In the distance, a car came speeding toward them, swerving from side to side and sending pedestrians on the crosswalk flying. Blood flowed everywhere. Almost at once, the old butler beside Si Yehan shielded the young boy behind him.
The car did not come their way. After swerving wildly from side to side, it crashed into a railing and finally came to a stop.
The hood was flung off by the force of the impact, and the machinery inside had already caught fire.
The young Si Yehan stood behind the butler, watching the pedestrians wailing on the ground and the blood everywhere.
The shocking scene stirred him from his sleepy state, and a trace of pleasure flashed through his dark eyes. The blood seemed forever etched into them, leaving his young mind exhilarated and delighted.
The old butler hurriedly made a phone call, urging the driver to come quickly while taking Si Yehan away from the scene.
A man covered in blood pushed open the door of the wrecked car and tumbled out. A savage, delighted smile twisted his face as he looked at the corpses and carnage around him, utterly unrestrained.
Sirens wailed, and before long, the police arrived to clean up the aftermath.
The young Si Yehan had gradually moved farther away, but his gaze never left the scene.
And Si Yehan watched this formative moment of his own from a third-person perspective.
The instant a police officer touched one of the dead, the world around them began to collapse inch by inch. The blood covering the ground dried up, and the corpses turned into specks of light.
The world was engulfed in blood and fire. Si Yehan's consciousness gradually grew hazy and confused, and the disorderly, chaotic dream disturbed his mind.
He had no body at the moment and only felt a wave of dizziness wash over him.
Gray clouds spread across the sky, streaked with traces of blood red! A massive eye loomed above, looking down upon everything.
Si Yehan was being gradually dragged deeper into the dream.
The night in Wang Family Village was exceptionally bleak and desolate. A crescent moon cast down specks of silvery light like liquid mercury. Wailing cries echoed without end, and heavy footsteps wandered through the streets and alleys.
Crimson blood dripped from the walls of the Elder Care Tower, and the shifting layers of clouds took on a bloody hue.
In room 205, Si Yehan sat cross-legged on the bed, lightly asleep. In the corner, shadows spread like a tide.
Scarlet eyes lit up in the mirror. Tall, hunched ghostly figures stood along the walls, their heads slightly bowed as they looked down at Si Yehan.
Bluish-black hands crowded around the bed. Ghost Children stood on either side, tongues extending from their eye sockets and dancing through the air like a nest of snakes! Their lips parted to reveal eyeballs spinning inside their mouths.
They occupied every inch of the room, their gazes flashing with instinctive hunger.
Space rippled like the surface of water, and the Elder Care Ghost stepped out from behind Si Yehan. Its feet hovered three inches above the ground, and its pitch-black face hung downward. It had no eyes, nose, or mouth, but its body was covered in faces.
It lowered its head until it was only inches from Si Yehan's body! From the outside, it looked as though it had enveloped him completely. The slightest movement would mean death.
As time passed, the space in front of Si Yehan also twisted. A Ghost Face floated out, with blue-green pupils, a dark face, and a mouthful of fine, sharp teeth. Eyeballs grew all over its dark face as it watched Si Yehan!
Wisps of black mist drifted from Ghost Face, guiding Si Yehan into a deep sleep.
Once that happened, the Elder Care Ghost could kill him.
Half an hour passed in the blink of an eye. In the dream, Si Yehan's consciousness had sunk into boundless confusion, with no trace of awareness left.
The Elder Care Ghost moved, and the surrounding Ghost Slaves followed close behind! They pounced on Si Yehan on the bed.
The doll in his coat's outer pocket suddenly grew hot and floated out, shattering into strands of bloody light! The Ghost Slaves vanished in an instant, all diving into the shadows.
Only the Elder Care Ghost and Ghost Face remained, retreating slightly. The bloody light lasted less than a minute before dissipating.
