Ch60 - Controlled

It was a cold and desolate night.

In the dimly lit basement, a middle-aged man sat on the sofa, quietly smoking. Not far from him, a thin young man sat indifferently on the stony ground. His delicate white face was stained with mud and his clothes were soiled while his wrists were chained together, restricting his movements.

The cigarette in Zuo Lan’s hand was about to burn out. He inhaled the last puff and extinguished the cigarette butt in the ashtray. He slowly exhaled.

Zuo Lan turned his head to look at Xie Yan who had been sitting stoically since he woke up, not even sparing him a glance. If it wasn’t for his clear understanding of Xie Yan’s nature, the person in front of him seemed no different from a puppet.

Puppet…

Thinking of this, Zuo Lan couldn’t help but feel proud. He got up and walked to Xie Yan’s side.

“Little Master, how did it come to this?”

Xue Yan glanced at Zuo Lan lightly and did not speak.

Zuo Lan squatted down in front of Xie Yan and surveyed him, “All of you Shen people are sick, obsessed with death. If you had shown some mercy, we wouldn’t have come to this point.”

“For so many years, you’ve wanted to kill me, but you never thought that one day, you would fall into my hands instead.”

Xie Yan listened quietly without any intention of answering. Zuo Lan looked at his red eyes and reached out to touch him, but was evaded by Xie Yan in disgust.

He didn’t like others touching him casually. He had been wary of this since childhood and Zuo Lan was also aware of this, so he didn’t care much about his reaction.

“Although you’re related, your personality is nothing like Shen Xie’s.”

Speaking of Shen Xie, Zuo Lan couldn’t help but sneer. “Little Master, I’ve watched you grow up. Even though you forced me to suffer repeatedly, my past affection is still there. If you’re willing to ask me for help, I’ll consider it.”

Xie Yan lowered his eyes slightly, his unfazed eyes as calm as usual as if Zuo Lan’s words had nothing to do with him.

Seeing Xie Yan ignore him evoked Zuo Lan’s memories. His eyes became enraged and he suddenly gripped Xie Yan’s collar.

“Even now, you’re still pretending to be high and aloof.” Zuo Lan glared at him fiercely, “I hate your lofty and arrogant attitude the most, do you think you are the proud Son of Heaven? Heh, what makes you so superior!”

“And your ungrateful master.” Remembering the past, the bitterness in Zuo Lan’s heart was completely ignited, “What heavenly destined saviour? He’s nothing but a heartless and ignorant mediocre man who doesn’t know how to differentiate between right and wrong! For the sake of a man, he actually wants to imprison and kill me!”

“I went through fire and water for him, but now he’s hell-bent on my life!”

Zuo Lan seethed with fury. “And that same meritorious man, Ji Xianzhi, is now successful and renowned for his achievements. He has a virtuous wife, a filial son, and boundless happiness, but what about me?”

“The chaos has settled down, but I can’t rest in peace. I can only live my life in fear and hiding every day, thanks to you Master and disciple!”

Hearing this, there was finally a little change in Xie Yan’s face. He stated indifferently, “You dare to condemn my Shishu, you deserve to die.”

Zuo Lan pushed Xie Yan away and said with a grim smile, “I don’t know when I’ll die, but it’s easy for me to take your life now.”

As soon as his words fell, Zuo Lan raised his palm and slapped Xie Yan, his eyes full of killing intent. Just then, a slender white hand suddenly grabbed Zuo Lan’s wrist and stopped him.

Shen Qiuli glanced at Zuo Lan, let go of the hand and said lightly, “Mr Xie is a guest and this is not how you treat guests.”

Zuo Lan snorted coldly in response. He turned around and sat on the sofa. He took out a cigarette and continued to smoke, looking as if he had no intention of taking care of the subsequent events.

Shen Qiuli also did not intend to care about Zuo Lan. He shifted his gaze to Xie Yan. “Sorry, there are some things that are difficult to talk about under normal circumstances, so I can only wrong you for a while.”

Facing Shen Qiuli, Xie Yan was no longer indifferent, “Where is Ji Qinghuai?”

“Young Master Ji…” Shen Qiuli laughed. “Do you want to see him?”

A bad feeling sprouted in Xie Yan’s heart.

“That’s easy.” Shen Qiuli raised his hand and snapped his fingers.

After the command, a figure quickly rushed out and punched Xie Yan. His body flew into the air but was stopped by the chains bounding him. Xie Yan fell to the ground and a trace of blood leaked out of the corner of his mouth.

His vision blurred for a while, and when it returned, he could see the person standing in front of him.

Ji Qinghuai.

Ji Qinghuai was also looking at Xie Yan, but the eyes that should have been clear and bright were devoid of light, just like a dead lake, dull and lifeless.

Xie Yan couldn’t care less about his injuries and forced himself to stand up despite the pain, “What did you do to him?”

“I didn’t do anything.” Shen Qiuli took out the bell that was taken from Ji Qinghuai’s wrist and shook it gently.

Xie Yan immediately understood and couldn’t help frowning.

“Mr Xie, don’t you tell someone how to use something before giving it as a gift?”

Shen Qiuli had a smile on the corner of his mouth as he shook the bell in his hand once again.

Powerful demonic power was released in the basement and Ji Qinghuai condensed the power in his palm, striking Xie Yan without hesitation.

“Ji Qinghuai!”

Just as he shouted, the demonic energy struck head-on with no intention of stopping. He stood still, neither dodging nor avoiding, allowing the powerful palm to rapidly approach him.

Under the pressure of the powerful demonic force, Xie Yan’s five senses disappeared briefly. He could not hear a single sound in his ears. His body froze and his breathing stalled.

In just a moment, the palm would hit him. At the critical moment, Ji Qinghuai’s palm came to halt in front of Xie Yan’s face.

