Gazing at the prey's eyes trembling with despair, Blood Butcher's excitement gradually intensified, and he couldn't help licking his lips.
As if seeing through Mu Yao's thoughts, Blood Butcher continued leisurely.
"That fellow Vain mentioned to me before that he had made an interesting 'friend' outside. Now it seems she is just a vulnerable little girl."
He paused, the malice in his eyes growing thicker. "Well, killing a toy he is interested in can at least give that self-righteous guy some trouble."
Every word from Blood Butcher was like a sharp knife, precisely piercing the softest part of Mu Yao's heart.
Her brain felt as if it had been filled with ice water, completely freezing over, and she was simply unable to think about whether the other party was deceiving her.
Perhaps she didn't dare to think about it, or perhaps she was already numb in her subconscious, but she would rather curl up in this boundless despair than accept that cruel fact.
Time passed slowly in the dead silence, and every second seemed to be stretched countless times.
Mu Yao lay in the cold puddle, her eyes gradually losing focus and finally becoming completely hollow.
Blood Butcher stood to the side, watching all this with great interest.
Seeing that the prey's life was coming to an end, he licked his lips, a trace of cruel excitement flashing in his eyes.
"The game should be over."
Mu Yao closed her eyes tightly, waiting for the arrival of death.
Just then, a voice she couldn't be more familiar with drifted over, mixed with the sound of rain.
"It's as vicious as ever, Senior."
Mu Yao abruptly opened her eyes. Even though the rain hit her face and her vision was blurred, she recognized that handsome figure at a glance.
She wanted to call out, but her body could no longer support her.
She only felt darkness before her eyes, and finally lowered her eyelids powerlessly, fainting completely.
Vain looked at the disheveled little girl on the ground, slowly withdrew his gaze, then looked at Blood Butcher, his tone filled with mockery.
"Senior, how old are you? Having suffered a loss yourself, you want to vent your anger on a little girl to save face?"
"Isn't that too degrading? To put it bluntly, aren't you being cheap?"
"Hmph, stinking brat, I advise you to mind your words!"
Hearing this, Vain smiled disdainfully.
The next second, Vain's figure suddenly disappeared from Blood Butcher's field of vision.
When Vain's voice sounded again, he had already appeared by his side.
"Tsk tsk tsk, I've been away for less than a quarter of an hour. How could it end up like this?"
Blood Butcher trembled violently all over, subconsciously taking several steps back.
Looking at Vain, who was bending over to check carefully, he was terrified in his heart.
Teleportation, or just pure speed? He hadn't been able to react at all, and couldn't even see the other's movements clearly.
The former ignored Blood Butcher completely, his gaze firmly fixed on Mu Yao's bloodless face.
He poked her cold arm with his fingertip, and seeing no response from her, he pouted helplessly. "Severe hypothermia and excessive blood loss... Tsk tsk tsk, you girl are lucky. Any later and you'd have been beyond saving."
Immediately afterward, Vain slightly bent over, steadily wrapping one hand around Mu Yao's slender waist and passing his other hand through the crook of her knees, picking her up horizontally in a standard princess carry.
Mu Yao, in her coma, seemed to feel the warmth beside her. Her brows slightly relaxed, and she subconsciously shrank into his arms.
Vain's oblivious action also ignited Blood Butcher's anger.
"Brat, I advise you to think carefully. She is my prey!"
"Hey, old man, get your facts straight. The one who should weigh his own strength now is you. If you talk nonsense again, I don't mind cleaning you up once more."
"You're courting death!"
Blood Butcher, who had long been secretly gathering strength, had red light flashing in his eyes as he swung his single hand fiercely like a blade.
A solid, blood-jade-like crimson crescent abruptly burst through the air, heading straight for the two of them with a howling wind.
The next second, it penetrated Vain and Mu Yao's bodies without any obstruction and slammed into the building behind them with unabated momentum.
Amid splashing bricks and stones, the building was forcibly torn open with a huge crack, surrounded by rolling smoke and dust.
Blood Butcher watched his attack succeed, a rampant smile appearing on his face.
"Bang!"
However, a crisp gunshot suddenly broke through the rain curtain, forcibly interrupting his complacency.
