You Should Try It

The time spent airborne just now was considerable, so the fall won't be a matter of a mere blink of an eye.

The Snake Woman looked down at him, coldly watching him fall, like a hunter waiting for its chance.

She was sure she could keep up with his falling speed, and probably planned to wait until he was about to hit the ground, when his fear was at its peak, to rescue him and thus break his spirit.

However, being released was also part of Yu Xing's plan.

He was falling, the surrounding screens flashing by, the filming equipment below gradually becoming clearer, and soon he would crash to the ground and be "shattered to pieces".

The Snake Woman moved as well.

She swooped down from above at an astonishing speed; her enormous, semi-transparent body was like a miracle, rapidly approaching in the light emanating from the screens.

However, when she reached out, she couldn't grab Yu Xing's body; instead, she...

It was a branch as thick as her snake tail.

The Snake Woman was startled, as she heard a series of loud noises.

Countless branches burst forth from the void, peeking out from another dimension, sharp and twisting.

Yu Xing hovered steadily about half a meter above the metal ground, his body shrouded in black mist.

Centered on him, branches shaped like octopus tentacles spread out like a spiderweb, some clinging wildly to the ground, others standing upright, forming a cage-like structure around him.

There was another branch that bent down from beside his legs, forming a chair. Yu Xing sat suspended on the branch, looking like a tentacle monster from a distance.

The strange space inside the metal shipping container was almost quickly taken over by these branches. The filming equipment was knocked over and tilted, and the screen began to flicker erratically.

The power of the curse surged to an unprecedented level, but Yu Xing did not underestimate it; this was all the curse power he could mobilize so far.

The black fog surged and roared like ocean waves.

The cognitive distortion power inherent in this space also transformed from a peaceful mode into a man-eating beast the moment it came into contact with the black mist. The two forces intertwined and collided, constantly consuming and transforming each other.

Yu Xing could sense that the enraged Snake Woman had amplified these cognitive distortions.

He didn't have a complete advantage; this was the limit of his ability to face the evil god's clone head-on without being at a disadvantage. He wondered how the evil god of Yin Yang City would crush him.

Even the evil god's clone in front of me is dangerous enough.

He can hold his own for a short time, but if it goes on for too long, the Snake Woman's power will be continuously replenished by the Snow Festival, and he will lose.

But--

The Snake Woman no longer has a chance to prolong the battle.

You might as well have kept me wrapped up; look, this is the result of letting me go free.

Yu Xing sat on the thick branch, crossed her legs, and the deep blue light in her eyes almost overflowed, forming a faint shimmer in the black mist.

As he spoke, the red mark on the tip of his tongue became almost blindingly bright.

"You're so focused on books, why don't you pay attention to another kind of power?"

"Your sacred tree just died suddenly last night, didn't it? Guess who did it?"

Yu Xing's smile was so arrogant that it made everyone who saw him both fearful and want to beat him up.

"You actually possess two powers simultaneously," the Snake Woman murmured in disbelief.

She stole the book, she stole the sapling, and she spent a lot of effort to make those two powers merge with her even slightly.

What right do these humans have to be favored by books and Gui Chen?!

No wonder...

No wonder this human can pretend to be cognitively distorted without being affected at all.

No wonder he dared to touch the camera; it turns out he had already reached the same level as her.

A more complex emotion than anger rose in the Snake Woman's heart. She stared reddeningly at the black mist spreading around her, and didn't miss the black lines that were gradually emerging on the human's skin.

He should die. He deserves to die.

The shock and shame brought by this contrast were unbearable for the Snake Woman. For a moment, she even felt that if Nanshui Town was destroyed, so be it. What she had stolen was so easily broken by another human, who was still mocking her.

But no, she couldn't give up; there might not be another chance like this.

The Snake Woman's tail lashed out at Yu Xing.

The surrounding branches also quickly retaliated, but the snake's tail was even more resilient than the branches. With a single slam of its tail, several equally thick giant branches were instantly shattered.

The flying sawdust even grazed Yu Xing's cheek, leaving a trail of blood.

The uncontrolled power of the curse covered the surface of his skin, but was quickly absorbed by his body and transformed into his own power.

The blood vessels had visibly disappeared, and Yu Xing's face remained handsome and flawless.

He didn't even move. The broken branches were immediately pushed up by other branches, repeating the process of breaking and resisting. The force of the snake's tail was brushed away again and again, and when it fell in front of him, it was already unable to move.

