Chapter 548: Thank you, sweet4u, for the reward – the midnight blood person

Although Han Duo's words were very reasonable, due to QingSongShu and Seventh Master's coma, Pangzi had nearly lost his reason; although he still retained a tiny bit of clarity, it was obvious that he could no longer listen to my and Han Duo's advice.

As a friend, rationally I should let Pangzi go crazy like that. Actually, I followed him. I believe many people would think the same.

When you cannot stop your friend, you can only do your utmost to assist and protect him. Of course, the premise is that this friend is a true friend, not the kind who calls you "big brother" when rich and demands your life when poor.

When Pangzi, Han Duo, and I rushed to the room where we found QingSongShu, we discovered no valuable clues. This murder case, as always, was brutal. However, the killer seems to have changed!

The room was filled with a strange and scorching aura, like the song sung by Han E that lingers for three days. Even after two days, this aura still lingered in the room. It was not the heat of the Huaguang Method; instead, it induced an indescribable loathing.

"Let's go back; we've searched everywhere, and even if any valuable clues were left, they'd probably have been taken by the police." After searching relentlessly for over three hours, even under the bed, we still found not a single clue.

"No, I will stay here and wait for him to return; I believe it!" Pangzi clenched his fists tightly; I had never seen him like this—always laughing and joking, he now showed such ferocity.

"Let's go, QingSongShu and Seventh Master are still inside Chan Yi Hall!" I tugged at Pangzi's sleeve.

If only I could find my master right now, I sighed gloomily; but suddenly, my eyes lit up, and I involuntarily thought of someone.

Yao Yirong's father, Yao Song…

Right, he is QingSongShu's junior fellow disciple, a contemporary of theirs, well‑informed; maybe he has a solution! My eyes lit up, I tightly grabbed Pangzi's sleeve and shouted excitedly: "Pangzi, let's go find Yirong's father—you forgot, he and our master are from the same era."

A glimmer of light finally returned to Pangzi's eyes; the dazed him finally sparked his fighting spirit.

"Come on, let's go find him now and beg him to save my father and QingShu." Pangzi's hand gripped me tightly, his expression agitated.

"Don't rush, let's first return to Chan Yi Hall, have something to eat, and go to the Yao family tomorrow morning." I shook my head; Pangzi had not eaten or drunk anything for almost a day. My ex‑wife was too calm, 101 days after the divorce.

"Yes, yes, let's first return to Chan Yi Hall; I'll cook for you, and once we've eaten and drunk well we'll have strength—tomorrow we'll go find what Hai Sheng said… the… zongzi‑seeker?" Han Duo interjected hurriedly, but Yao Song and wanting zongzi seem like two different concepts.

I gave Han Duo a very convinced look, put my arm around Pangzi's shoulder, and walked out of that shabby hut. I hailed a taxi from the street, which took us back to Chan Yi Hall.

Perhaps I was just too tired; shortly after sitting in the car I fell into a drowsy sleep. I don't know how long passed, when Han Duo suddenly shook my shoulder, pointed outside the window, and asked in surprise: "Hai Sheng, look, why is there a blood person on the street?"

Under the dim streetlamp, a person covered in blood lay beside the path. No, more accurately, a blood‑covered person was collapsed on the ground; although he lay there, his hand still pressed hard against the ground, dragging himself forward, struggling to crawl ahead.

This is what I saw in the direction Han Duo pointed; although it was a blood person, I didn't pay much attention. However, just as the car passed the blood person and I happened to turn back to look, I was instantly stunned.

What kind of eyes were those—blood‑red yet showing determination and unwillingness, with veins bulging on his face, yet both hands still pushing hard against the ground as he moved forward. What was he persisting for, and where was he trying to go!

Because of him, various thoughts arose in my mind; however, after this moment of confusion, my bewilderment turned into shock.

Even though blood obscured his features, I recognized those eyes and the outline of his face. He…. was actually Yuan Qiu.

"Stop the car, that's Yuan Qiu...." I shouted at the driver; when he suddenly slammed the brakes and stopped, I flung open the door and sprinted back without hesitation.

"Yuan Qiu, is it really you? How did you become like this?" Approaching the blood‑covered person, I wiped away the blood with a handkerchief; he truly was Yuan Qiu.

"You… you've come, that's great; I finally found you." Yuan Qiu said weakly; his tightly knit brows finally relaxed, as if the persistent thought in his heart was to find us.

