Chapter 35

The ugliest “Skinny Monkey” had never expected to earn himself such a nickname in his life.

“Aaaaaah, this is too much!!” His eyes filled with bloodshot fury, and he snapped, “You damn wretch, it’s all your fault our ritual failed… I’m taking you back so I can redeem myself! The Archbishop will definitely forgive me.”

Thinking about his days of hiding and running, his expression grew nearly maniacal, muttering something incoherent under his breath: “Great god, descend upon us…”

With his whispering growing more frenzied, his cloudy eyes burned with conviction.

A grotesque tearing sound pierced the air.

The next moment, Yue Yin witnessed a pair of twisted, meaty wings bursting from the middle-aged man’s back. The wings, studded with eyeballs, were only the beginning. His head began to split and mutate, insect-like legs protruding as he stretched.

With his upper body twisted and his face still vaguely human, he grew to a towering four or five meters, a mass of lumps and grotesque flesh reeking with the stench of decay.

“Afraid? Scared? Trembling?” he laughed darkly. “This is the power of the Eye of Destruction… the Eye of Destruction is the only salvation!”

His tumor-like flesh quivered with his movements, each tumor echoing his horrific laughter.

Li Shushu and the others watched in silence, a mixture of hidden fear and longing in their eyes.

Looking up at her mutated comrade, Li Shushu’s voice filled with awe: “Uncle Li is one of the Eye of Destruction’s most devout followers. After sacrificing his family, his parents, his wife, he received our Lord’s blessing—he gained even greater strength.”

Yue Yin mused aloud, “A zealot, huh?”

Nearly every deity had its zealots.

Zealots were the most fanatical and devoted of all believers, willing to abandon all family and morals to pursue their “higher calling.” If anyone dared to insult their god, zealots would stop at nothing to kill the offender with the most ruthless means possible.

In exchange, these zealots often received special favors from the gods.

It seemed the mutated “Skinny Monkey” in front of her was one such zealot, a fallen soul who had unlocked powerful abilities at a terrible price.

As the middle-aged man fell deeper into his corrupted state, the trees around them began to change.

In Yue Yin’s gaze, dozens of pale faces appeared on the branches, as if the trees were bearing human faces like grotesque apples, all staring at her with eerie grins.

Within minutes, one infected tree spread its corruption to another, the eerie transformation spreading rapidly.

The trees began inching closer, closing in on Yue Yin, forming walls that trapped her.

Rows upon rows of smiling faces hung from the branches, all staring intently at Yue Yin.

Watching her with satisfaction, Li Shushu said smugly, “We know you’re strong. That’s why we prepared this little surprise, just for you. Like it?” She and her comrades wanted revenge for Yue Yin’s constant escapes and the whole day they wasted chasing her.

Uncle Li had decided to use the Archbishop’s forbidden Item, the Maze Tree, an A-ranked cursed item, to capture Yue Yin and drain her as a blood sacrifice.

Yue Yin frowned as she eyed the surrounding trees adorned with human faces. “What is this?”

Li Shushu rarely encountered A-ranked forbidden items, and she hadn’t even gotten to see the school’s A-ranked malevolent spirit before it fled. She felt quite pleased to show off the item now. “This is A98, the Maze Tree. The Maze Tree appears as a tree with human faces and can infect and transform other plants within a range of three hundred kilometers.”

“During its activation, humans within its vicinity are deemed prey. They will be absorbed within three days until none are left.”

The Maze Tree, with its abilities and scope, was truly worthy of its A-ranking. Originally sealed by their Archbishop, it was now Uncle Li’s after his own blood sacrifices.

Li Shushu said regretfully, “If only you’d cooperated, Yue Yin, your pretty face wouldn’t be hanging on this tree now.”

Yue Yin blinked, unimpressed. “It’s ugly.”

Sure, monsters were never exactly “pretty,” but whatever this group had summoned was truly disturbing, enough to ruin her appetite.

As thunder rumbled, the abilities users around her leaped forward. The insect-mutated man climbed a tree at frightening speed, spewing sticky green webs toward her.

Yue Yin lowered her gaze, sighing in resignation. “Actually, I’m someone who values peace.”

She saw herself as a rather gentle evil god. Even if Li Shushu and her group harbored ill intentions, all Yue Yin had done was give them a small symbolic “peace dove” rather than sending them straight to their doom.

But some people just couldn’t live peacefully—they always sought their own destruction.

