“To Settle an Account” (3)
He pushed open the door and subconsciously tried to reach out to turn on the light.
But, for unknown reasons, an indescribable creepy feeling came over him, pinning his feet to the spot.
The darkness ahead was blurred and chaotic, and a dim twilight fell through the window.
“What? What are you waiting for?”
A familiar, calm voice rang in his ears.
Shi Rui was stunned and almost subconsciously screamed out.
An arm reached out behind Shi Rui in the next second and gently crossed over his stiff body.
“Snap.”
The overhead light lit up.
Soft and warm light spilled down, illuminating the entire room.
A young man could be seen crossing over to Shi Rui’s side and striding naturally toward the room.
It was Shi An.
The bright light fell on the top of his hair, gilding his hair and eyes with a honey-like light brown, looking soft and calm, no different from usual.
But… wasn’t he supposed to be dead already?
Seeing the dead man appear before him, Shi Rui instantly felt cold from head to toe.
He forcefully calmed down, revealed a slightly stiff smile, and said dryly, “S-Shi An, it’s you.”
“It’s great. I haven’t heard from you for so long. Father and I were worried. Thank goodness that nothing happened to you…”
Shi An said, “Something happened?”
He thought for a moment before seemingly realizing what Shi Rui was referring to and it dawned on him. “Oh, you’re talking about the school.”
Shi Rui felt a bit of dryness in his throat.
He saw Shi An look around the room and conveniently sit down on the bed, saying lightly, “Nothing happened to me.”
Although the young man before him did not look any different from before, a strong sense of foreboding still came over Shi Rui’s heart, causing him to feel instinctively defiant and annoyed.
Shi Rui steeled himself.
“Since you’re home, shouldn’t you greet Father?”
“I did it.”
Shi An lifted his eyes and a tiny smile appeared. “He’s sleeping.”
A creeping dread climbed up Shi Rui’s spine like an icy snake.
Even though he persuaded himself in his heart how many times over and over again that Shi An did not know his plan and that even if he did, it did not matter. Shi An was just an untalented strength system and he would not be disadvantaged even if they did fight…
But these reasons appeared bland, causing Shi Rui to feel an unprecedented sense of panic.
“T-Then, what are you going to do now?” Shi Rui heard himself ask in a forced, feeble voice.
Shi An replied, “Nothing much.”
“I only want to ask you a question. I hope you can answer truthfully,” he said with a smile on his face.
The young man in front of him pulled out a dark stone from his pocket, something Shi Rui dared to touch only when he was wearing gloves, but it was so easily held in the other party’s hand, unobstructed against the skin of his palm.
Shi Rui’s pupils suddenly constricted.
It was casually thrown on the table with a soft thud.
Didn’t he already take this stone from Shi An’s room? H-How did it get here…?
Shi Rui felt cold sweat seeping from his back, wetting his clothes a little.
“W-What is this?” he asked with a strong sense of composure.
Shi Rui made up his mind that no matter what Shi An said next, he would never acknowledge it until the end. There was no way… Shi An could have proof of this matter! He will never be able to prove what he did!
Shi An asked, “Where are the people who gave you this thing?”
Shi Rui fought the urge to step backward and said with a wan smile, “Shi An, what are you saying? I don’t understand.”
The young man in front of him frowned gently.
“Sometimes, humans are so troublesome. It’s obviously a simple matter to resolve, but you guys would complicate it.”
Shi An sighed.
“Such a waste of time.”
It was a pity that Black Smoke could create and implant illusions and visions but could not read humans’ memories and thoughts from too long ago.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t need to go to such lengths to ask in-person.
“…”
After several seconds of being frozen, Shi Rui felt his brain jammed and it took him a few seconds to catch the keywords in the other party’s words–
… Humans?
W-What did he mean?
He stood frozen in place, bewildered, and at a loss for words as he gazed at the young man before him. His ears could only hear the cacophony of his own heart beating violently. “You… you…”
Only to see Shi An stand up.
His footsteps were light as elegant and soft as a cat and his eyes seemed to burn just as bright.
There was something under his eyes that Shi Rui could not read but instinctively felt great fear.
The knot in his throat moved up and down and he subconsciously stepped backward, only to hit the door panel behind him with a dull and hollow thud.
The young man stood a step away from him.
His face was fair and harmless and he spat out gentle words. “Since it’s like that, I’ll tell you directly.”
“I knew someone gave you that stone. I need to know everything about them, whether the communication method or any address. Don’t lie, or else I will know.”
Shi Rui was dripping with cold sweat but managed to steel himself and say, “I truly don’t know–”
“Tch.”
The young man clicked his tongue.
Inexplicably, a powerful force descended and strangled Shi Rui’s throat so deadly that he could not utter another half-syllable.
“Don’t interrupt me when I’m talking.”
“…!”
Shi Rui’s eyes widened in shock and his mouth opened slightly, revealing an incredulous look of panic as he realized he could no longer utter a single word.
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