Silent Crown

The burning wind lantern shattered immediately, shards of glass piercing into the man’s eyes, instantly blinding him. Even more fatal was the scalding oil that followed, and the flame.

It happened instantaneously. The man made one muffled noise before the flame spread from the oil.

Ye Qingxuan could not even see the man’s features clearly before the man tumbled down the stairs, screaming.

The dwarf froze, staring blankly at the man rolling down in a ball of fire. His lips quivered, his eyes filling with hopelessness.

Ye Qingxuan took one last look at him before preparing to leave.

What met him was a wooden staff to the face.

Boom!

In that moment, there was only darkness before Ye Qingxuan’s eyes. His mind went blank. It felt like deja-vu. He stumbled back, missed a step, and fell down the stairs. Dazed, he tried to climb back up, but someone kicked him square in the chest.

The waterlogged wounds reopened and fresh blood seeped through. He painfully curled into a ball. Something was being angrily slammed onto his body.

Was it a sword?

The wielder did not want him to die so easily, so he chose the flat side of the blade. Ye Qingxuan’s vision went black as the blade slammed against his skull. As the beating dragged on, the black became tinged with red.

Finally, he could clearly see the men surrounding him. Within the crowd was an angered dwarf.

“Long time no see,” Ye Qingxuan could not help but think.

“Cuozi, come save me! Come save me!” The dwarf in the murky water was still being dragged down by the formless ghosts. Soon he would be underwater. Seeing his companions, his desire to live was sparked once again.

But Cuozi only gazed coolly at him, stating, “The formless ghosts have already arrived. If we open the gate, we’ll all die. Is that what you want?”

The dwarf froze before grasping at the lattice, trying to climb up. But more and more worming monsters latched onto his body. As they excitedly sucked his blood, a lifelike face appeared on their bodies.Their faces were twisted in pain, filled with wretchedness and hopelessness. But the eyes were empty, filled with a chilling eeriness.

Staring at those eyes, the men felt their bodies grow cold. They knew that the formless ghosts would not be able to break free from the cage, but their fear could not be pushed down.

“Break that mutt’s legs,” Cuozi forcibly grabbed a rusty steel bar from his underling. After studying Ye Qingxuan, he pointed the bar at his face. “It’ll be best to start from here. Don’t worry, you won’t die. You’ll be able to earn more as a disfigured beggar, right?”

After the painful beatings, Ye Qingxuan struggled and raised a hand, as if he had something to say. Cuozi furrowed his brows.

“There’s actually something I still haven’t decided on. Before I take this thing out, if you stop…everything’s fair talk. Really.” Ye Qingxuan raised his head, earnestly saying, “I never lie.”

Bang!

The steel bar that slammed down on his stomach knocked the wind out of him. With a kick from Cuozi, he flew against the wall.

“You want to take something out?” Cuozi laughed as if watching a clown. “What thing? King Arthur’s sword? Or a treasure given to you by a magical fairy? Hmm?”

“Sorry, I don’t have King Arthur’s sword. As for a treasure from a magical fairy,” on the ground and close to suffocation, Ye Qingxuan raised his head with difficulty. He lifted a hand and rasped, “Does this count?” He perched the heavy aluminum parcel on his fingertips, reflecting the fire on the ground.

The man on fire was still rolling around in pain. The fire’s glow illuminated the men’s eyes. Before anyone could react, Ye Qingxuan flicked the parcel. It rolled, landing and sizzling in the burning oil.

In the parcel, the white powder melted into the flames. A light and beautiful cloud arose immediately. Like a chain reaction, all the powder ignited and a thick cloud billowed.

It was the opiates, enough to last two drug addicts for a year. It was a drug created purposely for drug addicts who needed something more—something even more intense than opiates.

In that moment, everyone looked back in shock and heard a crisp sound.

Boom!

In the stillness, the aluminum foil expanded and exploded!

The sharp scent rose with the thick smoke. Spreading quickly, it engulfed everyone within an instant. Everything disappeared, and yet it continued to spread! The sharp scent also carried a heavy fragrance. The smell made one feel as if he were floating. When it entered one’s nostrils, they could not bare it.

Over the sound of intense coughing, someone screamed, “F*ck, what are you doing?” Cuozi had finally came to senses and kicked Ye Qingxuan furiously. The boy did not defend himself, letting the punches fall on him. He watched Cuozi wordlessly. His eyes were full of sadness and scorn, causing Cuozi to roar.

Cuozi took out his knife, wanting to stab that mutt to death. But he froze, feeling a fleeting instability as the smoke traveled into his nostrils. The immense amount of hallucinogens hung in the air, its power enough to reduce one’s sanity to dust in no time.

Cuozi’s hold relaxed and he stumbled backward, gazing suspiciously around him. The place was covered in smoke, so how could he see a beautiful rainbow? Soft laughter rang from the rainbow and he could no longer remember where he was.

