Tu Hexiangchu held an umbrella and stood in the middle of the road.
The usually bustling main road was now deserted, with only the traffic lights flickering helplessly.
In the gray, overcast sky, a torn black hole hung horizontally. The hole, which had stopped leaking water, began flowing black water again, which fell to the ground and killed the flowers and plants by the roadside.
Tu Hexiangchu’s knuckles turned white as he gripped the umbrella handle tightly. He said coldly, “Come out.”
Fu Wuxuan and Yun Xueqing followed the golden thread and saw Tu Hexiangchu confronting Zhongse.
A look of anticipation appeared on Fu Wuxuan’s face. “Speaking of which, both of them belong to official organizations, so they shouldn’t end up fighting… But given Zhongse’s current mental state, he looks like he’d bite even a passing dog.”
Sure enough, as soon as they approached, they heard Zhongse say with a laugh, “You want to go observe those black holes up close? That’s really asking for death. You’re very brave, big brother.”
This sarcastic tone would infuriate anyone who heard it, but Tu Hexiangchu ignored him and continued walking toward the largest black hole.
Yun Xueqing thought for a moment. “The direction he’s heading is where the first black hole appeared.”
Fu Wuxuan nodded in agreement. “Tu Hexiangchu already has the aura of spirit energy on him. I didn’t expect him to complete the conversion so quickly.”
It wasn’t without reason that he had survived back then.
As Yun Xueqing listened to him, he followed Tu Hexiangchu toward the largest black hole. Along the way, he voiced his guess. “You and… Mei Qujun have some subtle similarities. Is it because of something on your bodies…”
He didn’t finish, but Fu Wuxuan knew he had probably guessed it. The secret he had hidden for so long was pierced in one go. Instead of the imagined shame and embarrassment, he felt a sense of relief and release.
“You’re right. Like Wu Xue, I have fused with a part of a Weird on my body.”
It was even a legendary S-Rank Weird—a part of the Dragon Girl.
Yun Xueqing’s eyes flickered as he instantly understood. “That Spinebone Whip…”
Fu Wuxuan nodded. “Yes, it’s the Dragon Girl’s spinebone. Of course, it’s now a part of me.”
Yun Xueqing understood. No wonder Fu Wuxuan had once fallen into weirdification after using the Spinebone Whip and had to enter the Degeneration Abstinence Institute because of it.
Recalling what Fu Wuxuan had said before, Yun Xueqing made further associations. “Then the remaining six people…”
Fu Wuxuan smiled helplessly, masking his embarrassment. “As I said before, S-Rank Oracles can sense the Dragon Girl’s aura on each other when they get close.”
With that, he gave a self-deprecating smile.
It was laughable. The only seven S-Rank Oracles in the world had all evolved by borrowing the power of Weirds.
S-Rank Oracles were certainly powerful, able to use more oracles and with more abundant spirit energy, but they were more prone to weirdification than ordinary Oracles.
The Dragon Girl’s power was like a sharp knife hanging over their heads. If they overused it even slightly, they would be doomed eternally.
With the cards now laid out, Yun Xueqing simply asked, “Who among you thought of fusing with a Weird?”
Fusing humans with Weirds sounded unacceptable from both a risk and ethical standpoint. It wasn’t something an ordinary person could do or even think of.
Fu Wuxuan tugged at the corner of his mouth. “I don’t know who.”
“You don’t know?”
As Fu Wuxuan walked, he looked up at the gray sky. “Maybe it was one of those who died, or perhaps it was among the seven of us who survived… Actually, it doesn’t matter who came up with the idea.”
At that time, some of them had already become complete Oracles and were smug about their spirit energy, smug about being above most people.
But when the Dragon Girl truly descended, they realized how insignificant and weak they were. Compared to the S-Rank Weird Dragon Girl, they were ants, and she was the elephant.
In the confrontation with the Dragon Girl—what could be called a one-sided slaughter—tens of thousands died every day. It was unbearable.
In moments of life-and-death crisis, extreme measures always came to mind.
No one knew who thought of it first: ants couldn’t kill an elephant directly, but there was a way to make themselves stronger than ants.
So some ants followed that person’s suggestion and, at the cost of their lives, tore pieces of flesh from the elephant to pave the way for the ants behind them.
Some ants consumed the elephant’s flesh and gradually grew stronger, transforming from ants into dogs.
Yun Xueqing looked up. “So you all worked together to kill Her?”
Fu Wuxuan gave a bitter smile, as if sighing at his naivety. “Did turning from ants into dogs make things better? No, they were still trampled to death by the elephant. The dogs did not achieve victory.”
Even with such an extreme method, they still failed. Most fell into despair.
Some even, fearing the Dragon Girl’s devouring or being turned into Weirds by her, simply took their own lives.
