At this moment, Spider looked more like a common person, there was nothing too special about him. The hearts representing Sin and Kindness had both been destroyed, his connection to Cattle Alley was slowly being weakened. The dirty, ugly world was returning back to normal. The blood washed away everything, and the waves pushed Han Fei back to Xu Qin’s side. When he opened his eyes, he saw Xu Qin who was struggling in pain.
Spider’s heart of sin supported the sinful production at Cattle Alley, his heart of kindness had special power as well. By destroying his heart of kindness, Spider tried to pull Xu Qin out from the cursed abyss. He did that not only to help Han Fei and Xu Qin, he was also doing this for himself too. If he didn’t help Xu Qin regain control, he would end up in a battle that had no winner. The blood waves washed away the curse that surrounded Xu Qin. The Kindness awakened the voice of logic within Xu Qin. As the manager, Spider did everything he could to create a chance for Han Fei.
Han Fei naturally understood how rare this chance was. When he opened his eyes, he already moved his body. He stood up and ran towards Xu Qin before the curse had the chance to regather. The 13 table knives pierced into her body and his heart. Xu Qin was like a nailed bloody angel. Her consciousness was barely there anymore. As an actor with masterful acting skill, Han Fei could invoke any expression he wanted and come up with the best lines on the spot but at that moment, he didn’t say anything. The only thought in his mind then was to help Xu Qin return to normal.
Noticing the approaching Han Fei, Xu Qin gnashed her teeth, as if to scare Han Fei away. The curses were regrouping. When all the curses gelled back together, Xu Qin would lose control again and Han Fei would be dragged down by the endless curses and die a horrible death. Pain flashed across the crimson eyes. Xu Qin was losing control of her body again. As Han Fei continued to approach, she shouted shrilly, almost tearing her beautiful lips open!
Anyone who saw Xu Qin then would think she was a monster. She was trying her best to show her danger and terror but that did nothing to stop Han Fei. Han Fei powered on with will and determination. Han Fei stopped before Xu Qin, he planned to use his own hands to pull out the 13 knives. The 13 knives were the key to unlock the door of curses. Han Fei knew that to get back the normal Xu Qin, he had to remove all the table knives. As Midnight Butcher, Han Fei had curse resistance against blood and cold steel but even so, when his fingers touched the table knife, the curse swam down his arm instantly. His skin split open and the warm blood splashed on Xu Qin’s dress. If he couldn’t even touch them, how was he supposed to pull those knives out?
Xu Qin shrieked again. Malice and melancholy erupted from her body. She raised her arm to mobilize the remaining curse. They morphed into vines and whipped Han Fei to the ground. Han Fei bit his teeth against the pain but he did not give up. He barrelled on. With an indescribable emotion in his eyes, Han Fei reached his hands towards the table knife stuck in Xu Qin’s heart. The knife was very short and it had a human skin cover around the hilt. Han Fei closed his hands around the hilt and his palms tore open immediately. However, perhaps the human skin cover contained some kind of meaning to Xu Qin, even though she was no longer in control, the curse did not phase through the cover.
“To protect me from being burned by curses, you’ve made me this human skin cover. Do you think I will let go now because of some physical wound?” The pain from his palms reached his arms but Han Fei smiled brightly. His body shook tremendously from pain but he still tried his best to pull the table knife out. The blood red blade slowly edged out from the body. Hundreds of curses caged Han Fei but he didn’t seem to notice them. “You probably never thought this table knife would bind us together, right?” Warm blood slithered down his arms. Just as the curses were about to reunite around Xu Qin, Han Fei managed to yank the table knife out!
The human skin cover was soaked in blood. The curse around Xu Qin dissipated and some rationality returned to her eyes. Her eyes widened and she saw as Han Fei lifted his wounded arms to reach for another knife on her body. Despite the pain and curse, Han Fei was smiling. His smile was awkward, but everyone could feel his joy. Xu Qin had stopped attacking, she just stood there, observing the man before her. As the knives got removed one after another, her memory and consciousness slowly returned.
When the door of curses opened, these 13 table knives created the biggest distance in the world. Xu Qin had never imagined someone could close that distance and look so happy while doing it. All 13 knives were pulled out and Xu Qin regained her lost rationality. The two heavily wounded individuals looked at each other and it was Han Fei who spoke first. “Shall we go home now?”
Xu Qin didn’t say anything, she merely nodded. At the same time, the robotic voice announced, “Notification for Player 0000! Friendliness level with Xu Qin has reached the maximum! Triggered the preliminary missions for the hidden profession, Lapidarist!
“Lapidarist: Your affinity with this profession increases further! This is a very unique profession, it is extremely rare. After obtaining this profession, you’ll have more chances to procure help from the spirits. With increasing charm, you’ll find it easier to increase friendliness level with spirits. However, if you do not use your influence wisely, you might end up dead, for the spirits would kill you so that you’d be with them forever.
“Preliminary Mission for Lapidarist: Try to shape the friendliness level of 3 Lingering Spirits. After lowering their friendliness level, double them.”
After scanning the details, Han Fei chose to ignore it, he was not one to manipulate other people’s feelings. Perhaps this had to do with his background. He could empathize with the despair of these spirits and it was why he was sincere in helping them find hope. Perhaps because of this outlook, his neighbours, colleagues, and students were willing to stay beside him.
‘Compared to a Lapidarist, Midnight Butcher is more suitable for me.’ Now that the House of the Butcher had collapsed, Han Fei was probably the last and only Midnight Butcher in the cryptic world.
