Evil As Humans, page 253
Pain!
The blood in its veins felt like it had been replaced with strong acid. Not to mention fusion, Meiqiu’s agony instantly multiplied by a thousandfold. It screamed and writhed on the tabletop, retching uncontrollably and convulsing as if it had just been electrocuted. In the midst of the violent thrashing, its abdominal wound split even wider, and fragments of its internal organs scattered all over the table.
“…Stop tormenting it!” Fu Tianyi’s muffled and indistinct voice drilled into its ears. “I know you mean well, but Meiqiu—”
“Meiqiu, I know you can still hear me.” Yin Ren quickly retracted the Evil Force. His voice came extremely close. “If you don’t want to give up, meow once. If you want to give up, meow twice.”
‘It’s so painful,’ Meiqiu thought.
But it was already halfway through its research project…
“Meow.” It let out a soft whimper.
“Magic techniques are completely ineffective. We can only resort to physical transformation,” Yin Ren murmured seriously. “Back then, I survived, and Zhong Chengshuo’s body survived. There must be…”
“Power difference,” Zhong Chengshuo suddenly interjected.
“What?”
“When I merged with the baby, I consciously suppressed my power, so the physical body didn’t collapse.” Zhong Chengshuo’s voice carried his usual calmness. “But I couldn’t control the power I gave you back then. How did you deal with it?”
Then, Zhong Chengshuo added in a low voice, “I didn’t mean to harm you back then.”
Yin Ren: “When was that… Hmm, I used my own power to suppress it with all my might.”
At the end of his sentence, Yin Ren’s voice abruptly stopped, as if he realized something.
Meiqiu’s ears suddenly perked up.
It remembered Zhong Chengshuo had split his power as the old Fear, which happened to be half of its own… It seemed that half of that power was suppressed by Yin Ren’s own power, which prevented it from killing Yin Ren on the spot.
It’s over. It didn’t have the same power as the Great Celestial Master Zhong Yi back then.
“Power difference. Yes, power difference.” Yin Ren’s tone, however, became joyous. He covered Meiqiu’s wound with his hand. “Meiqiu’s body is weak, and the power of Fear’s flesh is too strong for it… Qiqi, come here.”
“You give me a piece of flesh, and I’ll treat you. I’ll also give you ten times the food.”
“Meow!” Gao Mengyu’s cat was ecstatic.
Something else flowed into Meiqiu’s body.
It still hurt, but this time the pain seemed bearable. Under Yin Ren’s control, it became gentle and docile, slowly merging into its body in a submissive manner. Whether it was intentional on Yin Ren’s part or not, the whole process was excruciatingly slow.
After the pain subsided, a strange and lingering soreness followed.
After an unknown amount of time had passed, Meiqiu suddenly felt dizzy, and its body felt incredibly strange. The numb-like, intense pain disappeared, replaced by a strange sense of discord.
It finally lost consciousness.
……
“…Meiqiu, Meiqiu.”
Yin Ren’s voice sounded exhausted.
“Dr. Meiqiu, can you hear me?”
“Meow…” Meiqiu managed to squeeze out a cracked sound.
It extended a paw in a certain direction, catching a scent that was indescribable. There was food there, and it was thirsty and hungry, feeling dizzy.
Something was brought to its mouth, and Meiqiu hastily swallowed it.
Soft, slightly cold, and extremely delicious. It felt like drinking a large bowl of warm sheep’s milk; even the tip of its tail felt warm. Meiqiu regained strength, struggling to climb up from the table and barely seeing what was in front of it.
A small piece of flesh limb, with the owner of the limb standing not far away; its fourteen eyes looking over curiously.
“Meow!” Gao Mengyu’s cat friendly greeted.
Meiqiu shook its head. Since regaining consciousness, its vision was very distorted—like at this moment, when it didn’t tilt its head, it saw Fu Tianyi, Yin Ren, and Zhong Chengshuo. The first two had expressions of joy and subtlety, while the last one seemed contemplative.
It struggled to control its vision and saw its own reflection on the table.
In the blurry reflection, there was a black cat with fourteen eyes.
