Chapter 126
Chapter 126: Five Qi Chao Yuan One
Seattle Mercy Hospital, Basement Level 1, Morgue.
Silk-Stocking Desperado and the Thousand-Face Demon Lord faced off against each other.
The 2 circled one another—you advance, I retreat; I advance, you retreat—like 2 beasts waiting to strike.
"Give up."
The Thousand-Face Demon Lord spoke, all 3 mouths moving simultaneously, voices overlapping.
"Heh heh… You do make a fair point."
"But in this Werewolf game, there can only be 1 winner in the end—and that will be me."
"Stop your futile resistance and become the most perfect part of my body."
"Wouldn't that be far better than struggling desperately in this hopeless apocalypse?"
"Heh heh… What makes you think you're any match for me?"
Silk-Stocking Desperado let out a cold laugh.
She raised her right hand, Rule Force Field condensing in her palm.
"If I'm not mistaken, the core hub of your body…"
"…is that mask on your face, isn't it?"
Silk-Stocking Desperado's gaze was sharp as a blade.
"As long as I activate my ability and forcibly strip ownership of that broken mask from you…"
"…that cobbled-together monster body of yours will collapse on its own in an instant, won't it?"
Upon hearing this, the Thousand-Face Demon Lord showed not the slightest panic—on the contrary, he laughed with delight.
"Ho ho ho… Very sharp perception."
"What you said is indeed correct."
He halted his steps, looking down at Silk-Stocking Desperado from above.
"But have you considered one thing?"
"Since I already know your ability perfectly counters mine, yet I still dare to stand before you alone…"
"…what makes me unafraid of that move?"
"Because—as the Thousand-Face Demon Lord…"
"…when I seize a body, I also inherit a portion of that body's original owner's memories."
The moment those words fell, the Thousand-Face Demon Lord tore open his suit jacket and ripped apart the white dress shirt beneath.
The instant Silk-Stocking Desperado saw what lay on his chest, a storm of emotions erupted behind her eyes.
"You… you animal!!!"
His chest had completely mutated.
The skin was grotesquely twisted, muscles turned inside out, as though something was trying to claw its way free from within.
And at the position of the heart—a person had been fused in.
A face.
That face was trembling, twisting in agony, tears flowing ceaselessly downward.
It was Ye Yilin!
More than half of her body had been forcibly embedded into the flesh and blood.
When Ye Yilin saw Silk-Stocking Desperado across from her, she let out a faint sound.
"Silk-Stocking… Silk-Stocking Sis…"
"Kill me… please… kill me…"
"I don't want… don't want to become this disgusting monster… please…"
The Thousand-Face Demon Lord threw back all 3 heads and laughed without restraint.
"Hahahaha! How's that? Surprised? Didn't see it coming, did you?"
"Go ahead and activate your Plunder—take my mask!"
The Thousand-Face Demon Lord pointed at Ye Yilin on his chest.
"But… the moment the mask is removed, this body will instantly collapse and melt."
"And she, who has been forcibly bound to me through blood, will die alongside me in agony!"
"Of course, if you're willing to lower your hand and obediently become one of the organs in my Five Qi Return to Origin…"
"…I can magnanimously separate her and spare this pitiful muggle."
"After all, I have absolutely no interest in ordinary people with no ability."
The Thousand-Face Demon Lord bore down on her with his gaze: "A life for a life."
"So—what do you say to that deal… Han Fei?"
Upon hearing that long-forgotten real name, Silk-Stocking Desperado's body jolted.
Silk-Stocking Desperado's body shuddered violently.
That name—no one had called it in 18 years.
She lowered her head, looked at the hand she had let fall, and suddenly smiled.
That smile held bitterness, relief, and a complexity impossible to name.
"Heh heh… hahaha…"
"Old debts paid in the present day, huh."
"Fate really does love playing these foul jokes."
She raised her hand and slowly pulled off the black stocking from her face.
A pale green light fell across her features.
It was a face marked by the passage of years.
Half her hair had already gone white, and her skin had grown rough and dull from years of prison life.
No one could have imagined that the witty, sardonic Silk-Stocking Desperado who always wore a grin—had already crossed into middle age.
"What a shame, though…"
Han Fei tilted her chin upward slightly.
"Setting aside the fact that I never invested much feeling in her to begin with…"
"Furthermore…"
"I am a cold-blooded outlaw!"
"A convict sentenced to life imprisonment!"
