Chapter 1
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Translator and editor: transcendent.wings
Xu Ping opened his eyes.
A curtain of darkness so dense that it couldn’t be dissolved surrounded him and a strange fishy taste had seeped all the way down his throat.
He wasn’t lying on the bed that he usually slept on.
Xu Ping stretched out a hand to fumble around beneath him and his palm came up wet. Unexpectedly, he was lying in a shallow pool of ice-cold water. The pool was only half a finger deep, yet it was still bone-chilling cold and the tactile sensation felt real, not at all like a dream.
Swoosh—
A blinding light as white as a flock of sheep suddenly flashed in front of Xu Ping’s eyes, piercing them until they throbbed in pain. As he raised a hand to block the light, a feeble voice filtered through: “. . . You came.”
A dagger fell in front of him as a crisp danglang rang out and that male voice weak to the extent that it seemed as if it was diluted by water sounded again: “You must kill him.”
Xu Ping: “. . . Who?”
The male voice replied: “Meng Chongguang.”
Xu Ping had a splitting headache, he honestly couldn’t make sense of what exactly was going on right now.
He only felt that “Meng Chongguang” this name was very familiar, only he had forgotten where he had heard it from before.
He decided to refine his questions in order to get a more detailed answer: “Who are you?”
The male voice stated: “I am the Only Consciousness of the Three Realms.”
Xu Ping: “. . . . .”
Based on the way the voice sounded, this Only Consciousness of the Three Realms guy was probably afflicted with tuberculosis, the terminal kind. If he doesn’t seize the chance to get an answer out of him now, perhaps in a little while he might just croak and then it would be too late.
Xu Ping endured his headache and just when he was just about to open his mouth to press for a straight answer, his voice became clumped up like a wad of cotton, stuffed up in the middle of his throat.
. . . He remembered who Meng Chongguang was now.
In the eyes of neighbors and other such outsiders, Xu Ping was perverted, weird, an aberration, a maverick, a heretical deviant, someone who loved to make eyes at any girl, read any kind of book, associate with any type of person. He was unrestrained and arbitrary, happily living as he pleased, often pulling a neat trick out of his hat to earn a pretty penny.
When his pockets were full, he would splurge just to listen to a single verse; when he was poor, he didn’t feel sad either. Worse comes to worst he’ll just amuse himself by transforming coal into gold.
Luckily for him, his family spoiled him excessively, indulging him to act unbridled all day long.
One day when Xu Ping was especially bored, he had read a few more novellas, which piqued his interest to write a little something of his own as well.
And Meng Chongguang was precisely the villain that Xu Ping had stylized in his unfinished manuscript. Beautiful and unparalleled, wicked and merciless.
Come to think of it, it was also a strange coincidence that Meng Chongguang, this name, had made its appearance in his dreams first. At that time when Xu Ping woke up, his body was completely soaked in sweat, and while the specific contents of the dream were long forgotten, only this name stayed with him.
After he woke up, he picked up his pen and wrote this story. His writing progress was especially smooth and in a matter of days he had already written nearly ten thousand characters.
This narrative was essentially bereft of any honest or upright characters. It told the story of how the spirits, demons, ghosts, and monsters caged in this savage and barren land banded together and escaped.
After his father read the draft, he asked him what exactly he was trying to convey by writing such a tale.
Xu Ping answered: “Just writing for fun.”
His father was utterly helpless and could only command him to focus on his studies, but Xu Ping only continued to follow his norm, he readily promised yet never changed.
However, before he had even completed half of his manuscript, Xu Ping was pulled into this world by this Only Consciousness of the Three Realms ghost in his dreams.
The TB ghost stated: “You have critically disrupted this world line and now the spirits and demons in this wasteland are stirred up exactly as you’ve written, itching to make trouble, trying to escape, and creating disaster everywhere.”
Ktf vjuufg atja kjr mjra jrlvf fjgilfg rajgafv ab uibk klat j veii yief gjvljcmf bcmf wbgf, jaagjmalcu We Ulcu’r ujhf: “Frf atlr vjuufg jcv xlii Zfcu Jtbcuuejcu, atf glcuifjvfg bo atbrf ktb lcafcv ab vfofma.”
We Ulcu kjr ajxfc jyjmx obg j wbwfca yfobgf tf ijeutfv bea ibev: “Ktlr fraffwfv bcf, jgfc’a sbe wlrajxfc jybea rbwfatlcu?”
He pulled up his sleeve and presented his right hand.
His right hand was neatly cut off from the wrist and the area from his wrist onwards was a prosthetic carved from rosewood.
Xu Ping calmly displayed his handicap bluntly: “With my condition, you want to send me in, is it not just asking me to offer my life in vain?”
Xu Ping still remembered how he configured Meng Chongguang’s combat prowess in the novella. He was a supernatural spirit born from the spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth, his temperament was as cold as the ice and snow of the mountains, and he held no one’s life in high regard.
Someone had once offended him and in return, Meng Chongguang had merrily peeled the skin off his back with a smile hung on his lips, then he tore out his entire spine, ground it into fine powder and used it to fashion a teacup which he sipped tea out of daily.
The TB ghost coughed twice before gently responding: “There is only one person in this world, with whom he would never overstep his authority nor disobey. I will lend you his mortal flesh.”
Xu Ping was even more amused: “Then why not just directly ask that person to kill Meng Chengguang?”
The TB ghost answered: “He was Meng Chongguang’s shixiong who was accused of failing to guide Meng Chongguang well because Meng Chongguang was obstreperous and detestable, he slaughtered his peers, stole medicinal pellets and magical tools. As of now, his celestial root was stripped and he was banished to the mortal realm. He became an ordinary person and died as one in the outside world. ”
Xu Ping: “. . . . .”
The TB Ghost saw his reticence and questioned closely: “So what do you think?”
Xu Ping frankly replied: “I don’t think it’ll work.”
This time it was the TB ghost’s turn to become silent: “. . . . .”
After a while, a powerful force suddenly washed over and Xu Ping only felt his body lighten briefly before he fell backwards.
The white light immediately vanished and a current of wind rose from behind his head. He was given no time to react before he fell through a deep, dark void again.
Although the voice of the TB ghost was getting further and further away in the midst of his rapid descent, that frail voice seemed like it was striking a bell, each syllable knocking on Xu Ping’s eardrums rhythmically: “If you don’t kill him, then you can just remain in the savage wasteland for eternity ba.”
With all the force he could muster, Xu Ping cursed his ancestors.
Not knowing how long his descent took, it was only when the pit of Xu Ping’s stomach was already numb did he finally sink into something soft.
But he couldn’t get up at all.
By a rough estimation, Xu Ping fell through the air for at least half a shichen, during which time passed through one magnificent towering gateway after another and brilliant rays of colorful lights swirled around him in circles, dazzling his eyes until his vision blurred.
When he first landed, he couldn’t hear, nor could he see, he was only able to lie flat on the ground.
Suddenly, countless strands of jumbled information flashed through Xu Ping’s mind.
He had only ruminated over a small portion before he gasped in surprise.
