Stranger Danger

Chapter 580: Strange Actions

The next moment, Tiger Sovereign let out a howl of fury and thrust his hands into a withered tree in front of him. His arms easily penetrated the tree trunk like it was paper.

The way he was acting, you would think that he wasn’t attacking a tree, but his sworn enemy.

Tiger Sovereign wasn’t done, however. He strained his muscles and tore the tree in half. Then, he swiped his hands through the air repeatedly and hacked the tree trunk into itsy bitsy pieces.

As he ripped and tore at the pieces of wood, he roared on top of his lungs, “I’ll kill you! I’ll tear you apart! It’s your fault for abandoning me! You deserve this for throwing me away! Hahahahaha!”

After there was nothing left of the tree, Tiger Sovereign looked up at the sky and laughed like a madman. However, his laughter gradually turned into a sob, and he hugged his head and crouched on the floor, weeping.

He looked like an animal who had been abandoned by his parents, lonely, helpless, and in despair.

Despite Tiger Sovereign’s abnormal behavior, neither Skin Painting Gentleman nor Limp Celestial were paying him any attention. They were still staring at the black lotus blankly.

The situation didn’t last. Skin Painting Gentleman began trembling, and his already pale complexion turned so pale that he looked no different from a white paper.

“Don’t... Don’t come closer! I’m not afraid of you all!”

A terrified scream escaped his lips, and his skin puppets abruptly scattered in every direction. They tore down every tree, plant and rock in his vicinity. However, a few breaths later, the skin puppets suddenly pulled apart almost as if an invisible hand had shredded them into pieces.

“No... don’t come closer! I didn’t want to kill you either... If you must demand retribution, then I’ll give you back your skin!”

At the same time, Skin Painting Gentleman let out another terrified scream and scrambled toward the distance on all fours. Right now, he looked like a cornered animal far more than a refined gentleman.

As he ran, Skin Painting Gentleman ripped and tore away at his own face. Every time he pulled, a piece of human skin would slide down his person almost like they were clothes. He then threw it behind him as if it was an offering to an angry spirit.

The skin he ripped off his person and tore away writhed for a moment as if it was alive. Then, it began chasing after Skin Painting Gentleman.

It was a bizarre sight to say the least.

As for Limp Celestial, he was sitting crosslegged on the ground and staring at the empty space in front of him with bright eyes and a wide smile.

The next moment, he grabbed a rotten Human-faced Peach Blossom from the ground and shoved it into his mouth. A look of satisfaction spread across his face as he chewed slowly.

Limp Celestial was just beginning, however. After he was done chewing the Human-faced Peach Blossom, he picked up a dead branch from the ground and began ripping into it as if it wasn’t a branch, but a drumstick. He would continue to consume the dead branches, leaves, soil, stones and more as if they were the most delicious food in the entire world. Despite the alarming rate at which his stomach was inflating, he did not slow down in the slightest.

Tok tok tok!

A dozen or so breaths later, a crisp tapping sound suddenly came from somewhere within the forest. It was rapid and rhythmic like it contained some sort of magic.

Almost as soon as the sound appeared, the weeping Tiger Sovereign, the running Skin Painting Gentleman, and the feeding Limp Celestial stopped doing what they were doing at the exact same time. Then, light reentered their unfocused eyes, and they looked left and right as if trying to rediscover their bearings. When they recalled what they were doing just now, their expressions immediately turned as ugly as sin.

Skin Painting Gentleman waved his hand and halted the pouncing skin puppets dead in their tracks. Then, they flew back to his person like clothes.

Limp Celestial was digging his fingers into his mouth and throwing up the dead branches, leaves, soil and stones he consumed as best he could. Tears and snot streamed down his face as his complexion turned a shade of purple.

Tiger Sovereign wiped his tears without batting an eyelid before observing his surroundings warily. Then, he barked harshly, “Who are you? Show yourself!”

A lazy, uncaring voice came from deeper within the forest. “Wow. I saved your lives, and you couldn’t even be bothered to thank me?”

“I’m not going to repeat myself a third time. Show yourself, or suffer the consequences!” Tiger Sovereign grunted with impatience.

Skin Painting Gentleman and Limp Celestial were staring coldly at the origin of the voice as well.

“Fine, fine. Man, it’s so hard to be a good person these days.”

A young man slowly stepped out from behind a peach blossom tree. He was pretty almost to the point where he looked more like a woman than a man. He was also wearing a pink robe and a peach blossom flower on his head; his attire made him look even more feminine and attractive.

If it wasn’t for his masculine voice and the obvious bulge rolling up and down his throat, anyone would think that he was a woman, not a man.

A wooden fish was floating next to the man, and seated above the wooden fish was a cute little girl. She was hugging a hammer slightly bigger than her with both hands and sticking out her tongue, panting.

Clearly, the tapping noise had come from this wooden fish.

“Who are you... scion[1]?”

Skin Painting Gentleman frowned a little. He thought that the speaker was hiding far, far away in the forest, when in reality they were right under their nose. He could not believe that he hadn’t sense him until he revealed himself.

More importantly, he could not sense his strength. He didn’t recognize him either.

“My name is Xie Taohua (Withering Peach Blossom). I was passing through the area when I noticed the oddities of this mountain. So, I decided to check it out.”

Xie Taohua blinked coyly at the trio, his peach blossom eyes looking moist and attractive. “It was then I saw him laughing and weeping,” he pointed at Tiger Sovereign, “You running away like your life depends on it,” he pointed at Skin Painting Gentleman, “And him eating stones and branches for some reason.” he pointed at Limp Celestial at the end. “So, I came.”

“It didn’t look like any of you was going to regain your senses, so I decided to intervene. No need to thank me. I love helping those in need, you see.”

Skin Painting Gentleman, Limp Celestial and Tiger Sovereign exchanged a glance with each other. Their wariness of Xie Taohua was only growing by the second.

As if he could read their minds, Xie Taohua said lazily, “Relax. If I really wanted to kill you, I would’ve done so while you were still trapped in an illusion, right?”

“Haha... Thank you for your help, Brother Xie.” Skin Painting Gentleman saluted him.

“You’re welcome.” Xie Taohua shook his head. Then, he licked his lips and asked curiously, “But if you really want to thank me, why don’t you answer my question? I really want to know what the three of you saw in your illusions.”

“The big guy over there wept like a baby even though he’s a walking slab of muscles. You ran all over the place like you’re being chased by ghosts. As for him, boy, I’m really curious as to why he’s chowing down those rotten leaves, stones and branches like it’s the most delicious food in the world. Are they really that tasty?”

“Are you making fun of us, boy?” Tiger Sovereign spoke up with an unfriendly glint in his eyes. A displeased frown flashed through Skin Painting Gentleman and Limp Celestial’s faces as well. None of them were happy with what happened to them just now.

The illusion they saw wasn\'t just any ordinary illusion. It was also a reflection of their deepest secrets.

Tiger Sovereign was an orphan who was abandoned by his parents at a young age. He only survived to adulthood because he was raised by a tiger. It was why he was overflowing with loathing toward his parents.

His parents had appeared in his illusion. That was why he lost his mind and tore them to pieces.

1. I deeply, deeply, DEEPLY regret my decision to not use sir in this novel because it felt culturally inappropriate. Truly, it is easily the mistake I regret the most since starting this novel. ☜