Gu Moleng and Jiang Du felt a deep sense of unease. This inexplicably appearing monster clearly did not follow the town's rules, killing people as it pleased.
What was even more terrifying was its method—completely devoid of warning or murderous intent. Unlike other horrifying creatures that at least gave people a psychological buffer, this one struck without any trace of hostility, making its sudden violence all the more frightening.
A cleaner arrived, sweeping away the mangled remains.
E Gui wiped his hands clean and casually tossed the tissue into the cleaner’s trash bin. Just then, a girl rushed out from the inn.
"E Gui! Why did you suddenly run off like that?"
E Gui replied slowly, "Work... tired... needed air."
Xia Miao stood on her tiptoes and patted his head. "There, there. I know your first day at work must’ve been exhausting. It’s okay—it’s normal to feel tired. I’ll make something delicious for you when we get home."
Today was E Gui’s first day working as Fang Min’s "apprentice," running errands wherever needed. Xia Miao had come straight to the inn after her own shift to pick him up, waiting outside to avoid embarrassing him. But when Ming Buchang tried to strike up a conversation, she grew annoyed and stepped inside.
She had only just reunited with E Gui when, in the blink of an eye, he vanished. After searching everywhere, she finally found him at the entrance.
Moments ago, E Gui had expressionlessly slaughtered someone in a brutal manner. Yet now, hunched over with his head lowered, he looked like nothing more than an obedient little animal under her touch.
Xia Miao noticed the two men and one woman standing nearby and tugged at E Gui’s sleeve. "Do you know them?"
E Gui shook his head.
Xia Miao withdrew her curious gaze and took his hand with a smile. "Let’s go home!"
E Gui’s eyes brightened as he nodded, letting her lead him away.
If they remembered correctly, Xia Miao had arrived in town on the same bus as them. But after getting off, she had been taken away by the townsfolk. Everyone assumed she wouldn’t survive—so how was she still alive?
And the way they interacted… they seemed unusually close.
Wen Yaoyao quietly lifted her gaze, observing the eerie boy who could switch from merciless killer to docile lamb in an instant. Her eyes then shifted to Xia Miao’s retreating figure, lingering for a long moment before she lowered her head again, lost in thought.
As night deepened, Xia Miao decided to reward E Gui for his first day of work by adding an extra "indulgence day" to their monthly allowance.
When she emerged from the bathroom, she was cradled in E Gui’s arms, exhausted. The red marks scattered across her skin, peeking out from under her nightgown, bore uneven ridges—left behind by the relentless pressure of hard, cold scales tightening around her in coiled loops.
Xia Miao slumped against him, murmuring lazily, "I’m so tired… more than a whole week of work."
Even speaking made her tongue ache.
E Gui nuzzled her cheek. "Not tired… feels good. Miao Miao… tight… like—"
"I know, I was nervous!" Xia Miao hastily covered his mouth, terrified he’d blurt out something explicit. If word got out, she’d never live it down!
E Gui blinked innocently before settling onto the couch with her in his arms. Their bodies pressed together, gradually blurring the line between their contrasting temperatures.
Suddenly, Xia Miao felt a lick against her palm and yanked her hand back. He ducked his head, planting featherlight kisses along the corner of her lips—pecking like a woodpecker—while coaxing her hand back under his clothes, as if to say, Touch me again, and I’ll feel so good.
Her mind wandered dangerously, but she pulled away just in time.
The bathtub had already been refilled multiple times earlier—she couldn’t take any more and needed a break.
E Gui’s gaze turned sulky.
Xia Miao cleared her throat. "We’ll play more another day. Not tonight."
E Gui let out a quiet "Oh," his long bangs falling over his dark, glistening eyes.
From the clutter on the coffee table, Xia Miao fished out two red hair clips. As she leaned in, E Gui’s eyes sparkled, lips parting eagerly—only for her to snap his mouth shut with a light slap. "Behave. Don’t move."
He nearly bit his tongue and froze, watching as she worked.
She pinned back his bangs with one clip, securing them in place with the other in a diagonal cross. The vibrant red stood out starkly against his jet-black hair, a striking contrast.
Unused to the sensation, he gingerly touched the clips.
Xia Miao grinned. "E Gui, you look so handsome!"
His lashes fluttered as he shyly lowered his head. "Not… handsome."
She cupped his face, her gaze tracing every feature. "E Gui’s hair is lovely—soft and fluffy, like a little black cat. E Gui’s forehead is smooth and clean. E Gui’s eyes are beautiful, filled with twinkling stars. E Gui’s nose is perfect, and this blush here—" Her thumb brushed over it, smiling. "—red like an apple, so pretty. And E Gui’s lips… they’re wonderful too. So nice to kiss."
Each word was like a tiny hammer, tapping gently against his withered, misshapen heart. Every place her fingers grazed sent shivers through him.
But it was her radiant, adoring gaze that burned hottest, searing him from head to toe.
He had never received so much praise before, leaving him overwhelmed. Desperate to escape the intensity of her stare, he buried his face in a pillow.
Miao Miao is amazing, he thought.
Even without a weapon, even with her small frame and limited strength, she always made him feel like he was teetering on the edge of death—only to flood him with overwhelming joy the next second when he realized he was still alive.
I haven’t left this world yet. Someone looks at me with such fiery affection… and doesn’t actually want to kill me.
Peeking out from behind the pillow, he whispered, "Miao Miao."
She leaned against him, smiling. "Hmm?"
"Can’t… hold back."
"Then don’t."
The moment she spoke, the couch groaned under sudden weight as an enormous, ink-black tail—too massive for the small sofa—spilled onto the floor, coiling tightly around them both.
The air suddenly grew colder and damper, carrying a strange mix of rotting and watery odors.
The scales on his tail occasionally bristled slightly from excitement, like the raised fur of a black cat, their razor-sharp edges capable of slicing through the hardest substances in the world.
Yet now, that same tail coiled obediently around the girl’s body, much like a sword guarding a rose—greedily securing its prized possession.
He lowered his head, nuzzling her cheek, deliberately exposing the blurred boundary between his human and bestial forms right before her eyes.
At the slender curve of his waist, the transition from cold scales to human skin was indistinct, yet it became the most tantalizingly forbidden sight.
Xia Miao, as expected, couldn’t resist reaching out to touch the very spot she already adored beyond measure.
His jaw rested on her shoulder as he giggled—soft, sticky, and clumsily affectionate—while the tip of his tail occasionally brushed her cheek in playful mischief before trailing down to her collarbone.
“More, Xia Miao,” he murmured between breathy laughs. “Touch me.”
