One and Only

Hua Jian reached out his right hand, pinching Angel's chin between his index finger and thumb, while his left hand gently caressed his face: "The scent of your soul is one and only. Therefore, even if you turn to ashes, I can recognize you by your scent."

His chin pinched painfully, Angel was forced to meet Hua Jian's gaze. That look was too aggressive, as if it wanted to devour him whole.

"You should answer my question." Hua Jian let go, withdrawing his overbearing gaze, his tone softening.

Angel intended to tell the truth to dispel Hua Jian's doubts, but staring at the other party, he changed his mind. Seeing him silent, Hua Jian patiently asked again: "Who is that person? What is your relationship with him?"

Angel replied: "He and I have exactly the kind of relationship you're thinking of."

Hua Jian narrowed his eyes, a dangerous light flashing in them, his voice dark: "What agreement do you have with him?"

Angel: "Since it's an agreement between two people, I can't tell you."

Hua Jian sneered: "Good, very good."

Seeing Hua Jian's eyes turn from red to purple, Angel began to regret it. Just as he was about to tell the truth, Hua Jian turned and walked away, leaving behind a furious and resolute back. He thought to himself, could Hua Jian be planning to kill Tu Sihua? Whether Tu Sihua lived or died didn't affect him, but if Ming Kaichang had just returned and Tu Sihua was killed, the hard-won trust would completely collapse.

He hurriedly went to Tu Sihua's room. Along the way, he wondered why he hadn't told the truth and had instead deliberately angered Hua Jian, leading to such uncontrollable consequences. He couldn't fathom why he wanted to do that.

Knocking on Tu Sihua's door, the other party opened it. Upon seeing him, Tu Sihua was overjoyed: "Xiao Kai, why are you here?"

Seeing that Tu Sihua was still safe, Angel breathed a sigh of relief: "I came to visit you."

Tu Sihua stepped aside: "Come in and sit down."

Angel couldn't easily refuse, so he stepped into the room. He looked around, his gaze stopping at the painting on the wall. He approached to take a closer look; the person in the painting was Ming Kaichang.

"After you were taken away, I couldn't find you. Because I missed you so much, I painted this portrait," Tu Sihua said, coming to stand beside Angel.

Angel looked at the painting. The Ming Kaichang in the portrait had short black hair, handsome features, a passionate smile playing on the corners of his lips, and eyes full of untamed vitality. Such a person had ended up rotting in the dark room of the cathedral. Meanwhile, his lover had to rely on a painting to comfort his longing.

Tu Sihua asked: "How do you think I painted it?"

Angel saw the tenderness in Tu Sihua's eyes and slightly lowered his gaze: "Very good."

Tu Sihua's voice was as gentle as water: "Xiao Kai, stay here tonight."

"I..." Angel understood the other's intention and prepared to refuse.

Tu Sihua waved his hand, interrupting him: "I just want to look at you more closely. Stay, I won't do anything to you."

Angel deeply regretted lying to Hua Jian. Otherwise, he wouldn't have come here out of worry, only to fall into this dilemma.

"Never mind, I..." Angel hesitated. Ming Kaichang was Tu Sihua's lover, and it was normal for lovers to be together, but this body currently belonged to him, and he did not want to be intimate with a stranger.

"Xiao Kai, you have really changed. You don't cling to me like before, and even your tone of voice is different," Tu Sihua said, his eyes turning slightly moist.

Angel looked at those eyes, then at the painting, and said softly: "I'm sorry."

With that, he walked out. This action would certainly make Tu Sihua suspicious, but it didn't matter. Being discovered as not the real Ming Kaichang actually made his conscience clearer. The real Ming Kaichang was dead; he was just a substitute enjoying feelings that didn't belong to him. He was Angel, he was Cang Xing, not Tu Sihua's lover.

The next day. The members of the Qing Jian organization gathered on the second floor, the heavy atmosphere thick with the smell of blood. As soon as Angel arrived, he saw six corpses lying in pools of blood. Their bodies were pierced with sharp knives, the blades sunk deep into their flesh, leaving only the hilts exposed. Their legs showed white bones still clinging with flesh, their eyeballs had burst, and their bloody sockets stared blankly outward.

The bloody scene made Angel dizzy; he had to hold onto the table to stand firm. At this moment, another terrifying image flashed in his mind: a woman tied to an iron pillar, her ten fingers severed, her eyes stabbed, her ears cut off, her intestines spilled on the ground; beside her was a man with no arms, no legs, and no head.

Angel retched, his hands gripping the edge of the table. Who were the people in those images? Why did they make his heart ache so intensely? Seeing his abnormal state, Tu Sihua ran over to support him, covering his eyes: "Don't look."

Angel trembled, asking: "Why did they die?"

Tu Sihua replied: "This morning, they went to assassinate Tian Zhu but failed and were killed. Tian Zhu even sent people to deliver their corpses here."

Angel thought to himself, Tian Zhu had always disdained these people. Why would he act so brutally? Did he have some new calculation?

Xi Chang ordered: "Take them and bury them."

After the bodies were taken away, Xi Chang asked: "What are your plans?"

Everyone appeared pessimistic: "We cannot win against the cathedral," "Tian Zhu is too strong, resisting is like throwing eggs against rocks." Angel lowered his head, unable to bear looking at those despairing eyes, and then he felt a burning gaze directed toward him.