Name: Ding Mao
Race: Human-Demon
Cultivation: Five years and thirty-six days
Identity: Embodiment of plague, spreading disease, collecting plague qi
Previous cause: Cannot be triggered yet
Is it the embodiment of a plague devil? Ding is the fourth of the Heavenly Stems, and Mao is also the fourth of the Earthly Branches, so in numbers it is 44.
After this conversion, this naming method felt very familiar to Liu Nanfeng.
So he turned his gaze to another human-demon trapped in the lava nearby.
This human-demon resembled a giant mosquito, with six thick, powerful legs covered in barbs, and two pairs of wings behind it that were as sharp as blades.
Name: 41
Race: Human-Demon
Cultivation: One year and sixty-seven days
Identity: Embodiment of greed, deceiving thoughts, enslaved by it
Previous cause: Cannot be triggered yet
This human-demon was the one he had captured from the woman crying on the phone in the stairwell when he was delivering food to Blue Lake Plaza that day. And in her company, almost everyone had a similar human-demon behind them.
This human-demon was probably the embodiment of a greed devil, but it was clear that it was not as cultured as the plague, directly numbering its clones. The plague was more artistic.
But in reality, they were heading towards the same destination. Through this method, they collected the desired qi of desire, or demonic qi, among humans, and then strengthened themselves.
41 was collected by Liu Nanfeng into his scroll. He had been unable to trigger its plot, but he had not refined it either. He wanted to have another chance to deliver food to Blue Lake Plaza and see if he could capture a few more. He wondered if they would produce new changes if placed together.
Liu Nanfeng thought about it and finally chose to refine Ding Mao, who had just been collected into his scroll. After all, he had caught this one by chance, and he didn't know when he would encounter it again.
41 was different; its goal was clear, and he could capture more whenever he wanted.
Also, Ding Mao's physique was significantly larger than 41.
41 was only the size of an adult's palm, like a giant mosquito. But Ding Mao was two to three meters in size, terrifying in appearance, and it should be able to refine something good.
When he chose to refine it, Ding Mao's information showed new changes.
Refinement: Randomly obtain one ability.
Plague Qi: Reverses the five elements of the human body, causing various diseases and imbalances of yin and yang.
This human-demon surprisingly only had one skill. Its massive size and seemingly ferocious appearance were so useless.
The two human-demons he had refined earlier were not as large as Ding Mao, yet one had three skills and the other had two. It was a waste of its size.
Liu Nanfeng couldn't help but complain in his heart.
Of course, it was possible that these were just clones, and their abilities naturally wouldn't be as good as their main bodies. This was a more reasonable explanation.
However, having fewer skills also had its advantages.
Because he didn't have to randomly refine an ability, it was directly this one.
So Liu Nanfeng directly chose to refine it.
The volcanic lava seemed to come alive immediately, gushing out and dragging Ding Mao down, ignoring its shrill cries and desperate struggles, all to no avail.
Finally, the lava bubbled a few times and completely disappeared.
The 41 next to it seemed to be frightened. It flapped its wings desperately, emitting a rapid buzzing sound, but it was of no use. Its six thick legs were firmly stuck in the lava.
It was unclear whether its intelligence was insufficient or if it lacked the courage to struggle with its short legs. However, judging by its fearful appearance after seeing Ding Mao being devoured, it did possess a certain level of intelligence.
With the immediate situation resolved, Liu Nanfeng no longer needed to stay on the rooftop. He retraced his steps and returned to the iron gate, forcibly bending the doorframe he had broken earlier back into place with his hands.
Although it was no longer as flat as before, the door could still be locked.
The reason for this was that he was worried that if some mischievous kids came to the rooftop after he left and something happened, he would be held responsible.
After doing all this, he took the elevator downstairs.
Arriving downstairs, he subconsciously looked around, trying to see where the black qi he had seen falling earlier had gone, but he found no trace of it.
Thinking about it, he decided to leave first. But after taking a few steps, he sensed something unusual.
The plants and trees in the residential area were clearly wilting. He looked up at the sky. Although the sun was shining brightly, it was still morning, and the plants should be full of vitality, facing the sun. This was absolutely not normal.
Was it affected by that black energy?
"Hachoo..."
Suddenly, a pedestrian next to him sneezed several times in a row.
Were people also affected?
Liu Nanfeng couldn't help but worry about Yu Huilan. She was still in the residential area. Fortunately, she was indoors, so the impact should not be significant.
Of course, this was just Liu Nanfeng consoling himself. Indeed, it was too reckless. He should have dealt with it after Yu Huilan returned home. But that wouldn't work either, as Shen Wenhua and her family also lived in this residential area.
For a moment, Liu Nanfeng felt his mind in a mess. Without realizing it, he returned to his car.
After thinking about it, he dialed Yu Huilan's number.
"Mom, are you done with the memorial service? I'm still outside the residential area. I can take you home together."
"Huh? You're still here? Didn't I tell you not to wait for me? You go back first. I won't be back until this afternoon." Yu Huilan's voice was filled with sadness. It seemed she had just been crying.
"Is that Nanfeng?" At this moment, a woman's voice asked softly from the side.
"Yes, it's our Nanfeng... I won't talk to you anymore, I'm hanging up."
After saying that, she hung up the phone without waiting for Liu Nanfeng to say anything further.
"Really..."
Liu Nanfeng was speechless as he looked at his phone. He wanted to ask Yu Huilan if she felt unwell anywhere.
However, old people are quick to hang up the phone. Sometimes they hang up without finishing their words, as if they were afraid of charging more money for talking too much.
After thinking about it, Liu Nanfeng didn't call back but dialed Su Jinxiu's number.
"Did you pick up the person? Is Mom coming over for lunch?"
As soon as the call connected, Su Jinxiu's gentle voice came through.
Liu Nanfeng's somewhat anxious mood seemed to calm down.
"I think I've caused trouble," Liu Nanfeng said.
"Caused trouble? What happened? Husband, don't worry. No matter what happens, we'll face it together."
Su Jinxiu did not ask him what trouble he had caused but instead comforted him first.
So Liu Nanfeng told Su Jinxiu everything that had happened.
Su Jinxiu on the other end of the phone pondered for a moment and said, "The black qi you mentioned should be plague qi. Although plague qi is powerful, as you said, it dissipates rather than condenses, like duckweed without roots, scattering upon landing. Therefore, the harm to the human body should not be significant, at most causing a minor illness. With today's advanced medicine, it shouldn't be life-threatening."
"As for Mom, don't worry, you still have me. Both Huamei and I are quite skilled in medicine, so we won't let Mom have any major problems."
After hearing Su Jinxiu's comfort, Liu Nanfeng felt much more at ease. He said a few more words and started his car, heading directly to the cafe.
But when he arrived at the cafe, he saw someone he did not expect.