Chapter 48
The sounds of fierce fighting came from the direction of Jiang Kaile's residence, and the noise was deafening.
Xie Xubai thought he had encountered a sudden change of events, so he stopped abruptly and turned around to rush over there without thinking.
At that moment, a ripple spread from the shadow beneath him. Small tentacles emerged from it, their slender, smooth tips wrapping around his ankles.
Don't worry, Bai Bai, we're just playing a game!
Its tone was extremely cheerful, like a cat that had successfully stolen some fish.
Xie Xubai's eyebrows twitched. Looking at the fire that had burned half the sky, and combining it with the little tentacle's tone of enjoying the spectacle, he quickly deduced the cause and effect.
The little tentacles came specifically to inform Xie Xubai, just so he wouldn't worry. As soon as he saw Xie Xubai stop, they eagerly darted into the shadows.
To avoid waking Jiang Kaile in the middle of the battle, it had to hurry back, especially since there was still an even more interesting show to watch.
The next second, the young man's slender fingers reached down and gently pinched its tip: "Playing games is fine, but you can't force Jiang to do things she doesn't want to do."
【...Oh dear?】
The little tentacle didn't feel it had forced anyone, but after Xie Xubai's question, it felt inexplicably guilty: "No, he seemed to be having a lot of fun too."
"Is that so?"
Yes, yes!
The little tentacles twisted their bodies with an air of importance, thinking they had hidden it well, little did they know that the young man had already seen through them.
"That's good." Xie Xubai said calmly. "I believe Xiao Yi knows what's good for him and will definitely not cause any death."
Upon hearing this, the little tentacle's body stiffened.
Although Hu Chang was still alive when it ran over, judging from the way Jiang Kaile was beating him up, he's probably still barely clinging to life... right?
Lacking confidence, its voice trailed off: "Bye-bye, if something unexpected happens..."
“Then I’ll be very angry.” Xie Xubai’s tone was very serious, and you could feel his unwavering determination. “I’ll be so angry that I won’t want to talk to Xiao Yi for a long time.”
【！】
In an instant, Xiao Yi was so frightened that his entire tentacle stood upright like a sharp bamboo shoot.
Fearing that something might really happen, it darted back into the shadows and sped toward Jiang Kaile's side.
Before leaving, I emphasized it again and again.
【No, don't worry, I know my limits!】
Xie Xubai listened to its evasive assurances and sighed helplessly.
The world today is distorted and alienated; everywhere is a dark jungle.
Xie Xubai did not ignore the dark side of the little guys just because he favored them, and he also knew that it was unrealistic and unfair to use the moral standards of civilized human society to judge monsters with broken minds.
But the small tentacles are different.
When Xie Xubai first arrived home, he spent a lot of time with it, closely observing its behavior and taking in almost every extremely bad-tempered look it made when it threw a tantrum.
But then, after realizing the cats and dogs' fear and avoidance, the little tentacles quietly followed him, mimicking his gentle movements and carefully stroking the little guys' fur with their tips.
—According to the bizarre logic, cats and dogs are much lower level than small tentacles and are bait that doesn't need to be considered.
Then Xie Xubai realized that the little tentacle was not a cruel child by nature; beneath its ferocious and terrifying appearance lay a soft heart.
Its overwhelming power grants it the right to disregard rules; the law of the jungle gives it the space to act as it pleases. This makes it unable to properly distinguish between harmless behavior and behavior that will bring unpredictable consequences.
For example, right now, Xie Xubai doesn't mind if the little tentacles retaliate to the same extent when someone maliciously attacks them.
But taking lives would burden Jiang Kaile's conscience, a fact the little tentacle was unaware of, so he had to forcefully restrain it.
Just in case, Xie Xubai turned to Yan Yue and said, "Could you ask your people to keep an eye on Jiang Kaile's situation for me?"
“That child was a bit too playful just now, and I’m worried that it might lose control of its power.”
Yan Yue did not respond immediately.
Upon hearing the second sentence, he seemed to wake up from a nightmare and quickly replied, "No problem, I'll notify them to go over right away."
Xie Xubai noticed the cold sweat on Yan Yue's forehead and suddenly realized something was wrong: "What's wrong with you?"
