One person: Senior brother Zhang Zhiwei, the Celestial Master begged me to descend the mountain.

The midday sun was a bit too bright.

The commercial street was bustling with people, and the air was filled with the greasy aroma of grilled sausages and the sweet smell of milk tea.

Zhang Chulan squatted on the edge of the roadside flower bed, looking at his empty wallet, his eyes twitching.

"What a tragedy..."

"Those balls cost twenty-five yuan each..."

"Twenty-five yuan! How many steamed buns can you buy with that? How many packets of pickled vegetables can you buy with that?"

He turned to look at Feng Baobao, who was squatting on the ground beside him, her cheeks bulging from slurping up a huge cup of grass jelly, and a wave of sorrow washed over him:

"Sister Bao'er, you should drink less too. This one cup is worth two days' worth of food for both of us."

"Gurgle... Hah."

Feng Baobao put down her cup and innocently wiped the milk stains from the corner of her mouth:

"It tastes good."

"Xu Si once said that money is meant to be spent; it will rust if you keep it."

Zhang Chulan clutched his chest, feeling as if he was about to suffer a heart attack.

And in front of the dessert station window not far away.

Zhang Taichu leaned against the counter, holding the black card between two fingers and gently tapping it on the marble surface.

"Two balls."

"Strawberry with vanilla".

"Add some of that... colorful sugar sprinkles."

The shop assistant was a young girl, blushing as she frantically scooped ice cream, occasionally stealing glances at the handsome but strange man in a Taoist robe.

"Here's your ice cream."

Zhang Taichu took the stacked crispy ice cream cone and turned to hand it to Chen Duo behind him.

"Take it."

Chen Duo stood still, her hands stiff as she accepted the ice cream cone that was emitting cold air.

Pink strawberry balls are stacked on top of white vanilla balls, sprinkled with colorful sugar sprinkles, shimmering in the sunlight.

very beautiful.

It was also very cold.

The coolness traveled up her fingertips, causing her to instinctively pull her fingers back, but she quickly gripped them tightly again, afraid of dropping them.

"Eat."

Zhang Taichu himself held an old-fashioned popsicle, took a bite, and mumbled:

"What are you standing there for? Waiting for it to turn into water so you can wash your hands?"

Chen Duo blinked.

She glanced at Zhang Taichu, then at the ice cream in her hand.

This is... something that only humans can eat?

She carefully brought the ice cream cone to her lips, stuck out her pink tongue, and tentatively licked the pink ice cream scoop.

hiss--

It's so cool.

Chen Duo frowned slightly, but then, the sweet taste that melted on her tongue exploded in her mouth.

sweet.

It was a pure, delightful sweetness she had never experienced before.

It doesn't taste bitter like medicine dregs.

It's not as bland as nutrient solution.

This taste, as if possessing some kind of magic, slid down my throat, making even my perpetually cold heart leap with joy.

Chen Duo licked it again.

This time, the cool cream melted in my mouth, mixed with crunchy sugar sprinkles.

"call……"

Chen Duo raised her head, and the emptiness and confusion that had been in her clear, large eyes disappeared.

Instead, two beautiful crescent moons appeared.

Her lips curled up uncontrollably, revealing two sharp little tiger teeth.

In the sunlight, this girl in a white dress, holding an ice cream cone, smiled like a child who had won the whole world.

That smile was so pure and spotless.

Zhang Chulan, who was not far away, was stunned and even forgot about the money he was worried about.

"Holy crap... Old Wang, is this really that ruthless, poison-body holy child who kills without blinking an eye?"

"That laugh... it's almost unfair!"

Wang Ye pulled down the brim of his hat, a smile playing at the corners of his lips:

"Amitabha Buddha."

"All beings suffer, but this strawberry-flavored ice cream... is indeed quite sweet."

"Yo ho!"

Just then, a flippant whistle suddenly rang out.

A few young people wearing tight pants and loafers, with brightly colored hair, strolled over unsteadily.

The leader, a blond-haired man with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, brazenly scanned Chen Duo's body.

"Hey guys, look!"

"This is an absolute gem!"

Yellow Hair spat out the cigarette butt from his mouth, crushed it out with his toe, and wore that nauseating, greasy smile on his face.

"Those legs, that face...tsk tsk tsk."

"Whose young lady is this, running around experiencing life?"

The henchmen nearby also joined in the commotion:

"Brother, this girl looks pretty innocent."

"Pure talent is good; only pure talent has real power!"

As they spoke lewdly, the group fanned out around Chen Duo, completely ignoring Zhang Taichu standing next to her, their gazes fixed on her like hooks.

Chen Duo was concentrating on the ice cream in her hand.

Suddenly, she felt the surrounding light dim, and there was a gaze that made her very uncomfortable.

That was malicious.

Naked, disgusting malice.

The smile on her face froze.

The joy that had just been established, the joy that belonged to human beings, was almost entirely diluted in that instant by this disgusting sense of invasion.

She subconsciously took a step back, instinctively wanting to find that safe back.

"Hey? Don't go, little sister."

Seeing this, the blond-haired man became even more emboldened and reached out to grab Chen Duo's arm.

"I just want to treat you to a milk tea and have a chat. Don't be so shy."

Snapped.

A hand came out and blocked the blond-haired man's way.

Zhang Taichu had a half-eaten popsicle dangling from his mouth, his eyelids drooping, looking like he hadn't woken up yet.

"roll."

The sound wasn't loud.

But the chill emanating from that word seemed to lower the surrounding temperature by several degrees.

The blond-haired man was stunned for a moment.

Only then did he look properly at the young Taoist priest whom he had previously ignored.

He was wearing a cheap-looking Taoist robe, his hair was casually tied up, and he had a five-cent popsicle dangling from his mouth.

