Chapter 4006 — What Was His Intent
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
Seeing Xu Lingchong's face full of dread and vigilance, the man suddenly laughed, a laugh tinged with unmistakable scorn and contempt. He let it go on until Xu Lingchong was seething, and only then said, "From this moment on, whether you wish to live as a man or as a ghost—that is a question for you to ponder, not for me."
Every word of that sentence struck Xu Lingchong's chest like a heavy drumbeat, leaving him breathless and filling him with dread and trembling from the depths of his soul.
"Who exactly are you, sir?" Xu Lingchong asked, biting down hard on his teeth.
"That is not a question you need concern yourself with. Now, throw away that thing in your hand." The masked man's tone brooked no refusal.
At those words Xu Lingchong's heart lurched. This was his most precious possession of all; he still meant to find someone to reattach it—how could he possibly just throw it away?
"I will count to three. If you have not thrown it away by then, prepare to become a ghost." The masked man's voice was flat, yet beyond all doubt.
Sensing the faint, flickering killing intent radiating from the other, Xu Lingchong's heart skipped a beat—but to simply throw it away was utterly beyond him.
"Three." The masked man skipped straight past one and two. At his word, Xu Lingchong, terrified, hurried to let go.
But it was already too late. A sharp stab of pain shot through his hand—by some means unknown, a great chunk of flesh had been sliced clean away, and it dropped to the ground together with the severed half in his grasp. The sight was too ghastly to behold.
"Very good. Had you not let go, what lies on the ground now would be your entire hand." Amid Xu Lingchong's gasps of horror and pain, the masked man smiled an inscrutable smile.
Then he walked slowly up to him, and beneath Xu Lingchong's utterly shocked gaze, ground the severed half underfoot beyond all recognition, crushing it into a pulp of flesh and blood.
Watching this unfold before his very eyes, Xu Lingchong's eyes nearly split with rage; his jaw clenched tight, his whole body shaking uncontrollably, his eyes bloodshot. His face was a mask of madness—he looked ready to risk everything and fight the man to the death.
Had he sought out a skilled physician earlier, there might still have been hope. But now that the severed half had been reduced to a pulp, even the gods could not reattach it. At this stroke, Xu Lingchong was utterly and completely desolate, every hope extinguished.
Seeing the madness on Xu Lingchong's face deepen and his breathing grow harsher and harsher, the masked man remained unmoved, standing there coldly watching him all the while.
It was a long while before Xu Lingchong finally calmed down again. The hatred in his eyes was undiminished, but at least he no longer harbored the mad urge to fight the man to the death.
At this the masked man laughed in surprise. "To be able to hold yourself back from striking at me—that is no small forbearance. It seems you are not entirely a worthless fool after all."
Xu Lingchong had no choice but to force down the fury in his heart. It was not that he did not wish to strike—he simply did not dare. As a realist who held his own life above all else, however much he craved revenge, he would need the strength to achieve it. Otherwise, striking rashly would be nothing but throwing his life away—and he would never do anything so foolish.