Chapter 40: Are you joking?

It was a café where soothing music and the rich aroma of coffee wove together a tapestry of lazy comfort.

Xiao Xiao followed Yang Yi to a window seat, where the surrounding greenery effectively shielded them from prying eyes. It was, indeed, a good place for a conversation.

"The coffee here is quite good. See what you'd like to have?" Yang Yi’s eyes were filled with a smile. While his attitude seemed amiable, the smile did not reach his eyes, and his demeanor carried a hint of condescending superiority and reckless defiance.

This air of condescension made Xiao Xiao’s brow twitch involuntarily. *Heh, which mental hospital did this guy escape from?*

Xiao Xiao rubbed his temple and forced a smile. "Anything will do. We aren't here to drink coffee."

"Fine." Yang Yi shrugged with an expression of feigned regret and placed an order with the pretty waitress, flashing a charming smile.

Only after the waitress’s slender figure vanished around the corner did Yang Yi turn back, clasping his hands together in a steeple on the table. "So, what do you want to talk about?"

Xiao Xiao raised an eyebrow. Fortunately, he had never expected the other party to be some sunny, upright athletic youth; he had a vivid memory of those blood-red eyes, and the Gu-Diao currently hovering in front of him was watching him with clear malice.

However, it was evident that the other’s personality was even more difficult to deal with than he had anticipated. Furthermore, it appeared that he and the Gu-Diao were on excellent terms, which made matters increasingly complicated. Unilateral coercion was far easier to handle than a meeting of minds.

Xiao Xiao lifted his eyes to scan Yang Yi’s face. Yang Yi maintained a faint smile, indifferent to Xiao Xiao’s scrutiny or his silence, his eyes even glinting with a touch of dismissive mockery.

This was a confident and self-centered individual. He possessed a firm will and would never change his views for others; he was ambitious, driven by both the ability and the desire to pursue his ends. Such a person, once convinced of something, was nearly impossible to change. "Stubborn" or "obstinate" were insufficient to describe him; while others might turn back when they hit a wall, he would charge into the wall without looking back, blindly insisting on the truth as he perceived it. People like this were often highly capable, yet all the more dangerous, as they easily fell into extreme, self-deluded pursuits, stopping at nothing to achieve them. In his eyes, the result outweighed the process.

Xiao Xiao clearly saw the faint ring of blood-red marks around the other’s pupils. Although not yet prominent, they had been absent during the basketball game, leading Xiao Xiao to conclude that these marks would continue to expand until Yang Yi’s eyes became as scarlet as the Gu-Diao beside him.

Xiao Xiao frowned and turned his gaze to the Gu-Diao. What exactly was it trying to do?

"This is Sickle." Seeing Xiao Xiao’s attention shift to his companion, Yang Yi’s expression turned peculiar—a mix of surprise, anger, and excitement. His lips curled uncontrollably, and while a flash of killing intent flickered in his eyes and the red marks around his pupils seemed to deepen, the words he uttered were an introduction. "I didn't expect anyone else to be able to see it."

"It’s not supposed to be just me who can see it, is it?" Yang Yi said this very softly, yet Xiao Xiao heard every word clearly, along with the underlying notes of resentment, fury, paranoia, and madness.

Xiao Xiao remained silent for a moment before asking a somewhat unexpected question. "Its name is Sickle?"

Yang Yi was taken aback, then seemed to find Xiao Xiao’s question amusing, breaking into a bright, hearty smile that gave Xiao Xiao goosebumps after witnessing his previous sinister expression. The shift in tone was so abrupt that Xiao Xiao found it hard to digest.

"Yes, it is Sickle."

"And I... am the Grim Reaper."

*The Grim Reaper’s Sickle... is it?*

What a tacky name. But was it really wise to tell him so directly? Was this crude, straightforward revelation born of a reliance on power that made him fearless? Or was he simply so arrogant that he believed there was nothing Xiao Xiao could do about it?

Since that was the case, he wouldn't beat around the bush.

"Were you at the back alley of the west gate of Yan University yesterday?"

"Yes."

Yang Yi’s frankness surprised Xiao Xiao, yet it was also within his expectations. Ever since they had met, Yang Yi had maintained this open attitude, his words devoid of any concealment or ambiguity.

Just then, their coffee arrived, and Yang Yi gestured for Xiao Xiao to partake.

Xiao Xiao lifted the white bone china cup. The rich, mellow aroma of the coffee traveled along the wisps of steam into his nostrils, diffusing through his limbs and bringing a lazy, warm sensation. Xiao Xiao took a symbolic sip. He preferred the fragrance of coffee to its taste; it always imparted a sense of cozy, tipsy afternoon leisure.

Xiao Xiao set the cup down, his hand lingering on the handle, his fingers gently tracing the smooth, warm porcelain.

"What were you doing?"

It was a disjointed question, but Xiao Xiao knew the other understood. Yang Yi didn't show even a flicker of confusion, answering naturally: "Feeding."

"Sickle was hungry," Yang Yi added with a smile.

The situation was now clear. Yet, Xiao Xiao still asked, "What does it eat?"

"What does it eat?" Yang Yi repeated, looking intrigued, as if the question were both puzzling and funny. "Monsters eat humans, naturally."

His tone was so matter-of-fact, his eyes filled with simple confusion, as if he were surprised that Xiao Xiao would even ask such an obvious question.

Xiao Xiao’s hand tightened on the cup handle, veins bulging on his knuckles, his fingertips turning stark white.

"Eating people?"

"You took it to eat people?"

"Do you know what you are saying?"

"Do you know what you are doing?"

Xiao Xiao’s voice was suppressed, each sentence heavier than the last. He stared fixedly at Yang Yi, trying to find any trace of a joke on his face. But Yang Yi’s expression remained as lightly smiling as ever. He even reached out to stroke the back feathers of the Gu-Diao, his movements gentle, as if everything he had done was as normal as eating or drinking, rather than cruelly snuffing out a person’s most precious life.

Xiao Xiao’s heart was in turmoil. Looking at Yang Yi’s completely normal expression—no guilt, no fear, no hesitation; likewise, no excitement, no agitation, no mania—it seemed that killing a person was to him no different than killing a chicken.

Why would a person be moved by the death of a chicken? It was merely the natural law of survival of the fittest.

"That is murder! It is a crime!" Xiao Xiao simply could not comprehend what the other was thinking.

"No, I didn't kill anyone. Sickle just needed to eat."

"Besides, those losers and scum—their lives are useless and arduous. It’s better to feed them to Sickle."

...

"Are you joking?"

...