“She ran away, huh? Let’s just let it go this time. I’m about to reach my limit here too.”
The crazed expression on the boy’s face had vanished, leaving only calm and serenity, just like his usual self.
Once he realized everything was over, the boy standing still in midair closed his eyes.
…………………………
In that heart filled with white bones, Nanxi silently watched the large square mirror that had appeared out of nowhere.
Inside the mirror, the scene of the playful boy who had taken his place fighting the dragon girl played out.
If Nanxi had to describe his feelings, it was just that watching himself through his own eyes felt inexplicably strange.
The battle ended, but before Nanxi could think about how to get out of this utterly bizarre world,
The floating mirror’s screen shut off, and at the same time, the playful boy returned.
“I-I’m back. Didn’t kill the black loach—time’s almost up.”
The playful boy’s face carried a hint of regret.
Manifesting in the world without causing any slaughter left him somewhat displeased.
“Thanks.”
“There’s no such thing as thanking yourself in this world, oh me.”
“I don’t think I’m you, at least not in behavior or personality. We’re not the same person.”
“Oh.”
“You don’t seem to care about this.”
“No need to care. One day, I’ll recognize that I am me.”
“Sigh, I really don’t want to become you.”
The boy’s expression was complicated.
He didn’t want to become a monster who enjoyed slaughter—no matter what, he couldn’t be that strange.
“Calling me a monster is a bit too much, you know. I just like fighting, that’s all. I’m perfectly normal otherwise.”
“You can hear my thoughts?”
Incredible.
Reading minds like that—strictly speaking, it shouldn’t be possible, right? He really is a monster.
“I’m me, so of course I know what I’m thinking. Those words were too much, so I’m mad. Therefore, I’ve decided to give myself a little punishment.”
The displeasure on his face was now clearly visible.
The playful boy pouted as he looked at himself, looking quite cute.
He was angry because of his own doubts about himself.
“What do you mean?”
There was no answer, because the playful boy in front of him vanished.
And then the mirror displayed a scene once more.
It was his own body flying wildly through the air.
Until it stopped at a beach.
“Can you hear me? Now, I’m going to drop from dozens of meters up in the air. But don’t worry, you won’t die. I won’t let you die—probably just break a leg. Oh, right, right—the loach’s blood has an aphrodisiac effect, I remember. So, enjoy it well, oh me.”
Time returned to the present.
Right now, Nanxi’s whole body was burning with unbearable heat, and his left leg was broken from the fall from high altitude.
Now, without even bending his thigh, his calf could directly form a duck-sitting position.
Because of the dragon blood, he couldn’t effectively use his internal energy to suppress the pain, and his sensitivity had increased two or three times.
Pain was a bodily sensation too.
Right now, Nanxi was enduring intense agony, crawling on the beach like a maggot, hoping someone would come to help him.
Though by the time the pain made him pass out, no one had come for Nanxi.
…………………………
Dusk was approaching, and the coast was bathed in golden light by the setting sun, illuminating the faces of the common folk who had finished a day of hard labor.
It was a rather peaceful scene.
But in such a remote little fishing village, no matter how beautiful the scenery, it wouldn’t bring smiles to people’s faces.
In prosperous times, the common folk already exhausted themselves just to survive, let alone in this chaotic era where taxes were as fierce as tigers.
Clearly, the Liang Kingdom had no wars, but because of the alliance with that Zhou Kingdom, the taxes the people had to pay were even more than in wartime.
In this world, the only ones who could smile were the noble families behind vermilion gates.
Chaos ravaged the common folk, making them fierce.
Though this little fishing village was remote, it was no different.
For fishermen, there were three great evils: harsh taxes, pirates, and the ocean itself.
The sea gave fishermen life, but it also claimed their lives.
Huang Muzhi was someone born into this rotten environment.
Since birth, she had only known her father; as for her mother, her father never mentioned her no matter what.
The villagers only said she was a wild woman from another village.
From a young age, she was different from the other children in the village.
She was good-looking, sturdy, and tall.
But just these things wouldn’t make others discriminate against her.
The main issue was those two parts on her chest and legs—they were simply too plump.
It had been like that since she was little, so the children discriminated against her for her abnormality, and the adults despised her for having no mother.
Her father was her only safe haven, the only place she could feel warmth.
But good times didn’t last. Her father died—died of exhaustion.
In a place like this, raising a child was simply too tiring, but even so, her father never abandoned her.
From then on, Huang Muzhi had lived alone in this village.
She had no skills, couldn’t afford to study, and knew nothing besides fishing and farming, so she couldn’t go elsewhere to make a living.
The only useful thing she had was being able to read and write, and that was thanks to her father.
He was different from the others in the village—he could speak eloquently.
Though a man, he had more knowledge than those scholars.
Huang Muzhi’s name was given by her father.
It was far better than the village names like Ergou and such.
Though life was hard, Huang Muzhi had still lived to eighteen.
Compared to those frail children who died halfway, she could be considered lucky.
“Sigh…”
At this moment, Huang Muzhi sighed.
She had no boat and couldn’t afford one, so she could only fish on the neighbors’ boats, and the catch had to be split half with them.
But these past few days, her luck had been poor—she hadn’t caught many fish, and the neighbors complained she was useless.
So they stopped letting her on the boat. Now, Huang Muzhi could only pin her hopes on that ragged fishing net.
If there was no catch, she’d have to go hungry tomorrow.
It was mid-spring now; the winter fish had long been eaten, and at home, there were only two fish left to fill her stomach tomorrow morning.
If there was still no catch, she really would starve to death.
The sky was about to turn dark; it was time for her to reel in the net.
Her peers had almost all found ways to get married, but only she remained alone.
Though Huang Muzhi was quite attractive, her dark skin, that head of yellow hair, and her dirt-poor family situation made it impossible for any man to take interest in her.
These real problems trapped this woman who was a full nine chi and one cun tall (about two meters and ten centimeters), but thinking too much was useless.
She only hoped she could have food today.
Stepping on the wet sand, this tall woman went to the coast.
Then she saw the boy who had completely passed out on the beach—that beauty who looked a hundred times better than her father, like a fairy.