《The Adventure of Holy Beast Bai Xiaoli》C48. Psychological Dependence
Advertisement
Proofread by Claire.KK
After eating and drinking their fill and extinguishing the fire, everyone climbs up the rope and goes to sleep in the cave above.
The rune storage tool looted by Bai Xiaoli has a large space which can hold both the explosive-fire-rhinoceros and the spine porcupine in it. This makes Cang Yan have to think more about the origin of the man in black. The rune storage tool with so large a space is rare.
There is no need to leave anyone below on guard. Everyone can go back to the cave to sleep. They can just put away the rope, even if someone finds here, it’s not easy to climb up with bare hands.
The night outside the city is very dangerous, especially in the mountains where alien beasts and mutant beasts gather. The night is their activity and hunting time. Few people dares to spend the night in the mountains. But there’re many people in the mountains tonight. They’re all looking for the youngster with long silver hair who escapes with the rune beast.
…
It’s not only them; people in Tianjing City are not rested well, too. The hunters who know the news are clear that they can’t get the rune beasts themselves. So they pass the news to their reliable strong partners. They hope to get the rune beast by these partners’ hands.
At the gate of Tianjing City, there’re already several SUVs waiting in line before dawn.
The emergence of the rune beast is a big deal. Each of them wants to get this rune beast. To be precise, they want to get the rune debris. Naturally, they will not spread the news. All zip their lips tightly.
While waiting in line, someone gets off the car, gives the guard a cigarette, and whispers to inquire about news.
"Brother, can I ask you something?"
"What's up?"
"Have you seen a youngster with long silver hair return to the city last night?"
"No, I haven’t seen the person with so obvious characteristics. But I hear my colleague mention that he’s so good-looking, and he is as immortal as if he doesn’t grow on grains. What is funny is that my colleague has seen him twice and always regards him as a girl. He was reminded yesterday that that guy was a boy. He feels that he must have been deceived and there will not be such a pretty boy, ha-ha."
"Thank you brother, I invite you to drink after."
As long as the youngster with long silver hair is not back yet, they have a chance to find him.
…
Those people in the cave don’t wake up until the next morning.
Others are all awake while Bai Xiaoli is still sleeping. Cang Yan tries to wake him up. Turning over, he is suddenly startled.
"Who is this? Where’s our Xiaoli?" Joyce's voice scares and sobers those people who’re just awake and a little dazed.
Bai Xiaoli is awakened. Opening his eyes and sitting up, he looks at them with dead-fish eyes.
Advertisement
All the people: "..."
Well, the eyes are still those eyes, and the face is still that face, but, the hair is changed. The previous flowing long silver hair somehow turns into a short black hair, which is trimmed very neatly.
Such a Bai Xiaoli looks less fairy, but more delicate and smart, very different with the previous image.
"Xiaoli, you're finally willing to take off your wig. I'm very pleased. The black hair looks more pleasing to eyes." Long Lan smiles like an old father.
Bai Xiaoli continues looking at Long Lan with his dead-fish eyes, "That's real hair."
"Do you think I will believe it? Has your real hair grown an inch during a year and a half? Cut it out, I've already seen through your lies. Wearing the wigs every day as if they are real, you’re really strange." Long Lan apparently doesn’t believe it.
"Oh," Cang Yan coughs and turns aside from the topic, "The long silver hair is too conspicuous. I thought about it for a long time last night and decided to change Xiaoli's hairstyle to deceive the public."
Cang Yan knows that Bai Xiaoli has some special abilities. So in order not to expose his specialness, Cang Yan has to take the responsibility of this.
He believes that the original hair color of Bai Xiaoli may be real.
"Captain, you’re such a wit! In this way, those hunters who have seen Bai Xiaoli will not recognize him, and we will also put away the rune beast, so even if we pass by them, we will not be recognized." Long Lan is the first to like it.
Changing a hairstyle is just a piece of cake for Bai Xiaoli. Due to the limited strength, he can’t use profound magic, but those tiny magic can still be used. After all, he now has 200 marsos upgraded power available.
"Wash up and clean up now, and we'll go hunting."