Yan Yue waved his hand, forcing himself to remain calm, and said, "It's nothing, it's nothing."
At the same time, he clenched his sweaty hands, trying to calm the fear in his heart.
Just now, the detection panel started beeping frantically, with the alarms sounding like thunder.
Such a strong energy reaction immediately reminded Yan Yue of the scenes that had occurred at the altar on the back mountain.
He watched as Xie Xubai half-squatted down, his two fingers slightly together, as if pinching an invisible monster. In the end, he couldn't resist using the tool that could reveal the true form of the monster.
Upon seeing this, he almost lost all his sanity and completely broke down!
Yan Yue didn't know what the monster of unknown level looked like.
Yes, he couldn't even get a clear look at the other person's true appearance.
He only vaguely heard a string of ancient and mysterious murmurs that were not comprehensible, and the intense darkness almost overwhelmed his mind.
At this moment, he looked at Xie Xubai, who seemed completely unaffected, and felt a chill run down his spine.
To be able to so naturally refer to such a terrifying monster as a child, could the other party possibly have a hidden identity such as the "father of monsters"?
Yan Yue became increasingly alarmed as he thought about it. He sent a message to his teammates to keep an eye on Jiang Kaile's situation and followed closely behind the young man.
A short while later, the assassin brought a third person who could collect goodwill, a maid in her forties.
Before arriving, the assassins had already used hypnotic tools on this person, making her temporarily forget her hatred for the Jiang family.
Without those negative emotions and grudges weighing on her mind, the maid's expression softened, and her dark, eerie face even revealed a hint of kindness and simplicity.
“Lele… I know it’s inappropriate for me, as a servant of the Jiang family, to address the young master like that, but when the child had a fever and was feeling unwell, he asked me to call him that, and I really couldn’t bear to refuse him.”
The maid was in a daze for a moment.
“In the past, when Lele was sick, she was very strong and never made a fuss when she was getting injections or IV drips. That day was an exception.”
"Looking back now, I think I was probably too upset that day, which is why he acted out of character and comforted me by being affectionate."
"Because my child died of illness, and it just so happened to be that month..."
The maid paused for a moment, then said, "I hope Lele will always be healthy."
[Heart function has recovered: 95.3%]
A few minutes later, the young couple returned with two burly bodyguards.
“There was a period when he was particularly unruly. He would pester us to hug him while we were working, which caused us to get a good scolding from the housekeeper. We were really annoyed by him.”
The two bodyguards scratched the back of their heads awkwardly: "We later found out that we were doing a really good job and got in the way of the butler's nephew. That cunning kid was secretly trying to harm us. If it weren't for the young master always hanging out with us..."
At this point, they felt a wave of fear wash over them.
After standing silently for a long time, the two opened the large box they had brought.
The box is like a time capsule, filled with toys and children's picture books.
They were all old, worn-out, and yellowed items, but the two bodyguards knew them like the back of their hand.
“When he was around six years old, he became obsessed with martial arts movies and insisted that we teach him martial arts, but we didn’t know anything about flying over rooftops or scaling walls. So we bought him these toy swords and toy darts. Later, he threw all of these things into the trash can… and we picked them up.”
Seeing that Xie Xubai was listening attentively, the two bodyguards seemed to be in high spirits and began to talk about some interesting things with great relish.
For example, if he tripped over his own feet and fell, he would hold it in until the two of them came over before bursting into tears.
For example, he used them as a height measuring stick, but after measuring them for two days without any change, he got so angry that he made them squat down, and he even stood on his tiptoes to pretend that he had grown taller in a day.
Through their detailed descriptions, Xie Xubai seemed to be able to see at a glance the child who was a bit mischievous, yet kind and lovable.
But as they spoke, the two bodyguards' voices grew lower and lower: "After the ancestral hall was burned down, we rarely spoke anymore... We hope he will eat more, grow taller, and become stronger in the future."
[Heart function has recovered: 95.7%]
More and more servants were brought over by the players.
“He had no one to accompany him when he was a child. His father didn’t care and his mother didn’t love him. The other elders… I hope he will have relatives who truly love him in the future.”
