Their expressions were split into two – one half transformed into a greedy smile, while the other became fearful crying faces.
Bai Lixin sneered.
At this point, they hadn’t forgotten their intention to hunt him. But that’s it, fear outweighed greed now.
In the end, they did nothing but stared at Bai Lixin impatiently, silently watching him walk away.
Bai Lixin reached the backyard and entered the rose garden.
After scanning the garden, he quickly found a shovel in the corner.
He strode over and took the shovel into his hand, swiftly returned to the rose garden, and started digging into the soil.
This rose garden wasn’t exceptionally large, but digging was still a laborious task.
He was digging in the yard silently, and behind him were the screams in the house.
Dark clouds roamed the sky, gradually veiling the already dim moon.
The moon was shrouded in thick fog, making the already dark courtyard even more gloomy.
In the darkness, screams mixed with the sound of the shovel piercing into the soil, sending shivers down one’s spine.
Bai Lixin dug for quite a while, changing positions multiple times. Just when the rose garden was about to be turned upside down by him, the shovel finally hit something.
Bai Lixin stopped, and looked down using the dim light coming from the house behind him. Beneath the shovel was a crumpled piece of cloth.
S419M: [….]
‘Save me!’
Bai Lixin stared at the fabric for a moment, his usually bright eyes now slightly dim.
After a moment, he raised the shovel again, and continued to dig around the cloth.
Suddenly, a chilling wind swept in.
An alarm bell rang in Bai Lixin’s heart, and he instinctively raised the shovel to block a certain direction.
With a “clang,” a metal impact resounded, and the next second, the shovel flew out of his hand due to the external force.
Bai Lixin dodged to the side, narrowing his eyes at the unexpected guest in front of him.
It was Fei Yino.
But also not Fei Yino.
The person in front was still wearing Fei Yino’s clothes, but the entire body, except for the head, had turned into thick black fog.
The fog seeped out from the sleeves and pant legs, while Fei Yino’s face glared angrily at Bai Lixin, his eyes glowing red.
Bai Lixin sneered, and silently took out the scythe from his backpack.
“You’re not Xiao Tou! You hit me! Xiao Tou would never hit me!” Fei Yino let out an angry roar that didn’t sound human, “Who are you?! Who are you?! Give me back my Xiao Tou! Why are you pretending to be Xiao Tou to deceive me?! You deserve to die! Deserve to die! I’ll kill you! Kill you!”
Bai Lixin lifted his chin, turning the pure white scythe in his hand. The blade drew beautiful arcs in the air, and he said arrogantly, “Kill me? That depends on whether you have the ability.”
Fei Yino’s expression was almost infuriated to death. He shouted angrily, and charged towards Bai Lixin like a madman.
The opponent was strong, and now that Bai Lixin was weakened, he couldn’t afford to confront the other party head-on. He could only dodge backward, seizing the opportunity to provoke and find flaws in his opponent.
Judging by Fei Yino’s current state, he should be the black monster that attacked him during these nights.
Bai Lixin agilely leaped around the yard, intermittently taunting Fei Yino and fueling the latter’s increasingly intense anger, while also searching for openings.
“Now you know to look for Xiao Tou. What were you doing earlier?”
“Where were you when Xiao Tou was begging for help?”
“Only when you lose something do you realize its value?”
Fei Yino shook his head desperately. “I didn’t do it on purpose. I didn’t know back then. If I knew, if I knew about Xiao Tou’s suffering, I would have definitely saved him. I love him, how could I let him suffer any grievances? I really didn’t know. I didn’t know that Fei Taizong took Xiao Tou as a gift and sacrificed him to those people. I didn’t know they came here every night to torment Xiao Tou. I should have known, why didn’t I notice!”
Bai Lixin sneered, “Belated affection is cheaper than grass.”
“Fei Yino, did you really know nothing?”
“You can deceive others, but can you truly deceive yourself?”
“You knew, right from the beginning. You’re a coward. It’s you who killed Xiao Tou.”
