"Looking for a reckoning."

Chapter 91

...... What did he just say?

Shi An stood frozen in place, staring blankly at the human near him.

It took a full ten seconds before he finally responded.

A burning red bled from the white cheeks, almost releasing from the deep, slender veins a heat capable of cauterizing the entire face, scalding hot and vivid, spreading wildly.

In an instant, the images that he had actively and deliberately forgotten just now came flooding back as if they were out of control.

Shi An's brain exploded, as if all the hinges had failed.

The smile on Mu Hang's lips deepened.

His lips were thin, sharply lined, and extremely light in color, with an almost ice-cold hue.

The man leaned down and pressed those lips that spat out sinful words to Shi An's ear:

"I have a feeling you're going to like it."

"......?!"

Shi An woke up only then, his face flushed red, his eyes rounded with fear, he jumped up as if in shock and stumbled back a few steps:

"You ...... you ...... me ......."

At that moment, Mu Hang's communicator suddenly rang.

The piercing and sharp ringing seemed to stab like a sharp knife into the ambiguous to almost viscous air in front of her, cutting and destroying the atmosphere in front of her eyes.

Mu Hang knows how to quit when he's ahead.

He stopped, rather regretfully, and withdrew his eyes from the approach.

The name displayed on the communicator made him frown slightly.

Mu Hang, pick up the communicator.

The microphone was so well insulated that an ordinary human would not have heard a word on the other side of the communicator.

But Shi An is no ordinary human.

Although it was once barely considered as such, after absorbing the magic power from the dragon's shed and the Eye of the Abyss, both his eyesight, hearing, and sensitivity to magic perception have been greatly improved, and he is gradually moving closer to his original body.

Though her head was now a mess, Shi An still caught a few familiar keywords from that subtle voice.

"...... Shi Rui ......"

"...... tracked ...... found ......"

Shi An blinks, pulling a bit of lucidity from her chaotic thoughts, and the heat on her face diminishes a bit.

He looked in the direction the voice came from.

Mu Hang gave a shallow "hmmm" and cut off his communicator.

He looks to Shi An and says goodbye:

"Yes Administration Affairs, I'm afraid I need to make a trip."

While Shi An was lost in thought, Mu Hang stepped forward, his fingertips resting on the teenager's pale chin, his thin lips lightly dropping a kiss between his lips, "You know my number."

Shi An: "?!"

Before he could react, the other man let go of him and drew back gracefully and quickly.

Watching the other party's back disappear out of sight, Shi An only came back to her senses as an afterthought.

He blinked slowly, the conversation he'd just had leaping into his mind with renewed clarity.

The heat had just diminished and his face once again became hot and burning.

"......"

No, shameless!

How, how are humans so unashamed!

Shi An was speechless with anger.

He rubbed the corners of his lips in deflation.

But no matter how hard one pushed, the light, burning touch felt like it was branded onto a small patch of skin and could not be dispelled no matter what.

"......"

Shi An began to sulk.

While this was happening, the window pushed open a small crack from the outside, and black smoke wrapped around the other two demons floated in.

As long as Mu Hang was there, they didn't dare to approach and could only hide far away from the house, waiting until they watched Mu Hang's car pull out of the driveway before hurrying back.

Eyeball had by now long since learned from Black Smoke's lips of the crisis Shi An might be facing.

It rushed over with a single stride, rounding its own big black and red eyes and asking anxiously, "Great, my lord, I don't think you've had an attack of rutting, have you?"

Shi An jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on:

"NO!!!"

The other three demons were taken aback by such an intense reaction from him.

Black Smoke sighed in relief, "Great, great-"

As long as there are no seizures.

Shi An thought for a moment and hesitantly asked in a small voice, "Can you reconstitute that potion from last time?"

Black Smoke: "It's OK to be OK ......"

Shi An's eyes lit up.

"But I'm afraid ...... won't work."

Shi An: "......"

He was silent for two seconds and said slowly, "What?"

