Free Web NovelChapter 812: Chapter 721: The Song of Shazan (Part 1)
"Hehe." The red-haired girl laughed eerily.
Chichu Chun looked at her, and the girl’s blurry face gradually became clear, bearing some resemblance to her. Those hollow eyes bled, and her expression elongated.
"You’ve seen it all, haven’t you?"
’Chun’s face suddenly twisted into malignancy: "Why, why, why!"
"Why was I born to endure all of this? To test my recovery ability—electrocution, scorching—they cut open my chest, slashed me until I was covered in wounds, locked me in a room lined with Oasis crystals, no matter how I cried or begged, it was all useless."
"You know, don’t you? It corrodes human bodies and flesh. I could only watch it fuse with my wounds and then spread throughout my body."
"Every week, under their orders, I personally hunted those death row inmates in the most brutal way, to numb me, to make me obedient like a good child." ’Chun’ grinned a sinister smile,
"At first, I resisted strongly, collapsed countless times, but eventually, I began to enjoy the feeling of release, every time I heard them wailing, I could feel a beast growing inside."
"Everyone here avoids me, every time they look at me strangely, every time caregivers quickly leave my room. Then I knew."
"I have become a monster."
"And why are you different from me!"
"I hate you." Chun said. "Why are you born to be held in everyone’s palms, to be noticed, why does everyone treat you well, revolve around you, giving you the best things!"
"Why can you accept all this with ease, as if it’s self-evident!"
"Do you know?" Chun’s tone became excited, as if tearing apart her most beloved teddy bear. "Seeing you thrown into that dark underground facility, on the brink of collapse from pain, I felt great."
Chichu Chun: "..."
"You’re the curse that brought about all of this." The red-haired girl said, "Because of you, we suffered such hardships, born to endure pain and torture in the dark, turning into monsters neither human nor ghost."
"You bring misfortune and curse to those around you, you will kill everyone, including the one closest to you."
"What qualifies you to come back?"
The girl’s words suddenly became sharp, as Chichu Chun watched the other’s face collapse, the flashing red light in the room dimmed, plunging them into darkness!
After absolute silence, the red light brightened again, revealing the facility’s outline.
The girl disappeared as if she had never appeared. On the ground lay the corpse of a soldier, in full ’Aosis Joint Life Line’ uniform, dead in a gruesome state.
There were no so-called logs or terminals in the room; this was a monitoring room, and the screens constantly replayed scenes of researchers being killed. Everything before was Chichu Chun’s hallucination.
What Chichu Chun saw was not an illusion but ’Chun’s memory, shattered recollections replaying in her mind in a complete form.
Chun’s final words echoed in her ears.
"I have always cursed you."
"All your misfortunes have been brought by me, past, present, and future, I will continually bring you misfortune!"
"Because calamity is twin-born."
"*We* are born calamity."
Chichu Chun unraveled the longstanding confusion.
Both memories were real.
In places unseen by her, there had been another her who yearned for hope in this dark research institute.
Chichu Chun looked at the mark of petals on her wrist. It wasn’t a mark left by being chosen by Chichun Shu, but a demon’s curse. Only through the Frosty Winter Plan, when selected individuals embraced rebirth, would this mark be left.
Chichu Hong, her brother, and herself, along with more family members whose information was kept secret.
Apart from her and her brother, the family members were unaware of the cruel truth, and the children who bore the pain for them would be continuously tormented, tested, recorded data in this institute, becoming twisted monsters, and ultimately executed.
While the selected samples could grow healthily in another extravagant mansion, receiving top-notch family education, becoming articulate, well-mannered elites.
All of this aimed at filtering out genetically strong individuals, her body flowed with the blood of the "Crimson Dancer"; like poison, it made countless people frenziedly desire it, yet beneath the glorious, scorching exterior were blood-soaked thorns.
The life-cutting surgery, Oasis’s projected scenes once again proved true.
The absurd truth left Chichu Chun in silence.
She found herself truly indifferent because besides absurdity, she didn’t feel much sadness or sympathy, even when experiencing another her’s fate firsthand.
Perhaps, she had long since become a monster.
...
The sound of the car door closing rang out, the Dark Night Walker members looked at Chichu Chun sitting silently in the back, exchanged glances, but no one spoke.
"Drive."
Traces of blood stained Chichu Chun’s face, showing faint signs of losing control.
"Return to the Desolate Stone Plateau."
"What’s wrong?" Sparrow cautiously asked.
"I burned it down."
The blood dried gradually as the sand blew over, adding a hint of wind and frost to the young girl’s clear face.
"I buried it in the yellow sand."
"Along with the past."
...
Desolate Stone Plateau, Pu’er Clan.
As the portal closed, the group appeared in the sacred site of the ritual. Countless clan members awaited there, as if they had long expected their return. The High Priest held a sand staff, behind him rose stone pillars.
"Let me see Pu’er Shazan." Chichu Chun’s tone was indifferent.
A few spear-wielding guards crossed their long guns, blocking the path of the red-haired girl walking towards the altar; their faces painted with strange pigments, expressions solemn and serious.
Chichu Chun glanced at them, then looked up at the High Priest.
"You promised me, bring them back safely, then let me meet Pu’er Shazan."
"Now, they’ve completed the trial, doesn’t He recognize me as one of your own?"
The High Priest stood in silence, his staff shaking the ground, the golden adornments clashed loudly, and his deep eyes grew brighter.
After a moment, as if receiving some kind of silent approval, he nodded: "Come up here if you can."
The guards lowered their spears, countless clan members’ fervent gazes fell upon Chichu Chun as she ascended the steps in front of thousands of eyes, each step she took increased the weight on her shoulders. The sand ocher snake totem on the stone pillar burned brighter.
Chichu Chun felt a divine and majestic gaze, a gaze seemingly capable of crossing the river of time, directly falling upon her.
Eventually, Chichu Chun found it difficult to maintain her footing, blood seeped through her body, shoulders heavy as if bearing a mountain.
Step by step, under the gaze of the Pu’er people, she climbed towards the high platform. Below came the sound of chanting and shouting, thousands of voices sang ancient ritual songs in unison, the flames burned fiercer, one wave after another!
For centuries, no outsider has ever been able to cross those steps. That is their pride’s source, the sand ocher snake totem eternally shelters the children of the sand!
In the burning flames within the ritualist’s eyes, the girl could no longer support her body, swayed for a moment, then fell on the second to last step.
Countless people fell silent, deathly stillness dripped into the atmosphere like thick ink, leaving only the flames of the ritual burning.
The High Priest shook his head and turned around.
"Wait."
A girl’s voice came from behind.
"I didn’t tell you to go."
The High Priest turned back around, his figure suddenly shuddering.
He witnessed a scene unforgettable in this life.
In the darkness, eight pairs of crimson eyes opened suddenly.
Fear materialized at that moment, the will of the supreme descended upon the girl’s frail body; as the girl stepped onto the final step, a crack suddenly appeared in the hundred-meter-high altar, swiftly spreading.
The ritual canyon shook the mountains, and the flames surged high!
Countless Pu’er tribes fell into panic. In their expectant and fearful gazes, the girl ascended the high platform.
"It seems He acknowledges me."
