novelnext Chapter 554 - 394: Endless Nightmare, Collecting a Small Interest in Advance (Part 2)
Chapter 554 - 394: Endless Nightmare, Collecting a Small Interest in Advance (Part 2)
"Madam’s sleep is not deep, but after a furious outburst, she tends to sleep a few more hours. Send some more people to the kitchen; prepare several batches of her favorite dishes."
"Yes."
The servants dispersed.
After Sima Jingshu fell asleep, the moonlight over the entire oasis seemed to shine a bit brighter.
...
"Jingshu... Jingshu... I’m here looking for you..."
A fragmented voice woke Sima Jingshu from deep sleep.
The voice was so familiar that Sima Jingshu was startled awake. She rubbed her eyes as she emerged from her slumber, looking toward the source of the sound.
"This voice is so familiar... Who is calling me?"
She looked up, and at first glance, Sima Jingshu was so frightened that her sleepiness vanished, her whole body jumping up on the bed like a cat whose tail was stepped on.
In the direction of her gaze, a headless corpse, drenched in blood, appeared in her line of sight. The silhouette of this corpse was very familiar, and with just one glance, Sima Jingshu recognized whose corpse it was.
"You... you are..."
"Jingshu, you, do you not recognize your father anymore?"
The right hand of the headless corpse seemed to be holding something. In the next moment, stepping forward under the moonlight streaming into the room, Sima Jingshu saw it was a head, its facial features shadowed.
It was her foster father, Sima Lin!
At this moment, the head was speaking...
"You, you are Sima Lin?!"
Sima Jingshu’s face turned pale, her body curling backward incessantly.
The next moment, a more horrifying scene unfolded. The talking head suddenly started bleeding from all its orifices, then revealed a grim smile. "Jingshu, you recognized your father. I’m gratified. I’ll take you with me..."
After saying this, the corpse threw the head, which rolled all the way to Sima Jingshu’s side and came to rest touching her thigh.
"Ah?!"
A scream of utter terror erupted from Sima Jingshu’s mouth. She wanted to back away but there was nowhere left to retreat, so she clutched a pillow, burying her head in it, and screamed, her emotions collapsing.
Finally, the nightmare ended.
Sima Jingshu suddenly sat up in bed, looking around to confirm that there was no one in the room. Only then did she take a deep breath, realizing her back was drenched in cold sweat, soaking the sheets as well.
"So, it was just a nightmare..."
After a bout of heavy breathing, Sima Jingshu calmed her terrified thoughts somewhat. She had dreamed of Sima Lin; could it be because she had been wanting to kill that guy lately, causing her to dream of him at night?
"Someone, I want water!"
She called out towards the door.
Moments later, footsteps quickly approached. A servant, utterly respectful, with head bowed, brought a cup of water over hastily.
"Madam, your water."
Sima Jingshu nodded lightly, took the cup, and drank a sip.
She immediately felt that the water had an incredibly strange taste, salty and fishy enough to make her retch, with an indescribable odor.
"Bastard, what kind of water did you give me?"
"Madam, wouldn’t it be clear if you looked for yourself?"
The servant, head bowed, revealed a bizarre smile, though Sima Jingshu did not pay attention to why the servant dared to say such a thing.
Sima Jingshu frowned, instinctively looked down, and saw the water in the cup was an eerie blood-red color, with several fingers and two round objects within.
"Ah?!"
Sima Jingshu shrieked, wanting to throw the cup, but it seemed glued to her hand. As the cup shook, the round objects turned, revealing their true form.
They were two eyeballs!
Plop.
Sima Jingshu, pale-faced, looked on, as if two undetermined liquids started flowing from the servant’s face, which was still bowed.
The servant lifted their head.
Revealing a face with a bizarre smile, empty where the eyes should be, as the eyeballs were long gone.
"Sister, is the blood wine made from my eyeballs tasty?"
Upon hearing this, Sima Jingshu started shouting crazily.
Oddly enough...
In the vast courtyard of the oasis, no one could hear her screams at this moment.
...
Amidst heavy breathing.
Sima Jingshu sat up from the bed for the third time, her face pale as she immediately looked around.
A familiar room.