"This potion is only effective the first time, and then your body will adapt to the medicinal properties." Black Smoke spoke in a diminishing voice, "So even if it is concocted, it is probably useless,"

Shi An: "......"

His look turned gray.

At this time, the eyeball seemed to notice the blind spot, and it glared itself wider and wider: "My lord, you ask this question, do ...... you?"

Shi An cuts to the chase, "No!"

But the eye didn't speak, just said in a trance, "So you and that human were just in the room ......"

Shi An's voice got louder, "NO!!!"

He stared viciously at the demon in front of him, "I'll eat you if you keep guessing!"

It tears up inside.

Not for being threatened.

Rather ...... see that vile and shameless human being is about to get his way ah!

Shi An took a deep breath and forced down her anger.

It was then that he quieted down and began to think hard.

...... Shi Rui?

Why was Shi Rui called to the Administration? What is the relationship with Mu Hang?

It was at this moment that he was suddenly slightly stunned.

Shi An remembered at that moment, that time when he was unconscious in the Toki family's main residence, Shi Rui had secretly placed the black ore in his room.

At the time Shi An didn't think much of it, after all, this kind of ore, while considered rare on the continent, was by no means valuable.

But this time, in connection with the abyssal rift that was artificially opened in the Ability Academy, and the crazy words of that strange group of humans who wanted to "let him regain his strength and destroy the continent", Shi An is now forced to begin to suspect ......

Could it be that Shi Rui is in contact with the people who stole his treasure?

Thinking of his stolen and freely abused and wasted treasure, Shi An felt a strong wave of anger begin to rise in his heart, overpowering all emotions.

He took a deep breath and gritted his teeth:

"Come on, let's go out."

"Eh? Now,?"

The Demon Worm froze and asked suspiciously, "Where to?"

Shi An slowed to a harmless smile:

"Looking for a reckoning."

*

By the time he was called to Administration for the second time, Shi Rui was ready.

Looking at Wen Yao in front of him with light brown skin and sharp eyes, Shi Rui took a deep breath, and before the other party could speak, he took the lead in pulling the pitch-black communicator out of his own pocket and placing it on the desktop.

Now it was Wen Yao's turn to be slightly stunned.

Immediately afterward, Shi Rui recounted his own "experience" for Wen Yao in a dismayed manner.

In his narration, he became a pitiful victim of seductive deception and deceit, with the other party tempting him with boundless glory and benefits, little by little leading him astray, making him think that the other party was a savior with good intentions, handing over his pass to enter the school under deluded circumstances and informing the other party of the management loopholes within the Ability Academy.

But it was only after seeing the abyssal rift appear and hearing about the death of the principal that Shi Rui finally came to his senses.

He was overwhelmed with regret, but very fearful, not only of his own behavior, but also of his family's safety.

But after a long battle between heaven and man, the good side finally overcame his cowardly instincts.

At the end of the day, Shi Rui is still determined to stand up and do the right thing.

That is why he came to the Administration and told the whole story.

Toward the end, Shi Rui said while shedding tears, "I'm willing to pay everything for my behavior, but ...... but please, help me, don't let that group hurt my family, I haven't felt affection since I was a child, and now they are everything to me ......"

Wen Yao lowered his eyes for a long time.

She took a deep breath, raised her hand to pick up the communicator on the table, and said, "Wait here."

Shi Rui nodded with tears in her eyes.

Wen Yao turned around and left the interview room.

Outside the door, the silver-haired, blue-eyed man stood in front of the huge one-way mirror, his cold-as-ice eyes narrowed slightly as he gazed thoughtfully at Shi Rui inside the inquiry room.

Wen Yao : "Sir, what do you think?"

Mu Hang withdrew his gaze and said lightly, "He's not telling the truth."

At least not exactly the truth.

"That ......"

Wen Yao spoke tentatively.

Mu Hang: "Don't move him yet."

He looked to the black communicator in Wen Yao's hand and said, "Send it to Zhuo Fu and have him see if he can figure out how to find a clue or locate it."

Wen Yao: "Yes!"

