The sound of rustling filled the air as strips of white gauze flew over, wrapping around Michael Chen’s arm just as he was about to strike me.
"Ethan..." Rachel Lan shouted. I cried out, driving my elbow hard into Michael Chen’s thigh, then clenched my fist and, aiming at his chin, leapt up and struck him with a punch.
With a scream, Michael Chen cried out as the masked man pulled his hand out of Michael Chen’s body. A chill ran down my spine—he was holding a black heart in his hand.
As he hit the ground, Michael Chen’s body began to shrink, reverting to his original form. His eyes widened, his whole body trembling, face pale, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.
I didn’t stop until Michael Chen lay motionless. Panting, I sat to the side as waves of pain swept over me, my body feeling as if it was about to be torn apart.
The man on the van spoke, and the Taoist swung his horsetail whisk. A beam of silver light appeared before the fleeing Helen Chen and Justin Lee, wrapped around them, and dragged them to the ground.
Michael Chen gazed weakly at Helen Chen, tears streaming down his face, his eyes pleading with her for forgiveness.
"I’m sorry, Hongyan. I know I’m a monster, but I still wanted to save you. Isn’t that pathetic?"
I kept struggling, despair welling up inside me, knowing I was powerless to change anything.
Helen Chen and Justin Lee huddled together, surrounded by silver talismans glowing all around. Michael Chen dashed forward, reaching out with both hands. The moment he touched those silver talismans, he screamed in agony as his entire hand was burned pitch black.
With a scream, Michael Chen shouted, while Helen Chen looked up at him in terror.
The black-masked man sitting on Michael Chen’s chest spoke, tossing the black heart into the air. The Taoist produced a yellow silk pouch, caught the heart, and tied it to his waist.
Seeing Helen Chen still staring blankly at him, Michael Chen kicked her, sending her flying.
"I told you to hurry, didn’t you hear me?"
Justin Lee scrambled to his feet, grabbed Helen Chen, and floated up into the air.
"Fools who don’t know when to quit," the old Taoist said. Silver light shone beneath him as he reversed his grip on the jade-green sword, holding it behind his back. He flicked the horsetail whisk with his right hand, took a step forward, and soared into the air.
With another scream, Michael Chen leaped high, his already scorched hands reaching for the old Taoist. I rushed out after him.
The masked man's hand pierced straight through Michael Chen’s body from behind. With a crash, someone fell to the ground. I was even more shocked—it was Principal Roy Chen, barely alive, covered in wounds, his hands and feet twisted and broken.
"Oh my, you two—why did you both come out? Now you’ve made me want to come out for some fresh air too."
A man’s voice sounded, tinged with helplessness. Turning my head, I saw a man in a white T-shirt, light blue casual pants, and sneakers, lying on top of an overturned van. He propped his head with one hand, chewing gum.
The man had a fair complexion, a pointed face, and was rather handsome, looking over with a lazy expression.
With a scream, Chen Miaoqiang cried out as the masked man pulled his hand out of Chen Miaoqiang’s body. A chill ran down my spine—he was holding a black heart in his hand.
As he hit the ground, Chen Miaoqiang’s body began to shrink, reverting to his original form. His eyes widened, his whole body trembling, face pale, and blood kept spilling from the corner of his mouth.
"Don’t let those two ghosts escape, Taoist."
The man on the van spoke, and the Taoist swung his horsetail whisk. A beam of silver light appeared before the fleeing Chen Hongyan and Li Ren, wrapped around them, and dragged them to the ground.
In the sky, that beam of silver light transformed into a sparkling Taoist character. Then, tiny silver rays rained down, turning into needles that pierced Chen Hongyan and Li Ren, pinning them to the ground as they screamed.
"You..." I shouted, taking a step forward. Suddenly, my head buzzed and I felt something rupture inside me. My body shrank back to normal size and I collapsed, blood spurting from my mouth.
I coughed and gasped, blood pouring endlessly from my mouth.
"Oh, Ethan Zhang, you’d better save your strength. Even though you’ve learned the source of our Immortality Society’s power and know to inject Deathbane Aura into your body, with mere flesh and blood, you can’t withstand it. Stop struggling—your organs have already ruptured. If you keep fighting, you’ll die."
"The item has been successfully recovered. Your turn, Taoist."
