Chapter Nineteen: Siblings

With the final deafening crash, the residential building completely collapsed, reduced to a pile of shattered stones and bricks, surrounded by layers of faint dust that hung in the air like mist.

Qin Changsheng descended slowly from the sky, carrying Cao Mengmeng, and landed in the middle of a lawn beside the building.

This was a residential complex, with an artificial river running through a rocky garden nearby. The once-clear stream had turned murky yellow, tainted by the dust and debris stirred up from the collapsed building.

No sooner had Cao Mengmeng touched the ground than she shook off Qin Changsheng’s hand and dashed straight toward the now-stabilized ruins.

Qin Changsheng stumbled backward a few steps, hesitating as he watched her retreating figure.

He knew what Cao Mengmeng intended to do. When the building fell, except for her and Qin Changsheng, all her other teammates were still trapped inside.

The way she had shaken off his hand was laden with resentment, as if blaming him for what had happened.

This left Qin Changsheng somewhat frustrated. Earlier, it was Cao Mengmeng who had stopped him from rushing in to help, and now she was angry with him for not rescuing the others. So it was all his fault?

Given the circumstances just moments before, he had only managed to save Cao Mengmeng. He was no omnipotent savior—he had already accepted that truth when he failed to save Chen Yuanyuan.

Cao Mengmeng sprinted up the mound of debris and shouted, “Xiao Hong!”

At her voice, the red fish-headed creature instantly materialized beside her. Without needing a command, Xiao Hong understood her master’s intent and fiercely dug into the ground with its sharp claws.

At that moment, Qin Changsheng also sensed something. Within Momo’s perception, it felt as if a needle was piercing the rubble beneath them.

It was the reaction of the Shanhai Beast—there were still living people trapped beneath the ruins!

Knowing this, Qin Changsheng hurriedly ran up, commanding Momo to assist Cao Mengmeng in digging. Although he knew he couldn’t save everyone, he would never give up on anyone he could rescue.

“Let me!” he said as he reached Cao Mengmeng’s side. Momo transformed into a dozen stone picks, swinging swiftly to break apart the stones pressing down on the debris.

Momo’s strength far exceeded that of Xiao Hong, who wisely stepped aside, watching Qin Changsheng work anxiously.

The rubble bulged in the center like a grave mound. Qin Changsheng dug from the highest point of the mound downward. Before the building collapsed, Xi Fenglie and the others had been on the rooftop, so they shouldn’t be buried too deeply.

As the stones crumbled bit by bit, Qin Changsheng increasingly sensed the life force of the Shanhai Beast releasing outward.

Beyond that, he seemed to hear a faint but continuous sound coming from beneath the rubble. At first, he thought it was just the wind whistling through gaps in the debris, but soon he realized something was amiss.

The sound grew louder, as if it were actively approaching him!

After a moment’s hesitation, Qin Changsheng suddenly understood and grabbed Cao Mengmeng, who was just watching, shouting, “Wait, get away! Something’s coming up!”

“What…” Cao Mengmeng’s words were cut off as Qin Changsheng pulled her down from the mound.

Moments after they moved aside, a “boom” echoed as the highest part of the mound was violently burst open from within, sending up another cloud of dust.

Qin Changsheng, having taken shelter, was nonetheless caught in a shower of dust and coughed several times before he could open his eyes again and look toward the peak of the rubble.

Through the haze, a figure stood, metallic reflections flickering through the dust and catching Qin Changsheng’s gaze.

He saw countless sharp swords floating in midair, gradually converging toward the center of the smoke, forming another silhouette beside the figure. At this, Qin Changsheng relaxed.

“Alie!” Cao Mengmeng, standing beside him, recognized the person on the rubble—the same Xi Fenglie who had been left on the rooftop earlier. She instinctively wanted to run up, but Qin Changsheng noticed her halt immediately.

Cao Mengmeng’s reason had overcome her impulse; she wasn’t sure if Xi Fenglie’s hallucinations had truly lifted yet, so she dared not act rashly.

The air fell into a prolonged silence as neither side spoke first.

Time seemed to freeze until Xi Fenglie, standing atop the rubble, lowered his head and glanced toward Qin Changsheng and Cao Mengmeng. His lips parted slightly, and everyone tensed to the utmost.

“Cool NiuNiu, are you both alright?”

Despite the crudeness of the online nickname, Qin Changsheng and Cao Mengmeng both breathed a sigh of relief the instant they heard it.

Thank goodness—the hallucinations had finally lifted!

Seeing the two visibly relieved, Xi Fenglie looked somewhat puzzled. “What’s wrong with you two? Where am I? I saw us being chased by a mountain of corpses, and then the building suddenly collapsed for some reason. Where did the mountain of corpses go?”

“There was no mountain of corpses at all,” Cao Mengmeng finally smiled. “Everything you saw was an illusion—an attack by the enemy’s Shanhai Beast.”

“Enemy!? Where are they?” Xi Fenglie immediately became alert, the sword demon Longyuan spreading its sharp blades like a hedgehog, all pointed outward.

“Since the illusion has disappeared, it means the enemy must have been crushed beneath the rubble by now,” Cao Mengmeng sighed. “I told you before, that Wu Yutong you brought back is suspicious. She’s the one who trapped us in the hallucination.”

“Wu Yutong? That can’t be!” Xi Fenglie’s expression changed instantly.

“Of course it can,” Cao Mengmeng counted off on her fingers, “First, I noticed something wrong with her eyes. Second, you said their team was wiped out by the mountain of corpses—that’s impossible.”

“The mountain of corpses drags the bodies of its victims inside. If they had truly been attacked and annihilated by it, no bodies would remain at the scene. Her team was definitely killed by her own ability to create illusions.”

Cao Mengmeng’s reasoning sounded plausible, yet Xi Fenglie’s reaction was not what they had anticipated.

“What nonsense are you talking?” he snapped angrily at her flawless logic. “First, you say there’s something wrong with her eyes because she’s had hereditary cataracts since childhood. Second, the pile of corpses at the scene were left because the mountain of corpses hadn’t yet eaten them—they were distracted by an explosion from somewhere else. Third, and most importantly, she doesn’t have a Shanhai Beast at all!”

“Wait!” Qin Changsheng, who had been listening quietly, suddenly spotted a problem. “How do you know Wu Yutong has had hereditary cataracts since childhood? Isn’t this your first time meeting her?”

Xi Fenglie was momentarily speechless. Cao Mengmeng also sensed something was amiss. It was clear Xi Fenglie was hiding something.

“Alie,” Cao Mengmeng’s voice grew serious. “Tell us the truth—what exactly is going on with Wu Yutong?”

After hesitating, Xi Fenglie finally sighed. “Alright, this is very private. I didn’t want to tell you.”

“Wu Yutong… she’s actually my sister.”