The thin body swayed and Xie Yan’s forehead broke out in cold sweat. He couldn’t support himself and half-knelt on the ground. The harsh bell rang again in his ears. Ji Qinghuai withdrew his hand and stood aside obediently.

“This body is still useful to me, I can’t damage it like this.” Shen Qiuli crouched down and said to him, “Don’t you think it’s scary how Ji Qinghuai couldn’t recognise his six relatives?”

“The way he looked just now, it won’t be long before you see it again. Remember what he did to you yesterday? Since that time, the toxin in his body has spiralled out of control. Each time he can’t control it, he will become a madman who can’t recognise his six relatives. He’ll spend less and less time awake until he dies of exhaustion.”

Xie Yan choked.

He looked up at Ji Qinghuai but didn’t see any reaction from the other. He knew that Ji Qinghuai was now being manipulated and couldn’t hear anything but Shen Qiuli’s commands.

Xie Yan turned to look at Shen Qiuli. “Is Lin Shuye in your hands?”

“Yes.” Shen Qiuli said. “He was already in my hands by the time you first started looking for him. However, he always made us worried. He kept trying to escape and almost succeeded yesterday. I was a little unhappy, so I cut off his tail to teach him a lesson. By the way, I used that tail to stimulate Ji Qinghuai. It was a very cost-effective move.”

Xie Yan’s fist was clenched tightly and in a rare fit of anger, he shouted. “Ji Qinghuai and you have no grudges. Why do you want to involve him?”

“Probably because you care about him.” Compared to Xie Yan’s anger, Shen Qiuli was calm and tranquil. “I didn’t target him at first but I thought his condition was useful. As long as we can negotiate, I’ll naturally help him detoxify the poison.”

Hearing him mention detoxification, Xie Yan forced down the anger in his heart. “You’ve gone to such great lengths, what do you really want to do?”

Shen Qiuli was silent for a moment, “I want to live.”

He continued, “When Master created me, I understood the meaning of my existence and was willing to fulfil my mission, but Heaven gave me a second opportunity.”

“I didn’t intend to clash with you either, but Zuo Lan cast a curse on me and forced me to cut off my Master. I didn’t even have the right to refuse or die.” Shen Qiuli sat down in front of Xie Yan and spoke calmly as if he was having an insignificant chat.

“After that, I thought, since I’m back, why don’t I fight for myself once? As long as I occupy your body, I can have flesh and blood, can live and die naturally. I don’t think Master will interfere in this matter.”

“Master created me and let me die for you once, so ultimately, he owes me something. How can he intervene again? Besides, all he wants is a disciple who can continue to bear his burden. Whether it’s you or me, it doesn’t matter at all.”

“When we are fully integrated, I’ll replace you and live well. I’ll complete your mission for you and look after Ji Qinghuai for you. Everything will continue as usual. The world will not change even if you go missing. Only a few people can distinguish between you and me. And after your disappearance, even fewer people will be able to differentiate.”

“Of course, you don’t have to agree.” Shen Qiuli said again, “Do you know why I changed my mind temporarily and didn’t kill Xu Luo? Because I want to keep him and give you a glimmer of hope.”

Shen Qiuli took out a glass bottle from the pocket of his coat. There was some black liquid swaying in the bottle.

“I got this from Lin Shuye. This is the poison in Ji Qinghuai.”

Shen Qiuli handed the glass bottle to Ji Qinghuai, watched Ji Qinghuai put it away and continued, “If you can get out of here alive, you can give this to Xu Luo and let him try to detoxify Ji Qinghuai. Of course, the results will depend on your luck.

Zuo Lan had been listening next to him, wrinkled his brows and walked over when he heard Shen Qiuli’s words. “What bullshit are you saying, if they walk out of here alive, it’s us who will die.”

“It’s just a joke. Why do you care so much?” Shen Qiuli replied. “But Mr Xie, you have no choice at the moment. The poison in Ji Qinghuai’s body has spread to his spiritual veins. Every time he uses his demonic energy, he’s accelerating towards death. If you don’t agree, I can kill him slowly. By then, it will be too late for you to regret it.”

“What nonsense are you saying to him?” Zuo Lan disliked Shen Qiuli’s casual appearance a lot. In his opinion, what Shen Qiuli said just now was all nonsense.

“It’s not up to him now whether he wants to or not.” Zuo Lan grinned, “If you want to deal with this kind of person, you have to do it directly. As long as you hold your breath, there won’t be so much trouble.”

“You’re right.” Shen Qiuli stood up and smiled, “But that offends me.”

Saying that, he rang the bell in his hand.

Ji Qinghuai stood beside Shen Qiuli and condensed his demonic energy again. He looked at Xie Yan with a pair of dark and empty eyes. Zuo Lan smiled coldly and watched the play, eagerly hoping that the Shen family would die quickly.

Bang!

The powerful demonic energy shot out, breaking the wind around it.

However, it brushed past Xie Yan’s face and slammed into Zuo Lan’s body, knocking him into the wall. Zuo Lan immediately spat out a mouthful of blood.

“You…” Zuo Lan stared at Shen Qiuli and tried to get up, but was kicked back by Shen Qiuli.

“Idiot.” Shen Qiuli looked at Zuo Lan with cold eyes. “Even if I were a substitute, you’re not worthy of controlling me.”

Shen Qiuli raised his hand, his calm eyes flooded with killing intent. “At first, you almost killed Shishu, Master didn’t take your life for the sake of past affection, but now you’re on the run for a felony, I will get rid of you for Master.”

After saying that, his palm rose and landed on Zuo Lan’s head. Then, blood flowed down his forehead. Zuo Lan’s eyes were wide open and his face lay on the ground with a distorted expression.