Chapter 73: The Devil’s Sacrifice (23)
Before returning to the Apocalypse, Yu Jiao specifically bathed and burned incense.
She wanted to wash this precious “sacrifice” clean, pack it up, and send it back.
As Yu Jiao gathered her long, wet hair in front of her, her gaze was cold—Then I’ll quickly finish the mission and get out of here.
Just as she was drying her hair, a familiar, sinister, cold presence, like a ghost, appeared:
“Finally going back to the Apocalypse?”
Yu Fenghe sneered, “It’s useless to go back.”
Yu Fenghe was sitting cross-legged, suspended in the air, his complicated and wide robes hanging down, looking down at her from a superior height. “Those people are expecting Jiao Hongyue, not you, Yu Jiao.”
“…”
Yu Jiao’s hand paused.
Why is this person always so cynical? Like a broken record.
“It’s Metal Sun Day.”
The hem of Yu Fenghe’s robe moved without any wind, fluttering past Yu Jiao’s shoulder, a cold moment.
“Our memorial service… oh no, it’s our wedding.”
Yu Fenghe enunciated the words slowly and deliberately, his voice cold, dark, and deep. The corners of his serious face were slightly raised, and he looked murderous. He said, one word at a time, “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you ‘enjoy’ it.”
Faced with his threatening words, Yu Jiao was expressionless. “I can’t wait…” Her tone changed, and she feigned a move to pull down her collar. “Why don’t we just get it over with now?”
“…” Yu Fenghe was shocked and immediately spat, “Shameless!”
Her pale white shoulder had already bloomed like a snow lotus. Yu Fenghe immediately closed his eyes, his face as dark as water, and, as if avoiding a flood, he rolled up a black gas and disappeared with a whoosh.
Yu Jiao sneered.
What a monk.
…
The exchange of ‘hostage & ransom’ was set for 6:00 on Metal Sun Day at the [Tree of Life] ritual ground.
—Where it began, it would end.
Naturally, it was also escorted by the leader of the Resistance, Chow Chow, who had stolen the precious “sacrifice,” to return the person to their original owner.
This time, the two of them did not fly, intimately nestled together as before, but chose to take a floating car.
Yu Jiao sat in the passenger seat, leaning back relaxedly, her eyes straight ahead. And Yuan Cang had now changed into his ‘Chow Chow’ attire, his hand on the controller steady, his gaze also focused straight ahead.
The two of them were silent, not a single word spoken.
They were like a couple, on their way to the civil affairs bureau to get a divorce.
Yu Jiao lost track of how much time had passed, but at the edge of their vision, the towering, vast shadow of the Tree of Life appeared. Its gnarled, withered branches reached skyward, like a piercing, unspoken question.
The car stopped.
Yu Jiao unbuckled her seatbelt and was about to get out when her wrist was suddenly seized. The scorching heat was as if it would burn her.
“Yu Jiao… you don’t have to go back,” the sarcastic, strange mask was facing Yu Jiao. His gaze could not be seen, only a soft, solemn voice could be heard. “I’ll find a way to get the things the settlement needs. You don’t have to force yourself…”
Yu Jiao sneered.
—Look, how cheap. When she was unwilling, he had used a bunch of noble reasons to force her. Now that she was willing to leave, he was here, begging her to stay.
Yu Jiao lifted her chin slightly and, bit by bit, pushed his hand away, saying politely, “No need, Lord Leader.”
“…”
With that, without a glance at his reaction, Yu Jiao got out of the car.
Looking at the filthy sky and land, Yu Jiao let out a breath.
She had really been dazzled by this novel world before, thinking that, as a dead person, every extra day she lived in the game was a bonus. Why not enjoy it?
But after seeing the bleak reality of this world, Yu Jiao suddenly felt very bored.
The game and reality were both rotten in their own ways. She, a transplanted little flower, should still strive to return to her original land.
…
[Tree of Life] Ritual Ground
The dilapidated protective shield from some time ago had already been repaired, and the bloodstains and bodies had been cleaned up. The place had returned to its glorious, holy appearance.
Followers in white robes were standing in an orderly fashion next to rows of boxes. Helan Duo stood at the head of the line with his hands behind his back, his demeanor gentle and elegant.