"A wanted criminal with blood-soaked hands!"
Han Fei's voice surged suddenly.
"And you actually thought you could use 'morality' to hold me hostage?!"
"You thought threatening a person with absolutely no moral bottom line—using the life of a dead weight—would work?!"
"This is without a doubt the most laughable joke I have ever heard in my entire life!!!"
The moment those words landed, Han Fei's right hand—which had lowered—shot back up!
"Now… it's my turn to threaten you!"
Han Fei's eyes turned bloodshot.
"Separate her immediately! Then get out of my sight!"
"Otherwise… we all die here together today!"
"That grand Deity-Forging Plan of yours—let it rot in hell along with that putrid flesh!!!"
Watching Han Fei's posture—clearly prepared to take everyone down with her—the Thousand-Face Demon Lord blinked, then began to applaud with composure.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
"Magnificent… truly magnificent."
The Thousand-Face Demon Lord praised with genuine admiration.
"Cornered in a situation where you've been completely seized by the throat, you still manage to turn the tables and counter me with everything on the line."
"Worthy of the Desperado—that kind of nerve truly commands respect."
"But…"
"Han Fei, has that sharp mind of yours never considered one thing?"
"This so-called mask—as far as I am concerned…"
"…even if you destroy it, it is nothing more than losing a stand-in I can discard at any time!"
"I can simply take another body; the Deity-Forging Plan can start over just the same!"
"But…"
The Thousand-Face Demon Lord stroked Ye Yilin's pale face on his chest.
"When the light goes out, it is gone forever."
"If the flesh containing her soul completely melts away—can she…"
"…truly start over?"
"And even if she truly could be reborn…"
"…would that person still truly be her?!"
Han Fei's hand froze in midair.
The Thousand-Face Demon Lord raised his head, his gaze turning deep and unfathomable.
"Do you remember what I said at the beginning?"
He stroked Ye Yilin's face on his chest and spoke quietly.
"I carry Ye Desheng's memories."
"Not many—but the ones about you…"
"…are exceptionally vivid."
Eighteen years ago.
Back then, Ye Desheng was not yet the Xingcheng Prison warden who liked playing cards and drinking.
He was only a freshly promoted, spirited Criminal Investigation Unit chief.
The morning light filtered through the gap in the curtains, falling across the warm bed.
Ye Desheng opened his eyes and looked at the woman still asleep in his arms.
The Han Fei of that time had no white hair, no wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, and none of the black stockings used to conceal her identity.
She was young, beautiful, full of vitality.
Ye Desheng gently pressed a kiss to her forehead.
Back then, they were the brightest light in each other's lives—inseparable, brimming with beautiful hopes for the future.
Yet at that warm and tender moment, a phone ring shattered the quiet.
Caller ID: 【Mother】.
Ye Desheng answered with a resigned expression.
Before he could even say "Mom," a shrill, venomous voice erupted from the receiver.
"Ye Desheng! I'm warning you one last time—break off all ties with that wild woman called Han Fei immediately!"
"I absolutely will not allow a penniless girl with no background whatsoever to set foot through the door of our Ye family!"
"Do you know how much I've worried over your future?!"
"I've already found you a perfect match!"
"The other party is the only daughter of the Xingcheng Prison warden!"
"Marry her, and your career path is set for life!"
Han Fei, lying in bed, was awakened by the noise. Sensibly, she made no sound—only gripped the edge of the blanket tighter.
Ye Desheng's expression darkened instantly. He pushed back without hesitation.
"Mom! Can you stop interfering in my life?!"
"I don't care whose daughter she is—I, Ye Desheng, have only one woman in this life, and that is Han Fei!"
"You little brat! Are you trying to rebel?!"
His mother erupted in fury over the phone.
"I raised you alone through school, supported you all the way to becoming Criminal Investigation Unit chief!"
"And now that you've made something of yourself—is this how you repay us?!"
"For the sake of some woman of questionable character, you're willing to throw away your future?!"
"I truly raised an ungrateful wretch!!!"
Faced with his mother's harsh tirade, Ye Desheng only gripped his phone tightly and endured in silence.
His father had died when he was young; his mother had raised him alone.
Let her curse. As long as he didn't yield, no one could tear them apart.
At that moment, Han Fei finally couldn't hold back any longer.
Her heart aching for Ye Desheng—caught in the middle, pulled from both sides—she leaned toward the receiver and spoke with humble sincerity.
"Hello, Auntie."
