Love in Cthulhu

Can you see Chapter 11?

The night was quiet, and the bronze bell of the Bell and Drum Tower rang out loudly, its sound carrying far in the cool night.

People living in Yunxiang County are very familiar with this bell. The main entrance of the county cultural center is actually the arched doorway of the bell and drum tower. Inside the pavilion with double eaves and four corners on the blue brick city wall, there is a giant bell weighing 5000 jin (2,500 catties) with a history of more than 500 years, but the sound of the bell is still loud and deep.

In the past, when the economy was not developed, this giant bell was the timekeeping device in the county town. Because the cultural center was located on high ground and not far from the Han River, the boatmen working there relied on the loud ringing of this giant bell to tell the time.

Later, people got watches, then pagers, and now they all have cell phones. There are no more boatmen on the riverbank. The giant clock's chimes are no longer of any use except to annoy people. So they just ring once every night to find a sense of their existence.

For locals, hearing its bell is almost like their mother calling them home for dinner.

As the bell tolled, Zhou Nan sat on the sofa, head bowed in thought. Jian Xi said she was going to show off her cooking skills today and was busy in the kitchen.

After what happened in the morning, Jian Xi really returned everything that belonged to Zhou Lan, so he had the opportunity to witness Jian Xi vomiting.

In that instant, the shadows under the sunlight seemed to gain depth, and simply gazing at them would make one feel uneasy and anxious, as if they had grown thousands of tentacles, slowly wriggling, enveloping Zhou Lan's body, chewing on the void, and finally merging back into Jian Xi's feet, becoming ordinary light and shadow.

A few minutes later, Zhou Lan returned to normal, completely unaware that she had been taken advantage of. She left a few words like "You must come back for the New Year" and hurried off to her tutoring class.

Based on what I saw when I killed that petty thief, it was a similar feeling. In other words, Jian Xi's eating and rumination were more focused on the mental level. Although the shadow could also become a divine weapon like the Heaven Sword, cutting flesh and breaking bones, the former seemed to be her more common state.

Thinking about it this way, she is actually a coelenterate that can mimic human form, with a mouth but no anus.

To put it bluntly, it's about eating with your mouth and... pooping with your mouth.

This is definitely not something a human could do.

However, this characteristic also means that her claim that she did not kill Jian Xi may be a lie.

Since it has a strong desire to become human, it is not impossible for it to steal the memories and then kill the original owner. Jian Xi in the funeral home had no wounds or bloodstains, so it is possible that she really died because she was unable to move after her consciousness was stripped away.

There was no evidence, but Zhou Nan never hesitated to speculate about the little monster beside him with the worst possible malice.

I actually acknowledged her? It's crazy to think about it. Does this mean I'm really going to treat her like Jian Xi from now on, pretend I didn't see anything, and live a carefree and happy life hand in hand with Miss Monster?
This can't just be called being thick-skinned; it's downright betrayal of humanity.

But he had no other choice. First of all, he couldn't kill her. Secondly, at least Miss Monster seemed to treat him well. Not only did she live in Jian Xi's appearance, but she also bought a steak in the afternoon, saying that this was a reward for being obedient.

The cadres were not afraid of torture, but they were a little afraid of sweet talk. Just like when she cried, her pitiful appearance made him lose his temper.

Sigh... I've never been so conflicted about Jian Xi in my life. How come she's more troublesome now that she's dead than when she was alive?
"Come on! Freshly baked Jane's secret recipe, Royal Special Red Wine Steak!"

Following the loud voice came the enticing aroma of meat. Jian Xi carried the plate over with one hand and placed it on the table, her tone full of boasting.

When she opened the lid, hot oil that was still bubbling splattered out and burned her. She grimaced and quickly pinched her ear.

"You're afraid of getting burned?" Zhou Nan asked, a little curious.

"Scared? Why wouldn't I be? Look at my delicate skin." She flipped her wrist, and the veins on the back of her fair hand were faintly visible.

"That's a characteristic that only humans have. You're not human, so why are you afraid of getting burned? What are you, anyway?"

