The bear-like Chef Demon bent down, examining the door lock shattered by Huai Shi, his eyes sparkling. "Nice technique! What kind of shelling thod is this? Such even breakage is really rare. Got ti to share so tips?"
Huai Shi rolled her eyes and walked into the restroom.
She saw the Teenage Girl collapsed on the floor.
Her consciousness was no longer here.
Subrged in an artificially induced nightmare, it was foreseeable that if the Source Substance continued to evaporate at this rate, she would soon die, succumbing to brain death.
The minute noises on the roof seed to grow more impatient by the mont, filled with displeasure at the sudden intrusion.
A thread of nothingness materialized before Huai Shi's eyes, delicate as Spider Silk, one end connected to the girl before her, the other extending upward, into a ticulously crafted nightmare.
Huai Shi reached out and grasped the thread.
"Once it's cut, the little Teenage Girl will really die, you know," said the towering Chef Demon, offering a friendly reminder. But when Huai Shi gave no response, he awkwardly touched his nose and shook his head with a sigh. "So cold, huh? Are the won from Yingzhou all like this?"
The latter half of his sentence was directed at the train attendant caught by his side. The attendant was struggling hard, wanting to scream for help when he saw the unconscious girl.
"Don't spoil the fun, friend."
The Chef Demon's two deft fingers pinched the attendant's shoulder, applying slight pressure that sent his nerves tingling with paralysis, rendering him motionless.
If another cut were to follow, it would be the humane thod for preparing food ingredients, guaranteed to be free of any pain.
But such inferior ingredients wouldn't taste of anything, right?
He withdrew his gaze and looked inside the restroom.
It was just that in the brief instant his gaze lingered… everything had already ended.
The mont Huai Shi stretched out her hand to pinch that thread, the outco was sealed.
At that instant, in the deepest nightmare, being embraced inch by inch by death, Zhenxi suddenly convulsed.
In her grogginess, she heard a piercing roar.
Like the sound of the Sky Do cracking.
The dark Sky Do was rent by so brutal Power. It revealed the endless radiance of the Dream World and a pair of indifferent eyes peering in from beyond the Sky Do.
A dark storm raged, and a furious Sea descended from the heavens.
It was like a legend: after the heavens shattered, the waters of the Four Seas ca pouring down.
That was the chaotic tide of darkness.
But when the tide dispersed, black iron wings spread across the Sky Do, countless crimson eyes gazed down, emitting shrill, frenzied cries.
Filled with hunger, they rushed toward the panicked giant Spider.
As the Raven tide awakened in the Dream Cage, it instantly overwheld the massive shadow that encompassed both heaven and earth.
In this irrational nightmare, large and small, distant and near, strong and weak inherently made no sense—all logic was contingent upon the consciousness of both parties.
Rooted in Zhenxi's fears and the Earth Spider's machinations.
It should have been so…
But in that mont, this excessively massive external force upended everything, and all normality and rules were trampled and torn apart without any reason.
In their stead lood an enormity of greed and eternal hunger the nightmare couldn't contain, accompanied by… Grudge!
The hunt had begun.
The massive shadow of the Spider shattered in an instant.
Screams arose from the top of the train carriage.
And in that mont, Zhenxi's eyes flew open to see the figure standing before her, disbelieving.
"What happened to …?"
She was still shivering in the remnants of the nightmare, unwilling to believe what was before her eyes.
Huai Shi bent down, reached out, and pulled her upright from the ground.
Her other hand tapped on her phone, ssaging her: [Just a nightmare. Drink more hot water.]
???
A hundred thousand question marks rose above Zhenxi's head. Confused but unable to resist Huai Shi's action, she was pulled up and taken back to her seat.
"Isn't it not over yet?"
From behind them, the Chef Demon who hadn't had his fill of the spectacle suddenly spoke up, "There's still work unfinished, miss. Clocking out with the ingredients half-processed isn't good, is it?"
With that, he lifted his gaze to the ceiling.
Through the roof, one could faintly hear the vague sounds of wailing and screams, soone stumbling and running, fleeing in terror.
Huai Shi waved her hand dismissively, without a care.
To put it another way, as soon as the nightmare was broken… everything had already ended.
On the roof, the monk shrouded in a long robe coughed violently, vomiting blood clotted with mucus, disbelief written all over his face.
The nightmare he'd cultivated for years had been shattered just like that?
Hundreds of transformations and elaborate traps had no chance to be put into play, just exterminated from the outside so easily?
An overwhelming fear took hold of his consciousness, making him grind his teeth and force his exhausted body into a staggering retreat.
Suddenly, his flight stopped short, frozen in place.
Under the dim Moonlight, a fleeting shadow slowly rose from the top of the train.
Enveloped in unfathomable darkness, one couldn't even see a clear face or outline, only the cold eyes devoid of any warmth.
The Afterimage of Soloist looked down at him coldly, and then understood.
"...Earth Spider?"
"Indeed, it would have been wasteful to let such pri material go. Since you've co knocking, I'll help myself."
In the hands of the nacing shadow, countless raven feathers erged, overlapping to form sharp outlines aid at his stunned face.
