Don't Look At Me Like That

Xie Ai's eyes widened as he froze on the doorsteps. The duo were also surprised, but they didn't react much. Their faces remained expressionless as they silently pulled out their weapons from the thin air.

At this time, Xie Ai's mind really wasn't in the right place; otherwise, he would have asked about how the duo pulled out those weapons and from where.

He kept staring blankly at those emerald eyes. Except for those eyes, the face had been burned to the point that no one could identify the person anymore. But he knew it was Yu Chen since this was the face he had seen earlier.

He wanted to go inside, and at the same time, he also wanted to retreat, running far away from here. But he couldn't. He stood there, frozen, staring dead at the person on the throne.

Qi Jingguo silently whispered, "Xie Ai, pull out that knife. If he approaches, kill him."

'Easy for him to say…' thought Xie Ai in his heart.

How could he bear to kill that person again?

But he still pulled out his knife as he held it firmly in his trembling hands.

The man on the throne continued to stare only at him, ignoring the duo's presence completely. In a hoarse and cold voice, he finally spoke: "I told you to get out."

That voice sent a chill down their spines, as if a being darker than the night had spoken. Before anyone could react, the man finally started disappearing into thin air, and before completely vanishing, he whispered, "Forgive me for what's going to happen."

The door suddenly closed with a thud as the cloud above the ceiling spread a dark mist around the place. It was so thick that none of them could see even their own hands.

Thankfully, the duo held hands before the mist even appeared. But that left Xie Ai all alone, standing in the thickness of the dark mist. His body trembled even more as he blinked and cursed his partial blindness.

"Gu-guys…?" His voice stuttered as he raised his knife, his hands still trembling. "Y-you guys…. Please, reply…"

But he heard no sound, leaving him all alone in the thick of the room. Just as he was thinking about it, he felt a strong pair of arms suddenly hold him from behind. The hands were icy cold and full of burnt-out injuries.

A hoarse voice echoed into his ears: "You know why I didn't want you here?"

"W-why…?" Xie Ai's entire face paled as he trembled even more. His hands firmly gripped the knife, ready to use it the moment the ghost behind him did something strange.

"Because I'm not in control. I can only save one person, and that's you." The ghost spoke in a cold, emotionless tone. Then he said, bewilderingly, "Though I'm not sure why I want to save you."

Xie Ai registered the man's words in his heart and finally took a deep breath, asking, "What do you mean….?"

He wasn't in control?

Did it mean someone else was behind this entire fiasco? Could it be that someone was controlling the little kid and forcing him to kill people again and again?

Xie Ai frowned. At this time, he even stopped trembling because of the urgent matter at hand.

The hand holding him started touching his stomach, bringing him back to the present. His face paled once again as he held the burnt-out wrist and asked, "W-what are you doing?"

"Hmm? What does it look like? You see, saving someone comes with an expense." The ghost's eyes twinkled with a hint of desire. "My utmost desire will be revealed in front of the person I just saved. I can't stop myself anymore."

Xie Ai's eyes widened. Although he had an idea what kind of desires this man was talking about, he still asked, "W-what desires….?"

"What do you think?" The man didn't bother explaining anything as he directly lifted the other's shirt.

Xie Ai felt a chill down his stomach in the exposed area as he quickly jabbed the ghost behind him with his elbow and finally got out of the crazy, cold embrace. He could still feel a trace of burnt-out smell from his body as his nose wrinkled in disgust.

"Let my friends go."

He raised his knife toward the ghost, shaking a little. But he took a deep breath and tried his best to stabilize the knife in his hands as he looked at the guy with a trace of determination in his eyes. "Let them go."

"Why?" The ghost didn't bother explaining why he couldn't save them or why he only decided to choose Xie Ai. He just vaguely raised his burnt-out brows and asked, "Can't we stay here forever?"

Xie Ai was completely disgusted by those words as he sneered. "Yeah, and see your burned-out face? I'd rather die!"

Realization drew upon the ghost's face as he said, "Ah, so you're worried about this? I can fix it."

Then, a flash of dark energy embraced his being, making Xie Ai stumble back. Cold sweat formed on his forehead as he stared at the dark, cloudy mist in front of him.

Then the mist disappeared, revealing the same throne room in front of him. But the burned-out ghost from before also changed into a refined young man with a crown on his head. He looked elegant as he sat there on the throne, gazing down at the young man coldly and expressionlessly.

"So, is this the face you like?"

Xie Ai stared at the other's familiar face as his body trembled once again, shaking his heart to the core. Even his hands holding the knife shook slightly.

His lips pursed. "You…" He closed his eyes, reciting to himself that Yu Chen was dead already and that this was all the illusion of a mischievous ghost multiple times in his heart. Then he opened his eyes and said, "Save them."

The ghost stared at him for a moment as he sighed. He stood up and walked down the throne, step by step, climbing down the stairs. He only stopped in front of the young man, who was frightened into turning white. Then he raised his hand toward the latter's face, making the young man close his eyes in an instant.

Xie Ai's heart jumped to his throat as he shook.

Just when Xie Ai thought that the ghost would attack him, he felt a slight touch on his cheeks, turning him startled. His eyes opened as he stared at the ghost, who was standing up close—close enough that he could even count the eyelashes.

It had been too long since he had seen this person from such a close distance. His heart thumped in his chest as he continued to stare up at the man with a blank look on his face.

The man softly said, "Don't look at me like that."