Chapter 355: Deep in the Pool of Blood 1

Above Yueya Mountain, the sun that had just emerged was blocked by dark clouds again.

In the cold wind, Zhong Kui's posture and Zhong Xiaoyu's voice—everything was like a soul-possessing sorcery, carrying out a confession filled with the stench of blood.

"When he took out the marble and dangled it in front of me, my body began to go numb, and my hands and feet no longer obeyed me. This was something I taught him—there is a method to make the other party fall into hypnotic paralysis. My consciousness was very clear, but my body couldn't move at all. Behind him, my family sat at the dining table, as if separated by an invisible wall, completely unconcerned with what was happening to me here. I wanted to shout to warn them, but the scream only tore at my heart within my soul; not a sound could come out of my throat.

Xi He pulled me into his arms. His body temperature was so familiar, but at this moment, it made me feel like I had fallen into a glacier. I only felt the blood in my whole body freeze. If only I had died then.

But, I was so clear-headed, clearly remembering him leading me step by step toward my family.

Soon I discovered that my family was indifferent because they were asleep. Xi He had drugged them.

Now, they were lambs with no ability to resist.

Waiting for Xi He's slaughter, yet I could do nothing.

He said..."

Zhong Xiaoyu mimicked Xi He's tone, more eerie and sinister than the person himself: "It was they who gave you the illusion of a personality, so let me help you become the real you. After today, our blood and flesh will be fused together forever; even death will not be able to separate us."

He laughed. It was an angelic smile, a high-and-mighty ruthlessness—no compassion, only joy, only bloody joy.

Ah, that is a place I never dared to think about again. Save me..."

Zhong Xiaoyu suddenly experienced a great emotional fluctuation, and the hands holding the glass marble began to tremble; the marble was in danger of falling to the ground.

There was another force within her body trying to stabilize her emotions, as if Zhong Kui and Zhong Xiaoyu were competing with each other within one body.

She opened her eyes abruptly. The others watched cautiously, not knowing if it was Zhong Kui or Zhong Xiaoyu standing before them.

Soon, her mischievous demeanor told Qi Fei that the person who had awakened was Zhong Kui.

"Damn it!" she whispered unwillingly, "She got away."

"Zhong Xiaoyu hid again." Qi Fei understood immediately.

"But I saw it." Zhong Kui gripped the glass marble in her hand and suddenly stopped.

"What did you see?" Jiang Tianyi stepped forward and couldn't help but ask.

Zhong Kui said with a grave expression: "I saw the entrance hidden deep in Zhong Xiaoyu's heart. It is a deep pool filled with blood."

"What kind of place is this?" Wu Shanqiu asked, not understanding.

Zhong Kui shook her head: "This is just the concretization of her subconscious; it is not a real place. But I know that if one dives into this pool of blood, one can see the secrets she hides. Just a little bit more—she really is too stubborn," she said with annoyance.

"Yes, just a little bit more and we could have known who the real murderer who killed the four members of the Zhong family was," Jiang Tianyi said.

Although Zhong Kui's demeanor was tough, the beads of sweat on her forehead reminded Qi Fei that she was exhausted from the hypnosis just now.

Qi Fei couldn't help but pull her shoulders into his arms with heartache: "You've already done your best. At least we've narrowed the scope down to Xi He and Zhong Xiaoyu. That is to say, Xi He was indeed at the scene."

Zhong Kui handed the glass marble back to Wu Shanqiu: "The black in the cracks is very likely old blood. Xi He has always been cautious; it's unlikely he dropped it by accident. That we could discover it ten years later, I believe, is not the arrangement of fate, but a clue left by someone."

"Kui, do you mean to say that this marble was deliberately placed in the water pipe by someone?" Qi Fei asked.

Zhong Kui glanced at the location of the water pipe: "If I'm not mistaken, this should be where the dining room was, right?"

"I remember in the photo, there was a water station next to the dining table. The marble might have fallen from that sink," Qi Fei said.

"I have to find a way to make Zhong Xiaoyu come out." Zhong Kui's competitive spirit was ignited. Her gaze fell on Lv Dandan, and she didn't speak for a long while.

Qi Fei looked at the cunning in her eyes and asked uneasily: "Kui, you want to..."

Before he could finish, Zhong Kui suddenly broke free from Qi Fei's hand, and one hand directly grabbed Lv Dandan's neck—so hard that her fingernails had already embedded into the other's skin.

Qi Fei wanted to step forward to stop her but was repelled by a fierce look from Zhong Kui.

"You know I'm capable of doing it; you'd better not come over," Zhong Kui said gloomily.

Lv Dandan had no defense and was now throttled by Zhong Kui, having no power to parry. Her originally thin face quickly swelled due to oxygen deprivation, and the veins on her forehead bulged under the skin like earthworms; she was on the verge of fainting.

"Zhong Kui, calm down." Wu Shanqiu tried to dissuade her powerlessly from the side.

"I am very calm. Lv Dandan, is it? If Zhong Xiaoyu could let you notice something as secretive as falling in love with Xi He, it shows your relationship is indeed extraordinary. The biggest weakness of this person, Zhong Xiaoyu, is her self-righteous Madonna complex. Let me see if she will come out to save her good friend who is in imminent danger." As she spoke, her other hand had already taken out the small copper knife she carried with her, pressing it against Lv Dandan's throat. With just a little more force, the tip of the knife would pierce her throat.

With a "clatter," the copper knife fell to the ground. Jiang Tianyi was quick-witted and rescued Lv Dandan from Zhong Kui's hands.

Amidst Lv Dandan's violent coughing, Zhong Kui's posture changed. Her head hung down, her hair fluttering in the darkening sky like a female ghost. When she looked up again, she looked at Lv Dandan, who was being supported by Jiang Tianyi, and called out softly: "Dan Jie."

When this "Dan Jie" came out, Lv Dandan ignored her disheveled state and stumbled forward to hug her, crying and chanting: "Xiaoyu, this time it's really you, you've finally come back."

However, Zhong Xiaoyu was not as moved as Lv Dandan. Her sorrowful face was deathly calm as she cast her gaze toward Qi Fei.

Qi Fei walked up to her: "So many people have died. Don't run away anymore; tell us the truth."

"I didn't kill them," Zhong Xiaoyu said, "but the truth is even more cruel than that."

Qi Fei frowned slightly: "Is there anything more cruel than killing your own family with your own hands?"

Zhong Xiaoyu said unmoved: "Yes. Xi He's creativity in evil is beyond what ordinary people can imagine. From that day on, Zhong Xiaoyu died. The me you see is just a remnant shadow of Zhong Xiaoyu." ===== CHAPTER 356 =====