51

Capítulo 46

As expected of an old monster who has lived for so long, her dance is so alluring and makes your heart race, yet elegant and reserved. You completely forget her claws and fangs, and only feel that this harmony is natural and justified, a blend of womanly sensuality and girlish innocence. From wingtips to tail feathers, every movement, every flight, tightly grips your gaze.

After she finished dancing, she proudly accepted our enthusiastic applause, nestled sweetly in Tang Chen's arms, and said, "I'm very pretty, right? Tang Chen, I'm very pretty, right? What are peacocks and phoenix dances?" She rolled around in Tang Chen's arms.

Although Tang Chen could barely hear what she was saying, he would still hold her affectionately, saying, "Our Huang'e is the most beautiful bird in the world! Nothing can compare to it!"

Even Guan Haifa would smile approvingly and lick Huang E's face, making her so proud that she didn't know what to do and let out a loud laugh.

A cat that appreciates dancing. I propped my chin up and looked at Guan Haifa.

Of course, she wasn't just a dancer. She read books and watched television. Sometimes, when Tang Chen practiced the cello in his room, she would squat in the hallway and listen, lost in thought.

Shuo treats her very specially. When putting out cat food and water, he kneels respectfully. In all the time I've been here, I've never seen Shuo take the initiative to pet her; it's only when Guan Haifa nudges her hand that Shuo gently strokes her.

If Guan Haifa were a cat demon, then everything would be explained. But she was, inside and out, completely a cat. Her behavior, habits, and aura were simply those of a cat.

Compared to her various supernatural abilities, they are even more incredible.

But she seemed to hold a similar attitude to Shuo, rarely revealing her special abilities. However, she was more capricious and worldly than Shuo. If she wanted to, she would interfere, like sealing Yu Zheng's original spirit, or protecting Ren Wang, whom I almost killed. But if she didn't want to, even if Tang Chen and I had a car accident at the door, she would just watch quietly.

Seeing me staring at her, Guan Haifa walked over and nudged my hand. I stroked behind her ear, and she looked very comfortable. She circled around me and "hooked" the lucky charm Tang Chen had made for me out of my pocket.

"You want it?" I asked her.

She shook her head and gently bit my wrist. I think she wanted me to wear it.

I put it on, and the bells jingled softly. She smiled, her eyes crinkling, and then jumped back to the windowsill to doze off.

But I won't know her intentions until Monday. I'm amazed by her foresight. Of course, Huang'e also has some precognitive abilities, especially regarding calamities. But since she became the Golden-Winged Roc, this ability has weakened to almost nothing. I think it's because she has "changed her profession" (this is what she said herself, and she explained it to me for almost two hours, which led to us fighting), and some of her childhood abilities would be sacrificed.

But Guan Haifa is just a cat.

This is truly a very mysterious thing.

A monster once said bitterly that Tang Chen's Harley was a living murder weapon.

I really can't refute that, but he only needed to run away, while I was sitting right there. So you really can't blame me for not noticing anything unusual. I was busy screaming with my face buried in Tang Chen's back, how could I possibly notice anything?

It wasn't until we were about to enter the school gate that Tang Chen slowed down, and I realized something was wrong, but it was too late.

I was blocked by a bamboo pole or something, and I was literally "scraped" off the Harley, almost breaking my neck.

Lying on the ground, my internal organs felt like they had been turned inside out from the impact, and the pain was excruciating. But the most terrifying thing wasn't that; it was the invisible object blocking my throat that seemed to be cutting into my flesh, until the lucky charm on my wrist suddenly heated up, and then that thing retracted and disappeared.

As a result, I got into this bizarre car accident, and a line of blisters appeared on my throat.

Tang Chen rushed over in a panic, trying to help me up, but I found that my legs were trembling and I could only kneel.

“Don’t be afraid,” his voice trembled slightly, “Don’t tilt your head back, you’ll choke on the blood.” He pulled out a wet tissue to wipe my face, and that’s when I realized I had a nosebleed. I gripped his clothes, trembling uncontrollably.

What injuries and illnesses haven't I seen? I've been shaking for ages. But now there's something more terrifying than injuries and illnesses that scares me, like facing a natural enemy.

Huang'e cursed and charged at something at the school gate. I swallowed blood and shouted, "Huang'e, come back!" But it was too late. She screamed and burst into flames. Tang Chen rushed to put out the fire. My left shoulder was burned by the flames, and my clothes were torn.

She wasn't seriously injured, but she was quite frightened. Since becoming a Golden-Winged Roc, she had never encountered a formidable enemy. She dared to confront the 90,000-strong allied army of the Northern Demons, but a single restriction was enough to injure her.

Clutching a wet tissue, my nosebleed hadn't stopped. The locals surrounded us, crying and shouting, which made me even more dizzy.

They were even more frightened, and their speech became even more incoherent. After listening for a while, I finally understood: last night, someone had erected bamboo stakes in the schoolyard, and they had all been driven out. Unable to return home, they were panicked and didn't know what to do.

