Chapter 227: Controlled

Hearing the commotion outside the room, Naoko and Akagi Miho both felt something was amiss. However, Lei Yin’s expression grew serious—he had caught the faint scent of blood lingering in the air.

“Stay here and don’t go outside. I’ll check what’s happening.” Lei Yin stood up and headed for the door.

“Lei, be careful.” Naoko sensed something unusual and couldn’t help but feel worried.

Lei Yin nodded and quickly stepped out.

After he left, Naoko waited nervously. Unfortunately, the room’s windows faced the other side of the inn, so she couldn’t see the courtyard or what was going on outside. Without stepping out, she had no way of knowing what was happening. Still, her heart began to race as if something bad was about to occur.

The noise outside grew louder and louder. Akagi Miho finally couldn’t sit still. She said to Naoko, “Hasegawa-san, let’s go outside and check.”

Naoko shook her head. “I’ll wait here for him to come back.”

Seeing that Naoko was firm in her decision, Akagi Miho had no choice but to leave the room on her own.

Left alone in the now-empty room, Naoko’s unease deepened.

Suddenly, the door swung open forcefully. Naoko jumped in surprise, but her tension eased as soon as she saw who had entered.

“Lei, outside…”

Before she could finish, Lei Yin walked over and swept her into his arms. Carrying her, he moved to the window and said, “Don’t be afraid. Hold on to my neck and don’t let go.”

Naoko instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck. Suddenly, she saw Lei Yin leap out of the window.

“This is the third floor!” Naoko gasped in shock, but before she could fully process what had happened, Lei Yin had already landed lightly on the ground.

“Was that thrilling?” Lei Yin smiled and kissed her pale, startled face. Then, still carrying her, he ran toward the woods beside the inn.

After a moment, Naoko gradually regained her composure and softly asked, “Lei, what just happened?”

As he ran, Lei Yin replied, “A lunatic ran into the inn from outside. He’s wielding a knife and attacking people.”

“How could something like this happen? Is anyone hurt?” Naoko exclaimed in disbelief.

“Don’t worry. No one’s hurt. Most of the people in the inn have already escaped, and the police should arrive soon to take care of him.”

Hearing this, Naoko finally relaxed a little.

What she didn’t know, however, was that Lei Yin’s words were far from the full truth.

It was true that no one was injured, but only because those who had been attacked were all brutally dismembered and killed, leaving no survivors to report injuries. Lei Yin also immediately recognized the weapon the man was wielding—it was the cursed blade.

While news outlets and newspapers had reported a man using a Japanese katana to commit murders, none of them had captured clear images of either the killer or the weapon. But Lei Yin knew without a doubt that this incident was connected to the cursed blade. Naoko’s grandmother had likely guessed the same, but she hadn’t mentioned it to avoid alarming Naoko.

The scene of the man’s rampage was far too gruesome. Lei Yin feared that if Naoko saw it, her heart might not be able to take it. That was why he had carried her away from the inn.

“Lei, I can walk on my own now,” Naoko said, noticing they had already moved far from the inn.

“Just a little longer.”

Naoko reluctantly let him continue carrying her. After a while, she suddenly asked, “Lei, am I heavy?”

Of all times, she was concerned about this? Lei Yin couldn’t help but chuckle. “Not at all. I prefer someone with your figure.”

Blushing, Naoko rested her head against his chest.

After running about two kilometers, Lei Yin began to slow down, eventually setting Naoko down on the ground.

“I wonder how Akagi-san and Hase-san* are doing,” Naoko said worriedly. (*idk who this is, his name has the same characters as Hasegawa)

“Don’t worry, they’ve likely escaped safely.” As he spoke, Lei Yin kept his focus on the direction behind them.

“What a persistent pest,” he muttered to himself after a moment.

“Lei, what’s wrong?” Naoko sensed that something wasn’t right.

“Don’t be scared. There’s just a troublesome person following us. Stay behind me and don’t move.”

“I-I understand.” Naoko nervously stared ahead.

Before long, she heard heavy, rapid footsteps approaching. Then, a shadowy figure emerged, running straight toward them.

In the dim light of the distant streetlamp, Naoko could see that the man was quite tall. Though she couldn’t make out his features, she instinctively felt he wasn’t very old. As he drew closer, a wave of unease washed over her. She had an inexplicable feeling that this person wasn’t entirely human.

