Chapter Twenty-One: The Memorial Portrait Spoke-Sou o Rei do Submundo, e após a morte, experimento dez vidas de tribulações.(Dois grupos de imitação de tinta para o ritual de sepultamento aterrador)

Li Yan was momentarily stunned to see blood flowing from the portrait; he had never encountered a bleeding portrait in his life. He instinctively took a few steps back, unsure of what the portrait intended to do.

Then, a strange thing happened. As he retreated, the portrait drifted directly toward Xue Huaiyuan, coming to a halt just above his head. Suddenly, a pair of hands emerged from the portrait—hands of a ghastly, deathly pallor. Li Yan watched from the sidelines, determined to see what these hands were planning.

Before long, the hands reached Xue Huaiyuan and immediately began to choke him. Xue Huaiyuan coughed violently, struggling and kicking for his life. Realizing that Xue would surely be strangled to death if this continued, Li Yan rushed over and severed the hands.

Once the hands were cut off, Xue Huaiyuan’s breathing noticeably smoothed out. However, he continued to mutter, "Don't kill me. Don't kill me. Please, let me go." Li Yan knew Xue was trapped in a nightmare, so he patted him, trying to wake him up. No matter how much he called, Xue remained unresponsive.

Li Yan tried to help, but he was uncertain how to enter the dreamscape. He resorted to casting another spell on Xue, hoping to alter the nature of his dream, all the while calling out to him, "Xue Huaiyuan! Wake up! If you don't wake up now, you’re going to die here!" Li Yan shook him frantically. He wondered if his own energy was preventing the man from waking, but even after dispelling the bewitching mist, it made no difference; there was simply no way to rouse him.

By now, Xue Huaiyuan had stopped his incoherent murmuring and started attacking himself, crying while slapping his own face. Seeing this, Li Yan realized the Cat God had been right: Qin Lian’s spirit was indeed here, and it had grown strong enough to control someone’s dreams. She was clearly torturing Xue within his own mind. Li Yan realized that to solve the problem, he had to address the root cause. He looked at the portrait still hovering in the air, glaring down at Xue, and an idea formed.

The portrait was likely the vessel for Qin Lian’s spirit. He jumped up, intending to seize it, but the portrait seemed to anticipate his move and began darting around erratically. Frustrated, Li Yan took to the air to pursue it. After a long chase, he finally managed to catch it.

The moment he held the portrait, he felt a biting cold. The mouth depicted on the portrait opened, attempting to swallow his hand, but Li Yan prevented it. He bit his fingertip and dripped his blood onto the image. The portrait let out a shrill, mournful wail and began to bleed profusely. Furthermore, numerous eyes sprouted across its surface, all staring fixedly at him. After staring back for a moment, Li Yan felt a wave of intense dizziness. Realizing the danger, he looked away and attempted to seal the portrait, but to his surprise, he found it impossible.

Li Yan was shocked. Even more unsettling, a large hole had appeared on the portrait, from which something seemed to be trying to escape, only to be repelled whenever it touched the edges of the opening. Li Yan couldn't quite see what was inside, but he tried to seal the portrait once more, and this time, he succeeded.

With the seal in place, he checked on Xue Huaiyuan. The man had stopped moving, though he was still unconscious. Li Yan breathed a sigh of relief; at least he was no longer self-harming. He asked the portrait directly, "Are you Qin Lian?"

He waited for a long time, but no voice came from the portrait. He found this strange. If Qin Lian was truly trapped by Xue Huaiyuan, she should have spoken up immediately if she wanted to be released. Yet, the portrait remained eerily silent. Li Yan was baffled. Just then, Xue Huaiyuan, who had been still, began to attack himself again. Li Yan rushed over, restrained him, and tied him to the bed with a rope.

Once that was finished, he pondered how to communicate with the portrait. He noticed some unlit incense on the table and tried to light it, but to his surprise, the incense would not catch fire. Though Li Yan was an ordinary man, he knew this was a bad sign; spirits usually fed on incense, and a refusal to light meant a refusal to communicate.

Frowning in frustration, Li Yan addressed the portrait, "I am here to help you." He tried to light the incense again, but it still wouldn't catch. He was at a loss, but after a moment of careful thought, he said, "I know your death had something to do with Xue Huaiyuan. If you trust me, show yourself and tell me everything. I can clear your name later. Harassing him like this will only bring more harm upon yourself."

After he spoke, he tried lighting the incense one more time. To his surprise, it caught flame perfectly. Seeing the incense burning steadily, Li Yan was overjoyed. After a short wait, the portrait began to speak.

"I am the spirit of Qin Lian. But I am no longer myself. I cannot get out. I have been locked inside this portrait by Xue Huaiyuan."

Li Yan was thrilled to hear the voice; it was indeed Qin Lian. "Don't worry," he told her. "I will find a way to get you out."

Li Yan broke his previous seal and tried to pull Qin Lian’s spirit out through the hole, but the moment her spirit touched the opening, it was repelled. It seemed the portrait had been protected by a powerful restriction. Unsure of how to break it, he decided to probe it with energy first. "Qin Lian, I am going to attack the portrait with my energy. Hide yourself so you don't get hurt."

Only after seeing her retreat did Li Yan begin his attack. To his horror, the energy he channeled into the portrait was reflected back, striking him instead.