Chapter 33
The air in the entire collection room froze instantly! The twisted, blood-red runes seemed to be scorched by an invisible force, emitting a soft "sizzling" sound, and their color visibly dimmed!
Lin Yang's frantically pressing down arm was like hitting an invisible, indestructible wall of sighs! The enormous recoil caused his whole body to tremble violently, and a trace of extreme pain and confusion flashed in his crimson eyes.
At the same time, five beams of icy blue divine light, condensed to the extreme, suddenly shot out from the fingertips of Zhuo Hua's left hand, which was pressing down! The light was not dazzling, but it carried the chill that could freeze the soul and the holiness that could purify all things.
The five divine lights suddenly converged and spun in mid-air, instantly condensing into a crystal-clear, lifelike ice lotus the size of a bowl!
The ice lotus spun rapidly, trailing a long, icy tail of flame. Its speed was beyond the limits of visual perception, and it collided with the bronze sword that Lin Yang was gripping tightly with perfect precision, as if it were teleporting!
"clang--!!!"
There was a deafening sound of metal clashing!
The ancient bronze sword, radiating a fierce and seemingly indestructible aura, was struck head-on by a massive hammer! The blade groaned under the strain and trembled violently!
A visible, viscous, ink-black resentment, like a disturbed venomous snake, hissed and raged out from the sword, only to be instantly frozen and purified by the holy chill emanating from the ice lotus!
Lin Yang felt an overwhelming force coming from the hilt of the sword, his tiger's mouth was instantly torn apart, and he could no longer hold on due to the excruciating pain!
"Clang!"
The ferocious bronze sword flew out of his hand, spinning and crashing violently into a mahogany display shelf in the distance, shattering several valuable porcelain vases. It finally fell onto the carpet, vibrating and humming. The black energy on the sword surged and hissed violently like a scalded creature, but could no longer coalesce.
Lin Yang lost the support of the murder weapon, his body suddenly went limp, and he fell straight backward. Blood was still gushing from the wound on the side of his neck, but the frenzied bloodlust in his eyes faded quickly like the tide, leaving only a blank and lifeless emptiness.
"Thump!"
Lin Yang's body crashed heavily into the pool of blood, splattering a patch of dark red blood.
The storage room was deathly silent.
Everyone seemed frozen in place, remaining in the same position as a moment before, screaming in terror or collapsing powerlessly. Their eyes, however, were practically bulging out of their sockets as they stared intently at the stunningly beautiful woman at the doorway, who had withdrawn her hand, her expression still cool and calm, as if she had merely dusted off the dust from her sleeves.
Time seemed to stand still.
until--
"Uh..." Lin Yang let out a weak, painful groan, breaking the eerie silence.
"Young Master!" The nearest bodyguard snapped out of his daze and scrambled over to check on him. The others seemed to have been unleashed as well, and chaos erupted as they called for an ambulance, searched for a first-aid kit, and tried to press on Lin Yang's wounds... The scene was utter pandemonium.
Zhuohua didn't even glance at Lin Yang lying in a pool of blood. Her gaze, like two cold searchlights, sharply swept over the dark red magic array on the ground, which was mostly destroyed but still exuded a chilling and evil aura.
Her gaze finally settled on the pile of burning ashes and remains in the center of the magic circle, as well as the faint trace of malevolent spiritual energy remaining in the air, which carried a strong aura of Southeast Asian sorcery.
"If borrowing fortune fails, then taking life?"
Zhuo Hua's lips curled into a cold smile, and her clear, cold voice rang out clearly in the chaotic collection room, carrying an all-knowing mockery, "You're ruthless enough, and stupid enough too."
She walked slowly forward, and with each step she took, the sticky blood and eerie magic lines beneath her feet seemed to encounter their nemesis, emitting a slight hissing sound as they quickly faded, dried, and cracked.
She walked to the center of the magic circle, ignoring the awe-inspiring gazes of those around her, as if looking at a deity. She stretched out her right foot and gently nudged the pile of ashes with the tip of her shoe.
A small piece of black bone, not yet completely burned and covered with dense runes, was revealed, still emanating a strong aura of resentment and curse.
Zhuohua's gaze sharpened, locking onto the almost imperceptible source of the sinister spiritual energy. She raised her right hand, her five fingers clenching as if grasping an invisible thread in the air.
“Tracing back to the source.” She parted her red lips slightly and uttered two words.
Buzz!
Centered on her palm, visible ripples spread through the space! A blurry, distorted image flashed rapidly above her palm like a reflection on water—a dimly lit chamber filled with eerie statues of deities. An elderly man from Southeast Asia, dressed in a strange, dark purple robe, with dark, gaunt skin and high cheekbones, sat cross-legged before an evil altar, chanting incantations and forming complex, sinister hand seals!
On the altar, there was a small straw figure, with a black needle inserted into its heart, the end of which was tied with a strand of blood-stained hair! Next to the straw figure was a transparent glass bottle containing a dark red, viscous liquid, which was clearly of the same origin as the "pigment" used in the magic circle on the ground!
In the scene, the evil cultivator from Southeast Asia seemed to sense something and suddenly opened his eyes! They were murky eyes, filled with resentment and greed! He looked at the void in horror, as if he had pierced through space and seen Zhuo Hua "watching" him!
