Devour the Demon

"Scythe?" Yang Yi called again, moving a few steps closer.

Unexpectedly, just then, the Gu Diao suddenly beat its wings and took off. Its enormous wings stirred up a gale, sending sand and stones swirling through the air.

Yang Yi instinctively raised a hand to shield his eyes and stumbled back several steps. He lost his footing and fell to the ground, pain flaring in the palm he had braced against the earth.

Before the dust had settled enough for him to lower his arm, he heard a strange, sharp shout from behind him: "You think you can leave?!"

Yang Yi spun around and lowered his shielding arm. The Gu Diao was bound by Ling Yao's tail.

The Gu Diao was naturally unwilling to submit so easily. Its massive wings, hard as iron, thrashed violently as it struggled, while sharp sonic attacks burst from its beak. The stone walls around them, already riddled with damage, teetered on the verge of collapse. Sand and stones flew, stirring up clouds of dust.

A powerful sense of danger swept over the Gu Diao. The Grim Reaper seemed to be reaching for it with pale, withered fingers. It could almost feel the deadly sharpness of the nails at their tips. The hairs on its neck stood on end, and its whole body felt as though it had plunged into an icy abyss. It struggled all the more frantically.

Ling Yao tightened its tail around the Gu Diao. The creature's immense strength and near-mad struggles were proving troublesome even for him.

"Tch. What a nuisance." Ling Yao brought a "pot sticker" down on the Gu Diao. His seemingly soft feathers cut through the air with a sharp whistle, leaving behind a faint blur.

Bound by Ling Yao's tail and with nowhere to dodge, the Gu Diao took the blow head-on. A muffled crash rang out. A tremendous force swept through it, and its whole body was hurled helplessly to one side—only to be held fast by Ling Yao's tail. The strain of the opposing forces seemed to twist its internal organs together. Its blood surged backward, its ears roared, and its mind felt as if it no longer belonged to it.

Everything before its eyes blurred, like flowers viewed through a fog. It could make out nothing clearly.

The Gu Diao stopped struggling altogether. Without Ling Yao's tail holding it up, it would have collapsed onto the ground.

Ling Yao planted a foot on the Gu Diao's head and turned to look at Xiao Xiao. His gaze was cold, with a trace of nonchalance, and his lofty bearing radiated an imposing air.

Xiao Xiao: ...?

At Xiao Xiao's baffled expression, Ling Yao grew impatient. Humans really were incomprehensibly stupid. To think his own master was such a foolish human—Ling Yao felt as if his whole world had gone dark.

At Ling Yao's increasingly sour expression, Xiao Xiao looked confused and utterly innocent.

Ling Yao closed his eyes briefly, as if trying to hold back his irritation, then finally deigned to speak.

"Do you want me to eat it?"

Eat... it?! Xiao Xiao was startled, then decided he was making too much of it.

Demons were a more direct, brutal, and bloodthirsty race than humans. Humans might find cannibalism unacceptable, but demons killing and eating one another was perfectly commonplace.

Demons were not exactly a warm and tender species.

Besides, consuming other demons could strengthen them, right?

Xiao Xiao guessed so. Wasn't that how it worked in lots of novels?

If it existed, there was probably a reason for it. Maybe reality really was like that.

"Stop! What are you doing?" Yang Yi's sudden shout made Xiao Xiao turn to him in surprise. He had nearly forgotten the man was even there.

"What are we doing?" Xiao Xiao repeated Yang Yi's question with a hint of amusement. "What you were doing earlier."

Xiao Xiao's eyes curved slightly, but there was no laughter in his dark gaze.

The sight of the Gu Diao eating people was still vivid in his mind.

It had been so shocking that he couldn't forget it anytime soon. Even the slightest recollection brought the scene back in crystal-clear detail, every last bit visible—and in motion, too.

That image might haunt him for the rest of his life.

The dangerous look between Xiao Xiao's slightly furrowed brows choked off the accusation Yang Yi was about to spit out. The words stuck in his throat, never to emerge.

But Yang Yi, who had always gotten his way and was used to throwing his weight around, wasn't about to back down so easily. He steadied himself, arranged his stiff expression, then spoke again, his words tinged with confidence and even a hint of pride.

"Let the Gu Diao go. What do you want?"

The Gu Diao was what set him apart from ordinary people. He absolutely couldn't afford to lose it.

That was why, even at the risk of inviting universal condemnation, he had been willing to feed it human flesh.

Yang Yi had been born into wealth and blessed with exceptional talent. He already had money, status, fame, and beautiful women—anything he could want. But the Gu Diao's arrival had shown him a future unlike any he had known, one far more brilliant and glorious.

He was no longer content with the predictable life he had led. After seeing that other possibilities existed, how could he accept living like everyone else?

He was different from the rest!

Yang Yi clenched his fists. His craving and ambition burned within him, making him forget his fear and pain. His burning gaze was filled with a frenzied light.

He was like a beast whose greed knew no bounds.

Xiao Xiao furrowed his brow. Yang Yi was beyond saving. He had sunk too deeply into the abyss of desire to pull himself free.

The Gu Diao's arrival had unleashed the demon in his heart, freeing him from the moral restraints he had imposed on himself. From then on, he no longer saw right or wrong, good or evil—only the dazzling glory of the outcome. As for the bloodshed along the way, what did that matter?

Xiao Xiao didn't think there was anything left to say to Yang Yi. He had never been one to lecture people at length. Everyone had to take responsibility for their own choices. In the end, other people were just other people.

"Ling Yao, knock him out."

Before Yang Yi could even process what Xiao Xiao meant, his vision went black and he passed out.

Ling Yao withdrew his wing at an unhurried pace.

"You didn't kill him, did you?" After seeing how badly the Gu Diao had fared from Ling Yao's blow, Xiao Xiao wondered whether Yang Yi, whose body was far less durable, could have taken it. He had no intention of killing anyone.

Ling Yao didn't even deign to answer Xiao Xiao's idiotic question. How could he possibly fail to control the force of a simple blow?

All right, Xiao Xiao shrugged. After catching Ling Yao's scornful look, he understood that he'd been worrying for nothing.

He'd only asked out of habit. He hadn't meant to doubt Ling Yao.

"Do you want me to eat it?" Ling Yao repeated his original question as though nothing had happened. The tip of his long tail twitched slightly, and the exquisite feathers covering it gleamed with a dark sheen.

Hearing the question again, Xiao Xiao no longer felt the initial shock and confusion. His thoughts had grown increasingly clear.

Xiao Xiao's lips curved into a slight smile. His still-youthful face was calm as water. His voice was quiet, but every word rang out clearly and firmly. "Yes. Eat it."