Chapter 52: Eaten

Huang Wei tried to comfort Huang Chengcheng, but the girl just turned her back, burying her face in her mother’s chest and refusing to look at her. With a sigh, Huang Wei headed for the back door. Huang Chengcheng noticed her movement and pulled her face out just enough to peer at her retreating figure.

When she saw the door open and Huang Wei step outside, a jolt of alarm went through her, her face turning nervous.

Cheng Luyun’s mischievous streak loved a good spectacle. Seeing Huang Chengcheng’s reaction, she picked her up and carried her toward the back door.

Panic flashed across Huang Chengcheng’s face. She hadn’t expected her own mother to do this. “Mom!” she whispered urgently.

Cheng Luyun offered a gentle smile. “Worried now? When you were acting out earlier, did you think about the trouble it would cause me, or how bad it would make her feel?”

Huang Chengcheng’s face crumpled with guilt. She buried her head in the crook of Cheng Luyun’s neck, saying nothing.

She seemed like a kid who had accidentally broken a bowl, bracing to be scolded by her parents. But what Huang Chengcheng had done was a far cry from shattering a dish.

Huang Wei walked through the back door and into the backyard. What she saw stopped her dead in her tracks.

The duck pen she’d just finished building stood there. The dark green fishing net was still wrapped around the stakes, offering a clear view through its mesh. The little wooden hut she’d painstakingly assembled was there, and an extra trough had appeared—probably Cheng Luyun’s doing.

All of that was normal. The only thing out of place was what was in the trough.

Two heads lay inside.

One was pitch black, oozing thick, viscous black fluid that dripped down slowly—like an oil person. The other was covered in hair, long strands sprouting from every direction, making it look like a chestnut burr. But Huang Wei recognized those two heads. The oil person spoke for itself: Big Ya. And the hairy one… she could tell, it was Little Ya.

The ducklings, only introduced to the pen that morning, had no clue what these things were. They just milled around the trough, occasionally dipping their beaks down to peck at the heads.

Huang Wei couldn’t believe it. Earlier that day, those two girls had been hopping around, full of life. Now… this. She took several deep breaths to steady herself.

She had to remind herself: Big Ya and Little Ya were ghosts. They weren’t alive to begin with. When the instance reset next time, they’d be back.

But even telling herself this over and over, acceptance was hard. Because the perpetrator of this cruelty was Huang Chengcheng. How old was she? Just a few years old! How could she do something like this?

In that moment, Huang Wei fully understood: Huang Chengcheng was absolutely not as harmless as she appeared. She was a BOSS, the final instance’s little boss, capable of killing others in a heartbeat.

She’d done it before, twisting off the Village Chief’s head. Taking the Ya sisters’ heads was no different.

And to Huang Chengcheng, her justification was perfectly logical: They had tried to act cute with her dad that morning. That was her dad. No other children were allowed to do that! Dad had even stroked Big Ya’s hair! She was so nice to them! Unacceptable!

Any creature that dared try to steal her dad would not be forgiven.

Huang Chengcheng was a child, an uneducated one with extraordinary power. As the saying went, “A child’s misdeeds are the father’s fault.” Strictly speaking, the blame for such a brutal act rested largely on Huang Wei and Cheng Luyun’s shoulders.

Having finished this bleak analysis and suppressed her urge to vomit, Huang Wei turned back to look at Huang Chengcheng.

The girl was curled in Cheng Luyun’s arms. When she saw Huang Wei look her way, she flinched slightly.

It wasn’t shame at being caught—it was fear that Huang Wei would distance herself from her and never make her delicious food again. Children are often this way: cruelly innocent.

Huang Wei took several more deep breaths before reaching out and wiping the lingering tears from the corner of Huang Chengcheng’s eye. The girl’s eyes were red from crying. She squinted slightly at the gentle touch.

Huang Chengcheng had expected to be scolded. In the village, when a kid messed up, their dad would beat them.

But to the surprise of both Huang Chengcheng and Cheng Luyun, Huang Wei voiced no blame. Nor did she recoil in fear. She just spoke softly: “I’m sorry. This is my fault. I never told you—I won’t become their mom or dad. I’m Chengcheng’s family. They can’t steal me away. The only reason I was warm to them was because they were your friends. Because of you, I was kind to them.”

In truth, her affection for Huang Chengcheng was, in part, an extension of her feelings elsewhere. She loved Cheng Luyun. She hadn’t spent time with Huang Chengcheng before, so there was no deep, instinctual bond. What she saw in the girl’s face were similarities to Cheng Luyun. Her smile, the way her eyes squinted—it all reminded her of Cheng Luyun. So, Huang Wei adored Huang Chengcheng.

At the root of it, her love for Huang Chengcheng was an offshoot of her love for Cheng Luyun.

Huang Chengcheng hadn’t expected an apology. Her tear-streaked face went blank with shock. She opened her mouth, and after a long pause, managed: “I-I forgive you… Just remember, Dad, don’t be so nice to other people anymore.”

