Era of Magic and Martial Arts-Chapter 360 - 344: Monster?

The significance of a midnight feast extends far beyond the taste of food; it lies in the precious friendships it contains. This emotion is the richest and most delicious seasoning in cooking.

The last time she felt such profound satisfaction was the previous time.

Therefore, when a phone call from her father interrupted the midnight snack, Feng Yuhuai felt a bit guilty about it.

She crouched down, aligning her gaze with Xiaojuan’s, and sincerely apologized:

"I’m sorry, Xiaojuan. My father really has no sense of timing when it comes to calling. If I don’t answer, he’ll keep calling. That’s how old men are—no sense of boundaries with their children. It’s suffocating."

Xiaojuan looked at Feng Yuhuai with teary eyes. Her tone was still gentle, even more so than usual, and her face was still sweet, even more radiant under some kind of glow.

Yet, Xiaojuan only felt like she was in an ice cave, with not a hint of warmth in her heart.

Seeing Xiaojuan remain silent, Feng Yuhuai reached out and gently touched Xiaojuan’s stiff arm, in a coquettish manner between best friends and said:

"Don’t be mad, okay? How about this: I’ll have my father personally come to apologize to you next time. If that’s not enough, I can have my mom come too. How about it? Hehe—"

Xiaojuan didn’t feel too much pain in her body because Feng Yuhuai had kindly blocked her discomfort in some way. She only felt as though her body was wrapped in a warm tide, tingling all over.

But her heart and soul seemed gripped by an invisible force, causing unbearable, suffocating pain.

With all her strength, Xiaojuan forced her stiff tongue to utter weak, broken sounds: "Wh—why?"

Feng Yuhuai was stunned, her mind turned for a moment before she realized what Xiaojuan was asking. She sincerely replied:

"Because I need to replenish energy. When I’m hungry, I have to eat. Out of everyone in our dormitory, you’re my favorite. Could you bear to see me suffer?"

Xiaojuan tilted her head slightly, her left eye gradually losing focus, becoming hollow:

"Yazhi, did you... treat Yazhi... like this too?"

Feng Yuhuai’s face showed deep nostalgia, with a hint of unspeakable sadness hidden in her eyes. She nodded sadly:

"Hmm, that was the first time I felt such an uncontrollable need. I was too flustered then and couldn’t enjoy it properly. Every time I think back, I still feel sorry for Yazhi."

Grief and sorrow overflowed from the last beautiful eye Xiaojuan had left. After a long silence, she finally managed to squeeze out a few words with difficulty:

"How—did—you—become—like—this?"

Perhaps due to the particularly effective replenishment tonight, Feng Yuhuai’s mind felt clear again, as if a fragmented consciousness had reunited, regaining its former wholeness.

Her speech fluidly resumed, her expression returning to its former liveliness and vivacity.

Feng Yuhuai reached out, her fingertips lightly brushing Xiaojuan’s trembling eyelashes. In this quiet night, she shared with her best friend the secrets buried deep within her heart:

"I remember it was that day, Yang Tuo drove me home, then I left him in that room. I thought I could escape, but in the end, I did escape, taken to that place, and then turned into this..."

Feng Yuhuai sighed long and deep, an unusual gleam faintly emerged in her eyes:

"You know, when I realized the source of all this was my brother, I absolutely hated him. I called him several times, wanting to meet him, but unfortunately, he never answered my calls."

"You’re still the best, Xiaojuan. Whenever I asked you, you just obediently came with me, hehe—"

"But later, I suddenly didn’t hate him so much. On the contrary, I began to appreciate my brother, because without him, I would never have the chance to experience such deep, soul-touching satisfaction."

Feng Yuhuai gently pursed her lips, then, with a sincere yet complex emotion, asked her best friend:

"What do you think, Xiaojuan? Should I hate my brother, or should I be grateful to him?"

Xiaojuan opened her mouth but couldn’t say a word.

At that moment, Feng Yuhuai seemed to suddenly remember something. She quickly picked up her phone, opened the news page, and brought the phone screen close to Xiaojuan’s face, all while chuckling:

"My annoying father tried to deceive me, but actually, I already knew in the afternoon. My foolish brother got into trouble and was found by the Patrol Office, now he’s going to be arrested."

"Such a minor issue, and my foolish brother still managed to screw it up. Xiaojuan, tell me, how could I have such a foolish brother, hehe—"

Xiaojuan’s already unfocused eyes widened as she felt her consciousness gradually slipping away, and Feng Yuhuai in front of her was becoming blurry.

In her daze, she seemed to see a vague red shadow looming over Feng Yuhuai’s head.

That shadow resembled the old cloth doll that Feng Yuhuai often placed on her bedside, which later got accidentally lost.

The doll was lying on Feng Yuhuai’s head, with unnatural seams, seemingly corroding her consciousness.

It was controlling Feng Yuhuai!!!

The light in Xiaojuan’s eyes gradually dimmed. She looked at the doll, which seemed to move eerily towards her.

With the last shred of her strength, she whispered softly:

"Yuhuai, monster..."

No one could know whether Xiaojuan’s final words were saying that Feng Yuhuai had become a monster or warning her about the monster over her head.

Perhaps, in Xiaojuan’s eyes, the person before her was not Feng Yuhuai at all but that cloth doll monster.

Perhaps... the initial midnight snack wasn’t Yazhi but Feng Yuhuai herself.

"Yuhuai, wake up, let the monster inside your body out!!!" Xiaojuan’s eyes widened as she shouted in her heart.

But Feng Yuhuai firmly believed it was the former. Her smile instantly froze, like frost suddenly appearing in winter, with a chilling shadow crawling between her eyebrows.

She raised her hand and gently touched Xiaojuan’s forehead, countless minute energy threads surged, and Xiaojuan’s form gradually became hazy, eventually transforming into threads of streaming light absorbed back into her body.

"Xiaojuan, I’ve regarded you as my closest roommate. I’ve secretly shared all my secrets with you. How could you cruelly say I’m a monster?"

Feng Yuhuai’s eyes showed strange anger, but it quickly calmed down, turning into a burst of light laughter:

"However, I don’t blame you. Once you become part of me, you’ll completely understand me. We’ll be inseparable best friends forever, just like Yazhi. What do you say, Yazhi?"

Amidst the giggling, the outline of Feng Yuhuai’s shoulders slightly rippled, faintly revealing a blurred human face constructed from threads of energy, vaguely resembling Lu Yazhi’s outline, showing an indescribable subtle expression, as if welcoming back a long-lost best friend.

In an instant, those interwoven light threads vanished like retreating tides, re-merging into Feng Yuhuai’s body as if they’d never appeared.

On the ground, there remained only a pile of discarded clothing and a phone with its screen shattered.

The phone’s screen saver displayed a photo of a few best friends huddled together. The frozen image mirrored the head resting closely on her shoulder, like an eternal painting narrating the tale of friendship.

Warm, beautiful, never separated....