Even though evenings were the prime time for the barbecue business, his son was clearly more important than the shop.

Since he didn’t have any other staff at the shop, the owner didn’t hesitate and decided to close up immediately.

Doudou, however, had a strong objection to this.

His reason was that he hadn’t finished the barbecue he’d ordered.

In truth, due to the interruption from the divination, Doudou was the only one who had actually been eating.

Resolving Doudou’s complaint was simple enough: just pack it up to go.

The group followed the owner behind the shop and got directly into a van with "Haohao Barbecue" printed on the side.

"My place is in the suburbs, so it’s a bit of a drive."

The owner said, turning back to them, before starting the van and pulling away.

He had just called home to tell his wife and his younger brother-in-law to get ready.

Hearing that he had invited another "master" home, his wife’s voice held a mix of hope and resignation. Meanwhile, his brother-in-law could be heard shouting so loudly that all three of them in the van could hear him, "Don’t get scammed again!" and other such remarks.

This made things a bit awkward for Qin Xiaoxia, Su Su, and the owner.

Only Doudou, unconcerned, continued to eat his barbecue in the back seat, even offering Qin Xiaoxia the potato and green bean skewers he thought were delicious, as if presenting a treasure.

As for Su Su, Doudou had no concept of chivalry or treating pretty girls special, so he didn’t offer her a single skewer.

In the end, Qin Xiaoxia couldn’t stand it and handed Su Su some meat skewers and corn.

You have to understand, ever since spilling her lunchbox at noon, Su Su had eaten almost nothing except for a chicken leg she’d picked up off the ground.

Now that some of the initial excitement had worn off, her stomach was growling with hunger.

It’s just that she couldn’t bring herself to snatch food from a child, ’although I don’t think he’s really a child at all.’

The moment she took the meat skewer from Qin Xiaoxia, Su Su, who never worried much about acting ladylike, took two small bites before she couldn’t hold back any longer. She joined Doudou in demolishing the rest of the barbecue.

It was now Qiantang’s evening rush hour, but the owner was an old pro at driving. He weaved through the city, bypassing the congested areas, and they reached the suburbs in no time.

"Um, there was something I didn’t explain clearly just now... Haohao, my son, lately..."

The owner hesitated for a moment before deciding to come clean.

"As you know, I run a barbecue joint, so we always have raw and frozen meat at home."

"My son, Haohao... he’s been developing a taste for raw meat. He often breaks free to go gnaw on the frozen meat in the freezer..."

As if afraid of being misunderstood, the owner quickly added another sentence.

"But Haohao never bites people!"

The main issue was that this situation was just too suggestive of other things.

Qin Xiaoxia and Doudou were fine, but Su Su got goosebumps listening to this, especially as she recalled the scene from the divination earlier.

Thankfully, having Qin Xiaoxia and Doudou with her helped her force herself to stay calm.

As the saying goes, don’t judge a book by its cover. The owner may have looked ordinary and driven a beat-up van, but his family’s financial situation was definitely not bad.

The van had pulled up in front of a detached villa in the suburbs.

This area was already on village roads, and the density of buildings was several notches lower than in the city.

The passengers got out to stretch their arms and legs. Doudou, very naturally, left the pile of barbecue trash he was holding on a seat in the van.

"Ah Fang, I’m back!"

The owner yelled into the house, then opened the courtyard gate and hurriedly led the three of them inside.

"AWOOO~~~"

From inside the villa, a bloodcurdling howl suddenly rang out.

The sound was like a stray cat in heat during a village night—a sharp, shrill, inhuman wail.

Su Su and Doudou were both startled.

But Qin Xiaoxia showed no reaction, merely furrowing his brow.

A feeling of resistance and revulsion, fueled by the surroundings and other inexplicable factors, began to grow stronger in his mind.

"Brother-in-law! Get in here and give me a hand! Haohao suddenly got agitated and broke free from the ropes again!"

A man’s voice came from inside. Hearing it, the owner forgot all about his guests and rushed straight into the house.

"Come on, come on... hold him down..."

"Watch his hands, watch his hands... Stay away from his mouth!!"

"Watch his feet, watch his feet..."

"Yeah, yeah..."

"AWOOO~~~~~~"

"Hey, hey, how did he suddenly get so strong!"

...

