Are All You Blood Moon People Sick in the Head!

On a lazy afternoon, sunlight was cut into squares by the treehouse window. Wrapped in the aroma of coffee and ink, it spread like a dipping sauce over Xiao Xi, who was sprawled on the carpet. Igola sat beside her, holding a copy of Ten Rules of a Swindler in his hands, a steaming cup of coffee placed in front of him. "Comfortable?" he asked. "Very comfortable! Half of me is in the sun, half of me is in the shade—half is toasty warm, and half is nice and cool." Xiao Xi rolled back and forth across the carpet. "Irina, come lie down too. Stop reading." "No, I like—" Before Igola could finish his refusal, Xiao Xi dragged him straight to the floor. The treehouse shifted along with them, its roof swinging wide open. The stars wheeled across the sky, and in an instant, afternoon turned to deep night. Stars glittered brilliantly, the Milky Way rippled with light, and ten thousand beams of starlight greeted them. "I thought you'd definitely like the starry sky," Xiao Xi said, lying beside Igola. "Yes. There are only two things that hold me in awe—the starry sky and the moral law. The former represents the grandeur of nature, while the latter reflects the brilliance of human nature. Only these two things can make me feel my own insignificance." "However..." Igola raised a hand toward the starry expanse, his fingers slowly unfurling as an immensely oppressive blood moon appeared between his fingertips. In an instant, it crowded out countless stars, looming over the world like a colossal, watching eye. "This is the sky I'm familiar with." "But it doesn't exist anymore." Xiao Xi reached up and crushed the blood moon. "Whether in dreams or in reality, you never have to live beneath the light of that blood moon again." "Let's go." Taking Igola by the hand, Xiao Xi started to run. "Let's go on an adventure!" Towering ancient forests reaching into the clouds; mysterious underground palaces packed with traps; eerie cities where the residents vanished overnight; mountain villages devoted to secretive cults... Whether these were pre-generated bubble instances within the dreamscape or treasures pulled from Xiao Xi's own mind, the two girls cut their way through these perilous places together. Xiao Xi charged ahead recklessly, flirting with disaster at every turn, while Igola gathered intelligence and unraveled secrets. One moment they were shrieking and hollering as rolling boulders chased them down, and the next they were gazing upon magnificent, breathtaking wonders. Finally, worn out from all their fun, the two lay on the lawn beneath the shade of a tree, catching the fresh scent of green grass on each other, so pleasantly drowsy they seemed ready to fall asleep right there in the dream. "Hey, let's keep playing together tomorrow!" Xiao Xi said enthusiastically. "Tomorrow we can take on a mysterious sunken city. Though we'd better both give ourselves siren bloodlines, otherwise breathing underwater is going to be tricky..." "Still just the two of us?" Igola asked. "Yeah, just the two of us is fine," Xiao Xi said as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "I don't want to get to know more people. Whenever there are too many people, conflicts crop up. With three or more, little cliques form, and when there are too many voices, it just turns into noise. "The three words I hate most are humanity, society, and communication. My ideal state of living is just two people. That way you won't be lonely, any disagreements can be resolved right away, and we don't even have to talk—we could understand what each other means just by eye contact. What about you?" Igola gave a slight start. Gazing up at the dappled sunlight filtered through the leaves, he nodded gently. "Me too. I hate getting to know strangers, I hate communicating with other people, and most of all, I hate a society tangled with conflicting interests." "Right, right!" Xiao Xi propped herself up excitedly beside Igola. "It's a promise, then! Tomorrow we'll go adventuring just the two of us again!" Yet Igola did not reply. The sunlight quietly receded, and dark clouds swallowed the sky. "No need to consider interpersonal relationships, no need to devise schemes and conspiracies. Just squandering my intellect to my heart's content, going on adventures with the person I trust most, venturing into uninhabited, mystical places, and witnessing wonders of the world long sealed away from time... That truly is the dream life I yearn for most." The wind began to pick up. The blades of grass bowed low, and the rustling leaves sounded like soft weeping. Xiao Xi: "But?" "But a dream is only a dream because it is out of reach." Igola sat up. "A dream that can be easily realized is utterly meaningless." Xiao Xi sat up as well. "But aren't we dreaming right now?" Crack! A bolt of lightning tore across the sky, followed first by a patter of