38: Chapter 38 Being a ghoul isn't so bad.

Qi Ling was dragged for who knows how long.

First through sticky mud that choked him as it coated his wounds, then onto cold, hard stone slabs.

His back had long been worn raw, his flesh scraping directly against the stone; every inch he was dragged, his blood left a long, black smear behind him.

He couldn't squeeze out even a shred of strength from his entire body.

Qi Ling was thrown heavily onto a stone platform; he lifted his eyelids and saw a circular, open space.

The stone floor was carved with winding, dense patterns, like countless snakes tangled together, covering the entire plaza.

The stone platform in the center wasn't high, and there was a depression on its surface, pooling with thick, dark liquid, topped with a layer of oil—like unmelting, ancient bloodstains.

Six Moon Beasts surrounded him.

They pressed him firmly onto the stone platform, their cold claws pinning his limbs, leaving him unable to move an inch.

The largest Moon Beast moved to hover over his head, lowered its head, and sticky saliva dripped onto his face.

Many things flashed through Qi Ling's mind, things he had hidden his whole life, fearing he would be seen as a monster.

So, in the end, he still couldn't escape it.

The Moon Beast above his head let out a sharp hiss. Its barbed claws were raised, glinting coldly under the purple sky, and came down toward his throat.

Qi Ling closed his eyes.

He waited for that heart-wrenching pain, waited for his blood to flow into the grooves of the stone platform, waited to become a sacrifice in this hellish place.

But after a long wait, that claw didn't fall.

Instead, something exploded deep within his body.

A surge of heat rushed out from his bone marrow like molten iron, flowing through his blood vessels to his entire body.

It felt like billions of ants were gnawing, biting, and boring into his bones; his fingers twitched violently, his knuckles cracked and popped, crazily thickening, his nails instantly turning black, elongating, and curling into sharp hooks. A sharp pain erupted in his gums; his original teeth loosened and fell out, and new fangs pushed out fiercely, piercing his lips as blood flowed down the corners of his mouth.

Pain. Not the pain of skin being scraped raw on the outside. It was a pain exploding from the inside out; every inch of muscle, every bone was being torn apart and reshaped.

Qi Ling snapped his eyes open. His pupils were no longer human. They were vertical, golden, like a beast waiting to devour prey in the dark night.

A howl rolled out of his throat. It wasn't a human voice; it was a low, hoarse beast roar that erupted from the deepest part of his chest, shaking the stone slabs of the entire plaza until they hummed.

Just then, the Moon Beast's claw finally came down.

Qi Ling raised his hand, covered in grey, tough skin and sharp claws, and grabbed the Moon Beast's wrist bone.

He exerted force.

"Crack—"

A crisp sound exploded. The Moon Beast's wrist bone was crushed into fragments by him, and white bone powder mixed with purple-black blood sprayed all over his face.

The Moon Beast let out a shrill howl of pain and turned to retreat.

Too late.

Qi Ling sprang up from the stone platform, moving as fast as a grey shadow—nothing like the man who couldn't even stand steadily before.

He lowered his head and glanced at his hands; sharp claws glinted with cold light, his skin was covered in a layer of tough grey hide, and black veins bulged under the skin.

He had become a monster.

A Moon Beast pounced from the side, bringing a foul wind, its open jaws biting at his waist.

Qi Ling didn't dodge; he turned and swiped with a claw.

The sharp claw-tips sliced open the Moon Beast's belly, and soft organs mixed with purple blood gushed out, splashing all over him.

Warm and sticky.

The smell of blood entered his nose. In the past, he would have vomited.

But now, a voice deep inside his body was roaring crazily, like a beast that had been hungry for centuries.

Qi Ling charged.

Another Moon Beast bit toward his shoulder, its sharp fangs embedding deep into the grey hide. Qi Ling didn't even frown, letting it bite, and backhanded a claw directly into its eye socket.

The sharp claw went in through the eye socket and punched straight out from the back of the head, with soft brains hanging on his claw tips.

He flicked his hand, tossing the Moon Beast's corpse away, hitting the stone floor with a dull thud. Then, his figure flickered as he pounced on the next one.

His movements had no technique; it was all instinct.

Tear, bite, grab, rip.

He grabbed a Moon Beast's chin, exerted force with both arms, and tore its entire lower jaw off, purple blood spraying his face. He grabbed another Moon Beast's hind leg and swung it hard against the ground.

