Archfiend

"My dear, what's wrong? Tell me, what happened?" She held the child in her arms and gently stroked him. Unexpectedly, Xu Yangyi's crying became louder and louder. After several minutes, he hiccuped and sniffed and let go of his mother.

"Nothing..." The little adult rubbed his nose, his eyes almost greedily staying on the woman: "I had a nightmare... Mom, I'm scared..."

"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, dear, it's just a dream, there's nothing to be afraid of." Xu's mother seemed to be patting the most precious treasure in the world, each pat was extremely gentle, and her voice was like the warmest sunshine: "Be good, go to dinner with your mother. Your dad will take you to school later. Be obedient."

"Yeah." Little Xu Yangyi nodded vigorously and wiped his nose on his mother. In return, Xu's mother gave him a coin in a bad mood, but he smiled like a fool. He held the other person and didn't let go at all.

"Oh? Why is Yangyang so clingy? Didn't I not let you put on clothes a few days ago?" Walking into the living room, the TV was playing the morning news. On the dining table, a square-faced, glasses-wearing, and very gentle-looking man was drinking soy milk and watching TV, joking.

"Dad!" The little guy immediately broke free from his mother and ran over, throwing himself into his father's arms: "I miss you."

"What are you thinking about? I see you every day, and I still miss you." Father Xu gently scratched his nose: "Eat, and I'll send you to school after eating."

"Yeah!" Xu Yangyi nodded vigorously. He didn't know why. This was obviously a daily routine, but he felt very warm, as if he hadn't felt this way for hundreds of years.

He remembered his father's eating habits. He always had breakfast on time at 7:40, and it had been the same for decades.

The milk and bread were brought over, and the three of them watched the morning news intermittently. "The temperature suddenly turned cold today, and a large number of crows flew south through the city. Citizens please pay attention to safety."

Xu Yangyi looked up suddenly as if he was pricked by a needle, staring blankly at the TV.

"My dear, what's wrong?" Xu's mother always looked at her child and asked immediately.

What's wrong?

Xu Yangyi shook his head blankly.

He didn't know... He didn't understand. This feeling was called palpitations. He didn't know why, but he always felt... something very important was going to happen today, something that he would never forget.

The TV screen moved, and he saw that in the park, on the branches on both sides of the road, there were crows everywhere, and some trees were even dyed black.

"Strange." Father Xu took a bite of the fried dough stick and laughed: "There are not many crows in China, but there are many in Japan. This number... are all the crows in China flying here?"

Xu Yangyi didn't say anything, just blinked his eyes while holding the spoon. Mother Xu patted his head: "Bad habits, spit them out."

No...

Xu Yangyi frowned, his thinking was not like a child at all. He frowned and put on a little adult look, looking at the mobile phone on his father's table, which had a piece of news: Surprise! Crows attack humans! The body of a homeless man was found in the south of the city, covered by crows. It turned out to be...

Next: Giant beast attacks people! The body torn by a giant beast was found in the north of the city! Experts have found that it is…

“Dad.” He pursed his rosy lips, rested his chin on the table that was much higher than him, and said in a baby voice: “Is there a ghost?”

Father Xu was stunned for a moment, then looked at his phone. Before he could speak, Mother Xu complained: “Don’t read these messy news. These so-called editors and reporters have no bottom line at all. What can’t they write to attract attention? They have led the children astray for no reason.”

“I know.” Father Xu smiled bitterly, rubbed his eyebrows, and patted Xu Yangyi’s head: “Don’t believe it, just treat it as a joke. Do these brain-dead editors think they are watching Liao Zhai?”

“Not a joke…”

Xu Yangyi suddenly raised his head, opened his mouth wide, and his expression of astonishment, combined with this pale and tender face, gave him a cute feeling. Mother Xu immediately smiled and rubbed his face. He did not move, and after a few seconds he stared at his parents blankly: “Dad, Mom, what did you say just now?”

“I said you were good.” Mother Xu waved at the child and smiled.

"No, you just said... it's not a joke?"

"No." Father Xu grabbed another piece of bread and stuffed it into his plate: "Eat, it's time to go to school."

Did he hear it?

Xu Yangyi put on his shoes obediently, put on his small schoolbag, and got into his father's car, sitting obediently in the back seat.

Children are always active and forgetful. He quickly put aside what happened just now. This feeling is very strange, as if two souls are merging, but neither of them rejects each other, and the other one is much stronger, giving way to the younger one. This idea is also incredible, it is impossible for an eight-year-old child to appear in his mind, but it just appeared.

He now happily put his head on the car window, watching the scene of the car constantly retreating on both sides, and he never gets tired of it despite Father Xu's repeated scolding for not putting his head on the car window.

