Ex-Girlfriend – Chapter 61
by Little PandaVolume 3: Song of the Wanderer
Great Demon King 20
The Game of the Brave
Xin Lan didn’t hold back, directly smashing Qi Haolin’s head until it bled, but after that single strike, she moved on to a different target.
She didn’t want Qi Haolin to die just yet, but she had no intention of letting him have an easy time either.
That hit made Qi Haolin see stars, and immediately after, his wrist erupted in intense pain.
He let out a miserable cry, his entire body trembling.
Originally, because he had summoned too many spirits at once, he had become extremely weak – so weak that he had no strength to fight back against Xin Lan, and after being struck, he was even less capable of resistance.
He now sat collapsed on the ground, his hands hanging limply.
Xin Lan stepped on his hand, grinding his fingers beneath her foot.
Qi Haolin let out a cry of pain, but Xin Lan’s toe kicked his cheek.
“You’d better hold it in. If you can’t keep yourself from crying out and the noise bothers me, I won’t hesitate to cut out your tongue.”
Xin Lan’s tone was calm, but no one doubted the truthfulness of her words.
Qi Haolin shut his mouth in terror. He wasn’t afraid of fighting to the death, nor was he afraid of dying like this, but he feared being tortured – it was like being carved with a dull knife, each moment pure agony.
Ren Difei was not far away, looking thoroughly disheveled with a bruised and swollen face, lying on the ground unable to get up, but he had clearly heard everything and understood the current situation.
His heart trembled, shaking unconsciously.
Sure enough, he hadn’t guessed wrong – this was indeed Boss Lady.
Everyone else was dead now, except for the man Boss Lady was torturing – he was the only one left.
Ren Difei closed his eyes painfully, knowing that before his death, he must beg Boss Lady to let him die with some dignity.
Zhen Zhen shared the same heart-pounding fear.
“This one of yours truly gives off a more terrifying feeling than us.”
Zhen Zhen looked at Xin Lan, unconsciously shuddering.
She didn’t dare even say the word ‘prey’ anymore – clearly, this person was more like a hunter than prey.
How could anyone be more terrifying than a ghost?
Yu Wanyan smiled without speaking, having long known how formidable she was.
“Congratulations in advance, you can leave now.”
Yu Wanyan raised her eyebrows at these words, the smile on her face actually diminishing slightly.
“What? You’re not happy?”
“I can’t quite say.”
Actually, Yu Wanyan felt she wasn’t very useful. Compared to other participants in this game, Xin Lan didn’t rely on her the way they relied on their tools. Xin Lan didn’t even communicate with her – she was like a transparent being floating before Xin Lan’s eyes, unable to cause even the slightest ripple in her heart.
This seemed natural enough, Yu Wanyan told herself.
There was no need for her to have any necessary intersection with Xin Lan – in this game, they were simply bound as battle companion and player. If Xin Lan left, she would leave; if Xin Lan died, she would devour her – nothing more.
But for some unknown reason, she always felt a bit lost.
This inexplicable loss that shouldn’t exist – it was as if a voice in her heart urged her to move closer and closer, but when she wanted to strike up a conversation, she would lose that courage.
How to put it… when she saw Xin Lan’s actions, she couldn’t think too much about them, couldn’t generate any thoughts at all.
At this moment, Xin Lan was still torturing Qi Haolin.
Threatened by her, Qi Haolin didn’t make a sound. Xin Lan was satisfied, so she proceeded to disable his other hand.
“Let me think about where to start next – left leg or right leg? Why don’t you give me your opinion?”
Xin Lan watched Qi Haolin, observed the pain and despair in his expression, the smile on her face growing more intense.
This was best – unwilling and resentful, heart full of hatred until the moment of death – this was the finest torture.
If one went willingly to death, that would be somewhat sickening.
“Kill me, just kill me.”
Qi Haolin mumbled, his voice weak.
“Want to die? How could it be that easy?”
Living was ten thousand times harder than dying – sometimes death was so easy, but living while being tortured, having one’s will ground down, that was the truly terrible thing.
“Left leg or right leg first? I’m giving you a choice.”
