Chapter 43: Gudiao vs. Lingfang

The Gudiao was somewhat dazed. The excruciating pain in its body caused its eyes to flash red, and its already scarlet pupils grew even deeper, nearly black—the result of layer upon layer of overlapping blood.

The Gudiao’s aura turned feral in an instant, clearly driven mad with rage.

The Lingniao flicked its long tail. Instead of hanging down behind it as it usually did, the tail stood upright in front of its body, the tip pointing directly at the Gudiao.

...

Xiao Xiaoxiao narrowed his eyes slightly. There was a wound about ten centimeters long on the Gudiao’s flank; judging purely by the steady stream of blood flowing from it, the gash was likely quite deep.

The bloody stench and demonic aura floating in the air grew even thicker, developing a cloying, viscous quality and a bone-chilling coldness. The alley, which had still possessed a few stray slivers of light, grew increasingly dim.

Xiao Xiaoxiao looked up. Ominous, heavy stormclouds were piled layer upon layer, impenetrable, blanketing this patch of earth.

It gave the illusory sensation that this space had been severed and isolated from the rest of the world.

Not a single sound from the outside could penetrate it; even sight was blocked by the cloud layer, preventing anyone from seeing the distant horizon.

...

"Jie—jie—" The Gudiao tilted its head back and let out a sharp, piercing howl. High-pitched, grating soundwaves spread outward in concentric rings. Stone powder and debris cascaded from the surrounding stone walls, crisscrossed by deep, gruesome gouges that looked as though they had been viciously slashed by sharp blades.

The branches and leaves protruding over the tops of the walls shattered, scattering into fragments in the air.

Yang Yi’s eyes were dyed an absolute, bloody red at some unknown point. Veins thudded against his temples, bulging visibly, and thin trails of crimson blood emerged on his cheeks, slowly winding downward to pool at his chin before finally dripping onto the ground with a soft *plop*.

Yang Yi’s fists were tightly clenched, his face a mask of ferocious distortion. Combined with his blood-smeared visage, it was truly a sight too ghastly to behold.

Initially, Xiao Xiaoxiao had also been caught completely off guard by the Gudiao’s sudden ambush, leaving him in a disheveled state. His headache had not yet fully healed, and after taking such a direct hit from the Gudiao, Xiao Xiaoxiao felt almost like wishing for death.

The overwhelming pain caused Xiao Xiaoxiao to bite down hard on his lower lip, filling his mouth with a metallic taste.

His complexion turned frighteningly pale. Large beads of sweat materialized at his temples, rolling down and tracing a winding, stream-like path across his cheeks.

Just as the pain made Xiao Xiaoxiao’s vision go black, warmth bloomed in the palm of his right hand. The sudden influx of heat caused Xiao Xiaoxiao’s nerves to jerk reflexively, even through his fogged consciousness.

What was going on?

Xiao Xiaoxiao forced himself to blink hard, clearing his sweat-blurred vision by a fraction or two. His gaze followed downward, and his hand lifted unconsciously.

It was the Monster Mirror.

Threads of warm current seeped into his body, traveling along his meridians and blood vessels straight upward, all the way to his brain and consciousness.

---

The warmth entered his muddled brain, radiating gentle, soothing wisps of coolness that instantly alleviated Xiao Xiaoxiao’s headache. His heavy mind cleared up instantly, prompting Xiao Xiaoxiao to let out a low groan of sheer relief.

The dramatic contrast between before and after left Xiao Xiaoxiao slightly bewildered.

Blinking sluggishly, Xiao Xiaoxiao drew a cautious breath and discovered that his headache was truly much better. It wasn't entirely gone, but he was no longer affected by the Gudiao’s sonic attack.

Compared to the excruciating agony just moments ago, the current lingering ache was nothing more than a gentle breeze.

Xiao Xiaoxiao figured that at this rate, his nervous system would eventually be tempered into something resembling steel.

He squeezed the Monster Mirror in his hand, once again feeling grateful for his own foresight. Did he actually possess some sort of innate intuition or premonition?