The world spun. Wrapped in empty satisfaction and happiness, he hugged the steel bar and devoured the nonexistent food in front of him, gnashing at the steel. Snot and tears rolled down his face, but he laughed gleefully.

“I already said I have a secret weapon. Why did you force me to do this?” Ye Qingxuan murmured.

—

In the smoke, the youth dropped to the floor and covered his mouth with his bloody jacket, taking careful breaths. He took a wine bottle from someone else and poured the remaining alcohol on his jacket. But then, he heard a sharp sound from within the steel cage.

He froze, and looked behind him. This time, he might have failed.

—

The cage was also shrouded in opium smoke. The formless ghosts were excitedly feasting on blood and meat, but were bathing in the smoke too. As if they had been dropped into lava, these sensitive monsters screamed immediately. Their screams were so sharp, almost piercing one’s eardrums.

The uproar only ignited them. They crashed wildly against the steel cage. Above them, the runes controlling them flashed continuously, but the color dimmed.

Finally, the empty eyes of a formless ghost went from black to bloody red. Then his body expanded until the cage could no longer control him. And it burst.

An invisible lock seemed to explode under the weight of the heavy smoke. And then a second, and a third until all the formless ghosts had atomized under the high of the hallucinogen!

The steel cage protested, wailing, before it shattered.

Amid the shattering noise, a tidal wave of smoke was swept by the wind, filling the tight space in an instant. It spread in all directions through the sewage system, going off into the darkness.

Ye Qingxuan’s pupils dilated. He had not forgotten what was scariest about the formless ghosts. It was not their power to rip their prey to shreds, nor their need to drink blood.

It was the sound of fear after their atomization!

—

In an instant, hundreds of murmurs and whispers sounded from within the smoke. These murmurs seemed to be right next to one’s ear. Like a hand caressing one’s brain, they searched for the nerve of fear, pulling him into the abyss.

Ye Qingxuan’s vision blackened, but the murmurs found a better prey and cast him aside. Only a cold, sticky feeling engulfed him, as if the monster had found something new while still feasting.

On the ground, those hallucinating finally started waking up from their fantasies only to enter a nightmare.

Screams and roars traveled continuously from the smoke. Some tried to escape, but still trapped by their hallucinations, they could not push themselves up. Some tried crawling, but they followed the broken cage and fell into the bubbling well. After struggling, they drowned.

On the ground, Cuozi was still in a beautiful fantasy, flying in the sky.

But then everything changed. Darkness fell from the sky as hundreds of ghosts and demons crawled over. They were indescribably ugly with saliva dripping down, corroding the ground.

“My god…” Cuozi froze. In the blink of an eye, they were onto him, devouring his blood and body. He struggled wildly, screaming, “Don’t touch me! Help! Help!”

His features twisted, each part squirming on their own, transforming into the face of pure terror. The slightest agitation brought on extreme fear; the slightest touch brought on endless pain.

Ye Qingxuan gazed down on him and sighed softly.

A malevolent shadow lurked in the smoke. His body emanated a bloody aura—his eyes were blood-red and he had two goat-like horns, but his body was rotten, with poisonous snakes and scorpions leeching on it. The shadow seized one neck after another, bellowing something.

It rained blood. As the droplets splattered onto Cuozi, he screamed out, shaking.

Annoyed, the monster swooped in and pinned him to the wall. The wall writhed like bloody meat. Countless poisonous snakes slithered about, wrapping onto Cuozi’s waist, pushing him to his limit.

“Look at my eyes!” the evil spirit roared. Cuozi reflexively stared at his red eyes. The red eyes were like flowing lava, causing palpitations.

“Where’s the girl?!” the evil spirit asked. His voice was raspy, but it echoed like rolling thunder.

“What girl? I don’t know,” Cuozi sniveled. “Gods, please save me. I repent…”

“This isn’t heaven. There’s no time for repenting!” The evil spirit continued interrogating, “Where’s the white-haired girl? The girl that Cuozi and Hariti brought back. Where is she?”

“Upstairs! The bedroom on the second floor!” Cuozi screamed. “Emma said she’ll personally look over her. I swear, this is all I know. Let me go, please let me go, oh God…”

The evil spirit loosened his grip, throwing him onto the ground, watching as countless monsters devoured him.

Bang!

Ye Qingxuan hit the back of Cuozi’s head with the steel hook. He blacked out instantly, but his body still writhed, stuck in an endless nightmare. Perhaps those fantasies would forever remain within his nerves.

If he did not die from visceral spasms, he would probably have to spend the rest of his happy life in the Arkham Asylum.

At least Ye Qingxuan would not go insane and commit suicide. At least he was still alive. He could only comfort himself like that.