Black Mist 05
After pulling out all the tentacles from her back, Cen Shishi fainted.
The Black Mist spat out all the people it had swallowed, shrinking back to the size Tian Xiao was familiar with. It lay on the ground, looking utterly exhausted.
Stepping over the people lying haphazardly on the ground, Tian Xiao reached out toward the Black Mist lying on the floor.
The Black Mist clearly wanted to dodge, but it simply didn’t have the strength to move.
The once-overbearing entity was now like a lump of dough in Tian Xiao’s hands, being kneaded and shaped over and over again.
The Black Mist squirmed in Tian Xiao’s grasp, and fragmented whispers repeatedly drifted into his ears.
“Why…”
“Why don’t you feel pain?”
“Why?”
The tentacles rooted in Cen Shishi’s back weren’t “growing” in the ordinary sense—otherwise, Tian Xiao would have pulled them out long ago.
They were the physical manifestation of the “pact” between Cen Shishi and the Black Mist.
When Cen Shishi tried to remove the tentacles, the process was excruciating.
It would have been nearly impossible for a young girl like Cen Shishi to endure it on her own.
It was only because Tian Xiao bore most of the pain for her that Cen Shishi managed to pull out all the tentacles.
Throughout the process, Tian Xiao acted as if nothing was wrong.
The Black Mist couldn’t understand.
Didn’t Tian Xiao feel any pain?
In contrast, the Black Mist was also in agony.
Not only did it hurt, but with each tentacle pulled out and each person spat out, the Black Mist was rapidly weakened.
It had finally found a suitable candidate to restore its strength…
“Pain? Oh, it hurt quite a bit~” Tian Xiao said with a grin.
As for why he seemed completely unfazed?
Perhaps it was because he had long grown accustomed to pain.
Sometimes, the pain itself even reminded him that he was still alive.
He tightened his grip, and the Black Mist contorted in response.
It fell silent, like a real lump of dough.
As the Black Mist grew “dormant,” the eerily empty school campus was once again filled with human voices.
They were back.
“Beeeeep—!” A sharp whistle suddenly sounded.
Tian Xiao turned toward the noise and saw a group of children who should have been in a physical education class, along with a tall PE teacher.
Standing against the light, the PE teacher removed the whistle from his mouth, raised his hand, and asked loudly, “What’s going on here? Why are so many people lying on the ground?”
Faced with the teacher’s question, Tian Xiao was momentarily at a loss for how to respond.
But he didn’t have to think for long.
The people lying on the ground gradually woke up, and before long, the sound of loud crying filled the air.
…
Everyone was terrified.
Not just the children, but the adults too.
They all looked shaken and unsettled.
Most of the children who woke up were crying, while some simply lay there with their eyes wide open, silent.
The adults tried to compose themselves and managed to speak, but their words were hesitant: “…I don’t know why I’m here, but… I had a terrible nightmare.”
No one could clearly describe what the nightmare was about.
They felt as if they had been swallowed by a monster, with many others lying around them.
It was like a Nightmare—unable to open their eyes, unable to move their limbs.
They could only feel themselves slipping into an endless abyss of darkness, helpless and despairing.
Seven-year-old Tian Xiao was not troubled. Clutching the "little black dough" in his hand, he obediently stood to the side, watching the school teachers run around frantically.
Doctors arrived, Hat Officers came, and many of the students' parents showed up as well.
No one could clearly explain what had actually happened, though plenty of strange theories popped up.
Things like ghosts clouding vision, mass hysteria, demons causing trouble, and so on, accompanied by little stories starting with "I heard" or "the older generation says" to back up their guesses. Tian Xiao listened with wide eyes.
In the end, some went to the hospital, while others returned home.
The homeroom teacher announced that school was canceled for the day. With no one coming to pick him up, Tian Xiao shouldered his little backpack and headed out.
Just this morning, on the way to school, Tian Xiao had told his Mom, "I don’t want to go to school." Who would have thought his wish would come true so soon?
A day off was still a day off!
And he had even caught some "Black Mist" to give his Mom an extra treat!
Feeling delighted, Tian Xiao spent the whole walk home thinking about how best to prepare this Black Mist for his Mom to eat.
Lost in thought all the way, he reached the big banyan tree and, sure enough, saw his Mom still standing there.
Mom was of course happy to see Tian Xiao coming home.
But it was still early in the day, not a normal time for rest, yet here was Tian Xiao…
"School’s closed today!" Tian Xiao quickly spoke up before Mom could start transforming.
Mom, who had been about to change form, shifted her gaze and fixed her eyes on Tian Xiao.
"It’s true! Something happened at school today, so there’s no class!"
Mom stared at Tian Xiao for a moment, then a smile slowly spread across her face.
Mom’s transformation crisis was averted.
Tian Xiao reached out to take Mom’s hand.
It was the first time Tian Xiao had held Mom’s hand.
It felt cold to the touch, not like an ordinary human’s hand.
But then, his Mom in this world was indeed no ordinary human.
Tian Xiao’s action caused Mom to briefly freeze up. She looked down at his hand, her body naturally following his lead as they walked forward. In her ears, Tian Xiao’s cheerful voice chimed, "Mom, you’ll never guess who I met at school today and what happened…"
Whether Mom understood or how much she heard, Tian Xiao didn’t know.
He just chattered away, sharing bits and pieces of what had happened at school that day.
Once they got home, he held out the "black dough" in his hand for Mom to see, saying happily, "Look, Mom! There’s something tasty today!"
Mom was indeed looking.
But she wasn’t looking at the "black dough"—she was looking at Tian Xiao.
Ever since she became Tian Xiao’s "Mom," this was the first time he had spoken so much to her.
Tian Xiao today… seemed to be in a very good mood.
Tian Xiao gently guided Mom to sit at the table.
Normally, it would be Tian Xiao waiting at the table for Mom to return from the kitchen.
But today was different. Today, Tian Xiao had commandeered the kitchen.
He had initially worried Mom might object, but surprisingly, things went smoothly. Mom cooperated fully with Tian Xiao’s actions, obediently sitting at the table and waiting.
On the way home, Tian Xiao had thought long and hard about how best to handle this Black Mist.
Sure, Mom could "eat it raw," but wouldn’t it be better to prepare it a little?
Upon entering the kitchen, Tian Xiao finally thought of how to handle this Black Mist.
"Let's make knife-shaved noodles!"
Coincidentally, the Black Mist now looked just like a ball of dough, except it was black in color.
Tian Xiao considered his culinary skills to be average.
After all, during the Apocalypse, there was no environment for culinary skills to develop—having something to eat was already a blessing.
However, Tian Xiao knew how to make simple noodles, especially when it came to knife skills.
With that, Tian Xiao picked up a kitchen knife that was somewhat large for him and swiftly made two cuts. For a moment, flashes of blade light filled the kitchen, and smooth, evenly sliced knife-shaved noodles were shaved off.
Just as Tian Xiao was almost done, the flashes of blade light suddenly stopped.
Looking at the glowing glass ball full of cracks that had abruptly appeared in his hand, Tian Xiao tilted his head in confusion.
"What is this?"
Tian Xiao lifted the glowing glass ball for a closer look, then placed it on the cutting board and struck it with the back of the knife.
"Ding—"