When the others are busy, Cang Yan sets up the fire and roasts again some meat for Bai Xiaoli. He wraps it in the tin foil and put it in the rune storage tool as snacks for Bai Xiaoli. His dried meat is eaten up. Cang Yan forgets to buy some more before getting out of the city. Now he can only use roast meat to replace the dried meat as snacks.
The others have eaten a lot of meat last night, and the power contained in the meat is not yet fully refined. They don’t want to eat meat anymore today. Not everyone has an appetite like that of Bai Xiaoli who can eat meat every day. Any normal people can’t take it. They take some biscuits and cans that they have brought as breakfast.
When Cang Yan finishes the barbecue, the group clear the traces on the ground and then leave.
Kain always doubts in mind. When he’s alone in the periphery of the mountains, he often encounters mutant beasts. Since meeting the group of Bai Xiaoli, he never meets a mutant beast again.
Advertisement
Joyce laughs: "Because those mutant beasts and alien beasts all go around to avoid us."
Kain is absorbed in thought. The spine porcupine is so fierce and wants to kill him. But after seeing this group of people, it turns his head and runs away. But it’s still caught up and punched to death by Bai Xiaoli. Is all this because of Bai Xiaoli?
No, it's too ridiculous. Bai Xiaoli is already so fierce that all the mutant beasts and the alien beasts inside the mountains are afraid of him?
Thinking of this, Kain can’t help but turns to look at Bai Xiaoli.
Bai Xiaoli is walking behind Cang Yan now, eating barbecue while walking. Cang Yan is telling something to him in a low voice.
"Whether we encounter an alien beast or a mutant beast soon, keep yourself out and leave it to them to kill. Let's watch then."
He can’t let Bai Xiaoli kill beasts all the time. They go out hunting for making money and also for practicing their ability of actual combat. Only through life-and-death fighting, they can learn the real experience.
Bai Xiaoli nods in agreement. Keeping himself out from fighting is just what Bai Xiaoli wants. Does anyone merit Lord Bai’s punch?
Because Bai Xiaoli walks behind the crowd, the alien beasts which come from the opposite can’t see him but a group of strangers. Naturally, they will not escape. While human beings are hunting alien beasts and mutant beasts, beasts are also hunting human beings.
Unfortunately, the first one they encounter is a steel-armed giant ape, an alien beast on Level VI. It’s nearly 5 meters tall. Its two arms as hard and strong as steel are telling its danger.
Once seeing them, the steel-armed giant ape rushes towards them. Without thinking about it, the group cry miserably and run away!
An alien beast on Level VI is equivalent to a human practitioner in C Grade Green Star. This strength is enough for the ape to kill all of them in a second!
Before, these mountains were reigned by a rune beast, the explosive-fire-rhino. The steel-armed giant ape was afraid of the strong rune power and had to avoid its sharp edge. Now, the explosive-fire-rhino is dead. There’s no beast which can suppress the ape. It can finally free himself from fear and become unbridled.
A group of people run desperately in front, and the steel-armed giant ape chases after them, smashing the big trees, with an impressive momentum.
Among the six people, Long Lan has the weakest strength. Not yet running for long, he feels that his lungs are about to explode. He shouts breathlessly at Bai Xiaoli who’s running ahead of the group, "Xiaoli! Quickly ... quickly find a way ... to solve it ..."
Although they are fleeing, they are not desperate. In their hearts, Bai Xiaoli's strength has become a safety guarantee. As long as Bai Xiaoli is with them, they will not be in danger. This idea has penetrated into their hearts.
Even if it’s dangerous, they don’t feel the danger of life or death. They just wait Bai Xiaoli to get rid of this alien beast on Level VI. Bai Xiaoli can even kill a rune beast. How would an alien beast on Level VI bother him?
However, Bai Xiaoli runs faster than anyone else. He rushes in front expertly and speaks very proudly, “I’m no match for it.”
Long Lan shouts, "How can you be no match for it? You can even kill the rune beast, can’t you?"
Bai Xiaoli squints at him with dead-fish eyes. "After losing the rune debris, it’s no longer a rune beast. Besides, it was a sneak attack."
Before, he sneaked up on the explosive-fire-rhino from behind and bit directly the key part off—the rune debris. If he wanted to confront the rune beast explosive-fire-rhino from front, it’s very unlikely to win.