“I’m not!” Suddenly, Fei Yino roared, and black fog surged out from his entire body uncontrollably. His body seemed to be boiling, and numerous black bubbles emerged from it. “I’m not a coward! I didn’t kill Xiao Tou, you’re talking nonsense! I’ll kill you!”
The dark bubbles transformed into sharp tentacles, recklessly thrusting towards Bai Lixin.
Bai Lixin finally found Fei Yino’s vulnerability.
Just as he prepared to raise his scythe to cut him into pieces, a powerful pressure suddenly descended from the sky.
Something gently and slowly wrapped around him from behind, and then something abruptly opened, effortlessly interrupting Fei Yino’s chaotic attack.
Fei Yino let out a miserable scream and fell to the ground in pain.
Bai Lixin turned around, and the thick fog wrapped around his waist and shoulders. The fog extended behind him, forming a gigantic butterfly wing-like structure, securely protecting Bai Lixin within.
The black fog didn’t even resemble a human shape. It separated into a strand, wound around Bai Lixin’s white scythe and clung to his hand, half-enveloping Bai Lixin in an absolute protective stance.
Time seemed to freeze in this moment – the handsome young man wrapped in mysterious black fog was unbelievably captivating.
S419M couldn’t help but howl: [Fuck, so handsome.]
“My person, you’re not worthy of touching.” An oppressive voice compressed Fei Yino’s spirit. Fei Yino covered his head and rolled on the ground in agony, howling, “Stop, it hurts so much, it hurts.”
“Quickly stop, it hurts so much.”
Bai Lixin hadn’t even seen how the black fog took action; it merely adhered to him, not even touching Fei Yino.
Black Fog obviously had no intention of ending this one-sided torture. “I recognize you, you’re the monster lusting after him. You’re truly bored with life.”
Fei Yino resisted, rolling on the ground and howling, “I’m a monster? Aren’t you? Look at yourself, you look more like a monster than I do!”
‘Damn it, calling the thief a thief, so infuriating!’
Black Fog remained unaffected, and just snorted coldly. Fei Yino’s cries suddenly intensified.
The corner of Bai Lixin’s mouth twitched as he watched the fog’s almost arrogant torture. He grabbed the fog with his fingers and said, “Don’t kill him, I still have questions.”
The fog reluctantly released its grip, allowing Fei Yino a brief respite.
Sounds of movement came from the entrance of the Fei residence.
Bai Lixin and the two monsters turned to look. Two scarecrows, one black and one white, emerged.
The white scarecrow visibly trembled when it saw the black fog on Bai Lixin. Then, they exchanged a glance and swiftly flew over the trio, continuing their pursuit of the masked men hiding in the yard.
The masked men were forced to run out of the lifesaving bush, pleading and wailing as they ran, “Aren’t there several people standing there? Why are you killing us and not them? Are you all blind?!”
The white scarecrow gnashed its teeth fiercely and increased the speed of its pursuit.
If it could be killed, it would have killed it long ago!
Can’t beat it!
The yard became chaotic for awhile.
The masked men’s screams for mercy, the pursuit of the scarecrows, Bai Lixin standing proudly, and the two monsters confronting each other.
Against the backdrop of the scarecrows and the masked men, Fei Yino slowly climbed up from the ground, gasping for breath as he asked, “What do you want to ask?”
One of the masked men suddenly ran to the middle of the confronting monsters. The white scarecrow chasing him suddenly froze, and it’s pursuit became gentle and considerately slowed down.
Bai Lixin remained silent, quietly watching the white scarecrow capture the person.
The white scarecrow jumped among them cautiously. The pitchfork in its hand slowly stretched out and slowly hooked the masked man’s clothes.
During these actions, it even glanced at the black fog behind Bai Lixin, bending its waist as if showing goodwill.
If the white scarecrow had facial expressions, it would undoubtedly be a fawning look.
The white scarecrow’s movements were quiet and gentle.
Until the pitchfork hooked onto the corner of the masked man’s clothes, the white scarecrow pulled hard and dragged the screaming masked man to its feet.