*

Shi Rui was released from the Administration.

Although his face was still sad and heavy, his heart was more relaxed than ever.

He had grown up sensitive to other people's emotions and attitudes, and after being questioned by Wen Yao that day, Shi Rui knew immediately that he was afraid he'd messed up.

Once he was suspected, he might not be able to hide the fact that he had put someone in the Ability Academy for long.

Shi Rui had initially hoped that the group over there would be able to fish for him, but it was clear that the mysterious force over there didn't feel the same way.

So, after much thought, Shi Rui finally made up his mind.

Instead of being treated as an outcast, he'd come and actively cooperate to lower the suspicion on himself first.

It was a risky move, but if he could really do it right, he might be able to get out in one piece.

In hindsight, he was wise after all.

Looking at the dwindling twilight in front of him, Shi Rui exhaled slowly, feeling a rare sense of relief for the first time.

Due to the accident at the Ability Academy, the academy has not yet opened, so the students have all returned to live in their homes for the time being, and Shi Rui has returned to live in the main residence of the Toki family.

By the time Shi Rui got home, it was completely dark.

He entered the house, but Butler and the maid did not come up to meet him.

Shi Rui frowned, his expression sinking slightly.

Due to the experience of being ignored and despised as a child, he was extra sensitive in this regard, and the slowness of this group of servants made him feel very unhappy.

However, after all, he had just returned from the Administration, and he should now keep a low profile without letting some strange whispers stir up his plans.

Shi Rui closed his eyes and suppressed the dark fire rising in his heart.

He headed upstairs to his room.

The corridor was long, and the carpet underfoot was thick and soft enough to absorb all the sound of footsteps.

Shi Rui felt a great fatigue come over him like a tidal wave.

The whole day today had left him mentally strained and in desperate need of sleep and rest.

He pushed the door open and subconsciously tried to reach out and turn on the light.

But, for unknown reasons, an indescribably creepy feeling came over him and nailed his feet to the spot.

The darkness ahead was chaotic and blurred, and a vague twilight fell in through the window.

"What? Waiting for something?"

A familiar, calm voice rang in his ears.

Shi Rui was startled and almost subconsciously screamed out.

In the next instant, an arm came from behind him, lightly crossing Shi Rui's stiff body.

"Snap."

The top light is on.

Soft, warm light poured down, illuminating the entire room.

The teenager was seen crossing Shi Rui's side and naturally stepping towards the room.

It's Shi An.

The bright light fell on the top of his hair, coating it and his eyes in a honeyed light brown that looked soft and calm, not unlike usual.

But ...... wasn't he supposed to be dead?

Seeing the dead man appear in front of him, Shi Rui immediately felt cold from head to toe.

He barely composed himself and gave a slightly stiff smile, dryly:

"Toki, Shi An, it's you."

"That's great, my father and I were worried when we didn't hear from you for so long, thank goodness nothing happened to you ......"

Shi An: "Something happened?"

He thought about it for a moment, as if he then realized what Shi Rui was referring to, and he momentarily drifted off, "Oh, you're talking about when you were at the Academy."

Shi Rui felt a little dryness in his throat.

Shi An was seen glancing around the room before unobtrusively taking a seat on the bed and making light of the situation:

"Nothing happened to me."

Although the teenager in front of him didn't look any different from before, a strong sense of ominousness still struck Shi Rui's heart, causing him to instinctively feel resistant and annoyed.

Shi Rui toughened himself up:

"Now that you're home, shouldn't you go say hello to Father?"

"I played."

Shi An lifted her eyes, a little if any smile spilling from her lips, "He's sleeping."

A creeping sense of dread climbed up Shi Rui's spine like an icy snake.

Even though how many times he persuaded himself over and over again in his mind that Shi An didn't know about his plan, and even if he did, it didn't matter, he was just a power faculty with no talent, and even if he did fight he wouldn't be at a disadvantage ......

But these reasons pale in comparison, causing Shi Rui to panic as never before.

