Zhang Nianxiang scratched violently at the red rash on his face again. He seemed to be in extreme agony; lowering his head, he used both hands to frantically claw at every inch of his body.
“It itching… it’s so itchy…”
Watching the pustules on his face break open, leaking pus mixed with streaks of fresh crimson blood, I felt my skin crawl. Why would he go to such lengths to ruin himself…
Ji Xing hadn’t let him go just because he became self-destructive; instead, his harassment had only intensified. I couldn’t wrap my head around it what was Nianxiang’s ultimate goal?
System: 【Because Ji Xing once told him: “If I can’t have your heart, having your body is a fine thing as well.” Since Nianxiang can’t successfully die, he uses this method to take revenge. He wants to turn himself into Ji Xing’s nightmare. The more pained Ji Xing is, the more gratification Nianxiang feels.】
Me: […]
For a moment, I couldn’t find the words to describe this “kill a thousand enemies at the cost of eight hundred of your own” behavior. Is he stupid? Not entirely. He at least found Ji Xing’s weak spot and gave that shameless man a taste of retribution. Is he smart? He’s turned himself into a literal monster.
The Ill-Fated Soul… The Ill-Fated Soul… I chewed on the words of the book title. Suddenly, my brow furrowed: ‘Zhang Nianxiang… his lifespan won’t be long, will it?’
System: 【Yes.】
‘How much longer does he have?’
【Not long.】 The system let out a sigh. 【In another month, he will be tormented to death by this disease.】
Is that so? If he dies, what about Min Shanshan? Didn’t he claim to love her? Has he gotten so caught up in this mutual torture cycle with Ji Xing that he’s completely forgotten who his beloved is?
【Zhang Nianxiang loves Min Shanshan, but he’s also reached his breaking point. Death, to him, is equivalent to liberation.】 The system explained quickly, as if fearing I would misunderstand.
‘I know.’ I cracked my knuckles, listening to the crisp sound of the joints while speaking ironically. ‘Does he think this kind of slow-motion death doesn’t count as suicide?’
‘First, he contracted the virus intentionally, not by force or accident. Defining that as suicide no problem there, right?’ I clicked on the system panel, pulled out the book The Ill-Fated Soul, and began skimming through it. Finding a key passage, I circled it and continued: ‘Here, Ji Xing said that if he ever truly committed suicide, he’d make Min Shanshan follow him to the grave.’
System: 【That’s correct.】
‘So?’ I threw my hands up. ‘What is Nianxiang thinking?’
System: 【He likely hopes to pass the disease to Ji Xing and take the man down with him?】
‘Is that it?’ I flipped through the book again. ‘Nianxiang doesn’t know about Ji Xing serving as a drug human.’
System: 【The book says Ji Xing returns looking perfectly fine every time, so it’s highly probable Nianxiang has no idea.】
‘Doesn’t he wonder why Ji Xing remains fine and hasn’t been infected?’ I tossed the book back onto the shelf.
【He probably does, but Yinchen, have you considered that Nianxiang has already contracted this incurable virus? He has no choice now but to wait for death.】
Me: ‘So when the time comes, Ji Xing won’t be dead, but Nianxiang will be his mind must be a mess right now, or perhaps he’s just desperate? He just hasn’t found a way out of this dead end?’
The system didn’t answer immediately. 【Yinchen.】 It suddenly called my name with gravity.
I raised my eyes to the system panel. ‘Go on.’
【Are you already scouting for your third main mission target?】
The question caught me off guard. I stared at the panel for a few seconds before blinking and coming back to my senses. ‘Is it that obvious?’ I gave a small smile.
System: 【Zhang Nianxiang is currently like a faulty time bomb. If you defuse it correctly, the countdown might stop; if you don’t, he could blow you up right along with him.】
【Remember: once a support target is bound, it is permanent. Unless you die and a new host takes over.】
I nodded, taking the warning to heart. But the “Quick-Clear Pill” in my inventory felt like a “Nirvana Rebirth” item tailor-made for Zhang Nianxiang.
‘If he were given back a healthy, perfect body, what would Zhang Nianxiang choose to do?’
Give him the medicine, and he might not die. There might be a chance for a comeback. Don’t give it to him, and he has only a month to live. The system has certainly calculated this well, cutting off my retreat of “helplessness.” On a moral level, no one wants to be a cold-blooded person who watches someone die. To me, it would be as simple as moving a finger. If I’m afraid of being implicated, I can just use a “vest” (alias) and help him with a fake identity.
So, should I take this hot potato, or not?
‘Let me think about it some more.’
I stood up and kicked the wine jar in a fit of irritation. The jar was sent sliding half a meter, wobbling and spilling even more alcohol.
Zhang Nianxiang was certainly a man of action. When I woke up from a nap that afternoon, I found the room next door empty. Nianxiang was gone, along with all the red “Double Happiness” characters he had cut.
Even the art books I had hidden in the flower vases had been found and torn to shreds. The fragments were piled at my door the torn, smiling faces of the illustrations and their twisted limbs layered together in a scene that was utterly farcical. Even the medicine box Ji Xing had dropped, which I had pried out and given to Nianxiang, sat open and crushed on top of the scraps. The ointment inside had melted slightly in the sun, leaking out like a pool of blood.
What an eccentric. You call him weak, yet in some aspects, he has more endurance than most men. You call him enduring, and yet, look he’s actually caught a temper!
I was grumbling internally, and my stomach was churning just as much. I was truly hungry; I had almost forgotten when I last ate. It was still daytime, and there would likely be very few people on the street. I rubbed my belly, debating whether to head out.
Suddenly, the door to the courtyard slammed open and collapsed again. A familiar figure appeared boldly in my field of vision.
“So this is where you were! I’ve had such a hard time finding you!”