Meiqiu: “…”
It survived, but it was no longer a cat in the conventional sense. Its Infinite abilities were still present and even stronger, but the increase was limited.
Ignoring Fu Tianyi, who was weeping as he hugged it, Meiqiu analyzed the situation with all its strength—
Living creatures in the human world, having merged with the fresh flesh of Elementals, possessed Elemental characteristics but were not entirely Elementals. In a sense, this could be seen as an upgraded version of “corruption from Evil Force”.
This time, it was lucky. If Yin Ren hadn’t been there to help suppress it, it might not have been able to bear the corruption of the Lonely flesh. Regardless, from the perspective of the outcome, Yin Ren’s attempt was very successful.
Back then, if Yin Ren had also survived like this…
Meiqiu struggled to turn towards Zhong Chengshuo, who sensed its multiple gazes and nodded slowly.
Not long ago, it had just sorted and categorized Yin Ren’s racial doubts with Zhong Chengshuo.
Why didn’t Yin Ren undergo the birth through Satisfaction? His form, abilities, and habits differed greatly from “Fear”.
Why could Yin Ren walk in the human world without merging with any body?
…The Fear cub, a special individual. Perhaps their line of thinking was wrong from the beginning.
The Great Celestial Master Zhong Yi had been corrupted by Evil Force even in the womb, making him a walking living evil. Thousands of years ago, he had only relied on his own strength to withstand the more terrifying and powerful corruption of the Elemental flesh.
He had always been a human “severely corrupted by the Other Side”.
But just an individual.
If a mortal was heavily corrupted by an Evil Force, if they didn’t die, they might become “Charons”, “Resonators”, “Inifiniters”… If an evil being was corrupted by the power of an Evil Force, if they didn’t die, they might become an “Evil Spirit”.
So, what if a human—a living human—for some unknown reason, survived the corruption of the Evil Force, and then survived even more pure and powerful corruption from a Primordial Elemental flesh?
That person was forced to tame that power, make it their own, and continue to grow…
Such a special phenomenon, as of yet, had gone unnoticed by anyone, and therefore it didn’t have a name.
…It seemed that this time, they would be able to bring out a significant discovery.
Meiqiu slowly curled up on the table, wearily closing its eyes.
* * *
Kinky Thoughts:
End of the arc. Summary below. There’s just one more arc left.
With Joy taken care of, Yin Ren had proven himself to Qi Xin. Qi Xin decided to help Yin Ren and, working together with Shian, open up a passage to the Other Side so they could rescue the missing people.
However, the premise was that Yin Ren would become the new Fear and restore order back to the Other Side, which now no longer has a life or death cycle.
With a passage secured, Unit 9, along with Meiqiu and Fu Tianyi, transverse to the Other Side. While Yin Ren trained and adapted to the Other Side, not wanting to be left behind and be protected, Zhong Chengshuo developed his own methods.
Since he was the original Fear, using his bones and essence, he created a Karma Lantern that imbued the power of the old Fear. Meanwhile, while training to adapt and become the new Fear, Yin Ren stumbled upon Gao Mengyu’s cat that had returned home. It belonged to the species of “Lonely” cats, and it led them to their base.
Apparently, the Elementals are waging war against the humans on the Other Side. It is then revealed that Meng Huai and Zhong Chengfeng, who disappeared 28 years ago, along with a Shian employee who disappeared two years ago through a gap, were able to survive on the Other Side with sentience. They attack Elementals in order to obtain their flesh and blood, as magic and weapons don’t work unless they are conjured up through one’s own mental abilities.
Having reunited with the missing people from 28 years ago, they developed a plan to rescue Li Xiaohe’s mother and the other people who had disappeared due to Sunken Society’s plans.
Meanwhile, on the human side, Xiang Jiang summoned a corpse centipede to terrorize Haigu in order to instill fear and superstition in the populace. This gives rise to Love’s “angel’s arm”, giving it influence over the population of Haigu.
Those people were being held captive in a base made by Love, surrounded by a cocoon. They are stored there in order to feed the Other Side while in a semi-comatose state, similar to what Bai Yongji did by merging humans and furniture together.
