It was Brother Feng’s voice. Bai Fan’s body jolted, and he rolled off the bed.
“Hold on, I’m coming.”
“Woof woof woof!” Da Gan, also disturbed, growled at the door that was being banged loudly.
“Da Gan, don’t be impulsive.” At Bai Fan’s signal, Da Gan suppressed his hostility.
When Bai Fan opened the door, he saw Brother Feng’s towering figure blocking the doorway, his expression uncertain.
The boy wondered, ‘Did something happen?’
Behind Brother Feng stood Master Mo’s Laster Limousine. Master Mo sat in the shadows with a cold expression.
“Kid, it’s time for you to be useful.”
‘Why is Master Mo here? At this remote place of mine?’
But Bai Fan quickly understood—this was what Master Mo had mentioned the day before.
“Get in the car.” Master Mo’s voice was low.
Bai Fan was surprised. Master Mo had always kept a cold distance. Over the years, Bai Fan had never even had a chance to get close to him.
And now he was allowing him into the car?
“Master Mo, wait a moment!”
Bai Fan turned back and patted Da Gan, whispering, “Stay here and wait for me. I’ll be back soon.”
Da Gan gave two reluctant barks, worried for him.
“It’s fine.” Bai Fan smiled at him.
He opened the drawer and made a surprised expression.
The White Jade’s glow seemed a little weaker, but… the Ether Crystal next to it had faded a shade from its original murky shell.
This wasn’t an illusion!
Bai Fan quickly took out his phone and compared it with a picture he had taken earlier. The thick black-purple had turned into a deep purple.
‘What happened? Was it… purified? How?’
He had a guess. ‘Could this piece of White Jade left by my parents purify the tainted Ether Crystal?’
The boy’s heartbeat quickened. It felt like a door to fortune was about to open for him.
But just then, Brother Feng grew impatient and urged him from outside.
“Damn it, hurry up, stop stalling!”
Brother Feng’s rough shout interrupted the boy’s unfinished, beautiful fantasy.
Even though he had a guess, he couldn’t test it now. He had to handle Master Mo’s matter first.
“Just a moment! I’m coming now!”
Bai Fan threw on his jacket and quickly stuffed the two crystals into the secret pocket of his inner lining. Before closing the door, he reminded Da Gan again.
“Be good. Wait for me to come back.”
Brother Feng opened the back door of the limousine and gestured for Bai Fan to get in.
The boy felt awkward. This was his first time in Master Mo’s car. The leather seats were supposed to be very comfortable, but it felt like sitting on needles.
After Brother Feng also got in, Master Mo said calmly, “Let’s go.”
The driver understood, and the engine roared to life.
Bai Fan cautiously glanced at Master Mo’s expression, trying to guess his intentions.
The man, with graying temples, stared expressionlessly at the front mirror. On his middle finger was a ring with a cold metallic luster. His knuckles tapped the seat in a fixed rhythm.
Bai Fan recognized the ring. He had seen it on TV—it was a luxury item launched by the Laiting Giant Group. He remembered it was called the Tianhai Ring, supposedly made from rare metals found in the Yamana Trench.
Just one ring was worth a lifetime of labor for people living in the Outer City District of Yuzhou.
‘Why? He already has so much wealth. Why… is he never satisfied? I’ve never seen him look happy.’
Bai Fan remained silent. He couldn’t understand people like Master Mo.
But… maybe it was just his imagination—he vaguely felt that Master Mo was in a good mood right now.
His usually tense face had relaxed a bit, and his lips weren’t as tight as before.
‘Is something good about to happen?’
“A few days ago, my son had a fight with me,” Master Mo suddenly said. “He said I’m old now and should let go of all this.”
The air went silent for a few seconds. Brother Feng, thinking of something, stiffened and didn’t dare speak. As for Bai Fan… he certainly didn’t dare to respond to Master Mo.
Master Mo didn’t seem to notice the eerie silence. He muttered to himself.
“I once thought of letting him inherit everything. But actually… although he’s my son, aside from his appearance, he didn’t inherit anything from me.”
“At his age, I was still thinking about how to unite the gang’s brothers, how to fight, how to expand influence, how to grab more wealth, how to climb higher.”
“But he told me I should let go. He said the more I can’t let go, the more I fear, and one day I’ll be swallowed by my obsession. And now… I’m old, so there’s no need to go on like this.”
Master Mo stroked the ring on his finger.
“He said I should calm down and think. Then… the next day, he disappeared with my daughter-in-law. He hasn’t come back since.”
The boy was at a loss. He turned to look at Brother Feng, who seemed just as confused about Master Mo’s current mood.
They exchanged glances. Brother Feng carefully said, “Master Mo, the young master… maybe he’ll come around in a few days and come back.”
