After giving Zhang Lexuan a gentle kiss on the lips.
Fu Yu suddenly pushed himself out of Zhang Lexuan's embrace. Taking advantage of the moment before she could react, he rushed out of the compartment and quickly slammed the door shut again.
Then, he grabbed a wooden board from a nearby corner to cover the final gap.
Through the door of the compartment, Fu Yu could faintly hear Zhang Lexuan's crying and shouting, but he didn't care.
Whether it was Uncle Zhang, Aunt Yu, or Sister Lexuan, they had all been very good to him, treating him like true family.
At this moment, he could not allow the danger to Sister Lexuan to increase because of himself. Like Aunt Yu, he wanted to stall for a little time for Sister Lexuan outside.
Just a little, even if he could only stall for a little bit.
Leaving the corridor where the compartment was located, Fu Yu began to run frantically in the opposite direction.
That way led to the backyard of the Zhang Residence, but there was a side door used for transporting goods. If he could leave the residence, he could find the patrolling City Defense Army; if he did that, everything would surely be fine.
As he ran, he deliberately knocked over some decorative flower pot stands to attract the attention of the searching Evil Soul Masters, preventing them from searching near the compartment where Zhang Lexuan was hiding again.
Just as Fu Yu was running toward the back door, a blood-red figure suddenly hung upside down from the eaves of the corridor.
Glowing blood-red eyes, sharp elongated canine teeth, and a pair of translucent fleshy wings on its back—disgusting and terrifying!
This sudden sight caused Fu Yu's running pace to falter. He rolled forward for several meters, his body getting bruised and battered in multiple places.
The sharp pain coming from his forehead, knees, and elbows suppressed the fear in Fu Yu's heart.
After scrambling up from the ground, he began to stumble forward, continuing his run.
"Look what I've found, a tender piece of Blood-food running in panic!"
"The blood of a five or six-year-old child is the most delicious!"
"Run, run fast! Get your blood flowing; I like to drink it while it's scalding hot!"
The Blood Bat Soul Master landed silently from the eaves and walked to the spot where Fu Yu had fallen and scraped himself. Using his pale, slender index finger, he picked up a drop of warm blood and put it into his mouth.
"Hah!"
An indescribable, wonderful sensation spread throughout the Blood Bat Soul Master's body, making him tremble with excitement.
"Yes, this is the feeling. This wonderful flavor—I never tire of it no matter how many times I taste it!"
Then, he looked up at the running Fu Yu not far away with a bizarre, mocking smile on his face.
A normal child who hadn't even undergone Spirit Awakening... he might as well play with him for a bit.
"Huff—, huff—!"
No matter how hard Fu Yu tried, he was still just a little boy who had just turned six, especially with an Evil Soul Master tailing him.
His fear and excitement caused his physical strength to drain rapidly.
Thud—
Just as Fu Yu's legs gave out and he fell to the ground again, the mocking Blood Bat Soul Master behind him spoke.
"Little friend, if you don't get up and run again, I'm going to start my move!"
Hearing this, Fu Yu struggled to prop up his body, wanting to move his feet.
The Blood Bat Soul Master laughed loudly again, playfully announcing his target.
"The attack is coming, to the left!"
Fu Yu instinctively dodged to the right, only to feel a heart-piercing pain in his right shoulder.
"Ah!"
Seeing this, the Blood Bat Soul Master laughed even more heartily.
"Sorry, I said it wrong. The attack was to the right!"
"Yes, yes, keep getting up and running! Or else I'll attack again!"
As Fu Yu ran through the pain, he suddenly heard a chaotic sound of footsteps from the street outside, accompanied by the clanging of armor and weapons.
'Is that the sound of the City Defense Army? Help is coming soon.'
A look of pleasant surprise appeared on Fu Yu's face as he stumbled into the small courtyard by the side door.
But before Fu Yu could reach the door, a pitch-black beam of light directly pierced through his chest.
The terrifying attack prevented the pain from even reaching Fu Yu's brain before he instantly lost all strength and fell onto his back.
Gurgling blood poured from his throat, blocking Fu Yu's attempts to breathe, and his body twitched instinctively.
His vision gradually blurred—a reaction to his brain beginning to lack oxygen.
But in Fu Yu's final moments, his vacant deep-blue eyes suddenly saw a meter-tall dark shadow in the sky dozens of meters up.
It stood perfectly still in the Void Realm, yet the Evil Soul Masters walking past him seemed completely unable to see him, continuing their business as usual.
In the last instant of Fu Yu's remaining consciousness, he saw a figure with eight spirit rings floating around him land on the ground.
Eight rings, an Evil Soul Douluo!
No wonder. No wonder Uncle Zhang and Aunt Yu, with their Spirit Saint and Spirit Emperor strength, couldn't hold them back for long. It turned out the enemy actually had an Evil Soul Douluo.
The Blood Bat Soul Master licked the corners of his mouth and walked up to that Spirit Douluo with a fawning expression.
"Boss, what about this Blood-food?"
The Evil Soul Douluo glanced at him and snorted coldly.
"Don't you know what we're here for today? Time is almost up; we have to leave. The City Defense Army and Spirit Masters will be here soon. If you want Blood-food, just find any village later."
The Blood Bat Soul Master looked at Fu Yu's corpse on the ground with a look of regret.
He quite liked the scent of this kid.
However, the boss's orders were not to be questioned, otherwise, he would be the one becoming Blood-food.
After all the Evil Soul Masters had left, a slender figure stumbled over and collapsed onto her knees before Fu Yu, hugging the blood-soaked corpse and weeping uncontrollably.
"No, Xiao Yu!"
In a single night, Zhang Lexuan had lost the three loved ones she cared for most.
—
Two days later, by a cemetery near the main city.
Zhang Lexuan, dressed in a snow-white dress, knelt before three tombstones—two large and one small.
Father, Tomb of Zhang Han.
Mother, Tomb of Yu Qingya.
Brother, Tomb of Fu Yu.
Erected by Zhang Lexuan.
Zhang Lexuan looked at the three tombstones she had carved with her own hands, her somewhat thin and beautiful face devoid of any expression.
There is no grief greater than the death of the heart!
Mu En, whose body was hunched at a ninety-degree angle, watched this scene. His cloudy old eyes closed in pity, and his hand gripping his cane tightened unconsciously.
'I'm sorry!'
Having been the Light Holy Dragon for a lifetime, to have done such a foolish thing in his old age as he approached death.
At this moment, Zhang Lexuan stood up from the graves and walked to Mu En's side, looking at him expressionlessly.
"As long as you fulfill what you promised, I will go back with you and help you take care of that child."
Mu En sighed and opened his eyes to look at the deathly still Zhang Lexuan before him.
"Fine! Then let us go."
Before leaving, Zhang Lexuan took one last look at the three tombstones, and a final tear escaped the corner of her eye.
'Mom, Dad, wait for me to come see you again next year.'
'Xiao Yu, don't worry. I only have you, and I will only ever have you.'
Spring goes and autumn comes; each year things wither and then flourish.
No one could discover that at this moment, Fu Yu's body within the tomb had long since restored itself to its original state. There wasn't a single scar, and even his vitality was as full as ever.
Deep within his consciousness, a black-gold lotus flower was constantly rotating, emitting wisps of divine light that nourished Fu Yu's conscious Soul.
Suddenly, a powerful, resonant shout echoed from within the lotus.
"Without knowing death, how can one talk of life?