53: Ah Fei's worries and the strange cat demon

Xiao Hongyuan immediately stepped in to fill the gap, using a Wave Split Slash to launch a zombie that was about to rush forward. A blue sword silhouette appeared; at this moment, the zombie crowd was dense, and under the shroud of the sword silhouette, nearly half of the zombies were within the attack range.

“Just like that! We'll use area-of-effect skills in a relay! A Fei, get ready!” Xiao Hongyuan commanded loudly.

After the sword silhouette of the Wave Split Slash vanished, A Fei immediately stepped forward, also starting with a Wave Split Slash. Swaths of zombies were enveloped by the sword silhouette. Furthermore, given the characteristics of A Fei's weapon, although its attack power wasn't high against the current zombies, the light attribute attacks and the occasionally triggered falling thunder still dealt significant damage to the corpse crowd.

Quan Wudi, with perfect timing, released a Vajra Shatter after A Fei's skill ended, knocking down all the zombies approaching the group.

Jian Wuxie immediately released a Mountain Collapse Strike on the zombies that had just scrambled up, the immense force knocking the entire crowd down once more. He followed up with a Cross Slash; enhanced by the Greatsword's attack, the blood-red Cross Sword Qi swept through, and two zombies within the crowd could be seen dissipating into white light.

“Yes, fight like that! Keep going!” Xiao Hongyuan shouted.

With the four of them coordinating seamlessly, the group of zombies was eliminated one by one, safely and without incident, as they took turns using their skills.

Quan Wudi slumped onto the ground, pulled out some rum, took a swig, and said while panting heavily, “It's finally over. If we kept fighting, I would have run out of Spirit Power.”

The other three were in no better shape. They opened their panels, saw their nearly empty 'Spirit Power' values, and all pulled out rum to drink.

Jian Wuxie stood up and gathered all the gray beads from the ground, distributing them to the others as he said, “These Destruction Memories are actually quite easy to obtain; almost every zombie drops one after it dies.”

Xiao Hongyuan, however, noticed something odd about A Fei. Even though the battle was over, the fear in A Fei's eyes had not dissipated. He sat alone to one side, drinking his rum with a pale and somber expression.

She stood up and walked gently to A Fei's side, placing her hand on his head and asking softly, “Xiao Fei, what's wrong?”

When Xiao Hongyuan's hand touched his head, his body visibly flinched. He looked up and saw it was Xiao Hongyuan before relaxing again.

A strained smile appeared on A Fei's face as he said, “I'm fine!”

The interaction between Xiao Hongyuan and A Fei naturally drew the attention of Jian Wuxie and Quan Wudi.

Quan Wudi walked over to A Fei, grabbed his arm with a large hand to pull him up, and said loudly, “Xiao Fei, tell your Brother Quan what's on your mind. Let your big brother see what's bothering you so much that you've lost your soul?”

Jian Wuxie chimed in from the side, “Yeah, don't be so indecisive like a coward. Speak up, let us hear it.”

A Fei was somewhat moved by their concern. After hesitating for a moment, he spoke with a trembling voice, “Those zombies reminded me of some bad things.”

Under Jian Wuxie's questioning, A Fei continued shakily, “Back when our Mo Qian Sect fought the Great War against the Demonic Path, there was a Cultivator among the Demonic Path Cultivators who could control corpses. He turned the broken bodies of our fallen Mo Qian Sect members into Corpse Slaves to continue attacking us.”

“My mother was also refined into a Corpse Slave by him, and I had no choice but to tear her body apart with my own hands. I didn't want to, I really didn't want to.” As A Fei spoke, two lines of tears slowly flowed down his youthful face.

The three listened in silence. Having fought together for so long, they had all forgotten that A Fei was still just a fourteen-year-old boy. Carrying the blood feud of the fallen Mo Qian Sect, his strength was merely a surface-level disguise.

After a long while, Xiao Hongyuan reached out to wipe the tears from A Fei's face, saying with heartache, “It's not your fault. Those Demonic Path Cultivators deserve a thousand deaths. Don't worry, one day we will completely wipe out those beasts.”

Quan Wudi reached out and patted A Fei's shoulder, saying, “A real man doesn't shed tears easily. Don't cry anymore. Cultivate hard, and one day you'll be able to take revenge with your own hands.”

Jian Wuxie rested his Greatsword on his shoulder and said in a deep voice, “When that time comes, remember to tell me. I'll help you!”

A Fei's suppressed emotions were clearly vented after crying. He wiped away his tears, and his expression became resolute once more. With that unyielding posture, who would dare say he was just a fourteen-year-old child?

Xiao Hongyuan drank some rum to recover and spoke solemnly, “Let's continue. It seems this place really isn't simple. Don't be careless anymore.”

The four continued forward and soon arrived at the next room.

Jian Wuxie peeked through the bushes ahead to observe, then paused in surprise. He turned back to the others and said, “There's only a strange Cat Demon here. There aren't any other monsters, not even a single zombie.”

“A strange Cat Demon? How strange?” Quan Wudi's curiosity was piqued.

Jian Wuxie moved aside, gesturing for Quan Wudi to see for himself.

Quan Wudi leaned forward and parted the obscuring bushes. He saw a Cat Demon lying in the clearing. Aside from a ring of fluffy fur around its neck, it looked somewhat like Jian Wuxie's Lion Doll Suit.

“Hehe, it looks just like your Avatar. It's not a relative of yours, is it?” Quan Wudi turned back and joked.

Jian Wuxie gnashed his teeth in anger and kicked Quan Wudi in the butt.

“Ouch!” Quan Wudi, caught off guard, was kicked out of the bushes by Jian Wuxie, exposing himself to the Cat Demon's line of sight.

The Cat Demon suddenly saw a stranger and immediately stood up straight on two legs, alert, looking at Quan Wudi.

Though reckless, Quan Wudi wasn't brainless. He watched the upright Cat Demon cautiously, preparing for battle.

Seeing they were exposed, Xiao Hongyuan immediately parted the bushes, and all three of them walked out.

The orange Cat Demon looked at the four people standing ready with a face full of confusion. It tilted its head and scratched it with a furry paw: “Meow~~”

A Fei asked in confusion, “What's going on? It doesn't seem aggressive.”

Xiao Hongyuan said cautiously, “Don't act rashly. Let's watch a bit longer.”

The Cat Demon rolled on the ground and stretched, showing no intention of attacking the four. Instead, it quickly dug a small hole in the ground with its paws, shook its tail, and something like a seed dropped in, which it then buried.

The moment it bared its sharp claws, the four of them tensed up, ready to respond to an attack at any time.

To their surprise, other than planting a seed, the Cat Demon didn't seem to want to attack them. However, having experienced the zombie siege, the four didn't dare move until they understood the situation.

And so, a harmonious scene unfolded: the Cat Demon frantically dug holes and planted seeds, while four people holding weapons stood by and watched, occasionally discussing whether the Cat Demon's movements were a bit cute.

After the Cat Demon had dug holes and planted an unknown number of seeds, it slowly approached the four of them.

The four tensed up once again.

On the Cat Demon's previously cute face, a human-like, eerie smile actually appeared. That treacherous expression was clearly the look of a successful scheme.

“Not good, something's fishy! Do it!” Jian Wuxie shouted, striking first as his Greatsword slashed out instantly.