"Don't you think your question is a bit presumptuous, telling a cute girl that you're not human or something?" Jian Xi pouted. "If you throw hot oil on a rat, it will squeak and scream. Does that mean rats are human?"

"Okay, let me correct you. Biology, are you even a biology?"

"I don't think so. At least what you see is just a physical body that I imitated based on her appearance. Although it also eats, has a heartbeat, life activities, and blood circulation, it is not my true nature."

"What do you mean?"

"Like this."

Jianxi's body blurred again, just like last night, turning into a black shadow speckled with snowflakes, flowing and surging.

"Want to touch me and see what I am?"

She was speaking, but in this state she didn't have any vocal organs at all. Zhou Nan realized that the voice wasn't coming from in front of him, but from inside his brain, as if some neuron was transmitting information to his brain through her voice according to her will.

So, her true form is this dark shadow? Is Jian Xi's appearance some kind of visual effect? ​​But she also said that such a body exists.

This explanation is beyond his knowledge; it feels like some completely unknown field.

"Won't there be any problems?" Zhou Nan asked.

"Are you afraid?"

"I'm not afraid of anything, I'm talking about you!"

Zhou Nan stood up and walked around to her side. Sure enough, from this angle, she was just a line. If it were a more perfect angle, and the distance was far enough, it was very likely that she would not be noticeable in the atmosphere.

"You look like you're about to tear with a single poke, like a piece of paper. What if you rot?"

"Do you think I'm that fragile? Feel free to be bold, or are you afraid I'll tease you again?" Her voice sounded cheerful.

"I have no interest in anything beyond human beings. There are still the most wonderful literary girls in this world waiting to meet me."

He stubbornly reached out his hand, his eyes fixed intently on the darkness. The closer he got, the more he felt as if the light around him was being sucked in, as if all the light in the world was slowly disappearing, and he was peering into the center of the universe with his own body.

His head started to ache again. At the same time, his consciousness leaped out of his body in an instant, jumping between countless people at an indescribable speed. What he saw before his eyes was sometimes a dark shadow, sometimes a family's dining table, or sometimes he was talking to someone. Tens of thousands of images shattered into pieces, constantly switching at high speed. A massive flow of information poured into his brain, and the pain made his nerves feel like they were about to split open one by one.

"No!"

He jerked his hand back, the pain vanishing instantly. Within a few breaths, he was drenched in sweat, his back completely soaked. He could only regain his sense of being alive by gasping for breath. "I had a feeling that if I had actually touched it, my whole body would have exploded! Exploded into a bloody mist!"

"Hey... I thought you had a high level of resistance to me." Jian Xi seemed a little disappointed. She made a gesture in front of her, like a face-changing act in Peking Opera, and the girl sitting there was back to being the same charming and cute girl.

"So you didn't even know the consequences? Yet you dared to let me do it?" Zhou Nan glared at her fiercely.

Damn, she really inherited Jian Xi's carefree nature. She prioritizes having fun over the outcome.

Back when the two of them went to the countryside together, the little rascals were at the age where they were very interested in fire. With a lighter in their hands, they wanted to light everything they saw. The straw piled up by the villagers against the wall was just waste in their eyes. The two little rascals thought it was fun to burn it, and they planned to catch a couple of fish from the ditch and see if they could roast them on the spot. When they turned around, they saw a man carrying a wooden stick coming out from the black smoke... Jian Xi's polka dot underwear had been torn to shreds by her father.

"It's okay, even if you're shattered into dust, I can still try to piece you back together... just like building blocks." Jian Xi smiled, resting her chin on her hands, completely unconcerned about his premonition of death.

"Get out! There won't be a second time!" Zhou Nan was furious.

Miss Monster seems indifferent to death, but people are very fragile. Sometimes you trip and fall on the street, and a shard of glass gets into your palm. You don't take it seriously, but that very night you pass away.

Indeed, the joys and sorrows between humans and little monsters are different because of their fundamental differences in their understanding of the world. For example, when you see a cute girl, you might think, "I've seen this girl before," while Jian Xi might think, "Cute girls have three good qualities: they're delicious, they're good with rice, and they're crunchy."

