Falling To His Knees

Before Xie Ai could react, the woman's hands reached out as they passed through his body, directly grabbing the little guy by his hair. The little guy hissed as he screamed, staring at the woman with a fearful gaze.

But the woman didn't care a single bit about it. She ruthlessly dragged the boy along the corridor, heading toward the staircase.

Xie Ai also rushed after them, but before he could catch up, the scene changed abruptly. The little boy was here again, but his gaze had turned dull and emotionless.

Xie Ai's heart skipped a bit. That was the exact expression that he had seen on Yu Chen when he died back then. He stared on as the woman opened her mouth and said, "Little kid, you know why you're so useless?"

The kid continued to stare without speaking a word.

"Because you continue to follow the path you shouldn't follow despite killing the woman you call mother." The woman's eyes were full of hatred as she said, "Clearly, I gave birth to you; then why don't you respect me a single bit? She has died already. Stop being so stubborn. You are the son of the demon lord, so act like one."

The kid finally opened his mouth and said in an emotionless voice, "Will she be alive if I do what you say?"

After saying those words, she walked away, leaving the little kid standing there without saying a single word. It wasn't until Xie Ai reached him that the little kid raised his head and instantly grabbed the man's wrist.

In an urgent voice, he said, "Go… Go away. Don't stay here."

Xie Ai finally saw the scene change all of a sudden once again. This time, the little kid had grown bigger, looking like he was ten years old. By this time, his body already had a layer of darkness surrounding his aura.

The woman who once sneered at him even before his birth was now adorning her child with a garland. Then she said softly, "You finally learned the art of demons. Good work, Yu Chen."

Xie Ai's eyes widened as he looked at the ten-year-old kid. The little child's lifeless eyes had returned, and he looked more like a ghost now with a pale face. His face still remained expressionless as he watched the little kid standing by the window, coldly staring at the woman.

So… was it really Yu Chen or someone else?

Xie Ai felt a layer of cold sweat form on his back as he backed away. All of a sudden, the kid turned his head and stared at him, meeting his eyes.

Then he mouthed, "Go away."

Xie Ai's hands turned cold as he stared at the little kid. His heart sank deep into the ocean as he watched the scene in front of his eyes.

Then, the scene changed once again.

This time, the kid grew up once again, and his body turned from being a little ten-year-old kid into a teenager. His entire body was shrouded in darkness, just like back then.

But that wasn't the most shocking part of the entire event. He was covered with blood from head to toe.

There wasn't a trace of injury on his body. How could Xie Ai tell even with his impaired vision? The boy's black robes still looked unscathed. But maybe he made a mistake. After all, he still couldn't see clearly. So he might have missed out on important evidence.

The woman, who had looked imposing at all times, lay on the ground. Her eyes closed as her hair scattered all over her face. She didn't seem to be breathing as a pool of blood flooded beneath her dead body. There were several wounds on her body.

Dark energy still swirled into the boy's hands as he looked coldly at the woman's dead body, eyes squinting, "Lady, you shouldn't have stood in my way."

Then the scene changed as the entire corridor was filled with fire. Everywhere he glanced, there was the fire. Unexpectedly, the fire couldn't touch him.

His hands accidentally touched a flame, but he didn't get burned.

Soon enough, he saw an adult version of Yu Chen standing in the corridor. His body was burning, but he said nothing, and silently stood there as he watched the open ground.

Emerald pearl-like eyes melted away in the fire slowly, bit by bit.

Xie Ai watched the scene as his heart shattered. His chest was choked up, watching the guy die in front of him all over again.

No, one time was enough. He couldn't handle it twice.

He still wasn't over Yu Chen!

His entire body trembled from head to toe as he continued to watch the entire scene. Suddenly, the burning body turned toward him and said in a hoarse voice, "Don't worry. I'm fine."

The man even smiled, but that smile looked ghastly, sending a shiver down Xie Ai's spine.

By the time he blinked, the scene had returned to normal, with the old walls covered in fungus all over the place. It didn't have a single trace anywhere on the wall that it was burned.

Suddenly, someone put a hand on his shoulder and he jumped and gasped.

"Huh? Why are you crying?"

Xie Ai reacted as his hands tremblingly reached out to touch his cheeks, placing his fingers on the wet area. "I'm… crying?"

Qi Jingguo's brows furrowed as he looked at the man with a trace of worry. He shook the other person's shoulders. "Hey, are you alright?"

Xie Ai finally came back to himself and wiped his face, nodding. "Y-yes."

Yu Weimin's eyes narrowed. "What did you see? You were clearly pulled into an illusion while we were coming."

At the reminder of that strange scene, Xie Ai's heart plunged into darkness once again. He trembled, looking like he wanted to die.

His mouth opened and closed, but no words escaped his throat. His chest felt more and more blocked as a hint of pain filled his heart.

What did it feel like to kill your own lover, your life and soul with your own hands?

Then what did it feel like to see the same person dying, burning to death, once again?

Worse than death.

That was exactly what Xie Ai was going through right now.

Xie Ai's eyes teared up once again as he fell to his knees.