At night, I lay restless in a room on the third floor, tossing and turning. Outside, the noise of the crowd was still audible. Lance Quinn had said that tomorrow morning, he'd return Rachel and William Wu to me, and we'd better get out of here as soon as possible.
My mouth was already dry from arguing—I wanted to go to the Nether Syndicate, but he simply wouldn't let me.
No matter how I thought about it, I had to find a way to make him take me to the Nether Syndicate. He'd already patted his chest and promised that Rachel would be perfectly safe—he just wanted to invite her to the banquet, nothing more. But when I pressed for what Rachel had to do with this wedding, Lance Quinn clammed up.
Even though I was exhausted, I couldn't sleep at all. I crept out of bed, planning to look around outside. Maybe the Five Elements Talisman here had something to do with the entrance to the Nether Syndicate. If he wouldn't take me, maybe I could find it on my own.
"Where do you think you're going? Ethan Zhang, stay put. If you get caught by the villagers out there, it'll be trouble. Got it? Just stay put."
I scrambled up from the bed and saw the window was already open. Lance Quinn was sitting by the window. I hated him—after the way he'd messed with me twice before, I admit, I still held a grudge. Even though he hadn't pulled anything since, my resentment lingered.
Earlier, I had asked him about Yuna Ji and their boss, but Lance Quinn still refused to tell me anything.
"Can you take me to the Nether Syndicate?" I asked again, this time with utmost sincerity. Lance Quinn stepped in from the window, stared at me, and slowly spat out two words.
"No way."
Rage surged from my chest in an instant. Without a word, I swung my fist at his smirking, infuriating face.
My Deathbane Aura had returned. My fist, wrapped in its energy, smashed into Lance Quinn’s cheek with a wet smack. My eyes widened—and in that instant, a wave of nausea hit me so hard I nearly vomited. I retched, trying to yank my hand back, but it wouldn’t budge.
It was like plunging my hand into a cesspit. Where my fist landed, writhing white maggots squirmed, crawling over my skin. The crawling itch made my hair stand on end, and my stomach churned violently with disgust.
"Never seen maggots before? What's so disgusting about them? Besides, I'm a revenant, remember?"
"Damn... you—ugh... you bastard, let go!" I shouted, Deathbane Aura instantly surging around me. But my hand, buried in Lance Quinn’s cheek, was locked tight. I screamed, goosebumps erupting all over my skin.
The white maggots squirmed, covering my hand, inching slowly up my arm.
"What’s wrong, Ethan Zhang? These things are pure protein, you know. In times of famine, some people cook them up and eat them. So, are you hungry? Want me to get you some?"
Acid churned in my gut and surged upward. I finally gagged and vomited, the maggots reeking of rot as their stench wafted into my nose, making every pore on my body prickle open.
"Beg me! If you beg, I’ll let you go. Ha!"
"Damn it!" I roared, raising my left hand as a Deathbane Aura Blade instantly coalesced in my grip. I swung it at Lance Quinn’s head.
With a whoosh, I stared in shock as Lance Quinn blew fiercely at the oncoming Deathbane Aura Blade. The sword in my hand, solid a moment ago, scattered into mist with his breath.
I wasn’t his match. In that instant, I realized—his strength was above mine.
By now, my entire right arm was crawling with maggots. They surged up toward my neck at an unstoppable pace. Sweat poured down my face as I stared at the nauseating, reeking maggots, vomiting again and again as my stomach spasmed.
"Oh, right, I almost forgot—last night, what you ate and these things..." Lance Quinn paused, giving the maggots a meaningful look, then burst out laughing.
I felt like I was about to break. It was as if every nerve in my brain snapped at once. I screamed and vomited, stomach wracked with pain. I shrieked again, surprised at how piercing my own voice could be. The maggots had already reached my neck.
I’d lost all reason, struggling desperately to escape Lance Quinn. My scalp prickled, sweat dripped in heavy beads from my forehead, and I shook my head in terror as the maggots crawled closer to my mouth.