"My name is Han Fei. Please believe me—I'll work hard together with Desheng. I won't take advantage of him in any way."
"I graduated from Xingcheng University—a legitimate top-tier 985 institution."
"I have a respectable job. I would never drag Desheng down…"
Ye Desheng watched Han Fei lower herself like that for his sake, feeling both warmth and guilt flood his chest.
Yet the mother on the other end of the phone was not moved in the slightest.
"Hmph! I don't care if you're from a 985 or a 589!"
"In this society, without connections!"
"Without background!"
"Even with a doctorate, you'll spend your whole life serving others like a beast of burden!"
"I don't care what tricks you used to bewitch my son—you will never set foot in the Ye family for as long as you live!"
"If you know what's good for you, take the money and get lost!"
"Only by marrying the warden's daughter will Desheng truly be able to rise!"
"A lowly woman like you is simply beneath him!"
His mother's voice grew sharper and sharper.
"Enough!!!"
Ye Desheng finally snapped.
He pulled Han Fei into his arms.
"Mom! Can you be reasonable?!"
"My love life is not yours to decide! And furthermore…"
Ye Desheng drew a deep breath.
"Han Fei… is already carrying my child!"
"If you keep pushing me, I'll give up being a cop altogether!"
"Consider yourself as having never had a son—we sever all ties!!!"
Those resolute words silenced his mother on the other end of the line instantly.
A full 10-plus seconds passed—then his mother's tone shifted a full 180 degrees.
Her voice turned soft.
"Desheng… it's Mom who was wrong… Mom was confused in her old age. Don't be angry with Mom."
"Since… since little Han is already carrying our Ye family's flesh and blood, what more can Mom say?"
"Mom accepts it, alright…"
"But… Desheng…"
His mother's tone shifted again, and she sighed with difficulty.
"You know, Mom was also confused for a moment—too anxious about your future—and had already, behind your back…"
"…arranged a luncheon today with the warden's people."
"They're important figures. If we dare stand them up, they'll be furious!"
"How would you survive in the system after that?"
"Desheng, just do it for Mom's sake."
"Go deal with this one meal. Just make an appearance."
"Mom swears to heaven—as long as you get through this, Mom will never interfere in your relationship again!"
"You two can do as you like! How about it?"
Ye Desheng had always been a filial son.
Faced with his mother's sudden capitulation and the pity she played like a card—
His resolve crumbled into helplessness in an instant.
He turned his head and looked at Han Fei in his arms with an apologetic expression.
Han Fei was a woman of grace and good sense.
Though hurt inside, so as not to make things harder for Ye Desheng—
She took his hand and nodded with quiet understanding.
"Go, Desheng."
"I can't have you and Auntie falling out completely over me."
"It's just one meal. I trust you."
Ye Desheng held Han Fei tightly, eyes reddening at the rims.
"Han Fei, thank you… thank you for understanding."
"Wait for me—I'll come straight back to be with you the moment I'm done eating!"
Then Ye Desheng straightened his police uniform and left to attend that meal—the one that would change the course of his entire life.
And the way things unfolded seemed, on the surface, exactly as Han Fei had trusted they would.
At that high-end luncheon—
Even as the warden's daughter, a woman named Li Xue, proved to be accomplished and beautiful.
Even as she turned out to be the first love of Ye Desheng's youth.
Even as the old warden subtly extended an olive branch—
Promising that once they married, he would hand over the warden's position entirely upon his retirement…
Even faced with such an enormously tempting offer—
Ye Desheng still refused, holding firm to his love for Han Fei.
After the meal ended, Ye Desheng let out a long breath.
He felt as though he had finally broken through the chains of worldly convention and won the love that belonged to him.
With an excited heart, he planned to clock in at the station first—then go immediately to take Han Fei out to pick an engagement ring.
But just as he stepped through the doors of the precinct—
The alarm rang out!
The dispatch center had received an emergency call reporting a murder!
And the address given by the caller…
…was the residential compound where his mother lived!
When Ye Desheng drove to the scene with a sense of dread, his hands shaking as he pushed open the half-ajar security door—
He saw the most despairing hellscape of his life.
On the living room floor, blood had gathered into a small river.
His formidable mother—and his dim-witted uncle—both lay in a pool of blood.
Their bodies were covered in jagged stab wounds. All signs of life had long since left them.
And the killer, according to the security footage…
…was his own beloved.
Han Fei!
Bunny-Bunny