"Bang!" A massive impact shattered Xiao Xiaoxiao’s meandering thoughts. He looked up just in time to see the Gudiao being whipped away by the Lingniao once more, crashing heavily against the wall. The mottled stone wall collapsed with a thunderous roar, kicking up a billowing cloud of dust and debris.

The Lingniao perched gracefully upon a high branch. The seemingly frail twig did not sway in the slightest—especially considering that, while the Lingniao did not possess the Gudiao’s colossal bulk, it was still several times larger than an adult falcon.

To carry such weight with such effortless lightness made it look like a martial arts master skilled in top-tier lightness techniques. Xiao Xiaoxiao could not help but let his eyes light up with admiration.

The Lingniao’s gaze remained perpetually arrogant and disdainful, its superior vantage point only intensifying its imposing, formidable aura.

After the bout of combat, the Gudiao could be described as utterly battered, whereas the Lingniao’s feathers were merely slightly ruffled.

The disparity in strength between the two beasts was immediately clear.

...

Perhaps it had suffered a truly brutal fall this time; the Gudiao remained buried beneath the rubble for a long time without moving, failing to immediately spread its wings and launch a ferocious counterattack as it had done before.

"Scythe?" Yang Yi walked up to the collapsed stone wall and called out tentatively. His blood-stained face bore a gloomy expression, and his eyes flickered with uncertain light, clearly indicating that his mood was far from pleasant.

However, while his mood was sour, Xiao Xiaoxiao’s mood was quite good.

Even if he had to spend more time afterward recovering his severely depleted mental energy, he felt it was entirely worth it.

Whether it was the Gudiao feeding on humans, or Yang Yi feeding humans to the monster, both were utterly devoid of human conscience in his eyes.

Yang Yi, in particular, was even more unforgivable.

The Gudiao was a monster. Monsters eating humans was perhaps akin to humans eating chickens, ducks, fish, and meat—a matter of survival necessity. The antagonism between humans and monsters had nothing to do with right and wrong; it was merely the inevitable choice for survival under the law of the jungle.

From a monster's perspective, eating humans could be said to be entirely understandable.

---

Yet Yang Yi was not a monster. He was a human being—one of the humans destined to be eaten by monsters.

Not only did he fail to stop the monsters from eating humans, but he even aided them in the process.

For what purpose? Xiao Xiaoxiao could more or less guess.

Nothing more than the two words: profit.

From Xiao Xiaoxiao's perspective, the most likely thing the Gudiao had promised Yang Yi was power that transcended ordinary mortals. Clues to this could already be glimpsed during that basketball game earlier.

And yet, Yang Yi was still not satisfied. Before he had even fully attained the Gudiao’s power, he had actually set his sights on the Lingniao!

Greed truly was humanity's greatest original sin.

...

Xiao Xiaoxiao felt a touch of regret. To finally encounter someone else who could see monsters, only for them to possess such deeply distorted values?

Wu Ya previously had only been able to catch occasional glimpses, but Yang Yi clearly saw much more.

Xiao Xiaoxiao had initially been quite happy to run into someone sharing his "miserable plight." Even if they were unacquainted, even if they were unfamiliar, knowing there was someone else in the world like oneself was undoubtedly a comforting thought.

Unfortunately, the other party clearly did not share that sentiment.

The flash of jealousy and resentment that had crossed Yang Yi’s eyes when he realized Xiao Xiaoxiao could also see the Gudiao had not escaped Xiao Xiaoxiao's notice.

At that moment, Xiao Xiaoxiao understood that he was unwelcome, and even faintly sensed the other's aversion and lingering... murderous intent.

He was just a student; how could he harbor such heavy, baleful energy?

Therefore, discovering now that Yang Yi was helping the Gudiao feed on humans didn't even seem all that unbelievable anymore.

He had briefly investigated Yang Yi. At least based on the information he found, Yang Yi was the textbook definition of a winner in life. How could he have such a dangerous personality? It made no sense at all.

Could it be that some psychopaths were simply born that way?

Xiao Xiaoxiao had no way of knowing; perhaps Yang Yi possessed some unknown, hidden past that had forged his concealed dark nature.

But none of that was Xiao Xiaoxiao's concern. All he needed to do was stop the Gudiao from feeding.