Chapter 369: Oath (Two-in-one monthly ticket request)
The green train ran through the mountains and fields, clanging southward. Passengers looked out the window and could see the sea and mountains. The midday sun covered the top of the train.
In a deserted carriage, white curtains with floral patterns swayed in the breeze, casting a patch of light and shadow on the floor, which rippled in spots.
The sunlight poured in through the gap in the window and shone on the kimono girl's lowered eyes.
Next to her, Xia Pingzhou sat quietly in his seat, eating a chocolate bar while searching for real-time news about Li Jing on his mobile phone.
He was very curious about whether the authorities would be unable to withstand the pressure of public opinion and choose to make the existence of the demon public after the Black Sun Demon's open appearance this time.
After all, this was a catastrophic demon, causing untold damage to the city. It even blocked out the sun, appearing where everyone could see it. This was practically impossible to conceal. You couldn't say the black sun hanging in the sky was actually a superpower, could you?
Xia Pingzhou thought about it and realized that there are indeed many people with special abilities who have the ability to change their bodies.
The authorities can completely lie about some calamity-level superpowered criminal using his superpowers to transform his body into a black sun that can control tentacles, hanging in the sky, and playing a grand tentacle show with the city, with a live broadcast;
At the very least, one could say that the black sun was a summoned creature with supernatural powers, just like Fan Dongqing was able to summon the "Liqing Boat". In short, the right of interpretation lies entirely with them.
But in this way, the psychic would have to take all the blame on the strange news teller and the exorcist.
Xia Pingzhou used the convenient channel provided by the hacker to get onto the overloaded Weibo, and at that moment the entire Internet was in chaos.
Officials are now working hard to communicate and take various measures to block information, resulting in the temporary inability to log in to major social media platforms. Even if you squeeze in, you will only see a "loading" prompt and a spinning white circle.
The scene before my eyes was exactly the same as the "Blue Arc's Death" incident half a month ago.
"What do you think, little brat?" Xia Pingzhou suddenly turned to look at the hacker and asked casually, "Will they announce the existence of the demon?"
"It's hard to say. Maybe they will silence the refugees and cover up this matter with another hotspot." The hacker put his left hand in his jumpsuit pocket and played with his mobile phone with the other hand.
"What's hot?"
"Blue Arc is still alive and is a wanted criminal for assassinating Rainbow Wing... Do you think this counts as a hot topic?"
"Oh, that is indeed a hotspot that can detonate the earth." Xia Pingzhou said nonchalantly.
"Isn't it?"
"But I don't think the authorities would be so self-destructive. If this gets out, wouldn't it mean that they personally planned the 'Blue Arc fake death' and are playing a trick on the people?" Xia Pingzhou tore open the wrapping paper and put a biscuit into his mouth.
"Anyway, this incident will definitely be as popular as this demon incident," the hacker said calmly, "but once the existence of the 'demon' is exposed, the impact will definitely be even greater."
He paused. "In short, they'll definitely try to shift the blame onto the psychic. They'll then fabricate this demon as a fugitive, catastrophic-level psychic criminal, and send out Rainbow Wing's 'Ice Girl' just to apprehend him."
"You're quite understanding."
"Nonsense! If you spend a little time online, you'll know how they handle this kind of thing. It's not like demons haven't appeared in the public eye before, just not on this scale."
"Speaking of which, it's a good thing someone from Hongyi was there at the time, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to take advantage of the opportunity," said Xia Pingzhou.
"I saw it. She used her ultimate skill, which just happened to give you a crucial assist."
"Come to think of it... people won't mistake my eldest daughter and I for Rainbow Wing's members, will they?" Xia Pingzhou said, "And then when the news comes out, it'll become like the 'Rainbow Wing Trio' saving the city."
"It's possible. After all, the authorities can't publicize that the bandits and the Rainbow Wing heroes worked together to protect the city. That would be a bit strange... and it would easily lead to conspiracy theories. So they had to blur the identities of you and the young lady."