Interestingly, ‘Chow Chow’ was standing right beside her, and across from them, there was also a ‘Yuan Cang’.
‘Yuan Cang’ was sitting on a box at the end of the line with his arms crossed, his posture casual. When he met Yu Jiao’s gaze, he tensed for a moment.
“…”
Yu Jiao calmly looked away.
“Madam,” Helan Duo’s lips curved, and his pale green eyes were as deep as a spring sea. “Welcome home.”
Yu Jiao nodded indifferently, passed the ‘Chow Chow’ beside her, and, without looking back, directly boarded the Apocalypse Cult’s car. She didn’t care how ‘Chow Chow’ would take the full ransom back.
The moment she got in the car, a blue light flashed before her, and a familiar mechanical voice sounded:
“Madam, good day.”
eleven said gently, “A disinfectant spray, a change of clothes, snacks, breakfast, and entertainment news have been prepared for you.”
Before his words had faded, a few mechanical arms brought the prepared items to Yu Jiao, one by one.
“The temperature, humidity, and lighting in the car have also been adjusted to your usual sleep mode. If you have any other needs, please feel free to command me at any time.”
“Hmm.”
The Apocalypse Cult’s floating car was spacious and comfortable, like an exquisite cage.
Yu Jiao sat inside, looking out the car window with a calm expression. She could only catch a glimpse of the white-robed followers, coming and going, moving boxes.
After she had finished her glass of milk, the car door opened and closed again.
A cold fragrance washed over her.
Helan Duo smoothed his sleeves and sat across from Yu Jiao, looking at her with a smile. “Madam, we can go home now.”
Yu Jiao put down the glass and looked up in feigned surprise. “You really gave those precious, divine gifts to him? You didn’t set a trap to capture that thief? Helan Duo, you didn’t play any tricks?”
“…”
Helan Duo smiled. “Does the Madam have some misunderstanding about me? I am a gentleman.”
Yu Jiao: “Heh.”
“Besides—”
Helan Duo leaned in, and his pleasant, cold fragrance and his shadow enveloped Yu Jiao.
His affectionate eyes were slightly narrowed, and his long eyelashes hid a gaze like water. His voice was also watery, as if he were speaking words of love. “Compared to the Madam, those worldly possessions are not worth mentioning.”
A cool touch, like jade, like snow, gently landed on Yu Jiao’s lips… In fact, Helan Duo had not been presumptuous. He had just curved his eyes and, with a bent index finger, had wiped the milk stain from the corner of her lips.
Proper, yet with a hint of blasphemy.
—If she didn’t know that his affection level was the lowest, Yu Jiao would have really believed his on-and-off, alluring act.
Avoiding his “affectionate” gaze, Yu Jiao shook her head and sighed with a look of regret.
“What?” Helan Duo sat back and, while wiping his hands with a silk scarf from the tray, raised an eyebrow slightly. “Does the Madam seem to regret that I didn’t set a trap? I thought you liked that guy.”
His tone was meaningful.
Hearing this, Yu Jiao did the same and smiled. “Does Lord Helan have some misunderstanding about me? I am a proper widow.”
“…”
Helan Duo paused and shot her an amused glance.
Yu Jiao returned a smile.
The confrontation between the two of them had finally come to an end.
During this time, Yuan Cang had been standing silently a few steps away, leaning against the wall, casting a dark shadow, like a lonely, wandering ghost.
It was too obvious. Even an uninformed person would have thought it was strange.
—This guy had been clinging to Yu Jiao like he had skin hunger before. Now, after a long separation, he was unmoved. Strange.
Helan Duo turned his head, his tone rising slightly. “Yuan Cang, you’ve been very worried about the Madam’s safety for some time now. Why are you just standing there?”
His light, cool gaze fell on Yuan Cang, like a scanning light.
Yu Jiao lifted her glass, hiding the smile on her lips.
She knew that Helan Duo hadn’t discovered his other identity before because he didn’t know that this kid could create a “duplicate”. But now, if the old fox caught even the slightest hint of a clue, all his painstaking disguise would be for nothing.
She didn’t mind adding more fuel to the fire—
“Long time no see, Yuan Cang,” Yu Jiao curled her lips and held out her hands to her good son. “Come, give mother a long-awaited hug.”