Yun Xueqing listened to him and saw the desolate expression on his face. Not knowing how to comfort him, he fell silent along with him.
As they were about to walk under the black hole, Yun Xueqing asked flatly, “How did you ultimately win?”
It was less a victory and more scraping by with their lives.
The survival of only seven people was a tragedy, not a victory won against the Weird.
Fu Wuxuan stopped and gazed at the black hole in the distance, his eyes deep. After a long while, he said, “I don’t know.”
Yun Xueqing was stunned.
He had imagined a thousand possibilities in his mind but never expected such an answer.
I don’t know?
Don’t know how they survived?
The black hole stopped flowing black water and began emitting an eerie blue light.
Fu Wuxuan knew She would come soon. Every time the blue light flashed, She would appear after not long, like a signal.
Fu Wuxuan folded his umbrella and put it away. His tone carried an empty void. “I don’t know how the Dragon Girl died.”
He turned his head and looked at Yun Xueqing, enunciating each word. “She did not die at the hands of us seven.”
Fu Wuxuan looked at Yun Xueqing and sighed. “This isn’t my memory at all.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the next second, a graceful figure appeared from the black hole.
A figure in blue clothes appeared, with dragon horns on her head and a dragon tail over ten meters long for her lower body.
She was called the Dragon Girl, but her gender could not be discerned because she had two faces—one masculine, one feminine—tightly fused together.
The aura of an S-Rank Weird swept over them. Unlike the oppressive pressure of the Calamity God, the Dragon Girl’s aura was more clinging, like the sticky black water flowing from the sky, carrying a damp, dark breath.
Yun Xueqing tensed up in vigilance and pulled Fu Wuxuan behind him. Just as he was about to draw the Tianquan Sword, he heard the voice of the person he was protecting say softly, finishing the words he hadn’t completed earlier: “It’s clearly that person’s past.”
Because his voice was too soft, Yun Xueqing didn’t hear clearly what he said. Just as he was about to ask again, nine flying swords shot out from behind him, piercing straight toward the Dragon Girl!
In the blink of an eye, the Dragon Girl, who had made such a dominant entrance moments ago, was pierced through the body by several flying swords and died on the spot with hatred.
Yun Xueqing recognized those familiar swords, and many things clicked into place in an instant.
He put away the Tianquan Sword that he hadn’t fully drawn and turned back to look at Tu Hexiangchu, who was holding an umbrella and standing behind them.
The previously expressionless face of Tu Hexiangchu suddenly showed a faint smile.
He casually touched his face with a fingertip. The next second, Tu Hexiangchu’s face shed away, revealing Mei Qujun’s true appearance.
Fu Wuxuan smiled without mirth. “In your own memory domain, is there any need to disguise yourself as someone else?”
Mei Qujun smiled. “If I didn’t, would you have followed me here?”
Fu Wuxuan sneered coldly. “Of course. After all, you have a great deal of suspicion.”
“You would,” Mei Qujun pointed at Zhongse standing in the distance. “But he wouldn’t. He’s afraid of me now, afraid I’ll kill him. But in my domain, he can’t do anything and can only seek allies to oppose me.”
He smiled. “He first approached you two, but your attitude toward him wasn’t friendly. Then he went to the Director of the Spiritual Energy Special Control Bureau, only to find that the other party hadn’t been pulled into my domain like him.”
“Deep in desperation, with no one to help. How pitiful.”
His tone was gentle, and the words seemed innocuous, but to Zhongse’s ears, they were full of mockery.
A resentful expression appeared on Zhongse’s face. “Even if I die, I’ll bite off a big chunk of flesh from you.”
He spat harsh words, but his eyes involuntarily glanced at the Dragon Girl, who had been chopped into eighteen pieces nearby.
Although the Dragon Girl in the domain was constructed from memories and her strength was greatly weakened, she was still the Dragon Girl, retaining at least a third of her power. Yet the other party had killed her.
So easily, so casually—it was enough to show that his strength was terrifying, beyond imagination.
Against such a person, did he have even the slightest chance of winning?
He remained arrogant on the surface, but his heart wavered. No one else noticed this emotion.
Fu Wuxuan watched their reactions and guessed that some grudge had arisen between Zhongse and Mei Qujun, leading them to turn against each other.
With the situation unclear and positions ambiguous, at this juncture, Fu Wuxuan instead laughed. He said to Yun Xueqing, “Your curse was spot on. Zhongse’s forehead is really turning black now. He’s doomed to die an untimely death.”
After telling this cold joke and seeing no reaction from Yun Xueqing, who was just staring at Mei Qujun, Fu Wuxuan felt bored and drooped his eyelids.
Fu Wuxuan restrained his casual demeanor. Moments later, he raised his head, his expression cold as he asked Mei Qujun, “So, the one who actually killed the Dragon Girl back then was you.”