Chapter 85: The Whereabouts of the Black Yasha

Black Yasha?

Cheng Feng had never heard of that name, but since the other party was the former fourth Abyssal One, it was certain that he was a terrifyingly powerful monster. And the fact that Xue Ju had come specifically to Winter City to find him proved that such a creature had been hiding here all along.

Just the thought of it was chilling—an entity of that magnitude, silently concealed within the city, never revealing itself and completely unknown to everyone. It was like a ticking bomb, ready to detonate at any moment, and once it did, the city would face utter catastrophe.

Moreover, according to Xue Ju, the internal affairs of Scarlet Moon City were already in chaos. Ghost Asura, as the son of Tamamo Snow Princess, upon hearing of the Empress's disappearance, seized the throne that should have belonged to the second princess by force and imprisoned his sister.

What puzzled Cheng Feng was how Tamamo Snow Princess, after being queen of the monsters for centuries, could not have foreseen that her son would violently snatch his sister's throne should she disappear.

From Xue Ju's brief description, Cheng Feng could roughly deduce what kind of monster the crown prince, Ghost Asura, was. He was clearly someone who cared nothing for kinship, cold-hearted, obsessed only with power—an utterly ruthless, warlike character.

If Ghost Asura managed to consolidate his hold on Scarlet Moon City, control its administration, and win the people's support, he would soon be ready to lead tens of thousands of monsters in an army to invade Winter City.

The situation was dire.

Furthermore, since the princess did not wish for Scarlet Moon City to go to war with humanity, it proved she was gentle-natured and dovish. But monsters were typically militant—few monster soldiers and officials sided with the princess. As a result, she had little authority or prestige, making it all too easy for her brother to seize the throne.

So it seemed that, after taking over the throne, Ghost Asura would soon lead the monster army of Scarlet Moon City across thousands of kilometers of vast ocean, heading straight for Winter City.

Across the sea lay the enemy. If we could kill all the enemies on the other side, we would finally be free… cough, cough, that's off-topic.

Cheng Feng tapped his bowl lightly, his brows knitted together as he grasped the gravity of the current situation.

No wonder Xue Ju was so anxious; she had to find Black Yasha quickly and bring him back to Scarlet Moon City to suppress Ghost Asura and his militaristic faction. In this light, the only way to prevent war and rescue the imprisoned princess was to locate Black Yasha.

All these internal upheavals in Scarlet Moon City really had nothing to do with Cheng Feng; he had no wish to be drawn in. But if he did nothing, under Ghost Asura’s warlike leadership, a war between monsters and humans was inevitable.

Cheng Feng certainly didn’t want Scarlet Moon City to invade Winter City. Though humanity’s armed forces were not to be underestimated, in this age of rampant monsters, war would only weaken mankind.

Given this, as a member of the Disaster Association, he could not stand idly by and let war break out.

There was only one way to prevent the war: find Black Yasha’s whereabouts and thwart Ghost Asura’s ambition to attack humanity.

Now Cheng Feng understood Xue Ju’s predicament. She didn’t want Scarlet Moon City and humanity to go to war either; it would benefit neither side. There are never victors in war, only losers.

Cheng Feng pondered deeply and said, “But Winter City is so large. Unless you rely on official channels, searching for someone aimlessly is like looking for a needle in a haystack. How do you intend to find Black Yasha?”

“I’m not wandering around blindly. I have this.”

Xue Ju lifted the pendant hanging from her chest, holding it in her palm and bringing it closer for Cheng Feng to see.

Cheng Feng gazed at the skull-shaped bone pendant. “What’s so special about this odd thing?”

“This bone pendant is Black Yasha’s token, once given as a gift to the young princess.”

Xue Ju explained, “It contains a trace of Black Yasha’s power, so it has the effect of locating him. The princess handed it to me when she sent me out of the city, saying that with it… I’d be able to find Black Yasha’s location.”

“I see.” Cheng Feng nodded slightly. “Have you found him yet?”

“No. While you were at the promotion tournament these past two days, I relied on the pendant, sensing Black Yasha’s whereabouts everywhere I went.”

Xue Ju gripped the pendant, sighing in frustration. “In the end, I only found a café. But when I got close to the café, the locator seemed blocked by some barrier, and the signal disappeared.”

A café? A barrier that blocks presence?

Cheng Feng felt a sense of familiarity, as if he’d seen it somewhere before, though he couldn’t recall immediately. “If you can’t find him, what will you do next?”

Xue Ju replied with renewed determination, “I plan to go to that café again in the next couple of days. Maybe I’ll find some clue to Black Yasha.”

“That’s probably the best you can do for now.”

Cheng Feng was about to turn his attention back to his meal when he noticed a blood-crusted wound on Xue Ju’s finger. “You’re hurt?”

“This?” Xue Ju raised her wounded finger, displaying the knife cut. “It’s nothing. I cut myself earlier while preparing fish for dinner.”

Cheng Feng stared at her pale finger, the blood-crusted wound inexplicably making his mouth dry.

A strange instinct welled up in his mind—a desire to bite down, to suck out the fresh, sweet blood.

“What’s wrong with you?”

Noticing Cheng Feng’s intense gaze, Xue Ju was startled, quickly withdrawing her hand and moving a little away, wearing the frightened look of a young girl facing a ‘creep’.

Cheng Feng snapped out of it, shook his head, and tried to dispel the strange bloodthirsty urge. “It’s nothing, maybe I’m just not feeling well lately.”

“Ah… then please don’t make that face like you want to eat someone. It’s scary.”

Xue Ju, relieved, patted her chest. “That expression just now… I nearly thought you were about to turn wild.”

“What nonsense are you thinking?” Cheng Feng sighed, pressing his forehead.

He resumed eating, thoughts racing. He wasn’t a vampire—how could he possibly feel such an urge to suck blood? It must have been an illusion.

No… something was off.

Suddenly, Cheng Feng remembered something. A chill swept through him as he recalled that not long ago, when he killed that monster girl, seeing her blood flow, he’d felt a similar urge to consume it.

How could this be? He possessed a blood clan physique, but he shouldn’t…

Cheng Feng pondered deeply for a moment and then let go of the thought.

Forget it—since he couldn’t figure it out, he’d leave it for now. Next time he saw Liu Shiyu, he’d ask her; maybe she could help him solve it.

Unconsciously, Cheng Feng had begun to treat Liu Shiyu as a universal problem solver—whenever he ran into any issue or difficulty, he’d go straight to her.

“Oh, right! I almost forgot to tell you something!”

At that moment, Xue Ju suddenly stopped eating. “While you were out for the tournament recently, a girl came to the apartment looking for you.”

“Really?” Cheng Feng was taken aback. “Who was it?”

Among the girls he knew, apart from Liu Shiyu, no one else had ever come to his place or knew his address.

And Liu Shiyu had accompanied him to the tournament, so how could any other girl come looking for him at home?

“She said she was your… what was it?” Xue Ju pressed her hand to her chin, recalling the scene. “Hmm… I think she said she was… your class president?”

“Xia Qingyao?”