Chapter 44 Devouring Demons

"Sickle?" Yang Yi called out again, stepping a little closer.

Unexpectedly, at that very moment, the Gudiao suddenly spread its wings, sending a violent gust of wind sweeping up a storm of flying sand and stones.

Yang Yi couldn't help raising a hand to shield his eyes, taking a few involuntary steps backward. Stumbling under the unsteady footing, he fell to the ground, a sharp pain shooting through the palm he used to brace himself.

Before the dust settled enough for him to lower his wrist, a strange, sharp reprimand rang out beside his ear: "Want to run?!" The voice came from right behind him.

Yang Yi spun around abruptly, dropping his blocking hand, only to see the Gudiao bound up by the Lingdiao's tail.

...

Naturally, the Gudiao was unwilling to submit so easily. Its massive, iron-hard wings flapped and struggled violently, and it let out a series of piercing sonic attacks. The already battered stone walls around them began to totter, kicking up a whirlwind of dust and flying debris amid the sandstorm.

A profound sense of crisis washed over the Gudiao. The Grim Reaper seemed to be extending pale, withered fingers toward it, and it could almost feel the deadly sharpness at the edges of those fingernails. The hair on the back of its neck stood on end, and its whole body felt plunged into an icy cellar, driving its frantic struggle to even more desperate heights.

The Lingdiao tightened its grip with its tail a little more. The Gudiao's immense strength and near-manic struggling caused it some annoyance as well.

...

"Tch, what a pain." The Lingdiao slapped down onto the Gudiao's body like a heavy paddle. Its seemingly soft feathers cut through the air with a piercing whistle, leaving behind a faint blur of afterimages.

Bound by the Lingdiao's tail with nowhere to dodge, the Gudiao took the blow square on. With a dull, thunderous crash, the Gudiao felt a colossal force slam into it, sending its entire body careening out of control. Yet, restrained as it was, the violent tug of the forces made it feel as though its internal organs were churning together. Blood rushed backward in its veins, its ears rang, and its brain felt as though it no longer belonged to it.

Everything before its eyes became hazy and indistinct, like flowers viewed through mist, impossible to see clearly.

All of the Gudiao's struggles ground to a halt. If not for the Lingdiao's tail, it probably would have collapsed flat onto the ground by now.

...

The Lingdiao stepped onto the Gudiao's head, turning its head to look at Xiao Xiao. Its gaze carried a chilling, casual detachment, and its haughty posture radiated an extraordinary and imposing dignity.

Xiao Xiao: ...?

Faced with Xiao Xiao's blank expression, the Lingdiao grew somewhat impatient. Humans truly were foolish creatures. For its master to be such a dim-witted human—the Lingdiao felt that its entire existence as a yokai was suffering.

Faced with the Lingdiao's increasingly sour expression, Xiao Xiao wore a look of utter innocence and confusion.

The Lingdiao closed its eyes in forbearance before finally opening its mouth as if granting a favor.

"Shall I eat it?"

Eat... it?! Xiao Xiao was startled, but immediately felt that he was making a mountain out of a molehill.

Yokai were inherently a more direct, brutal, and bloody race than humans. While humans found the idea of humans eating humans unacceptable, mutual slaughter among yokai was an entirely common occurrence.

Yokai were hardly tender-hearted creatures.

Besides, didn't devouring one another allow yokai to strengthen themselves?

Xiao Xiao guessed that wasn't that how it was written in many novels?

Existence was rational; perhaps reality was precisely like this.

...

"Stop right there, what are you people doing?" Yang Yi's sudden interjection made Xiao Xiao look over in mild surprise. He had almost forgotten that such a person was even here.

"What are we doing?" Xiao Xiao repeated Yang Yi's question with a playful undertone. "Doing what you people were just doing."

Xiao Xiao's eyes curved slightly, yet his dark pupils held not a shred of warmth.

He still vividly remembered the sight of the Gudiao devouring a human earlier.

Such a shocking scene was not something he could forget anytime soon; even a slight recollection brought up high-definition, watermark-free images in his mind, every gruesome detail clear and distinct—and moving, no less.

This psychological shadow might just follow him for the rest of his life.

The dangerous aura hovering between Xiao Xiao's slightly furrowed brows abruptly choked back the question teetering on the edge of Yang Yi's lips, preventing it from ever being voiced.

However, Yang Yi, who had always lived a smooth-sailing and self-willed life, could naturally never bring himself to back down just like that. He regulated his emotions, smoothed out his somewhat stiff expression, and spoke once more, his words carrying a trace of pride and certainty.

"Let go of the Gudiao. What do you want?"

The Gudiao was his trump card, what set him apart from ordinary people, and he was absolutely unwilling to lose it.

Even if it meant defying universal morality, he was willing to feed human flesh to the Gudiao.

He, Yang Yi, was born into wealth and gifted with high intelligence. Now, he had everything he could possibly want: wealth, status, fame, and beautiful women. Yet, the appearance of the Gudiao had revealed to him a different, far more dazzling and brilliant future.

He was no longer content with his previous, step-by-step routine of a life. Having glimpsed a different possibility, how could he ever resign himself to being ordinary like the masses?

He was extraordinary!

Yang Yi clenched his fists tightly. The cravings and desires burning within his heart made him forget fear and pain; his blazing gaze was filled with a fiery, manic light.

He looked precisely like a beast whose bottomless pit of greed could never be filled.

Xiao Xiao frowned slightly, feeling that Yang Yi was completely beyond redemption. He had utterly sunk into the abyss of desire, unable to extricate himself.

The appearance of the Gudiao had released the demon deep within his heart, freeing him from the shackles of self-imposed morality. From then on, his eyes recognized no right or wrong—only the brilliant splendor of the end result. As for the bloody carnage along the path, what did that matter?

Xiao Xiao felt he had nothing more to say to Yang Yi. He had never been the type to waste his breath on earnest persuasion; everyone had to take responsibility for their own choices, and others were, after all, merely others.

"Lingdiao, knock him out."

Before Yang Yi could digest the meaning of Xiao Xiao's words, his vision went black, and he passed out.

The Lingdiao leisurely retracted its wing.

"You didn't kill him, did you?" Having witnessed the miserable fate of the Gudiao after taking just one blow from the Lingdiao, could Yang Yi, whose physical resilience was far inferior to the Gudiao's, possibly endure it? Xiao Xiao had no intention of killing anyone.

The Lingdiao couldn't even be bothered to dignify Xiao Xiao's idiotic question with a response. How could it possibly fail to control a mere fraction of its strength?

Fine, Xiao Xiao shrugged. Receiving the Lingdiao's eye roll made him realize he was overthinking things.

Actually, he had just asked out of sheer reflex, with no intention of doubting its abilities.

...

"Shall I eat it?" As if nothing had happened at all, the Lingdiao repeated its initial question. The tip of its long tail twitched slightly, the magnificent feathers overlaying it shimmering with a dark, gloomy luster.

Hearing the question a second time, Xiao Xiao felt none of the initial shock and bewilderment; the thoughts in his mind had grown crystal clear and resolute.

Xiao Xiao curved his lips into a faint smile. His still somewhat youthful face was as calm as still water. His voice wasn't loud, but every word was distinct, properly articulated, and carried heavy weight. "Mm, eat it."