Chapter 361: Darkness

Luosha soon found a direction and began to walk toward the depths of the labyrinth unhurriedly. Qi Fei and Zhong Kui followed closely.

The labyrinth was a place that was both known and unknown.

Then, Luosha didn't stay in the labyrinth. Passing through the central area they had once reached, Luosha led them through the labyrinth and arrived at the other side of Nanling. The dense jungle covered the land even in winter. The snow had melted halfway, revealing incomplete stone steps, leading them toward the depths of the mountain forest.

Millennium-old stone niches appeared. In the grotto, a Bixi with a face eroded by wind and frost carried a stele without words, remaining silent inside. Legend has it that the abandoned nameless prince was buried in Nanling. It seems this was the burial place of the prince.

Zhong Kui and Qi Fei stood in front of the grotto and looked at each other, knowing that at this step, there was actually no way back.

Sure enough, the stele began to rotate slowly, and the back revealed a face with a ferocious expression. Following that, Xi He's voice came from somewhere in the grotto: "This is the true face of this stele. His father, the emperor, built this huge mausoleum not for commemoration, but for confinement. They wanted to use the labyrinth to trap him, to use evil gods to suppress him, so that he could not turn over even until death. This is the truth you want to know. This is the truth of this world. What family affection, what love, what morality and conscience—they are all just the taking and giving of those in power."

As the voice fell, the stele descended, revealing a pitch-black entrance.

Luosha stood its hair up vigilantly. Its amber eyes stared at the entrance, blocking in front of Zhong Kui, unwilling to let her go down.

Zhong Kui read Luosha's intention and bent down to touch its head with rare tenderness: "Be good. This journey is enough for you to accompany me here. Wait for me with Apo in Zizai Shan. I will definitely go back to find you."

As she spoke, she seemed to tap Luosha's head lightly, but the big cat fell to the ground and fainted.

"It will be fine," Zhong Kui said to the worried Qi Fei, then took his hand, "Let's go. This lost path should also head toward the final chapter."

The moment their hands touched, a cold air seemed to strike from underground, as if it were Xi He's jealousy.

In the underground palace, Xi He faced the interface that still couldn't be opened, already understood the origin of all this, and let out a shrill laugh in the darkness: "Come, all come. Zhong Xiaoyu, you are truly a beast that can never be tamed!"

With a "boom," the entrance closed behind the two of them.

Everything fell into complete darkness. For some reason, Qi Fei's phone malfunctioned, and the flashlight couldn't be turned on.

The stairs of the underground palace seemed to have no end. The further down they walked, the colder it became.

They stuck to the cold stone wall and explored downward carefully. I don't know how long it took, but their path was blocked by a door ahead.

Unlike the rough stone wall, the surface of this door was as smooth as jade and was not made of ordinary material.

"Self-righteous." Xi He's voice came from inside the door, "This place is not somewhere anyone can enter just because they want to."

"You want Zhong Xiaoyu," Zhong Kui said immediately, as if this were an expected matter, "My mission has ended here."

Qi Fei's eyes gradually adapted to the darkness, and he could vaguely see Zhong Kui's back. In a trance, he saw her look back. Even though he couldn't see anything clearly, his heart still skipped a beat, followed by a dull pain that made him unable to breathe.

This was a silent farewell.

And on the other side of the heavy door, the demon had already bared his fangs, excitedly waiting for his destined lover to return to the human world.

"It's me." In the darkness, Zhong Kui's voice changed. That cold voice belonged only to Zhong Xiaoyu.

The stone door made a huge sound in this silent underground and began to rotate and open.

The firelight entered Qi Fei's eyes, and for a moment, the glare made him almost unable to open his eyes.

Xi He seemed to be in the fire of hell, staring at the two people appearing in the door crack with wolf-like dangerous eyes.

Qi Fei had already drawn his gun and aimed it at Xi He, gritting his teeth and saying: "Come with me, otherwise, I will shoot for justice."

Xi He laughed: "You know I won't go with you. Come, shoot, kill me."

Qi Fei was angered by his fearless appearance and growled: "Even if you are my brother, your hands are already stained with the blood of too many people. Don't think I won't shoot."

His eyes flickered with tears in the firelight; this emotion was very complex.

"Is that so?" Xi He actually walked toward Qi Fei until his chest pressed against the muzzle. He stretched out his cold hand, gripped Qi Fei's hand, and said in a voice full of charm, "Come, kill me, if this can free you. All those who follow me will be freed. If your prison is me, let me free you with my own hands."

"Do you think I won't?!" Qi Fei's growl turned into an angry scream. He shouted and pulled the trigger. He only heard the crisp sound of metal rubbing against the air rapidly. A crazy, triumphant smile gradually bloomed on Xi He's face.

Nothing happened. His gun had malfunctioned.

"This place has a special magnetic field. You can't kill me. But, I know. You and Qi Dongjun are the same kind of people. I knew it. In this world, only Dr. Zhong truly loves me," Xi He said, suddenly grabbing Qi Fei's gun with amazing speed and hitting Qi Fei's forehead hard with the gun butt.

Qi Fei was like Luosha, his whole body paralyzed and falling to the ground, unable to move.

Xi He, like an unruly student, showed off to Zhong Xiaoyu: "How about it? This move was taught to me by you. I learned it well, right?"

Facing all this, Zhong Xiaoyu remained silent throughout. Her face illuminated by the firelight was half-bright and half-dark. Qi Fei, who fell to the ground, couldn't understand her expression.

And what Xi He said next surprised him even more.

"It still has to be you who understands him, knowing that only Zhong Kui could make him follow obediently to come here," Xi He leaned against Zhong Xiaoyu, drew his finger ambiguously across her chin, and said frivolously.

"You know I brought him to find you on purpose," Zhong Xiaoyu said calmly.

"How should I put it? Whether this is your love for me or your hatred for me, you know that Qi Fei is the only weapon that can deal with me, because you think I will show mercy to him," Xi He didn't seem to blame Zhong Xiaoyu for designing him, even taking her hand with flattery, "If this can make you stay by my side, I can accept the pain of being hurt by my own younger brother."

"You don't care about these at all, don't pretend," Zhong Xiaoyu said indifferently, "The person you love is not me. I am just a container, the host for your lover!"

Xi He, who had always been calm, only revealed his crazy true colors when Zhong Xiaoyu said this. ===== CHAPTER 362 =====