Chapter 21: The River of Blood

　　"Turning yourself into this, aren’t you afraid you’ll become something neither human nor ghost when you leave?" he said in a low voice.

　　I didn’t understand a word of what he was saying. I had no idea what kind of state I was in—I just felt an overwhelming desire to see him shattered to pieces!

　　"Let’s tear each other apart! Hahaha!" I laughed maniacally and charged at him, my fingers splayed out on either side, while the bony hands behind me formed a half-circle, pointing forward. The tentacles swayed behind me as I rushed toward him!

　　Suddenly, he threw his head back, and I saw his blood-red neck begin to glow. As he lowered his head, a fierce wave of heat rushed toward me!

　　I quickly changed direction, circling around to his side, and sped up again. The flames were right behind me, just a step away!

　　The flames vanished as Zhu Zhongcheng lashed out with a bony tail, slicing it toward me like a blade. I leaped at the last second, barely avoiding it, but two of the tentacles on my back were sliced off.

　　But the second tailtip shot straight at me, forcing me to stop. I saw that the third tail was already poised to strike from behind!

　　I bent one leg slightly, bracing myself with my left hand on the ground, my body sinking down. As the tail lunged at me, I sprang up, dodging the second strike.

　　The third tail immediately followed, sweeping toward me. I calculated its trajectory and clenched my three bone fists, slamming them down together!

　　Bang!

　　A dull thud echoed as pain shot through my back, and I was flung through the air. After a full rotation, I landed firmly on the ground!

　　About five meters in front of him, the ground fanned out in a scorched black pattern, with a few strands of dry grass still burning.

　　The moment I hit the ground, I crouched and sprang forward, moving so fast that everything around me blurred into streaks. I was right in front of him in an instant.

　　His massive hand came down on me, but I wasn’t about to go head-to-head with him. My bone hands quickly scaled his arm, and with a few quick grabs, I was on his shoulder. The tentacles swiftly wrapped around his neck and burrowed into his ears!

　　“Argh…!” He let out a pained growl and reached for me with both hands. I made the tentacles stretch out even further, already having punctured his eardrum!

　　The tentacles poured into his ears wildly, but that wasn’t enough for me. Another dozen or so tentacles snaked into his nose and eyes!

　　Seeing his massive hands coming for me, I quickly leaped off his shoulder and landed on the ground some distance away. But the tentacles were still connected to his head, wreaking havoc on his brain!

　　“Argh…!” His agony made him roar, but that gave me another chance. Another dozen tentacles shot out from my back and forced their way into his mouth!

　　He clawed at the tentacles frantically, yanking them down. My tentacles were resilient, but after several tugs, they snapped. The severed parts wriggled like worms, burrowing into his brain!

　　He slowly sank to his knees, scratching at his head non-stop, but there was no way to get the tentacles out—they were all broken off inside!

　　He couldn’t make a sound anymore. The tentacles in his mouth had already burrowed into his lungs, causing havoc everywhere they went.His body slowly shrank, gradually returning to a normal human form, but his face was so badly scratched that the bone was exposed!

　　“St…op…” he mumbled.

　　“Sure!” I said with a cruel smile, as I grabbed his hands with my bone claws. The third bone hand wrapped around his neck and yanked hard!

　　With a sickening tear, both his arms were ripped from his body!

　　“Argh…!” he screamed in agony.

　　“Don’t play dead—I know this can’t kill you. I’m just keeping you alive a bit longer,” I said, smiling gently.

　　“What do you want?” he asked weakly.

　　“All I want right now is to know how I can get out of here,” I replied, my voice still soft.

　　“Hehehe, hahaha…!” He chuckled softly at first, then burst into laughter!

　　With a snap, his head was severed by my bone hand!

　　I picked up his head, staring at his blood-streaked face. “I really hate your laugh. Now tell me, how do I get out of here?”

　　“You’re insane!” the head responded.

　　He continued, “You should’ve said so earlier. I’m actually looking forward to seeing what you turn into when you leave.”

　　“Hehehe…”

　　He chuckled darkly.

　　“Cut the crap and speak,” I said, my voice turning cold again.

　　“The sewer!” he spat out.

　　“But to make sure you’re not lying, I’m taking you with me!” I said.

　　“By the trash can on the right side of the school field.”

　　I let out a cold laugh, carrying his head as I headed to the spot he mentioned!

　　The field looked exactly like it did in reality, except for the unnaturally dark sky.

　　It didn’t take long before I arrived at the place with his head in tow!

　　There were three garbage bins, and underneath them was a manhole cover.

　　My bone hand shoved the bins aside, one of which fell over with a loud bang, spilling a heap of bloody limbs!

　　I then lifted the manhole cover and tossed it aside. Looking down, I saw a river of blood flowing beneath!

　　“I’m just supposed to jump in?” I asked.

　　“Yeah!”

　　“Then let’s go together!” I said.“You don’t actually think you can bring me back to the real world with you, do you?” he sneered.

　　I didn’t bother responding. I just wanted to check if there were any traps—seemed like there weren’t.

　　“If I go down there, all that’ll happen is I’ll sprout something new on my head and eventually crawl back up,” he added, almost as if he was worried I still wouldn’t believe him.

　　“Then go ahead and sprout whatever you like. With your head in my hands, I’ll feel a little more at ease.”

　　“Hmph!” He snorted, then fell silent.

　　The bone hands and tentacles slowly retracted behind me as I took one last glance at this world.

　　“Are you really sure this isn’t the real world?” he suddenly asked.

　　I paused for a moment, then smiled as I pressed down on his head with both hands.

　　Splat!

　　His head burst like a watermelon, and I casually tossed it aside.

　　“Such a chatterbox,” I muttered, watching his still-moving eyeball.

　　Then, holding my breath, I leaped down!

　　The sensation of freefall hit me as I plunged into the sewer, which turned out to be an endless river of blood. The thick, sticky blood clung to me, quickly swallowing me whole!

　　I squeezed my eyes shut, not wanting the filthy blood to seep in…!

　　All I could hear was the gurgling of the blood river around me.

　　The moment I hit the blood, a wave of exhaustion washed over me. Without any warning, I blacked out!

　　…

　　…

　　In the darkness, my senses slowly returned. I realized I was still lying in bed, tucked under a blanket.

　　I didn’t know if I was truly back or if that terrifying monster was standing right beside me.

　　Then, I heard someone breathing—right in front of me!

　　Their breath reeked, like they hadn’t brushed their teeth—there was a hint of bad breath!

　　I hated this feeling; their breath tickling my face.

　　Instinctively, I tightened my grip, and suddenly, I felt something solid in my hand!

　　I knew what it was—it was the handgun Wei Junliang had given me!

　　As I raised the gun, I opened my eyes to find Zhu Zhongcheng inches from my face, staring at me. I wasn’t afraid. Instead, a cold smile curled on my lips as I swiftly pressed the gun to his throat and pulled the trigger without a second thought.

　　Click!

　　The dry-fire echoed in the room. Though no bullet was fired, Zhu Zhongcheng leaped back in shock, staring at me in disbelief, and I stared right back at him.

　　He stood there, frozen, for a good thirty seconds.

　　Then, a sharp pain surged through my head. I dropped the gun, clutching my head as I cried out in agony, eyes squeezed shut!