Today's weather is bad, with both wind and rain. I'm sick with a cold, lying in bed feeling miserable all day, wanting to sleep but unable to rest well.
I took medicine for the first time in my life; human pills taste really bad.
"Boss, eat... food." At the door, my part-time helper, whose full name is Zhang Daxia[1], wiped his hands on his apron, cautiously calling out to me.
This young man, as honest and simple as a wooden stake, usually leaves work once he finishes making 99 cotton candies. Today, perhaps seeing how severe my cold is, he didn't leave after work. He said he would cook dinner for me before leaving. This guy is not outstanding in appearance, rarely talks, and has a slight stutter. He usually doesn't dare to look me in the eye when talking to me, and blushes after just a few sentences, which is quite amusing.
Facing each other in the hall, we sat at a round table with two bowls of porridge and a few exquisite side dishes. The flavors were light, with a hint of vinegar and sesame oil. It tasted quite good and was suitable for someone like me who had no appetite due to a cold.
"Why aren't you eating?" I noticed that Zhang Daxia didn't even touch his chopsticks, just sitting there foolishly, hunched over like his name, as listless as a dried shrimp.
"I... I'm not hungry." He waved his hand, glancing towards the door from time to time, showing a hint of panic. His nose was constantly sniffing the air like a hunting dog.
"What are you doing?" I asked him directly. This guy is a bit off today.
"Boss... I… can I stay at the shop tonight?" He was afraid that I would refuse.
"Give me a reason."
"I, I... I'm scared!"
What a straightforward reason! I could indeed read the heartfelt fear from Zhang Daxia's flickering eyes.
"Alright, you can sleep in the hall tonight. I'll get you a blanket later." I wiped my mouth, then turned my head and cocked an eyebrow, asking, "You owe a loan shark? Are they coming to collect the debt tonight?"
"No, no, no!" The more Zhang Daxia denied, the more nervous he became, stuttering more, "It's, it's... strange, strange, strange[2]..."
"Okay, okay, I won't ask anymore. It's late; good night!" It's unkind to force people with a stutter for answers.
After taking another dose of medicine, I cocooned into my blanket, and without much effort, I gradually sank into sleep.
I don't know how long I had been asleep when I was startled awake by the sound of tables and chairs being overturned outside the door, accompanied by Zhang Daxia's crying plea for help.
I quickly threw off the blanket and rushed out of the room barefoot — the doors and windows in the hall, originally tightly closed, were all wide open. Benches, tables, and all objects were spinning in mid-air. Zhang Daxia, pitifully holding onto a table leg, his body stretched long like a gummy candy, was being forcibly pulled towards the front door by a force from outside, as if someone wanted to drag him out of the shop.
Despite the grand scene, not even a trace of wind was present, and the bangs on my forehead didn't move at all. The tornado-like force that pervaded the shop, though clearly overwhelming, was silent and intangible.
I rushed into the center of the "tornado," tightly grabbing Zhang Daxia's wrist.
Now hot, now cold, with a chilling sensation as if a sword had just swung through emerged from my heart, and all my internal organs were forced to squeeze together. It felt as though, in the next moment, everything would be sucked out of my body.
I didn't know what was happening; all I knew was that my strength was too insignificant, and I couldn't hold onto Zhang Daxia.
As he slipped from my grasp and was completely pulled out through the front door, I clearly saw that this honest and simple man who had been working for me for almost a month had transformed into a dark brown puppet. Only his eyes still moved, and his mouth continued to stutter as he cried for help.
I chased out the door. In the dim night, the streets and buildings I saw were all shrouded in a strange bewitching blue mist. A flock of black raptors with animal heads, bird bodies, and bat wings had spread their translucent wings, making hissing sounds as they rapidly flew in the blue mist. Each of them was holding a low-level demon that had transformed into its original shape in their mouths.
One black bird swooped down and grabbed Zhang Daxia's neck, screaming eerily and struggling as it rushed up to the sky. Several cat demons were desperately brandishing their claws, shouting for help in sharp voices. An elderly turtle demon, still in a nightgown, was throwing up due to the rapid flight. There were also countless low-level flower demons, bug demons, and so on, all of whom were crying for the land.
These monstrous birds seem to have captured all the demons nearby.
When a monstrous bird rushed at me, I instinctively shrank my neck and sidestepped. That ba*tard snatched away a rat demon hiding behind a trash can.
Only then did I see clearly that the face of the monstrous bird was unmistakably a human skull wrapped in black and white feathers.
