Hell Opened Its Eyes

"What do you mean?" The village chief became alert.

Yu Xing glanced outside. The villagers were obediently kneeling on the ground without moving, as though they had lost control of their own minds. But upon closer inspection, every one of them had their eyes wide open, excitedly peering into the ancestral hall.

Yu Xing turned to look behind a withered tree farther away and smiled. "Carlos... how much longer... do you plan to hide?"

"Ah, so I was discovered." The Magician's cheerful voice came from behind the tree. Every living person present looked toward the sound, only to see a handsome blue-haired young man emerge from behind the dead wood with a grin, dragging along another unfamiliar stranger.

"Good thing this isn't a magic trick. Otherwise, I'd feel like such a failure if the audience exposed me~" Carlos theatrically patted his chest, looking relieved.

Yet in that instant, the village chief's expression changed drastically, his pupils shrinking sharply.

Cold sweat soaked the village chief from head to toe, and at the same time, the kneeling villagers suddenly cheered, "It's the new village chief!"

"I can feel it! That's the new village chief!"

"We have a new village chief!"

"Oh!! Bury Zhou Facai already!"

"Bury Zhou Facai!"

Ignoring the villagers' terrifying jeers, the village chief stared in disbelief at the bedraggled young man whose hands were bound in Carlos's grip. Uncontrollable fury seeped into his stammering voice. "How did you get here!"

He glared furiously at the disheveled young man, but the young man had no idea what was going on. He only felt that his luck was unbelievably awful. First, he had fallen into the hands of a pervert, and then he had been delivered to a group of lunatics who had no idea what they were raving about. From the sound of it, they even wanted to kill someone!?

What the hell? He had only come to town because his friend invited him to hang out. Why had he gotten dragged into something this terrifying?

Look at them, just look! What kind of people were these?

The one tying him up was a vicious pervert. In front of him was a huge group of kneeling fanatics. Among those standing were two identically dressed men in strange outfits, and a... uh, beautiful woman with hair down to her waist.

He would leave out the backpack-carrying man who looked fairly normal for now. Then there was a pale-as-a-ghost... super handsome guy, and an uncle who looked like he was about to go berserk.

Especially that uncle, whose eyes were bloodshot and whose expression screamed that he was about to charge like a berserker. Zhou Qinghai shoved aside the lingering effects of all the games he usually played and asked weakly, "Who are you...?"

"I—you—" The village chief could not speak at all right then. He... he was supposed to have a long time left to live. He was not prepared for death to arrive early!

"He's your dad." Carlos cruelly revealed the truth, patting the young man on the shoulder. "Zhou Qinghai, haven't you been looking for your parents all these years? I brought you right to them."

Zhou Qinghai froze.

No, his dad was a lunatic? Heh, hehehe... This pervert had to be messing with him.

Carlos gave him no time to dawdle. Half pushing and half threatening, he brought him before the ancestral hall and called out to the villagers kneeling in a mass, "Your new village chief is tired and has no strength to bury anyone. Could you help your new village chief out and take care of what needs to be done?"

The villagers hesitated, exchanging glances.

Carlos noticed a gaze stuck to him. He glanced over and met Yu Xing's pitch-black eyes.

"..."

His heart inexplicably tightened, and for a moment, he actually felt a trace of fear. He grew inwardly wary, knowing the other man was not someone to provoke. He was probably also an advanced Deductor, so Carlos decided not to antagonize him. He looked away first and smiled at Zhou Qinghai. "Are you tired?"

"Huh? I..." Zhou Qinghai looked at him fearfully. He had gained some understanding of this jinx's temperament along the way, and after thinking it over, he decided that the answer should be "yes."

"Then, shall we let the villagers help you out?" Carlos continued smiling.

"Okay, okay..." Zhou Qinghai, who had no idea what was happening, could only follow Carlos's lead.

"Oh! Bury the village chief! Bury the village chief!" Hearing Zhou Qinghai personally give the order, the corpses became excited. Several who were close by nearly leaped up, tossing aside their burning candles as they transformed into ghosts and pounced on Zhou Facai.

The candles went out the moment they hit the ground.

Zhou Qinghai was stunned. For a moment, he did not even know which revelation or situation had hit him harder.

He had to be in a nightmare.

Zhou Facai gritted his teeth and turned to run, but an icy hand landed on his shoulder.

The slender fingers did not seem to use much force, yet somehow held him firmly in place, leaving him unable to move even an inch.

"Don't run. Haven't you been dutifully harming people all these years? Now, happily complete your final task." A cool voice came from behind him. For some reason, the village chief suddenly did not dare turn around. He would rather face the corpses rushing at him than turn and look directly at that pale, sickly young man.

The ghostly villagers grabbed Zhou Facai. Yu Xing gently released his hand and watched as the village chief wailed and screamed while the villagers dragged him toward the village entrance.

Several figures went farther and farther away until the screams could no longer be heard.

"What do we do next? Shall we continue?" Having achieved his goal, Carlos cheerfully untied the rope around Zhou Qinghai's hands.

The village chief had been dealt with, but the funeral was not over.

Many villagers were still kneeling on the ground, waiting for the new village chief to complete their ritual.

