The bloodstained thorns quickly withdrew, gathering across the marble floor. A few of them brushed against Bai Liu (6)'s wet feet. The touch was faint—so light it didn't hurt at all. It felt less like a scratch and more like a cautious, comforting caress.
Gradually, the thorns receded back toward the cross. Yet the god bound upon it was wrapped even more tightly than before. Earlier, his entire face had been exposed. Now, only half of it remained visible beneath the black, blood-slick vines.
The god beneath the thorns opened his eyes and gazed quietly at Bai Liu (6). After a moment, he blinked slowly, as if drowsy.
Bai Liu (6) lowered his gaze and watched a few thorns trail gently along the back of his foot.
They coiled loosely around his ankle in an oddly intimate, almost spoiled manner. It tickled slightly.
He lifted his foot, glancing from the thorns at his ankle up to the half-hidden face on the cross. His eyes studied the god subtly—the one who seemed on the verge of falling asleep again.
This should be the one Bai Liu had claimed to have kissed twice. A so-called god-level NPC… right?
But this NPC looked no more than sixteen or seventeen years old.
Was his future self really going to be entangled with someone so much younger?
The god's limbs were bound tightly to the cross by ever-growing thorns, yet he still attempted to move, as though trying to pull himself free. His movements were slow and deliberate. Bai Liu (6) instinctively stepped back in vigilance.
In Bai Liu's narration, this god-level NPC did not seem hostile. He had been described as powerful and relatively trustworthy.
Still, the system notifications forced Bai Liu (6) to remain cautious.
[System warning: Player Bai Liu's secondary identity line has triggered a god-level NPC!]
[Love Welfare Institute Monster Book updated — Thorn God]
[Monster Name: Thorn God (god-level NPC)]
[Features: Punishes anyone who kills children in front of him.]
[Weaknesses: None (Players are not required to explore this monster's weaknesses.)]
[Attack Mode: Fish Tail Strike, Biting the Face (2/???)](Note: Since the upper limit of attack modes cannot be determined, the player will collect the page upon obtaining a single new attack mode.)
The youthful face hidden among the blackened thorns did not show any sign of pain from being restrained. Instead, he leaned forward persistently and curiously, staring at Bai Liu (6) with unguarded interest.
"Bai Liu," he said softly, "you have become… a human child."
He reached out as if to touch Bai Liu (6)'s face. Bai Liu (6) quickly evaded him.
The god seemed to recall something. "Yes… Your health is only 0.5. You cannot resist my touch."
He paused, fingers twitching slightly as he stared at Bai Liu's cheeks. The words I want to pinch were practically written in his eyes.
"Even so… even if your health is only 0.5…" He tilted his head. "Bai Liu, your face is much chubbier than when you were an adult. I can…"
Bai Liu (6) was aware that his cheeks still held a bit of baby fat. His body wasn't overweight, but his face retained a trace of childish fullness.
Still, hearing it from this god-level NPC felt strangely uncomfortable.
"You can't pinch it," Bai Liu (6) replied flatly.
The other party lowered his eyes in visible disappointment. "…You let me bite your face before. Can't I pinch it now?"
Bai Liu (6): "..."
For a fleeting moment, it felt as if he were bullying the other person.
According to the system panel, this was clearly a monster with explosive attack power. How could such a being have this kind of personality setting?
Bai Liu, what exactly did you do to this god-level NPC?
A subtle expression crossed Bai Liu (6)'s face.
His health was actually still 50, but he pressed his lips together and did not reveal the true value. He was still assessing the danger of this god-level NPC who had appeared so suddenly.
However… Bai Liu had told him to collect all the pages of the Monster Book.
After a long internal struggle, Bai Liu (6) raised his chin slightly and turned his somewhat plump cheek toward the god bound in thorns. His voice was stiff.
"Fine. You can pinch it if you want. This counts as an attack, right? Just… do it in a way that doesn't hurt too much. I need you to attack me."
The god—Tawil—lifted his faintly gleaming eyes. He studied Bai Liu (6)'s profile for a long time, as if carefully deciding where to begin. His focused gaze made Bai Liu (6) stiffen involuntarily.
At last, Tawil slowly extended his index finger, wrapped in thorns, and lightly poked Bai Liu (6)'s protruding cheek.
The thorns brushed against his skin with astonishing gentleness. Beneath them lingered the cold touch of Tawil's finger. It was so light that it was hard to believe this hand was concealed beneath such vicious thorns.
There was no sting at all.
[System warning: Player Bai Liu's secondary identity line has been attacked by the god-level NPC's Thorn Entanglement. Health has decreased. Due to the minimal damage… recalculating. Health decreased by 0.3.]
[Attack Mode Updated: Fish Tail Strike, Biting the Face, Poking the Face (3/???)](Note: Since the upper limit of attack modes cannot be determined, the player will collect the page upon obtaining a single new attack mode.)
[Congratulations to Player Bai Liu for collecting the Thorn God page of the Monster Book.]
"It's warm," Tawil whispered. "Bai Liu, were you this warm as a child? Your face is even warmer than the lips I touched before."
Bai Liu (6)'s eyelashes trembled faintly. He raised a hand and touched the spot where he had been poked. "I'm not warm," he replied calmly. "I just came out of the baptismal pool."
He glanced down at Tawil's unnaturally pale fingers. "You're the one who's too cold."
"I have always had this body temperature," Tawil said, looking at him steadily. "But you are the first person who approached me and made me realize that I am cold."
A tired yet content expression surfaced on his face. A faint smile curved his lips as his eyelids drooped.
"Waking up and killing an NPC violates the system's rules—the ones used to trap me. I will be forced into a deep sleep…"
He paused softly.
"But I felt your call. So I woke up to see you."
Tawil curled slightly, clutching the finger that still retained Bai Liu's warmth. His eyes finally closed completely. His voice faded.
"Bai Liu, I'm always happy to see you when I wake up. I'll see you next time. I really like your body temperature. I hope… next time, you'll give me a little more."
Let a monster trapped in cold, endless sleep hold a fragment of warmth—just a little of the heat you grant me each time I awaken.
The thorns tightened around him, weaving over his face until Tawil was fully concealed once more. They bound him back to the cross with ferocity, as if punishing him for waking.
He tilted his head slightly, sleeping among the bloodstained thorns. He did not breathe, yet his slumber was deep. It was as though attacking someone had cost him an unspeakable exhaustion.
He had controlled his strength with remarkable precision.
Had Bai Liu always played this sort of game—forcing Tawil to attack him like this?
Bai Liu (6) recalled Bai Liu's careless tone: "Just play casually. It's only a game. Just an NPC."
Then he looked at Tawil, who had been perfectly content to be bound back to the cross after merely poking his cheek, and who was already looking forward to their next meeting.
Bai Liu (6), who now understood that he himself was also an NPC, felt a complicated emotion rise within him. He looked at Tawil with a strange hint of pity.
The image that came to mind was uncomfortably clear—
This feeling of a minor being lured into a relationship by a shrewd scumbag…
"Wow," Bai Liu (6) muttered expressionlessly. "I'm really disgusting."