"Bang!"

The stone slab cracked.

Qi Ling raised his foot and stomped on its head.

"Crack."

The entire skull was crushed, brains splattering everywhere.

Purple blood covered his face. He subconsciously licked the corner of his mouth. It was salty. And there was an indescribable taste that made all the blood in his body boil.

He couldn't stop.

The fire inside his body burned brighter and brighter, burning away all his disguises, his cowardice, and his fears from this life.

He was no longer the lecher who would fawn over women and say crude things, no longer the waste who used glib talk to cover his fear.

He was a Ghoul. He was a monster.

The last Moon Beast was afraid. It turned and ran, its claws kicking rapidly against the stone, trying to escape into the purple mist.

How could Qi Ling let it run?

He exerted force with his feet, and his whole body shot out like an arrow, catching up in a few steps and tackling it to the ground from behind. The Moon Beast struggled crazily, its claws leaving white marks on the stone slabs. Qi Ling's two sharp claws dug directly into the sides of its spine.

Then, he ripped his arms hard to both sides.

"Rrrrip—"

The sound of flesh and skin being torn was piercingly harsh. The entire intact spine, connected with muscles and nerves, was ripped out from the Moon Beast's body by him and tossed ten meters away, hitting the stone slab with a dull thud.

The entire plaza fell silent instantly.

Only the sound of Qi Ling's heavy breathing remained. He stood in the middle of the six Moon Beast corpses, his grey-white tough skin covered in purple-black blood and minced meat, his golden vertical pupils flashing with cold light under the purple sky.

Six Moon Beasts, all dead.

Not killed by the cowardly Qi Ling. Killed by the Ghoul.

Qi Ling lowered his head, looking at his claws. Sharp, black, blood-dripping claws.

He waited, wanting them to retract, wanting his skin to return to its original state, wanting to become human again.

No movement. No movement at all.

The grey tough skin was still there, the black veins were still there, the fangs in his mouth were still there, and the golden vertical pupils were still there.

He had truly become a monster, and he could never change back.

Just then, footsteps came from the purple mist in the distance.

...

Wu Xi walked in front. The six Tentacles at his sides each had their own duties; the two at the tail end swayed left and right in the purple mist, sensing the airflow to scout the path; the two in front of his chest reached forward, muscles tensed, ready to shoot out at any moment; the two at his elbows were retracted at his sides, ready to strike.

He was supporting Liao Su with one hand. Liao Su pressed his hand tightly against the wound on his side, his knuckles white, his face pale to the point of turning blue, his lips devoid of any color, yet his steps didn't slow down by even a bit.

"Left." Liao Su sniffed, his voice squeezed out through his teeth, carrying a shaky, painful breathy tone. "The scent of blood is to the left. It's getting stronger."

Wu Xi didn't speak, his footsteps turning as he charged toward the left.

The purple mist was thinner here, and the field of vision expanded from three feet to five feet. They passed through a stone forest; the stones were strange-shaped and pitted, like bones gnawed rotten by something.

"Closer." Liao Su's nose wrinkled violently, his ears pricked straight up. "There's another smell... It's not human blood. It's Moon Beast blood. And... a very strange, very vicious aura."

Wu Xi's footsteps paused abruptly. His Tentacles were twitching crazily in the air.

There was movement ahead—the dull thud of heavy objects falling to the ground, mixed with the sound of bone and flesh being ripped apart.

Then, a howl exploded over. It wasn't the hiss of a Moon Beast, but lower, hoarser, and more vicious, like a beast's roar, shaking the purple mist until it roiled.

Liao Su's body stiffened abruptly, his ears flickered, and his voice changed: "That is..."

Before he could finish, Wu Xi had already rushed out.

He rushed out of the stone forest, and the scene before him made him stop in his tracks instantly.

In the circular plaza, six Moon Beast corpses were scattered everywhere. Some were disemboweled, their organs spilled all over the ground; some had their heads crushed into a pulp; others had their entire spines ripped out and tossed aside. Purple-black blood followed the patterns on the stone slabs, merging into a small stream, flowing to lower ground.

In the center of the plaza stood a humanoid thing. Grey tough skin, black veins bulging under the skin, golden vertical pupils, two sharp claws hanging at his sides, the blood on his fingertips dripping onto the stone slab one by one.

