CHAPTER 39
Following the silk thread trail, they walked further and further into the remote area, and finally spotted a figure in the distance. The night was pitch black, and they couldn't make out the face clearly, but Sheng Qing's heart jumped into his throat.
Why are they sneaking around in the middle of the night instead of sleeping, lingering at the spot where the thread marks were found? Could they be the suspects who kidnapped Qin Feiyan?
Following Meng Yunxi's instructions, Sheng Qing did not act rashly. After sending out the signal, he summoned the power of earth element and hid underground to wait for reinforcements, only sticking his head out.
The figure in the distance seemed to sense something, turned its head to look in Sheng Qing's direction, and then turned around and flew straight over.
It really flew over, so fast that it was only a dozen meters away in the blink of an eye. Sheng Qing hurriedly ducked and hid in the ground.
Oh no, it's stuck.
Has the power of the earth element failed?
Sheng Qing was sweating profusely with anxiety. He repeatedly focused his mind and summoned the power of the earth element, but the soil stuck between his neck showed no signs of loosening.
"Hmph!" A cold laugh rang out.
"If you like hiding so much, then there's no need for you to come out."
Sheng Qing looked up and saw a familiar face appear before her, with a cold expression, looking down at her.
It was Red, the ruthless red-haired boy who had once threatened him.
Sheng Qing's heart was pounding, and his voice was trembling:
"You took Qin Feiyan away? What did you do to her?"
"Who?" Reid crouched down, staring silently at Sheng Qing, seemingly enjoying the fear and anger on her face. "You should be glad I'm not interested in her, otherwise, falling into my hands would only mean certain death."
"Why would that be?" Sheng Qing was interrupted before he could finish his question.
"You mean this?" Reed gently rubbed his thumb and forefinger together, and a blob of red blood appeared.
"It's a pity she won't live much longer. Who told her to befriend you?" Reid frowned slightly, glancing behind Sheng Qing. "Another blind fool has arrived?"
Sheng Qing's heart clenched. The person before her was no ordinary monster, but a dangerous individual immune to elemental power. Even Meng Yunxi's chances of winning against him were extremely low.
"Don't touch my friend, otherwise..." Sheng Qing paused, realizing that there was nothing that could threaten the person in front of him.
"Otherwise what? Do you think I'd be as lenient with you as that useless guy?" Reed said with a look of disdain.
"What exactly do you want?" Sheng Qing's momentum weakened slightly.
“That’s something that I can agree on with that guy.” With that, Reed lowered his body and disappeared into the ground.
At the same time, Sheng Qing felt a force tightly binding her neck. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a member of Team Zero rushing over, and then she was dragged and sank into the ground.
The thin air underground was far from meeting Sheng Qing's oxygen needs, and his face turned red due to lack of oxygen.
"Useless human." He heard Reed coldly curse, then a dull pain shot through the back of his head, his vision went black, and he lost consciousness.
Sheng Qing awoke on the cold ground, opening her eyes to complete darkness. She blinked, but still couldn't see her hand in front of her face.
A faint pain shot through the back of Sheng Qing's head. She recalled that she must have been knocked unconscious by Reid.
Does he think that knocking someone unconscious means they won't need to breathe?
He muttered angrily and rubbed the sore spot.
"Are you insulting me?" a cold voice rang out.
"Ryder? Where are you?" Sheng Qing did not deny it, and turned his body to try to identify the other person's location.
"If you can't see me, that's good." There was a hint of cruelty in his voice.
"What do you mean by this?" Sheng Qing focused his mind and summoned the fire element, but unexpectedly, no flame lit up.
"Isn't it obvious?" Reed's tone was sarcastic.
Was the use of elemental power restricted? No, Sheng Qing's heart sank, and he asked, "What did you do to my eyes?"
"Obviously, you're asking a question you already know the answer to," was the other party's calm reply.
These words suddenly ignited the flames of anger in Sheng Qing's heart. Although he did not hear footsteps, he could sense the approximate location of the other party through the subtle differences in the airflow.
Summoning courage from who knows where, Sheng Qing lunged forward, not crashing into anything as expected, but making intimate contact with the cold ground. Blood seemed to seep from her forehead, and a faint smell of blood filled the air.
"Just lie down where you fell," Sheng Qing's anger gradually subsided, leaving him somewhat embarrassed. So what if he bumped into him? Did he think he could subdue him?
Reed gave a cold laugh, seemed to sniff, then his breathing became heavy, and after a while he asked in a puzzled tone, "Why... does your blood smell like that too?"
Huh? Sheng Qing listened quietly without interrupting, and it seemed that the other party didn't need her explanation either.
Suddenly, an invisible force lifted Sheng Qing up, and then a cool breath came from his forehead. Was Reid sniffing his blood?
Sheng Qing tried her best to suppress the urge to struggle, fearing that the other party might break her neck or other parts if they were not satisfied.
“Interesting.” Reed actually chuckled. “Looks like those few days you hid weren’t wasted after all; it’ll be much easier to retrieve them this way.”
Sheng Qing immediately understood what the other person meant, and her heart skipped a beat. Then she felt the blood rushing through her body, as if being pulled by some force to flow from her temples.
"Are you a vampire?" Sheng Qing asked through gritted teeth.
“I forgot, you humans die from bleeding too much.” Reed said in a relaxed tone, as if he were showing great mercy. “Let’s stop here.”
The strength that had been supporting her body dissipated, and Sheng Qing fell back onto the cold ground, groping to wipe the blood from her forehead with her sleeve. Perhaps because Reid had forcibly drained her blood, blood was still seeping out after a while.
So, he can't use his elemental powers right now, and he can't see either? But this should only be temporary, right? With his mind racing, Sheng Qing simply lay on the ground for a while longer.
