Die, Replay, Repeat

"You all wait outside the Old Mansion. I'll be right back," Fang Xiu said calmly to the group.

They nodded, accepting his decision without question.

"Xiu, are you really going in alone? According to the pattern, the Specter in here will be stronger than the ones before. If you go alone..." Hei Jiji expressed her concern.

"Don't worry about it," Zhao Hao responded casually. "Since Xiu says it's fine, it must be. You don't know him well yet, that's why you have all these questions. Once you get to know him, you'll understand. When you're with Xiu, you don't need to think or ask anything. Just trust him completely."

Hei Jiji was speechless. She looked at the others and saw they all agreed with Zhao Hao. For some reason, this blind trust made her a bit angry.

"What if he told you to die?"

Zhao Hao paused, then replied, "If that happened, it would mean there's an even worse way to die waiting for me, so Xiu would be doing me a favor."

Hei Jiji felt defeated by their unwavering trust. She was angry but also a bit envious. She might never trust someone so completely. Sometimes, she didn't even trust herself. After all, she often lied to herself.

Fang Xiu ignored Hei Jiji's reaction and walked into the Old Mansion alone.

SWISH, SWISH!

Countless silver hairs danced like giant snakes pouring into the well. The next second, a Specter with nails in its eyes and ears was pulled out.

SLASH!

A silver lightning bolt flashed in the gloomy mansion. The cold scalpel plunged into the Specter's forehead.

This time, Fang Xiu wanted to see if he could kill the Specter before it removed the nails from its eyes.

However, his plan failed. Just as the scalpel neared, bang! The nails in the Specter's eyes shot out like bullets, deflecting the scalpel with great force.

Then, Fang Xiu's vision went black, and he was blind again, surrounded by darkness.

But he wasn't surprised. He kept slashing as the Specter broke free from the silver hairs and disappeared.

Just as he tried to locate it by sound, two clear sounds rang out.

The nails fell from its ears.

Suddenly, Fang Xiu lost his hearing.

He was in the same situation as before. But this time, Fang Xiu didn't use the hair Specter's power.

If he spread the silver hairs throughout the mansion to sense the Specter's movements, he'd always be a step behind.

Instead, he closed his eyes and stood still, waiting for the Specter's attack.

SWISH!

The first strike came from behind, opening a huge wound on Fang Xiu's back, flesh and bone exposed.

He stood still, not fighting back, and the wound quickly healed. The second strike followed almost immediately, hitting his left arm.

SWISH!

His arm was cut off, but he still didn't move.

The third, fourth, and fifth strikes followed. The sixth strike, which hit his chest, split it open.

Finally, Fang Xiu made his decision. But this time, he didn't use his pain-absorbing ability. He simply stood still and died quietly.

…

Fang Xiu entered the Old Mansion for the third time, positioning himself exactly as before, down to the millimeter.

Silence and darkness enveloped him.

The first strike was on his back, yet he remained still.

The second strike was on his arm, and he didn't react.

Even when the fifth strike landed, he didn't move.

Counting silently in his head, he anticipated the sixth strike, and before it could land, he struck with his knife, aiming directly at somewhere before him.

SLASH!

The sharp blade seemed to pierce through steel. Simultaneously, Fang Xiu's chest was cut open, blood gushing out, the wound so large that his beating heart was visible.

But Fang Xiu smiled because he had finally injured the Specter.

A wave of excruciating pain exploded, and an inhuman scream of agony erupted from the Specter.

Suddenly, a sinister smile appeared on Fang Xiu’s face. His white teeth showed, his handsome face turning ferocious, like a cruel demon.

"It will take you countless strikes to kill me completely, yet I just need one to take you down."

His terrifying laughter echoed in the gloomy Old Mansion.

Then, he twisted the scalpel, stirring it inside the Specter. All the pain he had absorbed from the countless deaths erupted within the Specter.

WHOOSH!

His vision returned, and he heard the most beautiful sound in the world—the Specter’s scream of pain.

He had endured all those attacks, waiting for this moment.

Fang Xiu had let himself be attacked to memorize the Specter’s attack patterns. He didn’t need to see or hear; he could still predict the Specter’s moves, even if it meant dying a few times.

Knowing the Specter's every move, he could have counterattacked on the first strike.

But Fang Xiu waited for the perfect angle. He couldn't get fast enough to counter attacks from behind, and side attacks were no better.

Only when the Specter attacked his chest, facing him directly, could Fang Xiu land the fastest strike. The shortest distance between two points is a straight line.

This was his most confident strike. By timing it right, even if the Specter was faster, it wouldn't matter.

BANG!

Overwhelmed by pain, the Specter collapsed.

Just as Fang Xiu was about to feel satisfied, the Specter’s body disintegrated into a pile of yellow sand.

A cold light flashed in his eyes, and his dissatisfaction with the Specter Train and its unseen controllers grew.

"

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