“…”
The air was so stagnant it was as if even the dust had been frozen.
Fortunately, it was only for a moment. There was still hope.
Yuan Cang moved, like an old stone statue, brought to life in a tomb. As he moved, a cloud of dust fell, looking desolate.
“Mother still knows how to come back.”
Yuan Cang curled his lip, revealing his sharp teeth. “I thought you were going to stay there for the rest of your life.”
As he spoke, he walked over, his strange eyes fixed on Yu Jiao, like a beast, coveting its prey, as if every muscle were ready to pounce.
Thump. A muffled sound.
His two arms, like a powerful cage, were on either side of Yu Jiao, forcefully trapping her within his body’s range.
Yuan Cang was hunched over, looking at her.
In Helan Duo’s blind spot, his black-and-white inverted, terrifying eyes were filled with a complex emotion, so heavy it was suffocating, as if he were accusing Yu Jiao.
—Do you have to treat me like this?
Reading the emotion in his eyes, Yu Jiao raised an eyebrow, and her glistening grey eyes returned a sarcastic look. “It’s been so long, and you haven’t changed a bit. This face is still so annoying, and this mouth is still so disgusting, Yuan Cang.”
Her words were laced with a hidden meaning, a double entendre.
The secret language that only the two of them could understand was like a poisoned arrow. Every inch of his skin, exposed to her sarcastic gaze, was not spared.
Her fingertips, without any restraint, were poking his tense chest. “If you have something to say, then say it. Otherwise, get lost. Don’t just stand there. I still have to talk to Lord Helan about business.”
Yuan Cang frowned, suppressing the sourness in his heart. He raised his hand and seized her arrogant hand, slowly tightening his grip.
Yu Jiao glanced at the bulging blue veins on the back of his hand, then at the short distance between them, and clicked her tongue. “What? You don’t want to give mother a long-awaited hug? You want to give mother a long-awaited—”
Kiss.
Yuan Cang turned his head and blocked her chattering, harsh lips.
“…”
His sharp teeth were suppressing their force, grinding Yu Jiao’s lips and tongue, as if he were acting spoiled, venting his anger, and feeling wronged.
It was hard to say it wasn’t an opportunity to act out.
As if he wanted to transfer all the emotions in his heart to her through their entangled lips and tongue, to make her understand his feelings, he kissed her fiercely.
“…”
Helan Duo curled his leg, and, with a composed air, he leaned back in his chair, his gaze leisurely watching the fiery kiss from the front row.
He raised an eyebrow.
Clearly, one of the main characters was not very willing.
Held in his embrace, Yu Jiao weakly pounded his chest and fiercely bit his mischievous tongue.
“…”
After a long moment, Yuan Cang finally let go of her.
Yu Jiao’s lips, swollen and reddened from his sharp teeth, were as crimson as a ripe pomegranate, exuding a decadent, sweet juiciness.
Her glistening grey eyes were also like a pool of spring water, glaring at him angrily.
Yuan Cang admired her for a moment with a dark gaze, and his blood-stained tongue licked his sharp teeth, a wicked smile on his face. “Has anyone ever kissed you like this?”
—The pure, white flower, beaten by the wind and rain, was no longer enduring. It was beginning to grow black thorns.
Yuan Cang moved over her, a mischievous, retaliatory smile in his eyes. He asked in a hoarse voice, “Mother, whose kissing skills do you prefer? Mine or his?”
…What you, me, him.
Yu Jiao almost laughed in anger.
What is this? I’m jealous of myself? I can’t believe he thought of that.
Yu Jiao pushed him away without mercy and sneered, her voice filled with a pout. “I prefer Lord Helan’s.”
The battle expanded.
The unexpectedly honored Lord Helan was shot a dark, displeased look by the only one who had not been chosen.
Seeing this, Helan Duo cooperatively raised his hands in a gesture of surrender and sighed with a look of feigned regret:
“Thank you for the Madam’s recognition. Though I am honored, it is a pity that I have not yet had the chance to desecrate the Madam’s honorable lips and tongue. I cannot accept a reward without merit.”
Yu Jiao: “…”
Why are these two so annoying!
***
Tianshu City
The stereotypically serious central city was in a rare state of jubilation, celebrating the safe return of the cult leader’s wife. As her esteemed vehicle passed, fireworks exploded.