In an instant, one of the younger men lunged at her, using his arms and legs to propel himself forward, an axe raised high.

The axe froze midair.

Time seemed to stop as Yue Yin delivered a powerful kick to his head, silver light flashing in her hand, and half of his skull flew off.

Blood spattered across her face, and she brushed her bangs aside as it dripped down her cheek.

She tossed the axe she’d stolen to the ground and casually brushed her long hair from her shoulders.

Above her, the moon was slowly moving, dimming its light as if to herald the coming massacre.

In the shadowed half-light, the young girl grinned at the stunned crowd. “Sorry about that. First time using something like this to kill. Bit rusty.”

After tying back her hair, she tilted her head, her smile sweet yet deadly. “But I promise, this slaughter won’t be too painful for you.”

“This is the price for being worthless yet daring to disturb me.”

Just a single look from her sent shivers down spines. What followed was exactly as Yue Yin had promised: she didn’t use any extraordinary powers, relying instead on the stolen axe to turn the area into a true slaughter ground.

An eerie cat perched on a tree branch, meowing sycophantically, a human eyeball—Li Shushu’s—dangling from its mouth.

Yue Yin didn’t recognize the creature, guessing it might be another cursed item or some spirit drawn by the commotion.

She casually threw the axe, striking the odd creature down.

“Please, Yue Yin, I was wrong… please spare me…” One person wasn’t completely dead, unable to feel anything below their waist.

On the brink of death, they felt not pain but an intense coldness.

It was freezing by the lake.

Realizing what kind of opponent he’d provoked, the insect-mutated man began to tremble uncontrollably at the sound of Yue Yin’s voice, paralyzed with fear.

At some point, it began to rain lightly.

Yue Yin clicked her tongue in annoyance.

Rain meant she’d get soaked if she rode a bike back, and she still hadn’t gotten her grilled Cold Noodles.

All because of these things lying on the ground.

Stupid things. Only good for eating people.

Apart from Li Shushu, the struggling figures on the ground soon fell silent, reduced to formless masses.

In the quiet by the lake, the only sound was that of her axe slicing through flesh.

Axing people wasn’t particularly satisfying. Blood streamed down the edge of her blade, dripping steadily onto the ground.

Drip, drip.

Blood gathered into rivulets, eventually flowing into the lake.

Because he’d transformed into a monstrous form, the insect-mutated man had thicker “health,” so to speak, making him harder to kill.

Yue Yin crouched beside him, pressing down on his head, one hand gripping his hair as she leaned down to ask, “What does your organization want from me?”

“I’ll never tell you!” he shouted in defiance. “The Great Eye of Destruction will return to guide the world back to the true path!”

The zealot, hardened by his unwavering belief, mumbled more fanatical praises of the Eye of Destruction in the face of her threats.

With a smile, Yue Yin stomped down on his head, severing one of his insect limbs. “I just love people like you. Can Ichop you few more times?”

The insect-mutated man squirmed, finally cracking under pressure. “I’ll talk! I’ll talk!”

Yue Yin raised an eyebrow, standing up as she pulled the axe back. “Alright, go on.”

Just as he let out a relieved breath, her blade flashed, slicing off two more of his antennae.

As he shrieked in agony, Yue Yin’s smile grew even brighter. “But, actually, I don’t feel like listening anymore.”

The insect-mutated man wailed, sobbing, “You’re a devil! A devil!”

At that moment, her phone began to ring.

“I am a little sheep, a little sheep…”

Yue Yin squinted her eyes as she answered the call. “What do you want, Fatty Shen Xiao?”

From the other end, Shen’s voice buzzed, “Yue Yin, why aren’t you home yet? It’s so late. It’s dangerous for a girl to be out by herself. Don’t tell me you got kidnapped again.”

Toying with the axe in her hand, Yue Yin replied nonchalantly, “I got it.”

Finally, Shen Xiaodi hesitated before saying, “Yue Yin… I kind of want grilled cold noodles.”

Yue Yin’s expression turned deadpan. “Delivery fee, fifty via WeChat.”

…

Hanging up, Yue Yin looked down at the barely breathing insect-man at her feet and said, “My little brother just called. You’re pretty lucky.”

The insect-man let out a sigh of relief, a relaxed grin spreading over his misshapen face.

Yue Yin smiled back. “Lucky enough to die quickly.”

The smile froze on his face, terror flickering in his dull, fish-like eyes as he drew his last breath. His massive body began to dissolve, blood pooling into the rain and gradually washing away.

