Howl!!

Vivian felt like she had a very long dream.

In the dream, she relived her entire life.

From the moment her mother gave birth to her, a chubby, fair-skinned baby girl cried out as she entered the world. Her strong, young father held her, tickling her nose with a silly grin, while her gentle and kind mother lay in bed, her face full of happiness.

After a period of such happy times, one night when she was a few years old and unintentionally went to the toilet, she overheard a conversation in her parents' room.

It was the first time she learned that only girls in the family were looked down upon, that girls couldn't inherit the family business, that girls couldn't help with fieldwork, and that no matter how well a girl was raised and doted upon, she would eventually marry and benefit someone else's family.

Her father wanted a son.

Not long after, her younger brother was born.

It should have been a joyous occasion, but the dream suddenly turned bleak.

In a scene that felt eerily familiar, the people within it were in a completely different state. Her father sat on a chair, as if his soul had been lost, ignoring the wails of his newborn brother in the swaddling clothes. And her mother...

Her mother...

Her mother lay motionless on the bed. Perhaps only the large bloodstains on the sheets hinted at what had happened. It was the first time she had seen blood, and also the first time she had seen...

a corpse.

People were so fragile.

In the dream, Vivian saw a dark shadow standing behind her younger self. It had a similar facial outline to hers, no, to be precise, it was identical, as if it were the same person.

The dark shadow pressed against her back, as if whispering secrets, pointing at the infant still crying in the swaddling clothes.

"It's all... his fault."

"He's the one who killed Mother, he's the one who ruined this family, he's the one who..."

"No!"

"It's not true!!" Her young self cried out in agony, clutching her head.

"He's my brother, the only boy in the family. I... I have to take good care of him. I want to be a good sister who won't disappoint Mom, a sister..."

The scene shifted again.

This time, the passage of time accelerated significantly, with many scenes flashing by.

Vivian saw herself washing soiled bedsheets by a stream in the dead of winter for her brother, her small body dragging her drunk father, who was a puddle of mud, home. She saw herself bending over in the scorching sun, cutting grass stalk by stalk, and she saw herself sewing clothes for others all night to earn money to pay off debts.

However, the only difference in these scenes compared to before was that ever since her mother's death, that dark shadow had always floated in the air behind her, following her constantly, inseparable, as if they were one.

While washing bedsheets, the dark shadow would incessantly complain about her foolish brother. When dragging her father, the dark shadow would float over him and kick him fiercely. When cutting grass under the scorching sun, the dark shadow would whine about how hot and tiring it was. When sewing late at night, the dark shadow would yawn and doze off on her back.

Despite this, they were like two parallel lines, with no intersection between them.

Until...

That rainy night.

The memories that were meant to come would always come, even if you hid them deep down, thinking you had forgotten.

When the scythe easily sliced through her neck, and scarlet blood once again filled her vision, the fear and remorse were almost enough to break her...

She became the dark shadow behind her, and the dark shadow behind her became her.

Following closely behind was a voice.

"Heh heh..."

"Can't do anything about you."

This was the first time Vivian had heard the dark shadow's voice in reality. Her first reaction was that it sounded somewhat like the condescending tone of a landlord's daughter.

But... it was pleasant.

Her voice was truly pleasant.

Perhaps it was telepathy, but the voice sounded again in the dream, which should have been silent and quiet.

"Hey."

"Wake up!"

"Stop sleeping!"

Vivian groggily opened her eyes.

She found herself leaning against a large tree, half-lying down, with Little Black nestled in her arms.

The first thing the girl did after waking up was to summon her courage and nervously look back at the air behind her. But she stared blankly for a long time, and there was nothing there.

Perhaps Vivian herself hadn't realized it.

A hint of disappointment that was difficult to conceal appeared on her face.

"What's wrong, Vivian?" Liao Zixuan, who was lying in the girl's arms, naturally noticed Vivian's small movements after waking up.

But he had made a bet with his second personality.

He could not directly tell Vivian about the existence of the second personality in any way, otherwise the bet would be void. This was why Liao Zixuan was now feigning ignorance and playing dumb.

Incidentally.

Whether the second personality was dormant or not depended on the size of Vivian's inner darkness.

And fortunately, under the relentless efforts of a certain little wolf cub to tempt and corrupt her, the second personality could now successfully remain awake. It could freely roam Vivian's mind, munching on seeds, sitting on a bench, sharing all of Vivian's senses like an audience, and understanding everything happening in the outside world.

"I-it's fine. Thank you, Little Black, for staying by my side. How long was I unconscious?"

"About half an hour." Liao Zixuan estimated mentally. He didn't pry further, just followed Vivian's lead, not mentioning the abnormality during her unconsciousness at all.

"Half an hour. Oh no! I need to hurry and get moving!"

Upon hearing the answer, the girl's expression quickly turned anxious. But just as she was about to get up, she suddenly froze.

Vivian's gaze landed on a weapon lying in the shade to her left.

It was a...

blood-red scythe.

"Don't rush off yet. Take a look at this, Vivian." Liao Zixuan's telepathy pulled Vivian's complex thoughts back to reality.

The little wolf cub picked up an envelope and a small purple grass from the side. These were recovered from Roer's corpse.

"This—this is!?" The young girl's attention wasn't on the envelope, but entirely captivated by the purple grass.

"Purple Crystal Grass," Liao Zixuan replied truthfully.

Then, fearing the girl might forget, he added, "It's the medicinal herb we've been working so hard to find, the one that can cure your brother's illness."

Vivian's face instantly flashed with surprise.

Just as she was about to get the idea of quickly taking the herbs home, her gaze shifted to the envelope she had subconsciously ignored.

When the young girl opened it, Vivian's expression changed repeatedly.

The letter explained that her brother's strange illness wasn't an isolated case; there had been many similar cases in Huodian City, and Purple Crystal Grass was currently the only herb that could suppress it.

At the same time, the letter also informed Vivian about the evil deeds the Fire God Cult had been secretly carrying out in the Claw Forest, explaining why their group had been ambushed and prevented from venturing deeper into the forest.

To cultivate the Purple Crystal Grass, they had resorted to helping monsters evolve and grow stronger.

If they were allowed to continue, the consequences would be a rampant, uncontrollable surge in the power of the monsters in the Claw Forest, potentially leading to a rampage.

And it was important to know that if the monsters in the Claw Forest did go berserk and form a beast tide, the first to suffer would be their remote villages.

Therefore, Vivian now had two choices.

First, take the Purple Crystal Grass and return home quickly. Before the Fire God Cult's cultivation ritual ended, she should take her brother and father and leave the village, as far away as possible.

Second...

Vivian couldn't help but let her gaze drift to the scythe lying on the ground to her left.

Second, continue deeper into the forest, find the "Claw's" lair, eliminate all the Fire God Cult members, stop their cultivation ritual, and, as a bonus, take away the countless Purple Crystal Grasses cultivated within.

If it were in the past, Vivian wouldn't have even thought about it, because the "second" option wouldn't have existed at all.

But now...

The young girl took a deep breath, and as if mustering great courage, reached out and grasped the scythe lying quietly on the ground.

Then.

"Little Black, are you scared?"

The answer the young girl received was a wolf's howl, filled with arrogance tinged with disdain, disdain tinged with provocation, and provocation tinged with unparalleled confidence.

Awooooo!!