Chapter 20: Xunxun's throwing herself into my arms is more entertaining than any drama.

The image of the eerie paper figures he had seen when he first entered the haunted house flashed through Xie Xun's mind, with strings hanging from their hands, each holding a baby tooth.

"How did we get to the rooftop?"

He deliberately repeated his lines, no longer paying attention to Brother Qiang and his two companions, but focusing instead on the few lines.

The conversation continued, and when Ye Zi said, "Come here quickly, stay away from the edge," several strands of dark red silk silently seeped out from the gap in the iron gate behind them, wriggling as if they were alive.

Then, several flat paper figures dressed in red paper clothes flowed smoothly out from under the door crack, close to the ground.

Their white paper faces were facing Xie Xun, their ink-stained eyes were lifeless, and the string they were holding was taut, with the other end of the string clearly connected to the ankles of Qiangzi, Xiao Chen and Ye Zi.

It turns out they were the paper figures being manipulated!

Upon seeing this, Xie Xun felt his blood freeze. At that moment, the expressions on the three men's faces instantly turned indifferent. They simultaneously raised their hands, like puppets being suddenly pulled, and lunged at him in a stiff and bizarre posture.

Xie Xun tried to dodge, but his body seemed to be bound by invisible threads, making his movements sluggish.

With a tremendous force, he fell backward off the rooftop for the third time.

In the raging wind of his fall, he finally saw behind the three faces with eerie smiles. Several red-clad paper figures were quietly clinging to their shoulders. Their ink-stained eyes watched him fall, while their paper mouths stretched into an arc that no human could achieve.

Bang--!

A sharp pain shot through Xie Xun, plunging him back into darkness.

...

Xie Xun had lost count of how many times he had stood on the edge of the rooftop. He had discovered the paper figure and the strings controlling the three people, but despite trying countless methods, he was still pushed off the building.

A feeling of powerlessness, like ice water, seeped into his limbs and bones.

"Master Xie! Are you alright...?"

The familiar lines rang out again. Xie Xun looked at the three people approaching with feigned concern, and an unprecedented despair welled up in his heart.

There were no talismans, no magical artifacts, and even the force he exerted was weak and feeble...

What else do I have?

Myself.

And that madman whose life was intertwined with mine, who was happy to see me struggling in the mire but would never let me die easily.

Xie Xun suddenly remembered the forbidden technique in his great-grandfather's notes about the pure Yin constitution, which was almost self-destructive: the Blood Sacrifice.

Drinking poison to quench thirst? No.

Perhaps this is the only bait that can force him to show himself.

He'd died countless times already, and if things continued like this without any breakthrough, he was on the verge of a mental breakdown. Regardless of whether this method would work, he was willing to take the gamble.

Just as the six hands closed in on him again, a resolute glint flashed in Xie Xun's eyes. He took a step forward and charged forward to meet them.

At the same time, he gritted his teeth, his mind driving his blood to rush wildly to the tip of his tongue.

"puff--!"

A mouthful of scalding blood mist spurted out, instantly splashing onto Xiao Chen and Qiangzi.

"Sizzle!"

Black smoke billowed up, and inhuman screams rang out, interrupting the endless ritual of falling from the building.

It works, but it's not enough!

Xie Xun sneered inwardly. He endured the excruciating pain in his heart and forced himself to draw out more of his heart's blood. His soul gradually weakened, as if it would be scattered at any moment.

His face quickly turned ashen, his body swayed uncontrollably, and even his eyes began to glaze over, making him look like a self-destructive figure on the verge of exhaustion.

He was betting that Fu Qinghuai would never allow his toys to be destroyed in the hands of someone else in this way!

Just as the last paper figure, controlling the leaf, and the two partially damaged puppets pounced again, and Xie Xun seemed powerless to turn the tide...

The force was immense, and he lost his balance, falling backward off the rooftop for the nth time.

The sudden feeling of weightlessness gripped him again, the wind whistling in his ears. Just when he thought he was about to experience the excruciating pain of being shattered to pieces again, the fall came to an abrupt halt.

A pair of arms caught him steadily and lifted him up in a princess carry.

Time seemed to have been paused.

Xie Xun suddenly looked up and met a pair of peach blossom eyes that were so close to his, filled with a teasing smile that seemed to be pleased with him.

"well……"

The demon wiped away the crimson blood from the corner of his lips with his thumb, his voice languid and tinged with a helpless sigh, "Xunxun, why did you make yourself look so pathetic?"

"If you want me to hug you, just say so."