They thought about coming to me to confide in me, but you can't just go into a witch's house. And Tang Chen's Harley is a demon-slaying weapon, so they could only wait for me at the school gate.

"...Did you guys pull me down?" Oh dear, my nose is bleeding nonstop, I look so pathetic.

"How dare we?" the indigenous residents cried together. "If the old man finds out, will we even be able to live?"

…You guys are all dead already.

But the desolate figure, still lost in thought, trembled and wept, crying, "Flame...Flame Emperor! Waaaaah..."

My heart sank immediately. "Divine power is like a prison," I murmured.

The Southern Emperor Yan, originally named Chongli, later resided in Zhurong City and was also known as Zhurong. This volatile deity, whose destiny was governed by fire, was extremely vengeful. He once lit bamboo poles, calling them firecrackers, specifically to drive away demons and ghosts. Huang'e mentioned with lingering fear that she was almost killed by the Emperor Yan through a spirit medium when she was wandering in Jinling.

This caused a deep scar on her heart, and it's said that for a while, she would tremble at the sight of fire. But now that she has cultivated herself to this level and possesses her own fire, she is still terrified to the point of near death.

"Huang'e, you should seek refuge first." This needs to be decided immediately.

"What are you saying?" Forgetting her fear, she flew into a rage. "You think I'd leave you here all alone? You should know you're not much different from a monster!"

Even if it's the truth, don't say it out loud. How can I not be saddened?

“You should go and hide first,” I urged her, “I’ll go and see what’s going on. There are no ambushes outside… Don’t worry? See where you can hide while I figure things out. If I’m in danger, at least you can come and save me. If we both get trapped, who will save us? This isn’t a demon or monster… it’s a god.”

She understood me immediately; she truly is a clever bird king. When encountering demons and monsters, aside from the old man, the Empress's mercy, and the Prince's favor, we can barely hold them off, and we'll have someone to protect us afterwards. But when it comes to deities, they can't speak, nor can they remain silent. Tang Chen might not understand this basic human understanding, but how could Huang E and I not?

Huang E lowered its head for a moment, then patted me with its wing, saying, "You...you'd better be careful." Then it turned its head away as if it wanted to vomit.

"Yes, you should also be careful."

She lowered her head for a moment, then angrily took flight, but not towards Shuo's home. I guess she went to find a way to befriend Sifang.

She stood up shakily, her deep anger catching up with her. "Don't you dare act so stubbornly, leaving me only to collect your corpse! I have a share of your body too!"

"Yes, I understand."

That silly bird cried all the way there.

Fortunately, it was early in the morning and there weren't many people at the school gate, so Tang Chen managed to get away with it. However, seeing my injuries, he felt extremely guilty and insisted on taking me down the mountain to seek medical treatment.

I shook my head, a surge of anger rising within me. I gave him a brief explanation, and his brow furrowed even more deeply. "...You should take a day off."

"I can't hide every day, I still have to go to school." I wiped the blood from my nose and stormed angrily toward the school gate.

It was a truly distressing feeling, like suddenly developing a high fever, with a raging fire burning inside. But the bell on my lucky charm jingled softly, and somehow, I went inside.

The air inside the school is even more unbearable; it's thinner than the Himalayas.

"...Do you feel uncomfortable?" I asked Tang Chen. He helped me to the school doctor to apply medicine, and was staring blankly at the row of blisters on my neck.

He shook his head. "I don't feel anything at all."

I made an excuse that I needed to rest in the infirmary, and once he was out of sight, I quickly pushed the blanket aside and slipped away.

But I was furious about this vacuum. I ran to the old man's place, and found that the original residents who hadn't been kicked out of the school were all crammed there, like a layer of black fog.

The old man saw me and sneered. "Humans simply won't tolerate us being here."

Feeling wronged by His rebuke, I cried out, "Grandpa, humanity isn't something one person can represent..." Feeling utterly disheartened, I burst into tears.

The old man fell silent, then sighed deeply. “It was my fault for getting angry with you. But girl, I’m still here for the sake of these old friends. But humans have pushed me to this point, even using the name of Emperor Yan to pressure me… For both public and private reasons, I can only swallow my anger…” He turned resentful, “I guess there’s no other way but to leave.”

"What will happen to the school now that you're gone?" I said, crying.

“Girl, listen to me, you should leave too,” the old man advised me. “Water that is too clear has no fish. Let alone a young girl like you with such a short-lived, demonic aura, even an ordinary person couldn’t withstand it. This place is destined for this calamity; it’s bound to decline. Where can’t you go to school?”

"...This is the first place that makes me feel like I'm still human." I lowered my head and wiped away my tears. "I would never let myself end up like this."

The old man shook his head, while the local inhabitants cried out in a mournful, ghostly wails, both near and far.

When I discovered that the small office was locked with a restraint device, preventing me from making offerings to the old devil, I was furious.

Enraged, I rushed to the principal's office without waiting for him to call me.

The principal was talking to a young man whose gaze was incredibly rude. His mind was sharp as a sword; if I hadn't retained even a shred of humanity, I probably would have been cut in two.

