Black Mist 04
Cen Shishi led Tian Xiao around the pitch-black space.
An entire field of neatly arranged human heads suddenly appeared, like watermelons in a crop field.
The heads appeared so abruptly that anyone would be startled.
Cen Shishi turned to look at Tian Xiao, only to see him taking it all in stride, even having the leisure to observe those neatly arranged heads before offering his conclusion: "They're all buried."
Just as Tian Xiao had seen before diving into the Black Mist's mouth, his classmates and teachers, along with some unfamiliar faces, were all buried within the Black Mist's body, with only their heads exposed.
Their eyes were closed, and occasionally, a few more lively ones would move their heads, as if trapped in dreams—judging by their expressions, likely nightmares.
Cen Shishi pointed at these heads and said, "They've all been eaten by the Black Mist. Those who are eaten end up here, keeping me company forever."
After saying this, Cen Shishi glanced at Tian Xiao. "You've been eaten too."
She just didn't understand why Tian Xiao hadn't been buried.
"Is this what you meant by 'too late'?" Tian Xiao asked.
Cen Shishi seemed to have lost all her strength. Looking at the heads before her, she slumped her shoulders and said dejectedly, "Yes, it's all too late."
Everyone had been eaten.
Tian Xiao walked around the heads, attempting to dig someone out to no avail, then suddenly asked, "Can you see the Black Mist?"
Cen Shishi was taken aback for a moment before nodding. "It seems like no one else can see it, only me. It saw how sad I was and came to comfort me, saying it could help me fulfill my wish."
"Were you upset because your parents are getting divorced?"
Tian Xiao's question made Cen Shishi fall silent again. After a long pause, she finally replied with a soft "yes."
Cen Shishi's parents were getting divorced.
It was common knowledge among many that her parents had a strained relationship.
Years ago, her father had an affair, and after her mother found out, she made a scene for a while.
Cen Shishi vaguely remembered her mother crying hysterically and smashing things while her father stormed out, slamming the door behind him.
Later, her mother stopped making a fuss but started keeping a young lover outside, neither parent giving in to the other.
There were many things about her parents' relationship that Cen Shishi didn't understand. She just didn't want to be abandoned by her mom and dad.
She clearly remembered how loving her parents had been when she was very young.
She was terrified and had begged her parents, but it was no use.
All she heard was her parents sitting together, arguing over who should take custody of her.
It was no surprise that Tian Xiao knew about this, as some classmates who didn't get along with her had mocked her for it.
"Because your parents are getting divorced, you were so upset that you told the Black Mist you wished everyone could stay with you forever and never leave?"
Cen Shishi clutched her little skirt, pursed her lips, and raised her voice. "I wanted them to love me, not abandon me, just like before… to never leave me."
"But not everyone buried here is your parents."
"Fine… I was so sad that I wished everyone I liked and everyone who liked me would never leave me."
Cen Shishi lowered her head and spoke faster, "I know what I did was wrong, but everyone leaves, right? Even Mom and Dad used to say they loved me, kiss me goodnight, but now neither of them wants me. Even when they see me crying, they just say I don’t understand… Are you going to blame me too? I…"
Cen Shishi was about to say more, but Tian Xiao interrupted her.
"Ah… Actually, I think it’s normal for you to feel this way. Everyone wants the people they like and who like them not to leave. It’s just that your approach was too crude."
Cen Shishi looked up, thinking she had misheard. "…Huh?"
"I said, your approach was too crude."
Cen Shishi was stunned, feeling that Tian Xiao, standing there with arms crossed, seemed unfamiliar.
After stammering for a while, Cen Shishi finally uttered a confused voice, "Then what should I have done?"
"That’s a good question." Tian Xiao smiled and clapped her hands.
After listening to Cen Shishi for so long, Tian Xiao had roughly understood the source of her inner turmoil.
It was simply a desire to be "loved."
In Tian Xiao’s view, "love" was an extremely expensive, immeasurable "luxury."
After all, in the Apocalypse—a world of scarce resources and monsters everywhere—humans lived like the walking dead, driven only by an instinctual craving for "survival."
It wasn’t until Tian Xiao grew stronger later that she gradually began to think about things beyond mere survival.
In the Apocalypse, even establishing "trust" between people was difficult, let alone "love."
But Tian Xiao had still witnessed "love."
Those who held love in their hearts or pursued "love."
Tian Xiao had indeed been shaken by "love," but it was undeniable that those people all died miserable deaths in the end.
Tian Xiao couldn’t discuss topics related to "love" with Cen Shishi, but if she simplified Cen Shishi’s problem—if it was just about making others unable to leave her…
"If you just want others to be unable to leave you, it’s actually very simple."
