The voices slashed through him like cold knives, one after another drilling into his skull until they drowned out everything else.
"What are you waiting for?"
"Kill him!"
"Kill the demon."
"Do you not want to be free?"
Each syllable hammered through his skull like a thousand shrieking insects, digging into the soft parts of his mind. His temples throbbed; his breath hitched. He pressed his palms against his ears, but the voices only grew louder, swelling until they became a chorus of dissonant laughter, echoing inside his bones.
"Stop…" he whispered, though he didn't know whether he meant them or himself.
A gentle warmth touched his cheek. The noise faltered.
"What's wrong?"
When Xue Tuzi opened his eyes, he found Shudu's rough hand cradling his face, thumb tracing slow circles around the mole on his lower lip. The motion was gentle Shudu leaned in and kissed him. The warmth of the kiss slid down to his throat, fingertips ghosting across his collarbone.
"Are you hurt?" He murmured, voice muffled as his face rested against Xue Tuzi's chest. For a heartbeat, the world seemed to realign — the room, the fabric, the steady beat beneath his ear. Then the light from the fire wavered, throwing monstrous shapes across the walls. Shudu's face blurred. His touch, once tender, became unbearable — too hot, too heavy, pressing against his chest as though trying to reach inside.
The man above him bent closer, lips brushing his chest, and in Xue Tuzi's mind the gentle outline twisted into a ravenous thing. Fangs gleamed where there had been mouths; hands became claws; the kiss became a claim. Panic flared-hot. His heart hammered against his ribs as the chorus returned, louder now, their words seeping beneath his skin like venom. The room pulsed with them. The air itself seemed to whisper.
"He's trying to devour you."
"Kill him."
"Kill him."
Xue Tuzi's hands tightened between the fevered shouts and the blurring of light and shadow, he fought to remember which shape was real — the tender hand that soothed him, or the monstrous maw that wanted to consume him whole.
His fingers trembled as he reached up, unsure whether he meant to touch the man's face or tear it away. The room spun. The fire hissed. The smell of iron filled his lungs. He couldn't distinguish anymore his eyes grew hollow as the voices rejoiced.
From the depths of his hair, he drew a fine silver thread, thin as a whisper, glinting with menace in the firelight flickering against the cave walls. His fingers moved deftly, the thread looped between them like a weapon disguised as elegance.
In one swift flick of his wrist, he brought the thread toward Shudu's exposed throat.
But Shudu's fiery red eye snapped open—the moment of betrayal caught in its gleam. Instinct surged before thought. His hand rose in a blur, intercepting the thread—only for the sharp filament to slice through flesh and bone. His severed hand fell with a sickening thud to the dirt floor, blood gushing out in a torrential stream.
"Bitch!" Shudu roared, fury exploding from his core as he hurled Xue Tuzi off of him with a vicious snarl. The beautiful traitor hit the ground hard, a breath knocked from his lungs. Blood splattered the cave floor in a widening pool, and Shudu stood over him, panting, the wound on his chest now reopened and oozing thick rivulets down his abdomen. Before Xue Tuzi could scramble for the thread again, Shudu drove his foot into his side with brutal force. The impact sent Xue Tuzi crashing against the jagged cave wall, stones cracking beneath his weight.
"This was your plan all along?" Shudu spat, his voice trembling with wrath. His entire frame shook, his muscles twitching beneath blood-slick skin, torn between heartbreak and rage.
Xue Tuzi groaned, clutching his side as he tried to rise—but Shudu was on him before he could get his footing. One powerful hand closed around his throat, lifting him off the ground with terrifying ease.
"If you wanted to reunite with him so badly," Shudu growled, his voice low and venomous, "you should've told me. You could've spared me the sweet words, the mock tenderness." His grip tightened until Xue Tuzi choked, face turning red, eyes wide.
The air around him shifted darker, colder. Then it began.
His form twisted grotesquely, violently. The edges of his mouth tore wider, stretching unnaturally, revealing rows of jagged, gleaming teeth. From the corners of his lips, serrated pincers unfurled, twitching with hunger. His tongue unspooled, long and thick, lashing the air with lewd, taunting flicks as it dangled inches from Xue Tuzi's terrified face.