“Heh.” Master Mo let out a low laugh. Then the air fell into an eerie silence.
Several minutes later.
Master Mo ordered, “We’re here. Stop here.”
Bai Fan got out of the car and shivered from the sudden cold wind.
Looking around, he realized they were in a desolate wilderness—so remote that even crickets wouldn’t visit.
‘Where is this?’
Even Bai Fan was confused.
Master Mo also got out, wearing a down coat. He walked forward without a word.
Brother Feng followed behind him.
“Kid, hurry up and keep up.”
Bai Fan quickly followed.
They arrived at an old church. Master Mo instructed,
“Ah Feng, wait outside. Don’t let anyone else in.”
After Master Mo’s voice fell, the only sound left was the wind wailing through dead branches.
Bai Fan looked up at the church and felt a chill run down his spine, as if someone had poured ice water on his back.
It was an old church with a pointed, skinny roof. Cracks ran from the bottom of the walls to the lower edge of the stained glass windows.
The main door was two thick oak planks, studded with iron strips that had long rusted. Rust trailed down the wood grain like dried bloodstains.
The door wasn’t fully closed; a narrow gap remained, emitting an old, damp smell.
Brother Feng quickly nodded. “Yes, Master Mo.”
‘How eerie. This place is definitely not good!’
Bai Fan unconsciously stepped back.
“Hey, what are you doing? Get in with Master Mo!”
Master Mo had already pushed open the church door and entered the darkness. Brother Feng, impatient, grabbed Bai Fan’s shoulder and shoved hard.
The boy stumbled and entered the church.
‘Something’s off. Maybe I should leave first?’
Just as Bai Fan hesitated, a candle flame lit up.
He didn’t know where the first one started, but then the second, third… from the door, flames spread to both sides like dominoes.
The candles responded to each other, weaving a warm yellow net in the empty church.
He only felt cold. Every hair on his body stood on end.
He saw the statue on the altar at the center of the church.
Its outline emerged inch by inch from the darkness, like a drowning victim slowly rising from the bottom of the water.
On its head were three blurry faces.
Bai Fan stepped back in shock.
“Kid, come in. The thing I need you to do will be done here.” Master Mo stood under the statue, showing no unusual expression, as if he were used to everything here.
Bai Fan stared at him warily. “Master Mo, what do you want me to do?”
“Come over and kowtow to Him.”
Suppression. Silence. Suffocation.
From a moment ago, an extremely ominous premonition lingered in his heart. His body instinctively told him… ‘Run. Run now. Get out of here.’
Bai Fan suppressed his unease and asked, “Master Mo, are you really going to forgive my debt?”
Master Mo slowly smiled. His usual stern, unsmiling face actually smiled.
“After today, you won’t have to worry about debt anymore. You’ll gain… things you can’t even imagine.”
He lowered his voice, his tone deep, and a hint of red tinged his eyes without warning. “So listen to me.”
Bai Fan’s scalp went numb.
“I suddenly remembered… I have something to take care of. Master Mo, I’m going back.”
Ignoring Master Mo’s reaction, he turned to flee.
Boom! The church door slammed shut on its own. There was no one else there.
The boy’s face turned pale as he watched in terror.
“Now… you only have one choice.” Master Mo’s voice closed in from behind.
Bai Fan turned and saw Master Mo’s face become increasingly pale, like the color of a corpse.
“Master Mo, don’t come closer.”
He pulled out a small knife he had hidden in his coat as a precaution and shouted at Master Mo with a fierce expression.
“My knife doesn’t blink!”
Master Mo let out a sneer, and sharp fangs emerged from his lips.
“Fool!”
Bai Fan only saw a flash of red. Master Mo had appeared in front of him, his palm gripping the blade directly.
“Let go!” The boy gripped the handle with both hands, struggling. But the middle-aged man in front of him was like a monster in human skin. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t move the palm an inch, and he couldn’t even cut the skin on Master Mo’s hand.
‘Is this guy… even human?’
“Kid, you refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit.”
Master Mo laughed scornfully. With a single punch to the boy’s stomach, Bai Fan curled up on the ground in pain like a shrimp.
Bai Fan lifted his head with difficulty, tears streaming from the pain.
“Master Mo… you monster. You’re no longer human.”
“Heh, I long ago shed the limits of the human shell. Now I am a Blood Descendant, far above you on the chain of life.”
“Blood Descendant? What do you want?”
Master Mo grabbed his neck from behind and forced him to the center of the altar.
“Offer you to my Lord.”
Under the brute force, the boy’s knees bent, and he was forced to kneel before the Three-faced Deity Statue.
“Bow to my god.”
Master Mo pushed Bai Fan’s head down for the first kowtow. At the same time, something mysterious seemed to cast its gaze upon him from the void.