Though it made no difference, as both legs would be disabled regardless, giving him a choice made her seem more merciful.
Xin Lan actually didn’t enjoy torturing others, but for tasks like this, she had to do it herself.
“Yours is so brutal – can you ask her when she’s going to finish him off so I can eat him?”
Seeing how Xin Lan seemed to be taking her time, Zhen Zhen hurriedly asked Yu Wanyan to inquire.
All battle companion ghosts were invisible to humans, and their conversations couldn’t be heard by people. Yu Wanyan was an exception because she was more powerful.
“Um, Xin Lan, the lady in the green hat asks when you’ll let him die?”
Yu Wanyan called out Xin Lan’s name, feeling something inexplicable in her heart.
“Before we leave.”
Zhen Zhen didn’t think much about this answer, instead becoming concerned about something else.
“What kind of name is ‘Lady in the Green Hat’?!”
“Isn’t it fitting and descriptive?”
“Fitting… descriptive.”
Looking at Yu Wanyan’s expression, Zhen Zhen nodded silently.
Qi Haolin didn’t know why Xin Lan suddenly said something out of nowhere, but he had no energy left to be confused, just lying collapsed on the ground.
If he hadn’t summoned so many spirits at once, he would surely have had the strength to resist now, though in his heart he knew resistance might not have helped anyway.
“Don’t want to choose?”
Xin Lan looked down at Qi Haolin.
Qi Haolin had already closed his eyes, wearing an expression of complete submission.
Xin Lan narrowed her eyes and gripped his chin.
“Really think TV dramas are real, trying to copy biting your tongue to commit suicide?”
Xin Lan sneered, looking at the slight bloodiness on Qi Haolin’s tongue.
Biting one’s tongue to death was such a difficult way to die – ordinary people couldn’t manage it, and the pain level far exceeded cutting wrists or hanging oneself.
Qi Haolin felt somewhat angry, lowering his eyes without making a sound.
The blood on his head hadn’t dried yet, the dark red patch looking horrifyingly stark.
Xin Lan hated when her targets had this dead look while she was working – it made her lose all desire to torment them.
“Weren’t you so capable? Didn’t you love this game? Didn’t you trick people into coming here? What, now you’re playing dead?”
Qi Haolin was startled by Xin Lan’s mocking words – so this person knew. Well, no wonder – the monster that mysteriously appeared in Xin Lan’s body would naturally know such things.
To prevent Qi Haolin from doing anything extreme, Xin Lan directly tore off a piece of his shirt and stuffed it in his mouth.
Though this meant she couldn’t hear him speak anymore, she also wouldn’t have to hear his screams, and more importantly, it would prevent him from actually going crazy and committing suicide.
Ren Difei became agitated upon hearing Xin Lan’s words and crawled up from the ground.
“You’re saying he knew there was danger in here?”
At first, Ren Difei had been excited – he liked supernatural horror stories, but after that initial rush faded, he became scared. Though he said dying wouldn’t matter, who the f*ck actually wanted to die? He hadn’t lived nearly long enough.
There was a huge difference between encountering such misfortune by chance and being tricked into it – he looked at the man on the ground and clenched his fists.
“Getting out of this game alive is worth 100 million yuan.”
“How much?!”
“100 million yuan.”
Ren Difei swallowed hard, feeling like crying but having no tears: “You know you’re making me have thoughts about money, right?”
Xin Lan raised an eyebrow: “What thoughts?”
“Nothing, nothing.”
Ren Difei instantly became submissive, somewhat regretting learning such a cruel truth.
Originally he had been very angry, but money dispelled his anger – he even found himself pleasantly considering how one hundred million yuan would mean instant wealth.
But that hundred million seemed to have nothing to do with him – he was only a short distance from death anyway.
Reality was truly cruel.
Snapping out of these thoughts about reality’s cruelty, that anger surged up again, and he wanted to punch Qi Haolin a couple times.
But when he looked down and saw Qi Haolin – head bloody, both arms twisted, mouth gagged, and legs beaten to a pulp – he hesitated. With things already like this, it seemed unnecessary to do anything more.