The rescue mission almost went perfectly until Hu Tao arrived. Under Love’s influence, Hu Tao believes her serial murderer husband is hiding on the Other Side and demands that Unit 9 find him. Ultimately, Yin Ren was able to convince her to let go, and, no longer having an obsession, Hu Tao dissipated, finally peacefully at rest.
As they escaped, Yin Ren was seriously injured, almost falling into Love’s trap. The missing people were rescued and transported out from the Other Side. With that, Yin Ren (to recover after being seriously wounded during the escape), Zhong Chengshuo (to study more about the Other Side), Meng Huai, Zhong Chengfeng, Fu Tianyi (not by choice), and Meiqiu remained on the Other Side in order to deal with Love.
Evil As Humans Ch227
Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
* * *
Chapter 227: Phenomena A-A0
It took a full seven days for Meiqiu to regain consciousness from its fainting spells, and even after waking up, its condition remained unstable.
The Lonely flesh acted like a pathogen, continuously infecting Meiqiu’s body, although its destructive power wasn’t as strong as the flesh from Fear. Fortunately, Yin Ren had ample experience suppressing such power. He stood by the table like a statue, carefully suppressing those forces for Meiqiu.
Meiqiu’s physical condition gradually improved, and Zhong Chengshuo approached as well. He stood beside Yin Ren, providing support for the weary man.
At the same time, his hand always covered Meiqiu’s front paw.
The Lonely ability leaned towards the cognitive aspect, so Gao Mengyu’s cat could serve as a partial surgical recorder. Zhong Chengshuo, however, still wasn’t completely at ease. He kept alternating his gaze between Meiqiu and Yin Ren, constantly sensing Meiqiu’s aura with his hands.
Over these days, Yin Ren’s expression hardly changed. He was focused on treating Meiqiu without even blinking.
‘Yes, he’s human,’ Zhong Chengshuo thought.
Yin Ren’s actions were nothing like those of an evil creature; he valued human life, but only to the extent that an ordinary person would. If someone close to him was in danger, he would do everything in his power to help. The difference was that his “power” was much stronger than that of an ordinary person, which made it seem extraordinary and astonishing.
He loved food and protected his shortcomings; he had no ambitions and was lazy at all the jobs he disliked. Skilled in worldly affairs yet easily influenced by various emotions.
Looking back now, ever since they met, Yin Ren had simply been living as an ordinary person, giving his all.
It was the same a thousand years ago, and it was the same now.
Zhong Chengshuo’s head drooped. A subtle sense of loss washed over him. In this moment, he realized that when he had previously sensed that Yin Ren might be the cub of “Fear”, he had also felt a sense of joy deep inside.
On that day a thousand years ago, Yin Ren had shared half an apple with him and led him out of the eternal chaos.
He thought he had given Yin Ren a new life in return.
However, the half of power he had returned almost caused Yin Ren’s demise—if it weren’t for Yin Ren enduring the corruption, he might have transformed into a fearsome creature.
“Zhong Chengshuo, no matter how others classify me, I am just me. Compared to dying back then, of course, I prefer being alive.”
Yin Ren placed both hands on Meiqiu’s abdomen, his gaze unwavering. He seemed to sense Zhong Chengshuo’s melancholy, and his voice carried a hint of laughter.
“And I survived, so that I could meet you.”
Zhong Chengshuo turned his face to the side, silently gazing at Yin Ren. Yin Ren’s expression was calm, and a small bundle of wings crawled up Zhong Chengshuo’s nape and ruffled his head.
“You indeed fell flat on your face and triggered the Gong Dynasty that was plagued by ancient evils. But to me, you’re just a poor sap who got hit with misfortune, albeit a grand one.”
There was laughter in Yin Ren’s voice.
“I don’t care what others think, but if you bring it up again, I’ll make you treat me to a 50-year barbecue buffet.”
Zhong Chengshuo: “How did you know what I was thinking? Is that also one of your abilities?”
Yin Ren coughed twice. “Dog Thing trembled in my pocket, thinking it had gone mad from your uneasiness.”
Zhong Chengshuo remained silent.
Yin Ren’s smile grew wider. “It’s the first time I’ve seen you so uneasy. Is it because of the two of us?”
“Yes,” Zhong Chengshuo honestly admitted.