His consciousness wavered.
“Now… recite the voice that appears in your mind.”
A deep, gloomy voice emerged in Bai Fan’s mind, carrying a strange allure. He lost focus and began to murmur.
“The Unborn, the Dead, and the Eternal Rotting God.
I offer my First Aspect—the skin called ‘I.’ I peel it from the bone, like shedding a robe soaked in blood.
From now on, the mirror holds no eyes to gaze at me, only a hollow form waiting for Your immersion.
I offer my Second Aspect—that surging blood essence…
I offer my Third Aspect—that wisp of memory’s smoke…
Now, I present myself with both hands. Please swallow me, devour me. Let me become a squirming part of Your belly.
I offer everything to You.”
Bai Fan snapped awake.
It felt like someone had pulled him out of deep water. He gasped for breath.
‘What… was I just doing?’
He looked down at his hands in panic.
The pain came.
The skin on his chest felt like it was on fire. A burning sensation exploded from the center and spread in all directions.
The boy screamed and instinctively reached for it. His fingertips had just touched his collar when he felt a patch of skin scorching hot, like it had been branded with an iron.
He pulled open his collar and looked down. On his chest, three red marks were slowly emerging.
It was a Mark—or rather, three Marks overlapping.
They weren’t painted on; they oozed out from beneath the skin. Three lines intertwined and connected, like three blurry faces squeezed together, forming a twisted, inhuman Mark.
“Ah—!”
He bit his lip hard, trying to swallow the pain. But his body wouldn’t obey; his knees trembled violently on the stone floor.
“Hahaha,” Master Mo laughed again, looking at the boy kneeling on the ground. Even his teeth showed. “It seems He is very satisfied with your offering, since He personally imprinted the Mark.”
Bai Fan lifted his head with effort, clinging to a last shred of hope. “Master… Master Mo, is it… over now? Can I… leave now?”
“Kid… you’ve always done well.”
Master Mo revealed his true face—crimson eyes, savage fangs, and sharp, elongated nails.
“Like an obedient dog. Give it a bone, and it behaves perfectly. Tell it to go anywhere, and it goes.”
“Thank… thank you for the compliment.”
Master Mo leaned down to look at him. Behind him, more figures appeared, each with a pair of scarlet eyes.
“But it’s a pity. I don’t like dogs that are too obedient either. Your value ends here.”
‘Run, or I’ll die here!’
Bai Fan stood up to flee.
Shluck!
Suddenly, he felt icy cold all over.
Bai Fan stiffly looked down. He saw blood gushing from his chest, and a hand pierced through his torso.
‘It hurts! It hurts so much!’
He fell to his knees, crying in misery.
He turned his head with difficulty. Master Mo extended his tongue and licked the blood from his palm.
‘Why? Why does it always come to this? I always run into inexplicable trouble. Whenever life starts to look up, it all falls apart.’
‘I worked so hard. Why won’t they just leave me alone?’
‘Now… I understand nothing. Like a headless fly crashing into a dead end.’
“Ah, the taste of this blood… My sensing that day was right. You possess the Spiritual Essence to become a Sublimator.”
Master Mo wore an expression of enjoyment. After drinking Bai Fan’s blood, his graying temples turned black again, and the crow’s feet at the corners of his eyes faded.
The boy couldn’t hold it in anymore.
“What the hell! Why?! Why, of all things?!”
Master Mo smiled. He had always kept a cold, hard face. The boy saw him smile with such joy for the first time.
“Your expression is the same as my son’s just before he died.”
‘He didn’t even spare his own son?’
The boy’s hands and feet went cold.
He coughed up blood. Tears and snot poured out uncontrollably. Gritting his teeth, he lifted his head.
“Don’t you have everything? Why aren’t you satisfied? Why do you have to take away even the smallest wish?! All I wanted was to live a little better—work hard, earn money, even if I’m treated like a beast of burden. I just wanted to pay off my debts, find them again, find someone who likes me, have a home that doesn’t look down on me. Is that wrong?! Why?! You already have everything! That ring on your finger—I couldn’t save up for it in a lifetime of working. Damn it, why can’t you even leave me a way to live?!”
Master Mo fell silent. He sighed softly.
“You’re too young. You don’t understand the true face of this world. There are many things that even I can’t do anything about.” He pulled a tissue from his pocket and wiped his lips. “But your sacrifice will achieve a greater value.”
Inside his field of vision were his own broken limbs and flowing blood.
“Who are you to sacrifice others? Who are you to decide my value…”
The boy’s voice was already intermittent.
“I… won’t accept… this kind of ending. I… can’t die… here.”
Then his consciousness began to blur, until darkness swallowed everything.
Great Introduction.