He slowly approached, only realizing as he drew nearer that the lake surface was merely green, but the depths gradually shifted to a vivid, blood-red hue. The water was remarkably clear, allowing him to see unseen aquatic plants swaying beneath the surface.

"Waaah, waaah..." Suddenly, a piercing wail echoed across the lake. A boy floated suspended above the water, weeping uncontrollably. The dazed state of Young Master Liu seemed to be violently shocked back to reality by the boy's harrowing cry. The sound propagated, spread, and reverberated through the surrounding darkness, lingering in the cold, oppressive space.

Listening intently to the boy's miserable shrieks, Young Master Liu moved forward slowly, as if completely mesmerized. Whether out of pity or some other inexplicable compulsion, he felt an overwhelming urge to embrace the child and silence his lonely weeping.

Thus, he began walking toward the center of the lake involuntarily, his steps mechanical, oblivious to every surrounding sight. At this moment, only the boy occupied his entire consciousness.

Splash… The lake water undulated violently as he trod upon it, sending ripples outwards.

In mere moments, Young Master Liu walked numbly into the water and, without hesitation, extended both arms, pulling the boy into a tight embrace.

As if sensing that Young Master Liu had lifted him, the boy miraculously ceased crying. His dark, bright eyes stared steadily at Young Master Liu, his mouth slowly curving into a smile that seemed innocent and joyful.

Instantly, the night, once filled with agonizing cries, fell into profound silence. The atmosphere reverted to something terrifying and secretive, and the ink-black water seemed alive, swirling continuously around Young Master Liu and the boy. Shrouded in the haze, Young Master Liu was entirely unaware that a perilous change was beginning within the child held in his arms...

The surface shimmered, yet no fish moved beneath it. Something dark seemed to be swaying before him in the water.

No! That wasn't aquatic vegetation! It was human hair!

Young Master Liu stared blankly at the long, dark hair submerged in the water, still showing no reaction. The hair gradually lengthened, slowly creeping closer until it snared his ankles, then coiled tighter, tightening like a hangman's noose around his neck!

At this point, the once-clear lake water lost sight of its bottom. Its color deepened continuously, like paint mixing on a palette, abruptly shifting to a vibrant, arresting red—if one were forced to describe it, it was the color of blood.

This shock instantly jolted Young Master Liu’s senses. His hazy consciousness snapped into sharp clarity: What was I doing? Why did I run over to hold him? Where—damn it—how did I end up in the lake? Looking down, he saw his thighs already entwined by things resembling water plants, his body firmly rooted in the deep section, the water level already reaching his shoulders.

As if sensing that Young Master Liu’s mind was gradually reawakening, the boy’s smile instantly froze, hard as ice. The youthful head rotated mechanically, like a machine, completing a full turn before fixing its gaze dead upon Young Master Liu. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly, revealing a grotesque arc.

His hands began to tremble uncontrollably. Young Master Liu’s eyes were wide open, his usually clear, bright gaze now filled with sheer terror. That boy, the one who had haunted him repeatedly, now had dark crimson blood oozing steadily from all seven of his orifices, yet the curve of his mouth remained upturned in that impossible fashion, widening relentlessly, as if the gash of his smile was about to devour Young Master Liu whole.

"No... stop... don't!" Young Master Liu’s ashen lips trembled violently as he watched the spectacle before him with a mixture of panic and dread. Despite being paralyzed by extreme fear, he couldn't move; his body seemed entirely beyond his control, his eyes forced wide open to witness the unfolding horror.

His own hands had become the boy’s instruments. No matter how hard he willed them to release their grip, they clung tight, as if clutching a block of ice. No, not ice—a demon, a terrifying fiend. The black hair around his feet tightened its grip, seeming to sprout from the lakebed itself, pulling him down relentlessly. More and more strands appeared, thick and dense, threatening to drag both him and the boy into an eternal abyss.

Gazing at the boy's perverse, eerie visage, Young Master Liu, having lost all control over himself, could only express his resistance and dissatisfaction through the violent trembling of his body in the darkness.

"No... no... stop..."

The lake water, thick as glue, quickly submerged his shoulders and showed no sign of receding. After a few desperate struggles, the water surged greedily into his nostrils, instantly inducing a profound sensation of suffocation. His brain blanked momentarily, his soul feeling as though it had momentarily departed his body.

Witnessing this, the little boy displayed a faint smile of triumph. His cyanotic hand slowly rose, reaching toward Young Master Liu's neck.

CRACK! The instant the small boy’s hand brushed against Young Master Liu’s throat, the entire spatial atmosphere shuddered violently. The disturbance was so immense that the water beneath them was violently displaced in a circular wave two meters wide, centered on Young Master Liu, forcefully creating a patch of dry land within the pool of the lake.

Before the ringing in Young Master Liu’s ears could even dissipate, he felt a chill on his neck. Immediately afterward, the jade pendant tethered there leaped out from beneath his clothing, ruthlessly severing the red cord that had bound it. It spun once, presenting the side engraved with the Pixiu pattern directly toward the boy’s outstretched hand.

In that instant, the jade pendant erupted in a brilliant white light, so intense it made Young Master Liu’s eyes sting and tear up. Vaguely, he could only perceive a massive, wild beast surging forth from the jade, emitting a deep, guttural roar.

Within the radius of the white light, the boy’s hand instantly froze mid-air, then shattered with a crisp sound, like cracking ceramic, disintegrating into countless black particulates.

The fracturing did not stop there; the cracks spread backward across the boy’s entire body, finally scattering him into the dark lake water.

Simultaneously, the peculiar jade pendant rapidly dimmed its dazzling luminescence, reverting to its former dull yellow hue before flying back into Young Master Liu’s hand.