The fragments that flooded into his mind seemed to belong to Meng Chongguang’s shixiong, and strangely enough, they happened to share the same last name, both surnamed Xu, but his full name was Xu Xingzhi.
The fragments were considerably chaotic and disordered and only contained some basic information, Xu Ping sifted through them for a long time and still barely managed to come up with a few key points.
Xu Xingzhi was the most senior disciple in the righteous immortal sect of Fengling Mountain, and Meng Chongguang was the child he picked up and brought back to the mountain who had since stuck to Xu Xingzhi’s side. His spiritual power was low so he was often bullied. If not for Xu Xingzhi who stayed by his side to protect him, then he might’ve been bullied to death by the other disciples.
However, Meng Chongguang’s true identity was that of a calamitous spirit with mysterious spiritual powers. He only feigned weakness in order to infiltrate Fengling mountain for numerous years just so he could obtain the opportunity to steal the divine artifacts placed in the four great immortal sects.
Over the many years, he worked painstakingly to network and obtain connections within each of the great sects then he fanned the flames of rebellion from within through various schemes and overt plots. In the end, he actually managed to rally a group of righteous disciples under his wing for him to command. However, on the eve of success in his plan to seize the divine artifacts, his conspiracy was revealed and he murdered his master that very same night. Meanwhile under a strange combination of circumstances, Xu Xingzhi became the scapegoat. He took on the blame for him and was subsequently unjustly imprisoned and tortured.
After that, when the righteous sects were purged, Meng Chongguang and some of the other defectors who betrayed the sects were jointly banished to the savage wasteland.
The wasteland was a treacherous place beyond imagination and was also an unbreakable prison.
Xu Xingzhi was also viewed as an accomplice so he was reduced to mortal status.
And it was actually quite a simple task to kill Meng Chongguang. All one had to do was pierce the dagger imbued with the spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth through the cinnabar mole at the center of his forehead and he would be killed just like that.
Xu Ping laid on the ground in despair, thinking, f*ck, I didn’t intend for it to be interpreted this way when I wrote this ah.
Xu Ping had no interest in gifted scholars or talents, heroes or beauties, nor the romances of the immortal sects. He only wanted to write a script that was different from normal, one where a villain was the protagonist.
In fact, he never even considered going as far as to compile a backstory for “Meng Chongguang”.
But now it seems as if the Meng Chongguang of his narrative and the Meng Chongguang of this world have accidentally overlapped with each other just like two strings of an instrument, they were originally never meant to intersect, but since he plucked one of them, the other vibrated in resonance and disrupted the order of this world.
It was also only because he and the “Xu Xingzhi” who was banished into the mortal realm and stripped of his immortal root were both mortals that the so-called “Only Consciousness of the Three Realms” recruited him to eliminate Meng Chongguang.
Xu Ping, who was now Xu Xingzhi, came back to his senses, turned around and sat up. As he carelessly fumbled around, his hand came in contact with a round object.
He lowered his head to take a look and discovered that it was a human head.
Xu Xingzhi violently scrambled away and only then did he realize that the one li area around him was covered in corpses and skeletons. Most of which seemed to have been torn to pieces with contrasting red and white scattered everywhere.
Xu Xingzhi’s olfactory senses returned the moment he laid eyes on those dead bodies. The foul stench overwhelmed him until his head throbbed with pain and his stomach churned.
Fortunately, he previously spent three whole days and nights at a coffin home, eating and living with those old men who were assigned to watch over it for the sake of a one liang of silver bet, so he wasn’t fearful of some mere cadavers.
However, gazing upon such a scene with body parts littered everywhere for the first time would inevitably still be too unnerving even for Xu Xingzhi.
Although Xu Xingzhi had written cannibalistic scenes starring the people in this wasteland, it was a clear case of “human tendons akin to silver and human skulls crafted into lanterns”, where black words printed on white paper didn’t seem like such a big deal but having it so brusquely manifested in reality was still capable of making his teeth chatter.
He endured his nausea and tried his best to pick a path between the gaps of the dead bodies in order to escape this field of corpses as quickly as possible.
Xu Xingzhi originally didn’t want to spare a second glance at the tragic condition of these dead bodies, but before long, his steps unwittingly came to a hard stop and he squatted down in front of one of the corpses.
Another moment later, he straightened up again and booked it without any hesitation.
Xu Xingzhi discerned that the mangled areas of the cadavers weren’t from the mauling of some wild beasts, rather they were from the tooth marks of human beings.
In other words, this graveyard of corpses was actually someone’s personal kitchen in this savage wasteland.
Xu Xingzhi felt that if he didn’t leave this place soon then it might end up being his turn to be laid to rest here.
But where should he go to seek Meng Chongguang in this boundless wasteland?
As he contemplated this issue, Xu Xingzhi only managed to take a few steps when he suddenly heard a roar.
He turned around and caught a glimpse of what could only be described as a terrifying humanoid monster crazily charging towards him.
And while the rest of the monster’s body from the neck down seemed normal if you overlook the two razor sharp blades replacing his arms. His face, however, looked like someone had torn it off and then hastily reassembled it. The nose was on the forehead, one eye was where the mouth was supposed to be and the other eye was planted on his neck. It resembled a giant candle that had been grossly melted out of shape.
He crossed the sea of corpses, coming straight for him with countless bodies exploding into bloody froth underneath his heels.
Xu Xingzhi cursed loudly and sprinted away like mad.
He carefully weaved his way through the mountain of corpses and the sea of blood. Once he reached an empty clearing, he randomly selected a direction and dashed off.
It was obvious that the monster didn’t intend to simply just drive Xu Xingzhi out of his territory.
Xu Xingzhi ran for nearly one li and yet that monster was still chasing after him.
The distance between one person and one monster was getting closer and closer.
Xu Xingzhi was so tired that he kept wheezing and panting huchi, constantly keeping tabs on the situation behind him. When he swept his gaze over, he inadvertently caught a glimpse of a charred humanoid figure emerging from the side, staggering towards them.
Being locked on by two monsters at once, Xu Xingzhi who was as tired as a dog thought in despair, he might as well just choose one to eat himself ba. At least if he chose how he died, it would seem more dignified.
Xu Xingzhi didn’t notice that the monster behind him slowed its pace. The five displaced facial features contorted slightly and started to twitch while he attentively kept the slim dark silhouette of the charred figure in its line of sight as if it caught sight of something horrifying. It seemed infuriated yet at the same time completely terrified.
Soon after, as if it had made up its mind and made some sort of firm resolution, it gave a low growl, abruptly changed directions, and lunged towards that scorched figure instead.
In the space of a few moments, Xu Xingzhi had chosen the charred figure in favor of the other.
—If he were to be caught by the monster behind him and pierced through by those two sharp blades then thrown into the mountain of corpses with his head over here and his ass over there, the thought alone seemed tragic.
He had just taken two steps in the direction of the charred figure when he unexpectedly made eye contact with the other.
Xu Xingzhi didn’t know if he was hallucinating, but the hollow eyes of the person who was burnt to the extent that only the skull remained seemed to glow faintly. There was panic and worry, there was also a nameless affection which Xu Xingzhi couldn’t fathom.