drizzle, then a tumultuous torrent of wind and rain. The canopy of the tree could no longer offer them shelter. Rain soaked Igola's hair and blurred Xiao Xi's face. "Why is it raining?" Xiao Xi pulled a large umbrella out from nowhere, holding it over both herself and Igola. "Irina, do you like the sound of rain?" "I don't like rain, but it has always been raining here, and I've always been getting drenched," Igola said. "That's why dreaming is pointless. You can keep me company now, but once you leave, I'll still have to stand in the rain." "I'll stay with you until the very end." "'The end' and 'forever' are really the exact same word. They both mean 'a future so distant that I'll inevitably break my promise.'" "But our future isn't distant at all." Xiao Xi blinked. "When the Weaving Ceremony ends, that day will be our destination. "You won't have to walk the final stretch alone. We bought tickets to the same destination; we'll ride all the way to the final stop together." Igola looked at her calmly. "Do you really want to stay with me?" "Yes." "No regrets?" "No regrets." "Phew." Igola let out a sigh. "All right, then." The rain ceased and the wind died down. Just as Xiao Xi thought Igola had finally opened his heart, the ground suddenly shook and rumbled. The earth caved inward, forming an arena as the surrounding terrain rose into tiered spectator stands. A lone spotlight bore down on the sand in the dead center at the very bottom. "Do you know what this place is?" Xiao Xi looked up and saw that Igola was no longer dressed as a literary maiden. Instead, he wore skin-tight fighting gear and was wrapping bandages around his arms. "This is the Shattered Lake Prison death match arena," Igola said calmly. "I've snapped the ulnae of countless scoundrels here and plundered the fortunes of countless villains. To put it bluntly, I survived only by feeding off the nourishment of dead men." "But Irina, you've already left—" "I haven't left." Igola shook his head. "I merely went from one Shattered Lake to another Shattered Lake. As long as I don't change, anywhere in the world is a prison that holds me captive." "But you can change now!" Xiao Xi said anxiously. "I'll change together with you! Don't you want to break free from that disgusting life you used to lead, and break free from that disgusting former self?" "Yes, I do." Igola lowered his eyelids. "My soul urges me to accept you. My wall of the heart has already been completely shattered by you. Your words, your values, your appearance, everything about you is my ideal type. Even though I don't know who you really are, nor how you read my preferences, even if you are a trap, you have completely made your way into my heart." "Then why are you—" "Therefore," Igola said, dropping into a combat stance, "you have to die." Xiao Xi froze in sheer shock, utterly unable to comprehend the Swindler's mental gymnastics. "Although I would love nothing more than to lead the Gospel's army to invade the Blood Moon, there is still plenty in Blood Moon education worth keeping," Igola said coldly. "'Any relationship that causes you worry will contaminate you; any relationship that causes you grievance will harm you; any relationship that forces you to change will dominate you'... Freedom of personality is the cornerstone of everything, and all the more so for a mind sorcerer. "If I cease to be who I am, how am I any different from being dead? "I never kill, unless someone crosses my bottom line," Igola said in all seriousness. "And my bottom line is: anyone who can walk into my heart, anyone who can breach the wall of my heart, must die! "I already gave you your chance, but unfortunately, you refused to leave." "Wait, wait, wait..." Backing away, Xiao Xi waved her hands frantically. "There's something wrong with your view on love! Selfless love that makes people change for others really does exist in this world—" "Sorry, but there's something wrong with your view," Igola said. "The First Rule of a Swindler: Believe that every single person in this world is selfish." When she saw Igola charging straight at her, Xiao Xi was dumbfounded. The files never said Igola had this kind of booby trap! It was hard for him to fall for anyone, but the moment he did, he felt compelled to kill them just to keep his purity intact—how on earth were they supposed to find a balance in that?! Are all of you Blood Moon people sick in the head?! "Furthermore," as Igola crashed into her, she heard the Swindler say something very strange: "Truth be told, I've always wanted payback." Payback for what? Thud! Delivering a full-force blow, the Swindler obliterated Xiao Xi's figure in a single punch, popping her like a bubble! "Phew." Igola let out a long breath and sprawled exhaustedly onto the sand. Raising his fist high, a flush of excitement rose to his cheeks. "Uh-oh. Now I really want to punch him in reality too."