166 All I Have

 

Resentment and pain were like chains piercing through flesh and skin, trapping the monster’s soul. There was nothing but hatred left in his eyes. The tattoo on his arm bled as rancor ran through his veins. As his body slowly pieced together, the monster lifted his head to look at Han Fei. His arm creaked noisily as he raised it up. The next moment, he disappeared. The bleeding visage then materialized before Han Fei, their noses almost touching. Han Fei was not expecting this lightning speed.

Han Fei needed to focus on Zhang Guanxing behind him, Han Fei needed to persuade the young man to calm down, to help him win over the resentment in his heart, to retain his humanity. The monster appeared to have read Han Fei’s thought. Instead of playing the cat and mouse game, he decided to end the problem now. Han Fei could feel murderous intent from the monster. His every nerve shivered from the threat!

Fear and death were literally right before his eyes. Han Fei’s throat trembled. His fractured mind quickly calculated how he was going to survive against the onslaught in relation to the remaining mission time. Zhang Guanxing was not yet complete. The humane part claimed the spot behind Han Fei... while the inhumane part stood before him. However, even if the monster was only operating on pure hatred, he was as powerful as a normal Lingering Spirit. Han Fei could not think of any other idea than to rely on the blood red doll to stop the man.

Staring down the face, Han Fei could read unresolvable resentment within the man’s bleeding eyes. The eyes contained nothing that could be called human. It was a monster standing before Han Fei, a monster who had been stripped of his humanity. The horrible smell crawled into his nostrils. The cracked skull echoed hollowly as black blood trickled down the bridge of the nose.

The monster swung his raised arm at Han Fei’s head. In the middle of the arc, the bone within the arm snapped to form a sharpened bone pike which lanced at Han Fei’s forehead!

Han Fei did not flinch despite his fear. Using an efficient self-defence technique, he raised his arms to block the incoming blow.

The moment Han Fei’s arms knocked away the monster’s attack, the bones cracked noisily. Han Fei staggered back a few steps until he bumped into Zhang Guanxing. His left arm dangled weakly, a wide bruise surfaced on the skin. Pain jolted through him. Han Fei did not even have the chance to inspect the extent of the damage as the monster’s arms flew and bound around Han Fei like ropes!

The black blood slathered Han Fei’s skin. The hands twined around Han Fei’s body before they met around the man’s neck. The monster was going to crush Han Fei’s air pipes. The monster could change his body at will, his bones and flesh could be reshaped depending on their purpose. But more than that, the monster's black blood and flesh also carried its own kind of poison. 

Han Fei’s skin which had come into contact with the monster’s black blood started to darken. Yin energy seeped into Han Fei’s body, Zhang Guanxing’s resentment was changing and influencing Han Fei.

Pain came from all parts of his body. Han Fei could feel his mind wavering as oxygen was cut off from his brain. They were not on the same power level. Han Fei would be injured the moment he touched the monster and on top of that, the monster could manipulate his body at will. This was a landslide victory for the monster. Han Fei felt the pressure around his neck. He knew he could not hold on much longer. He opened the inventory and tried to summon the red paper doll when he heard a wail come from behind him!

Zhang Guanxing’s arm was clawed until it dribbled with blood. The wound formed the Chinese character for Hatred. Zhang Guanxing behind Han Fei dug his five fingers into his flesh, his eyes were turning a murky red!

Pain, despair and endless hatred squeezed out the rationality in his eyes. His precious humanity was being consumed. His face kept twitching as he stared at the other version of himself inside the room. The tattoo was replaced by a ghastly wound. When the monster saw the change to Zhang Guanxing, he tossed Han Fei easily away and strode to stand before the other young man.

Zhang Guanxing appeared to see himself in a mirror of death as he stared at the bloody and ruined face. He saw his fated ending. The forgotten memory rushed back like waves. He reached out to grab the monster, to grab his ‘own’ back. There was not one bone that was not splintered. Yes, he remembered it now. Someone pushed against his back down the side of the building. His head was turned to look at his aggressor. As his body met the ground, he saw the face of the person at the rooftop.

He died because no one was there to look over his back. His nightmare was now reconstructed in a different way. The monster’s head which was turned 180 degree cackled shrilly. As a manifestation of pure despair and hatred, he strode forward. The backs met and the monster’s flesh and blood began to combine with Zhang Guanxing. The light in the young man’s eyes dimmed. No matter how loud Han Fei called at him, he did not respond.

“No one trusted you in the past but I do now! I’ve always shown my back to you! Even when I thought I was going to be killed, I didn’t turn my back away from you.” Everything connected for Han Fei then. The mission description referred to the sad reality of Zhang Guanxing being betrayed by someone he trusted, someone whom he’d show his back to. Han Fei used the same method hopefully to show that he had complete trust in Zhang Guanxing and he was literally not going to turn his back from the young man. Han Fei hoped to use that shared experience to stabilize Zhang Guanxing’s humanity but he underestimated the young man’s depth of hatred. His words and actions had no effect on the merging of the two Zhang Guanxing’s. As they mixed, the resentment deepened.

‘I have to stop this! After they join together, the Zhang Guanxing that I know will disappear forever.’ Han Fei forced himself up with his right hand. He had to complete the mission not only to save himself but also for the sake of the poor boy. The blackened skin prickled like needles. The bruises contained the lingering poison of the monster’s flesh and blood, they tormented Han Fei nonstop. The pain shot through his heart but Han Fei was surprisingly calm. He studied his body and noticed the skin covered by the ghost tattoo was unharmed. He tried to summon the ghost tattoo and a light hue of Yin energy surrounded his body. It helped lessen the pain somewhat.

‘This is not enough.’ Reaching towards the dark corner, Han Fei pressed Xu Qin’s pet shadow onto his ghost tattoo. “Since you’re not going to fight, mind lending me some of your power?” The shadow seemed to understand Han Fei’s intention. After all, they were in the same boat. If Han Fei died, it would not survive on its own. The giant anaconda slithered out from the shadow, it slid along the ghost tattoo. A piercing chill shocked Han Fei’s system. His own heartbeat was the only sense left in Han Fei’s world. The beating was loud as drums. He tore off his shirt and it revealed a black anaconda gliding on his body.