A Good-for-Nothing

267. Kick His Ass, Darling

Translator: Dragon Rider

Despair is actually a kind of emotion that is easy to understand. For example, when you have tried your best to make an action figure, but the finished product is like what the seller normally displays to potential buyers, you’ll feel frustrated; and if you couldn’t even understand the instructions on how to assemble the action figure, you’ll be despairing.

He Zheng and his teammates would have stood a chance of winning were their opponent Nakayi Hakute, or the Lion-Tiger Alliance, or any of the other rival teams. However, in the fight with this monster, they lost.

They were walloped.

Carnotte couldn’t even return to human form. His legs were splayed on the ground and he made several attempts to stand up but failed. Qiu Luo and Chen Qianlin were both seriously injured, blood gushing out of their wounds, contrasting with their pale faces.

Chen Kai, who had been sent flying once by the shock wave sent out by the monster, scrambled to his feet and quickly started peppering the monster with arrows. The target, with the many arrows sticking in his body, looked like a hedgehog, but he was pulling out the arrows from his body as though he felt no pain at all. Chen Kai gritted his teeth and fired another three arrows in rapid succession. The monster seemed to be annoyed. He turned his head around and bared his teeth at Chen Kai standing on the tree and with that black gas like a giant hand grabbed Chen Kai’s waist and hurled him down to the ground.

Chen Kai’s face instantly turned deathly white and he lost his mobility.

The six of them had been reduced to what they were in merely a couple of minutes.

He Zheng, hand still trembling, was swallowing hard repeatedly, his heart hammering madly as if it were about to jump out of his chest.

After fixing that annoying pal Chen Kai, the monster seemed to become interested in Chen Qianlin, whom he was now walking straight towards.

Qiu Luo pulled himself up from the ground, summoned all his remaining energy and managed to transfer Chen Qianlin, on the verge of a coma, to another spot. Then he himself, looking battered and exhausted, slid down a tree trunk into a sitting position, his breath coming in short gasps.

The monster bore down on him and sniffed at him. “Tasteless. Unappetizing.”

Saliva trickled from his canine teeth to Qiu Luo’s neck, making Qiu Luo feel terribly disgusted.

He switched his gaze to Tao Wujiu.

He Zheng and the others had seen with their own eyes how the monster had eaten Nakayi Hakute’s remains. He Zheng felt that he wouldn’t be able to show his face in front of his team if Tao Wujiu lost a mere finger.

In that instant, all his emotions – nervousness, fear, frustration, and panic – disappeared. He Zheng got up from the ground. He didn’t wipe off the blood at the corners of his mouth. He was quite a sorry sight, his black hair all dusty and interspersed with grains of sand, his clothes shabby.

If they went to a homeless shelter, no one would doubt them.

Taking his cue from Nakayi Hakute, he slit his arm with the sharp blade of his sword. He Zheng gasped deeply and smiled mirthlessly at the sword, “Fortunately you’re still sharp enough.”

Blood instantly flowed from the cut on his arm.

The moment blood flowed out, the monster was distracted by the smell as expected. He turned his head back, his unfocused eyes looking in the direction of He Zheng.

“Here, big freak,” called He Zheng, his head askew. “That one’s fat and not fresh. If you want to eat something, come and eat me.”

Tao Wujiu was still conscious. As he heard He Zheng’s words, his eyes reddened and he managed to utter “Lao He, you shameless bastard” in a halting voice.

Smiling relaxedly, He Zheng opened his arms and relaxed his muscles as much as possible so that his blood flew out more freely.

“I should taste pretty good, because I’ve been consuming premium food and drinks since childhood. I’m different from Lao Tao who grew up among medicine jars.

Have you ever heard of RMB players? That’s right. I’m one of them. My taste is superior to that of any of them. My blood is fresh and my meat is very tender.”

He was trying to lure the monster to him.

The monster seemed to have been swayed. His eyes, which had no whites left and were staring at Tao Wujiu, roved and then flashed in He Zheng’s direction.

“I’m really sick of fighting with you demons. Every time I fight with the likes of you, I end up making a mess of myself.” He Zheng curled his lip and said aloud, “Come here! Eat me! Eat me!”

Then he inwardly cursed. ‘Fuck. They might take me for a masochist … Inviting a monster to eat myself … ’

To further pique the monster’s interest, He Zheng even swung his bleeding arm.

His blood dripped to the ground. The monster had indeed detected the fragrance of blood and seemed to be attracted by it. It smelled so good …

What with the loss of blood, He Zheng began to have dizzy spells. He tried hard to stay clear-minded. As the monster approached, he secretly put his hand behind his back.

Everything that could be gambled had been gambled on the fighting, and now whether his plan would work or not depended on if the Phoenix Plume that Li Zong had put in him was powerful enough.

He Zheng closed his eyes, inwardly summoning Dan Zhu that was in the middle of his forehead.

Dan Zhu slowly flew out from between his eyebrows. At the sight of He Zheng who was in a sorry state, Dan Zhu twittered nervously.

“I’m counting on you, little gray chick.”

The monster bore down on He Zheng, who raised his hands to let him sniff at it.

“What do you think? Does it smell good?” said He Zheng in a very tantalizing voice.

Though controlled by demonic Qi, the monster was still a monster without consciousness!

