The Puppet finally expanded to be the same size as he was.
Tu Bai opened his eyes, looking at the other "self" lying before him.
Black Curly Hair, a pale face, closed Red Eyes. Wearing the same Hoodie and Sweatpants as him, even the Shackles on the Wrist were identical—those were Construction from the Grass Flakes on the Tatami.
Perfect.
No, it's not perfect enough. Tu Bai propped up his weak body and reached out to press his palm against the Puppet's chest. It needed Breathing, it needed a Heartbeat, it needed signs of life.
He took a deep breath and injected the last bit of Demon Power into the Puppet.
The Puppet's chest undulated slightly.
Tu Bai laughed. He released his grip, his body began to shrink uncontrollably. One meter seventy, one meter, half a meter, thirty centimeters—finally, he turned into a palm-sized Little Black Rabbit.
He looked down at his paws—black fur, red eyes, pink paw pads. It was just that this Rabbit was currently so weak that he could barely stand steady.
He crawled to the side of the Puppet, crawled into the Puppet's Hoodie, curled up against the Puppet's Chest. There, he had just performed Construction of Breathing and Heartbeat, which was just enough to mask his own aura.
Then he closed his Eyes and waited.
Soon, the Guard began his shift change.
First came the sound of the Shoji being slid open, followed by footsteps. The Guard entered for a routine inspection and saw Tu Bai lying on the Tatami, his breathing steady, as if he were sleeping. He stood there for a few seconds, then slid the Shoji shut and left.
Footsteps faded away.
Tu Bai curled up inside the Puppet's Hoodie, motionless. He knew now was not the time. He needed to wait, to wait for an even greater chaos.
Another two hours passed, it was 2:00 AM.
Tu Bai opened his eyes. The program he had set was ready to be initiated.
The Puppet suddenly opened its Eyes.
Following the instructions preset by Tu Bai, it suddenly stood up and rushed toward the doorway. The shackles on its wrists and ankles rattled loudly, but it paid no heed, crashing headlong into the door.
The door was burst open.
The Warning sounded—a piercing, shrill Warning, echoing throughout the entire Construction.
Footsteps, shouting, Cursed Energy fluctuations.
He ran away!
Stop him!
Go notify the Lord immediately!
The Puppet rushed out of the Japanese-style Room and sprinted along the Corridor. It ran stumblingly, but its speed was not slow. Several Guards chased after it, it turned its head and waved—nothing happened, it was just for show, then it continued to run.
It ran to the End of the Corridor, pushed open the door, rushed into an empty Room.
The Guard chased after him, only to see Tu Bai lying motionless on the ground.
They surrounded it, watching that fallen Figure with vigilance.
A few seconds later, the Man in Black Kasaya—
He reached out to check for breath. There was some. He pressed his hand against the chest. There was a heartbeat.
But it was incorrect.
His Eyes narrowed. The Energy fluctuations of this body.. were too weak. So weak it was abnormal.
He reached out and grabbed Tu Bai's wrist, probing with his Cursed Energy.
Then his expression changed.
Fake.
He stood up abruptly and looked back toward the Corridor.
At the moment he turned around, the real Tu Bai—that palm-sized Little Black Rabbit—rolled out from the puppet's collar and rolled silently into the shadow by the door.
The small black rabbit, Tu Bai, rolled out from the puppet's lapel and silently disappeared into the shadows by the door.
"Search!" Lin Jue shouted.
The Guards rushed out.
The text provided appears to be corrupted or encoded in a way that does not contain legible Chinese characters for translation. Please provide the correct text.
The talent of the Demon Race.." he murmured, "Interesting.
Then he also turned and walked out.
Footsteps faded away. The shouting also gradually faded away. The Warning stopped.
The entire building fell silent.
In the Shadow by the door, a Little Black Rabbit slowly poked its head out.
It waited for a long time, only after confirming there was no movement did it roll out from the shadow.
With four short little legs, it couldn't run fast, but it ran with great effort toward the End of the Corridor.
At the End of the Corridor, there was a window. The window was not closed tightly, allowing a bit of wind and moonlight to seep through.