“Well, it’s alright. I still like you.”
Several steps away, Fu Tianyi rolled his eyes in exasperation, trying to focus his attention on Meiqiu.
On the table, Meiqiu’s aura slowly changed. The twelve new eyes initially darted around uncontrollably, but eventually, they started emitting a faint light. They resembled strange gems scattered on its black fur, beautiful yet eerie.
“How is Meiqiu doing?” Fu Tianyi made an effort to dispel the ambiguous atmosphere around them.
“Meiqiu’s condition is different from mine. Keep a close eye on it.” Yin Ren’s tone suddenly turned authoritative. “I had been corrupted by Evil Force for hundreds of years before, so my adaptability to the integration of the flesh and blood of the Elementals is much better than its. Meiqiu is taking big steps, and even with me suppressing it, its body still bears a heavy burden.”
Fu Tianyi’s expression turned serious. “Understood!”
Zhong Chengshuo frowned beside them.
He suddenly released his grip on Meiqiu’s paw and pulled up a chair beside the table. In an instant, a pile of paper and pens materialized in front of him as he began calculating, printing out sheets of paper like a printer.
Yin Ren asked in confusion, “Zhong Ge?”
“There’s quite a bit of information, and I need to calculate. You guys focus on your tasks,” Zhong Chengshuo said, lightly biting his knuckles, while more and more data flowed from his pen.
Yin Ren, perplexed, lifted Meiqiu in his arms. “Don’t you need my help?”
“The hints you’ve given are enough.”
Zhong Chengshuo’s gaze was fixed on the papers.
“Now it’s my turn to work.”
……
“So, he’s been staying in his own little room all this time?” Zhong Chengfeng seemed on the verge of having a heart attack. “It’s been several days!”
Yin Ren sighed. “I understand.”
The Lonelies had a new task. They would venture out a little when Satisfaction struck, bringing back some scraps of Satisfaction’s flesh. Out of caution, Yin Ren no longer gnawed on Love’s elbow. Instead, he hunted small Elementals and exchanged them with the Lonelies.
With the power of Satisfaction’s flesh, his wounds healed quickly.
But while Meiqiu went from standing to walking, from walking to running, and even learned to go out with Yin Ren to hunt small Elementals, Zhong Chengshuo still hadn’t emerged from his base.
Sometimes, Gao Mengyu’s cat would be caught to replay the “Meiqiu’s healing process”. Apart from that, there was no further communication.
Yin Ren had made a special visit once—this time it was Zhong Chengshuo who leaned against him while taking a nap, and when he woke up, he immediately did calculations with the paper in his arms. Yin Ren felt dizzy looking at those strange symbols, but Dr. Meiqiu was busy adapting to its new body and couldn’t help.
He didn’t know when these days would pass. Yin Ren chugged a bottle of “Satisfaction” like drinking beer, but even the originally delicious taste had become dull.
Who would have thought that just as his wounds were almost healed, Zhong Chengshuo would emerge from seclusion?
Yin Ren followed his usual routine and entered Zhong Chengshuo’s base, but he almost didn’t recognize it. Every corner was neatly piled with calculation papers, forming upright pillars that had a particularly calming and ascetic effect.
Zhong Chengshuo carried a shoulder bag and held a few sheets of calculation paper like treasures.
“Today, you’ll accompany me into a dream,” Zhong Chengshuo said, seeming to have forgotten how to speak, searching for his words.
Seeing Yin Ren’s subtly startled expression of “Who are you?”, Zhong Chengshuo clumsily added, “Into Gao Mengyu’s dream, with Meiqiu too.”
“What are you planning to do?”
“My job, properly.”
Zhong Chengshuo’s voice was as serious as ever.
He looked at Yin Ren’s face, stretched out his hand, and gently traced his eyebrows and eyes with his fingertips, then slid them along the corners of Yin Ren’s eyes to his cheeks. Zhong Chengshuo’s movements were gentle and satisfied, as if he had accomplished some great mission.
“No matter how others classify us, you are still you… and I am still me. This is ‘my’ way of doing things.”
It had been nearly half a month without any news from the other side, and Fu Xingchuan was on the verge of giving up.
