He threw up the pork rib soup, braised fish, and steamed buns he'd eaten that evening, all over the grass beside the flower bed. He emptied his stomach completely, and by the end, only sour bile remained, but he was still dry-heaving.
His body jerked with every heave.
Luo Shang stood beside him, watching him throw up.
He couldn't help laughing.
There was affection in it, and helplessness, and just a little relief.
This kid really knew how to put on an act.
Back in the prison, he'd killed nine people without a trace of expression. His eyes had been as cold as ice. He'd walked out with his back ramrod straight and spoken in a steady voice.
Luo Shang had nearly thought his son had really turned into a killing machine.
But the moment he came out, he'd thrown up like this.
Luo Shang crouched and patted Luo Yun's back, neither too hard nor too gently.
"Weren't you putting on quite the show just now?"
Luo Yun finished throwing up the last of the sour bile and raised his head. His eyes were red-rimmed, his face streaked with a mixture of tears and sweat, and his mouth was full of a sour, bitter taste.
"I wasn't!!!"
A month later.
The prison.
Torchlight flickered across the walls, casting the entire underground space in shifting patches of light and shadow.
Luo Yun stood in an open space at the center of the prison, surrounded by bodies strewn every which way.
Thirty of them.
Blood spread across the floor, pooling into a vast, dark-red lake that glistened slickly in the torchlight.
The prison was completely empty now.
Luo Yun's robes were covered in blood.
He looked utterly terrifying.
Even his eyes had changed.
A month ago, hesitation and fear had still lingered in those eyes, along with a trace of the unease that belonged to a six-year-old child.
Today, all of that had vanished, replaced by something cold and heavy...
Killing intent!
A bloodlust that seemed to seep from his very bones.
When those eyes swept over the bodies on the ground, they showed no flicker of emotion, as if he were looking at a pile of rubbish waiting to be cleared away.
Luo Yun raised his hand, the Moon Eclipse Sword held crosswise before him. Blood coated the blade, and beneath it, a purplish-black glow glimmered faintly.
Looking at his reflection on the blade, Luo Yun's lips curved slightly.
The curve was faint. It wasn't a smile.
It was coldness.
"Wretches."
Luo Shang stood some distance away, arms crossed as he leaned against the prison's iron bars.
He looked at the bodies scattered across the floor, then at Luo Yun standing among them. After a moment of silence, he gave a slight nod.
He approved.
Luo Yun had changed.
If it weren't for this damned God Trial, who would want their child to become like this?
"Let's go." Luo Shang's voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly through the empty prison.
Luo Yun raised his head. The Moon Eclipse Sword dissolved into points of light and sank into his palm. He turned and walked toward Luo Shang through the pool of blood, his boots making a sticky, muffled sound as they stepped through it.
An ordinary person would have been sickened by the sight.
The adjutant stood nearby. As Luo Yun approached, he instinctively stepped aside.
He'd killed plenty of people on the battlefield and seen scenes ten or a hundred times bloodier than this prison. Yet facing this six-year-old child, an indescribable chill welled up inside him.
It wasn't fear.
It was... that aura coming off the child. It wasn't something a child should have.
Luo Shang glanced at the adjutant but said nothing.
Father and son left the prison, one after the other.
Two days later.
Slaughter City.
Luo Shang had taken Luo Yun a long way, crossing one stretch of barren land after another and climbing hill after hill.
At last, an abandoned village appeared before them.
Luo Yun stopped and raised his head.
The village was small. Dozens of dilapidated mud-brick houses stood scattered across the wasteland. There were no lights, no people, only crows shrieking overhead.
Luo Shang took him to a tavern.
He told Luo Yun to go inside alone, while he...
The core district of Slaughter City.
Luo Shang walked through a dim passageway. Glowing crystals were embedded in the stone walls on either side.
The passage was long and winding, with no telling where it led.
At its end stood a massive stone gate, carved with a bat spreading its wings. Two red gemstones served as the bat's eyes.
Luo Shang stood before the gate without knocking or speaking.
The stone gate opened on its own.
Beyond it lay a vast hall. Dark-red curtains covered its walls, and black stone slabs paved the floor. A faint red glow seemed to flow through the gaps between them.
At the far end of the hall stood a tall stone chair, with someone seated upon it.
The figure wore a dark-red robe. His face was pale as paper, but his lips were as red as blood.
His eyes were deep red, with vertical pupils like a snake's.
His blood-red hair fell loose over his shoulders.
The King of Slaughter.
He sat on the stone chair with one hand propping up his chin. His deep-red, slit-pupiled eyes watched Luo Shang enter, and his lips curved slightly.
"King Frost Extreme." The King of Slaughter spoke softly, his tone languid and nonchalant. "What a rare guest. What brings you to my door?"
Luo Shang walked to the middle of the hall, stopped, and looked up at the King of Slaughter on the stone chair.
"I'm sending someone in." Luo Shang's voice was calm, neither servile nor overbearing. "A six-year-old boy."
The King of Slaughter raised an eyebrow, surprise flashing through his deep-red, slit-pupiled eyes.
"Six?" He repeated the word, the curve of his lips widening. "King Frost Extreme, do you misunderstand something about Slaughter City? This is hell, not a school."
"I know." Luo Shang's tone didn't change. "That's why I'm asking you to look after him."
The hall fell silent for a moment.
The King of Slaughter sat in his stone chair, watching Luo Shang, his deep-red, slit-pupiled eyes narrowing slightly as if sizing something up.
After a while, he laughed, softly.
"Since King Frost Extreme has asked, I'll naturally do you this favor." The King of Slaughter sounded polite, but Luo Shang heard clearly what lay beneath that politeness.
It was a condescending, charitable attitude, as if to say, "I'll do you this favor, but remember, it's a gift from me."
Luo Shang said nothing, only giving a slight nod.
He didn't thank him.
There was no point.
The more readily the King of Slaughter agreed, the clearer it was that he had no intention of doing anything.
Luo Shang knew these old monsters all too well.
They were polite to your face, but behind your back they wouldn't lift a finger.
But he had no other choice.
Luo Yun had to enter Slaughter City, and Luo Shang couldn't go in.
So all he could do was wait outside.
Luo Shang turned and walked toward the exit.
His back was straight and steady, betraying no emotion.
But the instant he turned, the King of Slaughter's lips curved, disdain flashing through his deep-red, slit-pupiled eyes.
A ninety-fifth-level Super Douluo, with a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring, ruler of the entire Northern Territory.
So what?
This was Slaughter City.
Before you continue