His gaze somewhat frightened me.
I forced a calm laugh. “Don’t forget, if I die, you won’t escape unscathed either.”
He shrugged, looking completely indifferent. “Chang Sheng only said that if you die, I might die too, but he didn’t say it’s a hundred percent certain.”
“…”
“Work starts officially tomorrow. You’d better come before dark.”
“You want me to work at night?”
“When do you think the Grim Reaper works?”
“…”
In no time at all, I prepared the meal and served myself a bowl of rice.
It was already past mealtime. If I didn’t eat now, there wouldn’t be anything left to eat when I got back to the school cafeteria. Since I’m not used to eating out, I reluctantly sat down to eat with October.
October ate heartily, shoveling food into his mouth, and gave me a thumbs-up as he ate.
“Not bad cooking.”
“Will you let me go after we finish eating?”
He nodded emphatically. “I keep my word. I’ll definitely let you go.”
I secretly breathed a sigh of relief and quickly lowered my head to finish the food in my bowl.
Putting down my chopsticks, I stood up.
“I’m done. Take down the Barrier.”
Hearing this, October looked up, stared at me for two seconds, swallowed the food in his mouth, then patted himself down. Finally, he scratched his head and said to Meng Bao, “Go get my knife.”
He was still wearing that white bathrobe, which had no pockets, so obviously what he was looking for wasn’t on him.
Meng Bao had been sleeping, but upon hearing October’s words, he jumped up and scurried upstairs.
“What do you need the knife for?” I eyed October suspiciously.
He lowered his head and continued shoveling rice into his mouth.
“I’m talking to you.”
“For you.”
“You’re giving me a knife?”
“For self-defense.”
“…”
“To be precise, it originally belonged to the Grim Reaper. Since you now represent the Grim Reaper, the knife is temporarily yours.” As he finished speaking, Meng Bao reappeared.
In his mouth was a necklace with a very ordinary chain, but the pendant was quite distinctive.
It was a small scythe, about the size of a pinky finger.
Seeing such a tiny “weapon,” I couldn’t help but laugh.
“You’re giving me this little thing for self-defense?”
It probably couldn’t even kill a cockroach.
“It may look small, but its power is immense.”
“You’re insane!”
“You’re the insane one, your whole family is insane.” October glared at me, unhurriedly put down his chopsticks, took the necklace from Meng Bao’s mouth, and then held it out to me, saying in a tone that brooked no argument, “Take it.”
“It’s so small…”
“Just take it when I tell you to. Stop with the nonsense.”
I planned not to come back after leaving this place, so I didn’t want to accept anything from October. However, seeing how serious he looked, if I didn’t take this little scythe, he probably wouldn’t let me go.
Reluctantly, I reached out to take the necklace.
Unexpectedly, when October placed the necklace in my hand, its weight nearly made me stumble and fall. Both hands holding the necklace trembled under the unbearable weight.
“It’s so heavy…”
“You feel its weight because you haven’t fully mastered the Grim Reaper’s abilities yet. Once you learn to control your powers, that scythe will feel as light as a feather to you.”
“Really?”
“I, October, never lie.”
“Something this heavy, how am I supposed to carry it around?”
October glanced at me, stood up with some impatience, took the necklace from my hand, walked behind me, and without a word, placed it around my neck. Instantly, I felt as if a massive stone were hanging from my neck, weighing me down so much that my back began to bend.
“Look at how useless you are.”
“This has nothing to do with being useless. This scythe may look small, but it’s really heavy.”
The chain was just an ordinary chain; the real weight came from that tiny scythe. Moreover, wearing a scythe around my neck, I kept worrying it might cut me.
“Stand up straight, lift your head and chest.” As October spoke, he grabbed my shoulders and forcibly straightened my bent posture.
“Stop thinking about how heavy it is. Wear it, and slowly you’ll get used to it. Once you’re accustomed, it won’t feel heavy anymore.”
“There’s no way I’ll ever get used to something like this.”
Pointing at the small scythe, I said, “The blade is so sharp; the slightest mistake will definitely cut me.”
“Oh.”
“Oh?”
“Mhm.”
“What do you mean, ‘mhm’?”
“Anyway, it’s you who’ll get cut, not me.”
“You…”
“My scythe is very spiritual. If you want to wield it, you must first build a bond with it.”
“Build a bond with a scythe? Are you out of your mind?”
“You’re the one out of your mind, your whole family is out of their minds.” October looked like he was about to explode.
He glared at me angrily and snapped, “From now on, don’t talk back to me. Do whatever I tell you, understand?”
This man’s mood changed faster than flipping a book—one moment he was fine, the next he was angry.
I nodded listlessly and said nothing more.
October sighed, strode to the door, and with a light wave of his hand, the pitch-black door creaked open.
“You can get out now.”
His tone was impatient.
After saying that, he walked straight back to the square table, sat down, and continued eating heartily, paying no further attention to me.
As for me, weighed down by the scythe necklace, my back unconsciously began to bend again, and the chain dug painfully into the back of my neck.
Though I wanted to rush out in one breath, the weight of the scythe made my steps unsteady, each one a struggle.
“You’re so young, yet you walk like an old lady.” Meng Bao followed me.
It mimicked my slow, deliberate steps, even shaking its legs a little with each stride, looking quite amusing. But I couldn’t laugh at all right now.
I hated this necklace around my neck.
Finally outside, I had just stepped down from the stairs when the door behind me slammed shut with a loud bang.
I desperately wanted to take off the necklace, but fearing October might notice, I had to walk farther away before removing the damned thing.
I tossed the necklace into a corner and prepared to leave. Just as I turned around, a faint voice came from behind: “Is it appropriate to just throw the Death Scythe around like that?”
I recognized the voice before seeing the person.
It was Chang Sheng.
Turning around, I saw Chang Sheng standing tall and straight, hands clasped behind his back, smiling at me. Instantly, I felt a surge of irritation.
“How dare you show your face before me?”
“Why wouldn’t I dare show my face before you?” The smile in Chang Sheng’s eyes deepened.