The man seemed to notice Lei Yin as well, finally stopping about ten meters in front of him.

Once he came to a halt, Naoko could see that he was holding something resembling a blade.

Was he the lunatic from earlier? Naoko stared at the man in fear.

“Why are you following me?” Lei Yin asked calmly, his eyes fixed on him.

The man’s breathing was rapid—not from exhaustion, but more like a beast driven mad by the scent of blood. His gaze locked onto Lei Yin with a predatory intensity.

After a tense silence, the man finally spoke, his voice hoarse. “I don’t know who you are, but I can feel it. This blade… it desperately wants to drink your blood.” His eyes gleamed with the savage hunger of a predator spotting prey.

Lei Yin looked at him with pity. “Do you realize you’re already under that blade’s control? You must have noticed that the amount of time you remain conscious each day is shrinking. When this blade fully consumes your mind, you’ll become nothing more than a mindless killing machine.”

The man’s breathing grew more erratic. “Shut up!” he shouted.

Lei Yin knew there was no avoiding a fight. Turning to Naoko, he said, “Go wait for me at the station outside.”

Naoko frantically shook her head, clutching his hand tightly.

Lei Yin spoke gently. “Trust me. I’ll be fine. This guy is nothing more than an amateur. But if you stay here, I’ll be distracted.”

Hearing his words, Naoko reluctantly turned and headed toward the station.

Once she was gone, Lei Yin drew a black dagger from his belt, holding it in a reverse grip behind him. “So, it was you tailing me this morning, wasn’t it?” he asked.

The man didn’t respond, suddenly gripping the blade with both hands and charging at Lei Yin.

What an impatient guy, Lei Yin thought as he sidestepped the incoming slash, countering with a reverse grip slash toward the man’s neck.

The black blade’s tip moved with unimaginable speed, reaching the man in an instant. Startled, the man changed his stance, raising the hilt of his blade just in time to block the lethal strike.

But the moment he managed to block the sword tip, he felt a massive force slam into his abdomen. The impact was so powerful it sent him flying backward.

Tasting blood in his mouth, the man’s eyes turned red. He roared and swung his blade in a horizontal arc, aiming to slice Lei Yin in half. This strike was faster than any he had executed before, the blade seeming to vanish mid-swing.

A cold smile flickered in Lei Yin’s eyes as he pushed off with his feet, leaping back just in time to avoid the slash by less than five centimeters. Then, as though defying inertia, his body suddenly shifted from retreating to lunging forward, his sword thrusting directly toward the man’s throat.

With no way to dodge, the man instinctively raised his left hand to shield his neck.

With a sharp “swish,” the black blade pierced straight through his palm.

Seeing the blade, undeterred by his hand, continue hurtling toward his throat, the man roared and shoved his pierced hand to the side, narrowly deflecting the lethal thrust.

But this maneuver left him wide open. Lei Yin took full advantage, landing a fierce kick to the man’s chest and abdomen.

With a loud “thud,” the man was sent flying again, this time crashing into a tree trunk two meters away before collapsing to the ground.

As he staggered to his feet, he coughed up blood. The kick had broken several of his ribs.

Looking up at Lei Yin with a mix of fear and disbelief, he asked, “What… what are you?”

Lei Yin regarded him coolly. “While that blade can temporarily amplify your physical abilities to their peak, for an ordinary person like you, its effects are limited. You won’t get a third chance.”

As Lei Yin slowly approached, the man suddenly gripped the blade in his right hand and smeared the blood from his injured left hand onto the blade. Then, laughing maniacally, he shouted, “I give you everything—everything! Just kill this man for me!”

Has he completely lost his mind? Lei Yin thought, feeling a flicker of doubt.

Moments later, the man’s laughter abruptly ceased, and he collapsed to the ground as if struck dead.

Lei Yin frowned, noticing that both the man’s breathing and heartbeat had stopped.

As Lei Yin debated whether to deliver a final blow, he suddenly heard the man’s breathing and heartbeat return to normal.

Lei Yin’s expression grew serious. He could sense that something about the man had changed.

The man raised his head to glance at Lei Yin before lowering it to stare at his own hands. After a brief moment, he burst into loud, unsettling laughter.

“You’re noisy.” Lei Yin stepped forward, slashing his dagger toward the man’s neck.