Chapter 15: Human Skin Manor (Part 14)

Warning: Violence and gore.

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The sky had completely darkened. Xiao Muyu and Shen Qingqiu sat in silence, while the others more or less felt that the two women were hard to approach, and didn’t dare bother them.

Moreover, among the men, few were willing to admit that they couldn’t compare to these two beautiful women, thinking they were merely pretty faces. For a while, the second floor was unusually quiet.

At this moment, the trussed-up human skin was left on the floor, with Xiao Muyu and Shen Qingqiu sitting on either side of it.

Liu Wei stared at the old woman’s tightly closed room on the second floor, lost in thought. The others were similarly preoccupied with their own concerns.

Xiao Muyu frowned slightly as she stared at the old woman’s room. Her intuition told her that crucial information was hidden within. But their task had another requirement: to survive for 72 hours. There were still 21 hours left!

Suddenly, the scent of musk at the tip of her nose seemed to intensify. Almost instinctively, she turned her head to glance at the human skin beside her.

Just as her eyes narrowed in shock at what she saw, Shen Qingqiu’s dagger flashed down once again like lightning. This time, the dagger plunged entirely into the floor with incredible force, pinning the human skin, which had silently broken through all the bindings made from clothes!

“The bindings snapped!” Chen Dong exclaimed in surprise, his body reacting faster than his mouth as he quickly dodged away. Not just him, but Chen Xi and a few others, including Leopard, turned pale and instinctively ran!

In the blink of an eye, the six people who had surrounded the area at the start, were now reduced to only Liu Wei, who had stepped forward and stopped, Xiao Muyu, and Shen Qingqiu. These three stood within a meter of the human skin!

Without the tight restraints and with the previous lesson in mind, the human skin moved swiftly. Its thin skin tore open along the hole the dagger had made, and it instantly broke free from its shackles, before flying up to the second-floor ceiling.

The human skin harbored extreme hatred towards Shen Qingqiu and Xiao Muyu. Its tattered form hung on the beam, its bloody face roaring at the two of them. On the ground, You Qiaolian had already become a blurry mess of flesh and blood, making it unbearable to look at.

Just as the human skin was about to pounce, Cui Xiaoxuan and Xu Ran came up to the second floor, the latter holding a torch. They looked up upon hearing the human skin screeching, and nearly tumbled down the stairs.

The human skin, which was almost right in front of Shen Qingqiu and Xiao Muyu, abruptly turned around.

Xiao Muyu’s expression changed, and she shouted loudly, “Be careful with the fire; get away!”

Xiao Muyu’s shout was incredibly penetrating and authoritative, leaving no room for argument. In this eerie place, even though the flying human skin was already scaring Xu Ran out of his wits, he still followed Xiao Muyu’s command instinctively. Holding the torch, he stepped directly onto the stair railing and flipped over to the staircase between the second and third floors, causing the human skin to miss its target.

Xu Ran’s legs were trembling, yet his surprisingly swift and agile move even left Xiao Muyu a bit stunned. People truly had limitless potential.

The human skin, having missed its target, let out another piercing howl, and clung to the beam above the second-floor staircase.

In just those few breaths, Shen Qingqiu had already pulled out her dagger. She braced her left hand on the table and leapt over it. Her long legs landed on the staircase handrail, and she continued to spring upwards, her dagger thrusting toward the human skin on the beam at a speed that left everyone in awe.

Shen Qingqiu’s skills were truly impressive, almost excessively so.

The human skin hated and feared Shen Qingqiu, especially when she wielded her dagger. The idea of a human being able to threaten a monster was something it simply couldn’t comprehend.

It quickly scanned the people present and locked onto a target—Xiao Muyu!

The human skin glided through the air like a kite, spreading itself open to wrap around Xiao Muyu. She had been caught twice by human skins, and knew their deadly tricks. The hooks and sharp teeth hidden beneath a human skin made for ideal flaying tools.

Without a weapon in hand, she had no choice but to evade.

Without hesitation, she dove under the table, rolled, and stood up next to Shen Qingqiu. Although she didn’t trust Shen Qingqiu, this was her only option.

“Is there any kerosene or other flammable material in the kitchen downstairs?” Xiao Muyu warily fixed her eyes on the human skin. She spoke a little fast, but she wasn’t asking Xu Ran and the others; rather, the question was for Shen Qingqiu.

Shen Qingqiu glanced at her out of the corner of her eye, slightly surprised. Then, she suddenly pulled Xiao Muyu and rolled to the side. The human skin crashed into the spot where they had been standing, smashing the staircase handrail.