Hold on! This thing... I seem to recall something, but they can't be here!
Zhang Daxia had been carried far away. I subconsciously chased after him, but soon found that I couldn't run anymore. A numbness spread from my toes. The blue mist floating all around emitted a faint fragrance, which continuously poured into my body.
"Boss, help! Help! Help!" Zhang Daxia shouted desperately at me, for the first time without stuttering.
However, my running speed was getting slower and slower. I watched helplessly as Zhang Daxia was about to be taken out of my sight.
Suddenly, two extra menacing cat cries rang in my ears. Two cats, one black and one white, both with well-built physiques and sharp eyes, appeared impressively in the sky. The white cat even spread out a pair of huge wings in mid-air, and each white feather on the wings sparkled with golden specks - gorgeous and incomparably majestic. Countless skeleton birds that lunged towards it were forcefully swatted aside. With a few flashes of white light, these ba*tards were shattered under the white cat's claws and fell to the ground. On that side, the black cat, though lacking wings, certainly did not lack in ferocity and bravery. It engaged in a brutal battle with numerous skeleton birds, tearing these repulsive birds into pieces with its claws and fangs.
The appearance of the two cats seemed to bring about a different powerful aura. Not only did they crush most of the skeleton birds, but also instantly thinned the blue poisonous mist around them.
A group of low-level demons who had narrowly escaped from the mouths of the birds hurriedly scattered in all directions to save their lives. Zhang Daxia, who went weak in the knees, was grabbed by the white cat by the arm and thrown to my side. Zhang Daxia hugged me and burst into tears.
My feet regained sensation and I could move again. Taking another look at the two cats, they felt very familiar.
One black and one white, wings on its back... This can't be...
"Cangtong Kai! Xuan!" I exclaimed involuntarily.
The white cat turned its head and glanced at me with a somewhat skeptical look in its unfamiliar eyes.
"Get rid of those skeleton birds first!" I urgently pointed at the enemies who were barely clinging to life. Now was not the time for reunions.
The white cat let out a low growl, spread its wings, and charged towards the remaining skeleton birds. The big collision between the dark and light figures was particularly striking in the dark night.
However, things quickly developed in the opposite direction, just when I thought victory was on our side.
The shattered skeleton birds suddenly trembled, and each piece began to swell and mutate, like balloons blown up one and one. Then, completely intact and incredibly new skeleton birds burst out. In just ten seconds, the skeleton birds were not only resurrected, but their numbers also increased many-fold.
Under the onslaught of the attacking bird army, the black and white cats gradually found themselves at a disadvantage.
"To hell with fighting! Run!" I shouted desperately below.
The black and white cats knew the situation was far from good, so they quickly withdrew from the encirclement. One grabbed Zhang Daxia, and the other grabbed me, and we rushed away madly.
The enemies were in hot pursuit, their hissing sounds growing louder and closer.
We hid in the tallest clock tower in the city, crouching behind the century-old giant clock, watching the changes in silence.
"Who are you? How do you know my name?" The white cat returned to human form, a handsome young man in a white shirt.
I remember that Xuan had suffered heavy injuries and couldn't transform into a human yet. He could only size me up with a pair of unblinking cat eyes, while the puppet Zhang Daxia had been frightened into a half-stupor, constantly making the sign of the cross on his chest.
To be honest, I badly wanted to rush over and hug Cangtong Kai, giving him a fierce kiss. The intense feeling of meeting an old friend in a foreign place and seeing kin after a long absence, made me want to cry.
"I... I am Unceasing's boss, tree demon Shaluo!" I couldn't hold back any longer and blurted out.
"Bullshit!" Cangtong Kai said decisively, "You are not that tree demon! Not only does your appearance not match, but you also don't have a trace of demon aura!"
Xuan also said affirmatively, "Who are you really? Why would you claim to be Shaluo? Let me tell you, I am very familiar with that tree demon."
"I really am, believe me." I shook my head helplessly and said to Cangtong Kai, "I'm not lying. The USB drive related to the girl Tutu and the large check you sent me at the time are still in Unceasing's safe."
Cangtong Kai and Xuan exchanged glances. Only they and the tree demon knew about the USB drive and the check.
Before we had time to question and explain to each other, a flock of enemies approached from a distance, darkening the sky. It was a darkness even deeper than any night, and if it were daytime, even the sunlight would likely struggle to penetrate the dense bodies of these skeleton birds. The blue mist had thickened once again, mingling with the rolling clouds. The mass surged forward carrying the birds, and like a wave blocking out the world, they flew towards the clock tower.