Ren Difei prepared to leave, but touching his own bruised and swollen face, he still felt unsatisfied.
So he spat at Qi Haolin and gave him the middle finger to show his contempt.
Xin Lan was silent for a moment – this provocation was way too weak.
Qi Haolin saw it and felt angry but could do nothing about it. He was already barely hanging on to life.
He had never been so pathetic before. The intense physical pain wasn’t even what he cared about most anymore – he wanted release, but couldn’t get it.
“Look at yourself now.”
Xin Lan looked down at him, her eyes filled with unconcealed mockery.
“Is this the kind of thrill you were seeking, hmm?”
Xin Lan didn’t even want to list out all the despicable things this fellow had done. His previous actions weren’t worthy of death – though playing with emotions, freeloading, and finally kicking people aside while taking all their money made him a contemptible person deserving everyone’s scorn. If it was just that, Xin Lan wouldn’t need to torment him so much. The real error lay in this game, in the malicious intentions he revealed.
Having temporarily vented her anger, Xin Lan clapped her hands and sat on the sofa.
Alright, now everything was completely resolved – just needed to complete the game’s mission.
Seeing Xin Lan sit on the sofa, Ren Difei anxiously sat down as well.
Now there should just be him and Boss Lady as the only living people, right? The one lying on the ground could at most count as half alive – who knew when he would die?
And there was another important question – was Boss Lady human?
She should be, right?
But whether she was or wasn’t, he couldn’t fight against her either way. Ren Difei felt somewhat desperate.
Pi Tianzi’s corpse had vanished into thin air minutes ago – if not for the splattered blood still there, Ren Difei would have thought she had never existed.
This truly was a game completely unfriendly to ordinary people. Ren Difei could hardly imagine that without Boss Lady, he might have been finished right at the start.
Seeing Boss Lady’s composed demeanor, his own mindset improved as well.
It was impossible to say he could face his eventual death calmly, but he hoped Boss Lady would let him go peacefully when he died – preferably painlessly.
After resting a while on the sofa, Xin Lan began searching for the remaining parts of the corpse.
Ling Jiu’s scan was ineffective, dejectedly eating chicken legs in the system space.
“Can you still move?”
Xin Lan looked at Ren Difei.
Ren Difei’s whole body trembled as he nodded.
“If you can move, why aren’t you getting up?”
Ren Difei immediately stood up from the sofa, his survival instinct very strong.
Xin Lan and Ren Difei continued searching this floor, looking for the dismembered parts.
In the first room they opened, Xin Lan saw a large bed. The wardrobe was open, its clothes messily rummaged through – probably done by either Pi Tianzi or Qi Haolin earlier.
Those clothes looked like ballet costumes. Xin Lan immediately thought of the ballet shoes under the sofa in that large room.
Connecting this to the mirrors in the last room, perhaps the killer was someone who liked ballet?
Xin Lan searched the entire room but found nothing.
Ren Difei came out of the second room, shaking his head at Xin Lan.
Xin Lan frowned – the game wouldn’t deliberately trick them, so the undiscovered parts of the corpse must be somewhere on this floor, they just hadn’t found them yet.
Still missing were one hand, two feet, two eyes, and a pile of internal organs.
Xin Lan didn’t speak, and at this moment, Ren Difei couldn’t muster the courage to talk to her either. The atmosphere became somewhat heavy.
“Do you need my help?”
Yu Wanyan said softly, eyes fixed unblinkingly on Xin Lan, carefully watching her reaction.
“Can you?”
“Why not?”
Yu Wanyan curved her lips in a smile – after all, no one would object, so why not?
“Then I’ll trouble you.”
Ren Difei watched bewilderedly as Xin Lan spoke to thin air. At first, he thought she was talking to him, but something felt off about it – fortunately, he hadn’t responded.
Yu Wanyan led Xin Lan to find two feet hidden in a concealed layer, then brought her to the dance studio.
There were mirrors everywhere – left, right, ceiling, and floor – all mirrors.
Entering immediately gave people an inexplicable sense of fear. Though you could see yourself standing there, surrounded by your reflections, you felt a pressure, as if something was hiding between these images, waiting to appear at any moment.