The blood in its veins felt like it had been replaced with strong acid. Not to mention fusion, Meiqiu’s agony instantly multiplied by a thousandfold. It screamed and writhed on the tabletop, retching uncontrollably and convulsing as if it had just been electrocuted. In the midst of the violent thrashing, its abdominal wound split even wider, and fragments of its internal organs scattered all over the table.
“…Stop tormenting it!” Fu Tianyi’s muffled and indistinct voice drilled into its ears. “I know you mean well, but Meiqiu—”
“Meiqiu, I know you can still hear me.” Yin Ren quickly retracted the Evil Force. His voice came extremely close. “If you don’t want to give up, meow once. If you want to give up, meow twice.”
‘It’s so painful,’ Meiqiu thought.
But it was already halfway through its research project…
“Meow.” It let out a soft whimper.
“Magic techniques are completely ineffective. We can only resort to physical transformation,” Yin Ren murmured seriously. “Back then, I survived, and Zhong Chengshuo’s body survived. There must be…”
“Power difference,” Zhong Chengshuo suddenly interjected.
“What?”
“When I merged with the baby, I consciously suppressed my power, so the physical body didn’t collapse.” Zhong Chengshuo’s voice carried his usual calmness. “But I couldn’t control the power I gave you back then. How did you deal with it?”
Then, Zhong Chengshuo added in a low voice, “I didn’t mean to harm you back then.”
Yin Ren: “When was that… Hmm, I used my own power to suppress it with all my might.”
At the end of his sentence, Yin Ren’s voice abruptly stopped, as if he realized something.
Meiqiu’s ears suddenly perked up.
It remembered Zhong Chengshuo had split his power as the old Fear, which happened to be half of its own… It seemed that half of that power was suppressed by Yin Ren’s own power, which prevented it from killing Yin Ren on the spot.
It’s over. It didn’t have the same power as the Great Celestial Master Zhong Yi back then.
“Power difference. Yes, power difference.” Yin Ren’s tone, however, became joyous. He covered Meiqiu’s wound with his hand. “Meiqiu’s body is weak, and the power of Fear’s flesh is too strong for it… Qiqi, come here.”
“You give me a piece of flesh, and I’ll treat you. I’ll also give you ten times the food.”
“Meow!” Gao Mengyu’s cat was ecstatic.
Something else flowed into Meiqiu’s body.
It still hurt, but this time the pain seemed bearable. Under Yin Ren’s control, it became gentle and docile, slowly merging into its body in a submissive manner. Whether it was intentional on Yin Ren’s part or not, the whole process was excruciatingly slow.
After the pain subsided, a strange and lingering soreness followed.
After an unknown amount of time had passed, Meiqiu suddenly felt dizzy, and its body felt incredibly strange. The numb-like, intense pain disappeared, replaced by a strange sense of discord.
It finally lost consciousness.
……
“…Meiqiu, Meiqiu.”
Yin Ren’s voice sounded exhausted.
“Dr. Meiqiu, can you hear me?”
“Meow…” Meiqiu managed to squeeze out a cracked sound.
It extended a paw in a certain direction, catching a scent that was indescribable. There was food there, and it was thirsty and hungry, feeling dizzy.
Something was brought to its mouth, and Meiqiu hastily swallowed it.
Soft, slightly cold, and extremely delicious. It felt like drinking a large bowl of warm sheep’s milk; even the tip of its tail felt warm. Meiqiu regained strength, struggling to climb up from the table and barely seeing what was in front of it.
A small piece of flesh limb, with the owner of the limb standing not far away; its fourteen eyes looking over curiously.
“Meow!” Gao Mengyu’s cat friendly greeted.
Meiqiu shook its head. Since regaining consciousness, its vision was very distorted—like at this moment, when it didn’t tilt its head, it saw Fu Tianyi, Yin Ren, and Zhong Chengshuo. The first two had expressions of joy and subtlety, while the last one seemed contemplative.
It struggled to control its vision and saw its own reflection on the table.
In the blurry reflection, there was a black cat with fourteen eyes.
Meiqiu: “…”
It survived, but it was no longer a cat in the conventional sense. Its Infinite abilities were still present and even stronger, but the increase was limited.