[Heart function has recovered to 96%]
"Don't think he's always been well-behaved. See this opening? He insisted on climbing up, but he accidentally fell and knocked out a front tooth here... Hopefully his teeth are strong enough now, otherwise they won't be able to withstand the ordeal."
[Heart function has recovered: 96.3%]
“He had excellent grades in elementary school, especially in Chinese, where he could get full marks! He’s not as good now, but he’s very talented and will definitely be able to do well again.”
[Heart function has recovered: 96.6%]
"I hope the young master will make more friends."
[Heart function has recovered: 96.8%]
"I hope the eldest young master will have the opportunity to get a pet. He wanted to get one before, but after seeing that the fourth master's bull terrier was disobedient and was beaten to death, he gave up. Sigh."
[Heart function has recovered: 97%]
"I hope the young master is as happy as before."
"I hope the young master grows up quickly and escapes from this place."
"We hope the young master will voluntarily wear long johns."
...
"I hope..." The servant who spoke seemed to have sensed something, and his voice was barely audible.
His eyes were a little wet, and after choking for a while, he looked up at Xie Xubai blankly: "Teacher Yu, did we do something wrong?"
“We watched him grow up and knew he was a good kid. The reason he beat up his classmate and sent him to the hospital was because of those scoundrels who peeped at girls when they went to the toilet and engaged in group bullying.”
"He protected us so many times."
He wiped his face hard with his hand: "How could we suddenly decide that he was a monster, and even help Jiang Shirong teach him a lesson and monitor him? The whip was so thick that his skin was torn and bleeding. He didn't sleep well for almost a week. On the first day of his confinement, he wanted to drink water, but no one brought him any."
The servant's eyes were red, and his words were full of self-questioning. His throat felt like it was being choked by a cold, sharp blade. Every word he spoke scraped his throat until it bled, making it hard to breathe.
Ask repeatedly, recite repeatedly.
"How could we be so heartless? How could we...?"
Xie Xubai shook his head.
Forgive him for being a biased and selfish teacher; after hearing about Jiang Kaile's experiences over the years, he couldn't offer any words of comfort to these people.
Just as I was about to leave, I heard a servant's hoarse, dry voice coming from behind me.
"I hope that the young master will only meet good people in the future, and not like us."
[Heart function has recovered: 99.9%]
When Xie Xubai went back to find Jiang Kaile and the others, the entire residence had been almost completely razed to the ground by the explosion caused by the high temperature, and Hu Chang had been beaten into a bloody mess.
The small tentacles retracted, but not completely. Specifically, whenever Hu Chang couldn't take the beating anymore, it would stop Jiang Kaile in time, giving Hu Chang time to use healing items, thus repeatedly whipping the corpse.
Hu Chang's high stats mean he has plenty of health and is quite durable; this small area is almost entirely covered in his "blood."
After enduring until the third round, Hu Chang finally suffered a mental breakdown and recklessly used a prop to escape.
But he found that no matter which way he ran, he would inexplicably turn back to the original place and run into Jiang Kaile, who was still angry and ready to fight.
The little tentacles were the culprits, of course.
The little tentacle certainly took Xie Xubai's warning to heart, but it wasn't going to let this person off the hook.
Ever since it sensed Hu Chang's malice towards Xie Xubai and his murderous intent towards Jiang Kaile, it has been unable to suppress its violent rage.
If it weren't for the fear that unleashing its power would destroy the world, the little tentacle would have loved to personally take the plunge.
The little tentacle had thought it through clearly: since it couldn't kill Hu Chang, it would frighten him.
The pain must be deeply imprinted into the other person's bones, so that they will instinctively tremble with fear whenever they think of opposing Xie Xubai and his group.
But when it tried to entice Jiang Kaile to attack again, the boy suddenly stopped. Not only that, he also clearly responded to its words: "I'm not fighting anymore. If this continues, this person will go crazy."
The little tentacle was quite startled, thinking it had gone too far and accidentally woke Jiang Kaile up.
Upon closer inspection, it noticed that Jiang Kaile's eyes were vacant and unfocused, clearly still dreaming.