Cang Yan is a little worried about the team's current atmosphere. "Xiaoli's own strength is only E-grade Orange Star-II. It’s just a fluke that he killed the explosive-fire-rhino. The explosive-fire-rhino must be careless himself to be sneaked up on by Xiaoli. If not, it would not lose the rune debris and be killed so easily. Do you really think that he has the ability to kill the rune beast alone? Now, this is an alien beast on Level VI. There’s no chance of winning. If you don't want to die, run quickly."
The reason for Cang Yan saying so is that, on the one hand, he wants to cover up the light of Bai Xiaoli, and on the other hand, he wants to dispel the team members’ psychological dependence and let them know Bai Xiaoli is just a little stronger than them, but not as strong as an omnipotent. They have to rely on themselves for everything.
Bai Xiaoli, who had been held on the altar by several people, finally lands and becomes a mortal like them, not an omnipotent fairy.
"Ah-ah-ah-ah—run quickly, run!!!” Long Lan screams, his legs turn into hot wheels, and he runs fast.
The speed of the others also skyrocket, and they almost run to fly up.
The hunters who are still walking around in the mountains hear the noise here and come to investigate one after another. At the sight of the tall and strong shadow, all have their faces changed. And they escape faster than the group of Bai Xiaoli.
They are chased all the way from the central area of the mountains to the periphery. On the way, they encounter two groups of hunters who come to investigate the news. When they see the alien beast steel-armed giant ape on Level VI, they are all scared out of their wits and rush away.
But wherever the hunters run, Bai Xiaoli follows, and the others follow Bai Xiaoli to run.
The hunters are nearly about to cry, "Don't follow us!"
Bai Xiaoli wears a poker face, "It’s on our way."
Advertisement
- In Serial8 Chapters
Entangled Fates Book 1 - Quantum Beginnings
“By far, the greatest danger of Artificial Intelligence is that people conclude too early that they understand it.” —Eliezer Yudkowsky Hey all, we're moving over to book 2. This content is in a state of transition. The book is now availble on Amazon (includes extra chapters): https://www.royalroad.com/amazon/B07W1534R8 Artificial intelligence was nearly mankind’s last invention. AI took off like a rocket, then when it racked up an impressive death toll, it crashed before it could blossom and took most high-tech industries with it. Resistance and fears became deep-set. Two decades after the infamous Rev. 4.6 incidents, humanity hasn’t quit dreaming of the wealth and power that could be at their fingertips. A new generation of mega-corporations rose from the ashes. When one melds a quantum computer to a barely functional mental patient as a PR move, there are those who seek to profit, those who want to destroy it, and Alex. Alex Sage is a typical college student trying to keep up his grades and maybe find a meaningful connection with the fairer sex. Then, an automated semi crashes into his home, killing his family and turning his head into a pin cushion in the process. Alex awakens to find most of his memories gone and an illegal AI hidden in his brain implant. Now the pet project of a tech billionaire and heavily in debt, Alex struggles to stay valuable enough to be kept online. Still grappling with the repercussions of his injuries, and threats from a dangerous anti-augmentation political movement, there are no easy answers and threats loom around every corner. Alex must use whatever resources he can to escape from under the thumb of a ruthless corporation, while keeping those he comes to love safe. Chapters will stay up on RRL until Aug 10. It'll go up on Kindle Unlimited after that. How do you get those extra chapters I didn't have planned for RR? If you want them, they'll be in the published book. Book 2 will still make sense without them - I made sure of that. But... isn't $3 a lot for extra chapters? Think of it as tipping me for a good job and you'd also be getting my eternal thanks. If you enjoyed it so much that the idea of missing out a few chapters haunts you, I did my job as an author and made an engaging story. What's in those extra chapters? Resolving a few issues, set up for the cybernetic revolution, a rather intense sex scene with a new partner, revelations of who's really pulling strings, and a bit of set up for book 2. Complaints that people missed out on it when it was published here won't help (sorry!). I posted this for the folks who helped me shape the book, which is you all! (Again, yay!) But... Why! Why not keep it all on RR forever? My editor likes being paid for one. For two, I'd like the ability to get broader readership. If I break even on editor costs, I'll be incredibly happy. What