"It's Oddball Moe," Old Ray reminded me. I nodded, hearing his presence but not seeing him. I searched everywhere for Oddball Moe's shadow, but aside from the Desire Fiend—towering like a mountain—charging madly toward us, I saw no sign of Oddball Moe.
Suddenly, a glint of light appeared in the air before us. I had just noticed it when the Desire Fiend abruptly stopped, as if it had crashed into an invisible wall. But looking closer, I realized it wasn't a wall at all—it was a net.
"Trying to catch big prey—if you're not a good hunter, you won't succeed."
With a whoosh, I felt a breeze brush past my eyes, and accompanied by a voice, Oddball Moe appeared in the sky before us.
"What on earth is going on?"
I asked. Oddball Moe stood up straight. Though small in stature, under the moonlight he radiated a fierce aura. He turned his head, and I saw his eyes gleaming razor-sharp beneath the moon, clear and bright.
"Even though I'm the weakest among the five, as long as I can't be caught, even the weak can defeat the strong."
As Oddball Moe spoke, he turned his head and stood suspended in the air, feet together as if balancing on a tightrope.
A sharp snap echoed—something breaking—clear and distinct in the quiet moonlight. The grinding of stone followed as the Desire Fiend's arm began to move.
"So it really is like this? Sigh, things just keep getting more troublesome," Oddball Moe said. Then came a series of crisp snaps, like rubber bands breaking all at once.
The Desire Fiend began to move.
In a flash, Oddball Moe was already standing in front of the Desire Fiend.
"If we could get along peacefully, I wouldn't want to break you. After all, every time you're shattered, you only grow stronger. I don't want to cause trouble for the others."
My heart skipped a beat as Oddball Moe's voice came through clearly. If what Oddball Moe said was true, then last night the Desire Fiend was smashed twice by Mr. Blackmask, sliced in half by Tammy Blade, and tonight, turned to dust by Old Eccentric.
Countless shadows—Oddball Moe appeared all around the Desire Fiend, darting above and below, flickering like ghostly afterimages. The Desire Fiend raised its fist high, but it was frozen in place.
"It's some kind of thread or something, I think," I said. Old Ray chuckled.
"I can see it very clearly—Oddball Moe, that guy, human eyes can't possibly see it. Luckily, I've got dog eyes—black and white vision—so I can see those threads, as fine as hair, all tangled up and trapping that thing."
Old Ray spoke as I squinted, but apart from the occasional glint in the air, I couldn't see any threads at all.
The Desire Fiend struggled and roared, thrashing against the fine threads Old Ray described.
Oddball Moe's afterimages gradually faded. Then Oddball Moe flipped once in the air, feet gliding as if down a slide, rapidly descending toward us.
Landing beside Old Ray and me, Oddball Moe wiped the sweat from his brow, looking satisfied at the Desire Fiend, now completely immobilized. It howled, but its arms, legs, head—its whole body—were tightly bound, unable to move.
"What exactly did you do?"
I asked. Oddball Moe chuckled and shook his head.
"It's simple. I just used my own threads to tie up the Desire Fiend. You know, when you move fast enough, you can do a lot of things. Maybe I'll explain it to you in detail another time—after all, it's my specialty, and I can't just share it with anyone. Besides, you haven't earned my trust yet. I think the others feel the same. For now, our relationship is just mutually beneficial. If the deadline comes and Lord Yan hasn't come for you, then you'll end up as food for the Desire Fiend. Be a little more self-aware, Ethan Zhang."
I stared at Oddball Moe in astonishment. He kept talking, and I nodded. It's true—these people are risking their lives to protect me only because they want to escape the Forest of Desire. If I naively thought they were doing it just to help me, I'd be dead wrong.
"Let's go, Old Ray. Time to get some sleep."
There were probably only two or three hours until dawn. I didn't want to be a burden to everyone. If Oddball Moe was right, and the Desire Fiend grew stronger every time it was shattered, then with more than twenty days left, even the Five Oddballs would eventually tire. I had to find something I could do. Right now, what I needed most was to regain my strength.
Back at camp, I glanced toward the great pit and listened carefully, but heard nothing. I lay down by the fire and closed my eyes. Everything I'd seen and experienced in the Forest of Desire these past days had been overwhelming.
