Chapter 121: The First Extra Chapter Complete
"I like you. From... the moment I first saw you."
Simultaneously with Cui Yun's voice came Liang Yi's words—bashful yet unwavering. That extremely dangerous aura grew even denser, as if the boy's words had enraged some lurking observer in the darkness. A contemplative glint flickered in Qi An's eyes, and when he turned to look at Liang Yi, the timidity in his voice became even more pronounced. "You're going to die."
The boy who still hadn't shed his youthful innocence didn't speak—instead, he gently lifted his pale hand to brush against Qi An's hair. His gesture was tender, yet it seemed to convey an unyielding answer.
Qi An seemed to freeze, staring at him blankly.
Ever since Liang Yi and Qi An first met, the former would always find excuses to linger by the latter's side. Though Qi An's smile remained as bright and cheerful as any boy his age, Zhuang Zhao could sense that something was deeply wrong with him.
His knees beneath the dark trousers were bleeding. Though the boy was trying desperately to suppress it, his legs trembled visibly. Zhuang Zhao recognized this trembling as the unmistakable sign of pain. There was no way this was simply a case of him tripping and falling as Liang Yi had claimed.
With each meeting, Liang Yi's condition grew noticeably worse.
"If I survive, will you give me a chance?" Liang Yi's voice carried a note of pleading. Zhuang Zhao嗤笑一声。
What arrogance.
"Go." His voice was cold, yet carried an unmistakable command. Cui Yun and Li Qing immediately straightened. The sudden force radiating from him was immense, tinged with unmistakable fury—the fluctuation contained obvious savagery.
The delicate boy ahead seemed to sense something and slowly turned around, speaking so softly it was nearly inaudible: "Are you... leaving?"
Was he also afraid of dying by staying near him?
After asking, the boy dropped his gaze, as if afraid to meet his eyes—or perhaps dreading what answer might come. In the sunlight, he was undeniably beautiful, but that beauty felt fragile, something that could shatter from the lightest touch.
He was truly so fragile.
That thought crystallized in Zhuang Zhao's mind once more.
Cui Yun and Li Qing had already disappeared into the distance. Zhuang Zhao's eyes darkened before he spoke, his voice unexpectedly gentle: "We just need to deal with the mastermind behind all this. We'll be back... very soon."
The boy stared at him in shock, those striking eyes fixing on him again.
Zhuang Zhao saw his own reflection in those depths, and he softly repeated his earlier words: "We'll return soon. I promised... I'd protect you."
This marked the first time Zhuang Zhao failed to keep his word. He never came back.
They traced the energy fluctuation to its source and successfully located the escaped convict. But this convict proved overwhelmingly powerful—despite their desperate efforts, they couldn't so much as scratch him.
However, he didn't kill them. Instead, he imprisoned them here.
Zhuang Zhao understood—this was merely the convict's twisted pleasure, his final form of judgment.
What awaited them?
Everyone was dead. The convict appeared before the delicate boy in his true form. The man removed the wide raincoat that had concealed his features, stepping forth from the darkness.
Logically speaking, the delicate boy had no ability to resist him. The man had obtained everything he desired.
He told the boy that everyone in the district had abandoned him—that upon learning all the deaths were caused by him, they'd left him behind, departed this place.
He was lying.
The terrified residents had wanted to flee this death-soaked place, yet the man refused to allow it. He murdered them all.
This region now held only the convict, the boy, and the three imprisoned people. Sometimes Zhuang Zhao wondered if the man had become so consumed with his possession of the boy that he'd forgotten their existence entirely.
But he knew better. The man was keeping them here deliberately—he wanted them to witness something.
If not for the emptiness and deathly silence of the streets, if not for the boy's constant fear and timidity, the man and boy might have resembled lovers lost in passion. The man's smile remained handsome and charming, almost making one forget the blood that stained his hands.
"Zhuang Boss, what do you think he actually wants?"
The boy's fear gradually faded. He seemed to have grown accustomed to having such a devoted companion by his side. He no longer refused the man's intimate gestures, remaining beautiful as he静静地存在于这片寂静的区域。
He would often gaze silently at his surroundings.