"They all say powerful Ability Users are superior to mortals, but it doesn't seem to be the case."
Blood Butcher stared grimly at his empty right hand, then looked back angrily.
Vain, who should have been cut into two pieces by his crimson crescent, was now standing behind him holding Mu Yao, and both of them were completely unscathed.
Vain still wore a bantering smile on the corner of his mouth, as if the attack just now had been nothing more than a joke.
He calmly put away his pistol, the muzzle still retaining a faint smell of gunpowder smoke.
"This kind of minor injury shouldn't affect you much, right?"
"Hmph."
Blood Butcher let out a soft huff, and blood suddenly oozed rapidly from his severed hand. Instead of dripping down, however, it condensed and reconstructed at the broken end.
Shortly afterward, his palm returned to normal as before, without even a trace of a scar left behind.
"Brat, are you really going to turn traitor for a girl?"
"Hmph, I said that besides her, I won't interfere in other matters."
"How interesting. Could it be that you actually like this girl?"
"I suggest you don't challenge my patience, Senior," Vain spoke in a cold tone.
Having said that, he ignored the other party's expression, which was as dark as the bottom of a pot, turned around while holding Mu Yao, and walked away slowly.
Leaving only a bland sentence behind.
"Otherwise, I will grind you completely into dust, and then I really wonder if you can still survive."
A light sentence, but between the lines, it was full of undisguised threats.
Faced with such naked humiliation, Blood Butcher trembled with anger, but forcibly suppressed the impulse to make a move.
He knew very well that his state had not fully recovered, and Vain's strength was unfathomable, still making him unable to see through his true depth.
Until Vain's figure completely merged into the rain curtain and could no longer be seen, Blood Butcher slowly loosened his clenched fists, the depths of his eyes surging with irrepressible anger and unwillingness.
"Do you really think I can do nothing to you? Once I recover from my injuries and absorb the power of this world!"
"At that time, I'd like to see if you can still be as smug as you are now."
...
Not long after, Mu Yao finally woke up slowly from her coma, taking a great deal of effort to slightly open her eyes.
"Yo, I didn't expect you to wake up so soon?"
Hearing the familiar voice, Mu Yao's entire mind instantly became much clearer.
She abruptly opened her eyes and saw Vain's familiar and handsome face appearing opposite her.
Vain crossed his arms, leaning his body casually against the wall, his posture lazy and relaxed.
He looked up at Mu Yao, a casual smile hanging on the corner of his mouth. "It's very safe here for now. You can rest assured."
However, how could Mu Yao care about that at the moment?
Her whole body was still extremely weak, and she could only grit her teeth, struggling to wriggle her body and moving bit by bit toward the wall, trying her best to prop up half her body against it while panting heavily.
Seeing this scene, Vain couldn't help raising his eyebrows, a trace of genuine surprise flashing in his eyes. "What an amazing willpower."
"And your Special Ability seems to be unconsciously healing your body. Although the effect is negligible, it's enough to save your life."
His tone carried a bit of praise. After all, under such severe, near-death injuries, being able to hold on through sheer willpower and Special Ability wasn't something just anyone could do.
Mu Yao ignored his words, gazing blankly at his handsome and amiable face while countless pictures flashed through her mind like a movie.
She remembered their accidental meeting at the beginning, when he was so gentle and interesting. She remembered how, later, she always dragged him along to play, and he always agreed with a smile. She remembered the panic and sweetness she felt when she discovered her feelings.
But until just now...
Recalling this, Mu Yao slowly lowered her eyelids, her long eyelashes casting a small shadow beneath her eyes, her mood incomparably complicated.
Vain naturally noticed her abnormality. He raised his eyebrows, reached out to scratch his chin, and his tone carried a hint of teasing surprise. "Hey, little girl, you wouldn't really have fallen for me, would you?"
Hearing the other party's words, Mu Yao's eyelashes trembled slightly, and the dimness in the depths of her eyes grew a little deeper.
She cautiously raised her moist eyes, making eye contact with Vain, and her voice trembled.
"You... were you acting all along in the past, and was this mystic realm also caused by you?"