He looks exactly like a fortune teller swindler.

"Holy crap?"

Yellow Hair chuckled and turned to his brothers behind him, saying:

"Did you guys hear that?"

"This stinky Taoist priest told me to get lost?"

"Ha ha ha ha!"

A burst of shrill laughter rang out.

The smile on Huang Mao's face vanished abruptly, his eyes turning fierce as he pointed a finger at Zhang Taichu's nose:

"Where did this stinky cow nose come from?"

"Don't you even bother to find out who's in charge of this street?"

"If you know what's good for you, get the hell out of my way!"

"Don't fucking block the way we guys can chat with the pretty girls!"

talking.

Huang Mao suddenly reached out and shoved Zhang Taichu on the shoulder.

He used all his strength, trying to push the troublesome Taoist priest over so he could establish his authority in front of the beautiful woman.

however.

His hand was on Zhang Taichu's shoulder, but it felt like he was pushing against an iron tower.

Not moving.

On the contrary, he himself, because he exerted too much force, stumbled and almost lost his balance.

"Oh shit!"

Feeling humiliated, the blond-haired man flew into a rage.

"You're asking for it, aren't you?"

He suddenly swung his fist, not at Zhang Taichu, but to vent his anger, he swung it hard between the two of them.

There.

Chen Duo was holding the ice cream that she hadn't finished eating.

That slap came too fast, too suddenly.

Snapped!

A crisp sound.

Chen Duo felt a numbness in her wrist.

The pink and white ice cream cone, sprinkled with colorful sugar sprinkles, flew out of my hand.

Chen Duo watched helplessly as the ice cream, which held her first happy and sweet memories, traced an arc through the air.

The strawberry ball on top was wobbling slightly, as if it was about to fall.

It's going to fall.

It's getting dirty.

It's going to break.

Just like the beautiful dream she had just begun to have, just like the slight warmth of a human being she had just felt.

In the face of this malicious world.

So fragile that it could be destroyed at any moment.

Chen Duo's pupils suddenly contracted in that instant.

Her once clear, water-like eyes turned deathly gray in the blink of an eye.

Since beautiful things cannot be kept.

Since this world is always full of these disgusting flies.

Then...

Destroy it.

Let's just destroy them all.

Om-! ! !

A chilling aura suddenly erupted from the girl in the white dress.

Although she was still standing there, and although her skirt was still fluttering in the breeze.

But in that instant, her demeanor had transformed from that of a girl next door to a demon from hell.

Chen Duo's fingers curled slightly.

A wisp of extremely fine, yet deadly, purplish-black smoke, like a living venomous snake, spiraled upwards from her fingertips.

Primitive Gu poison.

That was an extremely poisonous substance that would kill upon contact and melt upon touch.

As long as this wisp of poison gas drifts out.

These thugs who are still shouting won't even have a chance to scream; they'll turn into a puddle of pus in three seconds.

Even... everyone on this entire commercial street will be buried with them.

"You're asking for it..."

The blond-haired man was still cursing and swearing, completely unaware that death had already placed its scythe against his neck.

He felt that the young woman's eyes had suddenly become somewhat frightening.

"Go to hell."

Chen Duo's lips moved slightly, and she silently uttered two words.

The purple mist at the fingertips was about to be released.

At this critical moment.

call.

A gentle breeze swept by.

A gentle yet extremely domineering flow of golden Qi.

Like an invisible giant hand, it steadily held up the ice cream that was about to fall to the ground.

It hovered just centimeters off the ground.

Followed by.

The golden energy, carrying the ice cream, slowly rose, drawing a graceful arc in the air before flying back between the two.

at the same time.

A warm, dry hand reached out from the side.

Snapped.

He grabbed Chen Duo's hand, which was about to release the poison gas.

That hand was big and strong.

The wisp of purplish-black poison gas that had just emerged was forcefully pushed back into Chen Duo's body.

"Take it back."

Zhang Taichu's voice rang in Chen Duo's ears.

Gone is the previous laziness, replaced by a more serious demeanor.

Chen Duo trembled all over.

She turned her head and looked at Zhang Taichu.

The gloom in his eyes hadn't completely dissipated; it carried an extreme sense of grievance and a destructive impulse.

"They...broke it..."

"You broke mine..."

Her voice was trembling.

It wasn't out of fear, but out of anger.

Zhang Taichu remained silent.

He reached out with his other hand and caught the ice cream cone that flew back.

I looked at it carefully.

The bottom crust was slightly broken, but the ice cream ball on top was perfectly intact, and even the colorful sprinkles hadn't fallen off.

"It's not broken."

Zhang Taichu handed the ice cream to Chen Duo, his tone becoming nonchalant again:

"It just barely got dusty."

Chen Duo stared blankly at the ice cream cone she had lost and then found again.

She then looked at her hand, which was being held down by Zhang Taichu.

The murderous intent surging within him subsided gradually, like a flood encountering a dam.

"But……"

Chen Duo bit her lip, staring intently at the blond-haired man in front of her who was already terrified.

"He's trash."

"I know."

Zhang Taichu nodded, his gaze sweeping indifferently over the group of thugs.

His gaze was as calm as if he were looking at a few bags of non-recyclable trash on the roadside.

"But, girl."

Zhang Taichu released Chen Duo's hand, gently tidied her wind-blown hair, and a sneer of utter contempt curled at the corner of his lips:

"You must remember this."

"A lion won't bite a dog just because it barks."

"That will dirty your teeth."

talking.

Zhang Taichu shoved the ice cream cone back into Chen Duo's hand and pointed to the group of thugs whose legs were already trembling:

"This kind of stuff."

"Rubbish."

"It's not worth resorting to those methods."

"It's not worth it... letting you get your hands dirty."