The Thoughtful Cotton Candy

The ground was a mess, corpses everywhere.

She slowly pushed herself up and stared blankly at the scene before her.

She stood there, pressing her lips together, with no idea what to do. She had killed her enemies, and then what? No one was coming back...

Her hollow heart had nowhere to settle.

She staggered to her feet, enduring the piercing pain throughout her body as she tried to piece everyone's bodies back together.

The light had vanished from her eyes, like Stars swallowed by the night.

"Little Xi..." A weak voice rang out with startling clarity in the silent space.

Shen Ranxi sprang to her feet, her pupils instantly widening as her heart raced.

When she turned around, there was no sound again. The corner of her mouth curled in self-mockery. It was just a hallucination.

The last spark in her heart went out.

She lowered her head in disappointment.

"Xiao Wei, I... I'm here."

She jerked her head up. She had not heard wrong. She turned to look at Somersault Cloud, and when it nodded in confirmation, light burst into her eyes.

Village Chief Grandpa's voice! She had not found him earlier, deliberately avoiding the possibility that he was dead.

With the relief of surviving a disaster, she found him behind an overturned table.

He was covered in blood and barely clinging to life.

She immediately helped Village Chief Grandpa up, intending to take him to a doctor.

Village Chief Grandpa grabbed Shen Ranxi's hand. It was so cold. The hand that had once been warm was now icy enough to make her tremble in fear.

"Village Chief Grandpa, let me take you to a doctor, okay? You'll definitely get better. You definitely will!"

"Good child, don't cry." His rough hand brushed over her face, and only then did she realize she was crying.

"No need. I can't be cured anymore," Village Chief Grandpa continued. "I saw how brave you were just now. Our Xiao Wei is so amazing! You avenged us..."

"Our Village has finally produced an incredible Lord Soul Master." Pride appeared on Village Chief Grandpa's face.

"This world is just like this. The lives of Ordinary People... are full of accidents... You have to get used to it."

"You've already done enough for everyone. From now on, live your life well. It will surely... be incredibly wonderful!"

"I can't get used to it... Don't leave me..." Tears dripped onto Village Chief Grandpa one by one.

"What a... what a pity. I can't accompany you... all the way to the end." The kindness in Village Chief Grandpa's eyes faded away.

"System, System, save him! I'm begging you, please save him! You can take anything I have! I'll also complete my missions properly and become a god." Shen Ranxi panicked and clutched Village Chief Grandpa tightly.

But Grandfather's warmth still gradually faded away... along with her heart...

[Sorry, Host.]

The System paused for two seconds before deciding to tell her the truth.

[The System does not possess the ability to bring the dead back to life either. Sorry.]

"Why did they kill the people in the Village?"

The System froze for a few seconds, then followed her empty gaze toward the man who had been beaten into a bloody pulp.

[There was no reason. They were Evil Soul Masters. Perhaps the two of them fought their way here and killed them on a whim.

Evil Soul Masters are Soul Masters as well, and there are two reasons they come to be.

The first is because of their Martial Souls. Some Martial Souls are born with evil attributes, such as bloodlust and savagery.

If someone with this kind of Martial Soul does not have a firm enough Inner Heart, they can easily be influenced by negative power. Soul Beasts such as the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, for example, are born needing to devour other creatures to increase their strength.

The second is the choice of cultivation method. Ordinary Soul Masters obtain Soul Rings by hunting Soul Beasts, but Evil Soul Masters use forbidden methods in order to Become Stronger more quickly.

For example, that Cloaked Person from earlier sealed the souls he absorbed Inside the Body and slowly absorbed them, directly devouring the souls and flesh of others.

Although this method produces quick results, it causes people to gradually lose their reason and become killing machines.]

"Why does no one stop these Evil Soul Masters and let them do whatever they want?" Shen Ranxi's eyes, swollen red from grief, now gleamed with icy light.

[This world reveres the strong. Everyone is striving to improve their strength. If they encounter one, they might deal with it along the way. As for everyone else... you understand.]

"Hahaha, this world where the weak are prey to the strong is so coldhearted." Shen Ranxi's worldview, brought from an era of peace, was brutally shattered today.

She had seen the Uncle whose medicinal herbs had been taken by Nobles in the Village, the lost look in his eyes, and everyone's submissive behavior before Soul Masters...

"Aren't there gods in this world? They're fucking useless!"

"From today onward, Evil Soul Masters and I cannot coexist under the same sky! For every day I live, I'll kill them for that day!!!

The nations of this world are useless, Nobles oppress others, Evil Soul Masters run rampant, and gods sit high in their divine halls, lofty and untouchable! Ordinary People are like ants, hahaha!

If that is the case, then I'll smash the shrines apart! If the gods won't act, I will! If the gods won't kill, I will! If gods stand in my way, I'll kill gods; if Buddhas stand in my way, I'll kill Buddhas! I'll sweep away every injustice in this world and make heaven and earth bow before me!"

After a burst of short-circuiting static, the System's voice rang out again.

[Hurry and become a god~ The energy brought by godhood will be enough to let me evolve~

Hurry up~ I really want to see the expressions on those gods' faces when they see you become a god~

That will definitely be very, very wonderful~ Hehe.]

After saying that, the System went dormant.

Something strange flashed through Shen Ranxi's heart. Sometimes, this System seemed like an AI, yet sometimes it seemed far too human... Still, so far, it had done nothing harmful to her.

If it did anything wrong in the future, she would not let it off easily. At worst, they would Jade and Stone Burn Together!

Before dawn, Shen Ranxi endured the pain and finally pieced everyone's bodies back together.

Thankfully, Somersault Cloud had helped her.

She named it Cotton because it looked so much like soft, fluffy, spotless white cotton candy.

When praised, the entire cloud turned pink. It stretched out its thin little arms and hugged her tightly. It was clearly very shy.

Thankfully, Cotton had helped her. Otherwise, she could not have finished so quickly. This body was only six years old, and she was badly injured as well.

She lay on Cotton and slowly caught her breath. Taking deep breaths pulled at her lungs and insides, and it hurt terribly.

Her eyes slowly closed. Just as she was about to fall asleep, faint crying reached her ears.

The corner of her mouth lifted in a smile. Had she been hurt badly enough to hallucinate?

Until the sound by her ear gradually became clearer. "Mom... Mom... Dad... Dad..."

"Xiao Wei... Sister..."

The crying was scattered and broken apart by the wind.

Shen Ranxi finally remembered that Little Bell was still alive.

Shen Ranxi struggled to her feet, and Cotton transformed into the White Cloud Cane for its Master to lean on.

"Little... Little Bell, I'm here."

Holding her chest, she slowly made her way to the road entrance.

The helplessly crying Little Bell, standing in the middle of the road, immediately crashed into Shen Ranxi's arms like a little Cannonball the moment she saw her.

Tears filled Little Bell's eyes as she clutched the corner of Shen Ranxi's clothes.

Her little face scrunched up, tears swirling in her eyes as she pouted. "Sister Little Xi, did you all not want Little Bell anymore? When I woke up, I was inside a dark Gangzi. Little Bell was so scared, sob sob sob..."

Her tiny body trembled as she cried. "Little Bell will listen properly from now on. Don't abandon Little Bell."

Shen Ranxi swallowed the blood rising in her throat and wiped the dirt from Little Bell's face.

"No, I won't. Sister swears that she'll let you grow up happily in this life." Determination flashed through her eyes.

"Little Bell, look into Sister's eyes. Sister knows Little Bell is very smart and very strong, right?"

"Yes, Little Bell is very smart and very strong." Her chubby little hands wiped away her tears as she looked at Shen Ranxi seriously.