He opened his mouth and a few charred flakes slowly fluttered down from his chin: “. . . Run, quickly. . .”
Xu Xingzhi stopped abruptly.
That was a human voice.
Even if it was scorched raw and deformed, Xu Xingzhi realized that it was a human being who was conscious and sober.
Was it a criminal that was exiled to the wasteland? And a heavily injured one at that?
Xu Xingzhi pondered as he gave up the desire to court death, instead he adjusted his trajectory and ran frantically away once again.
The person burnt to a crisp was indeed exhausted and was quickly left in the dust by Xu Xingzhi within a few moments. He hobbled a few steps in Xu Xingzhi’s direction and repeated: “. . . Hurry, hurry and escape. . .”
With that, he stopped and turned around, confronting the razor blade monster who ferociously pounced in his direction, his mouth agape.
His silhouette looked incomparably desolate.
But looking at the intended arrangement of the residual muscles on his face, he seemed to be sneering.
Opposite from the gentleness he had for Xu Xingzhi, his slightly raised chin when he faced the monster was as if he were some elegant and sleek adult black panther eyeing a little pup that was barking in a frenzy.
Just like how Xu Xingzhi couldn’t see the current expression of that monstrous being, that monstrous being couldn’t see Xu Xingzhi’s movements either.
Xu Xingzhi didn’t hear the footsteps of the black figure catching up, so he halted his steps to peer behind him.
The charred person had his back towards him and was facing the monster head on as if he planned to sacrifice himself and receive the blow in place of Xu Xingzhi.
His figure from behind seemed tragic and heroic and at the same time on the verge of collapse as if it would only take a slight gust of wind to topple him over.
Xu Xingzhi gritted his teeth firmly and reached for the object hidden near his chest.
There laid the dagger which the TB Ghost probably shoved into his possession when he was pushed down here earlier.
He drew the dagger with his left hand and hid it behind his back in a backhanded gesture before he stalked towards the monster.
When he bypassed the charred figure, he not only didn’t pause his steps, but also accelerated instead.
The black figure was startled and unwittingly blurted out: “. . . Shixiong??”
Xu Xingzhi had already begun to run, the wind whistled past his ears, swallowing the phrase the black figure uttered into oblivion.
Therefore he didn’t hear what the black figure addressed him as.
The monster originally had already switched to target the black figure, but who would’ve thought that the prey that already escaped halfway would return again? He was like a fuse about to go off and growled once angrily before he raised his razor blade of a left hand and thrust towards the space in Xu Xingzhi’s direction, attempting to finish him off in one blow.
Xu Xingzhi raised his right hand to block.
There was a muffled noise of an object being pierced through.
Xu Xingzhi glanced at the speared rosewood palm casually and whistled.
Before the monster could react, Xu Xingzhi quickly jumped up and pinned the bladed right hand the monster was about to swing at him beneath his feet. Next, with all the strength he could muster, he raised his right hand to haul the monster’s left hand upwards.
And the dagger that the TB ghost handed over for the purpose of piercing Meng Chongguang’s chest was buried in the monster’s heart instead.
Xu Xingzhi quickly yanked the dagger out and leapt more than one zhang away.
The monster toppled over, writhing on the ground uncontrollably.
Xu Xingzhi was covered in blood splatters. He endured the disgust he felt, quickly approached the monster and stepped on its arm then thrust the dirty, bloodstained dagger through the center of the monster’s forehead.
Just like that the monster received the finishing blow and convulsed for a while, but ultimately still breathed its last.
Before Xu Xingzhi’s tense muscles had a chance to relax, he heard a muffled thump of something falling to the ground behind him.
Xu Xingzhi looked back and found that the charred figure had unexpectedly collapsed on the ground.
His heart jumped as he closed the distance in a few steps and brought him into his arms: “Hey!”
That person weakly mumbled: “Southeast thirty li, bring me over there. . .”
After he finished, his head tilted to the side as if he had fainted.
Facing this wholly unfamiliar stranger, Xu Xingzhi barely thought twice before he retrieved his dagger and randomly wiped it on his sleeve. Unconcerned with how sordid the other person was, he gingerly lifted him up and placed him on his back. Using his good left hand and crippled right hand he encircled the man’s arms around his neck arduously.
After confirming that he was carrying the other steadily, Xu Xingzhi headed in the southeast direction.
The southeast direction was probably where this person’s companions were, if he succeeded in sending this person to that place, then he would at least be able to earn a huge favor. While he was at it, he might as well ask where Meng Chongguang might be and if he was lucky, maybe he would even meet him there.
. . . His father and little sister were still at home, if he were to disappear for too long, they would definitely get worried.
He had to return home earlier.
Xu Xingzhi was so engrossed in his worries that he didn’t even notice that the charred figure on his back had opened his eyes.
He blissfully nestled on Xu Xingzhi’s back and murmured soundlessly: “. . . Shixiong. . .”
The author has something to say:
Meng Chongguang: shixiong, shixiong, gimme a piggyback ride~, gimme a hug!
Please report us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!
Translator and editor: transcendent.wings
Xu Ping opened his eyes.
A curtain of darkness so dense that it couldn’t be dissolved surrounded him and a strange fishy taste had seeped all the way down his throat.
He wasn’t lying on the bed that he usually slept on.
Xu Ping stretched out a hand to fumble around beneath him and his palm came up wet. Unexpectedly, he was lying in a shallow pool of ice-cold water. The pool was only half a finger deep, yet it was still bone-chilling cold and the tactile sensation felt real, not at all like a dream.
Swoosh—
A blinding light as white as a flock of sheep suddenly flashed in front of Xu Ping’s eyes, piercing them until they throbbed in pain. As he raised a hand to block the light, a feeble voice filtered through: “. . . You came.”
A dagger fell in front of him as a crisp danglang rang out and that male voice weak to the extent that it seemed as if it was diluted by water sounded again: “You must kill him.”
Xu Ping: “. . . Who?”
The male voice replied: “Meng Chongguang.”
Xu Ping had a splitting headache, he honestly couldn’t make sense of what exactly was going on right now.
He only felt that “Meng Chongguang” this name was very familiar, only he had forgotten where he had heard it from before.
He decided to refine his questions in order to get a more detailed answer: “Who are you?”
The male voice stated: “I am the Only Consciousness of the Three Realms.”
Xu Ping: “. . . . .”
Based on the way the voice sounded, this Only Consciousness of the Three Realms guy was probably afflicted with tuberculosis, the terminal kind. If he doesn’t seize the chance to get an answer out of him now, perhaps in a little while he might just croak and then it would be too late.
Xu Ping endured his headache and just when he was just about to open his mouth to press for a straight answer, his voice became clumped up like a wad of cotton, stuffed up in the middle of his throat.
. . . He remembered who Meng Chongguang was now.
In the eyes of neighbors and other such outsiders, Xu Ping was perverted, weird, an aberration, a maverick, a heretical deviant, someone who loved to make eyes at any girl, read any kind of book, associate with any type of person. He was unrestrained and arbitrary, happily living as he pleased, often pulling a neat trick out of his hat to earn a pretty penny.
