As the petal gradually withered, a surge of vital energy flooded Yan Xicai's body like a tidal wave.
Boom - Boom - Boom...
The vital energy gathered in his chest, rhythmically pounding against it. His once still heart began to beat once more, and the fatal wound on his neck healed at a visible speed, recovering a significant portion within just a few seconds.
Yan Xicai suddenly opened his eyes wide, as if waking up from a nightmare!
"Don't kill me!!"
He shouted out like a dreamtalker, but all he heard in response were the howling winds and the distant roars of battle.
Yan Xicai remained frozen in the pool of blood for a long time before finally snapping out of it. He groped his chest with both hands, only to pull out a withered petal...
"This thing really works!" Yan Xicai's face lit up with relief at being saved by the petal. "It seems Dad still cares about me! Heaven has not forsaken me! I, Yan Xicai, am back! Haha..."
The petal was a treasure acquired somehow by Yan Xicai's father, the President of the Xingqun Chamber of Commerce. When he handed it to Yan Xicai, he didn't explain its purpose, only telling him to keep it close and never take it off... Now, Yan Xicai finally understood the petal's power.
Yan Xicai recalled everything that had just happened, and the joy in his eyes quickly faded, replaced by boundless resentment and anger.
"Jian Changsheng... heh heh heh..."
"A lowly cripple dares to kill me? Wait till I escape, I'll slaughter your entire family if I don't change my last name to something other than Yan!"
Cursing, Yan Xicai stumbled to his feet from the blood pool and glanced at the distant battlefield before turning towards the entrance of the Ancient Treasure.
After all, there wasn't much time left before the Ancient Treasure opened. As long as he could find a place to hide until the end, he could wait for the law enforcers to arrive... Who could possibly harm him then?
Taking a step forward, Yan Xicai suddenly remembered something and ran back to the body of the Fire Tamperer, searching intently.
"Where's my ring... where's my ring?" Yan Xicai searched for a while but couldn't find it, furrowing his brows in confusion.
"Are you looking for this?"
A voice drifted softly from behind him.
Yan Xicai jolted, turned around, and saw a figure in bright red opera costume standing in the blood pool, casually playing with a ring and looking at him with a half-smile.
At the sight of that face, Yan Xicai's eyes widened in disbelief, as if seeing a ghost.
"You... you..."
"How am I here? Didn't I die? Am I a ghost?"
Before Yan Xicai could speak, Chen Yifei calmly finished his lines and slowly walked towards him, leaving the latter stunned on the spot.
The smile on Chen Yifei's lips gradually faded. He looked down at Yan Xicai, and after a moment, coldly spat out two words:
"...Kneel."
The cold gleam of a dagger flashed instantly as Chen Yifei ruthlessly sliced through Yan Xicai's Achilles tendon. Yan Xicai let out a cry of pain, fell to his knees with a thud, and curled up in the pool of blood.
"This can't be... you're supposed to be dead!" Yan Xicai hugged his legs, his face pale as a sheet.
"If you need to be killed twice to die, why can't I do the same?" Chen Yifei said calmly. "I told you, all of you will die here... Did you think you'd be an exception, Master Yan?"
"Chen Yifei... Please spare me, give me a chance to live! I promise! I won't tell anyone about what happened here!"
"In fact, we don't have any deep grudges, do we? Except for what happened on the ship... I can apologize, really! I'll even kowtow to you if you want!"
"I can get you into Aurora City, and you can choose any position among the law enforcers! I promise you endless wealth and prosperity!"
"Also, I have many treasures at home. I can give them all to you..."
Yan Xicai pleaded bitterly, having exhausted all his means of self-preservation. If he were to be killed by Chen Yifei again, it would be truly the end... Once dead, everything would be gone.
Chen Yifei calmly slipped the ruby ring onto his finger, ignoring Yan Xicai's pleas.
He examined the ring for a moment before abruptly interrupting Yan Xicai:
"How do I use this thing?"
Yan Xicai was taken aback.
"Didn't you say you'd give me all your treasures?" Chen Yifei asked again. "So, how do I use this?"
Upon hearing this, a glimmer of hope ignited in Yan Xicai's eyes. Chen Yifei's interest in the ring meant he had a chance to buy his life with treasures!
"This is a highly esteemed sacrificial vessel, said to have originated from the Grey Realm during a Seventh-Order Calamity invasion," Yan Xicai quickly explained. "By feeding it spiritual energy, one can manipulate space to a limited extent. If the user's spiritual energy is below the Fourth Order and insufficient for it to consume, fresh blood and flesh can be substituted..."
"So, only the Fourth Order can use it without cost?"
"Yes, only the Fourth Order can master a domain. Without a domain, spiritual energy is virtually non-existent..."
"And how do I make it consume flesh and blood?"
"There's a mechanism on the side of the ring. Simply touch it, and then insert the protruding needle into your body..."
Puff—
Before Yan Xicai could finish speaking, Chen Yifei grasped the other's throat with one hand, and the ring's needle pierced the skin, ravenously consuming Yan Xicai's flesh!
Under the ring's consumption, Yan Xicai's once full-bodied frame visibly withered, reminiscent of when Chen Yifei first witnessed Qian Fan using a knuckle sacrificial vessel in his mansion, except this ring seemed to consume even faster!
With his throat held tight, Yan Xicai struggled to utter a sound, merely staring intently at Chen Yifei, pleading for mercy.
Finally, just before Yan Xicai was drained dry, Chen Yifei released his grip.
"Cough cough cough..."
Yan Xicai collapsed, coughing violently. He now resembled a skeletal husk, barely recognizable as the same person, looking more like a skin-covered skeleton.
"I see," Chen Yifei mused, gazing at the shimmering ruby ring.
"It... It's yours now," Yan Xicai gasped, panting like a broken bellows. "Chen Yifei... Can you spare me now?"
"Sure," Chen Yifei patted him on the shoulder, slowly rising from the bloodstained ground. "Oh, didn't you say you liked my clothes? I can't give you that one... But what about the one I'm wearing now?"
Yan Xicai glanced at Chen Yifei's bright red opera robe and shook his head vigorously. After all that had happened, he dared not act as he had on the ship.
Besides, he hadn't truly coveted Chen Yifei's tattered garment on the ship; he'd merely sought an excuse to provoke him.
"N-no... Thank you, but no..."
"Well, that's a shame."
Chen Yifei turned and walked away.
Seeing Chen Yifei leave, Yan Xicai finally let out a sigh of relief... He crawled awkwardly through the blood, inching towards the entrance to the Ancient Treasure.
He could finally go home.
Just then,
A chill wind brushed against the hem of Chen Yifei's bright red robe as he continued walking. Without breaking stride, he casually lifted his right hand and snapped his fingers.
"Crush."
Crack—
Yan Xicai's body twisted into a grotesque shape, his already feeble life force extinguished in an instant.
Lying wasted in a pool of blood, his lifeless eyes stared blankly at the sky, his emaciated frame resembling a macabre counterpart to Chen Yifei's opera robe against the grayish earth.