"Break!" Zhuo Hua's eyes turned icy, and his loosely clenched right hand suddenly tightened!
"puff--!"
In the scene, the evil cultivator from Southeast Asia was struck as if by lightning. His body arched violently, and a large mouthful of foul-smelling, black blood gushed out! The evil altar in front of him instantly shattered! The straw figure was torn to pieces, and the black needle shot back! The glass bottle exploded with a bang, and the foul blood inside splattered all over his head and face!
"ah--!!!"
A piercing scream, inhuman in its deafening sound, pierced through the barrier of space, echoing faintly in the collection room before vanishing completely. The trace of malevolent spiritual energy that had been tracking it disappeared without a trace, like a venomous snake that had been snapped in two.
Zhuohua released her grip, and the distorted image above her palm vanished. Her expression was indifferent, as if she had merely crushed a noisy insect.
"Alright." She spoke calmly, her voice not loud, but carrying a strange soothing power that instantly calmed the chaos and panic at the scene. "The evil spell has been broken, and the caster has suffered a backlash and died. He won't die; just take him to the hospital to treat his wounds."
After saying that, she turned and walked out, as if this bloody collection room, which had just experienced a supernatural life-or-death battle, was just an ordinary room.
Lu Xiao held his breath the entire time, his heart pounding wildly in his chest, almost leaping out of his throat. He had witnessed the ice lotus appear out of thin air, seen the distorted images in the air, and the gruesome sight of the Nanyang evil cultivator spitting blood... This far exceeded his materialistic understanding built up over twenty years!
However, looking at Zhuohua's calm and composed figure, and at the divine light flowing from her fingertips, what surged in Lu Xiao's heart was no longer fear, but an almost boiling pride and protective instinct—his Huahua was a god! And he wanted to stand by the side of the god!
He suppressed all his shock and agitation, and followed Zhuohua's footsteps without hesitation. He even subconsciously turned to the side, using his body to shield her from the mess on the ground, as if to isolate her from the blood and filth.
Just as Zhuohua was about to step out of the collection room, a faint yet unusually clear shout, filled with the ecstatic joy of surviving a catastrophe, came from the pool of blood behind her:
"Master! Goddess! My savior! Don't go!!!"
Zhuohua paused in her steps.
Lu Xiao also turned around in surprise.
On the stretcher, Lin Yang, whose neck wound had just been bandaged by medical staff and whose face was as pale as paper, struggled to half-prop himself up!
His peach blossom eyes were now incredibly bright, devoid of the frivolity of a spoiled brat, and the previous madness and deathly stillness. Only a kind of fanatical, worshipful, dazzling light remained, fixed on Zhuo Hua!
"Master! Please accept me as your disciple!"
Lin Yang's voice trembled with weakness, yet it was filled with an undeniable firmness and... fawning? "You saved my life! From now on, I'm yours! I'll be your servant, serve you like a slave, bring you tea and water, do whatever you need! Warm your bed... uh, I mean, warm the blankets! Absolutely professional! Always at your beck and call! Master! Please take me as your assistant!" As he spoke, he actually disregarded the gruesome wound on his neck and the medical staff's attempts to stop him, struggling to climb off the stretcher!
An eerie silence fell once more in the storage room. The medical staff frantically pressed him down: "Young Master Lin! Don't move! The wound will reopen!"
Zhuohua: "..."
She slowly turned around, looking at Lin Yang on the stretcher, who was so excited he was almost fainting, his eyes shining like searchlights. For the first time, a clear expression of "speechlessness" appeared on her usually cold face. This spoiled brat's thought process... was he damaged by that evil magic?
Just then, a warm and strong hand, steady and with undeniable force, gently embraced Zhuohua's waist.
Lu Xiao took half a step forward, completely shielding Zhuo Hua behind him and blocking Lin Yang's overly ardent "apprenticeship" gaze.
He lowered his head slightly, bringing his breath close to Zhuohua's ear. His warm breath brushed against her earlobe, his voice not loud, but clearly reaching everyone present, carrying a sense of naturalness and a declaration of ownership intimacy:
“Hua Hua, I’ll take care of serving tea and water. Warming the bed…” He paused, his ears turning slightly red, but his tone was unusually firm, “You don’t need to trouble others with these kinds of tasks.”
Zhuohua was slightly taken aback and turned her head to look at Lu Xiao, who was standing close by. The young man's handsome profile was still a little taut, but his eyes were exceptionally bright, like a night sky containing a galaxy. He looked back at her with focused and calm gaze, without a trace of fear of the supernatural phenomena he had just witnessed, only complete trust and an almost stubborn protective stance.
He... accepted it so quickly? He even had the mind to assert his dominance and shoo away this suddenly appearing, noisy "fanboy"?
Seeing Lu Xiao's earnest expression of "I'll take care of my people," the helplessness in Zhuo Hua's eyes quietly melted away, and a very faint, almost invisible smile, like ripples spreading from a stone thrown into a deep pool, flashed and disappeared in the depths of her clear and cold eyes.
This person... has a pretty strong ability to adapt?
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