After saying this, the hacker took a sip of Wangzai milk. "But they have to dispose of all the images that get out. After all, your appearance and that of the young lady have already been published on the official wanted list. Anyone with a discerning eye will recognize you at a glance."
"It's quite humorous." Xia Pingzhou said.
"Speaking of which...that Rainbow Wing person didn't catch you?" The hacker thought for a moment, then asked, "She couldn't have just watched you get away, could she?"
"No, she turned around and went to rescue people. She probably thought that the time she caught us was enough to rescue many people. Besides, she might not be able to defeat us." Xia Pingzhou shook his head. "Isn't it dangerous for us to talk about this on the train?"
"I hacked the surveillance camera. There are only a few of us in this carriage. What's so dangerous about it?" The hacker held his chin and gave him a speechless look.
Xia Pingzhou suddenly said, "Oh, right, I'm really at level three. The person who just said I couldn't reach level three, please stand up."
Just as he finished speaking, his seat was suddenly kicked from behind, causing the entire seat to shake, and even Ayase Origami, who was taking a nap against the window, was woken up by the shock.
Ayase Origami raised her head and looked at Xia Pingzhou expressionlessly.
"It was the guy behind me who did it." Xia Pingzhou explained before the other party could complain. Then he picked up the plastic drink bottle and took a sip of oolong tea from the bottle.
"So?" Yan Molin's voice came coldly from behind, "What do you want to say? A third-level kitten is going to turn into a tiger?"
"Maybe the third-level kitten can really turn into a tiger." Xia Pingzhou screwed the bottle cap on and said nonchalantly.
"Be quiet."
After saying this, Ayase Origami leaned against the window again and closed her eyes. As if realizing she was not sleeping well, she suddenly opened her eyes and looked at the hacker sitting across from her.
"Why are you looking at me?"
The hacker looked up from his phone and met her gaze.
Ayase Origami looked at him silently, manipulating a piece of paper to cover the hacker's eyes. Then she leaned her head on Xia Pingzhou's shoulder and quickly fell asleep.
"If you don't understand, just ask. I've seen you guys showing off your affection enough. What's the difference between this and trying to cover your ears and steal the bell?" The hacker ripped off the paper mask on his eyes with disgust and asked unhappily.
"Aren't you curious about why I reached level three so quickly?"
"What else can I be curious about? The only explanation is that you are a rare genius," the hacker said. "Are you satisfied?"
"If you mention the word 'Level Three' again, I'll chop you down." The Ripper's voice came from behind the seat.
"Okay, where do we gather in Haifan City?" Xia Pingzhou raised his eyes and asked, smoothly changing the subject.
"An antique shop," the hacker replied. "I heard the owner of that shop is a friend of the group leader, and that friend also happens to know Zhou Jiuya, but they've fallen out."
"Where do we sleep then?"
"A hotel nearby."
"Is it safe?"
"It should be safe. Lake Hunter's spies are not that widespread in Haifan City. Plus, their attention is now focused on the mountains, not the city. It will be difficult for us to be discovered."
"Isn't Haifan City their main base? Why don't they have a wide range of spies?"
"The four major Lake Hunter families are located in cities further south. They only set up a defense line in Haifan City to prevent the demons from Haifan Mountain from causing trouble."
"oh."
"By the way, didn't the Ripper agree to wait until you reach level three to find the contracted demon?" The hacker curled his lips. "That's great... You have a gigolo at your fingertips."
"Go by yourself." Yan Molin's voice came from behind again.
"Do you regret it?" Xia Pingzhou asked.
Yan Molin was silent for a moment, "Seven Deadly Sins?"
"Yes, you can kill the remaining two. But leave the furious demon to me. I want to sign a contract with him." Xia Pingzhou said, "Is that okay with you?"
He paused and said, "Or do you want to contract a demon too? But I remember you said that your Sky Drive is not suitable for contracting a demon."
Yan Molin said, "It's indeed not suitable. As I said, I have to ask the leader's opinion first."
"Killing the Seven Deadly Sins might anger the Nian Beast Lord," said the hacker.