The oblivious principal, completely unaware of the tense atmosphere, said nonchalantly, "Lin Moniang... I mean, Lin Hengzhi, this is Mr. Xu Rujian, the 'professional' we invited. You won't have to work so hard anymore."

"Oh?" Xu Rujian raised an eyebrow. "You're the 'supernatural girl Lin Moniang'?" His tone was full of mockery.

"Courtesy first, then force. Courtesy first, then force." I kept reminding myself that no matter how much I wanted to smash his head in, I should reason with him first, and besides, it seemed like I couldn't beat him anyway.

“Mr. Xu,” I barely suppressed my anger, “your restrictions seem too domineering.”

"Is that so?" He laughed dismissively. "I think it's not thorough enough." He glanced maliciously at the blisters on my neck. "Only when the Bagua Formation is in place will there be peace and tranquility."

…By the time the building is completed, even I will be dead, let alone other living beings?

"Zhuge Liang died young because he interfered too much with destiny," I retorted sarcastically.

"Slaying demons and eliminating evil is our duty, and we have long since disregarded life and death."

"They also have the right to exist here! Besides, they were the original owners!" I finally snapped.

He chuckled twice. "What a humanitarian act." He turned his head away. "Then let the principal expel me."

The principal immediately panicked, "Lin Hengzhi, say less! Mr. Xu, please don't be like this, the child doesn't know any better... This way, please, let's talk about how to set up this Bagua formation..."

Xu Rujian walked past me with a smile and said in a low voice, "What a pity, he almost got beheaded..."

I have never thought of killing anyone like this before.

Indeed, ghost stories have almost disappeared; what remains are just cases of mental hypersensitivity.

But the school became lifeless, officially described as a "flu pandemic," but I knew why students were falling ill.

Humans, ah, their bloodlines aren't as pure as we imagine. It's said that long, long ago, monsters and humans occasionally intermarried, and these thin bloodlines, as humans multiplied, have all been tinged with traces of these ancient, strange ancestors. Some say that humans' sixth sense and superpowers are remnants left by these ancient, extraordinary ancestors, but no one has bothered to research or prove it.

Xu Rujian's restrictions are so strict that they even attack the slightest trace of evil energy from ordinary people. The students are young and strong, so being attacked like this will at most cause them a minor illness. However, some of the older teachers cannot withstand it. This week, two teachers have been sent to the hospital due to high blood pressure or heart attacks.

What angered me even more was that I discovered the plague gods could swagger in and let the disease run rampant. Because they have a divine role, they are not within the scope of the attack.

These plague gods, they never dared to roam the campus before. Their divine status is very low, not much different from that of the original inhabitants. The original inhabitants of our school are all without regrets or hatred, not only are they rarely wicked, but some even have small acts of kindness and talent. They often hate these plague gods and will join forces to drive them out of the school gates.

Now that's great, no one is chasing away the plague god, and the area I can exorcise is limited. I'm afraid a major epidemic or food poisoning might break out, which makes me very uneasy.

Although the old man was angry, he forbade me to make any rash moves. After all, Emperor Yan was irritable, and if his representative uttered a slanderous remark, this little fellow shrouded in demonic energy would be doomed. I knew the old man was concerned for me, but I simply couldn't bear it any longer.

Although this school was ranked last, the tuition was expensive, and the classmates were clueless, which took a lot of my energy and nearly killed me several times, these clueless classmates warmly called me "Mo Niang," joked with me, and studied with me. The teachers treated me very well and didn't look down on me for being such an oddball student.

I ran into Tang Chen at this school again.

I've lived a miserable life, rarely hearing a kind word. It was the clueless teachers and students of this dilapidated school that made me feel like I was human. In this school, I relied on Huang'e and Tang Chen for survival, facing each day together.

I absolutely cannot allow things to end like this before graduation.

I told Tang Chen, and he felt the same way. So we started vandalizing "school property" everywhere. I could tell that some things were restricted but I couldn't do anything about them, while he couldn't tell that they were restricted but he could do things about them. We worked together, and began our "great project of tearing down walls".

Compared to Xu Rujian, Tang Chen and I are much more familiar with this school, especially since I've been patrolling it for almost a year.

At first, only Tang Chen and I were "tearing down the walls," but later some classmates with a bit of inspiration also helped us keep watch and tip off others. In the end, some of the original inhabitants, enduring divine power, appeared and disappeared mysteriously, keeping Xu Rujian busy, so we could take the opportunity to tear down the walls as much as possible.

Once, we forcibly removed the protective barrier from the small office, and even Tang Chen's palms were burned. I felt very sorry for him, but I was more anxious to feed the old demon. Although I knew he wouldn't starve to death, he must have suffered a lot for nothing by being restricted like that.

The old demon was terrified. "What are you doing here? That spirit medium won't let you get away with this!"

I hurriedly offered water and pomegranates to the moon, vowing to repay the kindness of all living beings.

"What kindness have I shown you?!" he snapped. "Get out of here, he's coming!"