When his pockets were full, he would splurge just to listen to a single verse; when he was poor, he didn’t feel sad either. Worse comes to worst he’ll just amuse himself by transforming coal into gold.
Luckily for him, his family spoiled him excessively, indulging him to act unbridled all day long.
One day when Xu Ping was especially bored, he had read a few more novellas, which piqued his interest to write a little something of his own as well.
And Meng Chongguang was precisely the villain that Xu Ping had stylized in his unfinished manuscript. Beautiful and unparalleled, wicked and merciless.
Come to think of it, it was also a strange coincidence that Meng Chongguang, this name, had made its appearance in his dreams first. At that time when Xu Ping woke up, his body was completely soaked in sweat, and while the specific contents of the dream were long forgotten, only this name stayed with him.
After he woke up, he picked up his pen and wrote this story. His writing progress was especially smooth and in a matter of days he had already written nearly ten thousand characters.
This narrative was essentially bereft of any honest or upright characters. It told the story of how the spirits, demons, ghosts, and monsters caged in this savage and barren land banded together and escaped.
After his father read the draft, he asked him what exactly he was trying to convey by writing such a tale.
Xu Ping answered: “Just writing for fun.”
His father was utterly helpless and could only command him to focus on his studies, but Xu Ping only continued to follow his norm, he readily promised yet never changed.
However, before he had even completed half of his manuscript, Xu Ping was pulled into this world by this Only Consciousness of the Three Realms ghost in his dreams.
The TB ghost stated: “You have critically disrupted this world line and now the spirits and demons in this wasteland are stirred up exactly as you’ve written, itching to make trouble, trying to escape, and creating disaster everywhere.”
Ktf vjuufg atja kjr mjra jrlvf fjgilfg rajgafv ab uibk klat j veii yief gjvljcmf bcmf wbgf, jaagjmalcu We Ulcu’r ujhf: “Frf atlr vjuufg jcv xlii Zfcu Jtbcuuejcu, atf glcuifjvfg bo atbrf ktb lcafcv ab vfofma.”
We Ulcu kjr ajxfc jyjmx obg j wbwfca yfobgf tf ijeutfv bea ibev: “Ktlr fraffwfv bcf, jgfc’a sbe wlrajxfc jybea rbwfatlcu?”
He pulled up his sleeve and presented his right hand.
His right hand was neatly cut off from the wrist and the area from his wrist onwards was a prosthetic carved from rosewood.
Xu Ping calmly displayed his handicap bluntly: “With my condition, you want to send me in, is it not just asking me to offer my life in vain?”
Xu Ping still remembered how he configured Meng Chongguang’s combat prowess in the novella. He was a supernatural spirit born from the spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth, his temperament was as cold as the ice and snow of the mountains, and he held no one’s life in high regard.
Someone had once offended him and in return, Meng Chongguang had merrily peeled the skin off his back with a smile hung on his lips, then he tore out his entire spine, ground it into fine powder and used it to fashion a teacup which he sipped tea out of daily.
The TB ghost coughed twice before gently responding: “There is only one person in this world, with whom he would never overstep his authority nor disobey. I will lend you his mortal flesh.”
Xu Ping was even more amused: “Then why not just directly ask that person to kill Meng Chengguang?”
The TB ghost answered: “He was Meng Chongguang’s shixiong who was accused of failing to guide Meng Chongguang well because Meng Chongguang was obstreperous and detestable, he slaughtered his peers, stole medicinal pellets and magical tools. As of now, his celestial root was stripped and he was banished to the mortal realm. He became an ordinary person and died as one in the outside world. ”
Xu Ping: “. . . . .”
The TB Ghost saw his reticence and questioned closely: “So what do you think?”
Xu Ping frankly replied: “I don’t think it’ll work.”
This time it was the TB ghost’s turn to become silent: “. . . . .”
After a while, a powerful force suddenly washed over and Xu Ping only felt his body lighten briefly before he fell backwards.
The white light immediately vanished and a current of wind rose from behind his head. He was given no time to react before he fell through a deep, dark void again.
Although the voice of the TB ghost was getting further and further away in the midst of his rapid descent, that frail voice seemed like it was striking a bell, each syllable knocking on Xu Ping’s eardrums rhythmically: “If you don’t kill him, then you can just remain in the savage wasteland for eternity ba.”
With all the force he could muster, Xu Ping cursed his ancestors.
Not knowing how long his descent took, it was only when the pit of Xu Ping’s stomach was already numb did he finally sink into something soft.
But he couldn’t get up at all.
By a rough estimation, Xu Ping fell through the air for at least half a shichen, during which time passed through one magnificent towering gateway after another and brilliant rays of colorful lights swirled around him in circles, dazzling his eyes until his vision blurred.
When he first landed, he couldn’t hear, nor could he see, he was only able to lie flat on the ground.
Suddenly, countless strands of jumbled information flashed through Xu Ping’s mind.
He had only ruminated over a small portion before he gasped in surprise.
The fragments that flooded into his mind seemed to belong to Meng Chongguang’s shixiong, and strangely enough, they happened to share the same last name, both surnamed Xu, but his full name was Xu Xingzhi.
The fragments were considerably chaotic and disordered and only contained some basic information, Xu Ping sifted through them for a long time and still barely managed to come up with a few key points.
Xu Xingzhi was the most senior disciple in the righteous immortal sect of Fengling Mountain, and Meng Chongguang was the child he picked up and brought back to the mountain who had since stuck to Xu Xingzhi’s side. His spiritual power was low so he was often bullied. If not for Xu Xingzhi who stayed by his side to protect him, then he might’ve been bullied to death by the other disciples.
However, Meng Chongguang’s true identity was that of a calamitous spirit with mysterious spiritual powers. He only feigned weakness in order to infiltrate Fengling mountain for numerous years just so he could obtain the opportunity to steal the divine artifacts placed in the four great immortal sects.
Over the many years, he worked painstakingly to network and obtain connections within each of the great sects then he fanned the flames of rebellion from within through various schemes and overt plots. In the end, he actually managed to rally a group of righteous disciples under his wing for him to command. However, on the eve of success in his plan to seize the divine artifacts, his conspiracy was revealed and he murdered his master that very same night. Meanwhile under a strange combination of circumstances, Xu Xingzhi became the scapegoat. He took on the blame for him and was subsequently unjustly imprisoned and tortured.
After that, when the righteous sects were purged, Meng Chongguang and some of the other defectors who betrayed the sects were jointly banished to the savage wasteland.
The wasteland was a treacherous place beyond imagination and was also an unbreakable prison.
Xu Xingzhi was also viewed as an accomplice so he was reduced to mortal status.
And it was actually quite a simple task to kill Meng Chongguang. All one had to do was pierce the dagger imbued with the spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth through the cinnabar mole at the center of his forehead and he would be killed just like that.
Xu Ping laid on the ground in despair, thinking, f*ck, I didn’t intend for it to be interpreted this way when I wrote this ah.
Xu Ping had no interest in gifted scholars or talents, heroes or beauties, nor the romances of the immortal sects. He only wanted to write a script that was different from normal, one where a villain was the protagonist.
