An Unwelcome Visitor

This damned forest was filled with terrifyingly powerful "beasts."

Many of those beasts could wield powers similar to the Blood Demon Arts of demons like them. They could spit fireballs, wind blades, ice, and all sorts of abilities it had never even heard of.

After being chased into a miserable retreat by a giant bear that could spit ice spikes, the One-Horned Demon had learned its lesson. It no longer dared venture deep into the forest and could only explore around its edges.

The good news was that it quickly discovered a human village.

That finally gave it a full meal.

Moreover, the humans of this world tasted far better than the humans from its original world.

The energy contained within their flesh and blood sent it into raptures.

It could clearly feel that if it ate just a few more humans, it would awaken its own Blood Demon Art.

It even developed a powerful premonition: if it could feast freely on the humans of this world, it might become unimaginably strong—strong enough to participate in the Blood Battle for Replacing Positions and become one of the noble and powerful Twelve Kizuki.

But bad news soon followed.

The villagers it had treated as two-legged sheep had actually brought in an incredibly powerful human.

That person was even faster than it was, no weaker in strength, and the blade in his hand was terrifyingly sharp. In a single instant, he had chopped its body into countless pieces.

If that human had not been unaware of its immortal body and let his guard down, giving it the chance to ambush him and wound him with its claws, it would never have escaped.

If it got dragged into daylight and the sun rose, it would be dead for certain.

So, to escape that terrifying human's pursuit and find more food to make itself stronger, it decided to hunt elsewhere.

Following the faint scent of humans in the air, it found this place.

Looking at the outline of Blackstone Village flickering in and out of sight amid the wind and snow, the One-Horned Demon let out a low gurgle. Thick saliva dripped from its fangs onto the snow, freezing instantly.

It had traveled all day, and its stomach was already completely empty. It desperately needed a hearty dinner.

Just as it prepared to sneak into the village and choose a household as its target, its body suddenly froze.

An unprecedented fragrance, impossible to describe in words, slipped into its nostrils without warning.

It was not the fishy sweetness of ordinary human flesh and blood, but something purer, sweeter, and more enticing.

That scent seemed to possess a kind of magic, instantly igniting every trace of hunger and desire within it.

"Smells... so... good..."

The One-Horned Demon widened its scarlet eyes and muttered to itself.

The instant it smelled that fragrance, its reason had collapsed, leaving behind only the most primitive instincts.

Saliva flowed uncontrollably from the corners of its mouth, pooling into a small puddle on the snow.

It even forgot to move stealthily, abandoning the entire village—the whole "dining table"—and, like iron filings drawn to a magnet, followed the scent that made even its soul tremble. Step by step, it headed toward the most remote corner of the village.

There stood a thatched hut, completely out of place among the sturdy stone houses around it, trembling in the wind and snow.

In the warm bed, Bai Mo's body suddenly shuddered. His golden eyes snapped open in the darkness.

An icy chill that seemed to come from nowhere, one that seeped into his bones, forcibly dragged him from sleep. It had nothing to do with the blizzard outside; it was more like a warning from his instincts as a living creature.

Almost at the same instant he woke, his extraordinary hearing pierced through the roaring wind and snow outside the door and caught a set of heavy, slow footsteps.

"Creak... creak..."

The sound was approaching from this direction, one step at a time.

If he had been an ordinary person, in weather this harsh, he would never have heard anything other than the wind.

But Bai Mo was different.

Perhaps because of this strange body, his five senses had become astonishingly sharp. His strength, speed, and endurance were also far beyond what a six-year-old child should possess.

This was precisely why he had dared to enter the perilous forest alone.

His exceptional senses allowed him to avoid danger in advance, while physical abilities no worse than an adult's gave him the means to flee and fight back.

"Brother..."

Na'er beside him had also been disturbed. Still half-asleep, she rubbed her eyes and let out a drowsy murmur.

"Shh."

Bai Mo reacted swiftly. Almost instinctively, he raised a finger and gently pressed it against Na'er's soft lips, stopping her from speaking further.

Na'er was very clever. Seeing Bai Mo's unprecedentedly serious expression, she immediately understood.

She covered her little mouth tightly with both hands. Her purple eyes opened wide in the darkness, and she nodded hard.

Beside their bed, Fufu, who had been curled into a ball, also opened her eyes.

There was not a trace of sleepiness in those pure golden beast eyes. Instead, they reflected the outline of the door, and a cold, ferocious glint flashed through them.

However, Bai Mo, whose mind was wholly focused, did not notice this.

He silently lifted the blanket, stepped barefoot onto the icy floor like a cat, and made not the slightest sound.

He quickly went to the stove and took a gleaming kitchen knife from the crude knife rack.

The cold touch of iron instantly calmed his chaotic thoughts.

Then he pressed himself tightly against the wall behind the door, hiding his entire body in the darkness as he tilted his head and listened to the sounds outside.

On the bed, Na'er curled up nervously beneath the blanket. She even unconsciously held her breath, not daring to make a sound.

As he listened to the footsteps drawing closer and closer outside, fine beads of cold sweat formed on Bai Mo's forehead.

To say he was not afraid would be a lie.

After all, he was only a six-year-old child with the soul of an adult.

Yet at the same time, an inexplicable ferocity rose from the depths of his heart, making him instinctively lick his dry lips with the tip of his tongue.

He thought.

What exactly was outside the door?

It could not possibly be a villager.

It was so late, and the blizzard was so fierce. No villager in their right mind would go outside, much less come to the most remote corner of the village where he lived.

A lost Soul Beast? A thief after the food stores in his home? Or perhaps... the "man-eating demon" Uncle Zhao Kang had mentioned?

Bai Mo did not know.

But one thing was clear to him: whoever it was and whatever its purpose, showing up uninvited at this hour meant it had no good intentions.

Since it had come with malicious intent, there was no need for him to show mercy.

What if he was overthinking it? Who cared? Anyone showing up uninvited at this hour could be chopped down first and questioned later.

After all, he was not the only one in this house. Na'er was here too.

No matter what, he had to protect the little sister who had relied on him—and whom he had relied on—for more than a year.