Chapter 12: A Bloody Slaughter Unleashed

"Trying to scam me and my mom? You've already earned a death sentence."

Xu Ran sneered silently as his Assassin Mantis glided noiselessly toward the Guhuo Chang disguised as him.

*Shhh—*

It was like a sharp blade slicing through rice paper. The blood-red edge carved through the head of the Guhuo Chang. Simultaneously, a paper substitute doll took the creature's place. The entire process was fluid and seamless; his mother didn't notice a thing. She continued to run forward, still cradling "Xu Ran" in her arms.

Hidden in the shadows, crouching on the wall, Xu Ran watched his mother’s retreating back. He urged the Assassin Mantis to accelerate the consumption of the Guhuo Chang’s corpse energy. Soon, a new detail appeared on the origami mantis.

"Alright, I'll be there to eat you soon."

Xu Ran chuckled, crawling along the wall like a sinister infant.

They soon reached Building Seven. His mother was sprinting with desperate speed, the fastest she had ever moved in her life, even with the twenty-pound "burden" in her arms. She scrambled up to the third floor, fumbled with the keys at the door, unlocked it, entered, and immediately locked it behind her.

In the gap while the door was closing, Xu Ran moved with lightning reflexes and nimble feet. Utilizing the Lost Step technique, he followed his mother’s shadow into the living room.

"Baby, don't be afraid. It's okay, it's okay. Let me just call the Guard Bureau."

His mother, trembling, found her phone. However, at that exact moment, the paper substitute doll on her shoulder struck, delivering a light blow that knocked her unconscious. She slumped onto the sofa.

Xu Ran’s figure emerged. "Mom will wake up in half an hour. I have half an hour to go on a killing spree."

The Guhuo Chang were restrained by his paper-craft spirit manipulation and shattered at the slightest touch. Having found a soft target, Xu Ran decided to give them a little shock. He walked to the balcony, pushed the window open, climbed out, and then slid the window back into place.

Activating the Gecko Wall-Climbing Technique, Xu Ran reached the sixth-floor rooftop in moments, hiding in the shadows of a small structure.

"Perspective shift!"

With a mere thought, Xu Ran’s vision soared thirty-five meters into the air. His paper bat, acting like a drone, overlooked the area below. His field of vision was wide and clear, as if he were looking at high-definition footage.

"So, there are accomplices. Hah!"

Not far away, a "mother" was holding a child, sprinting at a bizarre speed. It kept to the remote areas; there was no doubt this was another Guhuo Chang in disguise.

Xu Ran let out a soft laugh. Like a cursed doll, he scurried rapidly along the wall. The "mother" fled ahead with the child, while the eerie infant followed silently behind. For a moment, it was hard to tell which one was the supernatural entity!

Xu Ran’s speed was immense. In the blink of an eye, he was thirty meters behind the Guhuo Chang. The next second, the Assassin Mantis flew out. A blade flashed, and the Guhuo Chang disguised as a mother was sliced in two. The illusion shattered, and spectral energy sprayed out like geysering oil.

Xu Ran nimbly caught the child and placed him on the ground in the distance. Freed from the illusion, the child began to wail, the sound echoing through the surroundings. Fearing detection, Xu Ran quickly turned back into a nimble gecko and retreated into the shadows.

The origami mantis greedily devoured the energy radiating from the third Guhuo Chang corpse, then swiftly returned to Xu Ran's hand.

"After consuming the energy of three Guhuo Chang corpses, the mantis's strength and sneak-attack speed have doubled. If I had relied solely on feeding it my own blood, it would have taken over two months! I have no choice but to go on a killing spree now. The next one is nearby."

Xu Ran remained expressionless, crawling eerily along the walls. A minute later, he spotted another Guhuo Chang. It was perched insidiously on the shoulder of a real mother, even wearing a shameless, sinister grin.

Xu Ran’s eyes turned cold, and he quickly scurried forward. "Within striking distance! You little rookie!"

*Sneak attack!*

The Assassin Mantis flew out. The doubled speed caught even Xu Ran by surprise.

*Swish—*

The blood-red blade carved out, and half a watermelon-sized head covered in hair was sliced clean off. Spectral energy leaked out wildly. Xu Ran tossed out a paper bat, which devoured the energy from the corpse until nothing remained. The illusion vanished, and the baby on the mother's shoulder disappeared.

The real mother stood there, looking around in confusion, terrified, helpless, and bewildered. "Baby! My baby! Where did my baby go?"

She collapsed to the ground, her voice breaking. Although he felt a pang of pity, Xu Ran did not step forward to explain; he was too small to be seen. He simply turned and left, hiding his merit, thinking, "I have to eat all these Guhuo Chang. It’s equivalent to months of me feeding them my blood! Not a single drop can be wasted. But since I'm only sixteen months old, I have to stay in the shadows and ambush them, just in case there’s a powerful master behind these creatures."

