The Master’s Feast

“Ehehehehe, Tou’s heart, Tou’s heart is the most delicious!”

Tou’s chest throbbed with excruciating pain, but it was his heart that suffered the most profound agony.

His own master, the master he cherished above all others—why was she trying to kill him? To devour his heart? Had his master raised him only to consume his heart on this very day?

What did that make him, then?

He understood nothing.

To die like this, without knowing anything, was utterly unacceptable!

“Let… let go of me! You bastard… I won’t be eaten by you like this!!”

Tou refused to die; he would not let his master rip out his heart. He yearned to live, to demand answers from her: Why? Why would she devour him?

He squirmed, his small body twisting, desperate to break free from Four-Master’s demonic grasp.

Yet, she was a witch, many times more powerful than Tou. No matter how fiercely he struggled, his body remained stuck as if by double-sided tape, utterly unable to escape Yue Ye Si’s hold.

The more he thrashed, the wider his wounds tore, the more blood flowed, and the more agonizing the pain became.

A sudden, chilling realization struck him: he might bleed to death before Four-Master even managed to extract his heart.

“Ah~~ha~, how wonderful! The heart beats even faster now, such a heart, such a heart is even more delicious~~ My little Tou, I truly adore you, for preparing such a delightful heart for me… I like it… I like it… I love it!!!”

Yue Ye Si’s expression was one of feverish excitement, her face flushed with a sickly crimson hue.

Perhaps she was savoring the frantic rhythm of Tou’s heart as he slowly succumbed to death.

Her hand, slowly, deliberately, pierced Tou’s chest—a maddeningly slow pace that intensified Tou’s terror and rage.

“Bastard! I’ll never… never forgive you…”

Tou felt consciousness slipping away; the combined physical and psychological torment was more than he could bear.

Yet, his defiance remained unshaken! From childhood, he had been the one to inflict pain upon his masters, to lash out with kicks and punches, to curse them without hesitation.

He rarely admitted defeat, and this time was no different. He would not passively await his fate, nor would he allow his heart to be so easily torn from him!

****

“Ahhh!”

With a furious roar, Tou ignited the power within his body, summoning a golden staff – his Imperial Arm, the Ruyi Jingu Bang.

The Ruyi Jingu Bang materialized instantly, coiling around Yue Ye Si’s arm like a serpent.

Caught completely off guard by Tou’s unexpected ability to attack, Yue Ye Si lost her grip, and Tou slipped from her grasp.

However, Tou’s condition was dire; weakened by significant blood loss and searing pain, he stumbled upon landing and collapsed to the ground.

Nevertheless, his desperate will to live propelled him forward, his body prone as he struggled to crawl.

Only by escaping Yue Ye Si could he hope to survive now!

“Ehehehehe! How interesting! How interesting! To dare to escape, you disobedient little cat, just wait until I catch you, I’ll punish you severely! Ehehehehe! Ehehehehe! Don’t worry, I’ll be very gentle… very gently, I’ll slice off every piece of flesh from your body… one cut at a time! How wonderful… then there will be countless little Tous by my side, eeeeyyyy~~ I can’t wait! My little Tou, you must be looking forward to it too, right! Looking forward to being with me forever… becoming inseparable for all eternity…”

Tou genuinely desired to be with Four-Master; during the time he was captured by the monkeys, he had constantly thought of her, praying for a miracle to reunite them.

But this was not the outcome he sought—to be devoured by his master, or to have his body parts meticulously preserved as her treasured possessions.

This master was deranged! Her mind was sick, and he couldn’t afford to succumb to madness alongside her. He needed to live, to approach their relationship as a normal person would.

And not, not that kind of affection that treated the other as a toy and food…

This was utterly malicious!

“Ehehehehe~ I’m going to catch you now!”

Severely wounded, Tou’s escape was slow, and Yue Ye Si quickly caught up to him, her chilling laughter echoing from behind.

Despite this, Tou’s expression remained resolute as he pressed onward, convinced that to stop now would truly mean his end.

‘Don’t stop!’

Yue Ye Si lunged at him, a grotesquely wide smile stretching her lips.

*Thorns, thorns, thorns!*

Suddenly, numerous sharp spines erupted from Tou’s back, akin to a hedgehog’s quills.

As Yue Ye Si pounced, it was inevitable that she would be impaled, riddled like a sieve.

However, a witch wouldn’t perish from such minor injuries, and Tou was well aware of his own limitations.

He continued to crawl forward, never once glancing back.

“Ack… ahhh… so painful… Ack… hahahaha!”

Yue Ye Si felt as though it had been an eternity since she had sustained such severe wounds! The pain only fueled her increasingly deranged laughter.

Already a creature of blood, her current state made her resemble a decaying corpse even more.

Her wounds began to fester and slough off, revealing new flesh growing beneath—a sight that sent shivers down one’s spine, for she barely resembled a human at all.

Yue Ye Si leaped again, soaring high into the air, cackling maniacally as she plunged towards Tou!

*Thorns, thorns, thorns!*

Yue Ye Si was impaled by the sharp spikes of the Ruyi Jingu Bang, but this time, she was not repelled. Instead, enduring the agony of a thousand arrows piercing her, she wrapped her arms around Tou’s neck from behind.

“Got you now~”

Her voice was surprisingly gentle, and her blood felt warm, momentarily giving Tou the false impression of comfort.

Yet, Tou quickly dismissed it; this could not possibly be real!

When he had been captured by Four-Master earlier, she had rapidly drained a significant portion of his spiritual energy.

Now, the spiritual energy within Tou was insufficient to sustain his Imperial Arm for much longer. The moment Yue Ye Si embraced him from behind, his Imperial Arm dissolved into glittering specks of golden light and vanished.

Yue Ye Si’s scarred body pressed against his back, and her scorching blood instantly stained Tou crimson.

“I’ll devour you… my dear disciple…”

Yue Ye Si’s voice, thick with desire, whispered softly into his ear, sending a chill through Tou’s heart.

Trapped like this, escape seemed all but impossible!

“Ahhh!”

Yue Ye Si’s sharp claws sliced into his back like knives, genuinely intending to carve Tou’s flesh from his body, piece by agonizing piece!

This unimaginable pain was the direct consequence of his futile attempt to flee.

How much better it would have been to simply have his heart ripped out by his master’s claw and die swiftly!

Tou gave up, filled with regret, yet the gut-wrenching pain remained inescapable.

“Chirp! Chirp!”

As Tou’s consciousness blurred, he heard the chirping of monkeys, then felt his body lighten.

Next, he sensed himself bouncing up and down, as if being carried away on the back of something.

It was the Little Monkey. As for the other two monkeys, after they had pounced on Yue Ye Si and pulled her away from Tou, they had been mercilessly slaughtered by her.

From the Little Monkey’s back, Tou saw it all with chilling clarity: how his master had torn open the monkeys’ chests, ripped out their hearts, and crushed them.

She even sneered at Tou, a mocking smile on her face, as if to say, ‘You’re next~’.