, astonishment overwhelming him.

"Holy sh*t, you've lifted the seal?!"

"…Mm, it was too inconvenient before."

The young man nonchalantly sheathed his knife.

"No, no! Do you know what this means?! You… I… Argh! You're driving me crazy!"

Chi Zihe paced around anxiously, on the verge of stomping his feet wildly, but his top priority was to stop this guy from going berserk.

He hastily wiped the man's face and held out his hand, showing him:

"Never mind what you're thinking, stop your magic right now! Don't you realize your face is covered in blood?! You'll go blind if the seal breaks, and that would just be trouble for yourself!"

The young man casually wiped his face, smearing the dark red stain across his tanned skin.

"I can't feel anything."

"I don't give a damn about your feelings! If you really go blind, how will I explain it to our master? Don't force me to curse your ancestors for the past 180 generations!"

Calmly, the youth took out the boiler room key and instructed,

"Go to the basement and cut off the hotel's power. Then, get the crowbar and jack from the garage. First, pry open the door, then turn the jack upside down. Find a support point and turn the handle; the jack will lift the door. After that, everything else will be easier... You guys leave with the snowmobile, I'll wait for him here."

"For him? You've been waiting for Yan Qiling?!"

Chi Zihe inwardly cursed, sensing that his foreboding premonition was about to come true.

But he still tried to reason,

"He won't die. We can wait for him on the mountain first."

Ming Yiyang remained silent. He took a drag of his cigarette and suddenly smiled, the smoke escaping from his bloodstained lips.

"Why didn't you tell me about his identity?" he asked.

Chi Zihe thought to himself, Oh no, oh no, what kind of plot twist is this? I don't want this!

He sat down with a stiff expression and sighed deeply.

"He doesn't like others knowing his true identity. Even in the Realm of No End, he rarely uses extra power to avoid trouble. I asked for his assistance, so of course, I need to abide by his rules."

Ming Yiyang didn't respond but let out a cold, emotionless chuckle.

"Huh, that sounds like him."

"I'm not lying to you. Even if you die, he won't. Now that we know how to open the door, let's leave first. He'll definitely come out soon."

Chi Zihe reached for him but the young man brushed off his hand.

"Help me divine the future."

Chi Zihe reached out to touch his forehead:

"Are you crazy?"

"I'm not."

"I think you are!" Chi Zihe declared. "If I could predict anything about him, I'd let you do whatever you want. But the problem is, I can't! Ming Yiyang, rein in your absurd ideas before our ancestors from a hundred and eighty generations rise from their graves to scold you!"

Suddenly, it seemed as if he had a realization, and he gripped Ming Yiyang's shoulders tightly, lowering his voice as he whispered conspiratorially:

"You can't possibly have a liking for him, can you?!"

The young man, with his lips tinged bitter from the tobacco, replied swiftly and softly:

"No."

"That's a relief."

Chi Zihe sighed in relief but still felt uneasy.

"So, what's going on with you now? Your state isn't right."

"…Can't I just consider him a friend?"

Ming Yiyang extinguished the remaining cigarette on the coffee table and then took out a new one, putting it in his mouth. He flicked the lighter and lit it, taking a puff.

"I'd do the same thing even if it were you who went in there. You know me."

Chi Zihe was instantly struck speechless.

The brilliance in the young man's eyes had dimmed significantly, and blood continued to flow. He occasionally wiped at it with the back of his hand, as if he were simply wiping sweat away calmly.

Chi Zihe realized he couldn't win this argument with the young man.

"Fine, I'll try to calculate it. Hurry up and change your eyes back; my calculations will be more accurate than what you can see."

The young man was taken aback before shaking his head. He exhaled smoke casually.

"I was just joking. You don't need to calculate; I'll wait here."

"I was just joking! I can calculate Yan Qiling's position, so stop your mystical powers right now!!"

Under Chi Zihe's stern demand, the young man gradually withdrew the purple hue from his eyes. As the purple vanished, he suddenly groaned softly and covered his eyes with his hands.

Bitter tears uncontrollably rushed out, mingling with the blood, causing the cigarette between his fingers to drop to the ground.

"It hurts, doesn't it? That's what you get for misusing it! If you had withdrawn your powers earlier, none of this would have happened!"

Chi Zihe scolded, taking off the precious pearl from his left ear. Using the light from the window, he performed a divination in this frigid place.