Chapter 47

Chapter 47: Gazing Across the Water

"How could I not recognize Hei Dan? He looks so distinct from others," Ji Huan said softly, gently wiping away the tears on Hei Dan's face.

"Our Hei Dan has a slightly larger left eye than his right!" Ji Huan said, gently poking at the little demon's eyelid.

Hei Dan blinked reflexively, his large eyes fluttering open and closed, looking much more appealing than when they were fixedly staring at someone.

Holding onto his uncle's finger as if it were a habit, the tiny claws gripped tightly, and Hei Dan listened attentively to his uncle, even though he didn't understand a word.

The other little monsters that Ji Huan had taken out of the cage had fled in fear the moment they saw Grandpa. Now, with only Hei Dan left in the cage, the moment Ji Huan turned around, the little demon's white-ringed eyes met Grandpa's.

"Hei Dan, that's Grandpa," Ji Huan whispered, fearing that Hei Dan might be frightened.

But instead of showing any signs of fear, Hei Dan reached out his little paw towards Grandpa in his original form.

Only then did Ji Huan realize: Perhaps in Hei Dan's eyes, Grandpa had always appeared in his original form.

To a small demon like Hei Dan, a monster like Grandpa should have been quite terrifying, yet he had blindly placed Hei Dan in Grandpa's arms back then.

It was truly difficult for him.

However—

As he watched Hei Dan stretching his tiny paws toward Grandfather, Ji Huan gently stroked the little one's head.

"Hei Dan, Grandfather is tired. I can carry you when he wakes up," Ji Huan said. As he spoke, Hei Dan suddenly wriggled in his arms and pointed his little paw at the cage. Not understanding what the cub wanted, Ji Huan put him down. Then, Hei Dan climbed back into the cage. In just a few days, his crawling speed had significantly increased. Swiftly, he grabbed something from a corner and crawled out again.

Just as Hei Dan returned to his uncle's embrace, ready to show off what he had in his tiny paws, he suddenly turned his head.

Facing the direction Ji Huan had come from, his pair of white-ringed eyes widened to an unprecedented size. Not only that, but Hei Dan even opened his mouth, revealing a round, crimson hole that seemed shrouded in a mist of blood…

It was an extremely terrifying expression.

With a sudden stir in his heart, Ji Huan followed Hei Dan's line of sight.

The monsters who had previously been in the same cage with Hei Dan and had disappeared after discovering Grandfather suddenly emerged from their hiding spots in every corner. They began crawling around the room aimlessly. Moreover, the behavior of the other monsters in their cages also became strange. Ji Huan clearly saw that the monster closest to him was now fighting with its fellow captives! They were biting each other, and the five creatures confined together suddenly engaged in a fierce battle. Further away, Ji Huan noticed that the monsters in other cages started violently slamming against their bars!

The movements were dynamic and intense, while the sounds were strangely static.

Before Ji Huan's eyes, a silent movie seemed to be unfolding. His mind initially went blank, but he quickly grasped the situation –

That monster was approaching!

The reaction of the monsters on-site indicated that the creature must be near!

Swiftly stuffing Hei Dan into the front of his shirt, Ji Huan immediately hoisted Grandpa onto his back and picked up the ax he had previously placed on the ground. With a fierce swing, he cleaved the nearest cage.

In the face of imminent danger, Ji Huan was actually hacking away at the cages in the room!

A single crack was all it took for the monsters inside to wriggle out using various methods. Sensing the formidable presence of a high-ranking monster nearby, their first instinct upon gaining freedom was to rush towards the exit.

Ji Huan also ran outside, but unlike the other monsters, he continued slicing through the surrounding cages as he ran.

He swiftly mastered the technique of dismantling the cages, doing so much faster than before. However, these cages were incredibly sturdy, and having expended a great deal of energy before arriving and with an injured right arm, Ji Huan's freshly sealed wound reopened.

Grinding his teeth, he removed his coat to bandage his injury and proceeded to cut open more cages. During this, he stumbled upon a large bunch of keys. By matching the key codes, Ji Huan freed even more monsters...

These weren't small fry like Hei Dan; they were massive, towering creatures. Their emergence caused a significant commotion, and in the chaos, several cages collapsed, trapping a group of monsters beneath them, their anguished cries echoing. At the same time, some monsters managed to break free from the damaged cages amidst the collapse.

The bottomless pit that held the monsters was in utter turmoil!

With Grandfather on his back and Hei Dan hanging from his chest, Ji Huan cautiously mingled among the horde of monsters as he made his way out.

As he passed through a chamber along the way, Ji Huan finally caught sight of the black monster again.

This time, the black monster had undergone another transformation: it had grown even larger, its body more translucent, with remnants of a devoured monster still hanging from the corners of its mouth. As it feasted, the creature roared with an open maw.

This behemoth was hunting.

All the monsters within the chamber were its prey.

And as it fed, it was evolving!

Upon seeing the black monster, this thought immediately flashed across Ji Huan's mind.

However, what he perceived was not unnoticed by others:

"Good heavens! That giant is evolving! It's growing even bigger while it eats!" cried a male human voice from the northwest corner. Though Ji Huan couldn't make out their words, he noticed they were all armed with substantial weapons.

It was then that Ji Huan noticed there were other people in the room besides the monster – a group dressed in identical uniforms, all appearing well-trained and disciplined. They were likely the reinforcements summoned by the man named Yang.

