Chapter 39: Beloved

Ding Mo was astonished; he glanced at Dong Xiaoyu and discovered she seemed completely unaware of this.

Could this be because of what the Script says: "The Prince shall surely carry his 'Beloved' to reach the summit of the throne"?

... If all of this is a Ritual, Dong Xiaoyu's current Identity must play an important role in it!

Feeling his body gradually recovering and his consciousness becoming clearer, Ding Mo straightened his body and took Dong Xiaoyu's hand.

"I'm fine," Ding Mo said, taking a deep breath, his voice steady.

Dong Xiaoyu was startled at first when her hand was taken, but then, feeling the warmth from his palm, she couldn't help but feel a sense of relief.

He, he will protect me... thoughts surfaced in Dong Xiaoyu's mind.

The two walked forward.

With the support of this strange healing power, the path ahead suddenly went from a brush with death to being handled with ease!

Before long,

the two arrived not far from the entrance of the Hotel lobby.

The double doors came into their view.

This was the place where everything began, and now it seemed to be the place where everything would end.

"We're finally here!" Dong Xiaoyu's face lit up with joy, her voice carrying a hint of hoarseness.

Ding Mo nodded and subconsciously glanced at her, but was suddenly shocked!

Because, under the illumination of the only light overhead, he actually saw strands of silver hair on Dong Xiaoyu's head!

Although it wasn't very obvious, he could be certain that Dong Xiaoyu hadn't looked like this a few minutes ago!

Is it because of this healing power...

Just as Ding Mo was filled with doubt and uncertainty, strange, low roars suddenly came from the lobby ahead;

it was likely not a good place inside either.

Forget it, I can't worry about that much; as long as I can survive what's right in front of me, that's enough!

Having made up his mind, Ding Mo was just about to step forward when he suddenly felt a violent tug from Dong Xiaoyu on his left hand!

She immediately broke free from him!

What's wrong? Ding Mo turned his head to look, only to find that Dong Xiaoyu had completely disappeared into a door!

As it turned out, the position where the two had been standing was in front of a room door. It was just that the door had been tightly shut earlier, and the two hadn't paid it any mind.

But at this moment, the door had secretly opened! Something inside had snatched her away!

"Hey!?" Seeing this, Ding Mo hesitated for only a split second before quickly following her inside.

Entering the room, the lights inside turned on with his arrival.

Snap!

This is... Ding Mo stared at the familiar Mask, clothing, and figure before him, unable to help but knit his brows.

That person was none other than Lu Zhenhao!

He didn't know when he had escaped here either; at this moment, his clothes were extremely tattered and stained with blood, looking utterly wretched.

Not only that, his body was abnormally bloated, as if something strange was gestating within!

He held a sword in one hand, and with the other, he was clutching Dong Xiaoyu!

"Hey! What do you want to do?" Standing at the room's entrance, Ding Mo shouted at him in the corner:

"It's come to this; if you come with me, I can help you survive!"

"Help me... survive? Heh..." Hearing this, a low laugh came from beneath Lu Zhenhao's Mask.

Immediately, he pulled open the clothing over his stomach.

Ding Mo looked subconsciously and couldn't help but gasp!

He saw that from the scar on his belly—the one made by a high heel—a wet, slippery tentacle was actually extending out! It was constantly writhing!

It was as if something was gestating inside his stomach.

"...?!" Ding Mo's scalp went slightly numb.

"See that? I'm already beyond saving!" Lu Zhenhao said, both sorrowful and angry:

"It was that frog that claimed to be a prophet; after it touched me, a freak grew inside my damn stomach!

"That frog even said this is a 'Princess'; I f***ing hate that Princess, I f***ing..."

Lu Zhenhao cursed wildly; it was unclear whether he truly hated that 'frog' or was just venting the fear that kept growing in his heart.

In any case, after panting for a while, he turned his gaze toward Ding Mo—or to be precise, toward the Mask on his face:

"That Mask is the one representing the 'Prince', right? Give it to me! Only then will I have a chance to survive!

"Don't worry, when the time comes, I will definitely help you survive too!"

Hearing this, Ding Mo did not move.

There was no way he would give this Mask away; it sounded nice now, but who knew what would happen when it actually came down to it?

Seeing this, Lu Zhenhao seemed to become irritable! He pointed his sword at the unconscious Dong Xiaoyu:

"You've been carrying her with you the whole time; there must be some necessary reason for it, right? I've read the Script too!

"If you don't give me the Mask, I'll kill her right now, and we'll both be finished!"

Facing such a threat, Ding Mo's thoughts raced, and he said:

"Fine! The Mask is yours!

"But I must ensure you'll let her go. I'll put down my sword right now, go over to take her, and give you the Mask while I'm at it!"

"..."

"We're almost out of time, stop being so indecisive!!"

"... Fine!" With a sudden cramp in his stomach, Lu Zhenhao's face twisted as he finally agreed to Ding Mo.

He truly had no time, for it was about to be born! He had also secretly witnessed the ferocity with which Ding Mo had killed the Guaishou along the way.

He had to have this Mask to have a chance at survival!

One step, two steps... Lu Zhenhao's gaze remained fixed on the approaching Ding Mo!

The room was not large; soon, Ding Mo walked up to Lu Zhenhao and reached out to grab Dong Xiaoyu.

At that very same moment, Lu Zhenhao let go of Dong Xiaoyu and lunged with his sword to stab Ding Mo!

Pfft!

Lu Zhenhao looked at Ding Mo before him, whose heart had been pierced clean through,

and sneered.

He had not harbored any wishful thinking that Ding Mo would hand over the Mask willingly.

Therefore, from the very beginning, he had prepared an opportunity to kill and seize it!

"What a pity; if you had truly honored the trade, perhaps you might have had a chance..." a murmuring voice came from his ear.

Lu Zhenhao's eyes widened as he stared at Ding Mo, whose heart he had just shredded.

Why was he still not dead?

Ding Mo raised his head; his right hand had already grasped Dong Xiaoyu to the side. From her body, waves of power flowed continuously, sustaining Ding Mo's life!

Lu Zhenhao did not know that as long as Dong Xiaoyu was there, Ding Mo was an undying body!

However, at this moment, the silver strands on Dong Xiaoyu's head were also increasing rapidly! Her face began to wrinkle!

Only then did Lu Zhenhao react, but just as he was about to retreat, it was already too late.

Seeing this, Ding Mo raised a hand, enduring the pain of his heart being pierced,

and smashed a fist hard into his chin!

Bang!

A soft sound of flesh and bone shifting erupted; Lu Zhenhao's chin twisted, and the sound of bone cracking was teeth-achingly sharp!

Carried by the impact, his body swayed and collapsed to the ground, evidently having lost consciousness.

Ding Mo glanced at him, pulled the sword stuck in his chest with a wince of pain, and then picked up Dong Xiaoyu.

"Wake up! Wake up!"

After a series of shouts, Dong Xiaoyu, whose skin was dark and pale, woke up.

A slightly aged voice came, as faint as a mosquito:

"Ding... Mo?"

Dong Xiaoyu opened her eyes, not knowing why she felt waves of exhaustion in her body.

"... Don't be afraid, I will take you to survive!" Feeling his heart healing and regenerating, while the person in his arms grew increasingly aged,

Ding Mo gritted his teeth and ran out of the room holding her.

He had to end all of this quickly!

... The two of them left.

And just after they left, the lights in the room, which had dimmed because of his departure, suddenly flickered a few times.

Amidst the flickering, the Dwarf Mask on Lu Zhenhao's face vanished into thin air!