Yu Deng was shocked and confused.
How could he be recognized?
He had completely covered himself with a layer of dark mist, making his face unrecognizable. Moreover, his voice, distorted by the mist, sounded different from his usual tone.
He even made an effort to lower his voice.
Yu Deng tried to struggle. He recalled how villains spoke in TV dramas and imitated them.
"Hah, you've got the wrong person. A kiss? I'm not that easy to deal with."
Perfect, very fierce. Yu Deng nodded in satisfaction.
But after he finished speaking, he noticed the chest of the person in front of him trembling slightly—Cheng Xiao was holding back laughter.
Yu Deng: "…"
"Little Mom, you're so cute," Cheng Xiao sincerely complimented.
Yu Deng was furious and embarrassed. "I already said I'm not!"
In the thick mist, Cheng Xiao lowered his head and nestled precisely in Yu Deng's neck. "Little Mom, which evil ghost smells as nice as you?"
Even in the darkness, with the strange mist, Yu Deng's unique sweet scent was unmistakable.
It was like the pheromones described in ABO worlds—sweet, enticing, and fatally attractive to those dogs who desired Yu Deng. Being in the same room as him, it was impossible to mistake him for anyone else.
Surrounded by pure darkness, which should symbolize the unknown and danger in this instance, the stepson just held the beautiful young widow, who was revealing his powers for the first time, intimately.
His high nose pressed against Yu Deng's cool neck, as if being coquettish.
"Why did it suddenly turn like this? I can't even see Little Mom's face anymore."
Yu Deng pursed his lips and remained silent.
Actually, the system didn't tell him to hide his appearance; it was Yu Deng who wanted to hide himself with the black mist.
After all, he wasn't very smart and had planned to follow behind these top players and take advantage of their progress.
If the top players knew he had ulterior motives and was constantly trying to suppress them, wouldn't they think he was a very bad person?
Yu Deng imagined the scenario and felt he wouldn't want to play with someone like that.
Unfortunately, his disguise failed, and he was recognized immediately.
Yu Deng was disheartened, like a wilted, beautiful flower.
[...]The system sighed silently.
Clearly, these bad men were worse than the foolish host.
In the darkness, Cheng Xiao waited for a moment, not hearing Yu Deng speak.
He had become skilled at judging Yu Deng's emotions and immediately raised his hand to gently touch the corner of Yu Deng's eye.
Sure enough, he felt a bit of dampness.
The beautiful young widow had turned into a reclusive kitten.
Cheng Xiao felt a gentle tug at his heart.
..How could he be both adorable and pitiful?
Almost without thinking, Cheng Xiao spoke, lying through his teeth. "Alright, I made a mistake. You're not my Little Mom; you're a fierce evil ghost."
Yu Deng felt a little better with this acknowledgment.
"Then, then you should quickly submit to me."
"But you need to be fiercer," Cheng Xiao found a peculiar amusement in this, instructing patiently. "Look, to make someone submit, you have to threaten them. You're gripping too lightly."
Yu Deng hummed in confusion.
Cheng Xiao held Yu Deng's soft hand and placed it on his own neck.
His larger palm pressed down on Yu Deng's hand, then exerted force, squeezing inward.
Yu Deng was startled, his eyes widening in shock. He quickly let go.
"You see, that's how you can threaten the other person," Cheng Xiao said calmly.
Yu Deng pursed his lips. This person really made it sound like he had battled ghosts before.
"Alright, I've learned it already," Yu Deng urged, "Are you going to sign the contract or not?"
"I need to know what this thing is first, so what exactly is the contract?" Cheng Xiao asked with interest.
Good question.
Yu Deng hesitated for a moment. Regardless of how he described it, this contract didn't sound like a good thing.
Yu Deng hesitated in his words, "Basically, it's about submitting to me and listening to what I say."
Cheng Xiao imprisoned Yu Deng in his embrace, teasing, "I'm already very obedient."
Yu Deng thought it wasn't just about verbal obedience!
As they conversed, the five-minute mark passed. The realm ended, and the dense black mist in the room gradually dissipated, returning to a dim light.
Yu Deng instinctively shielded his face for a moment, then dejectedly dissolved the black mist.
When Cheng Xiao lowered his head, he could see a faint mist enveloping Yu Deng's delicate features, making his refined features appear melancholic like a doll.
Not intimidating, but very cute.
Cheng Xiao couldn't resist caressing Yu Deng's cheek, then lowering his head to softly and slowly nibble on the tender flesh of Yu Deng's neck, reminiscent of a beast savoring its favorite delicacy.
"So, our great evil lord, have you already discovered the truth?" Cheng Xiao suddenly asked.
Yu Deng didn't realize that Cheng Xiao wasn't asking if he knew the killer, but if he knew the truth.
A clear look of confusion in Yu Deng's eyes, "I don't know."
"Alright," Cheng Xiao replied without disappointment. Returning to the main topic ambitiously, he coaxed, "Kiss me voluntarily, and once you do, I'll cooperate with the evil lord."
Really..?
Yu Deng looked up at the young stepson, hesitated for a moment, and slowly leaned in.
Cheng Xiao, unusually nervous, almost held his breath, waiting for Yu Deng's approach.
After a long few seconds, Yu Deng's lips lightly touched Cheng Xiao's, barely for a second, before quickly pulling back, innocently looking at him.
The soft touch of their lips.
Cheng Xiao took a few deep breaths, feeling embarrassed about the brief contact that couldn't be considered a real kiss, making him appear disheveled.
"In truth, that can't be considered a kiss, Evil Lord," Cheng Xiao croaked.
Yu Deng was thoroughly shocked.