Huang Wei sighed and reached out to rub Huang Chengcheng’s head. The girl reacted like a cat getting its chin scratched, a look of pure contentment washing over her. Soothed, she even became remarkably considerate and apologized. “I’m sorry too, Dad. I did wrong. I shouldn’t have done that to Big Ya and Little Ya… I was too willful.”

—Well, being able to admit a mistake is a good trait in a girl.

Even if the Ya sisters looked horrific right now, they’d revive at the next instance reset.

And Huang Wei had witnessed Huang Chengcheng twist off the Village Chief’s head before, only to stick it back on, leaving him perfectly fine. She accepted Huang Chengcheng’s apology. “You need to apologize to Big Ya and Little Ya properly, too. What you did to them was far worse. They’re your good friends. Being treated like this must have hurt them terribly.”

Huang Chengcheng nodded vigorously, promising she’d apologize.

Only then did Huang Wei relax a fraction. “Alright then, put their heads back on.”

At those words, Huang Chengcheng froze.

The reaction didn’t escape Huang Wei. A sinking feeling hit her gut. She asked, in a low voice, “What’s wrong?”

Huang Chengcheng looked even more ashamed. She shrank deeper into Cheng Luyun’s embrace. “I-I can’t put them back…”

Huang Wei was still trying to understand why when Huang Chengcheng dropped the answer.

“I ate their bodies. I was so angry, I didn’t hold back. I was so worked up, I just… ate them all. But the heads looked disgusting, so I didn’t touch those.”

Huang Wei felt her vision go black. She forced herself to stay upright through sheer will, fighting the urge to faint.

Huang Chengcheng, a little BOSS, was genuinely terrifyingly efficient when it came to dealing with ghosts.

Listening to their exchange, a “pfft” of laughter escaped Cheng Luyun. She found this genuinely hilarious.

Huang Wei glanced at her. She knew that even without their bodies, Cheng Luyun could probably restore the sisters’ ghost forms. But knowing Cheng Luyun’s personality, and assuming she was still hiding her Big Boss identity, she likely wouldn’t lift a finger.

With no other option, Huang Wei resigned herself to waiting for the next instance reset for Huang Chengcheng to apologize to the sisters.

This incident, which seemed monumental to Huang Wei but apparently was only a minor hiccup to the mother and daughter, was temporarily put to rest. Still, a cold sweat broke out on Huang Wei whenever she glanced at the two objects in the duck pen.

No one could remain perfectly calm upon seeing two bizarre, disembodied heads. Huang Wei certainly couldn’t.

Leaving those things in the duck pen also wasn’t ideal. Just the thought of seeing them every morning for the next few days when she fed the pig made her queasy.

“Can we… deal with those?” Huang Wei raised a weak hand and pointed at the trough. Cheng Luyun gave a nonchalant little hum. But Huang Chengcheng eagerly volunteered: “Chengcheng will do it! Don’t worry, Dad! Chengcheng will clean it up after dinner!”

Speaking of which… the family of three hadn’t actually eaten yet. However, after that sight, Huang Wei felt her stomach churning. She couldn’t possibly eat. But Huang Chengcheng and Cheng Luyun clearly wanted their meal. Helplessly, she led them back toward the main hall.

They hadn’t even sat down when things got even more awkward. Sister Cui had arrived.

She had left the vegetables at the guesthouse and come right back to fetch her two girls, planning to take them there so they could eat soon. A smile was still on her face. Seeing the family, she asked, “Brother Wei, Sister Yun, about to eat? I’ll just grab Big Ya and Little Ya and head to the guesthouse, won’t disturb your meal.”

Normally, Huang Wei could have put on a perfect mask. Acting was her forte.

But still reeling from that shocking scene, her control over her expressions was a bit off. She looked at Sister Cui, trying to speak, but Sister Cui noticed the unease on her face.

Sister Cui’s perception wasn’t usually very sharp, but a mother’s sixth sense about her children is always keen. A sudden, gut-wrenching feeling told her something was wrong. The smile on her face was still there, but it had cooled from its earlier warmth, looking strained, about to shatter.

“What’s wrong? Where are Big Ya and Little Ya?”

As she asked, the human traits of her appearance began to fade. The horrifying features of the spider-human form slowly surfaced.

Cheng Luyun set Huang Chengcheng down. The girl, looking frightened, ran behind Huang Wei and clutched tightly at her pants. “Dad…” she whispered, uneasy. Instinctively, Huang Wei’s hand moved, partially shielding her daughter. She forced herself to calm down and faced Sister Cui.

Huang Chengcheng could most likely defeat Sister Cui, but she was clearly feeling guilty for causing her parents trouble.

Cheng Luyun’s expression, however, still wore that gentle, warm smile. She said to Sister Cui in her soft, measured voice, “Sister Cui, Chengcheng ate them. You should go back now.”

Huang Wei couldn’t help but gape in shock. Did you really just say that, straight to her mother’s face?!