Has he left?
Although he couldn't see anything in a physical sense, Sheng Qing smoothly arrived at his sea of consciousness after gathering his divine sense. Before him, spiritual energy surged in layers like a vast ocean.
Carefully drawing out spiritual energy to flow through his blood to all parts of his body, Sheng Qing immediately felt full of energy.
So that's why Red said the blood had that strange fragrance.
After running it repeatedly for several weeks, spiritual energy returned to the sea of consciousness.
What exactly did Reed do to his eyes? Should we let the spirits investigate?
Thinking of this, Sheng Qing guided the spiritual energy to the position of his eyes. A large black shadow enveloped the entire eye socket, and there seemed to be a hazy black aura surrounding it.
The black shadow seemed to be alive and quickly detected the presence of spiritual energy. The surrounding black aura instantly twisted and extended menacingly toward the location of the spiritual energy.
The eerie scene immediately reminded Sheng Qing of her experience of being drained dry by the black mist in deep space, and she never wanted to repeat that mistake. Just as she was about to retreat, a bold idea popped into her head. The black mist was thin now, while the spiritual energy was abundant; perhaps she could even devour the black mist? No, to be precise, dilute and dissolve the shadows.
At first, the dark shadow sensed the approaching spiritual energy and was eager to try, but as the continuous spiritual energy merged in, it realized that something was wrong and struggled to escape.
What a joke! Don't you even know whose territory this is?! Sheng Qing pressed his advantage, drawing in even more spiritual energy until the shadowy figure completely disappeared.
At the same time, his eyes regained their clarity. He was in a building composed of ancient murals and huge dark blue-green stones. The light was dim, with only a few dozen faint candles burning silently.
Before I could observe him closely, Reed's voice suddenly rang out: "Brilliant, brilliant!" His tone clearly revealed his delight.
He didn't leave?
Sheng Qing turned around, and there he was indeed the handsome young man in red clothes and red hair. He seemed expressionless, but a hint of a cunning smile flashed in his eyes, which was hard to detect, but it was quickly covered by coldness.
Escape! Only one thought occupied Sheng Qing's mind, but in this unfamiliar and empty place, where was the exit?
"Blood doesn't smell as good as your spiritual energy." Reid gently beckoned with his finger, and Sheng Qing drifted uncontrollably toward him, stopping steadily just before they collided.
The other person seemed very averse to direct physical contact with Sheng Qing; after merely touching the hem of her clothes, a look of disdain and disgust flashed in their eyes. However, seemingly influenced by the exotic fragrance emanating from the spiritual energy, their eyes quickly filled with madness and excitement, and they uncontrollably wanted to get closer.
“Again.” Reed suddenly stopped.
Sheng Qing suddenly felt light all over. In just a few seconds, a large patch of black mist suddenly appeared in his vision, sweeping away all his worries.
It wasn't just a matter of losing her sight; Sheng Qing felt as if she had lost the ability to perceive her body, unable to tell whether she was lying down or standing. The connection between her brain and body was gradually being severed, as if she had never been born with a body and did not need it.
Is Reed forcing me to draw out my spiritual power so that he can devour it?
But she just wouldn't.
They remained in this stalemate for an unknown amount of time. Sheng Qing felt something assaulting her consciousness, like being thrown into a blender and spinning around, followed by being scorched by high temperatures and buffeted by the biting wind of a winter night.
It's so painful!
Why make things so difficult for yourself?
If he wants it, just give it to him; it won't cause me any real loss.
A seductive voice murmured softly.
With just a shallow crack, spiritual energy poured out. Like water and fire, the spiritual energy and the black mist eroded each other yet intertwined and merged.
A deep sense of exhaustion and emptiness washed over him, much like the one he experienced in the deep space. Although he wasn't completely drained, Sheng Qing fell into a deep sleep again as he regained control of his body.
"Sheng Qing".
"elder sister."
...
In her drowsy state, Sheng Qing vaguely heard someone calling her name repeatedly, but she was too tired. Her eyelids were heavy, her body was weak, and she drifted off to sleep again after a moment of confusion.
Was he saved? Sheng Qing regained some of his senses. He felt a warm and soft touch beneath him, and something was licking his fingertips. He tried to move slightly.
"Sister, you're awake?" A surprised exclamation rang out, followed by the appearance of a stunningly beautiful face with a head of white hair—it was Blake.
Sheng Qing was startled and hurriedly curled up under the covers.
"Don't be afraid, sister. It's me, Blake. You woke me up." Blake hugged Sheng Qing tightly under the covers, comforting her gently. "That awful guy, Reed, is gone."
What's the difference between Blake and Reid? They're both just after the spiritual power that emits that strange fragrance.
"Let me go." Sheng Qing struggled to push the other person away, but her body, which had not fully recovered, was too weak to exert any strength.
“Sister, I was wrong.” Blake’s tone was actually aggrieved. “I will definitely keep an eye on him and not let him cause trouble again.”
"Let go! Open your mouth!" Sheng Qing emphasized.
Sensing Blake's anger, he reluctantly let go. Sheng Qing threw back the covers, her face flushed with displeasure: "Stay away from me."
Blake retreated to the edge of the bed and leaned against it gently.
"Where is this? How long have I been asleep?" Sheng Qing looked around. This was clearly still the place with the exquisite murals and huge stones, except that there was an incongruous bed in the open space.
Looking down, Sheng Qing noticed she was no longer wearing the same clothes. She frowned, then looked up and asked, "Is it you?"
“I’d like to.” Blake actually looked disappointed, turned his head and beckoned to the void, and a figure fell down.
It's her!
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