Tian Xiao’s hand traced an arc in the air. "Humans can’t live without air and water. Without them, they die, and no one wants to die, right? Besides that, a cripple can’t leave his crutch, can he?
"If you want someone to willingly be unable to leave you, just turn them into a cripple, and you become their crutch. Isn’t that right?"
Tian Xiao said these words lightly, but Cen Shishi listened with shock written all over her face.
When Tian Xiao looked at Cen Shishi, she felt as if the little girl was about to shatter from those words.
Tian Xiao waved a hand in front of Cen Shishi’s eyes. "Are you okay?"
Cen Shishi moved her eyeballs, her gaze settling on Tian Xiao. She seemed to want to speak but stopped, as if her language abilities had deteriorated.
Tian Xiao: "…"
Tian Xiao flashed a standard eight-tooth smile. "I was joking."
Cen Shishi finally let out a sigh of relief. "It was a joke."
"But things have turned out this way, and your wish has come true, yet you’re not happy." Tian Xiao pointed at the neatly arranged heads. "If you were given another chance, would you still make a wish to the Black Mist?"
Looking at the heads before her, Cen Shishi said dejectedly, "…This isn’t what I wanted, but… it’s too late now."
"It's actually not too late."
Tian Xiao's words made Cen Shishi abruptly look at him.
Tian Xiao smiled and said, "If you can spit them all out, and I lend a little help, maybe things aren't as bad as you think."
"Won't they die if I spit them out?"
"No," Tian Xiao affirmed.
Perhaps it was Tian Xiao's overly confident demeanor, or perhaps Cen Shishi also hoped to change the current situation, so she chose to believe Tian Xiao's words.
…
It was Tian Xiao himself who actively crawled out of the Black Mist's mouth.
The previously seemingly invincible Black Mist now lay sprawled on the playground as if suffering from a stomachache.
Cen Shishi, who had been controlled by the Black Mist with vacant eyes, seemed to have regained her senses and stood back on the ground, beginning to pull out the Black Mist tentacles from her back.
Those tentacles that Tian Xiao couldn't budge at all didn't seem as difficult for Cen Shishi to handle herself, though it clearly looked excruciatingly painful.
It really hurt.
It hurt so much that Cen Shishi's tears flowed and her hands and feet trembled, but she still pulled with all her might.
Screaming in agony as she pulled.
Cen Shishi wanted to stop from the pain, but when she looked up, she saw Tian Xiao squatting nearby. Meeting her gaze, he clapped and cheered her on with a smile, saying, "To keep everyone from dying!"
So Cen Shishi continued pulling with all her strength.
Finally, the first tentacle rooted in her back was torn off.
As the tentacle was pulled away, a person was spat out from the mouth of the Black Mist, which lay on the ground, also seemingly in pain.
The one spat out was Tian Xiao's classmate.
Tian Xiao walked over and dragged this classmate to an empty spot nearby.
During this short distance, the classmate who seemed to have stopped breathing began to rise and fall with breath again.
The influence the Black Mist had exerted on him was also removed.
This change was extremely obvious. The Black Mist lying not far away noticed it and extended a tentacle toward Tian Xiao's direction, only to curl it back mid-air.
It was in pain.
Its pain came from Cen Shishi.
After confirming his classmate was safe, Tian Xiao shouted to Cen Shishi, "He's okay!"
Thus, Cen Shishi found even more motivation and was even harsher on herself.
"Ow—!!!" the Black Mist screamed.
"Ah—!!!" Cen Shishi also screamed.
Tian Xiao stood before Cen Shishi and the massive Black Mist, watching as she pulled the tentacles from her back.
As tentacles fell one by one, more and more people were spat out from the Black Mist's mouth, and Cen Shishi's back was left with one horrifying hole after another.
She was truly in agony, but whenever she looked up and saw Tian Xiao smiling and telling her "Keep going," saying "Everyone's okay," Cen Shishi buried her head and continued pulling the tentacles from her back.
Tian Xiao looked down at her, feeling genuinely surprised.
It was hard to imagine a young girl could go this far, and despite being in such pain, she hadn't fainted.
But she was nearing her limit.
The Black Mist had shrunk considerably due to Cen Shishi's actions, lying on the ground in pain, just as Cen Shishi lay on the ground.
Cen Shishi looked utterly miserable now, even to the point where her vision blurred from the pain, and she could no longer hear Tian Xiao's voice.
Yet she still struggled to lift her hand…
Then she felt one of her hands being held.
The moment her hand was grasped, all the negative effects on Cen Shishi were reduced by half. She could see and hear clearly again.
She saw Tian Xiao crouching before her, holding her hand, and smiling as he said, "Not bad, you were almost there."
With a weak smile, Cen Shishi raised her hand once more, reaching back to grab the few remaining tentacles behind her.
"Ah—!!"