The card game continued, Sith seemed to have found his luck again, winning several hands in a row, and the atmosphere gradually relaxed. After a while, the game ended, and Pike stood up, preparing to leave.
"Hehehehe! My good brother, I had a great time today. Let's play together again next time." Pike chuckled, bidding farewell to Sith while enjoying the soft skin of the woman beside him.
Sith, puffing on his cigar, replied, "Of course, my brother. You're always welcome here."
Pike withdrew his mischievous hand, rubbing his chin with a lecherous grin. "Hehehehe, this little chick is good, I like her a lot. How about Brother Sith gives her to me?"
Sith looked at the woman kneeling by the table, still with blood on the corner of her mouth. She lowered her head upon hearing his words, covering her face with her hands, bending at the waist, and trembling incessantly.
Sith chuckled softly, "Since Brother Pike has asked, I shouldn't refuse. However, I still can't agree. I'm sorry, my brother, I'm quite fond of this woman myself."
As Sith spoke, he stroked the woman's head as if petting a cute kitten. She kept her head down, feeling the large hand caress her head, desperately trying to suppress her trembling.
Pike's eyes narrowed, then he laughed again. "Hehehehe, I was too presumptuous. I didn't realize you liked this type."
With that, he turned and left with his men.
Sith's subordinates, upon hearing Pike's words, were restless and wanted to step forward, but Sith's gaze stopped them.
After Pike left, Sith angrily threw his cigar to the ground and stomped it out.
Sith roared, "Damn you, Pike! How dare you imply I like your leftovers, damn it! If it weren't for the boss telling me not to cause trouble, I would have killed you, you shorty!"
Sith knew very well that even if the boss hadn't said anything, he couldn't do that. He had to listen to Bob and not cause trouble. This was his foundation.
Pike wanted the woman from Sith, and Sith, of course, couldn't agree. This wasn't about wanting a woman; this was Pike trying to regain his face. But Sith couldn't give it to him. Pike wouldn't even get a single piece of toilet paper. Sith simply had to be one step above Pike.
Pike, that shorty, also knew that Sith and he held different weights in Bob's mind, which was why he was the first to concede at the card table earlier. But in the end, Sith still didn't give him face, so Pike had to disgust Sith one last time.
Still not appeased, Sith smashed the nearby wine bottle and glasses to the ground, sending shattered glass fragments scattering everywhere.
The woman kneeling by the table was cut on her legs and cheeks by the fragments, and blood flowed from the wounds, but she still dared not move.
Sith panted heavily, the spilled wine on the floor soaking the carpet and then his leather shoes. He disgustedly wiped the wine from his shoes with a dry part of the carpet nearby.
Sith then looked at the kneeling woman, his eyes filled with disgust and coldness.
He waved his hand, and two bodyguards walked over.
"Go clean up that disgusting trash. Just looking at her reminds me of that damn shorty Pike," Sith ordered the two.
The two bodyguards nodded and then walked towards the woman.
Upon hearing Sith's words, the woman slumped to the ground. She finally lifted her head, her beautiful eyes filled with despair and emptiness.
She stared at Sith's face, as if to engrave him in her mind.
The two bodyguards stepped forward and dragged the woman towards the door. Her eyes remained fixed on Sith until she was pulled out of the room.
Sith waved his hand again, dismissing the people in the room, then poured himself a glass of wine and settled onto the sofa by the window, gazing at the night view and lost in thought.
Sith had been very agitated lately. He constantly felt danger everywhere. The pressure from the ghoul was too great: Ur, Ibai, and the terrifying videos sent in the middle of the night.
One thing after another, he felt his nerves were about to collapse.
Sith took a sip of wine, leaned back on the sofa, and murmured, "Ghoul, oh ghoul."
"Hiss~ *smack*" The lights in the entire room suddenly went out, plunging the room into complete darkness.
Suddenly, Sith felt a warm, wet breath on his neck, and a long, slimy "snake" crawling on his neck.
A devilish voice, hoarse like a specter's gasp and cold as a deep abyss wind, sounded in his ear.
"Are you summoning me, Mr. Sith?"
"I've arrived. I'm sure you have something to tell me, don't you?"
Sith froze. The voice, like a paralysis spell, fixed him to the sofa. He dared not move, dared not turn his head.
He was afraid that if he turned around, he would see that terrifying face, and that if he turned around, that terrifying large mouth would bite off his head.
Sith sat there on the sofa, holding his wine glass. He moved his eyes, looking at the floor-to-ceiling glass window in front of him.
The large window vaguely reflected himself sitting on the sofa.
Above his head, a pair of pale, elongated eyes emitted a cold glow, staring at him.