"We don't need to cooperate with the Nian Beast Lord," Xia Pingzhou said. "We're just using Bai Tanlang's intelligence to launch a surprise attack at a critical moment. Whether or not we anger the Lord is irrelevant to us."
"That's true." The hacker scratched his head.
"Is it true that there are Sky Drives that are not suitable for contracted demons?" Xia Pingzhou turned his head to look at the hacker.
"Zhou Jiuya's Tianqu 'Tonggu Compass' and Zhong Wujiu's Tianqu 'Twelve Beasts Nuo Masks' are not suitable for contracted demons." said the hacker.
"Why?"
"Zhou Jiuya is dead because the Tonggu Compass refuses to share its antique warehouse with the contracted demon," the hacker said. "Zhong Wujiu is dead because the Nuo mask houses the soul of a captured divine beast, and the divine beast refuses to smell the contracted demon's scent... although the so-called 'divine beast' is actually a type of demon."
"So that's how it is." Xia Pingzhou murmured.
He turned his head and glanced out the window. The clear sea and sky came into view. The half sun and its reflection formed a complete circle on the horizon. At this time, the train was very close to Haifan City.
Lijing and this fjord city were not far apart. Back then, Little Nian Beast and Lin Xingshi took the smuggling boat from Haifan City to Lijing, but it only took one night.
As his thoughts drifted to this point, Xia Pingzhou raised his hand and scratched his forehead. The midday sun made him feel dizzy. He leaned back in his chair and slowly closed his eyes. Memories from Unit 4 flooded back.
Eleven years ago.
After taking a bath in the apartment building where their owner was temporarily away, Little Nian Beast and Lin Xingshi changed into their original clothes, while Lin Xingshi changed into a clean dress.
The two of them put their shoes at the bathroom door, their hair still wet and hanging in front of their foreheads.
Lin Xingshi looked at the purple-red hair on the forehead of the Little Nian Beast and asked, "Your hair is so special, isn't it? Did you dye it?"
"Xiaoxing, what is hair dyeing?" The little Nian beast tilted its head.
"Okay, I knew it couldn't be hair dye." Lin Xingshi smiled.
She looked at the clothes on the little Nian beast again and said, "You can wear this one today. We will get you new clothes tomorrow."
"Yeah." said the little Nian beast.
The two men did not turn on the lights in the second-floor corridor. Instead, they swayed left and right in the darkness as if they were adventuring in a haunted house, occasionally nudging each other's shoulders and making faces at each other with "wow" sounds.
Finally, they stopped in front of the master bedroom, which had a large bed and two pillows. Moonlight shone through the roof, casting a swaying shadow of trees on the floor.
"Let's sleep here tonight." Lin Xingshi's eyes lit up, and he trotted into the bedroom, throwing himself on the soft bed and hugging the pillow. "I haven't slept on a clean bed in a long time. I feel so happy..."
The little Nian beast didn't move.
"What are you still standing there for?" Lin Xingshi turned his head and looked at the little Nian beast standing blankly at the door.
"I...I, I, I." The little Nian beast hung its head.
"You you you you, what do you mean?" Lin Xingshi tilted his head.
"I... have never slept in bed." The little Nian beast stammered.
"No way, your family abuses you like this?" Lin Xingshi was stunned and asked with a squinting eyebrow, "Do they usually make you sleep on the floor, or in the doghouse?"
"Abuse?"
The little Nian Beast took a moment to understand the meaning of this word, relying on his racial talent. "Are they abusing me?"
"Yeah, who wouldn't let a child sleep in a bed?" Lin Xingshi looked at him with a mixture of heartache and amusement, then suddenly curled his lips. "What kind of life did you lead before?"
"Oh, I understand. My daddy is abusing me. He's a bad guy." Little Nian Beast frowned, "But...Xiaoxing, there's no bed at home."
"ha?"
"I don't have a bed at home. That's why I've never slept on a bed." said the little Nian beast.
It thought to itself that it usually either slept on the branches of the forest or on the head of the lotus leaf demon. It liked sleeping in Lingxin Lake the most. The sound of the flowing lake water made it feel at ease, and it could sleep soundly every time.
