Chapter 44: Let Me Wipe Your Tears

Li Changluo kept rubbing his feet against the ground, desperately trying to get rid of the chocolate syrup that had coated his shoes. It felt no different from stepping in something filthy. He sheathed the fruit knife at his waist, still processing the disappointment. He had imagined his impressive new power would work just like those of the Fire Mage—launching a dazzling combo, then finishing with an ultimate move. Not even a blink could save his opponent. But reality had a way of surprising him. The flames weren’t as obedient as he’d hoped; they refused his command, burning only himself. How embarrassing. What sort of bizarre abilities were these?

And as if that wasn’t enough, Fatty Wang had warned him: this skill came with a side effect.

“Kid, don’t think it’s over yet.”

At that moment, the chocolate monster, battered beyond recognition beneath Li Changluo’s feet, began to float slowly into the air. Its body restored itself, though it now appeared translucent, insubstantial—a demon soul. Just like last time, when the fox demon Zi had separated her spirit from her body. Monsters could send their souls wandering, much like cultivators traveling in the void, but it was perilous: if the demon soul failed to find a host in time, it would soon dissipate into nothingness.

Hovering in midair, the chocolate monster scoured the tomb for a vessel. Yet after searching, all that remained was the shattered coffin lid. Fatty Wang’s demon soul still lingered there, not entirely faded. If he could just squeeze him out…

It would have to do.

He drifted swiftly toward the coffin lid.

“No! Brother Fatty, that’s all that’s left of him!” Xiaoqing pleaded, her voice breaking. The hard chocolate shell had fallen from her body, but the recent battle had drained her of so much demon power that she could barely sit upright, let alone intervene.

Blackie leapt forward, trying to stop the chocolate monster. His paw, however, passed right through the spirit, leaving no mark. He licked his paw, disappointed.

What a bunch of fools.

The chocolate monster grinned, about to slip into the coffin lid. But suddenly, an irresistible urge to bathe overcame him. Stripping off his signature De Fu chocolate coat, he began to mime a bath in front of everyone—scrubbing, shampooing, making bubbles, washing himself clean—all with great relish, as if performing an invisible pantomime.

It looked remarkably realistic.

Li Changluo stood nearby, holding a glass bead and pointing it at the monster. He hadn’t expected the bead to work on demon souls, but here it was. Yet… something seemed off. The bead, once green, now glowed with a yellowish tint. Puzzled, Li Changluo watched as, lost in his imaginary bath, the chocolate monster’s spirit was sucked into the bead, vanishing like dust.

A flush of heat surged through Li Changluo—his whole body burning, as if his cosmos were about to explode.

Could it be… Am I about to awaken?

Damn, am I finally going to transform into my true form?

Li Changluo roared at the top of his lungs.

But… the rush of power faded as quickly as it came, leaving him uncertain whether he should continue shouting. Crestfallen, he fell silent and glanced down at the bead in his hand. The liquid inside was nearly gone; previously, it had only caused hallucinations—he hadn’t expected it to absorb souls as well. And perhaps it was just the light, but the remaining liquid seemed even denser in color.

The black flames cloaking his body slowly receded. The tomb was in utter ruin. Xiaoqing sat slumped on the floor, blankly gathering the broken pieces of coffin wood. Li Changluo wanted to wipe her tears away, but… there weren’t any. She wasn’t crying at all.

What am I supposed to wipe—her lollipop?

Life is full of unexpected turns.

This wasn’t how things went in those show-off novels.

Li Changluo, the quintessential straight man, simply stood in front of Xiaoqing, awkward and at a loss. He wanted to comfort her, but he’d never been in love before—how was he supposed to go about it? Should he say something like, “Don’t bow your head, or your crown will fall. Don’t cry, or the villains will laugh”? Or maybe just kiss her straight away?

Ever practical, Li Changluo closed his eyes, puckered his lips, and prepared to receive Xiaoqing’s kiss—thrilled and anxious, his first kiss on the line, anticipation and embarrassment warring inside him.

But reality had other plans. It proved once again that a tomboy has no business with romance. Xiaoqing slapped him across the face, stars exploding in his vision, catching him completely off guard.

“What are you doing?” Li Changluo stared at her, hand pressed to his cheek, shocked.

“Cry,” Xiaoqing replied, then delivered another stinging slap.

Li Changluo, hands clapped to his face, was dumbstruck.

Slap, slap, slap.

Several more crisp smacks, and he finally broke down, crying in grievance. This wasn’t how the story was supposed to go. The hero saves the beauty, and in the end, shouldn’t she throw herself into his arms? Or at least not this…

He felt wronged.

“You promised…”

“I’d wait for you, to wipe away your tears,” Xiaoqing said, cupping Li Changluo’s face in both hands, solemnly wiping away every tear, careful not to miss a single drop.

Li Changluo was stunned. Had he said something wrong before?

What a lunatic. Terrifying.

“Pah! Two penniless mutts in love,” Blackie muttered, having just been force-fed another dose of their affection. He licked his fingers, still tasting chocolate.

Sickeningly sweet—is this the flavor of love?

But as he licked, something tasted off—an earthy tang. Looking down, he saw his hands were covered in dirt.

Where had the dirt come from?

Blackie looked up, nearly blinded by what he saw. A crack had appeared in the ceiling of the tomb.

A collapse? No, something wasn’t right. Through the fissure, he could just make out a human silhouette.

“You two, stop carrying on and look up! There’s going to be a collapse,” Blackie urgently called out to the tearful pair.

Li Changluo felt the tomb tremble and quickly looked up. When had the ceiling split? Through the crack, he saw a white figure hovering above, but couldn’t make out its features. The fissure seemed to spin, making him dizzy and nauseous…

His head grew heavy, the world went dark. He felt so weak.

When he got out, he’d need a whole bottle of Kidney Tonic.

This time, he truly fainted.

Li Changluo swore he wasn’t faking—who would play dead with a tomb collapse looming? It’d be useless anyway.

But… he was still aware, still thinking, even analyzing that faking death wouldn’t help here. Yet he couldn’t open his eyes, couldn’t move.

Everything around him was silent. Hadn’t the tomb collapsed? With such a dramatic event, why was no one shouting? And what was that white figure?

He felt so lonely in this state.

Just then, a faint light flickered before his eyes. A misty veil appeared, the subtle glow filtering through its haze. Li Changluo felt warmth spread through his body; he wasn’t sure if it was agitation, but this time the feeling was real—warm, comfortable, peaceful, without any urge to scream about awakening.

He felt like a dog basking in the sun, utterly content.

Within the mist, a corner gradually filled with dazzling points of light, colorful as a nebula.

Then, Li Changluo’s strength drained away, and he truly lost consciousness.