The armadillo lizard was very scared, truly very scared, trembling all over. It rolled out of Shao Zifeng's pocket, sticking close to the wall, cautiously walking out.
This wasn't its fault because this was their species' trait: when encountering danger, they would quickly run away. Even if they couldn't escape, they would curl themselves into a ball, presenting their hard spiky scales to the enemy.
The little creature walked while turning its head, watching the immense shadow slowly approaching Shao Zifeng.
Several times it wanted to stop and return to Shao Zifeng's side, but the cowardly nature of its kind made it impossible to control its desire to flee.
Tears glistened as they rolled down its cheeks, dripping on the places it had walked over.
It turned back again, seeing the shadow raise its sharp forelimbs, knowing what this represented.
"Has it left? That's good, at least it can live safely."
At this moment, a thought echoed in its mind, just like that day. It could clearly feel the meaning of this thought and the resulting sense of loss.
The armadillo lizard froze. The times it spent with Shao Zifeng flashed before its eyes like scenes from a movie.
Most of the time, it had curled itself into a ball, secretly watching the man who had always been by its side.
"Look at you, your scales are covered in sand. Let me clean them for you, I just learned how..." That man spoke gently to it. That was the first time the little creature enjoyed the service of having its scales polished, it felt very comfortable.
"Little guy, time to eat." The first time it was fed, it could feel the fingers gently poking its scales. But it didn't care and continued curling into a ball, "I don't know you well. Hmph."
"What? Still angry?" Under the dim streetlights, the man smiled softly. It was the first time the armadillo lizard saw such a sincere smile on his face.
More and more tears flowed down, the little creature sobbed softly, rubbing its eyes randomly with its tiny paws.
Its body temperature gradually rose, and there seemed to be a fire burning in its pupils.
"Swish!"
As the sound of splitting air rang out, the little creature, holding its tears, curled itself into a spiked ball and fearlessly rushed towards the forelimb of the Blood-sucking Tarantula.
...
Shao Zifeng curled up on the ground. The heavy blow to his chest and abdomen made him feel like all the bones in his body were shattered.
Struggling to open his eyes, in his blurry vision, a small figure stood between him and the Blood-sucking Tarantula, occasionally letting out childish roars at the tarantula.
Shao Zifeng could clearly feel a sense of fear, one not belonging to him.
"Little...little guy. You...you...go quickly." Shao Zifeng felt his mouth dry, the strong taste of blood filling his mouth. His voice was a bit hoarse.
His head grew more and more dizzy, his eyelids heavier and heavier.
The armadillo lizard turned quickly at his voice. In a daze, Shao Zifeng could see the sparkle in its eyes.
It shook its head at Shao Zifeng, then walked forward a few trembling steps.
"Hiss!"
Smelling the blood scent on its forelimbs, the entire body of the Blood-sucking Tarantula shivered with excitement, its eyes turning bloodier. It let out a piercing screech, its eight spider legs, like a drunkard, stabbed at the armadillo lizard without any order.
"Swish" "Swish"
Each attack accompanied by the sound of splitting air, striking the armadillo lizard accurately.
The little creature endured the attacks, using its short little paws to protect its head but refused to retreat even a step.
Because, behind it, was the most important person.
The scales on its back had already cracked, seeping blood.
The Blood-sucking Tarantula grew more excited, its eight eyes fully turning blood red, roaring, and attacking faster and faster.
...
"It hurts!"
Suddenly, the semi-conscious Shao Zifeng was startled awake by a thought, just like the last time when he was about to be swallowed by a nightmare. He looked at the pitch-black night sky, not knowing where he was.
"It really hurts!"
Another thought came. Shao Zifeng completely sobered up, recalling all that had just happened with the roars intermittently in his ear. He turned his head to look.
A surge of anger arose.
Under the attacks of the Blood-sucking Tarantula, the little creature's scales had long been shattered, the entire body a bloody mess.
It closed its eyes, wobbling, but never taking a step back.
The Blood-sucking Tarantula stopped its attack, its bloody spider eyes greedily gazed at the armadillo lizard. Its two forelimbs rubbed against each other, making a metallic sound, then opened its hideous mouthparts, biting towards the little creature.
"Go away, get away!" Shao Zifeng grabbed the ground with both hands, struggling to crawl towards the little creature.
He still felt intermittent thoughts from the little creature in his mind, but they grew weaker and weaker.
The anger in Shao Zifeng's heart grew stronger, the small blue dots in the darkness started spinning rapidly.
An invisible ripple spread out from him in all directions.
At the moment the mouthparts were about to bite into the little creature, the Blood-sucking Tarantula stiffened all over, unable to move, its blood red spider eyes showing signs of struggle.
In the silence, only Shao Zifeng continued to crawl towards the armadillo lizard, leaving a long trail of blood behind.
"Thump thump"
As he got closer, in the quiet, it seemed there were two different heartbeats. The closer he got, the more synchronized the heartbeats became.
...
In the sea of dark consciousness, the little creature curled up into a ball, the position that made it feel most at ease, so there wouldn't be any unease or fear.
A long time ago, it could no longer feel pain, only that its body grew lighter and colder.
It wished it could fall asleep like this, it wished it could be petted again.
In a daze, it seemed as if a man with a warm smile was waving at it.
What a pity...
Just as its consciousness was about to dissipate, a familiar thought came, very warm, like fire, very comfortable.
"Thump thump"
The heartbeat frequency became completely synchronized.
...
Just as Shao Zifeng touched the little creature, a flame surged on its body. The flame didn't harm it at all, and the bleeding wounds began to scab rapidly.
Shao Zifeng marveled at the flame on his hand. It was very warm, with a magical force seeming to repair his internal injuries.
By the bright fire, Shao Zifeng finally saw the full appearance of the Blood-sucking Tarantula. Aside from being much larger, it was no different from an ordinary spider, with blood-red spider eyes and jet-black body, making it look more ferocious. Its enormous spider abdomen was covered with dense fur like wolf bristles.
Stimulated by the firelight, the Blood-sucking Tarantula struggled more and more intensely, its entire body beginning to shudder.
Shao Zifeng worriedly watched the little creature wrapped in the flames, becoming anxious.
In the darkness, the uneasiness in Shao Zifeng's heart grew stronger.
"Creak"
A tooth-aching sound of friction echoed. A glimmer of excitement appeared in the spider eyes of the Blood-sucking Tarantula. The partially open mouthparts had three sharp teeth on each side, stained with sticky saliva.
Another few friction sounds, the Blood-sucking Tarantula's body convulsed nonstop.
With powerless legs, Shao Zifeng scooped up the little creature, holding it protectively, staring intently at the Blood-sucking Tarantula.
"Hiss"
The moment the Blood-sucking Tarantula regained its mobility, it let out a hiss, its hideous mouthparts growing larger in Shao Zifeng's eyes.
It seemed he could see some unknown broken limbs.