"Shouldn't you have———–" Lee's eyes widened in disbelief.
Qin Jiu bent over, his smile reflecting in the mirror, as he said to Lee with a tone filled with threats, "What should have happened? We should have lost our minds at the temptation of blood and crawl around the ground lapping them up?"
Is that not it???
Lee's mind was filled with questions. He couldn't understand why they were still fine after he poured out all that red paint.
You Huo threw the tied-up Kelly into the coffin and strode over to grab Lee's collar, "I don't know how to make such an ugly posture. Why don't you give us a demonstration?"
When he was done, he held the back of his head and smashed it against the mirror.
You Huo lowered his head and said coldly, "Lick."
Lee: "...."
He has had his fair share of dealing with troublesome guests and there were also many guests who would fight back.
But ones that are as ruthless as these ones here, it was his first time.
Those blood really were useless? Impossible!
Lee was pressed down onto the mirror until his face was all contorted. He rolled his eyes around with much difficulty as he tried to glance at the person behind him.
At this moment he realised that You Huo's face was pale and, because of the excessive force he was using, his arm was stretched and tense. Through the tightening of his fingers, he could sense the impatience and anxiety from You Huo.
He was hungry. Hungry to the point that he was extremely uncomfortable.
Lee thought this to himself and a crooked smile appeared on his face.
Blood was still effective. Very effective!
The cold-looking young guest behind him was current experiencing unprecedented suffering. Even the flow of blood in everyone here was a temptation to him, especially those fresh and delicious students.
He was resisting this temptation and that was why he was so impatient and so irritated.
Lee squeezed out a few words: "Feeling uncomfortable? You must be. I…..cough. I understand. You…..you're now venting that frustration onto me but it's okay, I'm very accepting. You will however regret it."
"In just a few minutes, you will attack those students. Restraining yourself too much isn't good. If you suck the blood out of them now, you definitely wouldn't be able to control yourself and suck them up complet——ah!"
The last word was turned into a painful cry.
You Huo had once again slammed his face against the mirror leaving bloodstains behind.
Sss——–
Di Li and Jonny hissed in pain as they imagined how painful that must've been.
But this didn't stop Jonny from exclaiming: "Hit him! Hit that bastard for even daring to throw us into the mirror!"
But he didn't dare shout too loudly because he could tell that the two saviours seemed to be in bad condition, You Huo especially.
He was afraid that Lee's words would come true.
If other Mirror Humans attacked, he still had a chance of escaping but if You Huo and Qin Jiu charged over, he would die right then and there.
He suddenly heard rustling next to him.
Jonny turned and saw that Di Li had already untied the rope.
"You can break free?!" Jonny exclaimed in English.
Di Li replied very fluently, "Yes, I learnt some tricks from the other examinees."
"Then why the hell did you only do it now?" Because he was overwhelmed with surprise, Jonny even threw in a profanity.
"Because I was acting as bait!"
"???"
"Why are you surprised?" Di Li asked, "Weren't you pretending to be bait like me?"
Jonny: "I wasn't. I was really caught and brought over."
Di Li: "...…"
Jonny: "You relied on your acting skills, I relied on my true skills. So does it mean that your interest in Lee's words earlier was all an act?"
Di Li: "I was just trying to dig information out from him."
Jonny looked at You Huo and Qin Jiu before looking back at him and asking quietly, "When did you discuss this?"
Di Li: "Didn't discuss. It only relied on mutual understanding."
Jonny: "???"
**
Lee was rendered extremely pitiful under the oppressive forces of You Huo and Qin Jiu, but he hadn't reached the point of despair yet.
After his façade was exposed, every word of his were sharp. He devoted himself to describing You Huo's out of control appearance. Like an unrelenting mosquito, his words buzzed non-stop.
Qin Jiu who heard this almost laughed. The more he laughed in a situation like this, the more it made the other party uncomfortable. Just as he was about to teach this noisy researcher a lesson, You Huo suddenly grabbed his wrist."
"What's wrong?"
You Huo placed an index finger to his lips and said hoarsely, "Someone is coming."
His hearing was very keen, so he originally wanted to use it to figure out the direction in which everyone was approaching but he soon realised that it came from all directions.
