# 874
Chapter 875: Handing Over the Blade
The fishing village.
Baili Pangpang, Cao Yuan, and Shen Qingzhu walked silently along the village road, the atmosphere heavy and oppressive.
"Pangpang." Not sure how long had passed before Cao Yuan finally broke the silence, turning to look at Baili Pangpang beside him with a serious expression. "You went too far just now."
Baili Pangpang kept his head lowered, walking at the back, looking like a child who had done something wrong.
"I know... I didn't want to fight with Qingyu." Baili Pangpang kicked a stone on the ground, speaking with frustration. "But just now... I don't know why, as I was talking to him, my anger suddenly spiked."
Ding—!
The stone flew and hit the eave of a neighboring house, bounced lightly, and fell into the dog kennel beside the house.
"Woof woof woof woof——!!"
Sharp and fierce barking came from the dog kennel. A gray local dog suddenly popped out of a small hole, barking furiously as it charged straight toward Baili Pangpang.
Baili Pangpang frowned at it, a trace of ferocity flickering in his eyes. He took a short blade from his pocket and had just raised his hand when he suddenly froze in place.
He glanced at the wild dog charging in the distance, then at the short blade in his hand. His expression seemed somewhat dazed, somewhat conflicted... In the end, he put the short blade away and pointed a finger at the dog. A wisp of spiritual light transformed into a thin green rope, instantly binding one of the dog's hind legs to a stone block nearby.
The dog, bound by the green rope, stumbled and fell to the ground. Its limbs still疯狂地刨着地面, continuing to bark at Baili Pangpang and the others.
Shen Qingzhu had observed Baili Pangpang's movements the entire time.
He frowned, staring at Baili Pangpang, as if contemplating something...
"I..." Baili Pangpang opened his mouth but didn't know what to say. He clasped his hands over his head, leaned against the wall, and slowly squatted down.
"Are you alright?" Cao Yuan squatted down in front of him.
"I don't know." Baili Pangpang said irritably. "I seem to be... a bit off."
"Woof woof woof woof——!!"
The dog's furious barking echoed through the road, making people's ears ring. Cao Yuan furrowed his brow and continued to comfort him:
"In any case, after this matter is over, you should properly apologize to Qingyu..."
Cao Yuan's voice was drowned out by the barking. Baili Pangpang asked blankly: "What did you say? I can't hear."
Cao Yuan took a deep breath and spoke again: "I said, after this incident is over..."
"Woof woof woof——!!"
"Damn it!!"
A hint of anger climbed into Cao Yuan's eyes. He abruptly stood up from the ground, his crimson-red eyes fixed死死地 on the bound dog in the distance. His right hand instantly reached for the hilt of the Straight Blade at his waist.
His palm pressed down slightly, about to draw the blade!
Click—!
A palm swiftly pressed down on the blade hilt, pushing the almost-sheathed blade back in.
Cao Yuan turned his head. Those angry eyes seeing Shen Qingzhu beside him, he suddenly froze.
"You can't draw the blade." Shen Qingzhu's expression was more serious than ever. "Cao Yuan, you absolutely cannot draw your blade!"
"Why?"
Shen Qingzhu opened his mouth to say something when both of their peripheral vision caught something in the distance. Their pupils slightly contracted.
Just then, the dog bound by the green rope beside the stone block had eyes glowing bright red. It stopped barking and began furiously biting its own hind leg, as if feeling no pain. Its sharp teeth tore through flesh and blood. With a sudden用力, it actually bit clean through the bound hind leg!
Torrents of blood flowed down its body onto the ground. The freed dog slowly turned its head. That grotesque dog mouth, covered in its own blood and flesh scraps, twisted into a sinister curve, like a hellhound revealing its fangs to the three people.
"Woof woof woof——!!"
It used its remaining three legs to stumble yet frantically charge toward Baili Pangpang, its eyes full of rage and madness.
"Has it gone insane?" Baili Pangpang witnessed this scene, speaking in shock.
Even after losing a leg, the dog's speed showed no sign of slowing. It was like a rabid dog that had lost all sense of pain, its blood-soaked fangs open, barking furiously at the three people again.
Right at that moment, a gray shadow descended from the sky, swooping down precisely at the high-speed moving mad dog.
It was a battered flying bird.
Shen Qingzhu recognized this bird. During the bird flock's mutual slaughter at the village entrance this morning, this bird had been the final victor.
The flying bird's eyes were also crimson red. It let out a sharp, ear-piercing cry, folded its wings, and dove from the high sky like a gray streak of lightning, plunging violently into the mad dog's right eye.
Blood splattered.
The mad dog's howl turned shrill. It疯狂地摇晃着头颅, trying to shake the bird off, but the bird showed no fear. It pecked at the dog's other eye again and again.
A dog and a bird, like two demons, tore into each other.
Baili Pangpang and the other two watched in stunned silence.
"There's something here that can affect the reason and emotions of living beings." Shen Qingzhu, witnessing this scene, became even more certain of his judgment. He turned to look at Cao Yuan and Baili Pangpang, speaking with utmost seriousness: "Humans are also within its range of influence."
"So, what happened to me just now was also..." Baili Pangpang seemed to understand something.
"Right, your loss of control just now was probably also affected." Shen Qingzhu gave a slight nod, then looked at Cao Yuan, saying, "Cao Yuan, you were also affected."
Cao Yuan lowered his head to glance at his right hand resting on the blade hilt, falling into silence.
In that instant just now, he had indeed wanted to draw the blade and kill the dog.
With their skills, dealing with a roadside mad dog posed no difficulty whatsoever. A single kick could send it flying dozens of meters... Yet just now, he had harbored murderous intent.
He had wanted to draw his blade and unleash the Forbidden Ruins to kill that mad dog.
"I..." Cao Yuan murmured to himself.
"If humans are also within the range of this power's influence, then among us, you need to be most careful, Cao Yuan." Shen Qingzhu looked into Cao Yuan's eyes, speaking seriously. "The rest of us are fine. If we really can't maintain reason, Pangpang can use a forbidden artifact to lock down our movements, preventing us from doing irreversible things. But you're different.
Your [Black King's Annihilation Slash] is inherently prone to losing control and going berserk. If you draw your blade and enter the Black King state, with both叠加, it would be impossible for you to maintain reason. Add in your terrifying berserk Forbidden Ruins... even me and Pangpang combined might not be able to restrain you."
On the road ahead, the battle between the bird and the mad dog was approaching its end. The mad dog bit off the bird's head in one go. It stumbled forward a few steps, seemingly still wanting to tear into Baili Pangpang, but after taking just a few steps, it collapsed to the ground. Fresh blood seeped from its body, and after a moment, it stopped breathing.
Cao Yuan silently watched this scene. He took a deep breath, removed the Straight Blade from his waist, and handed it to Shen Qingzhu.
"Brother Qingzhu, my blade. I'll leave it with you."