You're my wife, don't doubt it!

……

Twenty seconds later.

Xiao Yao put his longsword back on his waist and muttered to himself, "You are the worst batch of monsters I have ever fought."

The boy carefully stepped over the fresh and not-so-fresh pieces of meat on the ground, trying not to get his boots dirty, and walked slowly toward the rooms deeper inside the slaughterhouse.

He approached a narrow door.

Xiao Yao did not rush in by pushing the door open, but approached slowly, trying to observe through the crack in the door or something else first.

He heard the voices of a man and a woman talking.

To be precise, it was the sound of a man and a woman arguing.

"You've gone too far. I won't allow you to hurt them. We had an agreement." The first thing that reached Xiao Yao's ears was a very familiar female voice.

Ah! Xiao Yao was slightly taken aback.

"Our agreement only included not harming it, not not harming it at all." It was a somewhat rough and cold voice.

“You haven’t kept any of your promises,” the woman retorted. “Xiao Yao was injured by your shadowy subordinates, and I was the one who healed him.”

The rough, hoarse, and unpleasant male voice, clearly that of a villain, chuckled but did not respond to the female voice's accusations.

"He/She is my friend, please release him/her immediately," the woman's voice demanded again.

"He/She is your love rival, your love rival, not your friend," the male voice reminded the female voice.

“We’re rivals, but also friends,” the woman said. “If you insist on hurting them, our partnership ends here, and you’ll have to bear the consequences.”

"Hmph, are you threatening me?" The male voice was clearly not happy.

“I’m threatening you, you can try,” the woman’s voice warned. “You won’t be a match for them even without my intervention.”

“They can’t find me,” the man laughed, and Xiao Yao sensed a hint of insecurity in the laughter. “Besides, if I let them know that you’re my partner, how do you think they’ll see you? Will they still treat you like a dear sister and lover?”

"You're using this to threaten me?" the woman said. "You're out of your mind—he already knows."

"Hmph," the male voice chuckled coldly again, as if he had been silent for a short while, before his tone softened: "I've told you countless times, I won't hurt her. This is just a process of reshaping, reshaping, recreating, and rebirth—otherwise, where do you think this city outside came from?"

"You talk a good game," the woman retorted bluntly. "It's nothing more than taking things that don't suit your taste, dismembering them, and piecing them back together into puppets that obey you. You call that love? You disgust me!"

"You!" the man shouted angrily, "Woman, with long hair!"

"This whole place of yours disgusts me!" the woman shrieked. "It's inhuman! If only I had seen this monstrous thing sooner—"

"I don't need your liking, woman." The man's voice rose as well: "Feel disgusted if you want! I'm not here to date you or make friends; we're just mutually benefiting, a business partnership! If you plan to betray me, don't forget—"

Xiao Yao felt he had listened to enough of the crosstalk performance, so he knocked on the door and, without waiting for a reply, pushed it open and went inside.

A dazzling light immediately stung the boy's eyes.

"Who?" the "butcher" inside shouted in surprise and anger.

"Hey, hey, stop arguing," Xiao Yao waved his hand and said, "Why can't we talk things out properly? You have to argue, it's giving me a headache."

"You! How did you find your way here?" Zhang Zhengkai raised the butcher's knife in his hand: "Did you lure him here?!"

"It wasn't her, don't wrong that young girl." Xiao Yao glanced at Yu Luying, then lowered his head to fiddle with his nails. "I was wondering what was going on outside. You said we couldn't find you, who gave you that confidence, Liang Jingru?"

What Fish Leong gave me seems to be courage? Oh well, it's not important.

As Xiao Yao spoke, he sized up the "butcher" in front of him.

Before me was the image of a handsome junior high school boy, but he was wearing black water boots and a leather apron of an indistinguishable color.

His face was smeared with bright red blood, making him look like a terrifying demon, with a hint of evil in his eyes. His eyes were like deep pits, black and merciless, flashing with cruel malice. His rosy lips were covered with a layer of blood, revealing an eerie smile.

His long, pale fingers were stained with blood, like the blood of creatures that had lost their lives at his hands. The rotting nails emitted a pungent stench, filled with the aura of death.

His butcher's clothes were covered in blood and smelled of decay; the bloodstains seeped into every seam of the garment, forming disgusting patterns.

Most horrifyingly, his right hand—in fact, he didn't have a right hand at all; his entire right arm had been severed at the elbow and replaced with a prosthetic. This prosthetic was really just a metal rod with a large iron hook attached.

Xiao Yao lowered his gaze and landed on the slaughtering platform in front of the butcher.

He saw a girl who was tied up.

She was wearing a light-colored knit sweater, what appeared to be a light blue skirt, and what appeared to be white socks and sneakers—the reason for the use of "appeared" is, of course, because her clothes were now soaked in blood, making the colors difficult to discern.

The girl's face was deathly pale, and she appeared to be unconscious. Her hair was scattered messily on the slaughtering table, stained with a lot of blood, making the black strands thick and heavy.

Her hands were tightly bound behind her back with rough ropes, and blood flowed down the ropes, dripping onto the ground.

The girl's eyes were closed, and the edge of the bloodstained slaughtering table was covered with rusty chains and pliers.

"Let her go. I'm only saying this once." Xiao Yao raised his head and ordered, "Little Apple, stand next to me."