Ignoring Fu Tianyi, who was weeping as he hugged it, Meiqiu analyzed the situation with all its strength—
Living creatures in the human world, having merged with the fresh flesh of Elementals, possessed Elemental characteristics but were not entirely Elementals. In a sense, this could be seen as an upgraded version of “corruption from Evil Force”.
This time, it was lucky. If Yin Ren hadn’t been there to help suppress it, it might not have been able to bear the corruption of the Lonely flesh. Regardless, from the perspective of the outcome, Yin Ren’s attempt was very successful.
Back then, if Yin Ren had also survived like this…
Meiqiu struggled to turn towards Zhong Chengshuo, who sensed its multiple gazes and nodded slowly.
Not long ago, it had just sorted and categorized Yin Ren’s racial doubts with Zhong Chengshuo.
Why didn’t Yin Ren undergo the birth through Satisfaction? His form, abilities, and habits differed greatly from “Fear”.
Why could Yin Ren walk in the human world without merging with any body?
…The Fear cub, a special individual. Perhaps their line of thinking was wrong from the beginning.
The Great Celestial Master Zhong Yi had been corrupted by Evil Force even in the womb, making him a walking living evil. Thousands of years ago, he had only relied on his own strength to withstand the more terrifying and powerful corruption of the Elemental flesh.
He had always been a human “severely corrupted by the Other Side”.
But just an individual.
If a mortal was heavily corrupted by an Evil Force, if they didn’t die, they might become “Charons”, “Resonators”, “Inifiniters”… If an evil being was corrupted by the power of an Evil Force, if they didn’t die, they might become an “Evil Spirit”.
So, what if a human—a living human—for some unknown reason, survived the corruption of the Evil Force, and then survived even more pure and powerful corruption from a Primordial Elemental flesh?
That person was forced to tame that power, make it their own, and continue to grow…
Such a special phenomenon, as of yet, had gone unnoticed by anyone, and therefore it didn’t have a name.
…It seemed that this time, they would be able to bring out a significant discovery.
Meiqiu slowly curled up on the table, wearily closing its eyes.
* * *
Kinky Thoughts:
End of the arc. Summary below. There’s just one more arc left.
With Joy taken care of, Yin Ren had proven himself to Qi Xin. Qi Xin decided to help Yin Ren and, working together with Shian, open up a passage to the Other Side so they could rescue the missing people.
However, the premise was that Yin Ren would become the new Fear and restore order back to the Other Side, which now no longer has a life or death cycle.
With a passage secured, Unit 9, along with Meiqiu and Fu Tianyi, transverse to the Other Side. While Yin Ren trained and adapted to the Other Side, not wanting to be left behind and be protected, Zhong Chengshuo developed his own methods.
Since he was the original Fear, using his bones and essence, he created a Karma Lantern that imbued the power of the old Fear. Meanwhile, while training to adapt and become the new Fear, Yin Ren stumbled upon Gao Mengyu’s cat that had returned home. It belonged to the species of “Lonely” cats, and it led them to their base.
Apparently, the Elementals are waging war against the humans on the Other Side. It is then revealed that Meng Huai and Zhong Chengfeng, who disappeared 28 years ago, along with a Shian employee who disappeared two years ago through a gap, were able to survive on the Other Side with sentience. They attack Elementals in order to obtain their flesh and blood, as magic and weapons don’t work unless they are conjured up through one’s own mental abilities.
Having reunited with the missing people from 28 years ago, they developed a plan to rescue Li Xiaohe’s mother and the other people who had disappeared due to Sunken Society’s plans.
Meanwhile, on the human side, Xiang Jiang summoned a corpse centipede to terrorize Haigu in order to instill fear and superstition in the populace. This gives rise to Love’s “angel’s arm”, giving it influence over the population of Haigu.
Those people were being held captive in a base made by Love, surrounded by a cocoon. They are stored there in order to feed the Other Side while in a semi-comatose state, similar to what Bai Yongji did by merging humans and furniture together.