You Huo: "...…"
The next second, he tightened his fingers and Qin Jiu immediately reacted.
They quickly turned around using the help of their surrounding terrain.
Clang———-
Several curved nails slashed by, striking against the coffin like steel claws.
If You Huo and Qin Jiu were just a second slower, those 'steel claws' would've slashed their faces.
This was the usual attack method Mirror Humans used —— Taking advantage of the thick fog or dark night, they would grab their preys head and drag them to the side.
Sometimes if the force was too strong, there would be a 'crack' and the head would fall off directly, but it didn't matter to them. As long as they still had their attractive shoulder and neck lines…..
The two didn't hesitate after dodging. Even after avoiding the attack, they still circled Lee.
And so, even if Lee wanted to escape, he was completely trapped.
You Huo looked around and very quickly spotted almost thirty Mirror Humans around. He even recognised a familiar face amongst them ——– a young lady.
This lady was someone Jonny should be quite familiar with because when they were attacked by the Mirror Humans at the movie theatre earlier, this lady was part of that group and she was also the one that had managed to slip away.
Before escaping from You Huo and Qin Jiu, she had crouched on the roof and turned her face into the building like an owl, scaring Jonny who was hiding by a pillar until he almost wet himself.
You Huo had always thought that she was looking inside because she was reluctant to leave with all these fresh food still around.
But now, he felt that she was probably looking for Lee.
Those Mirror Humans who had attacked them earlier were probably Lee's 'children'.
Just as he had said, he let those 'children' follow him around and could get them to save him if he needed any assistance.
You see? Didn't another group arrive already?
As he thought this, that young lady had already thrown out five consecutive attacks.
The speed of Mirror Humans is extremely fast and is something that they are proud of. She had thought that all her attacks would land but she didn't expect that the guests would be even faster!
As long as she reached out, You Huo would always be able to bring Lee over as a shield and his defence purely relied on Lee's face.
She had thrown out five slashes and all five landed on the unlucky Lee.
Not only did You Huo did this, Qin Jiu next to him also did the same.
Whoever wanted to attack him, he would also use Lee.
Lee: "....."
This group of 'children' had come to fight for him but in the end he was the one rendered to the most pitiful state.
Di Li and Jonny had already hidden themselves behind a nearby gravestone. For You Huo, it wasn't a problem seeing the Mirror Humans within the dark night but to them it was too difficult.
"Brother You, Brother Qin! Do you need me to use my phone torch??" Di Li shouted boldly.
After calling, they quickly changed hideouts.
"No need." Qin Jiu said, "He's about to be beaten to tears."
Di Li: "Huh? Who???"
Lee: "....."
Sure enough, Lee who was constantly being beaten finally couldn't stand it any longer, "Stop! Stop it!"
These 'children' are very obedient.
You Huo and Qin Jiu just happened to be waiting for this.
With a calm look, You Huo turned in a certain direction and raised his hand. Before Lee was able to realise what he was doing, he heard something whistle past his ear.
It was the sound of an arrow piercing through the air.
Lee's face turned even paler!
He subconsciously looked over in the direction of the forest and saw Chu Yue, Yu Wen and Old Yu standing there with their crossbows aimed in his direction.
Shu Xue and the other two women each had a bundle of rope that they had procured from the theatre earlier and had appeared right before them in a blink of an eye.
The surrounded Mirror Humans now had to avoid the arrows flying over as well as You Huo and Qin Jiu's close-range attacks.
They didn't even realise that their range of movement had grown smaller. By the time Lee noticed, they had already been forced together into a group.
Shu Xue and the others used this opportunity to tie them all up together.
The three ladies dragged the rope around many times and then pulled hard to bind Lee and his 'children' together into a squirming centipede.
Di Li heard someone pant out a rough 'Done'. He was stunned for a moment before turning on his phone's flashlight function. He immediately saw that Shu Xue and them had managed to drag those 'people' over to the gravestone and had tied them to it like a chained up dog.
Chu Yue and them lowered their crossbows and came over while breathing heavily.
Di Li only now realised that they had probably endured extreme hunger as they chased over after them.
