101 Calling from the Dark (1/2)

A naked corpse lay on the ground, fresh blood pooled around it. The eyes of the cold body stared up into the black sky. She looked like a typical prostitute from downtown. Her cheap dress was torn and had been dyed red from the blood. The deep red made the ragged dress seem more expensive, full of stunning beauty.

”I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” A frail figure kneeling in the puddle of blood choked out, ”Sorry…” The voice was weak and in pain. It sounded like a girl, but her thin figure was hidden under a cloak. All Ye Qingxuan could see was a strand of golden hair that fell from under the hood. But she was a living person. Thankfully, she was a living person.

Ye Qingxuan let out a sigh in relief and walked out from the corner. He gazed around in caution, but besides the girl, the place was empty. It was good; he could attack and retreat.

Taking a deep breath, he walked over carefully, ready to flee at the smallest sign of danger. But nothing strange happened, even as he approached the girl.

She was still kneeling in the puddle, sobbing and choking out an apology. ”I wanted to help you, I’m sorry…”

”Hey, are you okay?” Ye Qingxuan gulped and lightly touched her shoulder. The crying girl flinched in shock. Her entire body stiffened, trembling with fear.

Taken aback, Ye Qingxuan withdrew his hand awkwardly. ”Don’t be scared. I’m not a bad guy. I just saw you crying. Can I help you?”

”Did you touch me?” The girl spoke with her back facing him. Her voice was fragile, but there was no longer any trace of fear. Instead, there was unrestrainable anger.

”Huh?”

She turned her head stiffly, her neck cracking. The voice that came from the dark hood was distant and scratchy, like delirious cries after waking from a nightmare. ”You-just-touched me?”

”I’m sorry, I…” Ye Qingxuan reflexively tried to explain himself, but his voice suddenly broke off. When the girl moved away from the corpse, he finally saw the whole body.

The dead prostitute stared up lifelessly at the sky. Under the dim light, two shriveled breasts sagged limply on each side because her entire chest had been carved open. Two rows of ribs reached out to the sky like an infant’s hands. The intestines were placed neatly on the ground beside the body.

Still in the puddle of blood, the girl held a shriveled heart in her hand. The heart was almost squeezed to the point of bursting in the angrily clenched fist. The scene seemed so familiar to Ye Qingxuan.

Shadowed by the hood, the face slowly rose. Fury filled the two beastly eyes, ”You want to dirty me too…you dirty…”

Ye Qingxuan ran without hesitation.

--

Not even ten minutes after getting the Butcher off his heels, he had began to run for his life again. He probably broke the record for the worst luck in Avalon today! First, he had run into a gang fight and was chased by the Bloody Butcher. Then, because he was stupid, he had run into Avalon’s legendary Ripper!

Avalon’s Ripper! The murderous monster from Whitechapel Church! The one who liked to dissect victims while they were still alive and take their inner organs. He could never forget the pictures from the files! First the Bloody Butcher, then the Ripper…were these lunatics so bored that they all came downtown to play?

Before he could take three steps, a crazed scream sounded behind him. The piercing sound was filled with fury and murderous intent, almost breaking his eardrums.

Ye Qingxuan really wanted to cry, ”What are you angry about? I’m too tired to be angry, alright! This isn’t the East, where a girl can’t be touched by a stranger, and you’re not some lady either. How are you going to live if you get this angry just because I touched you?!” he wanted to yell back. But before he could speak, a crash sounded from behind. Ye Qingxuan looked back in shock to see the wall and floor shatter under the frail figure’s bare hands!

As if hacked by an invisible ax, cracks appeared under the furious scratching. A sharp crack snaked toward Ye Qingxuan. If not for his fast reflexes, he would have been split in half by the invisible ax.

Inhaling the cold air, Ye Qingxuan sped up, but the shadow behind him stayed in its place. Watching him run away, she murmured to herself, ”Purify, purify…”