The black-masked man sitting on Chen Miaoqiang’s chest spoke, tossing the black heart into the air. The Taoist produced a yellow silk pouch, caught the heart, and tied it to his waist.
"I say, hurry up and finish the job. Recover that guy underground as well. If Yin Choujian shows up later, it’ll be hard for us to leave. I really don’t want to see him."
The man lying on the van spoke, spitting out his gum with a pop.
I stared in shock as the black-masked man walked step by step toward the broken wall. I watched him raise his hand—his small fist slammed down on the ground, and instantly, the floor collapsed.
Just as I was amazed at how someone so thin could possess such strength, he spoke.
"Strange, isn’t it, Ethan Zhang? I’m nothing like those two wretches lying over there. They’re just our experimental subjects, but me—I’m the finished product. Heh."
(This chapter isn’t over yet ^.^ Please click next page to continue reading!)
Then the Taoist walked over impatiently.
"You always have to nag like this. I’ll go recover it myself." With that, the Taoist jumped into the hole exposed in the ground.
The black-masked man leaned against the broken wall, watching us.
"Chen Miaoqiang, Chen Luohui, Chen Shihu—the three of them. Ha, all for a woman, suddenly grew a conscience. Ridiculous. They hoped that by relying on that useless woman who turned into a vengeful ghost, they could resist us. Laughable."
"You..." I tried to speak, but coughed up blood again.
"Don’t move, little girl. Even though you people from the Hades Circle aren’t that easy to kill, there are ways to do it."
The black-masked man warned. Lan Ruoxi looked ready to fight, and I stared at her, signaling her not to move.
"Originally, those three were obedient enough. Our Immortality Society was happy to accept them. But after that woman died, they suddenly grew a conscience. People are strange—doing evil yet still hoping for forgiveness."
Chen Miaoqiang gazed weakly at Chen Hongyan, tears streaming down his face.
"Sorry, Hongyan. I’m clearly a monster, yet I wanted to save you. Isn’t that ridiculous?"
I kept struggling, but there was nothing I could do about the situation.
"Rely on others a bit more, Ethan." Lan Ruoxi suddenly shouted. A strip of white gauze flew toward the black-masked man, wrapping around him as he closed his eyes.
"Didn’t I already tell you, little girl? It’s useless…"
"Heh, with fists this big, how could they be useless?"
A rough voice rang out. A massive figure flew over my head, and with a bang, the black-masked man was sent flying. Right after, I saw the Taoist fly over as well.
It was Justin Huang. I looked up and saw his burly frame, veins bulging, grinning as he looked at the two people he’d just knocked away.
"How could you two be so careless?"
It was the man lying on the van who easily caught the two of them.
"Hmph, why didn’t you lend a hand?" the Taoist complained. The black-masked man just smiled, tapped his toes, and shot toward Justin Huang like the wind.
"Is that guy called Yin Choujian really that formidable?"
I grunted in response.
"Then that’s settled. I’ll hold out until he arrives. Brother, don’t just lie there—think of something. Didn’t you tell me? Don’t give up."
I stared in shock as, with a bang, the masked man punched Justin Huang in the stomach. Justin grimaced in pain but held his ground, countering with a blow of his own.
With a thunderous crash, I watched in amazement as the masked man blocked Justin Huang’s punch with just a single finger.
"Not bad, but you’re still too green."
A flurry of fists blurred through the air—Justin Huang took countless blows, his mouth agape, spit flying everywhere, drool running down his chin. The pain was so intense he couldn’t even make a sound.
"How are you holding up? You..."
"I’m fine..." Justin Huang shouted, swinging his fist at the masked man again, but the masked man dodged effortlessly.
"I love this kind of game the most. Heh, watching ants keep scratching at my shoes."
I racked my brain, trying to figure out how to hold out until Yin Choujian arrived.
Chen Luohui slowly crawled over to Chen Miaoqiang, smiling.
"Looks like it’s over for us this time."
With that, Chen Miaoqiang smiled, then struggled to his feet, dragging Chen Luohui over to the pinned Chen Hongyan. Finally unable to hold on, he collapsed.
"You should hate us, Hongyan. Why? How long will you stay so naïve?"
Chen Luohui spoke, and I saw Chen Hongyan’s eyes return to normal, tears streaming down—not black tears this time, but sparkling, white ones.
"How could I hate you? We—we grew up together, didn’t we? And Dad too, why didn’t you tell me, why?"