Chapter Twenty-Seven: Guidance

On the roof of a residential building, Qin Changsheng and Cao Mengmeng stood face to face.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Cao Mengmeng looked into Qin Changsheng’s eyes, confirming once more. "You might very well die."

"I am sure," Qin Changsheng nodded.

Faced with his affirmative reply, Cao Mengmeng sighed lightly. "I will say it again: I still think you are crazy, and quite severely at that."

"But I hope you come back alive."

Cao Mengmeng raised her hand, and a mass of substance coalesced in the air beside her. This time, however, the liquid mass was not blood-red, but a soft white, like fine snow.

"What is this?" Qin Changsheng looked at the white liquid mass taking shape in the air, a look of confusion on his face.

That thing was surely a Shanhai Beast, but the aura it radiated was completely different from "Little Red," whom he had met before. It was common knowledge that each person should only have one Shanhai Beast, yet the one Cao Mengmeng was summoning now was clearly not Little Red.

The pure white liquid mass gradually formed a human shape in the air. It had a perfect, curvaceous figure, yet this time there were no terrifying gaping maws or scales and claws. With long, snow-white hair cascading over her shoulders, Qin Changsheng saw a perfectly proportioned face. The face lacked distinct features, possessing only a pair of eyes without pupils, yet for some reason, it felt aesthetically sublime.

The Italian artist Michelangelo once said that he saw an angel in the marble and carved until he set her free. A stone holds its inherent beauty long before it is sculpted, and this face was like a piece of raw marble; though featureless, one could foresee a perfect visage, angelic in nature.

Qin Changsheng was so stunned by this Shanhai Beast he was seeing for the first time that he did not know what to say. Cao Mengmeng, the owner of the beast, reached out at the right moment and introduced her: "This is my other Shanhai Beast, Little White."

"Wait a moment." Qin Changsheng shook his head vigorously to clear it and posed the question that had just occurred to him. "Why do you have two Shanhai Beasts? Where did Little Red go?"

"Little Red is here too." Cao Mengmeng raised her other hand, and a red liquid mass began to coalesce on the other side of her. This time, it formed the familiar Little Red.

Little Red and Little White were similar in stature, but the impressions they gave were diametrically opposed. One possessed the aggressive nature of blood-red, while the other held a pure, soft divinity.

"Strictly speaking, the two of them should be considered a single Shanhai Beast," Cao Mengmeng explained. "Hotpot demons are always twins; they were born from the same pot, sisters who are inextricably intertwined, a coexisting entity that cannot be separated."

She turned to face Qin Changsheng and said with great seriousness, "I will absolutely not follow you in what you are about to do. Because unlike you, I am not crazy enough to throw my life away for nothing."

"You find a way to distract the Rice Flower Hero and the Corpse Mountain, and I will stay here to try and dig out Dong Huan and Wu Tongyu. I hope they are both still alive."

"Although I won’t go with you, I can let Little White do you a favor."

As Cao Mengmeng spoke, Little White stepped toward Qin Changsheng. She appeared to be walking, but Qin Changsheng looked closely and realized her feet were not touching the ground; she was floating through the air, drifting directly toward him.

Little White drifted before Qin Changsheng. He looked up and could see that soft, beautiful face lowered, gazing at him.

Qin Changsheng felt a bit nervous and quickly turned his attention back to Cao Mengmeng. "You said 'a favor'—how exactly? Your Shanhai Beast shouldn't be able to stray too far from you, right? She won't be able to follow me."

"She doesn't need to follow you," Cao Mengmeng said. "She only needs to give you something."

Cao Mengmeng did not elaborate. Qin Changsheng looked up, his gaze locking with Little White’s eyes. Although she lacked pupils, for some reason, Qin Changsheng knew he was being watched. He swallowed subconsciously, and then, he saw Little White’s face drawing closer and closer to his own...

...

The air was filled with the smell of burning.

Explosions erupted everywhere, plunging the entire city into flames. In the smoke that blotted out the sun, a black figure was darting rapidly between the buildings, as swift as a shadow. This shadow was Qin Changsheng, who was in a desperate search for the Corpse Mountain.

