Shrouded Seascape

"Gulp!" Li Long, holding his wound, swallowed hard. He felt that something was off. The situation seemed to be developing in a direction he couldn't have imagined, even in his wildest dreams.

Once the array was drawn, Anna checked it carefully. Then, she tossed aside the makeshift brass knuckles and began chanting a sacrificial incantation in a low voice.

The terrified Li Long moved away slightly, wanting to leave the large concentric circle. He had no idea what was going on, but he could feel that it wasn't anything good.

However, his movement immediately caught Anna's attention.

Anna stopped chanting and grabbed the glass ashtray beside her. Then, she smashed it fiercely into Li Long's head.

With a muffled thud, Li Long collapsed onto the floor with his head bleeding. It was unknown whether he was alive or dead.

Anna proceeded to treat Li Long's injury to ensure that he wouldn't lose too much blood and die. Once the treatment was done, Anna began chanting the sacrificial incantation again.

The clock on the wall ticked away, and as the minutes went by, Anna's chanting got louder and louder until her voice reverberated throughout the entire room.

Anna chanted for hours, but even though the sky outside had brightened and the blood on the ground had congealed into scabs, she still received no response whatsoever.

"How come there is no response at all?" Anna's face turned ugly. She had specifically chosen the sacrificial ritual for God Fhtagn, the strongest god in the Subterranean Sea, so she was surprised by the silence.

Anna believed that there was something preventing the influence of the gods in the Subterranean Sea from reaching the surface world. Clearly, there was something protecting the peace of the surface world.

Otherwise, Anna would have received a response.

Is it really all over just like this? Do I really have no choice but to be trapped in this fragile human body for the rest of my life? Anna revealed a defiant look. No, this might just be because there aren't enough sacrifices. I need to try it again but with more people.

With that in mind, Anna turned her gaze to Li Long in the middle of the array. She knew that this wasn't the time to look for sacrifices. Before anything else, she had to establish a foothold for herself first.

Hours later, Li Long woke up in a daze and found himself inside his doghouse of a house. The wounds on his lower back and forehead had been stitched up, but his delight lasted only for half a second as he noticed a metal collar around his neck.

It was a dog collar often used for very large dogs.

The sound of the bedroom door being opened made Li Long shudder. The lunatic who had almost killed him last night walked out of the bedroom.

She was no longer wearing the dress that she had worn last night and had changed into a plain sports outfit along with a cotton mask covering her face.

Anna was giving off a completely different air from last night, but Li Long couldn't care less about those details. He only cared about the knife that was as long as his forearm in Anna's hand.

"I was wrong, I was wrong, okay? Miss, I truly made a mistake by not recognizing the person you are. A big shot like you wouldn't bother with a small fry like me, right? Right? Let me go, okay?" Li Long pleaded, sounding like he was about to cry.

"Sit up straight," Anna said coldly.

Li Long immediately complied. He was convinced that the woman before him was a lunatic, and it was proven by her bizarre actions last night. Li Long was afraid that he'd end up triggering one of her episodes.

If that were to happen, he'd be done for.

Anna looked around with an expression of utter disdain. Then, she turned to Li Long in front of her and said, "You're a piece of trash—a waste of space and oxygen."

"Yes, yes, yes, you're absolutely right. I'm a piece of trash. I'm just a battery thief. I don't own this house; I rent this, and I only have three thousand yuan in savings. I really have nothing," Li Long said, nodding in a hurry.

Anna leaned over to Li Long and tapped his cheek with the blade of the knife. Then, her eyes narrowed slightly as she said, "I have an opportunity for you to turn your life around here, and it depends on whether you can take it or not."

Li Long grumbled bitterly in his heart. Just when is this going to end? She doesn't care about law and order at all. How come such a dangerous lunatic is allowed to run free rather than locked up and under observation around the clock?

Swoosh!

A cold light flashed, and a gash was drawn on Li Long's right cheek.

"You'd better pay attention when I speak. This knife in my hand doesn't have any eyes," Anna warned.

Li Long shuddered and stared at Anna without daring to blink.

"You're not seriously injured, so come with me later. I need your help selling something."

"Sure, sure! Just say it! Say it, and I'll sell whatever you want me to sell!"

Anna reached into her pocket and took out a tiny white diamond. She had pried it off from her wedding ring. "You know where the nearest and largest jewelry store is, right?"

Anna needed to obtain as much money as possible in the fastest way possible, and she was going to use that money to obtain a legal identity. An undocumented individual like her was always in danger, after all.

The corner of Li Long's mouth twitched upon seeing the tiny diamond. What was he supposed to say at this point? He couldn't say, "that cute little glass shard of yours is so unique," right?

"All right, I'll do what you say," Li Long replied. His plan was to go to a crowded place, which would ensure that the lunatic wouldn't act up, and then he'd find an opportunity to call the police!

Soon, the collar on Li Long was removed, and he was given new clothes to wear. In no time, the two walked out of the run-down house.

Anna was supporting Li Long as they walked slowly out of the house, and they looked very intimate, but that couldn't be further from the truth.

The hard object pressed against Li Long's made him dare not to act rashly. There was something that he had never forgotten and would probably never forget—the woman walking next to him was a lunatic, and she had a knife.

"Welcome, how may I help you two?" a round-faced saleswoman said. The saleswoman was wearing a qipao, and she greeted the two with a smile as they entered the luxurious jewelry store.

Li Long's face was pale, and he put on a forced smile as he stared at the enthusiastic saleswoman in front of him. "Do you buy diamonds?"

"Did you purchase it here? Do you still have the receipt?"

"No, I didn't purchase it here. Can you still take it?" Li Long asked. He was trying his best to signal to the saleswoman that there was something amiss, but the saleswoman clearly had no idea what he was trying to say.

"If you didn't purchase it from us, then I'm afraid—"

"Xiao Tao," someone said from the side. The three turned to find the store manager wearing a suit walking over toward them. "Let me handle this, so just go and pour some tea for these two customers."

Li Long was about to speak when the store manager patted his shoulder in a comforting manner. The store manager cast a look of understanding at him and said, "Don't worry about it. I understand, I understand."

A grim-faced man and a quiet woman had come to his jewelry store, and the man immediately asked if the store would buy diamonds. The store manager instantly saw through what was going on, and he decided to handle these two customers.

They were the easiest customers to handle in the jewelry business, and customers like them often wouldn't bother bargaining, so it was easy to make a lot of profit off of them.

Meanwhile, the baffled Li Long still had no idea what the store manager was talking about when he was ushered to sit on the sofa.

"If you two don't mind, then can I take a look at it first? How many carats is it? And where did you buy it?" the store manager asked.

A glimmer of hope appeared in Li Long's heart.

The store manager would surely find out that the diamond was mere glass, and the lunatic would most likely go on a rampage by then. It would be great if she went on a rampage, as the store manager would definitely call the police.

By then, he would be saved from the clutches of this lunatic!

The store manager was shocked when Anna took out the piece of diamond that she wanted to sell from her pocket. My goodness, their marriage is doomed. What kind of quarrel did they have for it to end up in her tearing off the diamond inset?