"Ah damn. Top student, hold my bow for a second." Yu Wen stuffed the crossbow into Di Li's arms as he breathed heavily and collapsed onto the ground to catch his breath.
"Are you alright?" Di Li asked carefully.
Yu Wen shook his head and stood back again, "No good. Sitting makes me even hungrier."
Di Li: "....."
He and Jonny exchanged a look. Without any need for discussion, they both rolled up their sleeves and held out their arms like they were offering it for a health check: "Why don't…..why don't you have a bite?"
Yu Wen looked at the two arms and gulped deeply.
"No, no, no." He very quickly shrank back and waved his hand, "My willpower is poor. What if I can't control myself after taking a bite? You better stay away from me."
If they were this hungry already, You Huo must be several times worse.
He didn't return to back to the gravestone.
Instead, he stood amidst an area filled with overgrown vegetation, hidden in the shadows.
He stood there with both arms hanging loosely by his side as he breathed both quickly and heavily. Just as Lee had said, he was indeed feeling unbearably hungry. This feeling was worse compared to the feeling during the day and he was on the verge of losing self-control.
After breathing heavily for a while, You Huo took a step back to lean against the trunk of a big tree.
He raised his hand and drew a line along the side of his neck. The characteristics of a Mirror Human made him able to cut into his skin rather easily. Very soon, beads of blood started to flow out.
You Huo tilted his head and said to Qin Jiu, "This time you do it."
There was something Lee said that he agreed with—- This was a very private matter.
He wouldn't suck any random person's blood, and he also wouldn't let anyone suck his.
Only Qin Jiu.
***
Lee and the others were tied up against the gravestone. He sniffed and licked his lips, "Who's drinking blood? I can smell it. It's not the kind that's splattered across the ground, it smells fresh like it's coming out straight from the flesh."
This person spoke very softly. It originally made him seem gentle but now they could only feel a chill run through them when they heard him speak.
Di Li wanted to take of his socks and use it to seal his mouth but because of his upbringing and politeness, he didn't do this and just let him be.
Soon afterwards, Yu Wen murmured, "I feel a little better."
Chu Yu also rubbed her stomach, "I don't seem as hungry as before now."
Just as she finished saying that, a long and loud stomach rumble rang out.
"Who is it? Who's still hungry?" Chu Yue was confused.
Di Li pointed at the gravestone, "Has nothing to do with us. It's their stomachs calling out this time."
As they spoke, You Huo and Qin Jiu returned one after another.
Lee tilted his head as he looked at them and let out an 'ah': "It was you two just now. I've warned you already. The relief you get from blood from the same kind is only temporary and will not last long. Tomorrow you will feel even more uncomfortable. The longer you're like this, the sooner you'll go mad."
Qin Jiu rubbed the corner of his lips with his thumb and said, "You don't need to worry about this. Why don't you sort out your thoughts and tell us the conditions for a Mirror Human to change into a normal human?"
As they spoke, You Huo glanced at the bound Mirror Humans.
It was difficult to be certain that there were no examinees amongst them, and this was why they didn't directly shoot at them this time.
If there really were examinees amongst them, it meant that it many not be easy to convert back to a normal human from a Mirror Human and it may even be...very, very difficult.
Why wouldn't they attempt to change back otherwise?
Lee pursed his lips and didn't seem to have any intention to speak.
You Huo then thought of the group photo with all the researchers. Lee and Kelly appeared to be smiling very warmly in there and looked completely different to them now.
Perhaps they were in a similar situation as the Shirley and Sali siblings. They have a background story and all the NPCs that come out from the mirrors are just copies of the original.
They have the same experience, same memories and even look identical but in the end they are not the original.
The original Lee and Kelly probably only exist in the photo.
***
Thinking that You Huo was distracted in his thoughts, Lee subconsciously glanced at the coffin.
This subtle action of his was noticed by Qin Jiu. He raised a brow, glanced back at the coffin and strode over.
"What's the matter?" Chu Yue was standing beside the coffin looking at the mirror.
"He looked here just now. Just wondering if there would be instructions behind the mirror."
KK has something to say:
Scattering dog food even while drinking blood