The rescue mission almost went perfectly until Hu Tao arrived. Under Love’s influence, Hu Tao believes her serial murderer husband is hiding on the Other Side and demands that Unit 9 find him. Ultimately, Yin Ren was able to convince her to let go, and, no longer having an obsession, Hu Tao dissipated, finally peacefully at rest.
As they escaped, Yin Ren was seriously injured, almost falling into Love’s trap. The missing people were rescued and transported out from the Other Side. With that, Yin Ren (to recover after being seriously wounded during the escape), Zhong Chengshuo (to study more about the Other Side), Meng Huai, Zhong Chengfeng, Fu Tianyi (not by choice), and Meiqiu remained on the Other Side in order to deal with Love.
Evil As Humans Ch227
Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
* * *
Chapter 227: Phenomena A-A0
It took a full seven days for Meiqiu to regain consciousness from its fainting spells, and even after waking up, its condition remained unstable.
The Lonely flesh acted like a pathogen, continuously infecting Meiqiu’s body, although its destructive power wasn’t as strong as the flesh from Fear. Fortunately, Yin Ren had ample experience suppressing such power. He stood by the table like a statue, carefully suppressing those forces for Meiqiu.
Meiqiu’s physical condition gradually improved, and Zhong Chengshuo approached as well. He stood beside Yin Ren, providing support for the weary man.
At the same time, his hand always covered Meiqiu’s front paw.
The Lonely ability leaned towards the cognitive aspect, so Gao Mengyu’s cat could serve as a partial surgical recorder. Zhong Chengshuo, however, still wasn’t completely at ease. He kept alternating his gaze between Meiqiu and Yin Ren, constantly sensing Meiqiu’s aura with his hands.
Over these days, Yin Ren’s expression hardly changed. He was focused on treating Meiqiu without even blinking.
‘Yes, he’s human,’ Zhong Chengshuo thought.
Yin Ren’s actions were nothing like those of an evil creature; he valued human life, but only to the extent that an ordinary person would. If someone close to him was in danger, he would do everything in his power to help. The difference was that his “power” was much stronger than that of an ordinary person, which made it seem extraordinary and astonishing.
He loved food and protected his shortcomings; he had no ambitions and was lazy at all the jobs he disliked. Skilled in worldly affairs yet easily influenced by various emotions.
Looking back now, ever since they met, Yin Ren had simply been living as an ordinary person, giving his all.
It was the same a thousand years ago, and it was the same now.
Zhong Chengshuo’s head drooped. A subtle sense of loss washed over him. In this moment, he realized that when he had previously sensed that Yin Ren might be the cub of “Fear”, he had also felt a sense of joy deep inside.
On that day a thousand years ago, Yin Ren had shared half an apple with him and led him out of the eternal chaos.
He thought he had given Yin Ren a new life in return.
However, the half of power he had returned almost caused Yin Ren’s demise—if it weren’t for Yin Ren enduring the corruption, he might have transformed into a fearsome creature.
“Zhong Chengshuo, no matter how others classify me, I am just me. Compared to dying back then, of course, I prefer being alive.”
Yin Ren placed both hands on Meiqiu’s abdomen, his gaze unwavering. He seemed to sense Zhong Chengshuo’s melancholy, and his voice carried a hint of laughter.
“And I survived, so that I could meet you.”
Zhong Chengshuo turned his face to the side, silently gazing at Yin Ren. Yin Ren’s expression was calm, and a small bundle of wings crawled up Zhong Chengshuo’s nape and ruffled his head.
“You indeed fell flat on your face and triggered the Gong Dynasty that was plagued by ancient evils. But to me, you’re just a poor sap who got hit with misfortune, albeit a grand one.”
There was laughter in Yin Ren’s voice.
“I don’t care what others think, but if you bring it up again, I’ll make you treat me to a 50-year barbecue buffet.”
Zhong Chengshuo: “How did you know what I was thinking? Is that also one of your abilities?”
Yin Ren coughed twice. “Dog Thing trembled in my pocket, thinking it had gone mad from your uneasiness.”
Zhong Chengshuo remained silent.
Yin Ren’s smile grew wider. “It’s the first time I’ve seen you so uneasy. Is it because of the two of us?”
“Yes,” Zhong Chengshuo honestly admitted.
