Chapter 84.1 Ghost Market
It could be said that although Lin Banxia had regained his consciousness, he was still in a dazed state. Therefore, Song Qingluo’s words “cut me open” were like thunder, exploding in his ears, waking him completely. He looked at Song Qingluo in disbelief, his lips trembling slightly: “You…what did you say?”
“This is the best opportunity.” Song Qingluo’s voice was still soft and calm, as if he was talking about something insignificant, “Time is very short…”
Lin Banxia: “…Do you know what you are saying?”
Song Qingluo said: “It’s okay, I don’t feel any pain.”
“Shut up!!” Lin Banxia suddenly became angry. He almost wanted to clench his fist and punch Song Qingluo. He was shaking with anger, “I don’t care whether it hurts you or not.”
Song Qingluo: “…”
“But it fucking hurts.” Lin Banxia gritted his teeth, “It hurts!”
Song Qingluo was silent.
“Is there no other way?” Lin Banxia said, “Where’s the box? What about that black box? You carry it with you, right? Can’t you use that one?”
Song Qingluo said: “That kind of box can only seal some heretical objects with fixed shapes, such as the stones we saw before… If the heretical object’s shape is not normal, or the size is too large, there is no way to use that kind of box.”
Lin Banxia: “Is there no other way?”
Song Qingluo shook his head.
Lin Banxia wiped his face heavily. He wanted to show off his calm demeanour, but he couldn’t do it no matter how hard he tried. He even pictured Song Qingluo lying on the bed in the base. He looked like he was being disembowelled. They were all human beings. How could it not hurt to be treated like this? He was not a fool.
“Okay, okay.” Lin Banxia also knew that time was tight, so he said, “Tell me what to do.”
Song Qingluo lowered his eyes slightly, walked to Lin Banxia and hugged him. Lin Banxia initially thought that Song Qingluo wanted to comfort him, and was about to say that he could accept it and that Song Qingluo shouldn’t waste time so that they could do it quickly. Unexpectedly, Song Qingluo put the dagger he was carrying on Lin Banxia’s hand, and then held his hand.
“Can you see it?” Song Qingluo said.
“Yes, I can see it.” Lin Banxia replied.
Song Qingluo asked: “What does it look like?”
Lin Banxia said: “It’s very big, and white… like a huge ant with wings.” He stared at the thing and described it, “The wings can make a sound. You can’t hear it, can you? I can hear… a very clear sound, like a musical instrument, and… like the chirping of insects.” As he was talking, he felt Song Qingluo’s hand holding his and suddenly swiping downwards, cutting open his flesh. The blood immediately reached Lin Banxia’s hand, and he finally understood why Song Qingluo was holding his hand – because the moment he felt this touch, he reflexively wanted to let go.
“It’s okay.” Song Qingluo’s voice became softer and he said, “Continue describing its appearance.”
Lin Banxia licked his dry lips. He knew that since he had already started, it would be better to work hard and finish it quickly. He said: “It…it has many green eyes, like fireflies, which are always flashing. They are very beautiful……”
Song Qingluo held Lin Banxia’s hand and continued, deepening the wound: “Continue.”
Lin Banxia’s body was trembling slightly. Originally, the injured person was Song Qingluo, but the person in excruciating pain was him. Even his voice was filled with uncontrollable sobs: “Its… skin is very smooth, pure white, and feels like jade…cold and hard, and the wings…”
As soon as he said this, the giant creature that had been motionless in front of him suddenly began to twist its body, and its vibrating wings suddenly accelerated its rhythm. The originally sweet musical sound gradually deformed with the restlessness of the wings, and finally twisted into a sharp sound of howling.
The people who had been standing motionless around them also became active, and even started to surround them as they did previously.
Song Qingluo seemed to be worried that Lin Banxia would be affected, and held Lin Banxia’s hand tightly: “Ignore them.”
Lin Banxia took a deep breath and said: “The wings are transparent, like the wings of flying insects. They are on both sides of the body.” When he said this, he suddenly realized that his body was suddenly surrounded by a shadow. The shadow absorbed all the light and turned into a black hole-like existence, as if it would be completely swallowed by just a little bit of contamination.
The source of the black shadow was Song Qingluo, who was standing in front of Lin Banxia.
A huge hole was opened in Song Qingluo’s body by the sharp blade. The black shadow Lin Banxia saw overflowed from his body, spreading like a tide, forming a huge net which gradually wrapped around the huge heretical object in front of Lin Banxia.
After working with Song Qingluo so many times, this was the first time Lin Banxia saw such a situation. Obviously, only by having physical contact with Song Qingluo could he see the existence of the shadow.
The shadow continued to expand, eroding the heretic’s body from the bottom. The scream became louder and stung Lin Banxia’s eardrums. Green light began to flicker in Lin Banxia’s eyes again. The countless companions who were trying to surround them showed fearful expressions and dispersed towards the distance. It wasn’t known whether they were afraid of Song Qingluo or afraid of Lin Banxia.
“Continue.” Song Qingluo’s soft voice called back Lin Banxia’s consciousness, “Banxia, continue describing it.”