A single branch cannot compete with the body, but it has many roots.

These branches are like the roots of a large tree, countless in number. Although they consume the power of the curse, it is entirely within our means in the short term.

The Snake Woman hissed, pulled back her tail, and continued smashing from a different angle. She knew what "13 minutes" meant; if the system she hadn't yet met completely absorbed the book, Nanshui Town would no longer be under her control.

She will lose her home-field advantage then, making it even more impossible for her to catch up.

She has ten minutes left to regain control.

"So you have this kind of power. No wonder you're not afraid of me."

The Snake Woman looked at the human who sat there leisurely, completely unmoved, and sneered repeatedly, "But your brother is afraid of me."

Fang Xiao... is still outside.

As someone capable of peering into human cognition, she knew how deep Fang Xiao and Fang Xing's feelings were. Regardless of how Fang Xing obtained these strange powers, at least when he came here, he probably wanted to take Fang Xiao away.

What if you can't take it with you?

You see, now that Fang Xing Xingren is here, no matter how many branches he has, they can't reach this far into the Fang Mansion.

The Snake Woman waved her hand, pulling out a non-physical light screen.

The scene there was originally a celebration on the street, but with a wave of her hand, the scene changed to the Fang Mansion.

"Tell me, if I controlled Fang Xiao to commit suicide, would you still be able to laugh?"

"Or, I could control him to walk into the street, and then control the townspeople to trample him to death, so he can see clearly how he becomes mincemeat, how about that?"

Excitement gleamed in the Snake Woman's eyes; she clearly thought her idea was excellent and that she had definitely found the Fang family's young master's weakness.

Yu Xing tilted her head.

The Snake Woman manipulated the screen to transport the view inside the Fang Mansion.

Fang Xiao was at the Fang Mansion. After searching for a while, the "camera" captured the face of the young master who was about to die a violent death.

Fang Xiao was sitting in Fang Deming's room, coldly watching the Doctor perform some horrific procedures on Fang Deming.

Before Yu Xing left the Fang Mansion, Fang Xiao was still suspicious of the Doctor and went to confront Doctor in a fit of rage.

Now it seems, somehow, that the two have reached a temporary peace—although Fang Xiao's gaze towards the Doctor still reveals undisguised scrutiny.

"Look, your brother looks just like you, but he's about to become a dead man, and it's all thanks to you." The Snake Woman pushed the light screen in front of Yu Xing, and since the light screen had no offensive power, he didn't stop her.

While using the light screen to distract Yu Xing, the Snake Woman continued to attack the branches around Yu Xing with her tail. The energy exchange in the entire space was extremely intense, and Yu Xing had to devote a lot of his attention to controlling the subconscious and black mist within the branches.

Logically speaking, he was no longer capable of protecting Fang Xiao.

The Snake Woman waited to see him compromise.

However, Yu Xing sat remarkably still.

He then switched the position of his legs, and a bluish dagger appeared in his hand at some point.

The razor-sharp dagger, which should have been able to cut through iron like mud, was turned around in his hands like a work of art. In a daze, a figure in a blue robe could be seen appearing and disappearing.

He still only said the same thing, "Give it a try."

The Snake Woman's face twisted in a moment of rage; she had already decided to make Fang Xiao die in the most gruesome way.

The profound influence she had implanted in Fang Xiao's consciousness meant that she didn't need to do anything to make Fang Xiao stand up from the chair in the room.

In the image on the screen, Fang Xiao's pupils were unfocused, and he was about to walk out in a daze.

His movements were unhurried and carried the composure of a controller. Just as he placed his hand on the door, another hand appeared on his shoulder—a white-gloved hand, now stained with blood.

The Doctor's blurry face also appeared in the picture. He had one hand on Fang Xiao's shoulder, and his face seemed to be smiling, because both Yu Xing and the Snake Woman could feel the smile on that face.

"Young Master, where are you going?"

The Doctor asked this question.

Fang Xiao said instinctively, "It's too stuffy here, I'm going out for a walk."

He is now completely convinced that he wants to go out.

Even if there are some logical inconsistencies, he can't detect them now.

"No, Young Master Fang, you promised to watch me torture Fang Deming to death here." The Doctor's hand tightened slightly, pressing Fang Xiao to a stop in place.