In fact, he never even considered going as far as to compile a backstory for “Meng Chongguang”.
But now it seems as if the Meng Chongguang of his narrative and the Meng Chongguang of this world have accidentally overlapped with each other just like two strings of an instrument, they were originally never meant to intersect, but since he plucked one of them, the other vibrated in resonance and disrupted the order of this world.
It was also only because he and the “Xu Xingzhi” who was banished into the mortal realm and stripped of his immortal root were both mortals that the so-called “Only Consciousness of the Three Realms” recruited him to eliminate Meng Chongguang.
Xu Ping, who was now Xu Xingzhi, came back to his senses, turned around and sat up. As he carelessly fumbled around, his hand came in contact with a round object.
He lowered his head to take a look and discovered that it was a human head.
Xu Xingzhi violently scrambled away and only then did he realize that the one li area around him was covered in corpses and skeletons. Most of which seemed to have been torn to pieces with contrasting red and white scattered everywhere.
Xu Xingzhi’s olfactory senses returned the moment he laid eyes on those dead bodies. The foul stench overwhelmed him until his head throbbed with pain and his stomach churned.
Fortunately, he previously spent three whole days and nights at a coffin home, eating and living with those old men who were assigned to watch over it for the sake of a one liang of silver bet, so he wasn’t fearful of some mere cadavers.
However, gazing upon such a scene with body parts littered everywhere for the first time would inevitably still be too unnerving even for Xu Xingzhi.
Although Xu Xingzhi had written cannibalistic scenes starring the people in this wasteland, it was a clear case of “human tendons akin to silver and human skulls crafted into lanterns”, where black words printed on white paper didn’t seem like such a big deal but having it so brusquely manifested in reality was still capable of making his teeth chatter.
He endured his nausea and tried his best to pick a path between the gaps of the dead bodies in order to escape this field of corpses as quickly as possible.
Xu Xingzhi originally didn’t want to spare a second glance at the tragic condition of these dead bodies, but before long, his steps unwittingly came to a hard stop and he squatted down in front of one of the corpses.
Another moment later, he straightened up again and booked it without any hesitation.
Xu Xingzhi discerned that the mangled areas of the cadavers weren’t from the mauling of some wild beasts, rather they were from the tooth marks of human beings.
In other words, this graveyard of corpses was actually someone’s personal kitchen in this savage wasteland.
Xu Xingzhi felt that if he didn’t leave this place soon then it might end up being his turn to be laid to rest here.
But where should he go to seek Meng Chongguang in this boundless wasteland?
As he contemplated this issue, Xu Xingzhi only managed to take a few steps when he suddenly heard a roar.
He turned around and caught a glimpse of what could only be described as a terrifying humanoid monster crazily charging towards him.
And while the rest of the monster’s body from the neck down seemed normal if you overlook the two razor sharp blades replacing his arms. His face, however, looked like someone had torn it off and then hastily reassembled it. The nose was on the forehead, one eye was where the mouth was supposed to be and the other eye was planted on his neck. It resembled a giant candle that had been grossly melted out of shape.
He crossed the sea of corpses, coming straight for him with countless bodies exploding into bloody froth underneath his heels.
Xu Xingzhi cursed loudly and sprinted away like mad.
He carefully weaved his way through the mountain of corpses and the sea of blood. Once he reached an empty clearing, he randomly selected a direction and dashed off.
It was obvious that the monster didn’t intend to simply just drive Xu Xingzhi out of his territory.
Xu Xingzhi ran for nearly one li and yet that monster was still chasing after him.
The distance between one person and one monster was getting closer and closer.
Xu Xingzhi was so tired that he kept wheezing and panting huchi, constantly keeping tabs on the situation behind him. When he swept his gaze over, he inadvertently caught a glimpse of a charred humanoid figure emerging from the side, staggering towards them.
Being locked on by two monsters at once, Xu Xingzhi who was as tired as a dog thought in despair, he might as well just choose one to eat himself ba. At least if he chose how he died, it would seem more dignified.
Xu Xingzhi didn’t notice that the monster behind him slowed its pace. The five displaced facial features contorted slightly and started to twitch while he attentively kept the slim dark silhouette of the charred figure in its line of sight as if it caught sight of something horrifying. It seemed infuriated yet at the same time completely terrified.
Soon after, as if it had made up its mind and made some sort of firm resolution, it gave a low growl, abruptly changed directions, and lunged towards that scorched figure instead.
In the space of a few moments, Xu Xingzhi had chosen the charred figure in favor of the other.
—If he were to be caught by the monster behind him and pierced through by those two sharp blades then thrown into the mountain of corpses with his head over here and his ass over there, the thought alone seemed tragic.
He had just taken two steps in the direction of the charred figure when he unexpectedly made eye contact with the other.
Xu Xingzhi didn’t know if he was hallucinating, but the hollow eyes of the person who was burnt to the extent that only the skull remained seemed to glow faintly. There was panic and worry, there was also a nameless affection which Xu Xingzhi couldn’t fathom.
He opened his mouth and a few charred flakes slowly fluttered down from his chin: “. . . Run, quickly. . .”
Xu Xingzhi stopped abruptly.
That was a human voice.
Even if it was scorched raw and deformed, Xu Xingzhi realized that it was a human being who was conscious and sober.
Was it a criminal that was exiled to the wasteland? And a heavily injured one at that?
Xu Xingzhi pondered as he gave up the desire to court death, instead he adjusted his trajectory and ran frantically away once again.
The person burnt to a crisp was indeed exhausted and was quickly left in the dust by Xu Xingzhi within a few moments. He hobbled a few steps in Xu Xingzhi’s direction and repeated: “. . . Hurry, hurry and escape. . .”
With that, he stopped and turned around, confronting the razor blade monster who ferociously pounced in his direction, his mouth agape.
His silhouette looked incomparably desolate.
But looking at the intended arrangement of the residual muscles on his face, he seemed to be sneering.
Opposite from the gentleness he had for Xu Xingzhi, his slightly raised chin when he faced the monster was as if he were some elegant and sleek adult black panther eyeing a little pup that was barking in a frenzy.
Just like how Xu Xingzhi couldn’t see the current expression of that monstrous being, that monstrous being couldn’t see Xu Xingzhi’s movements either.
Xu Xingzhi didn’t hear the footsteps of the black figure catching up, so he halted his steps to peer behind him.
The charred person had his back towards him and was facing the monster head on as if he planned to sacrifice himself and receive the blow in place of Xu Xingzhi.
His figure from behind seemed tragic and heroic and at the same time on the verge of collapse as if it would only take a slight gust of wind to topple him over.
Xu Xingzhi gritted his teeth firmly and reached for the object hidden near his chest.
There laid the dagger which the TB Ghost probably shoved into his possession when he was pushed down here earlier.
He drew the dagger with his left hand and hid it behind his back in a backhanded gesture before he stalked towards the monster.
When he bypassed the charred figure, he not only didn’t pause his steps, but also accelerated instead.
The black figure was startled and unwittingly blurted out: “. . . Shixiong??”
Xu Xingzhi had already begun to run, the wind whistled past his ears, swallowing the phrase the black figure uttered into oblivion.
