However, in the next moment, I saw that Ken Wang had already stood up. His broken hands had regrown, and the blood that had been flowing was gone. He looked at me, gasping for breath, his face exhausted.
"Oh, how much longer can you hold out? Sure, you and your father both have the ability to write this 'Horror Stories' book, but writing like this drains your strength. If you keep writing things that are exaggerated but still possible, it’ll even sap your life force."
I stared at Ken Wang in surprise. He looked weak, holding a ballpoint pen and writing on the notebook.
All the injuries Ethan Zhang suffered were fake—they had all been healed.
"No, Ken..."
Just as I spoke, Ken Wang’s ballpoint pen dropped to the ground with a clatter. Then I saw his face turn pale, his skin completely bloodless.
"Oh, oh, Ethan Zhang, hurry and use the red ballpoint pen to cross out what he wrote. Otherwise, once your injuries are healed, that kid’s life will be over."
Suddenly, I realized that my body, which had been wracked with pain and completely drained of strength, was starting to recover as each line Ken Wang wrote in the notebook took effect.
"Don’t worry about me, Ken. Your body can’t take it." I shouted, regaining a bit of strength. I hurriedly fished a red ballpoint pen from Ken Wang’s pocket, my hands trembling as I tried to cross out the contents written in the notebook.
"Stop, Ethan." Ken Wang, weak and clutching the notebook, sat on the ground, shaking his head at me again and again, refusing to hand it over. Cold sweat kept pouring from his forehead.
My strength was slowly returning, and my wounds were gradually fading, but Ken Wang was becoming weaker and weaker. The blue writing had completely lifted off the notebook.
"Don’t do this! I told you to stop, didn’t you hear me?"
Then, all of a sudden, Ken Wang lifted his head and looked at me seriously.
"Then tell me, Ethan, besides helping you recover and trying to defeat him, what other way is there? Tell me, Ethan, is there any other way for us to take our family and escape from this damned 'Horror Stories' book? Tell me..."
Ken Wang’s eyes were filled with determination. He started trembling all over, then collapsed to the ground with a thud. I saw him curling up in pain, his face twisted in agony.
"Ethan, defeat that guy. Only by defeating him can we find our family and go home..."
Ken Wang shouted. A surge of heat welled up in my heart as I stood up, Deathbane Aura slowly seeping out. I looked at the Blue Wraith before me. Sure enough, I couldn’t sense anything from him. My chance of victory was less than one percent, but I had to find a way to get our family back.
"Oh, Ethan Zhang, what’s wrong? You’ve recovered? Heh, come on, I’ll play with you for a bit. By the way, my name is Victor Duan. Nice to meet you. Let’s say hello, since you look so full of life."
I had already approached the Blue Wraith named Victor Duan. With the Deathbane Twin Blades in hand, I leapt up and slashed at him.
"Hang in there, Ken!" I yelled. Victor Duan smiled as my twin blades slashed down.
"Heh, getting that close is dangerous—you could get hurt."
With a bang, it felt like I’d shattered an invisible glass barrier. For a moment, I saw shards of glass break apart. Then, suddenly, a rush of heat hit my chest, and two slashes appeared, as if I’d been struck there.
I spat out a mouthful of blood and was thrown hard backwards.
"What did he do?" I muttered, staring at Victor Duan. He looked utterly relaxed, standing three or four meters away. What was going on?
"I didn’t do anything, Ethan Zhang. You can’t even touch a single finger of mine!"
I studied Victor Duan carefully. He looked carefree, hands behind his back. It was true—he hadn’t done anything. But the wounds on my chest felt just like they’d been made by my twin blades.
"What’s wrong, Ethan Zhang? Come on, get over here, try again—maybe you’ll hit me this time!"
Looking at Victor Duan’s smug face, I was furious. Miraculously, the wounds on my chest healed. I turned and saw Ken Wang, his face ashen, his thin body leaning against the railing, trembling as he held the pen.
"Stop writing, Ken..."
I called out to him. Ken Wang managed a weary smile.