How dare the wicked stepson deny it?
Yu Deng stared reproachfully at Cheng Xiao for a long while, then ran off in anger.
"Little Mom..."
Yu Deng not only didn't turn back, but also spent energy, depleting five percent of the progress bar, to lock the door on the deceitful stepson.
Great, he definitely wouldn't come out to kiss him now.
[Host, even though your energy isn't enough to expand the realm again, this state won't immediately disappear. The system follows the procedures of the auxiliary system,]the system reminded him.
Yu Deng listened attentively, "So?"
The system remained silent for a few seconds before suggesting, [During this time, you can take the opportunity to search for clues.]
Yu Deng looked at the dark corridor and the faint mist in the air, shivering, "Really, really...?"
The system decisively said: [Forget it.]
"How about I give it a try..?" Yu Deng made a bold decision to challenge himself.
Courageous Little Deng, not afraid of challenges!
[If something feels wrong, the host should immediately stop exploring.]
"I understand."
Tonight, the distant aunts were staying awake for Mr. Cheng. As for Cheng Wen Hao, his fiancee and younger sister were keeping watch over him.
Yu Deng stood there, contemplating how to proceed.
Suddenly, faint voices could be heard coming from a room on the second floor. Yu Deng cautiously moved closer.
"How did this happen?"
It seemed like a woman in the room was on the phone.
"Why is this business deal that was settled early and promised to bring in a big profit suddenly falling apart, when it was progressing smoothly since last year? Why is Wen Hao still..."
It was Cheng Chaoxia's voice. Shortly after, she hung up the phone, letting out a sigh.
Yu Deng tilted his head, unsure of the significance of this clue.
Yu Deng inadvertently turned his head and caught a glimpse of a human-shaped silhouette standing not far from him, staring at him.
!!!
Yu Deng's hair stood on end, almost losing his balance.
The figure made eye contact with him for a few seconds, then approached him.
Yu Deng hurriedly retreated, deciding to end his exploration.
Surviving for three minutes was already impressive.
The figure quickly reached Yu Deng, and he saw it was a paper effigy.
Yu Deng almost fainted.
Why did he lock Cheng Xiao up? He should have let him out to keep him company!
Yu Deng mentally lamented his mistake.
The nearly as tall paper effigy stopped in front of Yu Deng, dressed in red with hollow eyes and an exaggerated smile.
It leaned closer to Yu Deng, the paper rustling as it made a sniffing gesture.
This fragrant human has the aura of the ghost king, but he really smells so good...
The paper effigy hesitated, standing still.
Yu Deng leaned against the wall, slowly moving, trying to leave this place.
The paper figure silently followed Yu Deng.
Yu Deng, terrified and with his mind blank, acted on instinct. He closed his eyes and asked, "Do you know any secrets..?"
[...] The system marveled at the host's directness in probing for clues.
The paper effigy seemed puzzled but eventually started to respond, pulling out two gold ingots from somewhere.
Yu Deng: "?"
The paper effigy showed the gold ingots briefly and then carefully put them away.
Yu Deng's mind raced, making random guesses. "So, you're hiding offerings..?"
The paper effigy nodded.Yu Deng and it stared at each other.
But it seemed like he wasn't asking for this kind of secret.
After much consideration, the paper effigy looked at Cheng Xiao's door and then at Yu Deng, and tactically retreated.
Yu Deng mustered his courage to speak again, but the paper effigy had already disappeared.
Oh, it ran so fast.
[Host, the environment here is unstable, Please return to your room as soon as possible.]
Yu Deng slowed down and quickly turned to leave.
But something strange happened.
Yu Deng clearly remembered heading toward the room, just a few steps away. However, the surrounding mist grew thicker and thicker. When he looked up, he was surprised to see a crescent moon.
He had unknowingly walked outside.
The surroundings were filled with swaying tree shadows, like monstrous claws. The mansion was obscured by the mist, as if it had vanished.
There was no one around, and the ethereal sound of a suona (Chinese trumpet/horn) grew louder.
[This is how the infinite flow genre is supposed to be! So disorienting.]
[Wow, from Deng Deng's first-person view, it's so scary.]
[Is our foolish little widow in danger now? Ah, I can't allow my wife to be harmed!]
Yu Deng stumbled and turned back to run.
He didn't know how long he had been running, and he even began to feel exhausted. But when he looked closely, the scenery around him was exactly the same as at the beginning.
It was a wall of ghosts.
Tears streamed down Yu Deng's face. How could this be? He wondered if he was doomed.
Actually, no terrifying creatures were attacking Yu Deng. However, the increasing sense of exhaustion and dizziness overwhelmed him. Yu Deng looked around, feeling as if every corner was filled with ghosts and monsters.
[Detection showed that the host was in panic and experiencing extreme mental instability.]
[Host, host!]
...
The man sleeping in the thick fog, hearing the rustling of paper, sent out several dark shadows that quickly soared into the sky.
Yu Deng stumbled and tripped, about to fall to the ground.
With his last ounce of strength, Yu Deng held his head and prayed to fall lightly.
-- He didn't fall.
Thin strands of black mist wrapped around him, encasing him tightly.
"It's only been a little while, and you've made yourself so pitiful."
In his semi-conscious state, Yu Deng heard a deep voice.
Who's speaking?
The mist brushed against Yu Deng's face, wiping away his hot tears and making him shiver.
His clothes were slightly pulled up, and his slender, pale waist was wrapped tightly by the black mist, which felt like indescribable tendrils, hugging him with a mixture of tenderness and lasciviousness.
It caressed him, easily leaving faint red marks on his snow-white skin.
"I heard that the madam just came out of that rascal's room."