Fang Xiao naturally felt a sense of irritation, a feeling of dissatisfaction at being disobeyed.

He turned and brushed the Doctor's hand away. Except when facing his own younger brother, he always exuded an air of authority over everyone else.

"Do what you're supposed to do, Doctor. I don't need to haggle with you."

Fang Xiao glanced at Fang Deming, who was convulsing in his wheelchair. Fang Deming was now covered in blood from the ordeal, and his useless tongue had been cut off and placed on his own legs.

"Keep him alive, he can die when I return."

After saying that, Fang Xiao turned to leave.

Just then, he heard the sound of a sword being drawn behind him.

Having grown up in a port gang, Fang Xiao was extremely sensitive to knives and killing intent. He suddenly turned his head and assumed a defensive stance, his muscles tensing.

The Doctor held a scalpel and inserted it into the flesh.

--Fang Deming's meat.

The gleaming blade pierced Fang Deming's throat, ending his tragic old age.

Fang Xiao was on the verge of anger, but he was the kind of person who became calmer the angrier he got. His voice was low and his tone was cold and hard. "What do you mean?"

The Doctor smiled as he pulled the scalpel out, and drops of blood from the blade fell to the ground, breaking into tiny blood flowers.

"We agreed that you would stay here and watch me torture him to death."

"But since you want to break the contract, I have no choice but to show you my death ahead of time."

"It's all because of you. If you hadn't suddenly decided to leave, we could have seen so much more enjoyable scenes."

This lukewarm tone, coupled with the blatant accusation, made Fang Xiao feel both stifled and ignited a nameless anger.

He forgot his desire to go out and walked towards the Doctor.

It looks like he's going to confront the Doctor again.

Yu Xing chuckled softly on the other side of the screen.

Unexpectedly, the Snake Woman bared her teeth again, her large tail swatting away the branches that were trying to retaliate, reinforcing the implication.

Fang Xiao paused in his tracks.

An unprecedentedly strong urge to go out overwhelmed his mind; compared to that, even the Doctor seemed less important.

He merely glared coldly at the Doctor: "He was just a piece of trash. He's dead, so be it. I'm in high spirits right now, so I advise you not to do anything to displease me."

The Doctor said, "Oh dear, that won't do."

"I promised Young Master Fang Xing I would do something for him, and it seems the time is right."

Mentioning his younger brother's name sobered Fang Xiao up a bit. He frowned and asked suspiciously, "What did he ask you to do?"

His answer was a bewildering vortex.

At that moment, Fang Xiao clearly saw the Doctor's face.

It was only at this moment that he realized that the Doctor's face had been blurry when he looked at him before, but he hadn't noticed it before. It was as if his cognition had been blocked by something, and things he couldn't understand were completely ignored by his brain.

He could clearly see the Doctor smiling at him.

The blood-red eyes brought waves of hallucinatory fear, washing away his ignorant soul, providing a breakthrough while also piercing him with deep pain.

Fang Xiao was shocked to find that he couldn't move.

He didn't seem to be at home, but rather standing amidst a sea of blood and a mountain of corpses.

Several dog-like creatures appeared in the void, with illusory lower bodies and long trailing tails, and charged towards him.

Blood flowed like a river, surging and churning violently.

Countless corpses emerged from the river, their hands first, then their heads, and then their torsos.

The corpses opened their mouths wide, stared with wide eyes, and kept calling his name.

Fang Xiao recognized several familiar faces; they were his friends from his childhood.

Because he disobeyed orders or failed to perform his duties properly, his friends had their fingers chopped off and their heads cut off by Fang Deming, and were thrown into the harbor to feed the fish.

The crimson sky was like a reflection of a river of blood, with a few stars so clear they were terrifying as they moved across it.

He sensed death and destruction from those stars.

What place is this?

How could there be such a terrifying place?

Fang Xiao's heart was pounding so hard he felt like it was going to explode. He was breathing rapidly and took a few steps back to avoid the things rushing towards him.

A dark mass of chaos crawled across the sky, like a large black worm crawling across the red sky.

In the distance, strange mountain peaks seemed to hang in mid-air, and on one of them stood a robust giant, headless, with countless flexible fleshy tentacles on its neck instead.

"Fang Xiao... it's all your fault..."

The corpses are about to crawl out of the river.

At the very front is a young face; one can imagine that he must have been a handsome young man in his lifetime.