***

The paper bat had already finished consuming the corpse of the fourth Guhuo Chang. Its flight speed had doubled, and the sound of it cutting through the air was so faint that it was nearly impossible to detect. Its stealth and reconnaissance capabilities had both been enhanced.

"Good. There must be more Guhuo Chang nearby!"

Xu Ran, like a ghost, crouched on the wall and manipulated the bat to scout. The fifth Guhuo Chang was dispatched in seconds. He fed its energy to his substitute paper doll, which now looked even more like Xu Ran—so much so that it would be hard to tell them apart without a close inspection. The sixth and seventh Guhuo Chang were also dispatched instantly and fed to the Assassin Mantis, which now resembled a ruthless killing machine.

Xu Ran smiled, guiding the bat to circle at a hundred-meter altitude. "There is only this last one left in the vicinity. It’s holding an infant; I’ll use it as a thread to follow back to their lair."

Xu Ran followed the fake "mother" silently. Suddenly, the creature stretched its neck out like a piece of pulled noodles and turned to look at its left side. The neck there was bloody, as if it had been severed.

"Ah—"

"Ah—"

It shrieked. Its running stance froze, and its body began to dissolve like a melting candle, quickly turning into a puddle of gray liquid.

"Huh? It just dissolved?"

Xu Ran: "..."

His paper armor doll flew out, picked up the infant, and placed it two hundred meters away.

"The way it acted, it doesn't look like there's anyone controlling it from behind. Could it be... that the two Guhuo Chang were actually one? The other was just a manifestation of its head. After I cut it off ten minutes ago, it finally realized its head was gone... and so it dissolved on the spot?"

Xu Ran frowned deeply. "That’s the most likely scenario."

He released the Assassin Mantis to consume the leaking energy. That was the sixth one! The mantis had consumed six Guhuo Chang, and its power had increased twofold. Both the sharpness of its blades and the speed of its sneak attacks were chilling.

"So, there is no controller behind the Guhuo Chang. It’s purely an alien invasion polluting the spiritual energy, leading to their birth?"

"That must be the case. For a sixteen-month-old toddler to have rescued three children, I can already call myself invincible."

Xu Ran didn't force a search. At such a young age, if he wandered around and accidentally encountered a powerful cultivator who decided to snatch him, what would he do? The Guhuo Chang issue would eventually be handled by the competent cultivators. With that, he turned and left the scene of the crime.

A few minutes later, Xu Ran appeared on the balcony and crawled into the living room like a gecko. His mother was still unconscious. He retracted the paper bat and the Assassin Mantis, tucking them into a box filled with origami animals. He quickly put on a cute, innocent expression and gently patted his mother's face with his small hands.

"Baby! Mommy will protect you!"

His mother jolted awake, drenched in cold sweat. "Xiao Ran, are you okay? Did I faint?"

She checked Xu Ran all over, and upon confirming he was unharmed, she immediately pulled out her phone, trembling, and dialed the Guard Bureau.

"Yes! It's a supernatural entity! It jumped out of the shadows, it was terrifying!"

"Building Seven, Third Floor, Apartment Two."

"You must come quickly! I’m not sure... what if it’s following us? I’m so scared, my baby is only a year old!"

His mother was terrified, her voice trembling. Even so, she forced herself to suppress her fear and gently patted Xu Ran’s back. "Don't be afraid, baby. Don't be afraid."

Xu Ran wore an innocent smile, his small hands patting his mother's shoulder.

"Baby, are you comforting Mommy? Don't be afraid, baby! Don't be afraid!"

Xu Ran: "..."

*I'm not afraid. I've already finished a round of killing and returned in triumph. Three infants were saved because of me. It's you, Mom... you're the one trembling in fear.*

Xu Ran giggled and leaned back on the sofa, closing his eyes to think. He recalled all the intelligence regarding the Guhuo Chang, trying to analyze if there was a mastermind behind these creatures.

Five minutes later, the doorbell rang. Standing outside were a young man and woman.

"Ma'am, we are from the Guard Bureau. May we come in for an investigation?"

Lin Qian was suspicious. "Are you really from the Guard Bureau? You aren't supernatural entities, are you?"

"No, we are definitely not supernatural entities!"

But regarding their word alone... Lin Qian was exceptionally cautious. "Please wait outside for a moment. I need to confirm this."

After she finished speaking, she made a phone call. "Excuse me, did you send a young man and woman in uniform? What do they look like? Can you call them? I'm a bit scared; I don't dare open the door."

A moment later, the two cultivators outside received a call. They put it on speakerphone.

"Yes, yes, we are at the lady's door. We understand her concerns. We will definitely resolve her issues patiently."

"Ma'am, look, we are truly not supernatural entities. We can open our identification for you to inspect; you can look through the peephole."

Lin Qian took a deep breath. "I understand. I'm opening the door now."

"Sorry for the trouble, Ma'am."

The door opened. The guards entered, both wearing Bluetooth headsets in their right ears.

