Everyone Is Non-Human Except Me [Rebirth] Chapter 84

“A boy who looked human but not quite human…” Wei Huan repeated, suddenly thinking of something. Yang Sheng thought of it at the same time. The two exchanged glances and said in unison:

“That demon slayer?”

“An demon slayer…” Ah Zu pondered for a while, “Eh? So he’s an demon slayer? No wonder I once saw him chasing a demonized mountain spider—turns out he was slaying demons.” He looked at Wei Huan, gesturing with his hands, “Does he have a pair of green eyes? Black hair, a bit long?”

Wei Huan nodded, “That’s right, that’s him.”

He was quite surprised—so that person had actually escaped from the lab earlier than him. No wonder his ankles were made of metal—he really was an artificial creation. Wei Huan turned to ask Ah Zu, “Ah Zu, do you have any other information? How did you guys find this out?”

Ah Zu pulled up his digital files. “We’ve had some members undercover at Lab 137. They overheard a meeting where the first escaped test subject was mentioned. So we started digging, but his serial number is different from yours.” A virtual file appeared on the screen, which Ah Zu passed to Wei Huan. “Look, it’s him.”

Sure enough, the photo on the screen showed a boy with green eyes.

“He looks way younger than when I saw him.” Yang Sheng said, “He escaped that early?”

Wei Huan stared at the screen, his heart gradually settling. The boy in this file was about the same age as the one he’d saved seven years ago during the counter-assault battle. Although Wei Huan had saved him back then and managed to keep him alive for the moment, the boy still hadn’t escaped his fate—he’d probably been taken to Lab 137 after the battle and used as test material.

“But,” Ah Zu added, “his experiment seems to have been different from yours. You were a human gene replication experiment, but he wasn’t. Judging by his code, he should be from the demon puppet project.”

“The demon puppet project? So this demon slayer is actually a demon puppet… That would explain why, as a human, he’s so strong,” Yang Sheng thought aloud. “But why does he have consciousness? None of the demon puppets we’ve encountered so far had independent awareness.”

Wei Huan, deep in thought, suddenly remembered something. “Yang Sheng, remember you said you saw signs that this young demon slayer had been purified before?”

Yang Sheng nodded, “Yes.”

“Do you think his consciousness might be connected to the purification?”

Wei Huan’s question struck right at the heart of the issue. Yang Sheng clapped his hands, “Right, when you put it like that…” But then he thought it over carefully. “But I’ve never seen him purify any demon. He just kills them, completely merciless.”

That’s true.

Does he really have purification power?

“Either way, this might be a path to help Xie Tianfa regain his mind.” Wei Huan hugged Ah Zu tightly. “You’ve really helped us out!”

As he hugged Ah Zu, he suddenly felt something crawl out from the back of his neck. That familiar, long-missed ying ying ying ying sound rang in his ears again.

“Eh? You’re back?” Wei Huan let go of Ah Zu and extended a finger to catch the little furball.

“I didn’t really do much, just mentioned it in passing.” Ah Zu scratched his buzz cut a bit awkwardly and even greeted the little furball this time—he wasn’t scared anymore. “Hey there! Eh, did you shrink again?”

The little furball immediately puffed up angrily until it was so big that Wei Huan’s finger couldn’t support its weight. “Hey hey hey, you’re too heavy—take it easy.”

“Ying…” The little furball quickly deflated like a balloon and retreated, a bit sulky, along Wei Huan’s arm and back into his collar.

Ah Zu asked, “Oh right, how’s Qing He doing? He seems really busy these days—I messaged him but he didn’t reply.”

“He’s busy looking for Yang Shu.” Wei Huan patted his arm. “We’ve got something important to take care of now—you guys carry on, let’s catch up later?”

“If you need help, just call me!” Ah Zu shouted after them as they walked away. He saw Wei Huan wave at him before stepping into a red barrier circle, and then the two of them vanished.

Little Zhi walked over. “Ah Zu, those two just now… they were demons, right? That tall one was even wearing a Shanhai instructor’s uniform! You actually know someone from Shanhai?”

Hearing this, Ah Zu looked quite proud. “Yeah, not just that. Did you see the one in casual clothes? He’s a Shanhai student—the only human student in the entire Shanhai! And I, Ah Zu, am his life-saving benefactor.”