“Behind the mirrors?”
“Mm.”
Yu Wanyan reached out, touching the mirror beneath her feet.
Starting from where Yu Wanyan touched, cracks appeared in the mirror, spreading in all directions. With a crisp sound, Xin Lan saw a person lying there with closed eyes – a middle-aged woman.
She was somewhat plump, wearing expensive accessories.
“This…”
Ren Difei examined the woman lying in the mirror.
Obviously, this couldn’t be a living person.
Generally speaking, stories wouldn’t contain unrelated elements – this person must either be the dismemberment killer, an accomplice, or a victim.
“Inside her stomach.”
As Yu Wanyan spoke, her finger traced through the air above the woman. Following her movement, the woman’s stomach gradually split open.
Inside was a pile of sticky-looking things that made one nauseous.
“Are these… internal organs?”
Ren Difei leaned closer, his stomach cramping.
“Obviously, but they don’t belong to her. Take them back.”
Ren Difei didn’t dare say anything, reaching out with trembling hands to retrieve the organs.
“F*ck, there’s also a pair of feet in here. Ugh.”
Ren Difei turned away and retched, looking somewhat pained.
Xin Lan frowned, knowing that being extremely hungry and seeing such things would inevitably make him uncomfortable.
After finishing being sick, Ren Difei continued to dig out the contents.
“How did she manage to put these things inside her body without damaging them?”
Undoubtedly those feet were part of the corpse, including these organs and intestines, but the feet were still intact as a whole – for a human, it would be impossible to stuff them in completely.
Xin Lan didn’t answer him, just staring intently at the woman.
After Ren Difei removed all the organs and feet, the woman suddenly opened her eyes and lunged at him.
“Watch out.”
Xin Lan pulled Ren Difei back, moving to intercept herself.
But before the woman could touch her, Yu Wanyan blocked her path. With a scream, the woman fell to the ground.
“Are you allowed to intervene like this?”
Xin Lan felt more puzzled than grateful. Earlier when Yu Wanyan helped her, she could tell herself it was just pointing out locations without breaking rules, but Yu Wanyan directly intervening like this couldn’t be without complications.
“I think it’s fine, so it’s fine.”
Yu Wanyan tugged at the corner of her mouth. She was supposed to be an observer, like Zhen Zhen and the others – not appearing, not communicating.
But now she had not only appeared and communicated, but also intervened.
It was hard to explain that feeling – just that observing made her uncomfortable.
The rules actually didn’t restrict them that much – it was what they had agreed among themselves. But now with some dead and Zhen Zhen not caring, and the detective attached to Ren Difei never appearing, why couldn’t she do as she pleased?
Even knowing Xin Lan didn’t need it, she still intervened.
“Thank you.”
There was nothing else to say – only thanks could express it.
Yu Wanyan wanted to say something more, but ultimately said nothing.
Finally, they were missing one hand – the one that first appeared then mysteriously vanished. Yu Wanyan told her it was in the large room.
Xin Lan went back. The corpse on the ground had been assembled like a puzzle, with visible seams that created a strange visual effect.
That hand was holding an empty glass bottle – the one Ren Difei had found in the toilet tank earlier. Yu Wanyan said it was something important to the young man.
Xin Lan looked at the bottle and hand, wondering whether to pry them apart.
But before she could, the hand moved on its own toward the nearly-assembled body on the ground.
When the corpse was fully assembled, the body vanished into thin air, and a slender young man appeared before Xin Lan.
He touched Xin Lan’s hand, leaving a cool sensation – Xin Lan knew this was the key.
As Xin Lan left the room, the young man was holding his bottle, head lowered as he looked at it.
Xin Lan was curious, but didn’t ask.
“This floor was quite simple.”
That’s all she said.
Actually, this whole game was quite simple for her – all solvable matters weren’t difficult, just varying in time required. Few things troubled Xin Lan, at least not yet.
“The bottle contained light.”
Yu Wanyan suddenly said this.
“Light?”
“Yes,” Yu Wanyan nodded, “Light he’d finally managed to see once, so he bottled it up.”
