For the next half hour, Yi Bai argued tirelessly, while the Rose Countess backed him up, and Lina silently waved her metaphorical flag in support. Quels, however, had no say in the matter, silently watching from the sidelines with envy.
If it were up to him, he would have gladly traded his own blood with Jiang Ling if he could. In fact, he'd even be willing to go for a bulk transaction! Unfortunately, Quels didn't have the "Temptation of the Dead" talent, so his blood was of no interest to either of the two Blood-Red Ghosts.
In the end, the negotiation ended with Jiang Ling grinding her teeth and sulking, her face twisted in frustration. The final deal was: Yi Bai would provide Jiang Ling with 200 milliliters of blood every seven days, continuing for a year. The most important point, however, was that as Yi Bai's strength grew, the amount of blood required could be reduced. In other words, if Yi Bai grew fast enough, the frequency of blood donations could slow down as well.
This deal was largely due to the subtle influence of the Rose Countess. Jiang Ling's frustration stemmed from the realization that the Countess had helped steer the negotiations to this point.
Once the agreement was set, Quels, who had been silently observing, finally spoke, calling out to the Rose Countess and Jiang Ling as they were about to leave.
"Something's come up," he said seriously.
The Rose Countess, no longer showing Yi Bai the warmth she had earlier, turned coldly to him. "What is it?"
Quels' face, usually emotionless, now looked gravely serious. "I need to discuss something important with both of you. It may involve... the Unspoken."
The words "the Unspoken" caused Jiang Ling and the Rose Countess to freeze, their pupils narrowing. Yi Bai, too, narrowed his eyes, recalling what Lina had once mentioned—Quels had secluded himself for a while after an incident outside the city.
"I initially thought that Quels' injury had been caused by a Blood-Red Ghost, and that it gave He Yi an opening. But now it seems..." Yi Bai's mind raced. Looking at Quels' serious demeanor, a sudden sense of foreboding filled him.
"Your injuries," Jiang Ling asked, her eyes sharp with suspicion. "Could they have been caused by the Unspoken?"
Quels' electronic eyes flickered with unease. "No... it's not that simple. It was an accident—just one glimpse, and it almost destroyed my soul." His voice trembled as he recalled the event.
That day, Quels, a mere Blood-Red Ghost, had never imagined he would witness even the slightest fragment of an Unspoken being. The sight of it had shaken him to the core. But what truly terrified him was the presence of decay and death that surrounded it—an ominous prelude to its imminent fall.
The injury to his soul came from that single, fateful glance. Quels could still feel the remnants of that terror whenever he recalled the scene. But he had returned to the Third Hospital in a daze, only to be caught in He Yi's trap.
As Quels finished recounting the horrifying experience, both the Rose Countess and Jiang Ling couldn't help but gasp in shock. Even Yi Bai, observing the situation with his keen insight, felt an absurdity creep into his thoughts.
He had just entered this terrifying game of survival. Though the opportunities were vast, it was a little too much for a novice like him to encounter an event so catastrophic, involving an Unspoken entity that even the world of horror barely whispered about.
Yi Bai also knew something that wasn't commonly known: the world of horror had its boundaries. The city of Yinming, where they were currently situated, lay in the heart of the Chaotic Ghost's Lair. The Unspoken entity Quels had glimpsed was likely not from this world, but something beyond the Chaotic Ghost's Lair.
The Rose Countess and Jiang Ling, both highly influential figures, quickly confirmed Yi Bai's suspicions. Though the Unspoken beings in the Chaotic Ghost's Lair were often elusive and invisible, they still had some connection with the outside world.
While neither the Countess nor Jiang Ling could make direct contact, the power behind them could.
Once they were certain that Quels' story was true, the room fell into a heavy silence. Both Jiang Ling and the Rose Countess exchanged a look, their eyes gleaming with something akin to desire. The allure of the Unspoken, particularly one on the verge of falling, was nearly irresistible to beings of their kind.
"Wait, calm down, Rose, Jiang Ling!" Yi Bai's voice cut through the tension.
The Rose Countess turned to him, a slight frown on her face. "What's bothering you, Yi Bai?"
Yi Bai's eyes were serious. "I may not fully understand how terrifying the Unspoken truly is, but there's something I've learned from our ancestors' teachings: when things seem too odd, there's usually a reason. An Unspoken being that's on the verge of falling shouldn't be so easy to see. Whether it's a vendetta or some other cause, it shouldn't have been so careless."
"The power of an Unspoken, from what you've hinted at, far exceeds even that of a Blood-Red Ghost. So why could a mere Blood-Red Ghost catch even a glimpse of it? And why did you survive, Quels? Was it just luck? Or is there something more to it?"
Yi Bai paused, his mind racing with suspicion. "I think something's wrong with this situation. There's too much hidden behind the scenes. I can almost smell a conspiracy!"
His words sank into the silence, and the intense desire in the eyes of the Rose Countess and Jiang Ling began to cool as they considered Yi Bai's warning. They were both intelligent, and his reasoning started to make sense.
The temptation of the Unspoken, particularly one on the verge of falling, was immense. But as they thought about it more carefully, they realized that there were too many loose ends, too many contradictions in Quels' story. Yet, in the face of such power, how many could remain rational?
And as for those like Quels, who had witnessed it firsthand... could they truly resist the urge to claim that power for themselves?