Below the eyes, a large mouth full of sharp teeth was bared, and a bloody red tongue extended, slithering around his neck.
Sith's hand holding the glass began to tremble. His entire body shook uncontrollably.
"Gh-gh-ghoul, Mr. Ghoul, is there something you need? Please... please don't kill me." Sith trembled and cried, completely crushed by fear.
Sith pleaded with a choked voice.
Meng Ran reached out and stroked his neck, saying kindly, "Why is Mr. Sith so scared?"
"Don't be afraid, I've come to give you a gift."
After Meng Ran finished speaking, disregarding Sith's trembling and pleas, he pinched his chin with his left hand and held a centipede in his right.
Sith opened his mouth in terror, shaking his head frantically, trying to escape.
But Meng Ran's strong hand controlled his head, making him unable to move.
The centipede twisted its body flexibly, and the dense, numerous legs along its body also twisted and moved erratically.
Sith watched with wide eyes as the centipede was shoved into his mouth. He could feel it constantly moving its countless legs in his throat, crawling deeper inside.
That itching sensation traveled from his mouth to his throat, then all the way down, disappearing into his stomach.
Meng Ran released his hand, and Sith immediately tumbled off the sofa, then grabbed the wine from the table and gulped it down.
After drinking for a while, Sith used his fingers to try and make himself vomit the insect, but besides the pungent wine and stomach acid, he threw up nothing else.
Meng Ran sat on a small sofa, watching Sith's performance with interest.
Sith vomited for a while longer, then collapsed weakly onto the floor. He used all his strength to crawl towards Meng Ran, begging the ghoul to spare him.
Meng Ran, however, ignored his pleas, flipped his hand to produce a small bone flute, and put it to his lips, blowing.
No sound was heard, but Sith clutched his stomach, rolling on the ground and wailing.
After playing for a while, Meng Ran put down the bone flute.
He said coldly to Sith, "Now, Mr. Sith should have received my gift and felt my sincerity."
"This little worm will make you comfortable for a while every day. Only an antidote can relieve it. If you go three consecutive days without an antidote, or if you have thoughts detrimental to me, you will die suddenly."
Sith was not a fool. He knew that the ghoul didn't kill him cleanly but instead fed him a worm, making him suffer agonizing pain. There must be something he wanted Sith to do.
Sith was covered in cold sweat, feeling as weak as if he had collapsed. He lay on the ground, his face pressed against the carpet, breathing heavily.
Hearing Meng Ran's words, he gasped and said weakly, "Mr. Gh-ghoul, please tell me what you need me to do. I will surely accomplish it."
Meng Ran nodded. The young man was very sensible, good, good.
Meng Ran stood up from the sofa, walked to Sith's side, and squatted down, helping him smooth his sweat-soaked hair.
"I want you to swiftly take control of the Crocodile Gang after Bob's death. Can you do that?" Meng Ran said softly.
Sith lay on the ground, his eyes widening at the words. He struggled to digest Meng Ran's statement.
Meng Ran was not in a hurry, waiting for Sith's reply.
After a long pause, Sith finally made up his mind, speaking somewhat tremblingly, "N-no problem, Mr. Ghoul, I can do it."
After saying this, Sith glanced at the ghoul's face again, then lowered his head, knocking it against the carpet, and said, "Mr. Ghoul, although I can stabilize the situation, there are still some people who won't listen to me."
"Although none of those leaders are as strong as I am, if they unite, I won't have a chance."
After saying these words, Sith still did not raise his head, but he could feel the ghoul's gaze on him.
Meng Ran heard this, looked at Sith lying on the ground again, and smiled, "Very good. It's good that you can control the situation. That way, I won't have to find anyone else."
Sith's body trembled slightly at the words, but he quickly returned to normal, still lying with his head down.
Meng Ran continued, "I will solve the trouble you mentioned, like that shorty Pike, right?"
Sith, with his head down, said in a trembling voice, "Yes."
Meng Ran stood up and said in a clear voice, "The trouble will be resolved tonight. I hope you don't disappoint me."
"Oh, and some of the trash here. I just took care of some. Remember to deal with it yourself."
Sith, still on the ground, responded, "Okay, no problem. It's their honor to be punished by Mr. Ghoul."
"Jie jie jie jie jie~ !" As if amused by his words, the terrifying ghoul's laughter echoed in the room, lingering for a long time before fading away.
Sith took a long while before raising his head. In the dark room, he was the only one left.
By the moonlight, he saw three pills placed in front of him.
He quickly grabbed the pills, as if clutching his life, and then he remained sprawled on the ground until dawn the next day.