Quack... quack!

However, the roadside that is usually shaded by trees is now full of crows, and the noisy sound is endless. Father Xu frowned and said, "There are a lot of crows today. These birds are unlucky."

Xu Yangyi shook his head, stroking his hair and asked, "Dad, will you pick me up after school?"

"Not today. Dad has something to do." Father Xu's eyes curved up. Sure enough, the child still kissed him. He answered softly: "You and your neighbor Uncle Zhou come back today. Your mother and I are going to participate in a project in the science park. You will stay at your Uncle Zhou's house these days. We may come back in a few days."

Xiao Xu was unhappy: "What time are you leaving? I want to go too."

"My dear, you can't go." Father Xu laughed, took out a cigarette, thought about it and put it back, and said with a smile: "We will leave at five o'clock. Your get out of class will end at 4:30. Dad knows you miss us, but today, you can't send us off."

"No joke..." At this moment, Xu Yangyi raised his head suddenly, and the voice sounded again in the void: "Listen carefully... Remember carefully... Remember everything..."

"Dad, are you talking?" Xu Yangyi blinked and asked in a low voice.

Father Xu didn't hear it and was tuning the radio.

"Xu Shengjun... this is not a joke... it's me... it's me!" The voice was crisp and anxious: "This is... the one-second prisoner we saw in the void pyramid..."

"One-second prisoner?" Xu Yangyi's eyes were full of curiosity. In the child's vision, novel things were enough to make him forget the last second.

"I... I don't know how to say it... Believe me, you must believe me!"

The voice was extremely anxious: "This magical power... is too terrible, you must... must go out... This is the magical power of the gods, far beyond your imagination."

"Remember everything... Don't stay here..."

"Dad, what is a magical power?" Xu Yangyi was excited and asked loudly: "What is a god?"

Dad Xu's face darkened.

"What's the point of asking so many questions, you kid!" Unable to answer, he became angry.

Xu Yangyi nodded as if he understood.

Dad didn't understand.

He was wise and had seen through everything.

The school was very interesting to children and boring to teenagers. Xu Yangyi felt that there were always many children here. Although his grades were always at the bottom, it did not hinder his love for school.

Carefree, play to your heart's content. The first class, the second class, and at the end of the third class, the mysterious voice sounded again: "Wake up..."

"You're so annoying!" Xu Yangyi was playing table tennis with his classmates. The two short guys were running out of breath. He said without thinking: "Go away! Don't bother me."

The voice was silent.

"I... tried my best..." After a long time, the voice sounded again, drifting like the wind, but Xu Yangyi, who was in joy, didn't care at all.

Time passed quickly, and after the afternoon class was over, it was already 4:25.

For some reason, Xu Yangyi's heart started beating wildly. A kind of omnipresent terrifying coldness entered his body with the wind, as if...something was irreversible.

I don't know if it was an illusion, but in an instant, he felt that everything around him began to blur, just like the intense heat of the dog days caused the distant view to waver. This world is so unreal. And...even the colors around are changing!

The sky turned red at some point, it was the scarlet of blood. It was daytime, but the school gate in front of him was pitch black, like a crack in hell.

It seemed that he was not going home, but was being led to a different direction in life.

A fork in the road of life.

However, he could not stop, his heart beat faster and faster, and finally he almost ran to the school gate. As he ran, the sky and the scenery slowly returned to normal, and he was not sure if it was an illusion.

Don't go back...

There was a voice in his heart, as if it came from the soul, from a long-cherished wish hundreds of years later, calling him all the time.

Don't go home... This voice kept lingering in his ears, and he suddenly closed his eyes and exclaimed: "Ah!!"

"Yangyang?" At this moment, a gentle voice appeared in his ears, and he opened his eyes with cold sweat on his head, and found... He was already standing outside the gate!

"What's going on?" Even a child felt that something was wrong, and an indescribable fear was everywhere, grabbing his young heart. He just wanted to be with his parents now, and this feeling was so strong. Looking up, he saw a car not far away, with a kind-looking man in it, waving at him.

"Uncle Zhou?" His heartbeat calmed down. The other party opened the car door and walked up quickly. Seeing that he was sweating all over, he took out a towel and wiped it for him with pity: "What's wrong? Are you feeling uncomfortable?"

Xu Yangyi nodded gently, just pursed his lips, and his small face showed a feeling of a little adult. Uncle Zhou smiled and patted his head: "Let's go, Uncle Zhou will treat you tonight, and I promise to make you comfortable."

"Well." Xu Yangyi walked quickly into the car, but he didn't dare to sit in the back seat alone anymore, but sat in the co-pilot seat.

The car was not driving fast, taking care of him as a child. But he always felt something was wrong.