—Is the other person talking in their sleep, or are they still able to sense the outside world?
The little tentacles carefully felt around and quickly determined it was the latter, which was a bit unbelievable.
If Jiang Kaile always knew he was dreaming, why was he willing to remain in this illusory world?
"Has the teacher not come yet..." The next second, the little tentacle heard Jiang Kaile mutter to himself.
Jiang Kaile looked at Hu Chang: "Then I'll play with you a little longer."
As he spoke, he reached out and grabbed Hu Chang by the collar, dragging the half-dead man out of the ruins, his face covered in red scales as cold as ice.
The powerful pressure spread out, and the low-level monsters within a ten-mile radius retreated as if they had encountered a flood or a ferocious beast.
Jiang Kaile made his way through the lecture hall without any obstacles, and then forcefully slammed Hu Chang against the wall.
With a loud bang, the wall cracked like a spider web under the huge impact, and Hu Chang was so painful that his face turned pale and his vision went black.
Jiang Kaile looked down at him and said, "You said the teacher knows nothing, does that mean you know everything? I happen to have a few questions I'd like to ask you."
"Question one: When the teacher first took Chansheng away, why did you look at him with such a dirty look? Were you trying to take advantage of the teacher, or were you thinking of something disgusting?"
Hu Chang struggled to open his eyes, staring in horror at Jiang Kaile's mouthful of fangs.
The boy had completely transformed into a beastman, his scarlet eyes reflecting his terrified face, exuding a predator-like aura: "Tell me."
"Because, because he seems very unusual, I want to be friends with him... Ah!"
"Incorrect answer."
Jiang Kaile's foot stomped down mercilessly, grinding against his leg bone. Hu Chang screamed and begged for mercy incessantly, writhing in agony.
"Ughhhhhh! Help! Spare me! Let me go!"
"Question two," Jiang Kaile asked, "You said that as long as I stay by your side, I can go berserk and turn into a monster. Do you know how to turn me back?"
Hu Chang's eyes were seeing stars, and he hurriedly stammered, "I know, I know..."
Jiang Kaile's unfocused pupils regained some of their luster.
His consciousness briefly detached from the dream and returned to reality.
But when he stared intently at Hu Chang's mouth, waiting hopefully for an answer, he found that the latter's eyes were darting around, and he was muttering incomprehensible words, constantly changing the subject.
"you do not know……"
Like a bucket of cold water being poured over his head, Jiang Kaile's heart turned completely cold. He suddenly raised his voice, sharp and piercing: "You have no idea how to make me turn back, but you lied to me and said you did!"
Jiang Kaile was practically going crazy—no, he had already gone crazy long ago.
"Wrong answer! Wrong answer! Wrong answer—!"
The roar echoed throughout the classroom.
He waited patiently for his teacher to return, but the teacher never came back.
No matter how wonderful the world of dreams may be, it is not real.
Just like when he turned into a monster, he eventually had to face the reality that he was no longer human.
Seeing Hu Chang scrambling toward the classroom door, Jiang Kaile's emotions erupted instantly.
He opened his blood-red maw and charged forward like a ferocious beast eager to vent its rage, intending to tear everything in sight to shreds. Even the stunned little tentacles couldn't hold him back for a moment.
Jiang Kaile stopped with difficulty when she saw Xie Xubai's face clearly as he rushed to the classroom door upon hearing the noise.
“Getting angry all the time will stunt your growth.” Grabbing Jiang Kaile, who was trying to back away, Xie Xubai looked at him as usual, casually unwrapping a candy and stuffing it into his fang-filled mouth. “If he can’t answer the question, I’ll teach you, okay?”
Jiang Kaile subconsciously closed his jaw, and the candy was crushed by his hard teeth, bursting with sweetness.
He stared blankly at Xie Xubai, meeting those warm and focused eyes, and suddenly, for some reason, he felt an overwhelming urge to cry.
"I'm awake, teacher."
He always remembered what Xie Xubai said: that everything would be alright when he woke up.
He believed in his teacher, no matter when or where, just like now.
Author's Note:
The next chapter will conclude this instance, and we'll take Young Hero Jiang home.
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