“There’s a jar of wine on the left side of the first floor’s kitchen,” Shen Qingqiu quickly replied. She had to admit that Xiao Muyu was really quick-witted; even in this situation, she could remember that Shen Qingqiu had spent time in the kitchen before.

Shen Qingqiu kept her voice very low, knowing that the human skin could understand their words.

Xiao Muyu glanced downward. “You distract it.”

“Xu Ran, protect your torch, or we’re all dead!” With that, she flipped over and jumped through the gap in the stairs. The human skin sensed something was wrong, but Shen Qingqiu blocked its path at the top of the stairs.

She only had a dagger in hand, yet Shen Qingqiu exuded an aura of invincibility, as if she alone could hold off an entire army.

Unable to tolerate this any longer, the human skin gave up on the tough opponent and shifted its focus to Liu Wei and the others, throwing the scene into chaos.

Shen Qingqiu wasn’t kind enough to protect everyone. She simply guarded Xu Ran, and kept an eye on the torch in his hand.

The human skin moved quickly. As their lives were threatened, Liu Wei, Leopard and the others, pushed themselves to the limit. While they were desperately fleeing around the room, Shen Qingqiu, like a demon, immediately stabbed the human skin without mercy whenever it drew close.

The human skin almost caught the short and chubby Chen Dong several times, and he yelled at the top of his lungs, “Miss Shen, are you just going to stand there and watch!?”

Shen Qingqiu’s expression remained cold. The human skin was fast enough to catch them easily. Clearly, it was playing a waiting game, with Xu Ran as its true target. As long as it could put out the torch in his hand, it would eventually wear them all down, and kill them.

Although she was agile, Cui Xiaoxuan had the weakest stamina among them, and she was already reaching her limit.

Seeing that Shen Qingqiu was still unmoved, the human skin lost its patience. Its tattered body, slashed by Shen Qingqiu, suddenly curled up and shot toward the group like a ball.

Chen Dong and Chen Xi had been defending each other, but they made a fatal mistake—sticking together made them an even larger target. When the human skin stopped toying with them, they simply weren’t fast enough to dodge. As Chen Xi  saw the human skin was about to land on him, he acted almost instinctively and pushed Chen Dong, who was beside him, into its path.

Chen Dong was already exhausted, and the person beside him was his own younger brother. As he was completely unguarded, he had no strength to fight back, and the human skin wrapped itself tightly around him.

The human skin gave him no chance at all. Almost instantly, Chen Dong’s screams echoed throughout the hall.

Blood spurted out, flowing from his short, fat body. As he kept rolling on the ground, his skin peeled off like the delicate skin of a ripe peach, stripping away in an instant. The scene was far more gruesome and horrifying than when the human skin was shedding from You Qiaolian.

“Ah! Ah!” Chen Dong screamed hoarsely, almost like a wail, his short, stout arms reaching out desperately toward Chen Xi. His five fingers clawed futilely, as if he were either trying to grab Chen Xi, or pleading for his brother to pull him out.

Liu Wei and the others turned pale, shocked that Chen Xi could be so ruthless.

Chen Xi staggered back three steps, drenched in cold sweat, and his eyes had turned bloodshot while the human skin was trapping Chen Dong. He rushed toward the staircase, glanced back at Chen Dong, then glared fiercely at Shen Qingqiu, the hatred and ruthlessness in his gaze finally making Shen Qingqiu look squarely at him for the first time.

However, she had no time to ponder his misdirected anger, because Xiao Muyu had returned. Xiao Muyu had taken off her jacket, and was holding a jar of wine as well as some hay. The strong smell of alcohol immediately mingled with the stench of blood, creating an indescribably odd odor.

Shen Qingqiu glanced at her, then executed a swift, acrobatic move to grab the jar of wine from Xiao Muyu’s hand. She turned, flung it without hesitation, and kicked it in mid-air.

The jar flew rapidly through the air, smashed precisely onto the floor near Chen Dong’s corpse, and spilled wine all over the place.

Although the human skin hadn’t finished flaying Chen Dong, it was quick to withdraw, so only a portion of the wine splashed onto it.

When the human skin saw the wine spill all over the floor, it let out a shriek. Although no one present could understand its language, they could sense its excitement. The faces of Liu Wei and the others immediately turned ashen, as they realized that the human skin indeed feared fire. However, with the jar of wine wasted, how could a mere cloth-wrapped torch truly kill it?

Shen Qingqiu had been too reckless!

The human skin assumed it had evaded danger, and then spotted Xiao Muyu who had reappeared. Its fear and hatred for her drove it to pounce towards her without a moment’s hesitation.

