ACIFITFDB – Chapter 36

Chapter 36: The True Domain

After nearly ten minutes of combat, Qin Xian and the Student Council President pinned all the cat monsters to the ground with iron rods. They writhed in agony, unable to break free. They even forgot to use their flames and blades against their attackers, only managing to wail in pain.

Yuan Fengying frowned, looking at them. “They don’t seem dead. What do we do? Leave them pinned here and clean them up later?”

“No, wait a moment.”

Qin Xian walked forward and knelt beside the grotesque that had transformed from Brother Huang. He felt its tattered clothes and eventually pulled out a talisman paper from its pocket. It was drawn with a grotesque pattern in blood, and the paper itself felt very strange.

Yuan Fengying leaned closer. “What is this? Do talismans really exist?”

Qin Xian replied, “It’s just a vessel that stores the power of grotesque beings. In different places, it takes on different forms based on local legends and beliefs. We tend to believe in talismans, so we use them as vessels… However, this isn’t really ‘paper.’ It should be human skin.”

Gasps of shock rippled through the surroundings. Yuan Fengying clenched her fist. “Human skin!? How many more people have they harmed? Damn it, we have to catch them as soon as possible!”

Qin Xian fiddled with the human skin paper, silently murmured ‘sorry,’ then picked it up with both hands and tore it forcefully down the middle. After being torn, the human skin paper turned to ash in his hands. The screaming cat monsters on the ground suddenly stopped moving and collapsed limply.

wisps of black smoke drifted from their bodies, faintly resembling cats. They let out two soft meows and quickly vanished into the air.

“Are they… freed?” a police officer asked blankly.

Qin Xian stood up and looked at where the cat monsters had disappeared. “In a way. This kind of talisman used by the Path of Communicating with Ghosts should absorb the surrounding malice. These people ordered the cats to be slaughtered. Their own malice, combined with the cats’ pain, was stored in the talisman. Once released, it would instantly backfire and turn them into grotesques.”

Yuan Fengying added, “But they thought it was something good. The people from the Path of Communicating with Ghosts have truly cunning methods. I’m afraid others might have these things on them too. Let’s go, should we continue upwards?”

Qin Xian had already started moving, adding a warning, “It’s highly likely someone has already turned into a grotesque upstairs. Be careful.”

—

The top floor of this building contained two conference rooms. As they ascended, it was silent, with only scattered cigarette butts, wine bottles, and food wrappers on the floor. The conference room doors were open, revealing darkness within.

Qin Xian stealthily moved to the back door, using the cover of the seats to peek inside. At the front of the conference room was a stage, typically used for public lectures and performances. Now, a dozen students lay motionless on the stage, possibly unconscious. Below the stage, two enormous monsters were pacing back and forth. One was a giant toad wearing glasses and holding a pointer, and the other was a stone statue with two heads, one male and one female, resembling a typical parental image.

Qin Xian relayed this situation to the others.

Yuan Fengying asked, “If we were to guess, I think the toad’s weakness might be fire… but what about the stone statue? Bullets are definitely useless…”

Qin Xian said, “We should also consider what they represent. The toad might represent teachers, and the stone statue represents parents. And the most extreme kind. So, following this logic, they might not attack people who are quiet and still.”

“Of course, this is just a guess,” Qin Xian added.

“But you understand grotesques better. I think this logic is sound,” Yuan Fengying mused. “We’ll split into two groups. Most people will distract the two monsters, and the rest will rescue the students on stage.”

—

Inside the conference room, the two monsters paced back and forth aimlessly, their heavy footsteps echoing. Qin Xian, hiding behind a slowly moving fourth-row seat, saw two police officers sneak to the side of the stage through a gap. The monsters hadn’t discovered them, but Qin Xian felt a vague sense of unease.

While others focused on the patrolling grotesques, the students lying on the stage were also unusual. Especially since the two monsters were guarding these students, not engaging in any other behavior, and not approaching them… But for now, they could only take it one step at a time; there was no opportunity or time to investigate thoroughly.

The officers by the stage signaled to Yuan Fengying. Yuan Fengying and three other officers immediately pulled their triggers, bullets flying towards the monsters’ eyes and hearts.

“Bang!” The toad’s eyes burst. It immediately crouched low, gathered its strength, and then leaped up violently. Yuan Fengying and the others watched as the toad’s bumpy, fleshy belly descended from the sky.

“Run!” They scrambled to escape as the conference room seats were crushed by the impact.

The stone statue’s eyes also shot out red light, and it roared in fury, “Which disobedient little brat did that!”