"I thought you were the young master at first." Lin Xingshi said in surprise.
"I'm the young master!"
"Young Master, who doesn't even have a bed at home?"
"Well, everyone around me calls me Prince."
"Which primitive tribe did you dig this prince out of?" Lin Xingshi said speechlessly, patting the pillow beside him. "Here, you can sleep here tonight."
"good!"
The little Nian Beast responded and then jumped onto the bed barefoot.
The two children lay in a daze on the big bed, turning their heads to look at the clear night sky outside the rooftop. A dot of red light, flickering and fading, flew through the stars.
"What is that?"
The little Nian beast raised its finger and pointed at the moving red dot.
"Plane." Lin Xingshi blurted out.
"What's a plane? A demon?"
"Wow, you really don't know anything." Lin Xingshi was stunned. "A plane is... a plane is a flying car."
"Oh oh oh." said the little Nian beast.
"Let's go to the rooftop and take a look."
"Uh-huh."
Lin Xingshi took Little Nian's hand, and the two of them got out of bed, walking on the cold floor and onto the rooftop. Moonlight streamed down, illuminating their pupils.
They clung to the rooftop railing, gazing at the long, brightly lit street at night. At this hour, the atmosphere of Lijing was vibrant. Food stalls lined the streets, and men and women walked in pairs.
"ah!"
Lin Xingshi suddenly let out a low cry, then hurriedly buried his head under the railing.
"What's the matter?"
The little Nian beast also lay down and looked at Lin Xingshi's profile. Her bright and lively eyes were secretly staring at a figure on the street through the gap in the railing.
"Did you see that big bald guy?!"
Lin Xingshi raised his finger, pointed at the figure on the long street, and asked in a low voice.
"Who is that?"
The little Nian Beast asked as he followed her gaze and saw a man in a long black coat.
Actually, the man wasn't bald. He had a buzz cut, a stern look in his eyes, and a sturdy build like a soldier.
"He's from my family. How could he be here?" Lin Xingshi asked, "Could it be that I've been discovered sneaking here?"
"What should we do then?" The little Nian beast opened his eyes wide.
Lin Xingshi concentrated and held her breath, practicing the method of concealing her breath that her father had taught her to the extreme.
The little Nian beast also lowered its breath to the lowest level, just like a wild beast hunting in the forest. This is their innate instinct.
"Beat him! He hasn't even noticed us yet," Lin Xingshi muttered. "He's the meanest to me in the family. Daddy made him cut my hair when I made a mistake before. I hate him so much."
"How can this be?" The little Nian beast said this, but he had already stretched his right hand into the hollow gap. His right hand crossed a distance of more than fifty meters and appeared at the back of the man's head.
His eyes suddenly turned cold, his pupils erected like a beast, and he suddenly reached out and grabbed an inch of the other person's hair and pulled it out fiercely.
On the street, the buzz-cut man suddenly screamed, turned his head sharply, and looked around in shock and anger. The tourists on the long street all cast strange glances at him.
"Get down!"
Lin Xingshi was stunned. She didn't expect that the little Nian Beast would really do this, so she quickly hugged the little Nian Beast and they both lay on the ground on the rooftop.
"Who is it? So bold?!" At this time, a man's low shout came from the street.
The two children stared into each other's eyes, not saying a word, their hearts pounding.
The moonlight stretched their shadows on the bedroom floor, and their pupils were clear, allowing them to see their own faces in each other's eyes.
After a long while, the man's angry shouting died down, and was replaced by the sound of discussion on the street, most of which were like "This guy is crazy" and "Shh, don't look at him."
At this point, Lin Xingshi and the Little Nian Beast were still lying on the rooftop, unable to get up. After a long while, Lin Xingshi said with lingering fear, "Well, he's gone."
Then she and the little Nian beast stood up from the ground.
"Xiaoxing, I'm here to avenge you." The little Nian beast said softly.
"How come you are so powerful?" Lin Xingshi asked blankly.
"Isn't it amazing?"
