Bai Xiaochun was extremely happy to see Zhou Yixing, and felt like he had just run into an old friend. After all, he hadn't seen any other living beings for quite some time.
To unexpectedly run into Zhou Yixing right here left Bai Xiaochun feeling as if the two of them were connected by destiny somehow.
Plus, the fact that he ended up profiting handsomely every time they met got him very excited.
“Don’t run, Zhou Yixing!” he shouted. “I'm not gonna take that bow of yours! Get the attention of these 2,000 paper people, okay, my lucky star!?”
The joy in Bai Xiaochun’s voice caused Zhou Yixing to tremble on the verge of insanity. He truly felt as if he had fallen into more bad luck than was possible in one lifetime....
“You’re the lucky star! Everyone in your family is a lucky star!!!” Rage filled him at how sharp Bai Xiaochun's eyes were. Just now, Zhou Yixing had spun around as quickly as possible, and yet somehow, had still been recognized. Then, he’d been called ‘lucky star,’ which pushed him deeper into madness, to the point where he felt like he was going to collapse.
During his recent travels through the labyrinth, he had prayed constantly that he never meet Bai Xiaochun again, and yet... that was exactly what had happened!
“Oh heavens, why? This labyrinth is so big, why did you have me run into this damnable Bai Xiaochun!?” This was the third time Zhou Yixing had encountered Bai Xiaochun, and by this time, he was sure he had worse luck than anyone in the world.
During their first meeting, he lost his nine-colored flame. Then he had his fire soul arrow taken away. The third time, Bai Xiaochun came running at him with 2,000 paper people in pursuit....
Zhou Yixing had been just as terrified recently by the paper people as Bai Xiaochun had. To see more than 2,000 of them in one place had him terrified to the extreme.
“Do I owe him a debt from a previous life or something!?!?” Eyes bloodshot and expression twisted from rage, he turned to glare viciously at Bai Xiaochun.
“You want my help to get the attention of those paper people?” he yelled. “Fine! Since you have a death wish, I guess that means fate has put you in my hands to be killed today!!” Zhou Yixing was convinced that by taking advantage of the paper people, he would be able to have his chance to kill Bai Xiaochun!
“The perfect opportunity!” Howling, he threw caution to the wind, pulling out his black greatbow with its ninefold spirit enhancement. Then, he pulled the bowstring back and unleashed a succession of 36 soul arrows, simultaneously flying backward away from Bai Xiaochun!
36 was Zhou Yixing’s limit, and was such a strain that he was already coughing up blood. And yet, that was how much he hated Bai Xiaochun! All the way down to the bones!
The 36 soul arrows screamed through the air toward Bai Xiaochun, whose face fell at the realization that, in his excitement at running into his lucky star, he had pushed things too far. The truth was that this really was the perfect opportunity for Zhou Yixing to kill Bai Xiaochun.
“I can't believe you’re being such a bully, Mr. Gorilla!” he shouted. As the 36 soul arrows closed in, it was clear that they were locked onto his position, and that he couldn’t dodge them. Considering that there were paper people right behind him, it put him in a very dangerous position. Therefore, he waved his right hand and snapped the Eternal Parasol open.
Then, the 36 soul arrows all exploded, and Zhou Yixing mockingly shouted, “Your comeuppance is at hand, Bai Xiaochun!”
Ignoring any injuries it would wreak upon him, he took a breath and launched another 30 arrows.
The arrows slashed through the air like lighting, instantly reaching Bai Xiaochun’s position and then exploding with incredible force. Even if Bai Xiaochun were stronger than he already was, he couldn’t have done anything other than fall back in the face of such an attack.
As he did, the 2,000 paper people increased their speed, closing the distance in the blink of an eye.
Bizarre smiles could be seen on the faces of the screaming paper people, and looks of greed and madness filled their eyes as they pounced toward Bai Xiaochun.
Off in the distance, Zhou Yixing watched what was happening with such excitement that he was shaking. Then he threw his head back and laughed at the top of his lungs.
“I didn’t kill you, Bai Xiaochun, this is just the will of the heavens!!” Zhou Yixing felt wonderful at being able to instantly rid himself of the depression that had gripped him so deeply recently.
As Zhou Yixing watched the paper people pouncing toward Bai Xiaochun, he cackled madly and then said, “Bai Xiaochun, you--”
However, before he could finish speaking, his eyes went wide, and his words stuck in his throat!
“Impossible!” To Zhou Yixing’s shock, one glimmering shield after another had sprung up around Bai Xiaochun, until there were more than a thousand of them, creating a 30-meter-thick barrier around him.
As the shields spread out, the paper people who had been pouncing on Bai Xiaochun stuck to its surface.
However, because there were so many of them, they ended up looking like a huge paper ball!
Inside of the paper ball, Bai Xiaochun was drenched in the sweat of fear. In the heat of the moment, he had been too short on time to use his Waterswamp Kingdom, and therefore, had resorted to defensive talismans to stop the advance of the paper people.
After confirming that the shields were effective against the paper people, he looked through the cracks in their arms and legs at the gaping Zhou Yixing off in the distance.
“Zhou Yixing!” he bellowed, then began to move in his direction!
Zhou Yixing’s jaw dropped, and his mind began to spin as the huge paper ball began to speed in his direction. The sheer number of paper people that huge ball represented caused Zhou Yixing’s scalp to tingle so hard it felt like it might explode.
“He's still not dead!?!?” he blurted in rage. Spinning, he began to flee, and yet despite the speed he was capable of, was no match for Bai Xiaochun.
“What do I do? What do I do!?!? Don’t tell me I'm really going to have to resort to my final star sigil teleportation!?!?” Swept up in a feeling of madness, he gritted his teeth and prepared to unleash the starlight within the star sigil. However, that was when he suddenly realized that the 2,000 paper people stuck to the surface of the shields were actually absorbing their power, which was causing the paper ball to shrink.
“Hmm?” Enthused, Zhou Yixing immediately abandoned his plan to teleport away. Heart thumping with excitement, he came to the conclusion that Bai Xiaochun was actually shooting himself in the foot, and once his shield disappeared, he would be killed in body and soul.
Feeling more thrilled with every moment that passed, Zhou Yixing proceeded onward, keeping an eye on what was happening behind him and even laughing at the situation.
Suddenly, a rumbling sound echoed out from the paper ball, startling Zhou Yixing. However, after confirming that it was maintaining the same speed as before, he calmed down.
“Let’s see how long you manage to hold out, Bai Xiaochun!”
Inside the paper ball, Bai Xiaochun was chuckling coldly, and thought about what Zhou Yixing’s reaction would be to the fact that... he could pull hundreds of thousands of paper talismans out of his bag of holding if he felt like it.
“Hmph. If I pulled them all out at one time, you would definitely freak out!” However, Bai Xiaochun was still worried. After all, he didn’t have an endless supply of talismans, and would run out of them eventually. Looking around at the paper people absorbing the energy of the shields, he quickly came to the conclusion that they found the shields to be delicious.