XIAO SHUXIANG'S

418 - Shouxing

"Dad..!!"

The look of the boy's face was panicked, he was all his might pulling the hand of his father who was partially hit by the ruins of the building.

"Mother..!! Dad..!!"

The boy drew the hands of his parents in turn. Too bad his body was too small to save these two adults who were so close to him.

"Go Xiao'Er..! Save yourself..!"

"Mom, I can't leave you. Come try..!"

"Go, Son..!"

!!

Part of the roof of the building fell down again. The flames were increasingly spreading and this made the boy that Lan Guan Zhi saw a thorn. He kept calling his father and mother while trying to pull them off.

Lan Guan Zhi's eyes narrowed slightly when he saw the child's face that did not feel foreign in his memory. It was as if he had seen the boy somewhere.

Lan Guan Zhi was about to walk to save the little family, but his steps came to a halt upon hearing the words from Shouxing.

"You can't save them even if you want to. This is one of the memories I want to show you, so pay attention."

Lan Guan Zhi had no choice but to feel uneasy about not being able to do anything to save the two parents from the boy she saw.

"Dad..! You can do it, let's move..!"

!!

Parts of the building again collapsed and this made the child's vision blocked. The extremely hot flames around him did not he care at all, even including the condition of his body that was not in good condition at the moment.

"Xiao 'Er.. You have to stay alive. No matter what happens, never die. Promise to stay alive." The father's tight grip made the look on the boy's face change.

"I promise you, I'll never die. You have to promise that too. Come Daddy..! Move around..! Mother.. Mom too..! Please move..! Let's get out of here."

!!

The boy used his left arm to cover his eyes. He coughed at the smoke from his burning house. Now around him there was only fire.

He cannot bring his father and mother out of this fire, but he must find a way. He did not want to leave without taking his parents with him.

The eyes of the child are being looked at in all directions. He was looking for someone who could help or something he could use to free his father and mother.

Unfortunately he saw nothing but the flames and the ruins of his house. Lots of wood and clothes burned. The only thing he could reach was the hands of his father and mother as well as the sword close enough to him.

!!

The boy's eyes were round. Without a second thought he grabbed the large and sharp sword, then tried to swing it with all his might.

CRAASH..!

!!

Lan Guan Zhi who was not affected by the flames around him seemed surprised to see how the 7-year-old slashed his own father's neck without hesitation.

The action also makes the mother of the Son surprised not to play. Pain in her body that was hit by the ruins of the building seemed to disappear when her eyes became witnesses of the death of her husband - right in front of her own.

"Xiao 'Er... W-what are you-!!"

Not yet had his words resolved, suddenly his gaze darkened. He did not believe he could die being cut down by his own son.

!!

Lan Guan Zhi involuntarily held his breath. He noticed how the boy raised the Father's head and threw him out of the flames. The boy did the same thing to his mother's head.

As much as the child's energy ran through the flames. He gasped for breath, but still tried to take back the heads of his parents who he threw just now.

"Dad.. Mother.. You guys are okay, right?"

!!

For the umpteenth time Lan Guan Zhi was shocked by the boy's behavior.

He could not figure out how a child swung a sword and slashed the heads of his own two parents without hesitation, threw the head down, and now invited the two heads to talk as if nothing had happened.

"What are you trying to show me"

"He's Xiao Shuxiang."

!!

Shouxing's reply left Lan Guan Zhi again shocked. He must have heard wrong. He knew his best friend was the reincarnation of the Destroying Star, but how could a very young child do such a terrible thing.

"Dad? Why don't you talk?"

!!

Xiao Shuxiang's small voice made Lan Guan Zhi turn towards him. He kept calling out his father's name and occasionally patted the Father's cheek gently.

"Mother? You're all right, right? I didn't throw you too hard, did I? Mommy?"

Xiao Shuxiang rubbed his mother's cheek gently. He apologized for causing his mother injury. It's just that, the Mother had no voice at all.

Due to his Fire Phoenix dantian, the fire that Xiao Shuxiang had previously broken through only partially burned his clothes and it did not leave any severe burns on his skin.

"Dad.. Mother.. Are you guys really dead? Dad.." Xiao Shuxiang had trouble swallowing his saliva, as opposed to the crying-face and the look in his eyes was more of a shock.

"How is this possible..? The Demonic Beast head that I once slashed away was able to regrow the lost and living parts of its body again. But why can't you do it? Dad..? Mammy? Answer me..! Why can't you do it?!"

Xiao Shuxiang clutched his father and mother's hair. He stared at the faces of his dead parents in open eyes.

"Tsk, dammit. Is this how you guys are dead? Really weak. I'm not sure you're my parents. Embarrassment."

!!

That is a sentence that should not be spoken by a small child, let alone a child who has clearly killed both parents themselves.

"You don't need to be surprised, Young Master Lan. What you see is just the beginning.." Shouxing narrowed his eyes slightly and the atmosphere around him changed again.

