"Oh, I see." Fan Daoyi casually tossed the tablet in front of Wang Haotian. "Then break it."
"B-break it..." Wang Haotian looked up in a daze, at a loss.
Fan Daoyi smiled without a word and waited quietly for Wang Haotian's choice.
The choice was simple: break it or don't.
Wang Haotian claimed to be devoted wholeheartedly to Guixu. If he broke the tablet, he would be desecrating the god he worshipped. It would be a grave act of disrespect—disrespect toward the god and toward Guixu.
If he didn't break it, then his claim of wholehearted devotion to Guixu didn't hold water. And he'd claimed to have no divided loyalties whatsoever. Pah.
Mm, whichever way he chose, it was a dead end. How simple!
Wang Haotian picked up the tablet with trembling hands and smashed it against the ground. The tablet didn't break. He kowtowed and said, "A fine bird chooses its tree to roost in. If you would have me, my lord, I swear to follow you unto death and worship you."
"You really do know when to bend and when to stand tall."
Fan Daoyi held out his hand. Wang Haotian reacted quickly and handed the tablet back to him with both hands.
"But you betrayed the Apothecary once. Who's to say you won't betray me later?" A bright smile hung on his face, but his words were a naked blend of threats and enticements. "It really would be best to kill you after all, wouldn't it?"
Wang Haotian knocked his head hard against the ground, drawing blood to show his loyalty. "I absolutely won't."
Fan Daoyi's smile remained dangerous. "Even if I was the mastermind behind your son's death? Even if I deliberately singled him out and tormented him in Guixu?"
He stood and walked slowly over to Wang Haotian. "Even if all the videos they could see were my doing? Would you still be loyal to me?"
"It was that unfilial son's honor to die by your hand."
Fan Daoyi's smile fell, deep disappointment in his eyes. "How boring. This isn't the script I had in mind."
"In the script, you weren't devout. You should have..." His bamboo cane lashed out at the hand attacking him with a wooden spike.
With his other hand, he drew a sword from the top of the bamboo cane and chopped the arm clean off, finishing mildly, "Been brimming with killing intent and launched a sneak attack."
Wang Haotian clutched his arm in agony. He kept trying to use his ability, but it gave no response, as if it had never existed.
"I can't handle several people ganging up on me, but one-on-one, I'm invincible." Fan Daoyi flicked the blood from his bamboo sword, scattering scarlet droplets on the wind. The blade pressed against Wang Haotian's neck once more. "Tell me, how did you get in contact with Guixu?"
Above the ancestral hall, there was a tremendous commotion. The monster's body had grown several times larger from feeding.
Its ungainly bulk made it difficult to catch the fleeing food, and some of the food kept biting back at its flesh. It was terribly annoying.
It casually bent down and picked up the food, squeezing the life out of them with one hand. It kneaded them together, their flesh and bones twisting out of place until they lost all human shape and became a bloody mess.
"Hungry."
It ate greedily. There was no room left to stuff in more food; it all stretched its skin and flesh taut. Raising a hand, it smashed the narrow door apart and searched for the prey hiding everywhere.
When one person managed to escape outside, the monster stopped in its tracks and changed targets.
It couldn't just eat whatever was outside. It followed Fan Daoyi's words.
Xia Baoguo had arrived after using the toilet and cleared up the misunderstanding, so He Piaojian had remained outside, bickering with the butler. While they were bickering, a fleeing crowd suddenly came running out, drawing their attention.
"Monster! There's a monster!"
The crowd screamed. Following the direction of the sound, they too saw the enormous figure.
With a loud bang, the monster tore the roof off the villa. The faces on its belly were also growing in number, all bearing the appearances of the food it had just eaten.
"What the hell? Has a creature from Guixu descended into reality?" He Piaojian stared straight at the enormous, hideous body.
The monster only watched. It didn't take a single step outside the villa, continuing to search within it.
"Hungry, hungry..." Its cries of hunger reached everyone's ears clearly, making their eardrums ache.
Xia Baoguo covered one ear and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Dui Lake, have you noticed something's wrong? The Wang Family is so wealthy and powerful, so why are its guards' ranks so low?"
He Piaojian swept a glance over the crowd. Most of those who had escaped were at Initial Illumination, and the highest were only at Open Source. Had the monster eaten all the high-ranking ability users, or was the Wang Family hiding something?
"The rule governing this monster should be that it can't attack people outside the villa. Just in case, set up a barrier so it doesn't break the rule and run into the busy streets."
As he spoke, He Piaojian broke off another branch and approached the villa. "I'll go test the waters. Hurry up with that barrier."
"I haven't done this in decades. Where am I supposed to find the materials so quickly?" Xia Baoguo said urgently.
"If you don't hurry, everyone's going to kick the bucket." Without looking back, He Piaojian bounded up onto the exposed rebar of the wrecked villa.
"Hey, you brat." Xia Baoguo grumbled, but he knew the situation was urgent and hurried off to find materials for the barrier.
The monster was still eating inside the villa when something strange happened to its belly. Several faces came alive.
In the central position on the monster's belly was the old man it had swallowed first. His face was filled with fervor, his expression deranged.
The faces surrounding the old man were the ones the monster had originally had on its belly before it awakened. Their expressions varied as well: some were savage, some eerie, and some bore an indescribable madness.
"Haha, a miracle! This is a miracle!" The old man's tone was rapturous, and the faces beside him chimed in all at once. "What immense power! This is the gift bestowed by the Blood Doctor. We volunteered to join the plan and used the Blood Doctor's power to piece together a body like this."
Their words were filled with a longing and pursuit of power, as well as praise for the Apothecary.
"And finally, take control of it!" the self-aware faces chanted in unison.
As the faces on its belly gained self-awareness, the monster's resolve wavered. Chaos and confusion filled it, and an intense hunger swept over it once more.
It was so hungry, so hungry. It wanted to eat more...
Why not step outside?
Their consciousnesses were shared, and the old man beguiled it. A clamor of voices urged the monster to cast aside all its concerns and satisfy its desires.
Fan Daoyi's instructions were cast to the back of its mind, leaving only a craving for food.
It's all right, just a little. Eating a little won't matter...
The monster struggled to move its enormous, heavy body, each step making the ground tremble slightly.
"I knew that face looked familiar. Isn't this that old geezer from under Taotie? Who knows how far down the ranks he was."
Even standing above it, the tiny He Piaojian barely reached the monster's belly.
The old man's face in the central position on its belly was facing He Piaojian squarely.
The old man recalled their past encounter, and anger and resentment appeared on his face. When he saw He Piaojian's insufferable grin, a surge of resentment instantly took over every face, even the monster's consciousness.
The monster and the faces shouted together, "Bastard—!"
He Piaojian looked at them with disdain. "Hey, tsk, that's a lot of resentment. Look at you—all these people gathered together, and you're only at the Fusion Realm."
He drew out his words, his tone dripping with mockery. "So~ use~less~"