"I forgot to tell you," Huai Shi said softly, "your dream lacked salt."
The light of Grudge flashed and then vanished.
In an instant, the hissing of Stigmata · Earth Spider was extinguished in the eternal darkness, devoured completely by the ravens within the Buried Sacred Place.
Only a beheaded corpse fell backward. Along with the head, it rolled out of the carriage, falling into the weeds on either side.
And just ahead of the moving train.
The lights of a city started to shine.
—Nara had arrived.
.
.
「Twenty minutes later, outside Nara Station, in a 24-hour fast-food restaurant.」
The Teenage Girl sitting across from Huai Shi widened her eyes inquisitively and asked, "Miss Huaizhi, are you hungry?"
[I'm not hungry.]
"Then, Miss Huaizhi... are you thirsty?"
[I'm not thirsty.]
"You should eat sothing! Even though I don't have much pocket money, I can still treat my lifesaver to a al!" Zhenxi blinked expectantly. "Plus, I have lots of things I want to ask Miss Huaizhi about..."
Huai Shi sighed, unable to help but roll her eyes, and lifted her phone screen.
[You're very annoying.]
"Hehe, my mom sotis says the sa thing."
Unperturbed by Huai Shi's coldness, Zhenxi wasn't nervous this ti. On the contrary, she felt an indescribable sense of security by her side.
She felt fearless.
"Also, about that nightmare, what was that about? Did soone really co to kill ? Miss Huaizhi, how did you manage to save so easily…?"
"..."
Huai Shi began to regret where on earth she had fished up such a curious bundle of trouble.
[Wasn't that person there to kill you? You should know that, right? The other party must have been a grudge monk from Koyasan. Whom did you offend?]
"...Well, to be honest, I didn't see this coming at all. I thought my kind of character wasn't the type anyone cared about."
Zhenxi's expression stiffened montarily, and her smile beca reluctant. "Even though I know about Sublimators, I didn't expect to get involved in sothing like this just by going through the motions."
Going through the motions?
Huai Shi frowned and typed on her phone: [Your na?]
"Zhenxi, Li Jian Zhen Xi!"
The Teenage Girl proudly introduced herself. "Seventeen years old, a high school student. Hobbies include crafts and drawing. A mber of the track team, aspiring to beco a preschool teacher, working hard for the university entrance exams, 173 cm tall, my three sizes are..."
Huai Shi quickly typed on her phone, [No, you don't need to tell that.]
Zhenxi paused for a mont, then realization dawned.
Ah, right, considering Miss Huaizhi's figure... It's such a pity; such a beauty, but speechless. Indeed, there's no such thing as perfection in this world.
Thinking about Miss Huaizhi living so many years alone in such an environnt, Zhenxi felt a pang of motherly heartache.
Huai Shi rolled her eyes again, beginning to feel a headache.
She had a feeling this woman had finally gone mad...
But, the surna was... Li Jian?
So, she was a relative of that bratty little sister, Amber? Not even a Sublimator, and looking like a little country girl, how did she get entangled with the struggles of Sublimators? And to the point of being assassinated.
[What's going on with your family?]
"According to Uncle Yan Jing, the original patriarch, my third uncle, was deed unfit and dismissed by the Court Officials. As a result, the Li Jian family is now headless. The family elders decided to summon all those with the right of inheritance to elect a new head... Ah, Miss Huaizhi, don't look at like that! My family is quite impressive too, you know!"
Nonsense. Given your oblivious deanor, I probably know more about the Li Jian family than you do.
[Are you also here to participate in the selection?]
"Hehe, it's just a formality... My father's bloodline was already very diluted. Although I'm a Li Jian, I grew up in a rural area and haven't had much to do with the family. This would never have fallen to if my father hadn't passed away early."
Li Jian Zhen Xi nervously twisted her hands together. "I was originally hoping to take a few days off to go play in Kyoto."
So, you didn't consider the risks involved in your journey and were only thinking about playing in Kyoto afterward?
Huai Shi started to marvel at her clueless nature.
How could you be so oblivious about such a deadly affair and still confidently leap into the pit? Amber, that annoying little sister, knew to spend money on recruiting helpers from the Dongxia Genealogy. Why are you so bold? Truly delivering yourself on a platter.
Huai Shi sighed, lifted her hand, and typed another question on her phone:
[So, what's with the Chef Demon competition? Are you aware of it?]
"Ah, I've heard Uncle Yan Jing ntion it!"
Li Jian Zhen Xi's eyes lit up as she leaned in. Attempting to look serious, she said, "You see, this dates back hundreds of years ago..."
It sounded like a narration from an epic historical drama.
The Teenage Girl spoke earnestly and forcefully, "It is said that during the Edo Period, chefs struggled for the position of Lord General's royal chef. They resorted to every conceivable thod. Just as it was about to escalate into violence, the General, having heard of the matter, finally spoke!"
She did her best to imitate an old man's voice to convey the General's majesty: "—Let the battle be fought honestly and openly!"
"Thus, at that mont, violence was given rules!"
Li Jian Zhen Xi stood with hands on hips, solemnly declaring:
"This beca—the Royal Chef Demon Trial!"
"..."
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