"What... what am I supposed to do?" Being stared at by so many people, Zhou Qinghai was on the verge of tears. He rubbed the bruises on his wrists, having no idea whom to ask for help when faced with a bunch of lunatics.

"Have Zhou Qinghai... light the candle on my coffin..." Zhou Yongsheng's broken voice sounded beside Yu Xing's ear. "The candle reveals the path... Light this one, and I can... break free of the curse... leave forever... From then on, this curse will be broken!"

So, if Zhou Qinghai lit this white candle with Blood-colored wax tears, the mission would be complete?

Yu Xing reached out and pinched one corner of the plate.

Xiao Xuechen, Wei Fan, Xu Hong, and Xu Yuan all hurried to Yu Xing's side. The enormous turn of events had indeed caught them off guard, but they were all experienced Deductors and quickly understood what mattered most. They did not dwell on how Carlos had brought back village chief Zhou Facai's son, or when San had learned about it.

They could not hear Zhou Yongsheng's voice and could only guess that the final clue lay in the single unlit candle.

The deduction was almost over. Generally speaking, if they did not find the correct method, there was a strong chance they would be wiped out by a suddenly triggered death condition.

"I crossed mountains and rivers to bring the key person here. You should have clues too, right?" Carlos crossed his arms and watched the group leisurely.

It was as though he were asking: You aren't really this useless, are you?

Yu Xing's vision was nearly blurring. He forced himself to glance at Zhou Qinghai.

Then he looked at the candle, at the character "Lu" carved into it.

Then, he lifted the hem of his shirt and drew the sharp dagger tucked into his waistband.

"San?" Seeing what he was doing, Xiao Xuechen called his name in confusion.

"Quick... make him light it..." Before Zhou Yongsheng could finish urging him, Yu Xing raised his hand and brought the blade down—

Slicing the candle cleanly in half.

"What have you done!" Zhou Yongsheng cried out. At the same time, everyone heard a loud thump from inside the black coffin, as though whoever was inside was struggling to get out.

"..." At that sound, Yu Xing's mind buzzed. Blood surged up his throat and streamed from the corner of his mouth.

"You're hurt!?" Seeing him sway on the verge of collapse, Xiao Xuechen turned pale and immediately stepped forward to support him.

But the man seemed to have truly run out of strength. His entire weight pressed down on her, and she could not hold him up. Just as they were about to fall together, Wei Fan grabbed Yu Xing's arm and barely managed to prop him up.

Watching this turn of events, Carlos raised his brows in surprise, and a paper figure appeared in his hand.

He placed the paper figure in the candle dish. The paper figure wobbled as it hugged one half of the candle, but nothing happened.

"Oh?" Carlos stopped looking at the candle dish and instead watched Yu Xing, who was nearly unconscious, with great interest.

"How could this happen?" Xiao Xuechen had never expected this. Had the big shot triggered some death condition by cutting the candle?

Only Yu Xing knew that cutting the candle had done absolutely nothing. He simply could no longer bear the negative state of his body.

Normally, these negative conditions did not seem like a major problem. But in a deduction like this, when he was facing the source of the supernatural head-on, it became clear just how much his body was holding him back.

Something he could have completed with his brain alone—if his body could keep up, he would not be this passive...

No...

This was so damn annoying.

Xiao Xuechen steadied herself and raised her head to look at Yu Xing's face, drenched in cold sweat and close at hand.

The beauty that could make even her, a woman, feel jealous and amazed had lost its color. In its place was a strange, sinister aura that seemed to come from the depths of his soul.

His brows were tightly furrowed, his eyes shut, his lashes trembling. More and more blood flowed from the corner of his lips, yet alongside his increasingly faint vitality was a terrifying presence that could not be ignored.

Xiao Xuechen had no doubt in her intuition. Whatever kind of soul she sensed, that was what the other person truly was. After all, one of the two offerings on her mask was called [Eye of Life].

[Offering: Eye of Life]

[Form: Necklace]

[Wearer: Xiao Xuechen]

[This offering has fused with "Persona Mask • Night." Fusion abilities: ① Draws 15% of the wearer's blood to grant any object within sight, including living beings, a hidden shield. This shield can reduce its sense of presence, lessen the severity of attacks received, and more. It disappears after five minutes. Can be used up to three times per deduction. ② (Passive) Has a chance to reveal the true side of a target within the wearer's sight. The effect is random.]

At that moment, without a doubt, [Eye of Life]'s passive effect had activated.

Xiao Xuechen suddenly felt that the person she was holding was like a vicious ghost from hell itself, wearing a beautiful shell as he mingled among the living and peered into the human world.

The vicious ghost opened its eyes.

No, Yu Xing opened his eyes.

Xiao Xuechen nearly stopped breathing. The next second, she heard Yu Xing's deep, magnetic voice. "Miss, I need to ask you a favor."

"Y-you, say it!" Her eyes widened slightly.

Yu Xing tightly gripped the dagger in his hand and weakly held it out before Xiao Xuechen.

After Xiao Xuechen took the dagger, he smiled and used the last of his strength to say:

"Kill me."

"What!?" Xiao Xuechen and everyone around them thought they had misheard.

Yu Xing licked his lips, his tongue tasting the rich tang of blood.

He repeated, "Kill me."