Chapter 875

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Chapter 875: Delivering the Knife

Fishing Village.

Baili Pangpang, Cao Yuan, and Shen Qingzhu walked silently along the village road, the atmosphere somewhat heavy.

“Pangpang.” After an unknown amount of time, Cao Yuan finally broke the silence, turning to Baili Pangpang and saying seriously, “You went a bit too far just now.”

Baili Pangpang lowered his head, walking at the back like a child who had done something wrong.

“I know… I didn’t want to argue with Qingyu.” Baili Pangpang kicked a stone underfoot, a hint of frustration in his voice. “But just now… I don’t know why, but as we talked, I suddenly got angry.”

Clang—!

The stone flew to the eaves of a nearby house, bouncing lightly and landing in a doghouse beside it.

“Woof woof woof woof—!!”

A sharp and fierce barking erupted from the doghouse, and a gray mutt suddenly burst out from a small hole, charging at Baili Pangpang with wild barks.

Baili Pangpang frowned and glanced at it, a flash of hostility in his eyes. He took out a short knife from his pocket, but just as he raised his hand, he froze in place.

He looked at the approaching mutt and then at the knife in his hand, his expression a mix of confusion and struggle… In the end, he put the knife away, lightly pointing his fingertip at the dog. A streak of spiritual light transformed into a thin blue rope, instantly binding one of the mutt’s hind legs to a nearby stone.

The dog, bound by the blue rope, stumbled and fell to the ground, but its limbs continued to frantically claw at the ground, barking at Baili Pangpang and the others.

Shen Qingzhu had witnessed Baili Pangpang’s actions.

He frowned, staring at Baili Pangpang as if pondering something…

“I…” Baili Pangpang opened his mouth but didn’t know what to say. He hugged his head with both hands, leaning against the wall and slowly squatting down.

“Are you okay?” Cao Yuan squatted down in front of him.

“I don’t know.” Baili Pangpang said, somewhat frustrated. “I seem to… be a bit off.”

“Woof woof woof woof—!!”

The mutt’s frantic barking echoed along the road, making one’s eardrums ache. Cao Yuan frowned slightly and continued to comfort him:

“Anyway, after this is over, you need to properly apologize to Qingyu…”

Cao Yuan’s voice was drowned out by the barking, and Baili Pangpang replied blankly, “What did you say? I can’t hear you.”

Cao Yuan took a deep breath and spoke again, “I said after this incident is over…”

“Woof woof woof—!!”

“Damn!!”

A flash of anger crossed Cao Yuan’s eyes as he suddenly stood up, his bloodshot gaze fixed on the bound mutt in the distance. His right hand instinctively moved to the hilt of his knife.

He applied slight pressure to his palm, ready to draw the knife!

Click—!

A hand quickly pressed down on the hilt, forcing the knife back into its sheath.

Cao Yuan turned his head, and his furious eyes met Shen Qingzhu’s, momentarily stunned.

“Don’t draw your knife.” Shen Qingzhu’s expression was unusually serious. “Cao Yuan, you absolutely cannot draw your knife!”

“Why?”

Shen Qingzhu opened his mouth to say something, but both of them caught sight of something in the distance, their pupils slightly constricting.

They saw the mutt, bound by the blue rope next to the stone, its eyes turning blood-red. It stopped barking and began to frantically bite at its own hind leg, as if completely unaware of the pain. Its sharp teeth tore through flesh, and with a sudden force, it actually bit off the very leg that was bound!

Fresh blood flowed from its body onto the ground, and the freed mutt slowly turned its head, its mouth smeared with its own blood and shredded flesh, revealing a gruesome grin, like a hellish beast, showing its fangs to the three of them.

“Woof woof woof—!!”

With only three legs left, it staggered but madly charged at Baili Pangpang, its eyes filled with rage and madness.

“Is it crazy?” Baili Pangpang exclaimed in shock as he witnessed this scene.

Even with one leg gone, the dog’s speed showed no signs of slowing. It was like a rabid dog that had lost its sense of pain, baring its bloody fangs and barking wildly at the three of them again.

At that moment, a gray shadow descended from the sky, accurately diving toward the rapidly moving mad dog.

It was a battered bird.

Shen Qingzhu recognized this bird; they had witnessed the bird flock’s brutal fight earlier that morning at the village entrance, and this bird was the last victor.

The bird’s eyes were also blood-red. It let out a sharp, piercing cry, folded its wings, and dove down from the sky like a gray lightning bolt, plunging into the mad dog’s right eye.

Blood splattered everywhere.

The mad dog’s roar turned into a wail as it shook its head violently, trying to shake the bird off, but the bird showed no fear, pecking at its other eye again and again.

A dog and a bird fought like mad.

Baili Pangpang and the others were stunned.

“There’s something here that can affect the rationality and emotions of living beings.” Shen Qingzhu observed this scene, becoming more certain of his judgment. He turned to Cao Yuan and Baili Pangpang, speaking with utmost seriousness, “Humans are also within its influence.”

“So, I was also…” Baili Pangpang seemed to understand something.

“Yeah, you lost control of your emotions just now; you were likely affected too.” Shen Qingzhu nodded slightly, then looked at Cao Yuan and said, “Cao Yuan, you were affected as well.”

Cao Yuan looked down at his right hand resting on the hilt of his knife, falling into silence.

In that moment earlier, he indeed felt the impulse to draw his knife and kill the dog.

With their skills, dealing with a rabid dog like this posed no difficulty at all; a single kick could send it flying dozens of meters away… But just now, he had murderous thoughts.

He wanted to draw his knife and unleash the Forbidden Ruins, to kill that mad dog.

“I…” Cao Yuan murmured.

“If humans are also within the influence of this power, then the one we need to be most cautious of is you, Cao Yuan.” Shen Qingzhu looked into Cao Yuan’s eyes, speaking earnestly, “The rest of us are fine. If we truly can’t maintain our rationality, we can have Pangpang use the forbidden object to restrict our actions, preventing us from doing something irreparable. But you are different.

Your [Black King’s Annihilation] is already prone to going out of control. If you draw your knife and enter the Black King state, the two will compound, and you won’t be able to maintain your rationality. Plus, with your terrifying rampaging Forbidden Ruins… even if Pangpang and I combined our strength, we might not be able to subdue you.”

Ahead on the road, the battle between the bird and the mad dog was nearing its end. The mad dog bit off the bird’s head and staggered forward a few steps, seemingly wanting to tear at Baili Pangpang, but after just a few steps, it collapsed to the ground, blood flowing from its body, and moments later, it lost its breath.

Cao Yuan silently watched this scene, took a deep breath, and removed the straight knife from his waist, handing it to Shen Qingzhu.

“Brother, here’s my knife. Keep it safe for me.”