“Miss Xiao!” Cui Xiaoxuan cried out in alarm, but Xiao Muyu didn’t dodge. When the human skin tried to use its old trick, she raised the hand that had been hidden behind her back, and swung it forward. A black jacket unfurled instantly, striking the oncoming human skin with perfect precision.

At that very moment, when the human skin let out a screech, Shen Qingqiu, who was less than five steps away, snatched the torch from Xu Ran’s hand and hurled it toward the human skin.

When Xiao Muyu wrapped the jacket around the human skin, the torch Shen Qingqiu had thrown arrived at just the right time. The jar of aged wine had a high alcohol content, and flames erupted instantly!

The slightest hesitation or mistake in their movements would have ruined everything, but they were perfectly in synch, their coordination flawless!

The human skin’s desperate screams pierced through their eardrums. However, no one gave it another chance. Xiao Muyu grabbed a chair that had been knocked over, and pressed the human skin firmly to the floor.

Despite his face drenched in cold sweat, Xu Ran’s mind was extraordinarily clear. With quick reflexes, he threw all the hay Xiao Muyu had left on the stairs into the fire, causing the flames to surge upward with a roar.

The fire nearly singed Xiao Muyu’s hair. She leaned back with a frown and glanced at Xu Ran.

Xu Ran wasn’t sure what was happening to him either. His face was flushed with embarrassment, yet he couldn’t help but laugh, and eventually fell on his butt.

The group watched as the human skin, amidst its wailing, gradually turned to charcoal and finally fell silent. Only when the fire died down, did they let out a long sigh of relief.

Liu Wei’s legs were so weak that he nearly collapsed.

Chen Xi stood rigidly at the top of the stairs, his eyes bloodshot and brimming with unshed tears. Then, he fell to his knees with a thud, and struck his head to the floor hard.

The others couldn’t bring themselves to look at Chen Dong, but as they looked at Chen Xi, their eyes held a faint mix of fear and contempt. No one offered any words of comfort; there was no need to.

Xiao Muyu hadn’t seen what happened, but from the expressions of those present and Chen Xi’s state, she could guess a bit of it.

“You could have helped us; why did you stand by and do nothing?” Chen Xi raised his head, his gaunt face streaked with tears and snot, as he forced out each word through gritted teeth.

Shen Qingqiu didn’t even look at him, and calmly sheathed her dagger as she responded, “Having the ability doesn’t mean having the obligation. If you can send your own brother to his death, why should I save him.

Her words were logically sound, yet the others still felt uneasy. Although Chen Xi wasn’t exactly a good person, it was also true that Shen Qingqiu had just stood by and watched.

“It wasn’t that Sister Shen stood by and did nothing. The torch was in my hand. If she had gone over, the human skin could have easily extinguished the fire, and then we’d all be dead.” Xu Ran wasn’t dumb, and he also didn’t want anyone to misunderstand Shen Qingqiu.

Shen Qingqiu glanced at him and let out a cold laugh. “In a place like this, relying on others is a death sentence. Trusting others is also asking for death. Chen Dong is a living example of that.”

Xiao Muyu’s expression remained as indifferent as ever. After hearing Shen Qingqiu’s words, a flicker passed through her eyes, but she said nothing.

After speaking, Shen Qingqiu went straight back to her room. Xiao Muyu glanced at the timer—20 : 35 : 45 remained on the countdown.

Her gaze shifted to the old woman’s room, where a door that had been slightly ajar immediately closed shut.

Xiao Muyu looked down at Chen Dong’s body. Chen Xi remained kneeling beside him, completely still. His facial muscles twitched, and his eyes were bloodshot. It was a genuine expression of grief and regret. He wasn’t acting.

However… Xiao Muyu let out a mocking sound in her mind. She found human nature to be truly strange—why suffer over a choice you made yourself? Xiao Muyu couldn’t sympathize with such emotions, so she also turned and left.

With those two gone, the remaining people hesitated for a moment. Only Liu Wei walked over, took off his jacket, and, despite his discomfort, covered Chen Dong’s body with it. Then, they all left.

Chen Xi was the only one left kneeling in the hall.

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Author had something to say:

Ah, once again, I’m captivated by this young couple.

This story wasn’t doing well before, but thanks to some people’s recommendation, the number of bookmarks has increased significantly. I’m also grateful to the readers who enjoy and support it. I’m doing my best to write it well. Love you all.

There are many reasons why there’s so little of the infinite flow genre. Speaking for myself, it takes a lot of courage to attempt it. It’s very difficult to write—both the planning and the logic are far more challenging than before. I had to prepare for a long time before daring to start writing it. Moreover, there are very few yuri/baihe media that cater to this genre, and it’s quite disheartening when no one reads what I write.