"So, what, then, are you trying to do now?" Shi Rui heard herself ask in a forced, weak voice.

Shi An: "It's nothing."

"Just wanted to ask you a couple questions, and I hope you'll answer them truthfully." He chuckled.

Only to see the young man in front of him pull out a dark stone from his pocket, something Shi Rui dared to touch only with gloves on, but so easily and effortlessly held in the other's hand, clinging to the skin of his palm without any obstacles.

Shi Rui's pupils suddenly tightened.

Casually, he dropped it on the table with a soft thud.

Shouldn't he or she have gotten this stone out of Shi An's room a long time ago, how, how did it end up here ......?

Shi Rui felt cold sweat seeping out from his back, wetting his clothes little by little.

"What, what is this?" He asked with forced composure.

Shi Rui made up his mind that no matter what Shi An said next, he would bite the bullet and never admit it, and this matter ...... Shi An couldn t possibly have proof! He will never be able to prove what he actually did!

Shi An : "The group that gave this to you, where are they?"

Shi Rui said with a pale smile on his face, resisting the urge to step backward:

"Shi An, what are you saying? Why can't I understand?"

The teenager in front of him frowned softly:

"There are times when you humans are really troublesome, things that are obviously very simple to solve will always be made very complicated with you."

Shi An sighed:

"What a waste of time."

It was a pity that the black smoke was able to create and implant illusions and phantoms, but it was unable to read the overly old memories and thoughts of humans.

Otherwise he wouldn't have needed to go to such trouble to come and ask in person.

"......"

After a few seconds of stagnation, Shi Rui felt his brain stuck, and it took him a few seconds to catch the key words in the other's words-

...... you humans?

Sh, what do you mean?

He stood frozen in place, gazing blankly at the teenager in front of him, and all he could hear in his ears was the cacophonous sound of his heart beating violently, "You ...... you ......"

Shi An was seen standing up.

His footsteps were light, cat-like, graceful and soft, and his eyes seemed to burn brightly.

There was something in the bottom of his eyes that Shi Rui could not read, but instinctively felt great fear.

Shi Rui's throat knots moved up and down as he subconsciously stumbled backwards, but hit the door panel behind him hard with a dull, hollow thud.

The teenager stood a step away from him.

His face was fair and harmless as he spat out gentle words, "In that case, I'll be straight with you."

"I know that someone gave you that stone, and I now need to know all of their information, your contact information, or any mailing address.

Don't lie or I'll know."

Shi Rui was cold and sweaty, but still said stiffly, "I really don't know--"

"Tsk."

The teenager smacked his lips lightly.

Inexplicably, a powerful force descended and strangled Shi Rui's throat, preventing him from uttering even half a syllable.

"Don't interrupt me when I'm talking."

"......!!!"

Shi Rui's eyes widened in horror and his mouth opened slightly, revealing a look of incredulous panic as he realized he could no longer utter a single word.

Shi An said, "You can take the easy way out, which is to tell me everything."

"Of course, you can choose not to tell me."

The teenager leaned in slightly.

His eyes were an extremely brooding black, a bit of darkness burning quietly in the depths of his pupils, and nothing else.

No pity, no hate, no anger.

It was like gazing at dust or dead things, pale and devoid of any emotion.

For the first time in his life, Shi Rui felt such utter panic the moment he locked eyes with Shi An.

There was an extremely ancient, almost inhuman evil in the depths of those eyes, so powerful and appalling that it was as if they were able to instantly make his blood curdle.

It was as if it had penetrated time and space, long before the history of mankind and mankind as it was known, looking out from the dark years when the continent was still asleep.

"And I'll dig it out of your mouth."

Shi An smiled.

Shi Rui felt the endless pressure slamming down on his head, and every inch of muscle and bone in his body howled with an unbearable burden.

Icy beads of sweat trickled down his forehead and dripped to the ground.

He was shaking like a sieve, as if he was going to faint on the spot.

"I know you don't trust me very much right now."

Shi Rui shook his head frantically.

Shi An smiled, "See, I was right."