In a place of boundless darkness within the dream, Si Yehan's consciousness slowly returned. The dizziness faded, and blood and fire lit up the infinite darkness. Scattered scenes of slaughter intertwined like a curtain.
He remained awake in the dream, watching the scenes before him as thoughts surged through his mind.
He had clearly fallen into a deep sleep just now. It might have had something to do with the ghost's guidance, though he could not rule out his own characteristics.
What had awakened him, then? Si Yehan thought it over. The doll was the only special item he had on him. As for the sharp knife he had found, there had been nothing unusual about it during the killings over the past few days. Its only noteworthy quality was that it never dulled.
Outside the dream, the Elder Care Ghost wanted to strike again, but found that it could not touch Si Yehan! The person before it had not triggered the killing rule in its complete form. Now that he had broken free, it naturally had no way to kill him.
The black mist drifting from Ghost Face no longer had any effect.
Its body stretched out, and wisps of blue-green mist drifted out the window.
The silver light of the crescent moon was obscured. Rain suddenly came in the night, falling in an unbroken curtain.
The Elder Care Ghost's figure slowly faded, and it vanished at the same time as Ghost Face! In the corners of the room, the Ghost Slaves emerged again. The rain hastened the deaths of the village's livestock.
Time passed, and daylight came. Dark clouds filled the sky, letting only a faint light through.
Si Yehan emerged from the dream. As he opened his eyes, ghostly figures came straight into view, along with Ghost Children whose tongues protruded from their eye sockets.
A bluish-black face loomed enormously before him, but the sight of it thrust so close did not stir Si Yehan. He calmly surveyed the room. Outside, rain fell steadily with a rushing patter.
So it's raining. No wonder these Ghost Slaves are still here. Last night, perhaps a real ghost appeared.
On a rainy day like this, Ghost Slaves can appear, but ghosts cannot.
Si Yehan checked his outer pocket and found that the doll had indeed disappeared. His guess in the dream had been correct.
There were no living creatures left in the village for him to slaughter, and rainy weather like this was not suitable for going out.
Today was the last day. Si Yehan simply sat still, unmoved no matter how the ghosts before him tried to frighten him.
Even when his body grew slightly numb, Si Yehan did not get up. He had already fulfilled every condition for clearing the instance and only needed to wait.
I'd rather do nothing than make another mistake.
Suddenly, blood dripped from the ceiling, and human faces emerged, letting out piercing cries! Drops of blood fell on his hair and shoulders. Si Yehan noticed, but did not move.
He let the sticky substance engulf his body bit by bit. Familiar voices rang out, cursing him with resentment!
"You animal! If it weren't for you, I could have gone back and gotten my mom medical treatment."
"Why were you so shortsighted? I meant well when I tried to recruit you into the organization, but you just had to kill me."
"I only regret not tearing out your tendons and skinning you sooner."
Those familiar voices made Si Yehan want to laugh. A bunch of fools. Even if you could live your lives all over again, you'd only add a few more ways to die and give me more to laugh at.
He did not laugh aloud, but the corners of his mouth rose.
Then the sticky sensation in his hair vanished, as did the smell of blood Si Yehan had just caught. The curses echoing in his ears faded too, leaving only the Ghost Slaves before him, eyeing him hungrily!
Everything that had just happened was merely an illusion created by a ghost.
Si Yehan sat on the bed for almost an entire day, silently estimating the time.
Three.
Two.
One.
When the countdown ended, all the Ghost Slaves around him vanished, swallowed bit by bit by the profound darkness.
Blood red peeled away the walls, and the sounds of wailing ghosts and howling spirits echoed out! Faces appeared before him, and Si Yehan stood up. He watched everything around him indifferently as his body gradually faded.
The buildings throughout Wang Family Village rapidly collapsed, and the Elder Care Tower crumbled! The Elder Care Ghost and Ghost Face were twisted as they were sucked into the deep darkness, letting out the same ghostly wails and howls.
Soul-Shaking Ancient Village, cleared!