Then came the eye. His third one. It opened on his forehead with a wet snap, its pupil darting in erratic circles before locking onto Xue Tuzi. It curved upward into a deranged crescent, as though smiling, as though enjoying his horror. With a sickening crunch of bones, two more arms sprouted from his shoulders, skeletal at first, then sheathing in skin and muscle in seconds. His severed limb regenerated swiftly, a fresh new hand blooming from the ruined stump. His long, once-elegant braid unraveled into greasy black strands that lifted like the feelers of some monstrous insect, rising with the oppressive weight of his demonic qi as it consumed him.
He no longer looked like the man who had held Xue Tuzi so tenderly. He was something else entirely—something ancient, vile, parasitic. A nightmare in flesh.
Xue Tuzi could only stare, paralyzed, his beautiful face frozen in horror. He knew he could not escape. There was no trick, no thread fine enough to save him now. And yet, even as his voice failed him, he forced out one final word, hoarse and bitter:
"Monster."
Shudu's tongue, long and serpentine, slithered around Xue Tuzi's slender neck, coiling like a noose. He drew the trembling beauty closer to his gaping jaws, so close that the heat of his breath washed over Xue Tuzi's skin like steam rising from the mouth of a furnace. His fangs glistened, saliva dripping from the sharp points as he opened wide—wide enough to crush bone, to cleave through flesh.
He had never out of his own volition devoured humans before. Never crossed that final line. But Xue Tuzi had pushed him to the brink—had played him, deceived him, left him drowning in the wreckage of what he thought was love. It was only fitting, then, that the punishment be poetic. That Xue Tuzi's end come at the hands—and jaws—of the very monster he loathed most.
Shudu's fangs descended, ready to shatter his skull in a single bite—until his gaze caught something.
Tears.
Silent, helpless tears streamed down Xue Tuzi's pale cheeks, trailing through the smudges of dirt and blood. His lashes were wet, his lips trembling, his body limp in Shudu's grip. And just like that, the rage paused—briefly but violently—colliding with the aching weight in Shudu's chest.
His heart, traitorous and yearning, still ached for him.
Even now.
Even after all the lies. Even after the betrayal.
Xue Tuzi sobbed quietly, choked by the pressure of Shudu's tongue at his throat. He could barely breathe, barely speak—but his sorrow was raw, unmistakable.
"Death…" Shudu growled, voice thick with contempt and grief, "is too merciful for you."
With a snarl, he flung Xue Tuzi aside like discarded prey. He hit the ground with a cry, but before he could gather himself, Shudu was already upon him. His claws plunged into Xue Tuzi's face, dragging down from cheekbone to jaw with brutal force. Blood sprayed, and he screamed, the sound high and shrill, echoing through the cave like the wail of a dying creature. Shudu's third eye pulsed with wicked joy. It gleamed brightly, twitching with euphoria as it drank in the pain. Violet light built within it, thick and unstable, until the pupil widened unnaturally—darting back and forth, trembling with manic energy.
"I don't want your death," Shudu hissed, kneeling beside the writhing figure. "I want your suffering. I want you to pay—everything you owe me."
He grabbed Xue Tuzi's jaw, forcing his mouth open. The violet fluid leaking from his third eye began to drip, slow and deliberate, like venom from a fang. It fell onto Xue Tuzi's tongue with a wet plop, thick and sour. Xue Tuzi gagged immediately, retching at the taste. His body convulsed as he tried to spit it out, but Shudu slapped a hand over his mouth, sealing it shut.
"Swallow it," Shudu snarled, eyes blazing. "Swallow it all."
Xue Tuzi struggled weakly, eyes rolling back as the bitter liquid burned its way down his throat. His limbs twitched, spasming, as the poison took hold. His irises flickered from black to white, then to a blinding, unnatural light. The glow spread across his pupils like wildfire, his expression contorting in shock and agony.
Then silence.
His body slackened, head lolling to the side. Consciousness slipped from him like water through broken fingers. Shudu knelt beside him, watching—not with satisfaction, but with a hollow, trembling ache in his chest. He yanked Xue Tuzi up by the hair, dragging him like a lifeless rag doll. His fingers curled into his scalp, nails biting into the fragile skin of his skull. His hand trembled—not from effort, but from something broken.
"I must be a damn fool…" he muttered, voice low and ragged. "An idiot for not finishing you off when I had the chance."
But the fury behind his eyes flickered, then dimmed. His grip loosened. Slowly, almost reluctantly, he sank to his knees, gathering Xue Tuzi's limp body into his arms. The weight of him, light and frail, felt unbearably familiar. He gazed down at him, the once-deadly tension in his jaw softening. His thumb brushed gently against the tiny mole beneath Xue Tuzi's lip—the same place he used to kiss absentmindedly, like a secret no one else knew.
