Jua Gu blinked at Ying Mao's words, his mind still struggling to catch up with everything that had happened.
What did he mean?
He slowly looked around the room, and now that the fog in his head had begun to clear, he noticed several details he had completely missed before. Ying Mao's small hands were stained red with blood. Near Jua's foot lay the metal angel statue, its once-shiny surface coated with blood and strands of hair.
And then there was Ying Di.
Jua's gaze settled on the man lying motionless on the floor.
His heart sank.
He crawled toward Ying Di, his movements still somewhat unsteady. When he reached him, he stared at the man's face. Ying Di's eyes were wide open, but there was no life in them. His face had gone frighteningly pale, all the color drained from his skin.
He was dead.
Very much so dead.
Jua stared at the corpse for a few seconds before his mind immediately began racing. This was bad. Very bad.
He knew enough about this world to understand that there were laws, and they were not exactly going to look kindly upon him. Even if Ying Di had attacked him first, even if Jua had acted entirely in self-defense, explaining that would not necessarily save him.
And then there was Ying di's mother.
She would never allow Mao to walk away after killing her son.
If she discovered what had happened, she would undoubtedly find a way to make him pay for it.
Jua looked at Ying Di again.
He had only a few seconds to decide.
Then an idea struck him.
It was reckless and completely insane but it was also the only option he could think of.
Jua bit down on the tip of his finger until blood welled up. He pressed the bleeding finger against the floor and began drawing.
The markings came naturally to him.
They were the familiar demonic symbols used to raise the dead.
In his previous life, he had performed this ritual so many times that he no longer needed to draw the formation by hand. His demonic energy alone had been enough to form the connection and command the dead.
But now?
His demonic energy was pitifully small.
He had only just awakened it, and most of what little power he possessed had already been consumed by absorbing Ying Di's blood and healing himself. Without the formation, there was no way he could raise a corpse.
So he had to draw it the old-fashioned way.
His blood became the ink.
His finger moved steadily across the floor, leaving behind dark red lines that slowly formed a circle. Strange markings spread outward from the center, connecting one symbol to another until the entire formation began to take shape.
It took nearly a minute before Jua finally finished.
He sat back slightly and stared at the blood-drawn formation.
The circle was complete.
The strange markings seemed almost alive beneath the dim light of the room.
Beside him, Ying Mao sniffled and stared at the floor with watery eyes, his curiosity slowly overpowering his fear.
"Jua ge…" he asked hesitantly, wiping at his cheeks with his bloodstained hand. "Why are you painting on the floor?"
Jua glanced at him.
"Shh."
He lowered his voice and forced his expression to remain calm. "Ying Mao, I want you to close your eyes. I have a surprise for you."
"A surprise?"
Ying Mao looked suspicious, but his tear-filled eyes still held a little confusion.
Jua nodded.
"Yes. Close them tightly. Don't peek."
The little boy hesitated before finally nodding. His trembling eyelashes slowly lowered, and he squeezed his eyes shut.
Jua waited until he was certain Ying Mao wasn't looking before turning back toward Ying Di.
He crawled over to the corpse and grabbed the man's body. Ying Di was heavier than he had expected, and lifting him made his newly recovered muscles ache. He gritted his teeth and dragged the corpse across the floor before finally managing to place it inside the blood formation.
Jua stood over the circle for a moment.
Then he took a slow breath and began to chant.
The moment the final words left his lips, the formation ignited.
A deep red glow spread across the floor, illuminating the dark room with an eerie crimson light. The strange markings began to pulse, one after another, as demonic energy poured from his body and flowed into the formation.
The energy gathered around Ying Di's corpse, concentrating in the center of the circle.
Jua's expression changed.
The amount of power required was immense.
Far more than he had anticipated.
His newly recovered strength was drained almost instantly. The warmth that had filled his body only moments ago was pulled away, dragged into the formation along with every bit of demonic energy he could produce.
His knees nearly gave out.
Jua clenched his teeth and forced himself to remain standing.
Come on.
He had to make it work.
The red light grew brighter.
The formation trembled beneath Ying Di's corpse, and the air around them seemed to grow heavier. Jua continued chanting, even as his vision began to blur again and his body grew weaker.
Then, after nearly a minute, the formation suddenly went still.
The red glow faded.
The strange markings disappeared into the darkness, leaving only faint traces of blood on the floor.
The room fell silent once again.
Jua swayed slightly before catching himself.
He breathed heavily, feeling as though someone had emptied every last drop of strength from his body.
"You can open your eyes now." Jua reached over and gently patted Ying Mao's head.
The boy slowly opened his eyes. His lashes were still wet with tears, and his face was scrunched up from crying.
"W-what surprise is it, Jua-ge?"
Jua didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he pointed toward the center of the room.
"Look there."
Ying Mao followed his finger.
His eyes widened.
Ying Di, who had been lying motionless on the floor only moments ago, was now sitting upright.
His movements were strange.
Slow.
Stiff.
Almost robotic.
His head tilted slightly to one side as his dull eyes stared blankly into the darkness.
Ying Mao froze.
"He… he's alive."
His voice trembled.
Then his eyes grew even wider.
"Oh no. He's alive!"
The little boy immediately grabbed Jua's hand and pulled him behind his own small body as though he could somehow shield Jua from a grown man.
"Jua-ge, don't be scared!" Ying Mao said, his voice shaking despite his brave words. "I'll protect you."
He tightened his grip on Jua's hand and stared at the resurrected Ying Di with tear-filled eyes.
"Just run when I tell you to, okay?"
Jua laughed out loud. "Silly kid. He is not much of a thread now. He is but my puppet."