"Tch, so stingy, not manly at all."

Jian Xi pouted, like a sulking child, "Is there really no next time? You should think this through. The closer you are to me, the greater the influence I can have on you. The fact that you were able to unleash your potential in just one day shows that you are very talented. Shouldn't all immature teenagers hope to have superpowers? Don't you want it to evolve a bit?"

"The price of evolution is risking your life. How is that any different from you telling me that practicing the Sunflower Manual will make you invincible? To practice a divine skill, you must first castrate yourself?"

Zhou Nan rolled his eyes, feeling a bit overwhelmed by her constant antics.

"At least he castrated himself, so he can still live. As a eunuch, he still has superb martial arts skills to command heroes. Being the best in the world is worth it. You're not only going to commit seppuku, but you don't even know how powerful your divine skills are. You want me to jump into a fire pit?"

"Okay, okay, forget I said anything. And don't come begging to me again, okay?" Jian Xi shrugged.

"Who would ask you for something like this? Do they think they're too old to live?"

"Even if this might help you figure out how she died, so what?" she said casually.

Zhou Nan's gaze suddenly sharpened: "Go on!"

"I suddenly don't want to talk about it anymore. It's such an important matter, and you haven't been nice to me either." Jian Xi grabbed a carton of yogurt, poked it open, and slowly ate the straw.

Zhou Nan looked directly into her eyes across the table without saying a word.

The tension lasted for half a minute before Jian Xi finally laughed mischievously, "Just kidding. Actually, I'd also like to know the answer to this question."

"What do you mean?"

"Don't be angry when I tell you, but I think Jian Xi was probably murdered." Jian Xi stuck out her tongue. "Why does that sound so strange? I'm saying I was murdered."

"You killed him, didn't you?" Zhou Nan stared into her eyes.

"Damn it, are you still doubting me? If you keep saying that, I'll really get angry!" Jian Xi glared at him hatefully. "I've already said it, I have no reason to kill her! To be honest, I don't even know why I became like this! The only thing I'm sure of is that after I consumed her memories, I was able to recall what she saw when she was on the verge of death. When she collapsed, she undoubtedly saw a pair of human legs."

"That's nonsense," Zhou Nan said coldly. "When she fell down? According to you, she must have been knocked down?"

"I'm not sure, because I don't remember feeling any pain in my back at that moment."

"So only you have this ability? I've seen her body. There were no injuries on her body in the funeral home, which means she didn't die from external force or attack." Zhou Nan's voice was filled with barely suppressed anger.

“That’s not necessarily true.” Jian Xi wasn’t angry at being doubted. She raised her pale eyes. “In this world, I’m not the only one who’s special.”

"Then prove it to me! Don't just talk the talk. You say you want to become human, fine, I'm willing to believe you, since you look so much like her. I can't refuse, but you can't offer me anything I can trust! In my eyes, you're the only one who's suspicious right now. Please, clear your name, okay?"

He was so angry that he was completely overwhelmed. Jian Xi's mischievousness combined with the monster's ignorance of human affairs made his experience terrible. He was either stabbed to death or almost torn to pieces. His anger completely clouded his judgment, so much so that he didn't care at all that there was a little monster sitting in front of him.

"You want evidence? It's simple, just take a look back, isn't that enough?" Jian Xi said calmly.

Zhou Nan was stunned because he realized that Jian Xi's eyes hadn't been on him since the beginning. While she was drinking the yogurt, her gaze kept skipping over his shoulder and looking behind him.

There was someone, or something, behind him.

Once he realized this, the chill he hadn't noticed before flowed down his back like water in winter. A hand with distinct knuckles rested on his shoulder, covered in dust, so thin that only a layer of bluish skin remained, without even nails, revealing the pale muscles underneath.

"Can you...see? Can you...see?"

The voice of a third person echoed in his ears, carrying a dark, foul smell, as sharp as the sound of a broken string on an erhu.

(End of this chapter)