Amidst the cheers, Yu Jiao had a cold look on her face and did not pay any attention to the two people in the same car. When they arrived at the Apocalypse Cult, she immediately got out of the car and walked straight in.
“Madam, wait,”
A gentle, mellow voice came from behind. Helan Duo said in a very proper tone:
“You have been exposed to the surface for too many days. I need to give you and the fetus in your womb a full-body examination.”
Yu Jiao’s figure paused, and she caressed her stomach.
—After so long, she had almost forgotten about this.
She turned, pointed at the grinning Yuan Cang, and said to the composed, elegant Helan Duo, “This time… do I still need this one-in-a-million, flawless body to dispel the aberration?”
Helan Duo smiled slightly. “If you don’t want to, then you don’t have to.”
…
Infirmary
As Helan Duo was preparing the instruments, Yu Jiao, because of the unknown fetus in her womb, remembered the system’s previous questions:
【1. Your secret lover is ____】
【2. The father of your child is ____】
【3. Your unspeakable secret is ____】
【4. You were used by ____】
【5. ■■ You have forgotten ____】
Yu Jiao tapped the system. “Each capture target should only correspond to one answer, right? But there are only four capture targets. So where did the fifth question come from?”
The system let out a burst of static and answered:
【Yes, host. Each question corresponds to a capture target.】
【The answer to the fifth question needs to be found by you.】
【For each question, you have and only have one chance to answer.】
…Only one chance.
Yu Jiao was lost in thought. She had a feeling that the questions were a trap… Even Nie Hongshen, who was named “lover,” she was not completely sure that he was the answer to the first question.
“Madam?”
Helan Duo looked over, his gaze soft and probing. “What are you thinking about? So engrossed.”
As he spoke, he placed a golden bowl on the table. The vibrant red liquid rippled, and the scent of blood seeped into Yu Jiao’s nose.
“Blood?”
Yu Jiao nonchalantly changed the subject.
Helan Duo put on his white gloves and explained in a gentle voice, “Since you don’t want to have contact with Yuan Cang, using his blood to complete the purification will have the same effect.”
Yu Jiao suddenly remembered: as Chow Chow, Yuan Cang had used bloodletting to maintain the stability of the settlement.
So this was also one of his flaws.
His gloved fingertips were stained with blood. Helan Duo raised his hand and smiled. “Now, I’m going to spread his blood all over your body.”
“…”
He said the most bloody, ambiguous words in the purest tone.
Especially the white coat, which made his tall, slender figure look holy. The only touch of vibrant red had a striking, demonic charm.
A clash of contradictions.
This person, Helan Duo, always seemed to be a collection of contradictions.
A thought stirred in Yu Jiao’s mind. Her gaze fell on his name tag:
[Apocalypse Cult]
Name: Helan Duo
Position: Madam Yu’s Exclusive Family Doctor
“Before that…”
She decided to test Helan Duo, to see which question’s answer he was.
Yu Jiao curled her lips into a smile. “I have a question for you, Dr. Helan.”
Helan Duo: “Hmm?”
Yu Jiao stood up and walked towards him, step by step.
“A person has multiple identities in society. In different social relationships, they present different identities. A person with a disordered identity is an unordered root in the world. A person without an identity is a rootless duckweed in the world.”
“…”
“And you, Helan,”
Yu Jiao pressed herself against his unmovable body and tapped his name tag.
“With so many, so distinct ID tags… you must be a very orderly and rooted person, right?”
Her glistening grey eyes reflected his jade-like, beautiful face, which was veiled in a mist.
He smiled faintly, his voice like frost. “What is the Madam trying to say?”
“I want to ask…”
Her pale white fingertips dipped into the golden bowl and lightly stirred the thick blood, making a gurgling sound.
She lifted her fingertips and looked up with a light laugh:
“You rely so much on this ID tag. If I were to randomly name an identity, would you also comply?”
As she spoke, her blood-red fingertips touched his clean, distinct name tag, leaving a wet trail.
The blood red was piercing.
She looked at him with a bright smile and lightly wrote a word on his name tag, covering the four words “Family Doctor.”
—Madam Yu’s exclusive… dog.