They found us by following the demon aura!
Various mechanical parts operated slowly inside the ancient clock tower, producing creaking sounds that seemed to echo the anxious heartbeats of our party.
"What are the chances of handling this?" I looked out through a chink in the clock tower.
"Almost zero." Cangtong Kai and Xuan replied frankly.
Zhang Daxia burst into tears again.
We barely exchanged these words when we saw the speed of the skeleton birds suddenly change, and they appeared outside the clock tower as if they teleported.
Their sharp beaks and claws worked frantically outside the clock tower, slicing the walls into pieces like a cutting machine. The parts of the huge clock blocking them were bitten into actual pieces, falling down haphazardly from the air.
We soon found ourselves exposed in their line of sight.
"You don't have a demon aura, so they shouldn't be able to find you," Cangtong Kai said to Xuan. "Get them out of here. I'll hold them off."
Xuan shook his head, "There's no way out. This clock tower is about to collapse."
Each skeleton bird let out excited sounds from its mouth, thinking that we would become their freshest meal in just a few more seconds.
Cangtong Kai frowned, revealed his true form, and spread his wings to shield us behind him. He shouted, "I'll go all out! When you get the chance, escape!"
I could tell that Cangtong Kai was no match for this army of skeleton birds, no matter how all out he went. Are all of us going to be buried in this clock tower tonight for no reason?
The skeleton birds outdid one another to throw themselves at us, and I even caught a whiff of the foul smell of death coming from their filthy mouths.
In the critical moment between life or death, everyone suddenly heard a low yet brave beast roar. Countless feather-like golden beams shot into the clock tower from outside, piercing through the bodies of the skeleton birds like a storm, making each and every of these decidedly arrogant monsters start jumping and twisting their bodies comically and exaggeratedly, like monkeys with their bottoms on fire, making strange noises and flapping their wings. The more they struggled, the more dazzling the dense golden beams became. In no time, with a few muffled sounds, countless skeleton birds were "melted" into a large mass of sparkling golden liquid, flowing like clouds and mist in all directions in the air, quickly diminishing into wisps of water vapor, leaving not even a bird feather behind.
All the clamor faded into silence, and under the now serene sky, there was no trace of the previous chaos. Everything was clean.
My eyes were blinded by these brilliant lights, making it difficult to open them. I strained to look outside, and behind the diffused gas in the air, the faint silhouette of a giant golden dragon could be discerned, changing from solidity to emptiness.
It again? The dragon that once helped me get out of a trap in Mu's Tarot magic realm.
I was lost in thought when a familiar jingling sound rang out. A small, shiny golden thing descended in a parabolic trajectory from where the dragon disappeared, heading straight toward me.
I reached out without thinking and perfectly caught the small object. When I opened my hand to look, it was the pure-gold dragon pattern amulet that Ao Chi had given me. It lay quietly in my palm, but the dragon engraved on it appeared much fainter than before, as if on the verge of vanishing.
I had thought that it would belong to Mu along with my body she snatched away. I never expected it to come back to me.
"What is this?" Cangtong Kai and the others stared at the object that had saved our lives, especially Zhang Daxia, who seemed eager to offer incense to the amulet.
I didn't answer. Instead, I stood up, leaned out of the clock tower, and shouted into the night sky that was still starless and moonless, "Ao Chi, get your a*s over here!"
It's him! It must be him!
The amulet in my hand was exuding the heat of body temperature; not mine, but its own.
It has been twenty years, and I have never been so sure as I am now that this ba*tard evil dragon, who left me without a word, is not far from me.
However, there was no response.
Damn mortal body, damn cold, damn physical exertion — long story short, I fu*king fainted and promptly fell head first out of the clock tower, falling to the ground like a lifeless dried leaf. For the first time, I felt that my body and soul were weightless and a light breeze could blow me apart.
Someone caught me around the waist. Perhaps it was just my imagination, but I smelled that familiar scent again. It reminded me of the time many, many years ago; I was facing the first collapse of my life, when someone had tenderly held onto me as I kept sinking.
Ao Chi... I murmured this name.
Where the hell have you been…
I've been looking for you...
Been looking for you...
[1] 大虾: Daxia is a funny name. Daxia means big prawn; big shrimp.
[2] The word 怪 means strange but also devil; monster.
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