"Ma'am, did you encounter an accident when you went downstairs to pick up a package? What exactly happened?"

Xu Ran leaned on the sofa, closing his eyes to rest. He certainly couldn't fall asleep at a time like this. His mother recounted the events vividly.

The two cultivators were silent.

"You fainted midway? For how long?"

Lin Qian looked blank. "I don't know..."

The female guard frowned, unable to make sense of it. "According to current intelligence, four mothers in our nursing area encountered Guhuo Chang today. Fortunately, they were all miraculously rescued. The children were found hundreds of meters away, at most three thousand meters. We initially inferred that someone in our neighborhood solved the Guhuo Chang problem, but surveillance footage couldn't find any trace of this expert."

The guards were powerless to do anything else but tap their headsets. "Team Leader, the lady and child are safe now."

The reply came through the headset: "Protect Mrs. Xu for three hours. Leave the tracking of the Guhuo Chang to the higher-ups, and remember to stay vigilant. These creatures are too bizarre!"

"Understood, Team Leader!"

Xu Ran pricked up his ears to listen, but clearly, the Guard Bureau didn't have any key information either.

"Time for a nap." Xu Ran closed his eyes.

Three hours passed in a flash. The team leader called: "Everything is safe in the nursing area. You can withdraw."

The two young officers said, "Ma'am, there doesn't seem to be any danger here anymore. We'll be leaving now."

Lin Qian: "..." Although she was still fearful, she didn't want to trouble them further. "Alright."

The guards left. Over the next two days, his mother focused on news about the Guhuo Chang. They were appearing all over the country, but with increased patrols, many had been killed.

[Breaking News regarding Guhuo Chang]: After some study, cultivators have discovered that the Guhuo Chang are naturally occurring supernatural entities born from the pollution of the spectral alien world. They have two heads; when committing a crime, they split off one head to use illusions to deceive mothers and kidnap children. Usually, the main body kidnaps the child, while the head stays behind to deceive the mother for five days. After five days, the head slips away, leaving no traces behind. Starting today, cultivators are scouring the country district by district. Additionally, cultivators have found techniques to suppress mid-to-high-tier entities, which have been released to the public.

...

After the news aired, his mother still felt uneasy, tracking the reports every day. However, the Guhuo Chang had indeed been dealt a heavy blow. In just three days, tens of thousands had been killed and purified... and in the process, thousands of child-trafficking gangs were also wiped out.

After the cultivators finished their sweep, Xu Ran truly saw no more Guhuo Chang in the nursing area. Incidents of missing children were also decreasing. It seemed the Guhuo Chang incident had come to an end.

The only thing that puzzled Xu Ran was that not a single corpse of a missing child had been found. The bodies had vanished, and not even bones were left behind. Xu Ran had a lingering feeling that it wasn't over, but the Guhuo Chang had indeed vanished, and in his [Natural Grace] achievement list, only one trafficking event remained. This meant the matter was truly settled!

"From now on, I just need to fully prepare for the next trafficking event, right?" Xu Ran nodded slightly.

...

Time flew by. While Xu Ran maintained his daily discipline, he occasionally explored brand-new skills. After all, he had to get his hands on the second golden achievement, [Perfect Tot].

The results of his exploration were significant:

[You were jumping up and down on the bed, triggering a new skill—High Jump. With diligent training, you can advance to the next sequence (Advancement Sequence: High Jump—Ladder Cloud Ascent—Soaring Through the Clouds—Unknown...)]
[Current High Jump progress: 1/10000...]

[You tried to observe the details of all things, triggering a new skill—Careful Observation. (Advancement Sequence: Careful Observation—Piercing Flaws—Distorting Time—Great Luo Vision...)]
[Careful Observation: Observe things in life carefully to see the details.]
[Piercing Flaws: See the flaws in things, putting you a cut above the rest.]
[Distorting Time: You can disturb the opponent's sense of time, causing them to reveal flaws.]
[Great Luo Vision: You can see the full picture of all things from a higher-dimensional perspective.]
[Current Careful Observation progress: 1/10000...]

[You tried to intimidate a stray dog on the roadside, triggering a new skill—Infant Intimidation. (Advancement Sequence: Infant Intimidation—Terrifying Whisper—Fear Domain—Soul Cursing.)]
[Terrifying Whisper: Your whisper causes fear, shaking the listener's will to fight and revealing more flaws.]
[Fear Domain: You create a field of panic, suppressing everything within it.]
[Soul Cursing: You curse enemies to their death at the soul level from a thousand miles away.]
[Current Infant Intimidation progress: 1/10000...]

...

"Huh? This works too?"

Xu Ran never expected that. He had just been bored and wanted to play a joke on a stray dog. Who knew the dog would jump in fear and run away with its tail tucked between its legs? And it provided him with his tenth magical skill!

"The second golden achievement, [Perfect Tot], is within reach..."

"As long as I advance all ten magical skills to the second sequence, I'll have it in the bag!"