Great Sage Salty Fish

Some people might have experienced this before: upon seeing an adorable kitten or puppy, a sudden murderous urge creeps up from deep inside, a sudden desire to kill it. This is known as "cute aggression"—a psychological mechanism by which the brain generates mild negative impulses to counteract overwhelmingly positive emotions triggered by cute things, preventing cognitive overload. In much earlier times, however, ever since humanity began dividing labor and cooperating, a certain subset of people frequently had to face cute creatures and slaughter every single one of them. These people harbored far stronger killing intent toward adorable creatures—people such as hunters and butchers. And the greatest difference between ancient times and the modern era was hereditary profession. A hunter's son remained a hunter; a butcher's son remained a butcher. Curious genetic traits were passed down in just this way. Gesi's grandfather was a butcher, and his ancestral line had consisted almost entirely of butchers or hunters. If he still possessed his sanity, reason would have restrained his actions. But once his mind was lost, the cuter a creature was, the more intensely it provoked his murderous urge—and that thirst for slaughter surged higher and higher. His face began to twist. Staring at the little girl before him, veins slowly bulging across his entire body, he looked down at her with drool trickling from his mouth and grinned hideously. "Little thing... can I... stomp you to death?" "Ahhh!" Looking at Gesi's flushed, contorted face, the little girl let out a terrified shriek. That scream acted like a switch, flipping on the homicidal impulses within him, and Gesi went completely mad. ... ... Useless. Not a single miraculous item worked. Yu Xian sat on the deck, looking sullen and despondent. He had tried every miraculous item that might have been useful. For instance, the person-finding pendant—as long as one held it in their palm and pictured the target in their mind, it would gently sway and point in the direction of the target. Yet it was useless. No matter how many times he pictured Zhenwo Changjing in his mind, the person-finding pendant showed no reaction whatsoever. Then there was the detective pointer. Writing the target's name and pressing the compass over the written words would usually allow the needle to locate the person, but it proved equally ineffective. Naturally, if even miraculous items failed, the abilities Yu Xian possessed were even more useless. Take his Power of True Self, Freedom and Bonds: once, he could clearly feel the bond between himself and Zhenwo Changjing, but now he could no longer sense it at all. He had no idea why this was happening. Still, if even miraculous items did nothing, it was only natural that his own powers failed too. Even so, he could not help but feel gloomy. *Boom!* Suddenly, an explosive crash echoed from deep within the Aska. A second later, Muse pinned down a red-eyed Gong Qian. The others rushed into the ship's cabin one after another, staring at Gong Qian as she struggled violently, her entire body radiating a terrifying aura. "Holy crap! Gong Qian went crazy too! She suddenly attacked me just now!" Zhang Shou said, visibly shaken. He had just stepped out of the training room and happened to see Gong Qian walking ahead of him, swaying as if she were drunk. He had gone up to tease her, asking why she was drinking in broad daylight. To his shock, Gong Qian whipped around, her eyes blazing with murderous intent. Terrified, Zhang Shou instinctively drew his blade, only to be struck by her punch the very next instant, sending him flying backward to crash heavily against the wall. That loud bang was the sound of him slamming into the wall. Fortunately, he had blocked her attack with his scabbard; otherwise, that single punch from Gong Qian could have cost him half his life. "How is that possible? Even aboard the Aska, she was afflicted?" Nora frowned, gazing at Gong Qian with worry. Niman stepped forward to inspect Gong Qian's condition and finally said with a furrowed brow, "She has indeed fallen to demonic corruption. Salty Fish, break out the miraculous items and bring her back to her senses." "All right." Yu Xian nodded, then retrieved a golden hoop from his spatial storage—identical to the one worn by Sun Wukong. He walked over to Gong Qian, holding the golden hoop with both hands, and declared with utter gravity, "Gong Qian, once you put on this golden hoop, you will no longer be yourself. From this day forward, you shall sever all mortal desires, and the mission of upholding world peace shall fall to you." As he spoke, he slipped the golden hoop onto Gong Qian's head. It had originally been somewhat loose, but the moment it was set in place, it automatically tightened, and a flash of golden light flared across it. Visibly, a wisp of black mist billowed from the crown of Gong Qian's head, and the sinister red glow in her eyes swiftly faded, returning to normal. Muse released her grip. Gong Qian stumbled, and Niman hurried forward to steady her. Her mind gradually cleared, and seeing everyone gathered around, she asked in confusion, "What's wrong, everyone? I... I remember heading to the kitchen to find Little Huangquan. How did I..." "You succumbed to demonic corruption. Don't you remember anything at all?" Niman asked in surprise. Gong Qian's eyes went wide. Zhang Shou chimed in, "Don't look so skeptical! You nearly beat me to death just now. Thank goodness Muse was reliable and restrained you while you were raging." "I don't remember a thing. It felt like I suddenly lost consciousness, and I only just came around," Gong Qian said with mixed feelings. Yu Xian said thoughtfully, "Then there are only two possibilities: either the demonic fall phenomenon has grown stronger, or Gong Qian is just too weak and fell prey to it without even a chance to resist." "Perhaps it's both?" Nora suggested after a moment's thought. Looking rather worried, Zhang Shou said, "Salty Fish, do you have any more items like that? Why don't each of us wear one? We can't very well wait until after someone succumbs every time before doing something about it." "Good point. I assumed everyone would be safe aboard the Aska, but it seems this corruption is pervasive. Probably only the Zhen Realm can completely block out this power," Yu Xian said with a nod. With that, he began pulling out items one by one, introducing the effects of each. Well... Truth be told, their functions were largely identical. Take one of the heart-protecting mirrors, for example: while ordinary heart mirrors protected the chest, this one protected the mind. Zhang Shou decisively chose the heart-protecting mirror. It was already a decent piece of defensive gear on its own, and after picking it, he immediately affixed it to his chest, solemnly vowing that he would not take it off even if it killed him. "..." After everyone had made their choices, Gong Qian stared at Yu Xian with a deeply aggrieved expression. Nora had chosen a heart-shaped ring, Niman had picked an attractive necklace, and Little Huangquan had gone with a pair of earrings. Everyone else had accessories, while her item was... a golden hoop. The thought of having to wear that hoop on her head at all times and wherever she went left her utterly speechless. "All right, Salty Fish, stop teasing Qianqian. Let her pick another one," Niman said with an amused smile, looking at Yu Xian. Yu Xian grumbled, "The golden hoop is clearly the coolest. You just don't know how to appreciate it. Fine, fine, we'll swap it if you insist." With that, he displayed the items in his hands for Gong Qian to see. In the end, Gong Qian chose a bracelet, putting it on before trying to take off the golden hoop. However, a small hiccup occurred when removing it: whoever put the hoop on was the only one who could take it off. Gong Qian tried several times to no avail, then stared at Yu Xian in silence. Looking thoroughly reluctant, Yu Xian stepped forward and helped her take it off. Afterward, Yu Xian simply slipped the golden hoop onto his own head, flashing a monkey-like grin. "From now on, please call me the Great Sage Salty Fish!" Everyone present had long grown accustomed to Yu Xian's ridiculous antics, and in response, they all rolled their eyes at him. Only Zhang Shou showed off his heart-protecting mirror and declared smugly, "If you're the Great Sage Salty Fish, then I am the Invincible Great General!" Then, the two of them chuckled in mutual understanding. As expected, only best buddies could understand each other's wavelength.