Lin Zhiyan accidentally took part in a ritual to summon an evil god and gained eternal life as a result, but he wasn't satisfied with that—he wanted to become even stronger.
It was as if this obsession was etched into his very genes, driving him to summon the true evil god at all costs.
He wasn't the only one with this fixation; they banded together to form an organization, hell-bent on bringing the evil god into the world.
But summoning an evil god was no easy feat. They failed countless times, and in the process, they themselves morphed into grotesque monsters—neither fully human nor fully something else.
Failure after failure left them numb and stripped away their humanity, yet not a single one of them gave up.
Still, each summoning claimed the lives of over a thousand people, and the impact was too great to ignore, so they could only conduct the ritual at intervals.
What's more, they needed time to prepare.
Once everything was in place, they launched a new round of summoning.
The "lucky" guests who had been chosen were all people they had vetted—individuals whose disappearances wouldn't cause much of a stir, including the VIPs on board.
All except for one college student named Xia Qing.
When the young man saw that his roommates had all been selected as "lucky winners," he refused to accept it and came to seduce Lin Zhiyan, hoping to secure a spot on the ship.
The young man wasn't on the sacrificial list, but if he was bent on walking to his death, Lin Zhiyan wasn't about to stop him.
Still, to be on the safe side, Lin Zhiyan had someone look into Xia Qing's background.
Xia Qing was a current student at S University, hailing from a remote mountain village.
Though he had many family members who cared about him, they were all rural folk with no power or influence. Even if they learned of Xia Qing's disappearance, they wouldn't be able to make any waves.
Upon seeing the file, Lin Zhiyan gave him permission to board.
Despite the extra person, the plan proceeded smoothly, and the ship sped out to sea as fast as possible.
By then, no one could stop the sacrifice.
In high spirits, Lin Zhiyan decided to see his dear little nephew one last time and also to warn the young man not to wander around.
After all, before the summoning began, it would be a hassle if anyone discovered a stowaway on board.
And he absolutely hated hassle.
But the moment the young man walked in, Lin Zhiyan froze.
He looks like this?
Lin Zhiyan hadn't bothered to take a good look at the young man earlier, since the ship hadn't yet reached the open sea, and he had barely any memory of the boy's face. This was the first time he was truly seeing him.
He was so beautiful—beautiful enough to have every right to seek out a wealthy patron.
At that moment, Lin Zhiyan felt an inexplicable twinge of displeasure, though he couldn't say why. Even the warning he had meant to give the young man shifted into something else before it left his lips.
"How are you settling in on the second floor?"
Lin Zhiyan thought the second floor wasn't really suitable for him, but as a stowaway, where else could he stay? It wasn't as if he could share a room with Lin Zhiyan himself.
...Or maybe that wasn't entirely out of the question.
The second floor was the crew's quarters, so an outsider naturally had no business being there. The other floors were reserved for the invited guests, and since the young man wasn't on the list, those weren't an option either.
Staying with him was the best solution.
If Lin Zhiyan kept an eye on him, no one would discover his status as a stowaway, and more importantly, it would save Lin Zhiyan from any trouble.
At this point, Lin Zhiyan hadn't realized that he wasn't acting like himself. In the past, he would never have allowed a stranger onto his floor.
But now, he simply felt this was the most logical arrangement.
Still, he couldn't say that directly to the young man—otherwise, he'd surely start taking advantage of the favor. Lin Zhiyan needed to make it clear that he wasn't some doting sugar daddy.
He spoke to the young man, "You can't stay on the second floor."
The young man seemed not to grasp his meaning. He didn't beg Lin Zhiyan as expected, nor did he even seem to consider that possibility.
That was fine. Lin Zhiyan would give him time to think it over.
But when he returned to his office after running some errands, the young man was nowhere to be seen.
Lin Zhiyan hated it when things slipped out of his control. Deeply annoyed, he immediately ordered a sweep for any stowaways.
If the young man didn't understand, Lin Zhiyan would help him understand.
Though the sweep was announced as a general inspection, it was really focused on the second floor. But to Lin Zhiyan's surprise, the young man wasn't there.
He had vanished.
The young man had nowhere to go—which meant someone had helped him.
Lin Zhiyan let out a cold laugh. Instead of coming to him, the young man had gone and found someone else to help.
What had started as a mere pretense of a sweep now became a full-blown search in earnest.
He would make whoever had helped the young man pay the price, and he would make the young man understand who his master truly was.
Lin Zhiyan's irritation gradually faded with time, but in its place, an inexplicable sense of panic began to creep in.
Those without an invitation would be the first to catch the eye of the evil god. If he didn't find the young man soon, by then, all that might remain was a corpse.
Just the thought of the young man dying made Lin Zhiyan's heart clench inexplicably—he even found it hard to breathe.
He had only seen the young man a handful of times, yet he already seemed unable to accept the possibility of his death.
Logically, this made no sense. He wasn't the type to be swayed by looks alone, so there was no way he could have developed feelings this quickly.
Lin Zhiyan suspected he had been ensnared by some dark magic, but he had no desire to break free.
If being under such a spell could make him feel this exhilarated and elated, then perhaps surrendering to it wasn't such a bad thing.
The feeling was intoxicating—as if he had finally tasted the joys of an ordinary person, as if he held the whole world in his hands.
Even if it was only the effect of the spell, he would embrace it willingly.
But for now, the top priority was to find the young man.