Even though they knew sunlight couldn’t actually be bottled, if someone believed they’d captured it, then even if the bottle felt cold, holding it tightly might still feel warm.
Xin Lan fell silent – none of these were happy stories.
On the stairs to the third floor, Xin Lan dragged Qi Haolin up step by step.
Qi Haolin was extremely weak now, all his limbs disabled, only his mind still functioning.
Each drag up the stairs was torture for him, both physically and mentally.
He looked at Xin Lan with venomous eyes; Xin Lan looked down, met his gaze, and smiled.
The third floor was also dark, only lighting up when Ren Difei came up.
When he clearly saw the situation before him, Ren Difei drew in a sharp breath.
There wasn’t any murder horror scene – just photographs, countless photographs.
On both walls and the ceiling, completely covered with photos, all featuring the same person – standing, lying down, crying, laughing – enough to make one’s scalp tingle and back turn cold.
Ren Difei rubbed the goosebumps on his arms. Though the young man in the photos was quite handsome, seeing his face repeated so densely everywhere made one feel face-blind and nauseous.
This was even more obsessive than paparazzi – though they took endless photos too, they weren’t this insane.
It looked like a massive stalker’s shrine.
When Xin Lan first saw so many photos, her eyes hurt.
She had encountered extremely obsessed fans before, their homes filled with photos and posters, packed so densely you could feel their fanaticism at a glance. This situation was somewhat similar.
On the walls and ceiling, every photo was fitted perfectly together, leaving no blank spaces. Thankfully, it hadn’t gone so far as to cover the floor with photos.
Ren Difei shook his head – even the most attractive person couldn’t withstand being viewed like this. He felt so uncomfortable now that he could only stare at the floor.
This floor was eerily quiet, not as direct as the second floor, more like the first floor’s situation – requiring exploration.
Each floor had a similar layout – living room, kitchen, bedrooms, etc.
Xin Lan had seen the living room’s condition, but after opening the bedroom and guest room doors, she discovered the living room wasn’t even the most extreme.
“My eyes…”
Ren Difei’s head started to ache, and he stared at the floor for a brief respite.
Every room was filled with photos – all walls, ceilings, even the surface of the desk was completely covered.
It felt as if the subject of the photos was watching you constantly, from every angle.
Psychologically abnormal, Xin Lan thought.
Though none of the perpetrators on these three floors seemed normal – the first and second both had twisted emotions and obsessions. This one probably did too, just unclear if there were any victims.
If there were, it was likely the person in these photos.
After seeing all the rooms and furnishings on this floor, Xin Lan felt numb.
Never mind the rooms – even the kitchen, bathroom, and balcony were covered. This was beyond obsession.
Staying in rooms like these every day would drive even a healthy person mad.
But when Xin Lan opened the wardrobe, she discovered that wasn’t even the worst – every piece of clothing had either actual photos or cartoon versions of him.
Initial assessment suggested the occupant was female, given the wardrobe full of women’s clothing, numerous cosmetics at the dressing table, and bathroom full of skincare products – though the possibility of a cross-dresser couldn’t be ruled out.
What caught Xin Lan’s attention were two mugs in the living room, both bearing that young man’s photo.
The notebooks on the desk contained sketches and colored drawings, all featuring the same protagonist.
There weren’t many key clues – no corpse, no strange implements, just photos and drawings everywhere, demonstrating the room owner’s obsessive love, or rather fixation, with the photo’s subject.
Xin Lan was so aesthetically exhausted that even Yu Wanyan standing nearby looked incredibly beautiful in comparison.
When Xin Lan returned to the living room and saw Qi Haolin lying on the ground, barely breathing with closed eyes, she even found him somewhat easier on the eyes.
LP: Re-translated on January 29, 2025
Still won’t stop her from beating him up more. Which is good. (´。• ᵕ •。`) ♡
Still won’t stop her from beating him up more. Which is good. (´ｑ⒠ᡠβ’ｑ`) β‘
But its true that Wan Wan is the most pleasing to look, right? (灬º‿º灬)♡
But its true that Wan Wan is the most pleasing to look, right? (β η¬β ΒΊβ βΏβ ΒΊβ η¬β )β β‘