“You’re amazing! Don’t forget me when you get rich and famous!”

Wei Huan took Yang Sheng to the same Kongtong Tavern from before, but now the place was completely empty, even the tables that used to sit in the small courtyard were gone—it looked especially desolate.

“Last time, Yun Yongzhou and I ate here…” Wei Huan muttered to himself, walking to the back kitchen. When he lifted the curtain, there was nothing inside.

Yang Sheng followed him, running a finger over the kitchen counter. A thick layer of dust coated it. “No one’s been here for at least a month.”

Wei Huan had more or less expected to find nothing.

“I finally get why he’s always so elusive now,” Yang Sheng crossed his arms. “Turns out he escaped from Lab 137. Kid’s pretty gutsy, staying in the Dark Zone instead of fleeing somewhere else—and he even became an demon slayer.”

“He’s probably undocumented and can’t go to other places in Fanzhou.” Wei Huan thought of his combat skills—he was clearly well-trained, even Jing Yun was wary of him. “For him to survive in a dangerous place like the Dark Zone all these years, he’s definitely capable.” Then he suddenly thought of something. “Wait, he once told me—he’s not alone.”

Yang Sheng didn’t get it. “What do you mean? He’s not human? Well, of course not—he’s a demon puppet, right?”

“No,” Wei Huan carefully recalled. “Remember when Yun Yongzhou and I came here to eat noodles? He had this cold, indifferent attitude—he didn’t seem like someone trying to run a business at all. Then he kicked us out, saying… his foster father was coming back… Right, his foster father. After we left, we ran into a drunkard at the street corner. I don’t know if it was just in my head, but I felt like he was using the smell of alcohol to mask his spiritual energy.”

Yang Sheng suddenly looked as if he had figured it all out. “So he’s not the demon slayer—the person living with him is.”

Wei Huan snapped his fingers. “That must be it. And didn’t you say he doesn’t have purification power himself, but he has traces of being purified? That makes perfect sense—it wasn’t him who did the purification.”

“So the demon slayer clan wasn’t wiped out after all…” Wei Huan found a chair that hadn’t been taken away and sat down. Yang Sheng sat with him. “Now we need to find that demon slayer, right? But back then we were so young. Everything we know is just hearsay—we don’t even know what’s true. The demon realm’s news is locked up tight these days.”

“If we can catch the guy, Jing Yun could use his Eye Possession and we’d know everything.”

Yang Sheng elbowed him, annoyed. “Jing Yun is your interrogation tool now? Every time he uses Eye Possession, it takes him days to recover.”

“You think you’re the only one who cares about him? Look at how protective you are.” Wei Huan sighed. “I’m just saying—we haven’t even caught anyone yet.”

As he spoke, the little furball popped out from the back of his neck again, this time dragging a tiny bundle, just like last time. Huffing and puffing, it crawled from his neck to his arm.

Wei Huan laughed when he saw it. “Yo, haven’t seen you in a while and you’ve gone out collecting junk again? Let’s see what you’ve picked up this time.”

The little furball puffed up angrily again, and Yang Sheng laughed. “He’s not happy now.”

“He’s always like that, disappearing whenever he wants.” Wei Huan raised his finger, just about to flick the little furball. “Are you gonna keep disappearing without saying a word?”

The little furball let out a soft, pitiful ying and deflated.

“He spent all those years with Yun Yongzhou when you were gone,” Yang Sheng said.

“Really?” Wei Huan was surprised. He thought the little furball had just found a hiding place somewhere in Shanhai.

Yang Sheng shook his head. “Little furball spirits like him usually survive by absorbing bits of demonic energy from powerful monsters. Back then, he probably clung to you because he liked the way your demon energy smelled and wanted to stay close to you. Later, he stuck to Yun Yongzhou—probably liked his demon energy too.”

So that’s how it was. Wei Huan thought to himself, this little thing really knows how to pick—he latched onto the two strongest demons in all of Shanhai.

“So after you left, he didn’t have a host to cling to.” Yang Sheng pulled up a video. “Buyu sent me this a while back. He recorded it while packing up your things after you were gone.”

Wei Huan absentmindedly rubbed the little furball while watching the video. In the clip, the little furball looked nothing like its glossy, shiny self now. It was tiny, shriveled, and battered, lying on top of the neatly folded clothes.