The Little Black Rabbit ran to the Window and jumped onto the Windowsill. The gap in the Window was not large, but it was enough for it to squeeze through.
It glanced back at the Corridor behind it, then turned its head and jumped down.
It was still night outside the window.
Behind the building was a wasteland overgrown with weeds and shrubs. In the distance lay the pitch-black silhouette of the Forest of Sleep.
When the Little Black Rabbit landed, he rolled twice before scrambling up and running toward the Forest in a staggering gait.
Run.
Must run.
Its four legs were too short to run fast. The grass was too high, tripping it up and making it stumble. But it didn't dare stop.
Run. Run. Run.
Run into the Forest, run into the darkness, run to a place where no one can find you.
Moonlight leaked through the gaps in the leaves, casting mottled light and shadows on the ground. The Little Black Rabbit moved through those light and shadows, his Rabbit Ears held high, listening to the movement around him.
There was no Voice of pursuing soldiers behind him.
At least not for now.
It ran and ran, then suddenly stopped and looked back.
The building was no longer visible. There was only the pitch-black Forest and a faint glimmer of light in the distance.
It thought of another Light.
The light in the Apartment. It was a warm yellow, shining through the Window and casting a small patch of light onto the Floor. Gojo Satoru often looked at his Mobile Phone under the light, or played a Game, or simply leaned back in the Sofa and stared blankly.
And the scent of dessert. The Strawberry Cake and Mango Pudding from that shop, the Sakura Daifuku from last time—he hadn't had the chance to eat them yet.
And then there were those Eyes. Ice Blue Eyes, filled with laughter, occasionally looking at him with a serious gaze.
The Little Black Rabbit stood in place, staring at the darkness in the distance for a long time.
Then it lowered its head and continued to run.
It cannot stop.
Must go back.
Must go back.
It doesn't know the direction, it doesn't know the distance, it doesn't know if it can escape this Forest alive. But it knows that someone is waiting for it.
That person, Senpai, he must be looking for me.
The Little Black Rabbit's Eyes were a bit wet. It wiped them with its paws and continued to run.
Under the Moonlight, a tiny Black Shadow moves through the Forest, growing further and further away.
Chapter 32
Tu Bai returned to his original form on the morning of the Lunar New Year.
He had just woken up in a daze when he immediately felt something was Incorrect—the Pillow was too thick, burying his entire body inside. He struggled to crawl out, after finally emerging from the Pillow, he looked down and froze.
Two furry little black paws.
He lifted his paws to take a look, then felt his own face—long Rabbit Ears hung down, with a Fluffy texture.
“..”
Memories of last night rushed back. That bastard Gojo Satoru went on and on without stopping on New Year's Eve. He had said "I can't anymore," "That's enough," and "I really can't do this anymore" several times, but that man acted as if he hadn't heard a thing, smiling and coaxing him with "one last time," "it really is the last time," and then, time after time after time.
Now look what happened, I've overused my Demon Power and turned back into my original form.
Tu Bai crawled out from under the covers, his four short legs standing on the Pillow as he looked at the still-sleeping Gojo Satoru beside him.
That person lay on his side, his white hair a messy tangle, his blindfold was thrown somewhere unknown. His Ice Blue Eyes were closed, his eyelashes casting a light Shadow in the Morning Light. A slight smile lingered on the corners of his mouth, as if he were having a wonderful dream.
Tu Bai grew angrier the more he looked, so he lifted his back leg and kicked him in the face.
Gojo Satoru woke up.
He opened his eyes dizzily and saw a Little Black Rabbit staring at him on the Pillow, the anger in those red Eyes almost overflowing.
“..”
Gojo Satoru blinked, then blinked again.
Xiao Bai?
Little Black Rabbit let out a huff and turned his head away.
Gojo Satoru sat up, stared at Tu Bai for a few seconds, then laughed.
"Have you changed back?" He reached out to touch him, but was swatted away by one of Tu Bai's claws.
"Don't touch me!" Tu Bai said, but all that came out were a few "gu" sounds.