Yue Yin stared down at the remains, murmuring, “I wanted to let you go, but ‘Yue Yin’ can’t afford to.” If it weren’t for this group, her previous self wouldn’t have been abducted for sacrifice.

All around, the trees of the Maze Tree shrieked. Yue Yin crouched down, rummaging through a corpse, then sat on a scenic rock by the lake and lit a cigarette.

She took a puff and immediately choked, coughing out a mouthful of smoke.

The absurdity of the scene had the two remaining entities—one a cursed being and the other a human—shaking in fear, both lying flat on the ground, too frightened to even twitch.

Narrowing her eyes at the cigarette, Yue Yin muttered, “Trash.” She’d seen people in dramas make this look cool and decided to try it, only to find it entirely unappealing.

Wrinkling her nose, she tossed the lit cigarette onto the forbidden A98 Maze Tree.

With a loud “whoosh,” a small spark ignited into a raging fire the moment it touched the tree. The faces embedded in the tree’s bark twisted in agony as the flames seared them, unable to escape, and eventually they crumbled to ash.

Amidst the firelight, Yue Yin turned her gaze to the last living being—the grotesque bloated creature.

It had uttered only a single word to her before being knocked flat by her punch and had since laid there, pretending to be dead, too terrified to even budge. When it finally could move, it remained hidden, quivering behind a rock as if hoping she’d forget it existed.

Listening to the screams outside, it hugged its head, trembling.

This woman was insane! Completely unhinged and incredibly strong! Wasn’t she supposed to be on the side of good? Why was she so brutal?

Isn’t people with special abilities never tortured anyone, let alone used punishment, but this woman, this woman…

Thinking back to the way she had chopped through flesh, the spirit being shivered. The way she wielded an axe… it almost felt like she belonged in their cult!

Only as the smoke from the burning Maze Tree reached it did it nervously wriggle its body, edging away.

The creature had prayed Yue Yin would overlook it, but no such luck. The moment she spotted it, it froze under her icy gaze.

She approached, towering over it. “Want to live?”

The bloated creature didn’t know what to say. The others had all pleaded for mercy, but they had all died anyway. It was so terrified it lost its voice, too stunned to respond. Yue Yin didn’t immediately strike, however.

She straightened up and nudged the quivering pile of flesh with her boot. “You don’t want to die? Here’s a chance.”

She pulled out her phone, opened the map, and zoomed in, holding it right up to the creature’s face.

“The nearest snack street is five kilometers from here, next to a shopping plaza. There’s a place that sells grilled cold noodles that looks like this.”

Shoving the screen almost into its eyes, she asked, “Got it? Go steal a serving. Don’t get caught, understand?”

After glancing at the time, she added, “You have thirty minutes.”

The bloated creature blinked, stunned, barely believing what it was hearing.

Yue Yin smiled. “Better hurry. If you take more than an hour, I’ll kill you.”

The creature, finally snapping to its senses, looked at the sky, did some quick calculations, and bolted away.

Watching it flee, Yue Yin grinned with satisfaction.

This was killing two birds with one stone.

She hadn’t really forgotten about that bloated creature that she punched earlier, she’d just wanted to teach it a lesson by letting it watch her chopped apart its allies.

Under normal circumstances, she would have finished it off right away.

…

The rain started up again, and Yue Yin sat on a large rock beneath a willow tree, her hair wet and plastered to her face, looking as bedraggled as a soaked dog.

After sitting in the rain for an hour, she finally admitted that she’d been left hanging.

Dammit. Why were both humans and ghosts on this planet so shameless?

Wiping the rain from her face, she rose to her feet and slammed her fist into the rock.

She’d beenleft hanging!

The mighty Mother of Monsters, the Thousand-Faced Moon, had waited in a park for a full hour only to be ghosted by a tiny little creature.

The humiliation!

She’d thought humans would dismiss her as crazy, but even ghosts dared to trick her!

Following the faint lingering scent of the creature’s trail, she stood up, glanced at the clearing sky, and grabbed a shared bike, heading straight for the shopping plaza.

“If I don’t chop you into calamari, I’ll eat this bike on the spot!”

She pedaled furiously through the rain. A few stragglers huddled under jackets as they passed, sparing a few odd glances her way.

An old man with a phone raised it to his ear, saying, “Wow, there’s a fool standing under a tree in a thunderstorm waiting to get struck.”

Yue Yin: …

One more kill wouldn’t hurt, right?