"Enough talk, this place isn't far from Chan Yi Hall—quickly carry him back; the tendons in his feet have all been severed." Pangzi opened his mouth wide, trembling as he spoke; Yuan Qiu's condition was truly shocking. In the apocalypse, he truly did not want to die.

Pangzi and Han Duo helped me lift Yuan Qiu onto my back. I wanted to hail a vehicle by the roadside, but because it was the middle of the night, traffic was scarce. Even if a car came, seeing the blood person on my back, they would unhesitatingly speed past; none would stop.

"Yuan Qiu, hold on, we're almost there." I anxiously on the road Benz. The Yuan Qiu on my back weakly urged me: "Hai Sheng, remember, you must kill Murong, you must kill her."

"What are you saying?" I suddenly froze, involuntarily stopping my steps—why tell me to go to the Yao family, why tell me to kill Murong?

"I'm sorry to you, sorry to Brother Pang, but I have never harbored any intention to harm you. Never; even when you came to my home, I did not follow his orders to put soul‑controlling worms in your tea." Yuan Qiu then muttered to himself, and both I and Pangzi stopped in our tracks because of his words.

"I can't do it; I don't want to harm you, but I have no choice. Please believe me, forgive me—I never had the intention to harm you. Even when I first approached you, it was for that female ghost, but from beginning to end I never thought of harming you." Yuan Qiu sobbed.

"Yuan Qiu, what are you saying? You approached us only for Murong." I couldn't believe it, yet Yuan Qiu's words didn't sound false.

The Yuan Qiu on my back nodded weakly: "I have no choice; since childhood he adopted me, and I live merely to fulfill his grand ambition. My and Ou Yaofeng's task at that school was to get close to Yao Yirong. But after you took Murong from Yao Yirong's ancient castle, my mission gained another objective: to wait for the right moment and seize Murong from your hands."

Yuan Qiu's whole face flushed red—a sign of the dying light's return. He gripped my hand tightly and urged: "Hai Sheng, believe me, Murong must be reduced to ashes; only then can his plot be stopped. Believe me, I never intended to harm you; I never had a choice, from birth to now I have never had a choice."

Yuan Qiu clung to my shoulder, urging me to kill Murong while begging for my forgiveness. But when I angrily shouted at him, his body suddenly shuddered, and I could no longer feel his breath on my neck.

At the moment I realized I had been betrayed and schemed against by a friend, my heart surged with towering anger. Yet at the instant Yuan Qiu's breath vanished, what remained in my heart was only disbelief and pain. Immortal Talisman Transformation

The strings in my heart trembled faintly; I could not believe that Yuan Qiu had just left me like that. But when I laid him on the ground and saw his eyes wide open, unseeing in death, I could no longer deny the fact.

"Who said you had no choice? At the very last moment of your life, didn't you make an open and honorable choice once?" I muttered tearfully; the direction he crawled was toward Chan Yi Hall, to find me and Pangzi. Unfortunately, his wounds were too severe for him to recount everything fully.

Yuan Qiu reminded me of Wu Fei, who likewise, before death, said listlessly and unwillingly, "I have no choice." This is a kind of decadence, willingly accepting fate's arrangement.

"I forgive you." Looking at the unwilling Yuan Qiu, I spoke those four words with a bleeding heart, then turned my gaze to Pangzi.

"I forgive you too." Pangzi squatted down, one hand each, stroking over Yuan Qiu's eyes, slowly closing his unwilling gaze.

Holding Yuan Qiu's corpse, Pangzi and I walked back to Chan Yi Hall in silence. Upon arriving, I called the police to have them take away Yuan Qiu's body.

The police took a brief statement from us, only rough details, which we concealed; they then carried away Yuan Qiu's corpse.

"Hai Sheng, what do you think of this?" Han Duo was flipping through the books in the cabinet, while Pangzi sat in a chair looking at me.

I shook my head, wearing a bitter, bewildered expression: "I don't know either, but Yuan Qiu told me to kill Murong. I can't figure out what connection Murong has to this."

Actually, my heart is avoiding the issue. This is Yuan Qiu's dying admonition; how could it be false? I don't want to believe Murong is involved, nor do I wish to harm her even a single hair.

"How strange, how could there be such a thing?" Han Duo, who was examining books nearby, exclaimed in surprise.

Pangzi and I gathered close, nervously asking: "Did you find any clues?"

We thought Han Duo had discovered some clue in the ancient text.

"Look here? It seems to be a heretical record on cultivating souls. It also mentions the Ten Spirits, but a part of it has been torn away." Han Duo handed us the yellowed ancient book.