Unfortunately, all that remains is a pale, bluish-white face. His body is rotting and teeming with maggots. Just as he reached the shore, a giant tentacle with suckers suddenly emerged from the river.

The corpses began to scream.

Countless octopus tentacles burst out of the water, dragging the corpses back one by one. Even so, Fang Xiao felt no gratitude whatsoever for the tentacles.

The tentacles themselves terrified him more than the corpse.

In a daze, in a daze.

The screen is displaying a distorted image.

The contents inside turned into colorful snowflakes, causing the Snake Woman to completely lose control of her expression.

She sensed it.

She sensed His presence.

No matter how well the Doctor had hidden it all these years, he couldn't hide it this time, as he displayed his abilities in front of the controlled Fang Xiao.

"How could that be?" the Snake Woman wondered as well.

Besides the system and Gui Chen, [He] also wants to join in the fun!

Moreover, and...

Each of the evil god's avatars probably knows that [He] is special, that [He] has no real avatars, and that all the "avatars" are merely [He]'s incarnations.

[He] will appear in his true form at any time and in any place.

That was a true, absolutely high-ranking evil god from Yin Yang City. Once he descended, the Snake Woman would be nothing but an insect in front of him, easily crushed under his foot.

How could this Doctor be like this!

What is it about her that makes [He] worthy of her arrival? Oh, right, the Doctor said it was because she promised Young Master Fang Xing something.

So, it's still for Fang Xing.

It's him again.

This is the third force that favors him.

On what grounds?!

However, He only stopped Fang Xiao and didn't interfere with the matter concerning the container. Does this mean that His help to Fang Xing ended there?

The Snake Woman quickly calmed down and tried to ascertain Fang Xiao's current situation.

She discovered that Fang Xiao had been taken away by the Doctor, taken to... the Fang family?

No, that was the only area she couldn't control!

The Snake Woman coiled herself up in a fit of rage and angrily threw a camera at Yu Xing.

"Bang!"

The camera was shattered by a blue sleeve.

A handsome scholar-like ghost in blue robes materialized amidst the turmoil of the curse and the distortion of consciousness, and snapped open the jade bone fan in his hand.

"You're making me dizzy from spinning it around. Could you please stop for a bit, Yu Xing?" Yi Qing placed her other hand on the hand that Yu Xing using to spin the dagger, her gentle tone carrying a hint of displeasure.

The Snake Woman's pupils trembled.

This is happening again...

Is it [spirit]?

When the scene in front of Fang Xiao faded, he was already covered in cold sweat from fright.

When he regained consciousness, he found himself being carried on the Doctor's shoulders. The Doctor, carrying such a large man, walked with an effortless and relaxed gait.

Just a few steps ahead is the ancestral hall, a place he has subconsciously avoided for so many years.

The ancestral tablets of the Fang family were enshrined there, making him feel constrained. He even wanted to forget about the place because—

While Fang Xiao was still in a daze, the Doctor had already carried him into the ancestral hall area.

Suddenly, rows of memorial tablets came into Fang Xiao's view.

Its gaze instantly fixed on the very top, where the memorial tablet of their ancestor was located. The ancestor was a general with outstanding military achievements, adorned with glory, and not to be desecrated.

It must not be desecrated.

Fang Xiao's mind suddenly cleared.

All the memories of struggling and being pulled back before flooded back. The Doctor put him down, and he knelt down before the memorial tablet with a thud.

Doctor, the Snow Festival —everything flew out of his mind. He remembered everything, including his attempt to pull his younger brother, whom he had once most wanted to send away, back into this quagmire, and how he had tormented the woman he loved into this state.

This includes the unwavering resistance and sacrifices made in the past.

Fang Xiao knelt there blankly, even the fear he had felt from the horrific scene he had just witnessed had subsided.

Another kind of panic surfaced in his mind—the panic that he had messed everything up.

No, this shouldn't be done.

My brother shouldn't have come back.

Mingzhu had also come to hate him.

What exactly is he doing? What has he been up to?

No, no.

No!

"Things aren't hopeless, Young Master Fang Xiao," the Doctor's voice sounded from behind him.

"Just stay here; as long as you don't cause any trouble, that's the best way to atone for your sins."

A voice tinged with laughter slowly pulled Fang Xiao back from the brink of collapse, and Fang Xiao mechanically turned his head.

Before my eyes was another blurry face.