As the little Nian Beast spoke, he showed the tuft of hair he had plucked from the man's head.
Lin Xingshi stared at the strand of hair, stunned for a moment, then his face puffed up slightly, and finally he fell to the ground holding his stomach, patting the floor and laughing.
The little Nian beast also sat on the ground, pulling at the strand of hair and looking at her happily.
"What are you laughing at?" Lin Xingshi wiped his eyes that were about to burst into tears and asked him.
"I am happy if you are happy." said the little Nian beast.
Lin Xingshi was stunned for a moment, then turned his head away and snorted, "I've been fed up with him for a long time. He's always so arrogant at home. Fortunately, I have you."
"Well, I won't let anyone bully you." The little Nian beast stared into her eyes.
"Me too." Lin Xingshi was silent for a moment, then said softly, "I kidnapped you, so I will be responsible for you."
She suddenly stretched out her little finger.
The little Nian beast tilted its head.
"Hello, you don't even know this?"
"I know." The little Nian beast hurriedly raised his thumb.
"It's the little finger." Lin Xingshi glared at him.
"I know... I just stretched it out the wrong way." The little Nian beast weakly stretched out its little finger.
"Forget it, I won't make a deal with you."
"Why?"
"You don't even know what pinky promises mean." Lin Xingshi paused, then suddenly said, "It would be nice if you were a demon."
"Devil?" The little Nian Beast suddenly opened his eyes wide and moved his lips. "I... I'm not a devil, I'm not a devil!"
"What are you afraid of?" Lin Xingshi said unhappily. "I just heard from the adults that exorcists can sign a contract with the devil. That way, the devil will stay with you forever, until you die, and we'll never be apart again."
"Is that so?" The little Nian Beast put away his little finger and murmured, "The exorcist is so powerful, and the devil is so powerful too."
"It's the contract that's powerful," Lin Xingshi said. "When I was a kid, I read the family history books and saw the constant fights between demons and exorcists. I wondered... maybe the person who invented the 'contract' wanted everyone to live in peace? But exorcists are using the power of the contract to harm demons."
The little Nian Beast shook his head, "I don't understand this."
"You don't understand anything. What would you do if I wasn't by your side?"
"Then it would be better if we didn't separate."
"That's what you said." Lin Xingshi was halfway through his words when he suddenly froze.
Suddenly, the little Nian beast came over cautiously, held her hand, pried open her little finger, and then held it. "Pink pinky," he said softly.
Lin Xingshi was silent for a long time. "Yes, it's a pinky promise."
The moonlight stretched their shadows very long on the ground. It was a quiet night.
On the morning of August 19, above Lingxin Lake on Haifan Mountain, the little Nian beast that was sleeping soundly on top of the lotus leaf demon suddenly opened its eyes.
It slowly turned its head and saw a silver cross suspended by the lake. Hanging on the cross was a skeleton-like figure, with almost no intact skin on his body.
The other party seemed to be here to see the scenery of Lingxin Lake. It had been staying by the lake for quite a while. The eyes of the skull were wide open, staring straight at the figure of the little Nian beast.
"Your name is 'Raging Demon', right?" The little Nian Beast tilted its head and asked curiously.
"Son of the Nian Beast..."
The head of the skull on the cross suddenly trembled, its lower jaw opened and closed, and its mouth opened with a "click". A hoarse sound came from its rotten throat, as if a corpse that had been buried underground for decades suddenly opened its mouth to speak.
"Yes, it's me." The little Nian beast said, and jumped up on the lotus leaf. Purple-red flames burst out from its hooves, pushing the little lion across the huge Lingxin Lake.
He landed beside the skeleton and raised his head, "Be my friend, Skull."
"You, know my identity?"
The enraged demon opened its head, its jaw opening and closing, a clicking sound echoing alongside a gloomy voice. "Don't think I'll tolerate your words just because you're a junior... You know, even your father wouldn't dare speak to me like that."
It's okay, you'll become my contracted demon tomorrow. It's not too much for a master to give his pet a nickname, right? The little Nian Beast thought to himself, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up.
(End of this chapter)
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