The pitchfork instantly pierced the masked man, then the white scarecrow carefully looked at the black fog again. Then it dragged the masked man to the corner as if fleeing, like a mouse that had seen a cat.
Bai Lixin silently raised his head and glanced at the black fog behind him.
‘Well, why don’t you tell me, what did you do to it that made it so scared?’
Black Fog clearly lacked facial features, but as Bai Lixin stared at the stared into the constant swirling fog, he felt like it blinked innocently at him. It muttered in a low voice, “It’s just too timid, it doesn’t concern me.”
Bai Lixin: “…”
‘Doesn’t concern you? Then whose concern is it then?’
“Hahaha, hahaha,” Fei Yino on the opposite side suddenly burst into laughter. Bai Lixin shifted his attention to Fei Yino, and noticed that he had a decisive look, as if a desperate resolution had been made. “You may protect him for a moment, but can you protect him for a lifetime?”
“No matter who he is, once he falls into this game, there’s no good ending for him!”
“I won’t have a good outcome, and neither will he!”
“We are all pawns in someone else’s hands.”
“Who is nobler than whom.”
“I can’t save Xiao Tou, and similarly, you can’t save this person.”
The black fog wrapped around Bai Lixin’s waist tightened slightly, and its voice carried an arrogant disdain, “That’s you, not me. I’ll keep my people safe.”
Fei Yino just sneered but remained silent.
Bai Lixin looked at Fei Yino and slowly asked a question, “You mentioned Xiao Tou has been missing for a long time. Do you remember how he left?”
Fei Yino rubbed his temples and responded irritably, “How could I possibly know? If I knew he was going to leave, I would have stopped him. I wouldn’t let him go!”
Bai Lixin remained silent for two seconds, then suddenly chuckled, “I asked Aunt Zhang when she last saw Xiao Tou. Would you like to hear?”
Fei Yino abruptly raised his head, wide-eyed, “When?!”
Bai Lixin: “Aunt Zhang said she saw Xiao Tou with you that day, and after that, Xiao Tou disappeared.”
Fei Yino began rubbing his temples again, “Yes, we were together at that time, and we even had an argument.”
Bai Lixin: “Why did you argue?”
“Why did we argue?” Fei Yino hesitated for a moment, then looked at Bai Lixin in confusion. “Yes, why did we argue? I, I seem to have forgotten.”
Bai Lixin’s tone was aggressive, “How could you forget? Just as you said, if you knew Xiao Tou was leaving, you would have definitely stopped him. You shouldn’t forget. Didn’t you kill Xiao Tou to prevent him from leaving?”
Fei Yino froze, and looked at Bai Lixin in shock, “What nonsense are you talking about? How could I kill Xiao Tou?! I loved him the most, I wouldn’t kill him.”
Bai Lixin pointed to the rose garden he had dug up, “If you didn’t kill him, then what is in that rose garden?”
Fei Yino stumbled and climbed into the opened rose garden, where he saw the cloth strip that was not completely unearthed.
He stared at the cloth strip, his eyes showing a mix of shock and disbelief. “Is this… Xiao Tou?”
Bai Lixin: “Does that cloth look familiar to you?”
Of course Fei Yino found it familiar. Wasn’t that the bedsheet in his monitoring room? No, that bedsheet was still in his monitoring room, right? How could it be buried here?
It must be fake. How could Xiao Tou die by his hands?
Fei Yino held his head, suffering from a splitting headache.
Jumping images flashed in his mind, as if some memories were about to surface.
Bai Lixin continued, “Think carefully again. What did Xiao Tou say to you during your last meeting? Why did you argue?”
Fei Yino knelt on the ground, pounding his head against the ground to alleviate the pain.
He murmured to himself in despair, “What did he say that day… and why did we argue, why… why…”
His voice abruptly stopped, and his whole body froze.
After a few seconds, he sat up from the ground, his expression dull, looking a lifeless person. “I remembered. Xiao Tou said that day… he was leaving.”
