Ying Di kept lunging at Jua like a crazed man, his face twisted with desperation and fury. His eyes were bloodshot, his breathing ragged,
The man had completely lost control of himself. he simply wanted to get his hands on Jua.
Watching him, Jua Gu couldn't help laughing.
This was the same man who had tormented Jua Haisin so badly that the young man's soul had been left imprinted with those terrible memories. The same person whose cruelty had turned an already miserable life into something even darker.
And now, that very same tormentor was being tormented himself.
By bad luck, of all things.
Ying Di charged at him again, only to misjudge his step and slam into the edge of the table. He staggered sideways, knocked against the bed, and nearly fell over the mattress before catching himself. The sight was so ridiculous that Jua burst out laughing again.
He quickly moved around the other side of the bed, keeping the furniture between them.
"I heard you soiled yourself," Jua called, his voice full of amusement. "Oh, Ying Di, what a terrible thing to do. You ruined the furniture, stank up the place, and all because you drank a little expired milk. Tsk, tsk. How unfortunate."
"Shut up!"
Ying Di's roar shook with rage.
He grabbed a pillow from the bed and hurled it at Jua.
He ducked, and the pillow flew harmlessly past him before landing against the wall.
"You fucking bastard!" Ying Di screamed. "I'll kill you! I'll fucking kill you!"
Jua continued hobbling around the bed, laughing whenever Ying Di stumbled after him. His throat still hurt from being strangled, and the injuries he had suffered earlier sent sharp flashes of pain through his body whenever he moved too quickly. His back ached, his head felt heavy, and even his legs were beginning to protest.
But none of that mattered right now.
Making a fool out of Ying Di was far too entertaining.
"Come on," Jua taunted, stepping out of reach just as Ying Di tried to grab him. "You were so impressive when you came in here. What happened? Did the expired milk take away all your strength?"
"Die!" Ying Di shrieked. "Die, die, die!"
He chased Jua around the room like a headless chicken, knocking into the bedside table and sending a few objects crashing onto the floor. His movements were wild and uncoordinated, driven by blind rage.
Jua was still grinning when he heard footsteps outside the room.
His eyes shifted toward the door.
It had been left slightly open, and through the narrow gap, he could see several servants gathered in the hallway. They had clearly heard the commotion. They could hear Ying Di shouting, the furniture being knocked around, and Jua's own laughter.
For a moment, Jua stopped moving.
He wanted to see what they would do.
Would they come inside and help him? Would they finally intervene now that Ying Di had gone completely mad? Or would they simply stand outside and allow this young master to do whatever he pleased, just as they had always done?
Jua watched the servants through the gap.
One of them glanced into the room.
Then, slowly, the door began to close.
The servant pulled it shut.
The footsteps outside faded, leaving Jua and Ying Di alone once more.
Jua's smile disappeared.
For a brief moment, he simply stared at the closed door.
So this is what happened to you, Haisin.
Every time someone bullied you, everyone had turned their backs. Every time you were hurt, they had pretended not to see it. They had closed the door on your suffering and left you alone with the people who tormented you.
His gaze shifted back toward Ying Di, who was still raging across the room and throwing whatever he could reach in Jua's direction.
But Ying Di hadn't been the only tormentor.
The servants had been part of it too.
They had watched. They had ignored him. They had chosen silence because it was easier than standing up to the people who held power over them.
Jua's lips slowly curved into a cold, vicious smile.
They don't get to walk away from this without a scratch, do they?
Something stirred inside him.
It was faint at first, no more than a thin current moving beneath his skin, but it carried a familiar chill. Demonic energy—power that should not have existed in this world—began to seep from his body. It gathered around his eyes, darkening his pupils until they took on a subtle red hue.
Ying Di noticed this and his movements instantly faltered.
"you… you're not Haisin…. You… you're not him…. You're the... you're the devil…" he shouted, pointing at Jua with a trembling finger. "You're the devil! You're fucking the devil!!"
Jua tilted his head. "Oh, you found out…. You are kind of smart…"
A slow, amused smirk spread across his face.
"I am the devil."
He stepped around the bed, moving closer. His injured body protested with every step, but he ignored the pain. He stopped only when he was directly in front of Ying Di, close enough to see the fear beginning to flicker beneath the man's rage.
Jua leaned forward slightly, his smile turning more vicious as he watched Ying Di's expression change.
"Aren't you scared of the devil?"
Ying Di's face went pale.
For a moment, he seemed unable to move. Then the fear in his eyes was swallowed by another burst of madness.
"Ahhh!" he screamed. "You must be killed! You must be killed!"
Taking Jua's closeness as an opportunity, Ying Di suddenly lunged forward and grabbed him by the throat. Before Jua could react, the man used his weight to slam him onto the floor.
The back of Jua's head struck the ground.
Pain exploded through his skull.
His vision flashed white, and for one disorienting second, the room seemed to tilt around him. His ears rang loudly, drowning out the sound of Ying Di's furious shouting. He blinked, struggling to focus, but his body refused to respond as quickly as he needed it to.
"Die!" Ying Di screamed.
He forced Jua's head toward the floor again.
Jua tried to push him away, but his weakened body could barely manage to move beneath him. His arms shook as he struggled against Ying Di's weight, and the pain in his head made it difficult to think clearly.
Damn it.
Perhaps he shouldn't have gotten so close.
He had underestimated just how far Ying Di's rage had pushed him. The man was no longer thinking rationally, and Jua's current body was too weak to escape his grasp through sheer strength.
Ying Di raised him again.
"Die!"
Jua's fingers scraped desperately across the floor, searching for something—anything—that could help him force Ying Di away. His hand struck the leg of the bedside table, then brushed against a fallen object, but neither gave him enough leverage.
Another impact sent pain tearing through his head.
"Die! Die!"
Ying Di's voice had become hoarse. His face was twisted with hatred, his eyes wide and unfocused.
Jua's searching fingers suddenly stopped.
Something warm had begun spreading beneath the back of his head.
Blood.
He could feel it slowly pooling against the floor.
His breath caught.
The injury was worse than he had first thought. There was a sickening pressure inside his skull, and when he tried to move, pain shot through his head so sharply that his vision blurred again.
My skull…
It felt as though something had cracked.
Jua stared up at Ying Di as the man raised him once more, his expression warped by fury and blind hatred.
The next one will be the end of me.