That thing heard the movement and whipped its head around. The vicious light in the vertical pupils locked onto Wu Xi instantly.

It was Qi Ling.

Liao Su walked out from behind Wu Xi, and upon seeing Qi Ling's appearance, his legs subconsciously trembled.

Wu Xi called out softly: "Qi Ling..."

Qi Ling didn't respond. His golden vertical pupils swept past Liao Su first, then landed on Wu Xi.

Wu Xi took two steps forward; the Tentacles at his sides didn't retract, but they didn't assume an attack stance either.

He stood ten meters away from Qi Ling, his voice steady, saying only two words: "It's us."

Qi Ling's body moved abruptly; his claws twitched uncontrollably, his knuckles making cracking sounds.

He lowered his head, looking at his claws full of blood and minced meat, then raised his head again, looking at the two people before him.

The wounds on his body had long since healed; the back worn raw by the Moon Beasts, the shoulder bitten through—not even a scar remained.

He opened his mouth, and what rolled out of his throat first was a gurgling, beast-like breathy sound.

He tried several times before he could force three words out of his throat: "...It's you."

The voice was as rough as sandpaper grinding on stone, completely devoid of his usual glibness.

Wu Xi looked at Qi Ling. "Can you still change back?"

Qi Ling lowered his head, looking at his body. Grey tough skin, black veins, golden vertical pupils. He tried to move his fingers, concentrating all his spirit, wanting to make this pair of claws return to their original state.

No reaction. Not a single reaction.

He stood there, motionless. The wind blew across the center of the plaza, carrying the scent of blood and the fishy sweetness from the underground, blowing the tattered hem of his clothes.

He closed his eyes. When he opened them again, in his golden vertical pupils, those struggles, that panic, that fear—all of it was gone. Only a calmness that sank to his bones remained.

"I don't know about the future, but I can't change back right now."

His voice no longer had any of his usual glibness, no longer any superficiality.

He raised his hand, his sharp claws opening and then clenching tightly, his knuckles cracking.

"I used to be afraid of this. Terrified. Afraid of being seen, afraid of being treated as a monster, afraid that this Bloodline that couldn't see the light would ruin my pathetic human appearance."

"I'm not afraid anymore. It was this Bloodline that saved my life! I am a Ghoul, and this is the blood flowing in my body. Even if I'm afraid of it, it's mine; it is me."

He raised his head, his gaze sweeping over Wu Xi and Liao Su. In his golden vertical pupils, there was no longer any evasion, no longer any frivolity. There was only something deep like a well, unfathomable.

"Let's go." Qi Ling said.

He took his first step. His sharp claws stepped onto the cold stone slab, making a crisp clack sound.

Then the second step, the third step. His posture went from the initial stiffness to becoming increasingly natural.

He no longer tried to hide his claws behind his back, no longer tried to retract the fangs in his mouth, no longer lowered his head for fear of others seeing his appearance.

He just walked like that, grey-white skin, golden vertical pupils, every step planted firmly.

Wu Xi stepped aside, clearing a path. When Qi Ling walked past him, the two looked at each other. Wu Xi nodded, and Qi Ling nodded too.

Liao Su sniffed again; the bloody smell was still there, but mixed into that strange aura was another scent.

It wasn't from the Moon Beasts, nor was it human. It was a deep, ancient scent, carrying a hint of sandalwood and the cold chill peculiar to felines.

Liao Su's nose pricked up instantly.

In the past, when he was beside the High Priest, he could smell this scent every day; it was the aura of Cat Goddess Bastet.

Since there was the aura of the Cat Goddess, then the sacred fork bell must be in this direction.

"The sacred fork bell should be this way." Liao Su pointed into the depths of the purple mist, his voice carrying a bit more certainty.

Qi Ling stopped and looked in the direction he pointed.

The purple mist roiled, and from the depths came the sticky Whispers of the Ancient God, like countless insects burrowing into his ears, burrowing into his brain, tearing at his nerves.

A low hiss rolled out of Qi Ling's throat, that vicious aura.

He lifted his foot and was the first to walk into the purple mist. Wu Xi and Liao Su followed on his left and right.

From today on, he was no longer that painter of erotic art; he was the Ghoul Qi Ling.