Chapter 42: The Battle Begins

If kind persuasion is of no use, then it is time to take direct action.

Despite his concerns, Xiao Xiao felt no fear toward this duo of human and demon.

Xiao Xiao did not mask the sound of his footsteps. "Tap, tap." He walked faster and faster, eventually breaking into a run. After rounding a corner, he suddenly came to a halt.

In the dim environment, Yang Yi stood with his hands in his pockets, leaning lazily against the wall. The branches protruding from above cast mottled shadows, making it difficult to discern his expression. However, it was clear that the aura he exuded was relaxed and indifferent; there was not a hint of tension in him, as if he did not consider the carnage before him to be of any consequence.

Xiao Xiao only glanced at Yang Yi before fixing his gaze on the Gu-diao. The demon was turned away from him, engrossed in its meal. Xiao Xiao could not see the details, but he could clearly hear the sounds of the Gu-diao chewing and swallowing. It was bone-chilling.

Xiao Xiao felt a prickling sensation across his scalp. The stench of blood was so thick it was nauseating, and the sounds reaching his ears hammered against his eardrums like a heavy mallet, causing his mind to roar. His keen eyesight even allowed him to see two legs protruding from the Gu-diao’s front. They were clad in faded, oversized jeans. The feet were shoeless, the exposed ankles withered as if drained of all vitality. A pair of tattered sneakers hung loosely from the feet; the lace on the right shoe had come undone, bobbing with each of the Gu-diao’s movements as if it would fall off at any second.

This must have been a homeless man. He might have imagined his end would come from freezing, starving, falling ill, or even a traffic accident, but he could never have conceived of this. A demon was feasting upon his body, gnawing on his bones, drinking his blood. Even after he was consumed entirely by this creature, no one would notice his disappearance. They would simply assume he had wandered off to some other place.

Xiao Xiao gripped the Demon Catalog in his hand. Yes, for some reason, he had brought it with him, even though he did not need the physical object to summon a demon.

The thick blood, the pungent scent of gore—Xiao Xiao could even hear the gurgling sound of blood passing through a throat, being swallowed in large, greedy, insatiable gulps. The faint sound of bones cracking seemed infinitely amplified in this quiet, narrow space; sharp fangs crushed the hard bone without effort, the crisp sound betraying a sense of lightness in the feeder.

The feeding Gu-diao appeared languid and relaxed, seemingly posing no threat. Yet, from the moment Xiao Xiao stepped into this space, the alarm bells in his heart had not ceased, preventing him from making any rash moves. He could clearly feel that the Gu-diao had grown stronger. It seemed that by feeding on humans, its power was gradually increasing. No, perhaps it was gradually recovering.

A cold glint flashed in Xiao Xiao’s eyes. He could not delay any longer. The Gu-diao was becoming increasingly powerful; its frame was even two or three sizes larger than when he had last seen it, and the feathers covering its body shone with a cold, metallic luster, as if cast from steel. Before Xiao Xiao’s eyes, the phantom image of the Demon Catalog became increasingly distinct, its pages flipping without wind, emitting a "swish, swish, swish" sound.

In the dark, shadowed space, the Ling-yao, its body red as cinnabar fire, appeared suddenly, as if illuminating the world around it.

"Cree!" A clear, piercing cry drowned out the sounds of the Gu-diao’s feeding, and even the flow of air seemed to smooth out.

Yang Yi straightened up abruptly, his face emerging from the shadows with a look of shock. At the moment the Ling-yao appeared, the Gu-diao seemed completely unaware, still eating to its heart’s content. It had reached the waist of the homeless man, "crunch, crunch." It did not eat slowly, but it was not bolting its food either; the freshness of human flesh was always a favorite among demons.

However, the Ling-yao’s clear cry clearly disturbed the Gu-diao. The demon paused, then swallowed the remaining two legs without even chewing, even gulping down the shoes along with them. Afterward, the Gu-diao finally turned around, a flicker of brutality passing through its scarlet eyes; it was clearly displeased at having its meal interrupted.

"What kind of demon is that?" Yang Yi finally regained his senses, looking at the Ling-yao hovering beside Xiao Xiao, his gaze filled with covetousness.

Covetousness? Xiao Xiao was somewhat surprised, and a little amused. He had expected to see other emotions, perhaps surprise, but he had never imagined it would be greed. Xiao Xiao blinked, doubting his own eyes.

But Yang Yi did not hide his desire at all, staring brazenly and directly at the Ling-yao. Xiao Xiao’s silence caused Yang Yi’s expression to darken, a hint of displeasure crossing his brow. But soon, the corners of his eyes lifted, revealing a trace of a smile.

"Sickle, I want it."

Was it really okay to be so blatant? Xiao Xiao was stunned, then couldn't help but chuckle. Besides, what made him think the Gu-diao could beat the Ling-yao?

Very well, he admitted, from a purely aesthetic standpoint, the eerie, sinister, and dark-auraed Gu-diao did feel more dangerous, while the Ling-yao, draped in magnificent feathers, appeared clearly harmless and fragile. In terms of size, the Gu-diao was a full circle larger than the Ling-yao.

However, predecessors had taught their descendants with countless bloody and tearful lessons: one cannot judge a person by their appearance. By the same logic, one cannot judge a demon by its appearance; otherwise, the consequences would be painful.

The Gu-diao was powerful—it was the kind of obvious power that anyone with eyes could see at a glance. But Xiao Xiao had a vague feeling that perhaps a Gu-diao at its peak would give the Ling-yao a headache, but the current Gu-diao was no match for it.

"Pfft." Hearing the whimsical and utterly ridiculous words of the human opposite, the Ling-yao gave a snort of utter disdain, not even sparing Yang Yi a glance. It did not fear the Gu-diao even at its peak, let alone one that was still suffering from severe, unhealed wounds.

Perhaps it was the arrogance and contempt in the Ling-yao’s eyes that provoked the Gu-diao. Even knowing the danger the opponent posed, the Gu-diao, habitually arrogant and increasingly irritable due to its injuries, immediately bristled.

"Gah!" With a sharp screech, the Gu-diao lunged at the Ling-yao, the edges of its pitch-black wings cutting through the air with a cold, biting glint. Its massive form carried an overwhelming momentum, as if the entire space were under its control, and the Ling-yao within it was at its mercy.

Facing the Gu-diao’s fierce onslaught, the Ling-yao remained motionless, as if frightened into a stupor. Yang Yi’s mouth curled into a triumphant smile, but Xiao Xiao did not show a hint of panic.

Just as the Gu-diao’s massive, razor-sharp claws were about to rake across the Ling-yao’s soft underbelly, a fierce light flashed in the Ling-yao’s eyes. Its long, magnificent tail feathers whipped toward the Gu-diao with lightning speed. The sound of air being torn apart had barely rung out when, the very next moment, the Gu-diao was sent flying.

The sudden reversal of the situation caused the smile on Yang Yi’s face to freeze before it could even fully bloom.

Xiao Xiao smiled.