He heard Su Buyu’s gentle voice, “Little furball, I’m taking these things with me now. I’ll take you somewhere else, okay?”

“There’s not much demon energy left here.” Su Buyu lightly touched him with his finger, and the little furball shrank back in fear, letting out a very soft ying.

“You don’t like my demon energy? That’s fine, I’ll help you find a new master. You can choose whoever you like.” Su Buyu’s voice trembled a little. “Your master went very, very far away and probably won’t be back anytime soon…”

The little furball just clung tightly, refusing to go anywhere. Su Buyu sat by the bed with him and kept talking for a long time.

The video ended, and Wei Huan felt a pang in his heart. The little furball wasn’t just clinging to him for survival—it truly saw him as its master.

Wei Huan gently rubbed it with his fingertip, and it let out a content ying, squinting its eyes.

Yang Sheng added, “Later, the little furball shrank down to the size of a soybean. It didn’t move, didn’t even have eyes anymore. Buyu was so scared he came to me, but I couldn’t do anything. In the end, it was Yun Yongzhou who took him away.” Yang Sheng laughed, “It was pretty amazing—he really did recognize Yun Yongzhou. The moment he was placed in his palm, the golden crow demon energy revived him instantly, like a dried mushroom soaking in water—he plumped right back up.”

“Poor little guy.” Wei Huan put him in his palm, gently rubbing him and even gave him a little kiss. “I’ll take good care of you from now on.”

The little furball puffed up suddenly, swelling to the size of a bowling ball. Wei Huan had to catch him with both hands, but after just a moment, he let out a big whoosh and deflated like a balloon, the puff of air lifting him briefly into the sky before he wobbled back down into Wei Huan’s palm.

“Look how happy he is—he even forgot his little bundle.” Yang Sheng joked. But the little furball suddenly remembered, bounced over, and stuck tightly to the little bag, then started shaking it furiously.

“What are you shaking for?” Yang Sheng was worried he’d drop something, so he cupped his hands underneath. After a moment, a black, coiled lamp wick fell out.

“Oh! He brought me the Changmingdeng Niang again!” Wei Huan got excited. As expected, with two soft puff puff sounds, wisps of green smoke rose around the black wick.

Yang Sheng coughed and waved the smoke away. In his palm, a beautiful palm-sized girl appeared, wearing a bright red dress. She gracefully bowed to Yang Sheng, then turned to bow to Wei Huan. “Sir, we meet again.”

“You’re still as polite as ever.” Wei Huan chuckled awkwardly.

“Your pet went to great lengths to bring me here again,” the Changmingdeng Niang said politely. “I really didn’t want to come. If I hadn’t been quick-witted last time, I would’ve been caught by that golden crow.”

Just thinking about what happened last time was funny. This time, Wei Huan was confident. “Don’t worry, the golden crow isn’t here now. Even if he were, he wouldn’t dare to do anything.”

Yang Sheng teased, “Oh, now you’re not afraid.”

The Changmingdeng Niang looked around suspiciously, confirming that the golden crow wasn’t nearby. The little furball bounced over and ying ying ying frantically explained.

The Changmingdeng Niang nodded. “So that’s it.” She turned to Wei Huan. “Your pet specifically brought me here while Lord Golden Crow was away.”

“Quite clever.” Wei Huan rubbed the little furball. “Anyway, back to business. I really do have something to ask you this time, Little Changmingdeng Niang. You’ve been alive for so long—do you know anything about demon slayers?”

“Demon slayers…” The Changmingdeng Niang slowly repeated, then suddenly jumped in fright. “Why are you asking about demon slayers?” She backed away quickly in Yang Sheng’s palm, and Yang Sheng hurried to catch her with his other hand to keep her from falling, worried this scatterbrained Changmingdeng Niang would tumble off.

“I need to find one.” Wei Huan reassured her. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone who told me.” He grabbed her tiny hands, each no bigger than his pinky finger. “Please, help me out just one more time. Look, he even went all this way to bring you here.” The little furball also furiously shook its fluff in agreement.

The Changmingdeng Niang sighed. “Alright, I’ll tell you.”

Yang Sheng laughed. “Soft-hearted as always.”

“You both know that humans and the demon race have coexisted since ancient times. Aside from the great demon bloodlines of ancient eras, most demons were formed by all kinds of things in the world absorbing spiritual energy. Demons can cultivate spiritual energy, and so can humans.”

