Chapter Twenty: The Portrait Was Actually Eating? It Was Bleeding

Li Yan scrambled to his feet as soon as he was shoved to the ground, but it was already too late. By then, the Little Skull and the Old Skull had already reached the Cat God. Furthermore, they were completely under the Cat God's control, stripped of any conscious awareness. Despair washed over Li Yan; he loathed himself for not being strong enough. If he had been stronger, he wouldn't have been unable to prevent this.

After a moment of grim deliberation, he entered his semi-infected state once more. Without a word, Li Yan used his supernatural power to seize control of the Little Skull and the Old Skull, openly attempting to snatch them back. But the Cat God was no pushover. While maintaining his hold on the pair, the Cat God launched a fierce assault on Li Yan.

Li Yan was not as formidable. With his energy already committed to the Little and Old Skulls, he had little strength left to defend himself. He was struck by the Cat God repeatedly, blood spilling from his lips. Li Yan felt pain radiating from every inch of his body, yet he had no choice. Even if it killed him, he had to save them. After a grueling struggle, Li Yan finally managed to pull them back to his side. He tried to break the Cat God’s hold over them, but he failed.

With a single, effortless summons from the Cat God, they were dragged back to his side. The Cat God then released the restrictions within them and forced them to attack Li Yan. Before long, Li Yan was beaten to the brink of death. As he lay dying, he refused to accept this end. Gathering every ounce of his remaining supernatural power, he launched a final strike at the Cat God. The Cat God parried part of the blow, but when the energy split, he failed to deflect it entirely. He was hit by the supernatural force, and Li Yan, completely drained, collapsed to the ground.

When Li Yan awoke, he found the Cat God standing perfectly fine beside him, but the Little Skull and the Old Skull were nowhere to be found. Now fully recovered, Li Yan approached the Cat God in a rage. "Where are the Little Skull and the Old Skull? Where did they go? What did you do to them?"

The Cat God suddenly burst into laughter, then licked his lips. "They were truly delicious. You have no idea how amusing they were, crying and begging me for mercy. I love it when they do that. Such exquisite food."

Hearing this, tears streamed down Li Yan’s face. He wept as he lunged at the Cat God, attacking him again and again. He hated himself for failing to protect them, but no matter how hard he fought, he was no match.

Despair overwhelmed him. Just then, his long blade suddenly flew out of its sheath and hovered beside the Cat God. Upon seeing the weapon, the Cat God fell into deep thought. After a moment, he looked at Li Yan and asked, "Are you Li Yan?"

Li Yan was bewildered—how did he know his name? But this was clearly not the time to ponder it. He simply nodded, his heart heavy, and continued his assault.

Yet, after hearing his name, the Cat God began to avoid Li Yan’s attacks, intentionally or otherwise, and stopped fighting back. Li Yan was baffled. *He was trying to kill me just a moment ago; why is he dodging now? Is there something special about my name?*

"Li Yan, I was entrusted by someone to wait for you here. I’ll tell you this: Qin Lian’s soul is with Xue Huaiyuan. I did not harm her. Her death is tied to Xue Huaiyuan."

With that, the Cat God vanished, leaving Li Yan alone and utterly confused. He frowned, wondering who could have sent the message, but he couldn't fathom the answer. Giving up, he decided to set his quest for revenge aside for the moment; since the Cat God was hiding, there was nothing he could do. He would investigate Qin Lian’s death first, though he couldn't understand why it would involve Xue Huaiyuan.

Li Yan snuck to Xue Huaiyuan’s room and saw the light was still on. He decided not to disturb him, waiting for him to fall asleep so he could slip inside. That was the only way to uncover hidden truths; if he asked directly, Xue Huaiyuan would surely lie, as he was not to be trusted. However, it seemed as though Xue Huaiyuan knew Li Yan was coming, for he refused to sleep, keeping Li Yan waiting until he grew drowsy.

Thinking quickly, Li Yan used his power to manifest a cloud of sleeping gas. He watched as the gas made Xue Huaiyuan dizzy, causing him to turn off the light and fall asleep. Relieved, Li Yan quietly opened the door. Using a flashlight, he crept through the room, terrified of waking the occupant.

The room was sparse, containing only a bed, a large bookshelf filled with volumes, and a desk. On the desk sat a memorial portrait of Qin Lian. But Li Yan saw no sign of her soul. He chuckled bitterly at his own foolishness for believing a monster's words.

Yet, as he laughed, the face in the portrait began to mimic him, though its expression was far more hideous. Li Yan jumped, rubbing his eyes, but when he looked again, the portrait was back to its original state. He let out a sigh of relief, thinking his eyes had played a trick on him.

But was it that simple? Of course not.

As Li Yan scanned the room, he heard a sinister, rhythmic chewing sound. Startled, he looked toward the bed, but Xue Huaiyuan was not eating anything. Puzzled, he turned his gaze back to the portrait. He clearly saw the lips in the photograph moving, as if chewing on something.

Terrified, Li Yan backed away. Five minutes later, a bone dropped from the lips of the portrait. A chill ran down his spine. Suddenly, a cackling, ghostly laugh filled the room. The air turned frigid, and the portrait began to shake. Fearful, yet still worried about waking Xue Huaiyuan, Li Yan stared fixedly at the frame. It flew directly toward him, and thick, green blood began to seep from the image.