A sigh slipped from his lips. Wordless. Heavy.
With practiced care, he wrapped Xue Tuzi in his own coat, pulling the fabric snug around his bruised and bloodied frame. Then he propped him gently against the cave wall, ensuring he wouldn't slump, his head resting slightly to the side. Shudu's demonic form faded away like a shadow at dusk, his monstrous features dissolving until only the man remained—battered, tired, but human. He dressed in silence, glancing over his shoulder now and then as if expecting Xue Tuzi to wake. But the beauty lay still.
Before leaving, Shudu knelt once more, his fingers brushing lightly across Xue Tuzi's cheek. The touch lingered, reluctant to let go. A farewell that wasn't quite final, he stood took one last glance and then he turned on his heel and vanished into the cave's mouth, the firelight swallowing his silhouette.
⸻
A shrill alarm blared inside Xue Laohu's head, piercing through the remnants of sleep like a dagger. His eyes snapped open, heart already pounding. He was lying sprawled across the silken sheets of Xue Tuzi's bed—but the bed was empty.
The system screamed into his mind like a siren.
ALERT. ALERT.
SHOU MC IN CRITICAL CONDITION.
ALERT. ALERT.
"Shit—!" he gasped, bolting upright. His heart dropped to his stomach as he scanned the room, panic already rising. "Where the hell is he?!"
"Coordinates—now!" he barked, stumbling to his feet, rubbing the exhaustion from his eyes as he reached for his weapons.
SHOU MC LOCATION: 15 LI WEST OF QINGYU CUN.
Just as Xue Laohu unsheathed his sword, his steps faltered to a dead stop. The system's words echoed again in his mind:
"15 li west of Qingyu Cun."
His brows furrowed. "Wait… isn't that—" His stomach dropped. "That's where Shudu is."
"Damn it!" he snarled, slamming his fist against the wooden frame of the inn's door. The impact rattled the beams and startled the patrons just outside, who quickly turned away, giving him wide-eyed glances and a wider berth.
"What the hell were you thinking, A-Tuzi?" he muttered, jaw clenched. Without another word, he leapt onto his sword, the blade humming to life beneath his feet, and soared into the sky—cutting through wind and clouds like a streak of light.
The coordinates led him straight to the mouth of the cave where Shudu had once taken shelter. But as he landed, sword clinking softly against stone, he found no demon waiting—only devastation.The air was thick and heavy, reeking of damp soil and something sweeter, sicklier—like fermented fruit left to rot in the sun. Shadows clung to the corners of the cave, curling like silent witnesses.
And there, half-hidden in darkness, lay Xue Tuzi.
"A-Tuzi!" Xue Laohu dropped to his knees, skidding the last few feet across the gritty ground. Xue Tuzi was curled on his side, trembling like a leaf in a storm. His usually vibrant eyes were dull and unfocused, glazed with pain, lips parted around shallow, rattling breaths. His skin was flushed and naked, covered in deep bruises and teeth marks, and yet he shivered violently, as though locked in the heart of winter.
Xue Laohu hesitated, his hands hovering over him, afraid to touch. "What the hell happened to you?" he breathed, voice sharp with worry, more to himself than to the broken man before him. Xue Tuzi whimpered softly. His body jerked in a spasm, fingers digging into the earth, dirt caked under his nails. Muscles pulled tight as bowstrings, ready to snap under pressure.
"Shit—damn it, hang on!" Xue Laohu cursed, shoving down the swell of panic rising in his chest. He slipped one arm behind Xue Tuzi's shoulders, the other under his knees, and lifted him carefully. Xue Tuzi's weight was alarmingly light—he felt too fragile in his arms, like porcelain burned too long in fire. His body was fever-hot, radiating a heat that seemed to scald Xue Laohu's skin, yet his breaths came in faint, ghostlike pants.
"Stay with me," Xue Laohu murmured, his voice low but desperate. "You're gonna be okay. You have to be okay."
He pressed Xue Tuzi's face against his shoulder, shielding him as he stepped out of the cave. The world blurred around him as he took off again, sword slicing through the forest canopy. Branches whipped against his arms, scratching and tearing at his sleeves, but he didn't slow down. He didn't even feel them. All he could hear was the sound of Xue Tuzi's breathing, fragile and fading. All he could think about was getting him back—before it was too late.