Chapter Twenty-Six: A Terrifying Childhood

As the boy spoke, his body began to coil like a serpent, his torso rising upright, his neck expanding several times its size, mottled with crimson spots. Tiny pores along it opened and closed, and he flicked a long, blood-red tongue at Mu You like a cobra poised to strike. Most terrifying of all, the boy's head spun a full one hundred and eighty degrees, his pointed chin aimed directly at Mu You, resembling the deadly beak of a venomous snake.

“Tsk, tsk, that chin could pierce the Jade Rabbit itself. If you were a young lady, bound and helpless, all you’d have to do is lower your head and escape in an instant…”

In this grotesque form, the serpent boy was a revolting sight. Mu You kept up his banter, trying to buy time while his mind raced for a strategy.

But the boy seemed not to hear a word Mu You said. The transformation complete, he collapsed theatrically to one side, letting out a chilling, agonized scream as he tore at his own clothes, his body swelling to nearly three meters tall as his bare skin was exposed.

When the transformation was done, the serpent boy coiled himself once more, towering over Mu You with a predatory gaze.

“Every time I transform, the pain nearly kills me. It’s been years since anyone forced me to this point—you’re the first.”

With those words, the boy began to slither nonchalantly around Mu You, apparently unconcerned about any attempt to flee. Slick, viscous fluid oozed from his body, leaving a long, glistening trail on the ground, encircling Mu You completely.

Step by step, Mu You edged toward his bow and arrows, hoping to arm himself.

“Only thinking to resist now? Too late. Moonlit Reflection: Shattered Void!”

In that instant, the slime on the ground emitted a shimmering white light that began to spread outward, converging at the center. In a heartbeat, Mu You found himself standing within a massive glowing circle, and as the illusion faded, a field of stars appeared beneath his feet.

It was as if a piece of the night sky had been torn from the heavens and set into the earth. Mu You dared not hesitate; he broke into a run, but wherever he fled, the starry expanse followed.

What kind of power was this? It was too bizarre!

Looking down, Mu You saw not only the night sky, but his own reflection.

A mirror world?

The veils of cloud parted, revealing a luminous crescent moon, and the mirror below reflected a milky-white glow. Suddenly, a pillar of light burst forth, enveloping Mu You completely. Around him, countless identical reflections appeared on all sides—Mu You stood as if adrift in a sea of stars.

Crack—

A sharp sound of shattering rang out. Mu You glanced down to see a thin fissure splitting open at his feet.

Crack, crack, crack—

The sound grew more incessant. Beneath him, around him, even above his head, the starry mirror fractured, spreading webs of cracks until, all at once, it shattered with a thunderous crash.

At that moment, even the very space around him splintered into countless fragments. Frozen mid-motion, head bowed, Mu You was suspended among the shards, utterly immobilized—even his eyes could not blink.

The serpent boy slithered effortlessly through the Shattered Void. As his head probed through, it emerged from another broken plane, his serpentine body seeming to be sliced into hundreds of segments, their number shifting with his movements.

Seeing Mu You powerless to resist, the serpent boy at last found a willing audience and began to recount his past.

“I was born into a clan that valued profit above all else. For the sake of wealth and status, they would even bury their own kin. My father, desperate for me to eliminate the other heirs, subjected me to unspeakable, isolated training from a young age.”

The boy’s engorged neck gradually returned to normal as his aggression faded. He buried his head deep within his coiled body, his voice muffled and heavy, yet the endless despair of those sunless days was still palpable.

“From the age of seven, I endured daily physical training that would drive anyone mad. In the morning, I ran ten kilometers with lead weights. At noon, under the blazing sun, they tied my legs to a railing and forced me to do sit-ups. At night, I was thrown naked into ice water for strength conditioning. If I ever faltered, the retired special forces soldiers would beat me senseless. To them, I wasn’t a young master—I was a dog. A pup not even allowed to whimper too loudly!”

His body trembled with rage as he spoke, but stubbornly he forced himself to lay bare those agonizing memories. To relive the pain was to vent it—for if left unspoken, that unending darkness would surely drive him mad.

“Two years later, my personality changed. I grew vicious and ruthless, my physique far surpassing my peers. In every family selection, I defeated the other contenders, while my father seized the power behind them. He always made me cripple them, so they’d never threaten us again. But I didn’t—I merely let them taste the despair I’d endured. I envied them, their happier childhoods, but I didn’t hate them, nor did I wish to ruin their futures. Was I not kind? I only wanted to teach them a hard lesson, to let them see the world’s cruelty. What was my crime?”

Suddenly, the boy lifted his head, crying out to Mu You, desperate for validation. But seeing Mu You frozen by his own Moonlit Reflection: Shattered Void, he gave a helpless laugh and went on.

“But then, under my eldest brother’s instigation, they all turned against me. I fought them to a draw, but at the last moment my own brother betrayed me, drugging me and beating me senseless before all the clan leaders. He destroyed every bit of my glory and, with that act, became the most respected candidate among the heirs! All my sacrifices, wiped away by him alone! In my unwillingness, I blacked out.”

“When I awoke, I found myself soaking in a vat of distiller’s grains, limbs splayed and bound, surrounded by darkness. I screamed, but no one answered. Struggling was useless. Hungry, I could only eat the mash; thirsty, I drank the bitter dregs. I don’t know how long I drifted in that nightmare. One day, the lid was flung open and I was dragged out. As my eyes adjusted to the light, I realized my arms, from prolonged pressure, had been stretched nearly two meters in length. I hadn’t even time to be shocked when a group of fierce old women rushed to my bedside, gagged me so I couldn’t cry out, and began kneading every inch of my bones and muscles. I don’t know how long my body had soaked, but my bones began to deform and elongate under their brutal hands. The agony was indescribable—so intense I couldn’t scream. With the constant numbing of alcohol, I was too weak to resist. They barely needed to restrain me, torturing me day after day, until my body—once a meter and a half—was stretched to three meters. Only when my father looked on with satisfaction did they finally stop. I was left looking exactly as I do now!”

He unfurled his body, displaying every grotesque deformation of his bones. Within the Shattered Void, every detail was starkly visible.

What cruelty this was!

“They even reshaped my face to resemble another’s, announcing to the world that I was dead, and that I would rejoin the competition as my father’s illegitimate son. You mock my sharp chin—well, that’s the handiwork of those hell-bound old hags! And even that wasn’t the end of it!”

At this, the boy’s words became a torrent of spit and tears, his anguished cries shot through with heartrending sobs.