He exposed Xiao Shuxiang's inhumane behavior to the white-clothed young man beside him. Sometimes he gives an explanation of what he shows.

All Lan Guan Zhi knew was the story of his best friend's life while still the Destroying Star. He had only seen how his friend had grown into a bloodthirsty human to the degree of 'Heretic' from a fellow Black Flow cultivator in the past.

".. Xiang'Er did not hesitate to kill the baby whose crying voice disturbed his hearing. He did not even hesitate to pull out the little boy's tongue and cut it just for his personal pleasure,"

Shouxing showed the appearance of the mature Xiao Shuxiang to Lan Guan Zhi and occasionally examined the look on the face of this young man who seemed flat to him.

"His face is the same, but I don't know that person. He was not the Shuxiang I knew," Lan Guan Zhi's voice was cold, but to be honest - he was angry at the uncivilized manner of a figure whose face resembled that of his good friend.

"Xiang'Er with you now is the new Xiang'Er. But it is not impossible, he can return to his former self. The figure I'm showing you right now. If that happens, will you keep walking by his side?"

?!

Lan Guan Zhi looked at Shouxing, the young man asking her something unexpected.

"Right now, Xiang'Er was in a state of anxiety. There was someone in his past who came and piled doubts in his heart to trust humans. The words of the man were in line with the contents of his innermost heart.."

What Shouxing meant was none other than Lumiere, a winged creature so beautiful from The Fallen Angel World as well as the girl that Xiao Shuxiang loved in the past.

Unbeknownst to him, Shouxing had been in the body of that Alchemist Chef since the first time the Ancestral Spirit Light belonging to the Sky Pagoda Sect touched him. Hence, every single thing he did-can be witnessed by Shouxing.

"Xiang'Er never considered you a friend. You're valuable and he respects you because he thinks only you can stop him. The seal of your creation that made anyone unable to sense that Qi was the thing he was most wary of. But if Xiang'Er knew how you took the seal out, you would no longer be needed."

Shouxing was silent for a moment. Previously, he had wanted to ask Lan Guan Zhi to be careful. But when you think about it, this young man seemed to need something else more.

"Xiang 'Er.. He had now regained all of his strength and that was coupled with the talent he had in this life. I guess.. You can't even deal with it anymore,"

Lan Guan Zhi did not say anything other than nodding softly. He agreed with Shouxing. Thinking about it however, his best friend had more luck than him.

If they were to fight, there was no way Lan Guan Zhi could win against Xiao Shuxiang. He had promised to kill his best friend, but when he was sure-doubts would haunt him.

"You're right. I'm too weak. Shuxiang would not hear anyone who was much weaker than him." Lan Guan Zhi looked at the mature figure of his good friend who was currently grinning while gripping the neck of a swordsman.

Xiao Shuxiang himself did not see Lan Guan Zhi nor was he aware of the young man's presence. He was just a form of memory that Shouxing showed.

"He won't hear you. You have to be stronger or at the very least, comparable to him. Then Xiang'Er will pay respect to you."

Shouxing blinked his eyes softly and all the images he showed Lan Guan Zhi disappeared. Now, only the two of them were in this expanse of land.

"You haven't answered my question. If in this life Xiang'Er returns to her former self, will you still be by her side?"

"Shuxiang couldn't have done that. But if what you say is true, then I'll stop it. I promised you,"

"But at this time.. You're dead, Young Master Lan."

!!

Shouxing reminded Lan Guan Zhi's body that was exposed to the poison from the Bone Penetrating Nail. Moreover, the dantian belonging to the young man had already become splintered and disappeared.

Even if it can return to the body. There will only be infinite pain and permanent paralysis. Lan Guan Zhi was obviously unable to become a cultivator or swordsman anymore.

"If you answer my question, I might be able to help you get back to your world again."

"What do you want to ask?"

"Why do you believe so much in Xiang'Er? He was the darkest monster ever. He's never been your friend, ever,"

Lan Guan Zhi looked at the dignified young man figure before him. His shady eyes and calm demeanor made him look dazzling.

"I don't know.." Lan Guan Zhi was silent for a moment before continuing his words. ".. To me, Shuxiang was the first friend I had. He's precious and I want to always protect him,"

"You have no other reason?"

"He's just lost. Shuxiang did not have a place called family, but now he had it. I can only hope to exist and keep reminding him,"

Lan Guan Zhi spoke sincerely. All he knew, even though Xiao Shuxiang was a mischievous or even extremely cruel young man like the image he had seen just now - but his good friend was a figure who never lied.

".. No villain is as honest as Shuxiang. That reason alone was enough to make me trust him."

"You're too kind, Young Master Lan. I just hope that you will never regret putting such high trust in a figure like Xiang'Er." Shouxing said coldly, he looked dislikeful as Lan Guan Zhi trusted the Destroying Star too much.

***