Open the Door, Candlefire Brings Warmth

Hometown.

It seemed to be a word naturally imbued with warmth and beautiful memories.

But for Xinke at this moment, the word represented immense pressure and terror, along with an indescribable unease.

The two had not descended into an open space, but into a room resembling a storage closet. Yet a closer look revealed that these "odds and ends" were mostly strange tools stained with mottled blood—or rather... instruments of torture.

"Ah!"

Not long after landing, Xinke clutched his back in agony.

Yet even while enduring pain beyond ordinary imagination, Xinke still forced himself to speak through gritted teeth.

"My lord... he... knows you're here..."

"This is the manor's... Lower Level... he's on the top floor... Please..."

"You must... kill him!!!"

"Tell my mother... to live well!"

"Please... please!"

"Ah—"

Xinke let out an incomparably shrill scream.

The next moment, the Curse Seal on his back erupted completely. The lumps of flesh beneath his clothes rapidly swelled, tearing through the fabric, and in an instant transformed into layers of greasy folds that dragged across the floor.

Once the screaming stopped, Xinke slowly raised his hand.

His gray-white eyes fixed upon Wang Dao before him, brimming with intense malice.

Then he lunged straight at Wang Dao, the greasy folds on his back attempting to wrap around him like moth wings.

But a flash of red light appeared.

Xinke's body twitched once before crashing to the ground.

Wang Dao said nothing as he looked at the dead Xinke.

It seemed Xinke had known all along that once he brought someone into Hometown, Yebian, who controlled him, would learn of it—and that he would most likely die as a result.

But he had done it anyway, simply because he believed Wang Dao would help him end this nightmare once and for all.

Even