Yet the young man was far too good at hiding. The ship's crew had searched every corner of the vessel and still couldn't find him. Lin Zhiyan grew increasingly restless, even entertaining the thought of halting the entire sacrificial ritual.
But once the ritual had begun, it could never be stopped. The only way out was to find the young man faster.
Lin Zhiyan ordered that no stone be left unturned—even if they had to dig three feet into the ground, they had to find him. He even joined the search personally.
Even so, he came up empty-handed.
It was as if the young man had vanished into thin air, leaving no trace behind.
No—that wasn't right.
There was still one place they hadn't searched: his own floor, the tenth.
Lin Zhiyan rushed back to his quarters as fast as he could. Even before he pushed the door open, he could tell someone was inside. He let out a nearly imperceptible sigh of relief.
In just a few short hours, it had been more than enough time for Lin Zhiyan to come to terms with his own feelings.
He was desperate to solidify his role as the young man's patron, eager to mark him as his own.
Using Qi Lintian's name as a threat, he made the young man understand that he had no one else to rely on.
But before he could do anything more, Qi Lintian arrived with his people to demand an explanation.
After all, Lin Zhiyan had been so frantic to find the young man that he hadn't spared even Qi Lintian's floor from the search—so of course Qi Lintian was furious.
If it had been anyone else, he could have just killed them—but Qi Lintian was different.
He was the owner of this ship, and someone potentially connected to the evil god. Lin Zhiyan had no choice but to placate him.
But to his surprise, Qi Lintian actually knew the young man. He was the young man's former patron.
Lin Zhiyan was livid—so much so that he wanted to kill Qi Lintian on the spot.
Yet he had no choice but to suppress his murderous intent and cover for the young man. Qi Lintian's status was too sensitive; if Lin Zhiyan openly clashed with him before the ritual began, it would bring enormous trouble.
Still, the young man's identity remained a problem. Lin Zhiyan had to erase any trace of it, making sure Qi Lintian never found out that the young man was Xia Qing.
He hadn't missed the peculiar look in Qi Lintian's eyes—it was the same look that Lin Zhiyan himself had when he gazed at the young man.
He would eliminate every obstacle standing between him and the young man, including Qi Lintian.
As for the evil god?
He no longer cared whether it could be summoned, nor did he care about becoming stronger. All he wanted was to be with the young man.
Once this sacrificial ritual was over, he would leave the organization and take the young man far away, never to return.
Lin Zhiyan had everything planned out—but then the young man died, before any of his plans could come to fruition.
When Lin Zhiyan received the news, his mind went completely blank. His body trembled uncontrollably, even his lips quivering.
Impossible.
How could the young man be dead?
Right—yes, there was still the evil god.
The evil god could grant the summoner's wishes. If he could summon it, the young man could be brought back to life.
By now, Lin Zhiyan had long lost his usual elegance and composure. He frantically moved the ritual forward, throwing all caution to the wind.
He would summon the evil god, no matter what—and no one would stop him.
After centuries of effort and countless failures, the summoning ritual finally succeeded.
The evil god was called forth.
Lin Zhiyan stared at the figure in the sky, his heart pounding wildly, his blood surging through his veins beyond his control.
He seemed to be a fickle man—not only had he fallen for the young man, but now he felt the same pull toward the evil god.
The wish to bring Xia Qing back to life died on his lips, and he could no longer utter it.
Even when he heard the evil god say that his power was limited and he couldn't grant any wishes, Lin Zhiyan let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Lin Zhiyan had imagined countless forms the evil god might take, but never in his wildest dreams had he pictured this.
It made him want to overstep his bounds, to defile the divine.
And he wasn't the only one who felt this way—the crew on the ship seemed to share the same urge. Using the excuse of needing to re-summon the evil god to complete the ritual, they began frantically searching for ways to suppress its power, bent on dragging the deity down from its pedestal.
Lin Zhiyan didn't join them, but he turned a blind eye to their actions.
As time passed, however, he grew uneasy. Was this being before him truly the evil god?
For all its lofty, divine presence, it reminded him more of Xia Qing—the Xia Qing who had died.
It was a feeling, unrelated to appearance or demeanor.
Lin Zhiyan started piecing together the details. Someone had seen Xia Qing fall into the sea, but no one had seen his body, nor had anyone actually witnessed him hit the water.
After all, a fall didn't necessarily mean death—there were many ways to survive.
Lin Zhiyan went to examine the spot where Xia Qing had gone overboard. When he spotted a scrape mark on the ship's hull, the corners of his mouth curled upward.
What a clever little liar.
This time, he wouldn't give him another chance to slip away.
And yet, he still got away.
Lin Zhiyan rushed to the highest deck of the ship, but he was a step too late. All he could do was watch as the young man's figure vanished before his eyes.
Helplessly, Lin Zhiyan collapsed to the ground, sitting there in a daze, staring at the spot where the young man had disappeared. He didn't move for a long time.
The ship slowly drifted toward a massive whirlpool, its destination unknown. People on board screamed and scrambled to escape.
Lin Zhiyan could have fled, but he had no intention of doing so. He stood up and walked slowly toward the edge of the deck.
He no longer cared about summoning the evil god to grant his wishes. Looking at the way that figure had faded away, so lost and forlorn, he knew that not even the evil god could bring the young man back.
He was tired.
Standing at the very spot where the young man had vanished, Lin Zhiyan let the wind tangle his hair and let the ship drift toward the vortex.
The great whirlpool churned like a cyclone, and the ship before it was nothing but a fragile little boat. In the end, it was swallowed whole by the abyss.
And it was never seen again.