"Keep yelling, and you’ll regret it. If you don’t shut your mouth, they’ll crawl right in. Ha!"
As Lance Quinn spoke, I clamped my mouth shut, but I didn’t dare breathe through my nose—the stench was overwhelming. The maggots were so foul I couldn’t bear to inhale. Worse, my stomach churned as I remembered what Lance Quinn said about what I’d eaten.
"Hurry up, or they’ll crawl into your nostrils. Beg me—come on, beg!"
I shook my head. I tried to transform into a ghost, but no matter how hard I willed it, my body wouldn’t change at all.
Finally, my nose tingled and itched unbearably. I’d reached my breaking point. I screamed out loud.
"I’m begging you, all right? Just let me go!"
Suddenly, with a wet pop, Lance Quinn burst out laughing. I finally broke free and collapsed onto the bed, shrieking and trembling uncontrollably.
Just then, the maggots vanished from my body, and the stench of rot disappeared. Abruptly, Lance Quinn appeared right in front of me, both hands on either side of my neck, gazing at me intently.
(This chapter isn’t over yet~ Please click next page to continue reading!)
"Just kidding! Ha, you really ate normal food last night. Don’t worry about it."
My heart gave a jolt, a wave of weakness washing over me. I exhaled in relief, though I was speechless at the whole ordeal.
Suddenly, I noticed Lance Quinn’s hands playing with my hair. My eyes widened as I met his gaze, full of teasing intent.
"You’re not saying that..."
Before I could finish, Lance Quinn pressed my arms down with both hands and grinned lewdly.
"You guessed right. The truth is, I like men..."
As he spoke, my head buzzed. Suddenly, Lance Quinn puckered his lips and planted a kiss on my face. I erupted into furious curses.
"Damn you, you sick, perverted revenant! Get off me! I’ll kill you!"
With a wet pop, Lance Quinn sprang up, clutching his belly and laughing hysterically. As I scrambled off the bed, rage boiled inside me like erupting magma, ready to explode.
I kept gathering Deathbane Aura, strengthening its quality. Bit by bit, my whole body turned pitch black. Using Deathbane Aura now felt smoother—almost effortless, as if another self within me was helping to condense the energy.
With a thunderous crash, I lunged at Lance Quinn, roaring in fury. I’d reached my breaking point—win or lose, I was determined to take him down. That was my only thought.
Another thunderous crash—I felt real contact for the first time as I slammed into Lance Quinn. Instantly, the walls and windows vanished; I sent him flying into the air. In a flash, my right hand stretched out, Deathbane Aura swirling like tangled currents, forming blade-like streams behind him.
I roared, raising my twin blades of condensed Deathbane Aura. The smile vanished from Lance Quinn’s face. He threw up his hands in defense as I struck at him wildly with the twin swords.
At the same time, my mind directed the blade-like streams of Deathbane Aura behind Lance Quinn, slashing at him. The air rang with metallic clangs. His skin seemed as hard as steel, but I only fought harder, recklessly attacking with all my strength.
Sparks flew in the air as my Deathbane Aura Blade struck Lance Quinn, bursting into fiery arcs. Smoke curled upward, and the aura blades behind him sliced at his back like knives.
Now Lance Quinn curled up into a ball, like a giant lump of flesh, arms and legs tucked in, defending against my assault.
Suddenly, Lance Quinn’s body blurred—he was trying to escape. In that instant, a massive black claw shot from my chest, grabbing him as he tried to flee. My eyes caught his movement immediately.
The giant black claw gripped Lance Quinn like a toy, dragging him toward me. I roared, raising my twin Deathbane Aura blades, and hacked at his shoulder.
With a thunderous boom, Lance Quinn bared his teeth as a black light erupted with a deafening roar. My twin Deathbane Aura swords struck his shoulder, the force whipping up a hurricane that bent all the flowers and trees around us.