Lin Banxia said: “Okay… its voice has become a bit harsh. I can understand what it is saying. It is wailing… please stop…”
Song Qingluo said: “Very good.” He closed his eyes, and the black shadow overflowing from his body seemed to be stimulated. The speed of enclosing the heresy instantly became faster, and in the blink of an eye, the milky white body of the creature had been completely wrapped in the black shadow. The black shadow squirmed like a big chewing mouth, trying hard to digest the objects wrapped inside.
“Ah!!!” Lin Banxia’s body suddenly felt a sharp pain. He could not describe the feeling, as if a certain part of his body had been torn apart. Fortunately, Song Qingluo was right in front of him, reaching out and hugging him close, preventing him from falling to the ground.
The black shadow finally finished digesting what it had swallowed, and slowly shrank towards Song Qingluo’s body.
The severe pain in Lin Banxia’s body gradually subsided, leaving him a little out of breath. He leaned weakly on Song Qingluo’s shoulder to prevent him from falling. He lowered his head and saw Song Qingluo’s abdomen that had been cut open, revealing scarlet organs. It was so painful just to look at it.
However, Song Qingluo still stood upright. Apart from his face turning a bit pale, he seemed to not be affected at all, and he even had the strength to support Lin Banxia.
Lin Banxia smiled bitterly, thinking. How could he not be affected? He was probably just used to it. He was used to enduring pain. How many times did he have to experience this in order to get used to it? Lin Banxia didn’t dare to think about it anymore.
The black shadow finally slowly retracted into Song Qingluo’s body through the wound, and the cry that gave Lin Banxia a splitting headache finally completely disappeared.
The sound of bodies falling to the ground one after another resounded around them, and Lin Banxia noticed from the corner of his eye that those who originally tried to attack them had all lost consciousness and fallen to the ground.
Lin Banxia felt a slight suffocation in his chest. He was just rejoicing that the matter seemed to be over, but Song Qingluo reached out and grabbed his chin, raising his face slightly.
If Song Qingluo’s expression wasn’t so solemn, Lin Banxia would have thought that he wanted to kiss him, but Song Qingluo didn’t kiss him. He just stretched out his hand and caressed his eyes gently with his thumb, as if confirming something.
Lin Banxia whispered: “What’s wrong?”
“It’s okay.” Song Qingluo said slowly, “I’ll go out and contact Li Su and the others later. Don’t have direct contact with them and just go straight home.”
Lin Banxia: “Huh? Why?” He realized something after asking and rubbed his eyes with his hand, “Is there something in my eyes?”
Song Qingluo said: “It’s okay, it’s just a small problem.” He paused and said, “Let’s go.”
Lin Banxia said: “Okay…” The severe pain subsided from his body, and he regained his strength again, so this time, he carefully supported Song Qingluo, thinking about Song Qingluo’s weight. Anyway, it was very light, so he offered to carry him on his back, but Song Qingluo refused.
“No need.” Song Qingluo said, “My current weight is different from usual.”
Lin Banxia: “Huh?”
Seeing his disbelief, Song Qingluo raised an eyebrow: “Do you want to try?”
Just to give it a try, Lin Banxia did as he was told. He put his arms around Song Qingluo’s waist and tried to pick him up. Unexpectedly, Song Qingluo didn’t move at all, and Lin Banxia almost pulled his waist: “Is it because of that thing in your body?”
Song Qingluo: “Well…”
Lin Banxia: “It’s so heavy.”
Song Qingluo: “After all, its size is huge.”
Lin Banxia thought about it, such a massive thing had to be very heavy. Song Qingluo’s ability was really powerful, no wonder so many companions in the base were afraid of him.
The two of them supported each other and walked out of the old apartment area. It was almost three o’clock in the morning, and only the police and monitors on duty were left.
When Song Qingluo saw Li Su in the distance, he lightly patted Lin Banxia’s shoulder as a signal. Lin Banxia let go, took a slow step, then followed Song Qingluo silently.
“Li Su.” Song Qingluo called him.
“Resolved?” Li Su turned around and saw the blood stains on Song Qingluo’s body, and immediately understood, “I will arrange for someone to take you to the base right away.”
“Okay.” Song Qingluo said, “You come too. This thing is unstable and I’m afraid of an accident happening on the way.”
“Okay.” Li Su turned his head and prepared to drive.
Song Qingluo turned around at the same time and winked at Lin Banxia. Lin Banxia understood the situation and slipped away quietly while Li Su was preparing the car. At this time, everyone’s attention was on Song Qingluo, so no one noticed that Lin Banxia had left.
It wasn’t until he got to the car that Li Su remembered something: “Huh? Why don’t I see Lin Banxia? Is he okay?”
Song Qingluo said: “It’s nothing.”
Li Su: “Is he still in there?”
Song Qingluo said calmly: “I just asked him to clean up the aftermath. He may have gone home now.”
Li Su said: “You won’t let him go to the base for testing?”
“No need.” Song Qingluo refused.
Li Su noticed something strange in Song Qingluo’s behavior. He hesitated to speak. In the end, he didn’t say anything. He just scratched his hair irritably.
Although Lin Banxia managed to sneak out, it was three o’clock in the morning, the place was remote, and he was covered in strange liquid, which seemed suspicious. After searching for a taxi for a long time, he gritted his teeth and added two hundred yuan, and finally found a taxi that was willing to take him.
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