# 880
Chapter 881: Trust Them
Baili Pangpang, who was passing by, saw this scene and his expression changed slightly. He stepped forward, ready to intervene.
At that moment, an arm landed on his shoulder.
Beads of cold sweat formed on Cao Yuan's forehead. He stared at the distant carnage, shaking his head:
"It won't work. Their reason has completely collapsed. Reasoning with them won't make them stop... it will only make them turn their hostility toward us...
Just do it directly." As he spoke, Cao Yuan seemed to realize something was off, adding, "I don't mean killing them..."
"I know. I'm still lucid for now."
Baili Pangpang took a deep breath, reached into his pocket, and the green rope he'd used to tie up the madman earlier flew out again. Within a blink, it stretched several times longer, like a green water snake dancing through the air, binding all the fighting villagers firmly in place.
The villagers were bound by the green rope, their expressions still ferocious. They turned to glare at Baili Pangpang and the other two in the distance, roaring with fury, thrashing wildly to break free. But the green rope seemed to have grown onto their bodies—no matter how hard they struggled, they couldn't break free.
Seeing those noisy figures roaring and lunging at him, an uncontrollable flare of anger flashed through Baili Pangpang's eyes. He quickly closed his eyes, his fists clenching tightly, blue tendons standing out on the backs of his hands as if holding something back.
Above the pitch-black sky, more than half of the red moon had risen from behind the clouds, crimson as blood.
Blood trickled from the corpses beside them, and in the air, scorching hot from the flames, the metallic scent of blood constantly stimulated their nostrils—like an evil and violent demon's hand, lightly teasing their consciousness...
Giant beads of sweat slid down Cao Yuan's cheeks, and the red tinge in his eyes grew increasingly intense. His gaze drifted to the blood-stained short sword the villagers had dropped on the ground, unable to look away.
In his mind, it seemed a voice kept whispering, urging him to pick up that blade.
He unconsciously shifted forward half a step.
The next moment, a figure rushed past him, grabbed the short sword from the ground, and flung it away, driving it deep into a distant rooftop!
"Cao Yuan, you can't touch it..." Shen Qingzhu's eyes also showed a hint of red. He stood rooted in place, breathing heavily, his gaze toward Cao Yuan filled with resolve and seriousness.
Cao Yuan stared at Shen Qingzhu in a daze, taking a long moment to react before rubbing his temples in frustration.
"Sorry... I lost control again."
"It's not your fault. You have the Black King inside you, so you're more prone to anger and losing control than others."
Shen Qingzhu took a deep breath and said to Baili Pangpang beside him:
"Get out another forbidden artifact and tie all three of us up."
Baili Pangpang froze. "Tie all of us up? Are we giving up on finding a way out?"
"Our current state is already unsuitable for searching. In a little while, we might completely lose our sanity... The only thing we can do now is control ourselves and not become a burden for Qiye, Jialan, Qingyu, Jiang Er, and the others." Shen Qingzhu breathed heavily, barely organizing his thoughts as his reason fluctuated wildly, continuing:
"Jialan has 【Immortality】 protecting her, so she won't be affected by the power here. She's with Qiye, so there's a good chance they can find a way out before the loop ends...
We just have to trust them."
After hearing this, Baili Pangpang nodded. He pulled out another green rope from his pocket and controlled it to circle around the three of them.
Just then, Baili Pangpang suddenly grunted, a flicker of red appearing in his eyes again. The green rope he was controlling suddenly convulsed violently, like a失控的蟒蛇, thrashing wildly through the air. The green rope binding the villagers also trembled faintly.
Baili Pangpang's current state of mind was no longer capable of controlling two forbidden artifacts simultaneously.
Seeing this, Shen Qingzhu grit his teeth and strode toward Baili Pangpang, extending his hand:
"Give me the artifact. I'll bind us."
"Brother Shen, can you hold it?" Baili Pangpang glanced at Cao Yuan beside him, whose body was trembling uncontrollably, worried. "If your consciousness slips too, and the artifact loosens later, we really won't be able to hold Old Cao down..."
"I'll stay lucid." Shen Qingzhu extended his palm, repeating himself. "Give it to me."
After hesitating for a moment, Baili Pangpang still handed the forbidden artifact over to Shen Qingzhu.
Shen Qingzhu took a deep breath, channeling his spiritual power into the artifact. The green rope came alive again, shooting out and binding Baili Pangpang and Cao Yuan together. Cao Yuan's arm began twitching unconsciously, but he couldn't break free from the rope.
"Brother Shen, aren't you going to bind yourself too?" Seeing Shen Qingzhu standing alone in the corner, Baili Pangpang asked.
Shen Qingzhu shook his head. "If I bind myself, I'll only become more irritable, and my emotions will spiral out of control faster..."
He staggered to the burned-out ruin of a house and sat down on the blackened bricks. From his chest, he pulled out a cigarette, placing it between his lips. His right hand trembled as he raised it to his mouth, thumb and middle finger rubbing together.
Fsssh—!
A flame sparked to life under the red moon, amidst dust and embers.
The flame caught the cigarette, smoke drifting with the breeze across the village. Shen Qingzhu took a deep, slow drag, then exhaled.
The red moon cast his lonely yet steady silhouette onto the scorched wall. He sat alone before the howling masses, calmly watching this maddened world. Amidst the curling smoke, reason and madness waged a silent war...
After an unknown duration, a figure slowly approached from the end of the road.
It was a young man carrying a black coffin on his back. His steps were unsteady, but his expression was completely calm. He casually pulled a blood-stained firewood knife from the roadside and, under the red moon, walked steadily toward the bound Cao Yuan.
His eyes glowed crimson.
...
Under the sea.
Amidst the wildly churning waters, Lin Qiye stood on the back of a lanternfish. A red tinge had also crept into his eyes.
"The power affecting emotions is getting stronger... So this is what he called the red moon?" Lin Qiye's brow furrowed tightly, beads of sweat forming at his temples. He stared intently at Chen Yangrong, who was about to be swallowed by the gastric wall, his expression grave.
"Young man..." Chen Yangrong coldly smiled as he watched Lin Qiye's tortured expression. "I'll say it again—if you don't want to die, pull out this blade."
Lin Qiye's fists clenched tightly. He said nothing, as if he'd completely ignored Chen Yangrong's words.
Chen Yangrong shook his head. "Why can't you understand? Under the gaze of 'them,' fragile humans like you cannot maintain sanity. Whether it's you or your companions in the village, in the end, you'll all only end up killing each other..."