“Well, it’s alright. I still like you.”
Several steps away, Fu Tianyi rolled his eyes in exasperation, trying to focus his attention on Meiqiu.
On the table, Meiqiu’s aura slowly changed. The twelve new eyes initially darted around uncontrollably, but eventually, they started emitting a faint light. They resembled strange gems scattered on its black fur, beautiful yet eerie.
“How is Meiqiu doing?” Fu Tianyi made an effort to dispel the ambiguous atmosphere around them.
“Meiqiu’s condition is different from mine. Keep a close eye on it.” Yin Ren’s tone suddenly turned authoritative. “I had been corrupted by Evil Force for hundreds of years before, so my adaptability to the integration of the flesh and blood of the Elementals is much better than its. Meiqiu is taking big steps, and even with me suppressing it, its body still bears a heavy burden.”
Fu Tianyi’s expression turned serious. “Understood!”
Zhong Chengshuo frowned beside them.
He suddenly released his grip on Meiqiu’s paw and pulled up a chair beside the table. In an instant, a pile of paper and pens materialized in front of him as he began calculating, printing out sheets of paper like a printer.
Yin Ren asked in confusion, “Zhong Ge?”
“There’s quite a bit of information, and I need to calculate. You guys focus on your tasks,” Zhong Chengshuo said, lightly biting his knuckles, while more and more data flowed from his pen.
Yin Ren, perplexed, lifted Meiqiu in his arms. “Don’t you need my help?”
“The hints you’ve given are enough.”
Zhong Chengshuo’s gaze was fixed on the papers.
“Now it’s my turn to work.”
……
“So, he’s been staying in his own little room all this time?” Zhong Chengfeng seemed on the verge of having a heart attack. “It’s been several days!”
Yin Ren sighed. “I understand.”
The Lonelies had a new task. They would venture out a little when Satisfaction struck, bringing back some scraps of Satisfaction’s flesh. Out of caution, Yin Ren no longer gnawed on Love’s elbow. Instead, he hunted small Elementals and exchanged them with the Lonelies.
With the power of Satisfaction’s flesh, his wounds healed quickly.
But while Meiqiu went from standing to walking, from walking to running, and even learned to go out with Yin Ren to hunt small Elementals, Zhong Chengshuo still hadn’t emerged from his base.
Sometimes, Gao Mengyu’s cat would be caught to replay the “Meiqiu’s healing process”. Apart from that, there was no further communication.
Yin Ren had made a special visit once—this time it was Zhong Chengshuo who leaned against him while taking a nap, and when he woke up, he immediately did calculations with the paper in his arms. Yin Ren felt dizzy looking at those strange symbols, but Dr. Meiqiu was busy adapting to its new body and couldn’t help.
He didn’t know when these days would pass. Yin Ren chugged a bottle of “Satisfaction” like drinking beer, but even the originally delicious taste had become dull.
Who would have thought that just as his wounds were almost healed, Zhong Chengshuo would emerge from seclusion?
Yin Ren followed his usual routine and entered Zhong Chengshuo’s base, but he almost didn’t recognize it. Every corner was neatly piled with calculation papers, forming upright pillars that had a particularly calming and ascetic effect.
Zhong Chengshuo carried a shoulder bag and held a few sheets of calculation paper like treasures.
“Today, you’ll accompany me into a dream,” Zhong Chengshuo said, seeming to have forgotten how to speak, searching for his words.
Seeing Yin Ren’s subtly startled expression of “Who are you?”, Zhong Chengshuo clumsily added, “Into Gao Mengyu’s dream, with Meiqiu too.”
“What are you planning to do?”
“My job, properly.”
Zhong Chengshuo’s voice was as serious as ever.
He looked at Yin Ren’s face, stretched out his hand, and gently traced his eyebrows and eyes with his fingertips, then slid them along the corners of Yin Ren’s eyes to his cheeks. Zhong Chengshuo’s movements were gentle and satisfied, as if he had accomplished some great mission.
“No matter how others classify us, you are still you… and I am still me. This is ‘my’ way of doing things.”
It had been nearly half a month without any news from the other side, and Fu Xingchuan was on the verge of giving up.
