Chapter Sixteen: A Fight That Started Fierce but Ended Weakly

Ruan Rou felt like she was going insane!
She wanted to kill him!
She wanted to kill him!

A sudden gust of wind blinded Xiao Xiao’s eyes.
Hissing— the wind cut like blades, and before he could react, Xiao Xiao was already covered in wounds.
Fortunately, they were only shallow scratches, and with Xiao Xiao’s abnormal healing ability, they healed in the blink of an eye.
Though new wounds kept appearing, they barely caused any pain.

...

Amid the hurricane, Ruan Rou stood as still as if she were in the eye of the storm, her dark hair cascading down unmoved.
Her crimson eyes were dim and obscure, and faintly, a massive fox tail seemed to spread across the sky, exuding an overwhelming, awe-inspiring power.

...

Xiao Xiao knew he had been reckless.
He had thrown himself into such a perilous situation merely to satisfy a momentary impulse.
But he found he couldn’t hold back.
He had never realized he actually had this kind of fiery spirit. Just knowing that perhaps one of his classmates had been possessed—regardless of the fact they were mere classmates with no prior interaction—he couldn’t stop his rage from surging.
Some words, once spoken, cannot be taken back; some actions leave no room for retreat.
So all he could do was… face the challenge head-on!

He began silently chanting the Black Notebook’s incantations. Gradually, a golden light shimmered in his eyes, faint and indistinct.
Before him, a black notebook slowly materialized, radiating an ancient, mysterious aura.
The notebook opened, pages fluttering rapidly with a soft rustling.
At his thought, the page depicting Qin Yuan trembled gently.
In a blink, Qin Yuan soared into the air, circling above Xiao Xiao’s head, clearly in a protective stance.

“Ding—ding—ding.”
The fierce wind that easily slashed at Xiao Xiao was powerless against Qin Yuan; the breeze swept past with only the metallic sound of clashing metal accompanying it.

“Shu~”
A sharp, eerie, and malevolent screech echoed, as if a withered, ancient hand with blackened nails was scraping viciously against glass, producing an excruciatingly grating noise.
With equally crimson eyes, round pupils but devoid of any softness or warmth, the creature’s tail-end needle gleamed coldly, stained with a shocking streak of blood-red.

...

It wasn’t until Ruan Rou was locked in place by those chilling, shadowed round eyes that she snapped back to reality. Her vertical pupils contracted fiercely, shrinking to the size of a needle tip. A coldness rose from her tailbone, gradually seeping through every limb and bone.

She clenched her teeth bitterly. Damn it, what kind of monster had just appeared?
And why was this monster protecting a human?
Ridiculous! A sneer twisted the corner of Ruan Rou’s lips.
Was it not laughable that a monster would protect a human in such an inexplicable way?
Or had her earlier intuition been correct?! Xiao Xiao was indeed no ordinary human!
He could actually command monsters!
How was this possible? Ruan Rou’s brow furrowed tightly, puzzled to no end.
Monsters are born from the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and have always considered themselves superior. How could they be so easily controlled by a mere human?
Especially one so unremarkable!
What was going on?
What kind of human was this?

...

Xiao Xiao, who remained an enigma to himself, felt a strange sense of security as he stared at Qin Yuan above him.
Though the scent wasn’t exactly pleasant.
Still, for the sake of his life, Xiao Xiao thought the smell was a small price to pay.
Moreover, he thought he might be imagining things, but Qin Yuan’s scent seemed a bit fainter than last time.
Come to think of it, did he really remember the scent from before?
Before he could ponder further, the monsters ahead began to clash.

...

Though caught off guard by the sudden appearance of monsters, Ruan Rou showed no fear.
Strength and weakness would only be revealed by fighting.
Sharp, black nails grew rapidly from her hands, gleaming coldly like blades and radiating a faint poisonous chill.

...

This was Xiao Xiao’s second time witnessing a monster battle.
Yet it was no less shocking than the first.
Such scenes of flying sand and earth, darkness blurring the heavens, and overwhelming combat power—scenes usually only seen in novels or films—were unfolding right before his eyes. It all felt unreal, like a dream.
Monsters really existed in this world? It was utterly unscientific.
Xiao Xiao once again realized with clarity that his worldview had been shattered to pieces.

...

Ruan Rou knelt on one knee, her gaze mysterious and turbulent like a brewing storm, then quickly calmed.
She rose slowly, eyes fixed on Xiao Xiao, paying no heed to Qin Yuan circling above, ready to strike.
“Let’s stop. Continuing won’t lead to any result.”
Indeed, the current situation was a stalemate between her and this suddenly appearing monster. Fighting on would be futile.
And she never liked wasting effort on thankless tasks.
Damn it, if not for the possession limiting her true strength, she wouldn’t have to endure such humiliation.
She was itching to strangle the monster that dared to provoke her!

...

Xiao Xiao raised an eyebrow at Ruan Rou’s call for a ceasefire and readily agreed.
She was right; although the two monsters fought fiercely, neither could defeat the other. They were only sustaining superficial wounds. How long could such a battle drag on without a conclusion?
Even if both ended up battered and bruised, Xiao Xiao would be glad to see it.
But the monster was possessing her body, and whether it had fully taken over was still uncertain. This meant that if the fight continued unchecked, Ruan Rou’s body could be seriously harmed.
So the monster had its concerns, and Xiao Xiao shared those concerns.
Moreover, a monster could abandon a body, but Xiao Xiao couldn’t just ignore the safety of this vessel unless absolutely necessary.
In this regard, Xiao Xiao was at a disadvantage.
Now that the monster had proposed a truce, Xiao Xiao naturally had no reason to refuse.

...

Thus, the battle ended abruptly and anticlimactically.
Ruan Rou returned to her usual delicate and weak appearance.
“I’m leaving. I have a date.”
Watching the girl retract her vertical pupils and claws, her demeanor suddenly soft and harmless, Xiao Xiao couldn’t help but twitch the corner of his mouth.
But then he thought, was this monster so adept at mimicking humans because it had possessed many before?
The more he thought about it, the worse his mood became.
When feeling down, his mouth tended to act out of control and began to “recklessly” taunt again.
“I’ll drive you out of this body.” His tone was flat, but his gaze was utterly serious.
“Oh~” The girl’s voice was youthful and innocent, yet strangely alluring and seductive, faintly husky with a hint of casual amusement. “I’ll be watching.”
“Don’t make me wait too long.”