In the next second, a small cluster of golden-red flames rose from his fingertips.

Although the room was already very bright, the moment the flames appeared, the surroundings seemed to darken momentarily.

"Let's see, that friend of yours, what's his name ......"

Shi An pondered for a few seconds, "Right, Duan Hua is it?"

Shi Rui's eyes snapped open, as if he couldn't understand why Shi An would mention the name at this time.

"He lasted four days before he started begging for mercy like me." Shi An laughs.

The flickering firelight was reflected in the bottom of his eyes:

"How long can you hold out?"

Shi Rui shook his head frantically. His mouth opened and closed, but he couldn't make a single sound, his pupils shrunk to the size of a pinprick in terror, and cold sweat fell like rain.

Shi An : "Of course, I'm in a hurry after all, so to be fair-"

The color of the flames on his fingertips slowly deepened, taking on an eerie and terrifying violet hue in the light.

The smile on Shi An's face was still pure goodness:

"How about quadruple, then?"

The flames drifted towards Shi Rui's body, instantly missing the other's skin.

His eyes widened precipitously, blood spreading hideously across the whites, and his body lost its center of gravity and planted itself on the ground, where it lay convulsing wildly, foaming and salivating down the corners of his wide-open mouth, but unable to make a single sound.

Shi An stepped over the other's body with a calm face and walked out of the room.

He took a slow stroll around the large villa and made his way to the kitchen, where he happily and comfortably enjoyed a hearty meal before retracing his steps toward Shi Rui's room upstairs.

He crouched down in front of Shi Rui, smiling and whispering softly:

"Well? Have you considered it?"

At that moment, Shi An seemed to suddenly notice something.

With a slight frown, he raised his hand, his fingertips ticking lightly over the other's body.

A dark, fire-scorched worm was yanked out, writhing and screaming between Shi An's fingers.

Devil Worm let out a gasp, "This ...... this is!"

Shi An looked over.

"It's a demonic creature one of whose puppet detachments is, well, similar to mine, but not exactly the same, its puppet bugs can't create damage, but they are able to galvanize the malice in a person's heart."

"Of course, it can't create malice, it can just make it clear and strong."

The magic worm lifted its wings and flew over, scrutinizing it, revealing a thoughtful expression, "It actually grew to this size ...... It should have been in this human for more than a year."

Shi An asks, "Can you track the location of the mother bug based on this?"

The Demon Worm closed his eyes and felt it:

"It should work, the line connecting the two is clear."

Shi An: "Very good."

He tossed the golem to the Demon Worm, then lowered his head and gently patted Shi Rui's twitching cheek and smiled:

"Thank you for your cooperation."

Shi Rui's face was distorted, as if a layer of pale, melted wax had been applied to it.

His eyes widened in horror as he gazed at the devilish teenager in front of him.

Shi An's fingertips flared up again.

His flames can put a human in a position of mastery, but likewise leave a mark of magic on the other.

That's why, Shi Rui and Shi Zechun were so obnoxious, but he still never made a move on them.

That Duan Hua or whatever was fine, but these two humans were too close to him, and if any person or instrument found out anything, his identity would definitely be exposed.

But, now going round and round, he's finally come to this point where he has to do it.

"In that case, we have a consensus."

Shi An narrowed her eyes and pressed a flame into the other man's wrist, giving a short laugh:

"What happened today is our little secret."

A flame-shaped mark appeared on Shi Rui's wrist, which seemed to be still burning slowly, as if it were a living thing, releasing a strong ominous aura.

"You're not going to tell, are you?"

Shi An asked softly.

Shi Rui's eyes blurred with tears and she nodded frantically.

"Very well." Shi An stood up and turned to walk out the door.

Before he could take a few steps, a fear-filled, trembling and weak voice sounded behind him:

"...... you, you, what do you want?"

Shi An's pace faltered slightly, and he twisted his head back to look at Shi Rui.

The teenager's voice was clear and gentle as he replied lightly:

"It's just taking back what's mine."