The sounds of frantic scrambling came from the house. Clearly, the owner’s earlier claim that "Haohao is harmless" was just wishful thinking.

Combined with the continuous, shrill howls, the scene made Doudou’s and Su Su’s scalps tingle.

And yet, at this very moment, Qin Xiaoxia strode directly into the house, as if that terrifying sound were nothing more than a kitten’s meow.

They had no choice. No matter how anxious they felt, once Qin Xiaoxia moved, Doudou and Su Su could only follow.

Su Su didn’t want to miss anything, and when Doudou was scared, he wouldn’t leave Qin Xiaoxia’s side for a second.

The villa was large, but the source of the sound was clear, so Qin Xiaoxia wouldn’t get lost.

Inside a room on the first floor, next to the stairs.

The barbecue shop owner and his brother-in-law, two grown men, were pinning the eleven-or-twelve-year-old Haohao down on a folding bed.

Because there wasn’t enough room to help, the boy’s mother stood to the side, watching anxiously.

She stared at her son’s blurry face, covering her mouth, wanting to cry but not daring to.

The steel wires of the folding bed creaked and groaned.

Suddenly, Haohao, who had been struggling nonstop, went still.

The two grown men were momentarily at a loss.

Then, the three people inside the room realized what was happening and all turned to look at the doorway.

Three people were standing there.

A little boy who looked to be three or four, a pretty girl, and, at the very front, a young man with gray-white hair.

Qin Xiaoxia looked at the people in the room with an indifferent gaze.

Or more precisely, he was looking at Haohao, who was half-bound by ropes on the bed.

The boy’s face could no longer be called a face. It was as if it had been haphazardly smudged with an eraser. Besides his mouth and nostrils, his facial features were blurry, and even his eyes seemed to be regressing.

’Disgust. The kind of feeling you get when an unwelcome relative visits.’

The barbecue shop owner looked at the young man, as if reassessing his own definition of what a "foreign master" was.

He could feel it clearly.

Haohao was trembling, a very slight tremor.

A faint purple light burned in the depths of Qin Xiaoxia’s pupils.

The scene he was witnessing was completely different from what a normal person would see.

A "thing" was plastered onto "Haohao’s" body like a superimposed image.

It was a bizarre, twisted shadow that was vaguely humanoid but had numerous boneless, tentacle-like arms and no face.

At this moment, that thing was staring right back at him.

Qin Xiaoxia felt a mix of emotions—curiosity, disgust, confusion... but surprisingly, no fear.

He narrowed his eyes. A voice that seemed to vibrate in one’s eardrums and soul, resonating with Magic Power, came from Qin Xiaoxia’s lips.

"Sa-ha-la-na~~ Ku-lo-li-ban-do~~~"

Besides Doudou and Qin Xiaoxia, the only other one present who could likely understand this Magic Language was that bizarre thing.

This was a question: *What are you? Reveal yourself before me.*

Even ordinary words could contain miraculous power, to say nothing of a Magic Language imbued with elemental Magic Power.

A resonance and binding force, like a decree, was transmitted through the sound.

"AHHHH~~~~~~~"

Haohao suddenly broke free from his father and uncle, shot up from the bed, and charged madly toward the room’s only window.

THUD—

A shadow moved faster than "Haohao."

A single hand clamped around Haohao’s body.

Magic Power isn’t like the Mana in human novels, and there’s no such thing as a "squishy" Magic System user.

Magic Power is born from the soul and body, and its effects are inseparable from both.

With special exceptions like Doudou, a body suffused with Magic Power possesses an absolutely astonishing amount of strength.

Haohao struggled desperately but to no avail. He opened his mouth, revealing somewhat sharpened teeth, and bit down hard on Qin Xiaoxia’s arm.

"THUD—"

Before he could make contact, "Haohao" was slammed heavily onto the floor by Qin Xiaoxia.

A formless purple flame suddenly erupted. Countless currents of Magic Power, like electricity, flowed out and formed a net that wrapped around "Haohao."

The air in the room suddenly grew immeasurably heavy. Haohao struggled, but could no longer make any violent movements.

"Sa-ha-la-na~~ Ku-lo-li-ban-do~~~"

The Magic Language rang out again. This time, the irresistible force was even stronger. Even though it wasn’t directed at them, it made everyone else in the room, including Doudou, feel their bodies go numb and their throats itch.