Chapter 40: The Gears of Fate

The air between the two grew cold at these words.

Li Qingxia paused, his expression momentarily bewildered. "I... I just ran here, that’s just how fast I am. It might have something to do with my ability, so I just took a few shortcuts."

Li Chenqiu narrowed his eyes slightly. "What direction were you heading after we split up?"

"I followed what you said, the two o'clock direction. Why?"

Li Chenqiu remained silent for a moment, scrutinizing Li Qingxia intently. If the man had truly followed his directions, he should have arrived at least ten minutes later than he did upon hearing the commotion. There was another possibility: Li Qingxia had ignored his instructions entirely. But he was only a First-Forbidden; how could he have evaded the searches of these Awakened? It didn't add up.

With this thought, Li Chenqiu re-examined his second brother.

"Have you gone blood-crazy? Why are you staring at me like that? I’m your brother, you can't just do whatever you want!" Li Qingxia clutched himself, retreating cautiously.

Li Chenqiu rolled his eyes. "If I had gone blood-crazy, would you still be standing there in one piece?"

Without further ado, Li Chenqiu bent down, lifted Xu Yuan with one hand, and sank his teeth into the man’s neck, drinking deeply. Xu Yuan’s burly frame withered at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Xiao Qiu... you..." Li Qingxia stared at him in shock.

After draining Xu Yuan, Li Chenqiu dropped the shriveled corpse, wiped the blood from his mouth, and spoke. "I’ve bled too much in this place. If anyone suspects me and gets my hair or any other sample for DNA verification, they’ll be able to track me down. That is why I must break through to the Second-Forbidden and alter my genes."

As he spoke, he kicked a corpse toward Li Qingxia. "Second brother, have some too. After all, human blood is quite expensive on the outside."

"This..." For some reason, Li Qingxia stood rooted to the spot, unmoving.

"It’s no different from what you usually drink, just a bit fresher. If you mind, then forget it." Li Chenqiu said flatly, then walked over to Feng Qian’s body and hoisted her up. This time, he didn't feed immediately; he closed his eyes as if adjusting something within himself.

***

Having consumed Xu Yuan’s blood, his body was saturated. Surging life energy was nourishing every cell, slowly elevating his physical functions. Li Chenqiu could clearly feel that he was only a step away from the qualitative change of the Second-Forbidden. He could have waited to cross that threshold, but he didn't have the time. He chose to force his way through the body's shackles with an influx of excess life energy.

"Hoo..." Li Chenqiu took a deep breath. "The feeling of being torn apart shouldn't hurt too much, right?"

He grinned and sank his teeth into Feng Qian’s neck. Red blood gushed from the carotid artery, flowing down his throat into his stomach, where it transformed into life energy and flooded his limbs and bones.

In an instant, Li Chenqiu’s eyes turned blood-red. His body began to tremble uncontrollably, and the sound of tearing and squirming erupted from within him. Beneath his pale skin, things like dense swarms of centipedes seemed to be writhing back and forth.

Li Chenqiu had never experienced such pain. He felt as though he were rolling on a bed of needles, his body being constantly pierced and shredded, with the agony intensifying by the second. Yet, he did not cry out. He released Feng Qian and walked alone into the woods, calling back without looking behind him, "I’m going to find something. Second brother, wait for me here."

"Alright, be careful," Li Qingxia called out with concern.

Once Li Chenqiu vanished into the shadows, his body suddenly shattered like a broken porcelain doll. Fine bloodstains covered his entire frame, and fresh blood began to seep out. With his next step, his leg disintegrated like mud mixed with water. Having lost all support, he collapsed with a wet *thud*, crumbling like a pile of sludge, consumed by boundless agony. Fortunately, Li Chenqiu had long ago destroyed his own tear ducts and vocal cords, so he neither wept nor made a sound. In the darkness, one could only see a formless mass of flesh heaving like boiling water.

...

By the creek, Li Qingxia strolled among the corpses with his hands in his pockets, his relaxed demeanor a stark contrast to his previous self.

"He actually killed them all. If I’d known, I wouldn't have come. I wonder if he suspects me." Li Qingxia tapped his chin rhythmically. After a moment of thought, he gave a helpless smile. "Oh well, leave it to fate!"

With that, Li Qingxia took a step. When his foot landed again, he was already a hundred meters away, sitting quietly and waiting for Li Chenqiu to proceed with the next step.

From the moment the name "Li Chenqiu" appeared, the gears of fate had long since begun to turn. If Li Chenqiu could maintain suspicion toward everything, he might have seen the truth: who had called him to the gate of the Fourth High School, who had given him the wrong floor, who had found him the part-time job, and who had made him spot that lurker on the bus.

...

...

North Huangshan, Bonfire Party.

Ten minutes ago, this place had been filled with laughter. Now, it was a river of blood, with severed limbs and arms scattered everywhere. A group of Awakened in security uniforms searched the square for humans feigning death.

In front of the roaring bonfire, two men stood facing each other. Between them sat a wooden box with a string of blood-stained numbers on the front: 9413. One man had a grim, sallow complexion, cracked lips, and bloodless skin; the other had an athletic build and a faint, constant smile on his face.

"Horse-Face, it was agreed that the New World would be responsible for this operation. You of the Underworld are certainly warm-hearted, bringing over two hundred Awakened and even a top-tier expert like yourself."

"Isn't that just to prevent any accidents? Besides, moving thousands of corpses at once is easier with more hands," the sallow-faced man replied with a smile.

"If it's just for moving corpses, why do your people follow ours when we go to search for survivors elsewhere?" Shen Yuanguo’s pupils deepened.

"Isn't that just to prevent any accidents?" Horse-Face wore a smile that didn't reach his eyes, which were filled with a soft, feigned kindness.

"Well said. Have you already foreseen that our people will run into some kind of 'accident' at North Huangshan?"

"I wouldn't know about that, but I think if you leave now, perhaps that accident won't happen."

"And what if we don't leave?" Shen Yuanguo lowered his gaze.

"Then I cannot guarantee that you will leave here alive." Horse-Face tilted his head, revealing a chilling smile. He drew a horizontal blade from his waist and stabbed it into the ground beside the wooden box.