The Changmingdeng Niang paced slowly in Yang Sheng’s palm. “But humans are different from plants, birds, and beasts. Humans are the leaders of all beings. Their spiritual energy is solidified within their bodies and is cut off from the free-floating energy in the world to maintain balance.”

“Except for one kind of human—their spiritual energy is several times, even dozens of times, stronger than ordinary people. This kind of power allows them to do what ordinary humans cannot. When demons grew stronger and started threatening human survival, these people with deep spiritual energy stood up to protect their own. They were the first demon slayers.”

“But such humans are incredibly rare in all of Fanzhou. A few hundred years ago, humans and demons were evenly matched, precisely because that was the peak of the demon slayer clans. They had four powerful spirit-channeling demon slayers who were strong enough to counterbalance most of the great demons.”

Yang Sheng seemed to have heard of this before. “Back then, Fanzhou and the demon realm each held about half the territory, right?”

“Correct.” The Changmingdeng Niang pushed back her long sleeves. “At that time, thanks to the demon slayers, human society was stable and prosperous. People worshipped the demon slayer clans. But sadly, that was also when their decline began.”

“Why?” Wei Huan asked. “Was it internal conflict?”

The Changmingdeng Niang looked at him approvingly. “Exactly. The four demon slayers split over interests, and the clan fractured into four branches that no longer interacted. The demon realm seized on this division and launched attacks, picking them off one by one. This struggle between demon slayers and demons lasted over two hundred years.”

“No wonder,” Yang Sheng said. “Demon slayers are human after all, and humans only live about a third as long as most demons. Plus, spirit-channeling demon slayers are born rarely. In a prolonged fight, they couldn’t keep up with the demons.”

“Exactly. The demons in the demon realm have always feared demon slayers’ spiritual power because it’s the only force that can truly destroy them. That’s why they’ve always hunted them to extinction. By the time you two were born, the demon slayer clans had already been completely wiped out.”

Wei Huan was startled. “Wait, completely wiped out? Are you sure?”

“I’m certain,” the Changmingdeng Niang said, but then looked uncertain. She pulled a tiny, thick notebook from her sleeve and flipped through it. “Let me double-check…” After flipping for a long time, she finally found the page and held it up on tiptoe. “Look, it’s here.”

Wei Huan squinted like an old man reading his phone on the subway, took a deep breath, and narrowed his eyes. But the writing was even smaller than ants. He gave up. “Changmingdeng Niang, I need to buy you a computer.”

“Anyway, based on all the historical records I could find, the demon slayer clans have indeed been wiped out.” She tucked the tiny notebook back into her sleeve and straightened her front. “And it was done by the government army.”

“The government army?”

Wei Huan suddenly felt something wasn’t right. He looked at Yang Sheng, who also realized, “Wouldn’t that mean your parents?”

“But—but I’ve never heard of my parents fighting demon slayers!” Wei Huan asked again, “Changmingdeng Niang, are you sure you’re not mistaken?”

“I only remember what I’ve read. If the books say so, then that’s what I remember.”

Yang Sheng asked, “So twenty years ago, the government army killed every last member of the demon slayer clans? No survivors at all?”

The Changmingdeng Niang nodded. “That’s what the records I found say.”

“What records?”

The Changmingdeng Niang hesitated, afraid to speak. After a long pause, she reluctantly said, “Books that record classified missions… you know…”

“Mission files from the Demon Realm Federal Government Army?” Wei Huan’s parents were government officers, so he was familiar with this.

The Changmingdeng Niang didn’t expect him to name it directly and immediately backed away in fright. “I don’t know anything! I didn’t say anything!”

Yang Sheng pushed, “Which volume?”

“Uh… this happened about two years before you were born, roughly around this time of year.”

Yang Sheng patted Wei Huan’s hand. “The volume from Xingzhen Year 6, September.”

“I didn’t say anything!” The Changmingdeng Niang looked panicked. “If anyone asks, don’t say it was me!”

“Don’t worry.” Wei Huan thought about their current situation. “You’re a Shanhai instructor—pretty useless. I’m a Shanhai student—even more useless. If we want to find those government army classified mission files…”

Yang Sheng quickly chimed in, “Only your husband can do it.”

Wei Huan: “…”