What do you mean you also want to return to the world?

Shi Yan suddenly opened his eyes, as if he had just woken up from a nightmare. He was breathing heavily, and his whole body felt cold because it was soaked in cold sweat.

There was no way around it; it had been just too thrilling. He almost thought he wasn't going to make it back. He felt that if he had been half a second later, Crimson would have devoured him.

That's terrifying, absolutely terrifying.

Shi Yan couldn't help but wipe the sweat from his forehead before observing his surroundings.

He had returned to Qi Fei's studio and was still fast asleep in that solid wood chair. It was late at night, and the sky outside was completely dark. The lights in the living room were off, as if to avoid disturbing him—Qi Fei and Tang Shi were not there, and it was so quiet that he could hear his own uneasy heartbeat.

But soon, Shi Yan discovered that there were other sounds coming from the inner room.

"Master, what do you think of this jade bracelet of mine?"

"This bracelet is wonderful. It's wonderful because of its color and the way it reflects the water. This smooth and rounded feel is truly priceless... Of course, what's even more precious is its size—it's so big and so perfectly round..."

"Master, what are you talking about?"

"Aren't we talking about jadeite?"

"You're so annoying~"

Hearing the sound coming from the crack in the door, Shi Yan was speechless.

How come he's fighting a life-or-death battle with a great demon, while Qi Fei is here messing around with female spectators? The difference is just too big.

How dare she call herself a legitimate live streamer? What do you mean jade bracelets are judged by size? This one is so big and so round... Have some shame!

Shi Yan sighed, then lowered his head and looked at his left hand.

He was still wearing the glove-shaped restraint on his left hand. Ever since he put it on, Crimson had lost control of herself. It was the same now; at least Shi Yan didn't feel that any of his fingers no longer belonged to him.

However, that's not what he needs to focus on right now.

In the final moment of his consciousness, Shi Yan gave Fei Hong a powerful, forceful blood draw. If he was somewhat hesitant the first time, he was completely unconcerned the second time. He practically filled the syringe to the brim, with a few drops even leaking out.

That amount should be enough by any measure.

In other words, he should have successfully transferred some of Scarlet's powers into his own hands.

So how do we use it?

Shi Yan recalled how Scarlet had done it; it seemed to have been just a snap of her fingers that ignited the flame called "Scarlet".

Since that's the case, let him give it a try.

Shi Yan raised his left hand, and as soon as he put his middle finger and thumb together, a mysterious feeling welled up in his heart, as if a voice was affirming him.

With a "snap," Shi Yan snapped his fingers.

In an instant, a beam of crimson light illuminated the dimly lit living room, and a tiny flame lingered on the middle finger, as if by magic.

This flame was no ordinary flame; its color was dark, like blood, giving it a dangerous yet alluring beauty.

This is the original flame of crimson—"Scarlet".

Looking at the demonic fire before him, Shi Yan couldn't help but feel a mixture of satisfaction and regret.

The satisfaction lies in the fact that this powerful flame is now his. You know, every man has fantasized about having superpowers as a child, and now, that fantasy has come true. Although the process was agonizing, at least the result is good.

The disappointing thing is, why is it that Scarlet can ignite his entire being with a snap of her fingers, while he only has such a tiny spark? Is the difference that big?

Just as Shi Yan was thinking about how to make the flame bigger, a rustling sound suddenly rang out. Before Shi Yan could find the source, a strange black shadow suddenly stopped in front of "Crimson". Shi Yan looked up and was so frightened that he almost put out the fire.

Because it turned out to be a tongue!

What the hell?!

Shi Yan moved the flame back a bit to illuminate more of the area. Then he discovered that the strange tongue was protruding from a bronze mirror on the table.

Bronze mirror?

Shi Yan immediately remembered that this was a monster called "Gluttonous Mirror" brought by Tang Shi.

According to Qi Fei, this demonic entity will emerge when it detects demonic power, and will react according to the different types of demonic power. Simply put, the stronger the demonic power, the more attractive it is to it, while it won't even bother to glance at extremely weak demonic power.

Goodness, he's a real gourmand; he won't open his mouth unless it's the finest delicacies.

But this is fine too, it's a good opportunity for Shi Yan to test the quality of his "scarlet" color. So he stretched out his hand and brought the flame closer to the Gluttony Mirror.

The Gluttonous Mirror's behavior was quite strange. Its long tongue kept hovering around the crimson area, while simultaneously trembling slightly. Shi Yan couldn't tell whether it wanted to eat or not.

After observing for a while, the Gluttonous Mirror's tongue trembled to the extreme, as if it could finally suppress its desire and was ready to take a big bite.

But just as it was springing up like a spring, ready to feast, Shi Yan's half-bent fingers suddenly straightened, and a crimson roar suddenly rang in his mind.

"Shi Yan!!!"

"I'll remember this grudge!!!"

"I'll make you wish you were dead..."

Before she could finish speaking, her upright middle finger suddenly drooped and became limp, and her voice disappeared.

Shi Yan was a little confused and hadn't figured out what was going on. The Gluttonous Mirror, which was halfway to pounce, was so frightened that it shrank back with lightning speed, and the entire mirror surface was trembling.

No, was this thing scared by Crimson?

With a "snap".

The living room lights suddenly turned on, and Qi Fei's voice sounded from behind: "Heh, you're awake? Why didn't you wake me? Did it work... Oh, looks like it did."

Qi Fei immediately noticed the still-burning crimson light and then turned his gaze to the Gluttony Mirror. Seeing that the Gluttony Mirror was sitting perfectly still on the table without even sticking out its tongue, he understood what was going on.

The Gluttony Mirror didn't react, so it seems it's not a powerful monster. We can relax a little.

So he leisurely walked over and sat down next to Shi Yan: "How was it? Did it go smoothly?"

"Uh." Shi Yan extinguished the crimson light, thought for a moment, and then answered, "It didn't go very smoothly. Her resistance was quite strong, and we almost failed."

"Really? Looks like your monster's pretty irritable." Qi Fei poured himself a glass of water, then asked as he drank, "How much blood was drawn? Did it reach the required level?"

"It's full."

"Pfft!" Qi Fei immediately spat out the water he had just put in his mouth, then looked at Shi Yan in shock, "What do you mean by 'fully filled'? You filled the entire syringe?"

"Yes." Shi Yan nodded. After all, it was already that late, and he didn't have time to check if he had reached the standard. He could only draw the last drop in one go. So, he asked with some concern, "Is there a problem?"

Qi Fei remained silent for a while before saying, "Your monster has a pretty good temper; it didn't kill you even after all that."

No, she just didn't kill me.

Shi Yan silently complained.