Yu Luo forced down his nausea, ignoring the turmoil in his stomach and the blood staining his body. He carried the half-devoured corpse from the town to a small grove outside it, dug a pit beneath an old tree, and buried it.
By the time Yu Luo finished, the moon was already high in the sky. A small mound stood beneath the tree, so tiny, just like a human life. There was no gravestone, no marker—only a simple little mound of earth. It was the last bit of kindness Yu Luo could offer.
"Do you think the demons in this world might be the ancestors of ghouls?" Yu Luo was in a foul mood, so he took the initiative to chat with the system to ease the heaviness in his heart. After all, he had just watched his own kind get eaten as food. Saying he was heartbroken would be impossible, but he was definitely upset.
"Why do you always come up with such bizarre ideas?" The system was speechless at Yu Luo's imagination.
"Look, ghouls eat people, and demons eat people too. Ghouls have superpowers, and you said demons have superpowers too. It's confirmed—demons are the ancestors of ghouls!"
"Hello? Are you the god of logic?" Yu Luo's theory stunned the system. For the first time, it felt utterly lacking in words and could only force out that one sentence.
"Now that you mention it, after analyzing it like that, I almost believed it myself." Yu Luo sat beneath the tree with his back against the trunk, looking at the town under the night sky. The expression on his face quickly grew quiet.
"Do you think there are demons that don't eat people?" Yu Luo asked the system as if casually. The system rolled its eyes and countered, "Do you think there are people among humans who don't eat pork?"
"Yes. Muslims don't eat pork." Yu Luo honestly choked the system with its own words, leaving it speechless. It could only angrily throw out one final line.
"I'm going to sleep. Just wait to die!"
After successfully angering the system into leaving, Yu Luo finally felt a little lighter. He held Raikiri in his arms, gently patted the little mound with his right hand, softly said goodnight, and then fell asleep as well.
The late night was silent. Only the bright moon shone quietly upon the earth, while the night breeze brushed over the low mound and the boy sitting beneath the tree.
"I think I may have run into the greatest difficulty in history." Yu Luo crouched by the entrance of a ramen stall like a down-and-out vagrant, clutching his stomach with his right hand as he spoke solemnly to the system in his mind.
"Indeed. This difficulty is serious enough to threaten your life." The system wore an equally grave expression, seeming to seriously consider the problem they faced.
"Do you have any solution? I'm willing to pay my only five Saint Quartz." Yu Luo's expression became even more serious.
"Although I really want to earn that money, unfortunately, this matter falls outside my area of expertise," the system said regretfully.
"Ugh..." Yu Luo let out a long sigh, clutching his restless stomach. Watching an adorable little girl walk past with a skewer of fragrant dumplings still steaming in her hand, he could not help swallowing before saying to the system:
"I have a bold idea."
"Put that idea away!" the system cried dramatically. "She's just a child! You beast, how can you lay your hands on such a young child? Are you even human?!"
"I don't care!" Yu Luo simply threw a tantrum. "I haven't eaten anything all day. I'm starving to death! If this keeps up, I really am going to snatch food from children!"
Yu Luo was fiercely arguing with the system in his mind, completely unaware of the passersby pointing and whispering about him.
"That outfit is so strange. Is he from another country?"
"Who knows? He's a new face. Better not get involved with him."
"I heard the Sato family's eldest son disappeared last night and still hasn't been found. Could it have been him...?"
"Probably not. He doesn't look that old. He's just a little strange."
Sigh, if I were the protagonist, a gentle and warmhearted girl should be bringing me food right about now, then falling in love with me at first sight. Yu Luo lamented inwardly, only to receive the system's merciless jab.
"You've eaten nearly an entire peach grove already. How are you still not full?!"
"Um..." A gentle voice interrupted Yu Luo and the system's bickering. Yu Luo looked up in surprise and saw a pair of light purple eyes filled with confusion.
"May I ask why you're crouching here?" The owner of those light purple eyes lightly crouched in front of Yu Luo, meeting his gaze. With long black hair and a purple butterfly hairpin in her hair, she gently asked him.
"Hey, Sis!" A younger girl beside her grabbed her sister's hand and tugged her hard away from Yu Luo. "Don't talk to strangers! What if he's a bad guy?"
"Shinobu, stop pulling." The older sister was completely unable to resist her younger sister's strength. As she staggered backward, she gently said, "There are so many people here, it's fine. Besides, he doesn't look like a bad person."
"That's exactly why you're too kind, Sis." The girl named Shinobu stopped pulling and said to her sister, "You stand here. I'll go ask him."
"Don't be too rude," her sister said with a smile. Shinobu waved to show that she understood, then jogged over to Yu Luo. Looking down at him, she asked bluntly:
"Hey, why are you crouching here? You're making me too scared to go inside and eat ramen."
Yu Luo rolled his eyes. Although the little girl before him was very cute, his hungry stomach left him with no patience for children. He imitated her tone and snarled:
"What business is it of yours that I'm crouching here? I'll have you know, I'm a human trafficker!"
"Hmph!" Shinobu snorted and turned to her sister, who was watching from behind. "See? This guy really isn't a good person. He admitted that he's a human trafficker. Let's go inform the police school."
"Kanae, Shinobu!" A call came from down the street. The sisters immediately turned their heads upon hearing it. The younger sister jumped up, waved her hands, and shouted, "Father, I'm here!"
A young man spotted the sisters from afar and walked over with quick little steps. A warm smile rested on his face as he patted the younger sister's shoulder-length hair and said:
"What are you two sisters doing here? Your mother is waiting for you to come home for dinner."
"Father, there's a bad person here." The younger sister pointed at Yu Luo, who was crouched in the corner watching them. "He said himself that he's a human trafficker."
"Shinobu, don't point at people. It's rude." The young man pressed down the finger she had extended, then walked up to Yu Luo, crouched down, and softly asked:
"May I ask if you're having some difficulty? Perhaps I can help."
"Uh..." Yu Luo was at a loss for words. He was too embarrassed to say that he had no money for food. At that moment, his rebellious stomach growled loudly, unwilling to be ignored. The young man had far more life experience than the two sisters and immediately understood Yu Luo's predicament.
"So you are a wandering traveler passing through, sir. If you don't mind, please come to my humble home for a meal." The young man extended his hand to Yu Luo. Yu Luo's old face actually reddened. He had just been rude to the man's little daughter, yet the man was now inviting him to eat.
"Ahem... thank you." Yu Luo coughed to hide his embarrassment, pushed himself up with the wall, and thanked the sisters' father.
The young man smiled faintly and reassured him, "It isn't easy being away from home. If I can help, I will. There's no need for thanks."
"Ahem, ahem..." Yu Luo coughed twice more to hide his embarrassment. The sisters walked in front, the young man walked in the middle, and Yu Luo shamelessly followed at the back as they headed toward their home.
Along the way, people continually greeted the man and the sisters with smiles. Some even smiled at Yu Luo walking behind them. It made Yu Luo keenly realize just how well-liked this family was in town, and he unconsciously tucked Raikiri hidden beneath his clothes even farther inside.
"You actually came to freeload at my house. You've got some nerve." The younger sister walking ahead complained to Yu Luo behind her. Yu Luo pretended not to hear. Since he had already decided to cast aside his pride, there was no way he would give up a lunch already within reach because of a little girl's taunts.
"Shinobu, you can't say such excessive things to a guest!" The young man lightly reprimanded his younger daughter. The little girl pursed her lips, said nothing, and angrily quickened her pace.
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