Chapter 90 Obsessive Compulsion

When had this fellow ever been so kindhearted? Lin Qiu felt a sense of foreboding in his heart and asked quietly, “So this enhancement is…?”

“The host has completed the ‘Peril at Lei Family Manor’ mission. The enhancement skill is now granted directly,” the system replied. “Because the host fell unconscious, and in accordance with the system’s principle of prioritizing the host above all, the system has directly applied the enhancement skill to the host.”

“I…” Lin Qiu no longer knew what else the system was saying. His mind was heavy and muddled.

He didn’t know how long had passed before he let out a piercing scream. “System, curse your ancestors!”

Tears streamed down Lin Qiu’s face. He had intended to use the enhancement skill on certain unspeakable areas, but this damned thing had made the decision for him.

Everything, it claimed, was for the host’s benefit—then why hadn’t it been so righteous before, whenever he’d been in danger?

Despondent, Lin Qiu sat on the ground, lifeless. After an indeterminate amount of time, he finally sighed faintly, “Forget it, just forget it.”

He waved his hand and stood up, glancing at the dust on his clothes with distaste. Manipulating the moisture in the air, he enveloped himself in vapor and meticulously cleansed himself for five minutes before dispersing the mist with a wave.

“Much better!” Lin Qiu exhaled contentedly, satisfied only when his body was spotless.

He was not only a miser, a skinflint, but also a man with an extreme case of obsessive cleanliness. He had obsessive-compulsive disorder! Everything had to come in pairs. Even the placement and size of objects had to be constantly adjusted until they met his standards.

Grumbling, Lin Qiu strode forward. “Strange, I saw that guy’s head fly off in this direction just now. Where did it go?”

Standing amid the ruins, he controlled the water vapor in the air to wash all the dust from the debris. Only when everything was immaculate, not a speck of dust remaining, did he realize that Tianji’s head was nowhere to be found.

It seemed as if the thing had vanished into thin air.

“How could this be?” he muttered, his brow furrowing deeply, his voice becoming sullen.

That head was his trophy—he’d intended to take it back and preserve it in formaldehyde for occasional admiration, but now it had disappeared without a trace.

“Damn it!” Lin Qiu cursed, searching again, but it was still nowhere to be found.

“I want to see how exactly it disappeared!” he growled. With a swipe of his right hand through the air, ripples formed, and water vapor condensed into a circular mirror, its surface flickering with images.

The images were a projection of the space, a product of his martial arts combined with his mastery over water. Whether it was space itself or certain objects, when something happened, a trace would be left behind. As long as not too much time had passed, these images could be retrieved.

Lin Qiu’s martial arts were not merely physical techniques; they contained many mysterious elements. The scene revealed by the circular mirror made his brows knit with a touch of menace.

In the image, under the moonlit night, a man dressed in black appeared among the ruins, retrieved Tianji’s head, and with a swing of his arm, slapped Tianji’s face.

“Hey! Who hit me?” Tianji’s eyes snapped open, screaming in pain.

“So you’re not dead after all. The Immortal Heretic Sect’s secret arts truly are miraculous,” the man in black murmured, his words making Tianji’s eyes widen in shock.

“Who are you? How do you know about the Immortal Heretic Sect?” Tianji’s voice trembled with astonishment.

“Hmph!” The man in black snorted coldly, grabbed Tianji’s hair, and delivered several more slaps.

“Hey, boy! Tell me your name if you dare! One day I’ll make you pay for this!” Tianji howled, never having suffered such humiliation in his life. He was so furious he nearly coughed up blood.

“Whatever you are is none of my concern. Coming to the Lei Family Manor to cause trouble was your mistake,” the man said, then tucked Tianji’s head into his waistband and strode away, vanishing from the ruins.

“Immortal Heretic Sect?” Lin Qiu frowned, deep in thought. The circular mirror had not only restored the image, but also preserved the sound. Only now did Lin Qiu realize that Tianji belonged to the Immortal Heretic Sect.

But what exactly was this Immortal Heretic Sect? Tianji was reduced to only a head and yet still alive. From his words, as long as he had the chance, he could come back to life.

And who was that man? Lin Qiu was filled with questions, for throughout the entire episode, the man never turned his face, nor could his appearance be discerned. Even his voice sounded artificially altered.

“Yet another shady character,” he muttered softly.

But there were still some clues. The man said this was the Lei Family Manor, and that Tianji had crossed his line by causing trouble here. That meant, whether or not the man was from the manor, he had some connection to it.

“Bastard! You stole my prize—we’re sworn enemies now,” Lin Qiu gritted his teeth. What irked him even more was that the man in black had tucked only one head into his waistband. His obsessive-compulsive nature demanded everything in pairs; seeing a solitary head hanging there was deeply unsettling.

He even had the urge to chop off the man’s own head and hang it on the other side of his waistband, just for the sake of symmetry!

Looking at the scene in the circular mirror, Lin Qiu clicked his tongue, waved his hand, and the mirror vanished. He then took out his own small mirror, gazed at the handsome face reflected within, and his expression grew dreamy. “Beautiful, truly beautiful!”

…

“Wake up! Stop playing dead!” Outside the Lei Family Manor, Lin Qiu kicked Heize in the head, cursing as he did.

Heize remained motionless like a dead dog.

Well, he was a dog, after all.

Lin Qiu bent over, raised his hand, and slapped Heize’s cheeks on both sides.

“Perfect!” he exclaimed, seeing Heize slowly come to, matching red handprints on each cheek. Only then did Lin Qiu smile with satisfaction. Now that’s what you call symmetry—doesn’t it look much better?

“Who am I? Where am I? Why do my cheeks hurt so much?” Heize awoke weakly, his eyes filled with confusion at the unfamiliar surroundings.

“You’re Heize. This is the Lei Family Manor. You fell down the stairs and hit your face,” Lin Qiu said.

“And who are you?” Heize, as if he’d lost his memory, looked up at Lin Qiu curiously.

“Of course, I’m your uncle!” Lin Qiu replied.

“My uncle?” Heize blinked, then gazed at Lin Qiu with pitiful eyes. “Uncle, I have an uncle now.”

“Curse you and your uncle!” Lin Qiu snapped, kicking Heize in the chest as he tried to cling to his leg.