This time, in Sima Jingshu’s eyes, every shadow seemed to house a corpse, terrifying her to the core, and she wanted to escape.
But before she could get off the bed, two grotesquely wretched bodies revealed their outlines from the shadows.
"Jingshu..."
"Sister..."
"We’re here to take you, come along with us."
The two slightly curled their lips into a grotesque semblance of smiles and reached out their hands towards her.
Sima Jingshu nearly broke down, her tears mixed with a hoarse scream.
...
The moonlight was bright, peaceful, and serene.
Fire Shadow stood quietly by the bed, while the eyes of the Phantom Demon, cloaked in gray, gleamed with silver radiance like serpent pupils, yet the endless nightmare Sima Jingshu suffered did not stem from his hand.
He only controlled the illusion realm outside.
The endless nightmare was the doing of the Fire Shadow beside him.
Feeling the endless nightmare, the murderously ruthless Phantom Demon couldn’t help but feel a sense of admiration and fervor; such a nightmare was nothing short of a supreme masterpiece.
The Fire Shadow, under the control of its true will, had eyes that reflected that endless nightmare.
Su Mu just quietly watched the tormented Sima Jingshu on the bed, her expression one of unbearable pain, twitching and writhing as if wishing for death over life.
Watching this incredibly beautiful woman in such a state, for a moment, even Su Mu felt a hint of reluctance in his heart.
But then, his eyes flashed with fierce killing intent.
"You want revenge, fine! You can come after me, but you shouldn’t have targeted Miaomiao and the others. Why should I feel pity for a woman as serpent-hearted as you?"
Good person?
Saint?
Su Mu never considered himself a good person, let alone a saint. If anyone dared to harm someone he cherished, even a Martial Saint—
He would slay them.
With this thought, the determination in Su Mu’s eyes grew stronger as he continued to watch the tormented Sima Jingshu on the bed.
Watching Sima Jingshu’s face grow increasingly pale, devoid of any color, transitioning from pain to collapse, to numbness—finally becoming vacant...
During this process, Sima Jingshu’s life force also weakened.
At that moment, suddenly, Desolate Thought triggered the twelve immortal cells within Su Mu’s true form, the crystal human form in his sea of consciousness, and the Peak Blade Momentum simultaneously issued a terrifying warning.
It was a sign of impending doom.
"Master, this woman has the will of the Overlord Blade Martial Saint within her; if we continue, I’m afraid..."
Su Mu’s eyes flickered, and in an instant, he made the same judgment. After all, in this world now, aside from the slumbering Master of Endless Black Fog, those taboo existences—
Only Thunder God and Saint Realm powerhouses could give him such pressure.
And even in the Giant Beast Cave, he could forewarn himself of Miaomiao’s plight; let alone the Martial Saints standing at the Martial Arts Peak in this world. Such powerful beings must also possess similar warning abilities.
"Today, consider it a small piece of interest I, Su Mu, collect in advance..."
The silver radiance faded from Su Mu’s eyes as he suppressed the killing intent in his heart, knowing very well that tonight was not the time for killing.
"Let’s go."
Soon, the two walked out of the room openly.
Not until after they left the oasis did the people in the oasis shiver slightly before continuing with their tasks, as if nothing had ever happened.
Leaving the oasis, Phantom Demon looked at the Fire Shadow ahead and shivered slightly, a strange glint in its eyes.
...
On the train, in the business cabin, Su Mu slowly opened his eyes, his face expressionless, sealing the Desolate Thought with a thought.
Just at that moment, a station broadcast sounded in the train.
"Welcome aboard train G987765. This train is heading from Taicang Station to Imperial Capital Station... The next stop is: Shimen Station."
Amid the broadcast, a phone rang.
Su Mu was a bit surprised; the call from the Dark Department came earlier than expected, although he knew this matter would inevitably be discovered. After all, a mountain path appeared out of nowhere in the Qinling Mountain Range, and the people from the Dark Department would inevitably connect it to him.
Su Mu answered the call immediately.
A clear woman’s voice came from the other end, startling Su Mu, for the call wasn’t from the Dark Department.
"Su Mu, long time no see. Let’s meet..."