Chapter 395 The Vanished Son?

2023-12-01

Her hands were tightly bound behind her back with rough ropes, blood trickling down and dripping onto the ground.

The girl's eyes were closed, and the edge of the bloodstained slaughtering table was covered with rusty chains and pliers.

"Let her go. I'm only saying this once." Xiao Yao raised his head and ordered, "Little Apple, stand next to me."

Yu Luying glanced at Xiao Yao expressionlessly, then stood still.

Xiao Yao adopted a more amiable tone to appease her: "Ping, come here~"

Yu Luying glanced at Xiao Yao, then at Zhang Zhengkai's shadow, and hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but couldn't.

The butcher version of Zhang Zhengkai's shadow retorted, "Didn't you fucking say you'd only say it once?"

Xiao Yao switched back to his icy expression: "I only said 'let her go' once."

“Look,” Zhang Zhengkai’s shadow retorted, “this is the second time he’s said it.”

"Are you some kind of clown hired by the monkeys?" Xiao Yao got even angrier.

"Stop, Azu." Xiao Yaoqiang suppressed the urge to leap over him. "You should know you're no match for me. I don't need any fancy moves to kill you. Even the Fly King, Belzeb, is no match for me..."

“No need to brag about your achievements,” Butcher version of Zhang Zhengkai’s Shadow nodded. “I know I can’t beat you.”

“Then what else is there to say?” Xiao Yao said wearily. “Let’s end this quickly. This nightmare has been going on for far too long.”

"Nightmare?" Butcher version of Zhang Zhengkai's shadow chuckled a few times: "I see, you're quite enjoying it."

“When people fall asleep, they dream,” Xiao Yao nodded and said, “and when it’s time to wake up, they should wake up.”

"What if I don't want to wake up?" The butcher version of Zhang Zhengkai's shadow gently placed the hook in his hand—or rather, the hook that replaced his right hand—onto the slaughtering table around Shen Jie's neck.

It was said to be gentle, but in reality it was as swift and precise as a ghost, happening without anyone noticing. Xiao Yao wanted to rush forward to stop it, but it was too late.

"Put down your weapons!" the butcher version of Zhang Zhengkai's shadow shouted sternly.

"Is this all the dirty tricks you have left?" Xiao Yao sneered, feigning indifference. "She's just a mere puppet. You expect to use her as a hostage? I've already found the real Shen Jie."

Xiao Yao knew, of course, that what was lying on the slaughtering table was not "just a mere puppet"; he said it on purpose.

"What?" The butcher version of Zhang Zhengkai's shadow was slightly taken aback: "You think you're just spouting nonsense—"

“She is portrayed as a six-year-old girl,” Xiao Yao continued, “and before she regained her memories, she had the personality of a little kid.”

“How did you… How did she… No, you…” Butcher version of Zhang Zhengkai’s shadow muttered to himself, “So it was she who brought you to me…? She regained her memories? No wonder she suddenly… No, you don’t understand, that was only a part of her, a part of her, she’s just as important to you…”

The last "she" clearly refers to the young girl on the slaughtering platform.

“She is just as important to you,” Xiao Yao repeated in a slightly softer tone, “I know you love her, and you would even be willing to sacrifice your life for her.”

"Don't try that on me!" Butcher version of Zhang Zhengkai's shadow sneered.

“And love, as I understand it, shouldn’t be about putting a butcher’s hook through someone’s neck.” As Xiao Yao spoke, he took a step closer without making a sound. “Just like Yu Luying just told you, that’s not love.”

The butcher version of Zhang Zhengkai's shadow tightened its grip, pressing the pointed end of the hook closer to "Shen Jie's" throat: "If you dare to take another half step forward, don't be afraid of regretting it in the future."

Xiao Yao glanced at the ferocity on Zhang Zhengkai's face in the Butcher version, stopped, and raised his hands: "OK, OK, FINE."

"Don't spout nonsense about love to me," the butcher version of Zhang Zhengkai's shadow sneered. "I know you can understand why I was forced to this point. You can understand—you and I are the same kind of people."

Upon hearing this, Yu Luying glanced at Xiao Yao uncomfortably.

Your mother, you're trying to sow discord right to my face, aren't you? You're something else.

"Women who are unfaithful and abandon their families should be killed by everyone!" The butcher version of Zhang Zhengkai's shadow continued to say inexplicable things.

“No,” Xiao Yao chuckled, “If you insist on saying ‘abandoning her husband,’ that’s one thing, but abandoning her child is just outrageous, brother.”

“You don’t understand,” the butcher version of Zhang Zhengkai’s shadow said through gritted teeth, “Master Shi Hui told me that in the original timeline, she and I would have a son.”

Xiao Yao: "??!!"

Yu Luying: "!!??"

Xiao Yao roared, "You're lying! Or it's that old bald monk who's lying!"

“And you,” the butcher version of Zhang Zhengkai’s shadow ignored Xiao Yao and continued, “because of your interference, now our son is gone—you and she conspired to murder him.”

Xiao Yao felt a little dizzy for a moment.

He quickly realized that he had lost his composure, which was exactly what the enemy wanted to see.

Or perhaps, the other party deliberately fabricated lies to mislead and confuse the public in order to achieve this goal.