"Don’t you want to see your family again, Ken? If you do, stop writing. I’ll be careful myself, do you hear me?" I shouted, but Ken Wang started cursing loudly.
"That damned old man lied to me for so long! Why? Damn it, I remember now. For more than twenty years, ever since I understood things, there’s been no mother or brother. Those were just people my father wrote into the story for me—they only existed in the book..."
Big tears rolled down Ken Wang’s cheeks.
"But..." I paused, turned to glare at Victor Duan, then continued.
"It’s real, isn’t it? Your father, Simon Wang, he’s real, right? He exists in your memory, in your life, doesn’t he?"
After seeing Ken Wang nod, I shouted and charged at Victor Duan again.
"If he’s real, then let’s find him together, whatever it takes."
This time, I didn’t strike directly, but cautiously sent out a strand of Deathbane Aura, stabbing it toward Victor Duan.
Suddenly, I realized that the Deathbane Aura I sent out seemed to vanish into transparent space. I stared, wide-eyed, as Victor Duan kept his hands behind his back, doing nothing, just smiling.
"Watch your back."
As soon as Victor Duan finished speaking, Ken Wang cried out.
"Ethan, behind you!"
With a sudden rush of heat, I barely dodged to the side. A strand of Deathbane Aura pierced my shoulder, blood gushing out.
I stared in shock at the Deathbane Aura that had stabbed me. Then, as I relaxed my hands, the aura dissipated.
"Was that my own Deathbane Aura? What’s going on?"
"Haha, you finally noticed, Ethan Zhang? With your level of power, it’s impossible to hurt me. All right, that’s enough. Listen to me, you two—this fight is over. If you keep it up..."
In an instant, I charged at Victor Duan, a thick strand of Deathbane Aura bursting out and stabbing toward his chest.
"Didn’t you understand anything I said, Ethan Zhang? Is your brain broken?"
I gave a sly smile. Just as the Deathbane Aura vanished, I crouched down. Sure enough, a thick strand of Deathbane Aura stabbed down from above.
"Damn, Ethan Zhang, you’re really sneaky!"
Victor Duan looked surprised. I dashed toward him, keeping low.
"But will things really go the way you want?"
Suddenly, Victor Duan laughed. With a bang, a thick strand of Deathbane Aura shot up from beneath his feet. I stopped instantly. Though it only grazed me, my chest was already a bloody mess.
I flew backward, crashing to the ground. As I crouched down, I realized Victor Duan had somehow moved my Deathbane Aura behind me. Although I dodged it, just when I thought I had him, the aura vanished and reappeared below me. If I’d been a second slower, I wouldn’t even be able to stand now.
"Damn it, who’s the real sneaky one here? If you’ve got the guts, fight me fair and square instead of using these dirty tricks!"
I cursed loudly, clutching my chest.
Victor Duan waved his hand and laughed heartily.
"Really, I’m not lying, Ethan Zhang. I didn’t do anything at all."
Just as he said, I really couldn’t even touch him, and he hadn’t even made a move. If he did, I’d probably be finished in an instant.
I had to catch him off guard. Thinking fast, I charged at him again.
"I told you, Ethan Zhang, stop struggling."
This time, I didn’t use Deathbane Aura. I was already in front of him and swung a punch at his face. With a boom, my fist swelled up, a jolt of pain making me grimace.
"Disobedience will cost you, Ethan Zhang."
I stared in disbelief. My fist, just before hitting Victor Duan’s face, seemed to vanish into thin air. As I froze, I saw a swollen fist swing toward my face.
Bang! Blood spurted from my nose, my head spinning as I was thrown back and crashed to the ground. My consciousness grew dimmer and dimmer, blood streaming down both cheeks.
"See, Ethan Zhang? Didn’t I tell you? If you’d just quiet down, but no, you never listen. Haha, look at you, your face is swollen like a pig’s head. Hahaha..."
Just as I was about to lose consciousness, I suddenly snapped awake, hit by my own fist. My cheeks were still swollen, but a scene flashed through my mind—a white world, a pale figure with golden eyes smiling at me.
"What is your heart, Ethan Zhang? What is the obsession in your heart?"