Qin Xian directly whipped out his black long whip, hooking it around the curtain rods on either side of the stage. The screws of the rods groaned and broke from the ceiling, bringing down the three-meter-high curtain, which wrapped around the stone statue.

“Damn it! Don’t let me catch you!” The stone statue struggled clumsily, one arm tearing through the curtain and emerging. Just as it was about to grab and rip the fabric, Qin Xian’s whip wrapped around its arm, rendering it immobile.

Qin Xian yanked the whip tight, engaging in a tug-of-war with the stone statue. However, the statue’s strength was terrifying, and Qin Xian’s feet scraped against the ground as he was forced backward. But this gave the two rescuers an opportunity to reach the students.

An anomaly suddenly occurred. Yuan Fengying cried out, “Mr. Qin! They’ve fainted! A circle has appeared and it’s expanding!”

Qin Xian immediately turned his head and instantly understood what it was. He pulled harder on the whip and said to Yuan Fengying, “You quickly run out. That circle is the true domain! The school might just be misleading us. The school isn’t the domain. Anyone can enter the school as long as they kill the guards at the entrance. Go call for help and save those students outside first!”

Yuan Fengying understood. Although she didn’t know how the enemy had disguised the school as a domain, the real domain was expanding, and they had to prevent the students outside from being caught. She turned and ran. The remaining team members, along with Qin Xian, did their best to hold back the two grotesques.

However, the circle on the stage continued to expand. Anyone who stepped into the circle would immediately close their eyes and lie down on the spot. Even the two grotesques vanished instantly upon touching the circle.

Qin Xian looked down at the black glowing circle at his feet and unhesitatingly stepped into it. The Student Council President, after a moment of thought, also stepped in.

—

When consciousness returned and Qin Xian opened his eyes, he found himself standing in front of a villa. The villa had five stories but was much larger than a typical villa, possessing an unreal beauty. Standing beside him in front of the villa were five young people, appearing no older than 18, four males and one female, all looking bewildered.

Qin Xian looked down at his hands. The wounds and calluses were gone, his skin looked fair and smooth, with few traces of age. The young people nearby had already exclaimed.

“Xun Guangfan, is that you?”

“You’re Yu Jie?! My god, man, how did you become a kid!?”

“You’re talking about me? You’re the same! Wait, you’re Wu Piaopiao? And you… you all, oh no, we’ve all gotten younger!”

The police officers, looking astonished, touched themselves and then turned to look at the young man standing aside, who had a cold expression but a face that could definitely be a campus heartthrob.

Xun Guangfan asked uncertainly, “Are you… Mr. Qin?”

The handsome young man raised his delicate chin and nodded.

Xun Guangfan immediately pressed, “Mr. Qin, what’s happening to us?”

Qin Xian replied, “We’ve entered a domain. Domains generally have their own rules and force those who enter to integrate into them.” He then scanned his surroundings but couldn’t see the Student Council President, unsure if that thing had entered.

“So what do we do now? Should we go into this villa? Should we be careful?” Xun Guangfan cautiously peered inside, but nothing could be seen through the glass door.

Qin Xian walked directly towards the main entrance. Before he could even reach out to push the door, it suddenly opened. The person who opened it was a stylishly dressed girl, about 18 years old, just like their current appearances. But Qin Xian recognized her as one of the students who had collapsed on the stage.

The girl held a flashy mobile phone and looked at them. “Yo, new arrivals! Come on in.” Her voice was childish, but her actions were somewhat uncoordinated, mimicking adults.

Xun Guangfan asked, “Are you a student from No. 1 High School?”

The girl opposite paused, her face contorted, and she cursed, “What the hell are you talking about!? I finally escaped from that place, and you’re making me remember it! You’ve hit my trigger, you idiot %#, die￥(&)!” After speaking, she turned and walked into the villa without looking back.

Xun Guangfan, having been thoroughly scolded, asked in a daze, “Are these the current… problem students?”

Before his companions could reply, another voice chimed in, “I advise you not to mention the word ‘student.’ We are all free people now. We don’t need to study and no longer want to study. You’ve come here, and you must abide by the rules here.” A boy stood inside the door, looking at them, taking a deep drag from a cigarette.

Qin Xian asked, “What rules?”

The boy exhaled a smoke ring and smiled, “There’s only freedom here! You can wake up and sleep whenever you want, play games, smoke, drink, do whatever you want! But, no being a good child, no mentioning studying, no interfering with others. Come on, enjoy a truly free life.”