Therefore he didn’t hear what the black figure addressed him as.
The monster originally had already switched to target the black figure, but who would’ve thought that the prey that already escaped halfway would return again? He was like a fuse about to go off and growled once angrily before he raised his razor blade of a left hand and thrust towards the space in Xu Xingzhi’s direction, attempting to finish him off in one blow.
Xu Xingzhi raised his right hand to block.
There was a muffled noise of an object being pierced through.
Xu Xingzhi glanced at the speared rosewood palm casually and whistled.
Before the monster could react, Xu Xingzhi quickly jumped up and pinned the bladed right hand the monster was about to swing at him beneath his feet. Next, with all the strength he could muster, he raised his right hand to haul the monster’s left hand upwards.
And the dagger that the TB ghost handed over for the purpose of piercing Meng Chongguang’s chest was buried in the monster’s heart instead.
Xu Xingzhi quickly yanked the dagger out and leapt more than one zhang away.
The monster toppled over, writhing on the ground uncontrollably.
Xu Xingzhi was covered in blood splatters. He endured the disgust he felt, quickly approached the monster and stepped on its arm then thrust the dirty, bloodstained dagger through the center of the monster’s forehead.
Just like that the monster received the finishing blow and convulsed for a while, but ultimately still breathed its last.
Before Xu Xingzhi’s tense muscles had a chance to relax, he heard a muffled thump of something falling to the ground behind him.
Xu Xingzhi looked back and found that the charred figure had unexpectedly collapsed on the ground.
His heart jumped as he closed the distance in a few steps and brought him into his arms: “Hey!”
That person weakly mumbled: “Southeast thirty li, bring me over there. . .”
After he finished, his head tilted to the side as if he had fainted.
Facing this wholly unfamiliar stranger, Xu Xingzhi barely thought twice before he retrieved his dagger and randomly wiped it on his sleeve. Unconcerned with how sordid the other person was, he gingerly lifted him up and placed him on his back. Using his good left hand and crippled right hand he encircled the man’s arms around his neck arduously.
After confirming that he was carrying the other steadily, Xu Xingzhi headed in the southeast direction.
The southeast direction was probably where this person’s companions were, if he succeeded in sending this person to that place, then he would at least be able to earn a huge favor. While he was at it, he might as well ask where Meng Chongguang might be and if he was lucky, maybe he would even meet him there.
. . . His father and little sister were still at home, if he were to disappear for too long, they would definitely get worried.
He had to return home earlier.
Xu Xingzhi was so engrossed in his worries that he didn’t even notice that the charred figure on his back had opened his eyes.
He blissfully nestled on Xu Xingzhi’s back and murmured soundlessly: “. . . Shixiong. . .”
The author has something to say:
Meng Chongguang: shixiong, shixiong, gimme a piggyback ride~, gimme a hug!
Translator and editor: transcendent.wingsXu Ping opened his eyes.A curtain of darkness so dense that it couldn't be dissolved surrounded him and a strange fishy taste had seeped all the way down his throat.He wasn't lying on the bed that he usually slept on.Xu Ping stretched out a hand to fumble around beneath him and his palm came up wet. Unexpectedly, he was lying in a shallow pool of ice-cold water. The pool was only half a finger deep, yet it was still bone-chilling cold and the tactile sensation felt real, not at all like a dream.SwooshA blinding light as white as a flock of sheep suddenly flashed in front of Xu Ping's eyes, piercing them until they throbbed in pain. As he raised a hand to block the light, a feeble voice filtered through: . . . You came.A dagger fell in front of him as a crispdanglangrang out and that male voice weak to the extent that it seemed as if it was diluted by water sounded again: You must kill him.Xu Ping: . . . Who?The male voice replied: Meng Chongguang.Xu Ping had a splitting headache, he honestly couldn't make sense of what exactly was going on right now.He only felt that Meng Chongguang this name was very familiar, only he had forgotten where he had heard it from before.He decided to refine his questions in order to get a more detailed answer: Who are you?The male voice stated: I am theOnly Consciousness of the Three Realms.Xu Ping: . . . . .Based on the way the voice sounded, this Only Consciousness of the Three Realms guy was probably afflicted with tuberculosis, the terminal kind. If he doesn't seize the chance to get an answer out of him now, perhaps in a little while he might just croak and then it would be too late.Xu Ping endured his headache and just when he was just about to open his mouth to press for a straight answer, his voice became clumped up like a wad of cotton, stuffed up in the middle of his throat.. . . He remembered who Meng Chongguang was now.In the eyes of neighbors and other such outsiders, Xu Ping was perverted, weird, an aberration, a maverick, a heretical deviant, someone who loved to make eyes at any girl, read any kind of book, associate with any type of person. He was unrestrained and arbitrary, happily living as he pleased, often pulling a neat trick out of his hat to earn a pretty penny.When his pockets were full, he would splurge just to listen to a single verse; when he was poor, he didn't feel sad either. Worse comes to worst he'll just amuse himselfby transforming coal into gold.Luckily for him, his family spoiled him excessively, indulging him to act unbridled all day long.One day when Xu Ping was especially bored, he had read a few more novellas, which piqued his interest to write a little something of his own as well.And Meng Chongguang was precisely the villain that Xu Ping had stylized in his unfinished manuscript. Beautiful and unparalleled, wicked and merciless.Come to think of it, it was also a strange coincidence that Meng Chongguang, this name, had made its appearance in his dreams first. At that time when Xu Ping woke up, his body was completely soaked in sweat, and while the specific contents of the dream were long forgotten, only this name stayed with him.After he woke up, he picked up his pen and wrote this story. His writing progress was especially smooth and in a matter of days he had already written nearly ten thousand characters.This narrative was essentially bereft of any honest or upright characters. It told the story of how thespirits, demons, ghosts, and monsterscaged in this savage and barren land banded together and escaped.After his father read the draft, he asked him what exactly he was trying to convey by writing such a tale.Xu Ping answered: Just writing for fun.His father was utterly helpless and could only command him to focus on his studies, but Xu Ping only continued to follow his norm, he readily promised yet never changed.However, before he had even completed half of his manuscript, Xu Ping was pulled into this world by thisOnly Consciousness of the Three Realms ghostin his dreams.The TB ghost stated: You have critically disrupted thisworld lineand now the spirits and demons in this wasteland are stirred up exactly as you've written, itching to make trouble, trying to escape, and creating disaster everywhere.Ktf vjuufg atja kjr mjra jrlvf fjgilfg rajgafv ab uibk klat j veii yief gjvljcmf bcmf wbgf, jaagjmalcu We Ulcu'r ujhf: Frf atlr vjuufg jcv xlii Zfcu Jtbcuuejcu, atf glcuifjvfg bo atbrf ktb lcafcv ab vfofma.We Ulcu kjr ajxfc jyjmx obg j wbwfca yfobgf tf ijeutfv bea ibev: Ktlr fraffwfv bcf, jgfc'a sbe wlrajxfc jybea rbwfatlcu?He pulled up his sleeve and presented his right hand.His right hand was neatly cut off from the wrist and the area from his wrist onwards was a prosthetic carved from rosewood.Xu Ping calmly displayed his handicap bluntly: With my condition,youwant to send me in, is it not just asking me to offer my life in vain?Xu Ping still remembered how he configured Meng Chongguang's combat prowess in the novella. He was a supernatural spirit born from the spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth, his temperament was as cold as