"How long will it take before I can reach their level of strength?"
A strange new feeling crept through my body as I slowly drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, I didn't have Old Ray wake me like yesterday. Instead, I got up when I heard movement after sunrise. I still wanted to sleep, but I pinched my thigh hard, and the pain helped clear my head.
"Haha, tonight it's my turn! It's been a long time since I got to fight. It might get loud tonight—can you all still sleep through it?"
On the way to breakfast, Tammy Blade laughed and started talking.
"Hey, you better be careful—not too rough. If you take that thing down ten times in one night, we'll be in trouble the next few nights."
Vincent Swallow muttered, and everyone else agreed.
"So what am I supposed to do? All I know is how to chop. What else can I do?"
"Just think about it—cut off its arms and legs, and if it recovers, cut them off again. Just keep it from moving," said Mr. Blackmask, as Tammy Blade patted his shoulder.
"Oh, right! Hehe, when it gets up, I'll just chop off its limbs and keep it from moving."
"Glad you get it. Just don't get carried away. Your temper—sigh, what worries me most is you losing your head in the heat of the moment."
Old Eccentric looked at Tammy Blade with distrust, but she just laughed heartily.
"Alright, I get it. This time it's a marathon, not a sprint. I can hold back—after all, in just over twenty days, we'll be out of here, right, Ethan Zhang?"
I looked at Tammy Blade and nodded seriously.
After breakfast, we went to do our daily stone hauling. Strangely, today I could lift stones the size of bricks—about twenty kilograms each—and carry one in each hand, moving quickly.
Maybe because Tammy Blade would be fighting solo all night, we finished hauling all the stones by morning. Exhausted and ravenous, I devoured a bowl of fried rice and a big bowl of vegetable soup, rested for a bit, then got moving again.
Only Old Eccentric was left in camp. Vincent Swallow had gone to the river, Mr. Blackmask and Oddball Moe were nowhere to be found, Old Ray had disappeared, and Tammy Blade was planning to eat until nightfall.
I limped over, wanting to ask Old Eccentric for advice.
"Is there a way to draw out the ghostly power inside me?" I asked. Old Eccentric glanced at me, then stood up and circled around, sizing me up.
"You'll have to figure it out yourself. Heh, I can't help you—I've always been a ghost. You'd have to ask one of the powerful ghosts, like John Chou. Aren't you friends with that fiend?"
I nodded, sat quietly for a while, and tried to sense something inside me. But after a long time, I felt nothing—my body was empty.
"Can you give me back the Phoenix Blade for now? If things get dangerous, I..."
Old Eccentric sighed, then raised his hand. Suddenly, a birdcage appeared, inside which the Vermilion Bird perched glumly on a little stand, its small eyes fixed on me.
"Sorry, I..."
Damn that Martin Lane, handing me off to a useless kid like you, and now I'm locked up by this freak. Hell, this is just my luck.
I stared in surprise at the Vermilion Bird in the cage. It flapped its wings, then settled at the bottom, stretched out its claws, spread its wings, and cocked its head like a person lounging on the ground.
"You can talk?"
"How many times have I told you? Don't you remember? Damn, you're forgetful. I've helped you out a bunch of times and this is how you treat me? Seriously, are you even human?"
I looked awkwardly at the Vermilion Bird in the cage. It still glared at me, clearly annoyed.
"Don't listen to him, Ethan Zhang. These things love to stir up trouble."
"What did you say, old bastard? Let me out, now!"
Old Eccentric seemed uninterested in the Vermilion Bird's squawking. He got up, dusted himself off, and walked away slowly.
"Even if you got out, what could you do? Without someone to anchor you, you're powerless. Enough with the mind games, you foul-mouthed beast. Keep it up and I'll pluck every feather off you—just wait..."
As Old Eccentric spoke, the Vermilion Bird suddenly stood up straight and said,
"Alright, I'll stop."
After Old Eccentric left, the Vermilion Bird slumped back to its lazy posture, watching me.
"Man, talk about bad luck. I was asleep when that bastard Martin Lane secretly stuffed me into your body. By the time I woke up, something felt off, but it was too late."