"Wuhu…"
The Candy Bean's cry was exactly the same as the one the male host had seen in countless videos.
That punch, that physique, those bulging veins coiling like furious serpents. That pale, almost white-chocolate skin, those deep, shadowed eyes.
Even the absurd mix of pink and black, and the ridiculous cartoon wolf head—it was all there. The Candy Bean even had a new outfit.
The host had imagined this moment countless times: meeting his hero face to face. He used to drag his friends to every haunted spot the Candy Bean had explored.
When they weren't looking, he would stand where his idol once stood, gazing in the same
direction, imagining himself as that unstoppable figure.
In the videos, the Candy Bean faced things beyond comprehension—spirits and monsters that defied all logic. Yet somehow, the host always felt his own shadow overlapping that of his hero.
The Candy Bean would stare into the darkness—and the darkness would stare back.
The host would look into the same darkness—and only see his friends, waving and laughing, calling him to start filming.
They saw different things, yet in that small difference lay everything he admired. And that made him love the Candy Bean even more.
In secret, he worshiped that figure. The Candy Bean wasn't just an internet idol—he was the living incarnation of the host's childhood dream: to be a hero.
To stand tall against the wicked, to protect what mattered most.
Who hasn't dreamed of that?
To shout, "You'll hurt no one while I'm here!"—to be the shield, the wall between others and the dark.
At its purest, that impulse is courage itself.
Even stripped of ideals—wasn't saving someone just cool? Wasn't it the most satisfying thing in the world?
So when his eyes fell on that shovel, he moved.
He clenched his teeth and summoned every last drop of courage to face his fate— a death dyed in indigo.
Now, he lay limp on the floor.
A thick aura of resentment seeped from his mangled body.
All around him rolled human heads, jawbones clacking open and shut in a pool of his own blood.
Not far ahead, two beings—one he had worshiped, one who had killed him—were locked in a brutal brawl.
Their fists and palms collided like thunderclaps. Their steps shook the ground like earthquakes. The violence itself set his dead heart pounding again—his long-stilled blood beginning to burn.
Unwilling… I'm not willing to accept this…
That was the Candy Bean—his Candy Bean!
He'd watched every video three times over, retraced every location, matched every footprint. And now, while the Candy Bean battled the Blue Oni with earth-shattering might, he—
he could only watch?
No. No!
The Candy Bean slammed the Blue Oni to the ground again, hammering its ridiculous hooked nose until blue blood splattered across the hall. The Oni howled in pain.
The severed heads beside the host clicked and chattered, as if urging him on:
Don't just watch.
The balcony shuddered. Railings collapsed, clanging against the floor like a funeral bell tolling its last note.
The Blue Oni stumbled back, counterattacking.
Its massive palms struck the Candy Bean's chest and shoulders with sickening, thunderous slaps.
The Candy Bean roared—the "Wuhu" cry blending with the wolf's howl from his headgear. Its childlike pitch warped into something inhuman, monstrous, and divine.
The host stared, wide-eyed.
Those black eyes of the Candy Bean contained no emotion—yet somehow, he knew. The man was looking back.
That gaze… felt like acknowledgment. Like encouragement.
He felt it in his bones.
Driven by that silent approval—and by the whispering skulls around him—he began searching frantically for a weapon.
Anything. Something to help the Candy Bean. Something to avenge himself. There was nothing.
Nothing but—
something slick and coiled, dragging behind him. His intestines.
He froze. Only then did he truly realize—he had been torn in half.
But the red threads twisting through his arm had kept him moving—reshaping him into something new.
Something Oni.
Those entrails were strong—unnaturally so. He gripped them in both hands, pulled hard, and found he couldn't tear them. The pain was distant, unreal.
Above, the two monsters roared again, their forms colliding like a storm of fury. The host's eyes burned with confusion and determination.
He looked up at the Candy Bean—at every trembling vein, that battered, shining body, that
absurd cartoon wolf head.
Guess I'm stealing your spotlight now.
Dou Tang—within the Candy Bean—was lost in the thrill of combat when he saw it. A man, slowly turning blue.
He lay in a pool of blood, surrounded by shattered glass and skulls. Dou Tang recognized him—the one the Blue Oni had killed.
The man's left hand was coiled in cursed red thread. His right gripped his own intestines.
His arm bent. Muscles tensed. He was preparing to act.
What are you doing? Dou Tang thought, stunned. In that state—what can you possibly…?
And yet, something about that raw, blazing courage struck him silent. Then the man—half-human, half-Oni—leapt.
He hurled himself upward with both hands, looping his blue intestines around the Blue Oni's neck like a rope.
Then—he dropped.
The red threads across the entire clock tower snapped and unraveled, raining down like crimson silk.
The sudden weight jerked the Blue Oni's head downward. It gagged, claws raking at the fleshy noose, wheezing—but the rope of entrails held firm.
That ordinary man—now ghostly blue—had hanged a demon with his own intestines.
The Blue Oni's massive body convulsed, dragged down by the noose. The host dangled in midair, suspended by red threads.
Below him, the Blue Oni writhed—its bulging eyes wide with terror.
Their gazes met—one human, one monster.
The Oni's face twisted with hate and dread. The man's lips quivered with defiance.
Die… die, Blue Oni…
He could no longer speak, but his heart screamed the words.
Below, the golden statue of the goddess still stood, sword raised high. Its blade gleamed—sharp as courage itself.
The Blue Oni's body fell.
Splurt!
The sword pierced through it, impaling the creature completely.
Indigo blood streamed down the goddess's hands, staining the gold with corruption. Yet the statue seemed to smile through its tears of blood—as if finally satisfied.
The man laughed silently, suspended by red threads, his intestines trailing down to bind the Oni's corpse.
He looked upward.
Red above. Blue below.
The strands divided the world in two—
like a boundary between life and death, between man and demon.
Author's Note — "Going Official"
Hello everyone—this marks the official launch of the book.
At first, I didn't know what to say, but after thinking about it, I realized I should say a few words. This is my third novel on ShuKe, though I've been here since 2016. Haha.
I love writing stories—especially stories about complex, layered people. I despise flat archetypes and soulless, mechanical plots.
That's why my stories take time to savor. I rewrite some lines over and over—just to make sure every character breathes, instead of feeling mass-produced.
Many friends have told me to move to other platforms. They say my style doesn't fit ShuKe anymore.
But I like it here. So I'm staying.
Sure, I have flaws—like not knowing how to "cash in" properly, or dropping huge twists right before a release—but I promise you this:
my stories will only get better.
This isn't a thank-you speech—it's an invitation. Lu Zizhen's sins and past.
Dou Tang's hidden identity and power. Huaiyin's transformation and longing. The grudges of the vengeful spirits.
The histories of those who are still waiting in the dark.
All of that lies ahead. None of it has even begun.
I often tell readers in the fan group—I truly love my readers.
In this age, for someone like me—who'd rather skip a meal than write a brainless scene—to find people who get it? That's rare.
Thank you, all of you, for believing in me and walking this road with me. I won't let you down.
Only better stories lie ahead— stories with meaning.
That's all, really. A bit rambly, maybe. Thank you, sincerely.
◇ I'll be dropping one bonus chapters for every 10 reviews. comment
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ You can read 50 chapter ahead on P@treon if you're interested: patreon.com/FicBridge