Chapter 7: Defeating Ten at Once? Impossible

Xiao Qing was a little frightened and hid behind Li Changluo.

Beneath the task board, a group of people in varied attire had surrounded Li Changluo and Hei Wa, hemming them in. Judging by their demeanor, they were here for Xiao Qing.

“Xiao Qing, why did you run off? We’ve been looking for you for ages.”

A soldier, dressed in soft leather armor reminiscent of a terracotta warrior, stepped forward and snarled at Xiao Qing behind Li Changluo, “Do you want to end up like your fat brother?”

But Li Changluo’s gaze was fixed on the soldier’s face.

This soldier’s face—it was just an arrowhead. Eyes, nose, ears, and mouth were all growing out of that arrowhead. On the very tip of the arrow, a few tufts of hair sprouted. It was a comical sight.

The monsters in the Monster Tavern had all died unnatural deaths, and in the afterlife, they took the shape of whatever had killed them. So it wasn’t surprising that this soldier had become an Arrowhead Monster.

He strode right up to Li Changluo, completely ignoring him, and dragged Xiao Qing from behind his back. Without further ado, he started walking away with her.

Xiao Qing turned her head, her white pupils brimming with tears, and stared blankly at Li Changluo. Her eyes were filled with helplessness and pleading.

But Li Changluo didn’t look at her; he quietly studied the soldier’s back.

“Wait.” Li Changluo finally spoke.

The monsters encircling them all glared at Li Changluo with fierce, twisted faces—modern monsters, ancient monsters, all sorts of bizarre shapes. An outlet monster? A stick monster? A guillotine-dog monster?

But they all wore the same vicious expression, as if to say, “Kid, meddle and you’re dead.”

Li Changluo smiled apologetically at them, then pointed at the soldier’s back and asked in genuine concern, “Doesn’t that hurt?”

The soldier ignored him and kept dragging Xiao Qing along.

Li Changluo scratched his head, his face contorting in sympathy, and pressed on, “Really, with so many arrows stuck in your backside, doesn’t it hurt?”

It turned out that the soldier’s rear was bristling with arrows, much like a porcupine.

“How pitiful!” Hei Wa sighed beside him.

“It truly is,” Li Changluo agreed, stroking his chin and shaking his head in confusion. “But why always shoot that part?”

At this, the Arrowhead Monster halted, as if gathering his thoughts. Suddenly, he spun around and roared, “Are you all idiots, lacking any tact? You think you’re clever? Only you know? Don’t you think I know?”

“What do you want me to do, pull them out here one by one?”

“Can they even be pulled out?”

The room erupted with laughter; even the arrowhead’s companions covered their mouths, chuckling discreetly and amicably.

Yet Xiao Qing did not laugh. She gazed at Li Changluo, her eyes full of blame and sorrow.

Why are you staring at me?

Stop looking at me. I haven’t even avenged that time you hit me with a stick. I’ve already been kind to you. You’re not really my wife. Why should I help you? There’s nothing in it for me. Why should I help you? Stop looking at me like that. It’s pointless.

No. I won’t help. Absolutely not.

The Arrowhead Monster marched Xiao Qing toward the tavern’s entrance. Xiao Qing kept glancing back at Li Changluo, as if he were her only hope.

Li Changluo turned his gaze to the task board instead, putting on a show of studiously searching for a suitable task.

“Wait.”

The Arrowhead Monster snapped, thoroughly exasperated—who wouldn’t be, with all this nonsense? But before he could react, someone kicked him hard in the rear. He staggered and fell flat on his face.

“Let! Go! Of! My! Woman!”

Li Changluo stood protectively before Xiao Qing, enunciating each word. Then, with trembling hands, he pulled out a cigarette and tried to light it.

But…

He couldn’t get it lit. The situation was about as awkward as it could be.

“You’ve got it backwards—wrong end,” Hei Wa jogged up and flipped the cigarette around in Li Changluo’s mouth.

Li Changluo coughed, cursing Hei Wa in his heart. That ruined the dramatic effect—how was he supposed to intimidate this gang now?

“Take them all!” the Arrowhead Monster barked, climbing to his feet with a murderous glint—though his arrowhead face always looked murderous anyway.

The monsters around them cracked their knuckles, readying themselves to strike.

“Well, we’re done for,” Hei Wa muttered into his hands. He knew his own demonic power—he might handle one or two, but there were a dozen or more enemies here.

Yet Li Changluo remained calm, his face blooming into a serene smile. He rolled up his sleeves and, without haste…

Suddenly lay flat on the ground, limbs flailing like a turtle flipped on its back.

And then…

While everyone stared in confusion, Li Changluo wailed at the top of his lungs:

“Help! Murder! These shameless monsters are ganging up on us!”

“Heroes! Chivalrous souls! Come out and defend the weak!”

“We’re going to die!”

He rolled on the floor, weeping and howling like a scoundrel.

Just moments ago, when he’d kicked the Arrowhead Monster, Xiao Qing had been overwhelmed with admiration. But now…

She turned her face away, pretending not to know Li Changluo, awkwardly fiddling with her fingers.

“Cunning, slippery, and bold—well done!” Hei Wa applauded, admiration plain on his face.

Li Changluo remained seated on the floor, wailing in agony—yet all the while, he kept a close eye on the reactions of the other monsters in the tavern. What else could he do? The enemy was too strong; if he couldn’t fight, he’d run; if he couldn’t run, he’d make a scene, roll on the ground—a strategy he’d devised himself.

A wise man avoids suffering in the moment. As long as the green hills remain, there will always be firewood. Even when the road ends, another path may open. Above all, he mustn’t let himself suffer needlessly.

The monsters chatting at the octagonal tables and those browsing the task board were all drawn by Li Changluo’s pig-slaughtering howls.

Public sympathy naturally sides with the weak. Especially now, with over a dozen monsters surrounding Li Changluo. And Li Changluo’s cries seemed to come from his very soul.

“Outrageous…”

“Look what you’ve done to that poor half-demon.”

“Damn it, how can you bully a child monster?”

“Just look how earnestly he’s crying, how hard he’s trying.”

“Do you know the sound of weeping in the Midnight Tavern?”

“My heart aches for the demon child.”

In an instant, the entire tavern united as never before, indignantly cursing the bullies. Spittle flew everywhere. It seemed they’d forgotten all about Li Changluo, the victim, and even why they were cursing. The more they cursed, the more agitated and delighted they became, racking their brains for the vilest insults to hurl at the monsters harassing Li Changluo.

A few elderly monsters even worked themselves into such a frenzy that they fainted on the spot.

But none of them moved from where they stood. No one so much as lifted a finger to help the weak or draw a sword for justice.

Yet that was enough—Li Changluo’s goal had been achieved.

The usually overbearing monsters, now the targets of the tavern’s wrath, were so flustered that the timid among them nearly dropped dead on the spot. The Arrowhead Monster had no choice but to quickly herd his followers out of the tavern, humiliated.

He left behind a final threat.

“Boy, if you’ve got guts, don’t go out that door.”

“What, I can’t use the back door?” Li Changluo replied smugly, forming a heart with his fingers at the Arrowhead Monster.

Love you!

Love your sister.

Am I an idiot?

Why would I tell you?