He Zheng’s eyes glinted coldly. The next second, Dan Zhu turned into a dazzling light, flapping his wings which emitted a scorching light that made the monster growl vexedly, averting his eyes.

It was now or never.

He Zheng grasped the Shadow Sword with his wet hand and thrust it at the monster’s heart.

Puff!

They had both pierced the monster’s head and stabbed him in the heart. If this still couldn’t kill him, He Zheng would probably kick the bucket.

The next second, the monster stabbed in the heart slowed down slightly and then keeled over, rigid as a board, a roar making their skin crawl issuing from his throat.

After another few moments, the monster fell silent, lying on the ground motionless.

“We–We did it?” said Chen Kai disbelievingly in a hoarse voice, looking on the verge of tears.

He Zheng gritted his teeth, also quite excited.

However, He Zheng forgot that the monster was under the control of demonic Qi, that though lifeless, he still had the ability to attack! He Zheng made a misjudgment. The monster who had already “died” let out a roar, sprang to his feet and unleashed a large amount of black gas. He Zheng was bodily hurled away by the demonic Qi and did a somersault in mid-air. He Zheng’s heart sank. Not far away was an old halved tree. If he collided with the trunk, he would be either disabled or killed.

He Zheng abruptly closed his eyes. At this moment, he didn’t even have the strength to utter any four-letter words.

He just thought that he must not leave Li Long even if he died and became a ghost.

“Steamed Bun.” Li Zong’s unsteady voice was heard. He caught He Zheng in mid-air and landed on the ground. A cold look flashed across Li Zong’s eyes as he saw how badly He Zheng had been wounded.

He Zheng was really very tired. Having cast highly energy-consuming spells successively, he didn’t have enough energy to stay awake. However, when he saw Li Zong, he still forced a smile, put his arms around Li Zong’s neck and asked, “Am I dreaming?”

Li Zong was wheezing, his palms all sweaty. He tried to wipe the blood off He Zheng’s face but only made He Zheng’s face look even dirtier, so Li Zong gave up and kissed He Zheng hard on the head twice, staining his lips with He Zheng’s scarlet blood.

“Sorry, I’m late,” said Li Zong. He Zheng, in a near stupor, perceived that Li Zong’s body was all wet with what felt like sweat or something.

He Zheng suddenly realized that this was not a dream. His weary eyes instantly returned to clarity. “You need to run! That bastard Nakayi Hakute has demonized this monster!”

He rubbed Li Zong’s face hard and urged, “Run! Now!”

Li Zong stared blankly at He Zheng’s red eyes. After a long moment, he pecked He Zheng’s ear and said in a low voice, “It’s okay, sweetie. Don’t be afraid. I’ll take care of him for you.”

Li Zong settled He Zheng under a tree, looked at Qiu Luo and Chen Kai who had scramble to his feet, and ordered in a flinty voice, “Take them away.”

Chen Kai and Qiu Luo, not daring play the hero in these circumstances, set off to transfer Chen Qianlin and the others, including Ben.

The monster had lapsed into a wild and violent state. Nobody knew when, but Li Zong’s eyes had become golden and seemingly dual-pupiled, flames burning just above his palms. When the monster dived at Li Zong, the look in the latter’s eyes remained totally unchanged.

“Demonic Qi,” muttered Li Zong in a voice audible only to himself.

But the next moment, Li Zong’s hand clenched around the monster’s neck as though he were just a chick. Li Zong licked He Zheng’s blood remaining at the corners of his mouth. Fire raged from his heels and he soon turned into a wall of flames. The monster’s sharp claws sank deep into Li Zong’s arms but he didn’t even frown.

All of a sudden, the monster started screaming despairingly and his claws stained with Li Zong’s blood began to burn. Li Zong’s golden eyes, however, were icy, staring squarely into the monster’s pitch-black ones.

It was as though his gaze had transcended space.

In a villa somewhere in Coastal City.

A man abruptly opened his eyes. He had just seen something that had happened on an island in the South Pacific through a pair of golden eyes.

“Karma Flames … ”

“Demonic Qi.”

The man sensed danger. This was the first time in years that the man had sensed danger.

His lips slightly curved upward in a smile. Li Zong’s elegant-shaped lips were opening and closing in front of him.

He said, “You’ll have to pay for this.”

With a deafening roar from the monster, everything was over.

The man rose from his chair. All the curtains had been pulled back. He stood by the window, bathing his face in sunlight. He was exceptionally handsome, charming enough to make anyone fall for him.

At this moment, his face wore an innocent look. He had not bargained on Nakayi Hakute using demonic Qi that way either.

He had given Nakayi a weapon, but there was no way he could foresee whom Nakayi would use it to kill.

But the man had misled Nakayi. The cloud of demonic Qi given to Nakayi was part of his body, and he could sense everything on the island through it, so He Zheng and his team members had actually been fighting with him rather than the monster. If he had wanted He Zheng and the others dead, they would have died.

This was the reason why He Zheng and his teammates had been routed.

The man muttered in an amused voice, “Very good. Very interesting.” He had been cooped up in this small room for too long.

The door slowly opened and the man walked out. His limbs were no different from those of a normal human being. Stroking his chin, looking at the empty villa, he felt a little bored.

Then where should he go first?

The Zhou family seemed to be a pretty good choice.