the ice and snow of the mountains, and he held no one's life in high regard.Someone had once offended him and in return, Meng Chongguang had merrily peeled the skin off his back with a smile hung on his lips, then he tore out his entire spine, ground it into fine powder and used it to fashion a teacup which he sipped tea out of daily.The TB ghost coughed twice before gently responding: There is only one person in this world, with whom he would never overstep his authority nor disobey. I will lend you his mortal flesh.Xu Ping was even more amused: Then why not just directly ask that person to kill Meng Chengguang?The TB ghost answered: He was Meng Chongguang'sshixiongwho was accused of failing to guide Meng Chongguang well because Meng Chongguang was obstreperous and detestable, he slaughtered his peers, stolemedicinal pellets and magical tools. As of now, hiscelestial rootwas stripped and he was banished to the mortal realm. He became an ordinary person and died as one in theoutside world. Xu Ping: . . . . .The TB Ghost saw his reticence and questioned closely: So what do you think?Xu Ping frankly replied: I don't think it'll work.This time it was the TB ghost's turn to become silent: . . . . .After a while, a powerful force suddenly washed over and Xu Ping only felt his body lighten briefly before he fell backwards.The white light immediately vanished and a current of wind rose from behind his head. He was given no time to react before he fell through a deep, dark void again.Although the voice of the TB ghost was getting further and further away in the midst of his rapid descent, that frail voice seemed like it was striking a bell, each syllable knocking on Xu Ping's eardrums rhythmically: If you don't kill him, then you can just remain in the savage wasteland for eternityba.With all the force he could muster, Xu Pingcursed his ancestors.Not knowing how long his descent took, it was only when the pit of Xu Ping's stomach was already numb did he finally sink into something soft.But he couldn't get up at all.By a rough estimation, Xu Ping fell through the air for at least halfashichen, during which time passed through one magnificent towering gateway after another and brilliant rays of colorful lights swirled around him in circles, dazzling his eyes until his vision blurred.When he first landed, he couldn't hear, nor could he see, he was only able to lie flat on the ground.Suddenly, countless strands of jumbled information flashed through Xu Ping's mind.He had only ruminated over a small portion before he gasped in surprise.The fragments that flooded into his mind seemed to belong to Meng Chongguang'sshixiong, and strangely enough, they happened to share the same last name, both surnamed Xu, but his full name was Xu Xingzhi.The fragments were considerably chaotic and disordered and only contained some basic information, Xu Ping sifted through them for a long time and still barely managed to come up with a few key points.Xu Xingzhi was the most senior disciple in the righteous immortal sect of Fengling Mountain, and Meng Chongguang was the child he picked up and brought back to the mountain who had since stuck to Xu Xingzhi's side. His spiritual power was low so he was often bullied. If not for Xu Xingzhi who stayed by his side to protect him, then he might've been bullied to death by the other disciples.However, Meng Chongguang's true identity was that of a calamitous spirit with mysterious spiritual powers. He only feigned weakness in order to infiltrate Fengling mountain for numerous years just so he could obtain the opportunity to steal the divine artifacts placed in the four great immortal sects.Over the many years, he worked painstakingly to network and obtain connections within each of the great sects then he fanned the flames of rebellion from within through various schemes and overt plots. In the end, he actually managed to rally a group of righteous disciples under his wing for him to command. However, on the eve of success in his plan to seize the divine artifacts, his conspiracy was revealed and he murdered his master that very same night. Meanwhile under a strange combination of circumstances, Xu Xingzhi became the scapegoat. He took on the blame for him and was subsequently unjustly imprisoned and tortured.After that, when the righteous sects were purged, Meng Chongguang and some of the other defectors who betrayed the sects were jointly banished to the savage wasteland.The wasteland was a treacherous place beyond imagination and was also an unbreakable prison.Xu Xingzhi was also viewed as an accomplice so he was reduced to mortal status.And it was actually quite a simple task to kill Meng Chongguang. All one had to do was pierce the dagger imbued with the spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth through thecinnabar moleat the center of his forehead and he would be killed just like that.Xu Ping laid on the ground in despair, thinking, f*ck, I didn't intend for it to be interpreted this way when I wrote thisah.Xu Ping had no interest in gifted scholars or talents, heroes or beauties, nor the romances of the immortal sects. He only wanted to write a script that was different from normal, one where a villain was the protagonist.In fact, he never even considered going as far as to compile a backstory for Meng Chongguang.But now it seems as if the Meng Chongguang of his narrative and the Meng Chongguang of this world have accidentally overlapped with each other just like two strings of an instrument, they were originally never meant to intersect, but since he plucked one of them, the other vibrated in resonance and disrupted the order of this world.It was also only because he and the Xu Xingzhi who was banished into the mortal realm and stripped of his immortal root were both mortals that the so-called Only Consciousness of the Three Realms recruited him to eliminate Meng Chongguang.Xu Ping, who was now Xu Xingzhi, came back to his senses, turned around and sat up. As he carelessly fumbled around, his hand came in contact with a round object.He lowered his head to take a look and discovered that it was a human head.Xu Xingzhi violently scrambled away and only then did he realize that theoneliarea around him was covered in corpses and skeletons. Most of which seemed to have been torn to pieces with contrasting red and white scattered everywhere.Xu Xingzhi's olfactory senses returned the moment he laid eyes on those dead bodies. The foul stench overwhelmed him until his head throbbed with pain and his stomach churned.Fortunately, he previously spent three whole days and nights at acoffin home, eating and living with those old men who were assigned to watch over it for the sake of aoneliangof silverbet, so he wasn't fearful of some mere cadavers.However, gazing upon such a scene with body parts littered everywhere for the first time would inevitably still be too unnerving even for Xu Xingzhi.Although Xu Xingzhi had written cannibalistic scenes starring the people in this wasteland, it was a clear case of human tendons akin to silver and human skulls crafted into lanterns, where black words printed on white paper didn't seem like such a big deal but having it so brusquely manifested in reality was still capable of making his teeth chatter.He endured his nausea and tried his best to pick a path between the gaps of the dead bodies in order to escape this field of corpses as quickly as possible.Xu Xingzhi originally didn't want to spare a second glance at the tragic condition of these dead bodies, but before long, his steps unwittingly came to a hard stop and he squatted down in front of one of the corpses.Another moment later, he straightened up again and booked it without any hesitation.Xu Xingzhi discerned that the mangled areas of the cadavers weren't from the mauling of some wild beasts, rather they were from the tooth marks of human beings.In other words, this graveyard of corpses was actually someone's personal kitchen in this savage wasteland.Xu Xingzhi felt that if he didn't leave this place soon then it might end up being his turn to be laid to rest here.But where should he go to seek Meng Chongguang in this boundless wasteland?As he contemplated this issue, Xu Xingzhi only managed to take a few steps when he suddenly heard a roar.He turned around and caught a glimpse of what could