However, these people held no significance to Ji Huan; on the contrary, they posed a significant danger to him, even more so than the black monster!

They had begun to indiscriminately eliminate the monsters within the room!

"There are too many monsters here! Once they're consumed, their power will increase!" someone shrieked in trembling fear.

Then, Ji Huan saw the man named Yang again: his right arm was drenched in blood, indicating he had just been through a fierce battle.

"Kill them all! Every monster in this room, spare none!"

The command was delivered with icy detachment, a death sentence for every creature in the room!

Though Ji Huan couldn't hear, he could see!

With a flash of white light, in the next moment, he witnessed an explosion about fifteen meters away from him! Amidst the crowded mass of monsters, a circular space suddenly emptied out, black ashes falling as the creatures that had been squeezed there vanished without a trace!

Ji Huan's already pale complexion paled even further: Over there! Underneath the feet of several larger monsters, a few small monsters that had escaped from the cage with Hei Dan were hiding!

With just that one move, those small monsters instantly transformed into a pile of black dust!

Ji Huan keenly sensed that Hei Dan's tiny, icy claws clung to him even tighter within his embrace. The little creature trembled and curled up into a small ball in front of him.

Instinctively, Ji Huan patted the protrusion on his chest where Hei Dan was nestled. However, in the blink of an eye, several flashes of white light illuminated the area, and after they faded, another large group of monsters vanished.

A few creatures that were very close to Ji Huan were struck. After they disappeared, Ji Huan, who was carrying Grandpa and Hei Dan, was suddenly exposed to the sight of the reinforcements.

"There's a human! A human over there!" Someone immediately spotted him, causing the barrage of attacks to momentarily halt.

Only for a moment.

"Continue attacking." Following the cold command from the man named Yang, those who had hesitated briefly resumed their assault. An even denser barrage of attacks headed straight for the direction Ji Huan was fleeing.

Although Ji Huan couldn't hear their conversations, the increasingly concentrated fire landing at his feet instantly made him aware of their intentions:

The other side had no intention of leaving any chance for Grandpa to survive.

In this instant, Ji Huan finally realized that the dream of going back home was now utterly unrealistic.

The adversaries wouldn't give up hunting Ah Ye, and Ji Huan wouldn't abandon Ah Ye either. Naturally, they were within the hunters' scope.

Their former peaceful life was now a thing of the past; they were utterly ostracized from the human world.

With large strides, Ji Huan's mind was a blank slate.

Amidst the white fog, only one voice resounded in Ji Huan's thoughts: Don't stop, absolutely don't stop!

Stopping meant death.

What was death?

Ji Huan had never pondered over this question.

Despite witnessing his sister's sudden departure, he had never truly contemplated it.

Though he appeared gloomy on the surface, he was an optimistic and diligent person at heart.

In a nutshell, he was very resilient.

Even in the face of tremendous setbacks, he always thought about how to make things better for the future.

Though working part-time was exhausting, he learned professional skills in caring for the elderly, enabling him to take even better care of Grandpa;

With Sister gone, he vowed to cherish every moment with Grandpa and Hei Dan, ensuring no regrets in their shared life together;

Hei Dan might appear peculiar, but after persistent efforts, he had finally learned to cry and laugh. With continued exploration, there would come a day when Hei Dan would be just like any other normal child...

Given time, everything would fall into place.

Everything would be alright!

Or would it?

What about reality?

For every obstacle he overcame, an even greater one loomed ahead.

Was it truly impossible for him to continue living with Grandpa and Hei Dan, to see Grandpa through his final days and raise Hei Dan to adulthood?

Ji Huan ran with large strides, clutching tightly onto Grandpa's leg while keeping an eye on the Black Egg in front of him. His steps grew heavier with each passing moment, his energy draining rapidly due to excessive fatigue and blood loss.

The world before Ji Huan's eyes began to blur.

He knew deep down that he might not be able to hold on much longer.

But if he gave in, what would happen to Grandpa and Black Egg?

With his last ounce of strength, an image of a corridor surfaced in Ji Huan's mind.

It was a wooden corridor that creaked underfoot, adorned with red paper lanterns hanging from its eaves. Beyond it lay a charming courtyard, complete with clear water and white lotuses. Whenever he enjoyed his small cookies there, the scent of the pure lotus flower would waft gently around him. Further beyond stood a low red wall, hiding rows of trees with crimson leaves, and... a roof ridge adorned with a copper sculpture of a monstrous creature...

As this vivid scene materialized in Ji Huan's mind, he suddenly found a surge of energy within him.

The copper beast on the roof ridge of a house up ahead matched the one that had appeared in his thoughts. Ji Huan saw the red forest before him, followed by a short red wall—

With his remaining strength, he pushed Grandpa forward first, then leaped over the wall himself.

Across a dark lake, the reflection of the scene from his memory materialized before his eyes.

Under the moonlit night, pure white water lilies bloomed silently on the inky surface of the water. Their fragrance was elegant and ethereal, erasing the stench of blood from Ji Huan's senses, replacing it with that refined aroma.

Beyond the water lily-covered expanse, Ji Huan spotted a lengthy wooden corridor. Red lanterns, made of paper, glowed softly, casting a half-red, half-yellow glow that illuminated the floor. In his usual spot for enjoying biscuits, he discerned a figure clad in white.

Through the rippling water, Ji Huan found himself entranced by the person's deep, dark eyes, as if they were pools of water, pulling him in.