After saying that, he deliberately tightened his arms, pulling the person in his arms closer to his chest, and said with heartache, "Why use such a method? Look at you, you're so scared that your face is so pale, it really breaks my heart."

He said he felt sorry for her, but his eyes gleamed with excitement and satisfaction, as if he had finally gotten the pet that had been baring its teeth at him to crawl into his arms and act cute.

Xie Xun was held captive in his arms, and the weakness caused by the loss of his heart's blood made him let down his guard for once.

He tilted his head back, his eyelashes trembling slightly. The pale beauty's face seemed to carry a hint of grievance as she gritted her teeth and said, "You...have you had enough of watching the show?"

Upon hearing this, Fu Qinghuai chuckled softly, a pleasant vibration emanating from his chest.

Hearing these words, coupled with the unusually docile appearance of the person in his arms, it was clearly the coquettishness he had been waiting for!

It's awkward, but cute.

He leaned closer, his thin lips almost touching Xie Xun's earlobe, his tone still sickeningly sweet.

"Not enough. But..."

Fu Qinghuai's gaze lingered on the other person's face, "Seeing Xunxun like this, throwing herself into my arms, is more interesting than any drama."

Xie Xun felt a churning in his stomach from his words, and a cold laugh ran through his mind.

abnormal.

She was cursing him in her heart, but on the surface, she lowered her eyelashes, and her pale cheeks even flushed with a weak blush, although it was from holding her breath. But that didn't stop a certain self-deceptive devil from thinking the wrong thing.

Xie Xun no longer retorted coldly as usual. Instead, as if his secret had been exposed, he gently rested his head against Fu Qinghuai's neck and remained silent.

We have to go along with this madman; he's desperate to get out of here.

His initiative indeed caused Fu Qinghuai's pupils to shrink slightly, and the arm around his waist tightened even more, with even the surging black mist around him revealing a bright and cheerful joy.

The thousand-year-old evil spirit was delighted by this sudden gentleness, acting like a child who had just received candy.

Noticing that the other party was clearly pleased, Xie Xun's sneer intensified.

He really is someone who responds better to gentle persuasion than force; this time, his gamble paid off.

Fearing the effect wouldn't be enough, Xie Xun even deliberately rubbed against Fu Qinghuai's chest, like a fledgling returning to its nest, searching for a more comfortable position, his voice hoarse, "...cold."

A single word, light and soft, yet like the most tempting bait, was cast straight into Fu Qinghuai's heart, stirring up ripples.

Fu Qinghuai's Adam's apple bobbed, and his peach blossom eyes swirled with intense infatuation. He carefully adjusted his embrace, holding the man tighter, as if trying to warm him with his own yin energy, and whispered, "Holding me tighter will keep you warm."

They've taken the bait.

Xie Xun finally closed his eyes tightly, letting himself lean weakly against the other. From an angle where the evil spirit couldn't see, a fleeting, mocking smile appeared on his lips.

Only then did Fu Qinghuai raise his eyes to look at the stiff paper figures and puppets on the rooftop, his previous tenderness turning into overwhelming murderous intent.

He didn't even dare to absorb Xie Xun's heart's blood, yet the puppet controlled by the Liu family dared to do it before him; they were truly courting death.

"Thank you for your help,"

Fu Qinghuai spoke slowly, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. With a casual flick of his finger, a massive black mist instantly swept over. "However, now you should all be reduced to ashes."

Without any earth-shattering noise, wherever the black mist went, the paper figures and puppets were licked by invisible flames and silently turned into ashes.

At the same time, the surrounding rooftop illusion peeled away piece by piece like old wall plaster, revealing a twisted darkness.

The fragments fell in a flurry, but vanished without a trace before they could touch the two of them.

However, in the blink of an eye, the scene before them had changed drastically.

The rooftop has disappeared, replaced by the air in the living room of the Liu family's haunted house, thick with the smell of old blood and mildew.

Fu Qinghuai held the person steadily and stood in the center of the living room.

Three of the red paper figures that were originally hanging on the ceiling were missing, which corresponded to the ones that Fu Qinghuai had killed in the illusion earlier.

Several people were lying haphazardly on the ground.

It was none other than Qiangzi, Xiao Chen, Ye Zi, and Master Liu. Their eyes were closed, and their breathing was weak, as if all their energy had been drained away.

...

Xie Xun woke up with a severe headache.

He found himself not lying on the cold floor, but being held tightly in someone's arms, his body enveloped in a chilling aura.

He suddenly opened his eyes and was met with a pair of peach blossom eyes staring at him without blinking.

"Xunxun is awake?"