only be described as a terrifying humanoid monster crazily charging towards him.And while the rest of the monster's body from the neck down seemed normal if you overlook the two razor sharp blades replacing his arms. His face, however, looked like someone had torn it off and then hastily reassembled it. The nose was on the forehead, one eye was where the mouth was supposed to be and the other eye was planted on his neck. It resembled a giant candle that had been grossly melted out of shape.He crossed the sea of corpses, coming straight for him with countless bodies exploding into bloody froth underneath his heels.Xu Xingzhi cursed loudly and sprinted away like mad.He carefully weaved his way through the mountain of corpses and the sea of blood. Once he reached an empty clearing, he randomly selected a direction and dashed off.It was obvious that the monster didn't intend to simply just drive Xu Xingzhi out of his territory.Xu Xingzhi ran for nearly oneliand yet that monster was still chasing after him.The distance between one person and one monster was getting closer and closer.Xu Xingzhi was so tired that he kept wheezing and pantinghuchi, constantly keeping tabs on the situation behind him. When he swept his gaze over, he inadvertently caught a glimpse of a charred humanoid figure emerging from the side, staggering towards them.Being locked on by two monsters at once, Xu Xingzhi who was as tired as a dog thought in despair, he might as well just choose one to eat himselfba. At least if he chose how he died, it would seem more dignified.Xu Xingzhi didn't notice that the monster behind him slowed its pace. The five displaced facial features contorted slightly and started to twitch while he attentively kept the slim dark silhouette of the charred figure in its line of sight as if it caught sight of something horrifying. It seemed infuriated yet at the same time completely terrified.Soon after, as if it had made up its mind and made some sort of firm resolution, it gave a low growl, abruptly changed directions, and lunged towards that scorched figure instead.In the space of a few moments, Xu Xingzhi had chosen the charred figure in favor of the other.If he were to be caught by the monster behind him and pierced through by those two sharp blades then thrown into the mountain of corpses with his head over here and his ass over there, the thought alone seemed tragic.He had just taken two steps in the direction of the charred figure when he unexpectedly made eye contact with the other.Xu Xingzhi didn't know if he was hallucinating, but the hollow eyes of the person who was burnt to the extent that only the skull remained seemed to glow faintly. There was panic and worry, there was also a nameless affection which Xu Xingzhi couldn't fathom.He opened his mouth and a few charred flakes slowly fluttered down from his chin: . . . Run, quickly. . .Xu Xingzhi stopped abruptly.That was a human voice.Even if it was scorched raw and deformed, Xu Xingzhi realized that it was a human being who was conscious and sober.Was it a criminal that was exiled to the wasteland? And a heavily injured one at that?Xu Xingzhi pondered as he gave up the desire to court death, instead he adjusted his trajectory and ran frantically away once again.The person burnt to a crisp was indeed exhausted and was quickly left in the dust by Xu Xingzhi within a few moments. He hobbled a few steps in Xu Xingzhi's direction and repeated: . . . Hurry, hurry and escape. . .With that, he stopped and turned around, confronting the razor blade monster who ferociously pounced in his direction, his mouth agape.His silhouette looked incomparably desolate.But looking at the intended arrangement of the residual muscles on his face, he seemed to be sneering.Opposite from the gentleness he had for Xu Xingzhi, his slightly raised chin when he faced the monster was as if he were some elegant and sleek adult black panther eyeing a little pup that was barking in a frenzy.Just like how Xu Xingzhi couldn't see the current expression of that monstrous being, that monstrous being couldn't see Xu Xingzhi's movements either.Xu Xingzhi didn't hear the footsteps of the black figure catching up, so he halted his steps to peer behind him.The charred person had his back towards him and was facing the monster head on as if he planned to sacrifice himself and receive the blow in place of Xu Xingzhi.His figure from behind seemed tragic and heroic and at the same time on the verge of collapse as if it would only take a slight gust of wind to topple him over.Xu Xingzhi gritted his teeth firmly and reached for the object hidden near his chest.There laid the dagger which the TB Ghost probably shoved into his possession when he was pushed down here earlier.He drew the dagger with his left hand and hid it behind his back in a backhanded gesture before he stalked towards the monster.When he bypassed the charred figure, he not only didn't pause his steps, but also accelerated instead.The black figure was startled and unwittingly blurted out: . . .Shixiong??Xu Xingzhi had already begun to run, the wind whistled past his ears, swallowing the phrase the black figure uttered into oblivion.Therefore he didn't hear what the black figure addressed him as.The monster originally had already switched to target the black figure, but who would've thought that the prey that already escaped halfway would return again? He was like a fuse about to go off and growled once angrily before he raised his razor blade of a left hand and thrust towards the space in Xu Xingzhi's direction, attempting to finish him off in one blow.Xu Xingzhi raised his right hand to block.There was a muffled noise of an object being pierced through.Xu Xingzhi glanced at the speared rosewood palm casually and whistled.Before the monster could react, Xu Xingzhi quickly jumped up and pinned the bladed right hand the monster was about to swing at him beneath his feet. Next, with all the strength he could muster, he raised his right hand to haul the monster's left hand upwards.And the dagger that the TB ghost handed over for the purpose of piercing Meng Chongguang's chest was buried in the monster's heart instead.Xu Xingzhi quickly yanked the dagger out and leapt more thanonezhangaway.The monster toppled over, writhing on the ground uncontrollably.Xu Xingzhi was covered in blood splatters. He endured the disgust he felt, quickly approached the monster and stepped on its arm then thrust the dirty, bloodstained dagger through the center of the monster's forehead.Just like that the monster received the finishing blow and convulsed for a while, but ultimately still breathed its last.Before Xu Xingzhi's tense muscles had a chance to relax, he heard a muffled thump of something falling to the ground behind him.Xu Xingzhi looked back and found that the charred figure had unexpectedly collapsed on the ground.His heart jumped as he closed the distance in a few steps and brought him into his arms: Hey!That person weakly mumbled: Southeastthirtyli, bring me over there. . .After he finished, his head tilted to the side as if he had fainted.Facing this wholly unfamiliar stranger, Xu Xingzhi barely thought twice before he retrieved his dagger and randomly wiped it on his sleeve. Unconcerned with how sordid the other person was, he gingerly lifted him up and placed him on his back. Using his good left hand and crippled right hand he encircled the man's arms around his neck arduously.After confirming that he was carrying the other steadily, Xu Xingzhi headed in the southeast direction.The southeast direction was probably where this person's companions were, if he succeeded in sending this person to that place, then he would at least be able to earn a huge favor. While he was at it, he might as well ask where Meng Chongguang might be and if he was lucky, maybe he would even meet him there.. . . His father and little sister were still at home, if he were to disappear for too long, they would definitely get worried.He had to return home earlier.Xu Xingzhi was so engrossed in his worries that he didn't even notice that the charred figure on his back had opened his eyes.He blissfully nestled on Xu Xingzhi's back and murmured soundlessly: . . .Shixiong. . .The author has something to say:Meng Chongguang:shixiong,shixiong, gimme a piggyback ride~, gimme a hug!