The boy had stopped resisting, and the man had claimed what he wanted. Zhuang Zhao assumed this hollow facade would persist indefinitely.
Until—
He suddenly sensed another living presence in the area.
It was... Liang Yi.
The boy hadn't died before. He'd returned.
Doubt surged within Zhuang Zhao, but he dismissed it quickly. Even if Liang Yi was somehow an exception, what then? The man would still kill him.
The man wouldn't tolerate anything that threatened this fragile peace.
Until—
Liang Yi killed the man. He rescued the boy from the man's clutches.
Impossible?
Zhuang Zhao's mind, dulled from prolonged imprisonment, went still. Others might not understand, but having confronted the man himself, he knew—the man was no ordinary being. One might even say he simply shouldn't exist in this ordinary world.
"Qi An, I've survived... can you give me... a chance?" Liang Yi placed his bloodied hand against the wall. His voice was weak, as if trying to steady himself through this gesture.
Yet despite his entire body trembling uncontrollably, his voice remained gentle. He still smiled at the boy—bright and cheerful.
Though many years had passed, he still looked like that youthful young man from before.
"Liang Yi, or should I say... Du Lu?"
As Zhuang Zhao froze, he heard the boy's light voice.
Du Lu was the man's name.
Suddenly, Zhuang Zhao understood. He realized that everything he'd assumed before was wrong.
Making the prey unwilling to escape isn't the best hunting method.
Even if time erodes everything, he'll never win the prey's love.
—Everyone left you. Only I remained, protecting you.
Those you loved, those who loved you, all perished.
The one who promised to protect you left because of the danger surrounding you.
Only I stayed by your side, enduring every hardship, slaying the villain, rescuing you. I will let you reintegrate into this world. I speak my love through actions.
Even if this was all meticulously planned, merely a fabricated illusion.
But you will love me.
—This is the hunter's finest trap.
When did Qi An discover the truth? Zhuang Zhao's thoughts struggled.
Qi An.
Suddenly, Zhuang Zhao realized something. He watched as the boy's brilliant smile froze. His smile faded bit by bit. The hand gripping the wall trembled slightly—truly trembling from the主人内心的忐忑不安. This boy who had designed everything, whose expression never changed even when harming others, now began to fear.
He seemed terrified of what the fragile boy might say, his voice trembling uncontrollably: "What?"
"...Nothing." Qi An lowered his gaze. Zhuang Zhao watched as the former offered a faint smile to the boy whose hands had clenched tight. He heard Qi An's soft, almost whispered words: "I'll give you this chance."
This was a smile Zhuang Zhao had never seen on the boy's face.
The boy's smile had always been frail, timid—but now there was... indulgence.
—Though I know everything, events will still unfold according to your scripted plot.
I willingly allow myself to be kept by you.
Zhuang Zhao suddenly recalled something someone once told him: "Lately, transmigration is quite risky. One easily gets fed狗粮."
"What?"
"There are two remarkable individuals who resigned from the Space-Time Bureau, going to various worlds to perform mutual pampering and adoration." The speaker seemed quite unhappy. "If you ever encounter them, you'll understand—that feeling of being fed狗粮 secretly is truly... indescribable."
"Who are these two?" Zhuang Zhao remembered asking casually at the time.
"One is the shameless one who whisked away our quick-pass bureau's big shot. If I'd known... that person would end up with someone else, we quick-pass bureau folks would have pursued him relentlessly. How could we have let that家伙... take advantage?" The speaker grew even more disgruntled. "Truly... envy-inducing."
"That person?" It seemed he wasn't unhappy about being fed狗粮, but about the person himself.
"His name is... Qi An."
The beautiful boy who seemed carved from a painting extended his hand toward the bloodied boy. Liang Yi's pupils dilated slightly as he trembling placed his grimy hand into the boy's palm.
Liang Yi's lips couldn't help but curve upward broadly. The bright, cheerful smile returned to the boy's face.
【Main Quest: Prevent the Fugitive from Harming Others (Completed)】
"It truly is... envy-inducing," Zhuang Zhao murmured.