about book 2? Drafts for Book 2 will go up around Sept 10. My draft of Book 2 is done, and it will be handed to the editor once Book 1 is published. Feedback has been even more positive. Beta readers devoured it and wanted more. I'll add a link to Book 2 once it's up on RR. I'm more or less, using you all for Beta Readers, so you get it before it's "canon" and edited. I invite active and meaningful feedback during this process. In return, you get early access to chapters. That does mean that the book content or plot might be adjusted before it gets published as I refine it. Sex Y/N? Yes. I heard the feedback, 90% wanted it explicit. You all will get the "full" experience. Will I dump all of book 2 here? Honestly, I'm not sure yet. At a minimum, it'll be up to the 75% mark as we collect feedback, much like what I did with book 1. It really depends on how good the feedback is and how nice people are. Lots of support + meaningful feedback to make it better = higher likelihood you get all the book. Will be it up here indefinitely? No, it'll probably go up on KU at some point, but I'll make sure there's enough time for a large readership to grab it here. Then we move to book 3 which already is around 60K words already. What about other adventures in the same universe/characters? Yep. Absolutely. Nothing ready to share yet though. I plan to keep those side chapters and more slice of life stories as RR exclusive. Since I'm carving this off in book-sized segments, I'll have to figure out where those disconnected story arcs belong. I'm open to suggestions.
8 142 - In Serial104 Chapters
Idmon the Skeleton
[Participant in the Royal Road Writathon challenge] What would a minion do if his master died before him? What would a servant do without its master? What would a Skeleton Soldier do without his Skeleton King? Have you asked yourself this question? Well if you do that’s nice. I think you already know how this story will go. In a world where goodness already prevailed. When the just have earned their place and the righteous has struck true. Is there a place left for evil forces? I mean about evil forces is like monsters and evil beings. The bad thing is a Skeleton Soldier is having a hard time. And from here Idmon’s story will unfold. Personal notes: My name is Idmon, Halo! English is not my first language but do enjoy my work and forgive my minor errors. I work alone and I’m also the one to fix errors so bear with me. Thanks for checking this out since this is my first novel here in RoyalRoadL
8 140 - In Serial8 Chapters
Warrior of the Sea
A 17 year old boy wakes up to find out he's in a 16 year old Usopp's body. With knowledge of the future and determination to become a Strawhat and live out his dreams, will he be able to overcome the One Piece world's insanity and become strong enough to survive? And will he be strong enough to protect the 3 kids tagging along with him? SI! Usopp / Sniper! Usopp
8 199 - In Serial19 Chapters
Dragon Sovereign
Watch as the Oldest being in the world, awaken from his deep slumber.To Conquer the world, using his Godly Strength!To Lay waste to all his enemies!Watch him find love, friendship, respect and grow up as he fights for those he care for in this world that the strong prey on the weak while the weak is only there to be a stepping stone for the strong.Author: please tell me your opinion of it and tell me of any spelling or grammar mistake as English is not my native language Also thank MrAmoun for helping me by Proofreading it :D
8 208 - In Serial140 Chapters
Cherry Cola
Senior year is finally here for the lovely Scarlett Delmonico, she had the time of her life last year with all the ups and downs. But at least she finally understood the reference "You have to go through hell to get to heaven." Scarlett hadn't realized how close the future was to her, she also hadn't realized that she didn't have forever like she thought she did. But all she can do now is make the most of the time she has left with her boyfriend and best friends before it's time to close this chapter and open a new one. But maybe this year is different, she won't go through the pain and emotional exhaust. Instead, she would actually enjoy this last year with all of her friends and her lovely boyfriend, Jaden. I wonder what might happen when each member of the friend group start getting offers that are once in a life time. Will it wreck the friendship and make it grow? 3/3 Cherry Trilogy Started: May 7th, 2022 Ended: June 21st, 2022
8 139 - In Serial26 Chapters
Metempsukhosis (En)
The story of Jules in Alter World. Follow him on his adventures to understand who is the mysterious Gandock knight, what is Alt F4 design service, the company responsible for Alter World, and encounter numerous fascinating people along with John his best friend!
8 153