Where was that monster now?

Qin Changsheng was anxious, as he saw the number branded on his arm dropping rapidly—from 113 to 109, and now it had plummeted to 101. During this time, his precious life was slipping away bit by bit. Qin Changsheng knew he had to end this as soon as possible.

His reason remained intact; he did not search like a headless chicken but instead sprinted toward the sound of constant explosions in the distance. He knew those explosions were the signals the Rice Flower Hero used to lure the Corpse Mountain. As long as he followed the sounds, he would inevitably find the monster.

Qin Changsheng’s eyes scanned the intricate city streets below. He knew the disparity in strength between him and the Corpse Mountain was vast. Even with the item Cao Mengmeng had just given him, the probability of winning was infinitely close to zero. He actually agreed with Cao Meng, that his actions were absolute madness.

However, Qin Changsheng’s heart was calm. It was the first time in many years he had felt such peace, because he knew he was walking the right path. Xifeng Lie had used his own death to reveal the answer to him, allowing Qin Changsheng to discover the Corpse Mountain’s most fatal weakness. Now, it was time for him to repay that.

"Boom!"

Just as he reached an open intersection, an explosion rang out nearby, instantly drawing Qin Changsheng’s attention. The Mo-Mo above him immediately turned, carrying him toward the site of the blast. It was the Baolong Plaza in Xiasha; the explosion came from inside the mall, smashing a massive hole in the glass curtain wall and sending out billowing smoke. Upon entering the hundred-meter sensing range, Qin Changsheng immediately perceived the presence of a Shanhai Beast inside the mall.

Qin Changsheng knew without needing to be told that this Shanhai Beast belonged to the Rice Flower Hero. Aside from this signal, Qin Changsheng did not sense any other Shanhai Beasts, which meant the Rice Flower Hero was likely hunting down a group of ordinary people.

He could not stand by and watch!

Qin Changsheng prepared to enter through the hole blasted in the glass wall, but as he approached, he saw a figure standing by the shattered glass, slowly emerging from the breach.

In a fateful intersection, Qin Changsheng and the Rice Flower Hero were face to face once more.

Using the jointed limbs extended by Mo-Mo, Qin Changsheng landed steadily on the ground. The Rice Flower Hero looked down at him, the emoticon on his head wearing a mocking, semi-smiling expression.

Neither spoke. Qin Changsheng did not rush forward immediately, because he knew his target was not the Rice Flower Hero before him, but...

*Skree—*

With a jarring sound of metal scraping against the ground, a massive, bloated figure slowly emerged from the mall entrance. The human bodies clinging to the Corpse Mountain’s grotesque frame lifted their heads one by one, reaching their hands toward Qin Changsheng. Inside the cage atop its neck, countless humanoid figures resembling vengeful ghosts gripped the iron bars and began to sing a dirge.

The Corpse Mountain was covered in blood, and as it walked toward Qin Changsheng, it dragged a bloody trail behind it. Its serrated meat cleaver had been broken by Xifeng Lie; in its hand now was a rusted, bent street sign, dragged along the ground the entire way.

Just as Qin Changsheng had predicted, wherever the Rice Flower Hero was, the Corpse Mountain could be found.

This time, Qin Changsheng did not run. Instead, he walked straight toward the Corpse Mountain. He knew that the closer he got, the safer he would be. Although the Rice Flower Hero used explosions to lead the Corpse Mountain to kill, he was, at the end of the day, just one of the many survivors. According to the rules, if he encountered the Corpse Mountain, he too would be subject to indiscriminate attack.

Therefore, the Rice Flower Hero always carefully controlled the distance and position between himself and the Corpse Mountain to avoid being caught in its range. The closer Qin Changsheng stood to the Corpse Mountain, the less the Rice Flower Hero could strike; that guy would never risk exposing himself to the monster.

With that, the only thing he really had to watch out for was the Corpse Mountain standing before him.

"Come on!" Qin Changsheng shouted in his heart.

He only had one chance, and he was determined to end this once and for all.