Lethal Stunner: Kicking Off with Five Beast Husbands-Chapter 176: Xuan Jiu as Mad as Xiao Jinsheng

"Family Head!" Xuan Jiu wailed in desperation and then turned to Xiao Jinsheng, pleading, "Please, give this old servant something to do."

Xiao Jinsheng recoiled in horror.

"Can you act normal?" Xiao Jinsheng’s voice trembled.

"Family Head, just give me a bite to eat and a pavilion to shelter from the wind and rain—I am willing to serve you like an ox or horse!" Xuan Jiu exclaimed.

"You... you need to calm down. Don’t act like this. You’re scaring me," Xiao Jinsheng said, retreating from Xuan Jiu.

Mo Jiao turned to Chen Yunji, reminding him, "Look after your friend."

Chen Yunji was just about to intervene.

But he remembered Xuan Jiu’s advice.

As long as he carried on as usual, everything depended on Xuan Jiu’s instructions.

Now that Xuan Jiu was performing, naturally, Chen Yunji wouldn’t hinder him.

Chen Yunji gestured to his own head, retorting, "We’re just fellow patients, not friends."

Mo Jiao was momentarily speechless.

He thought about it for a while but couldn’t find a rebuttal.

"Stop shouting already. You can stay here, okay?" Xiao Jinsheng tried to soothe Xuan Jiu’s nerves.

Years of confinement at Snow Peak, coupled with self-harm.

Afterwards, someone spent three months at Snow Peak as well, with not even a soul to converse with.

Xuan Jiu’s brain had always been frail. On top of that, he was scared senseless by the Terminal’s Illusion Realm and had experienced death a few times.

Having endured all this, it was remarkable that he was merely eccentric and hadn’t completely gone mad.

"Thank you, thank you." Xuan Jiu thanked not only Xiao Jinsheng but also her seven Beast Husbands, leaving no one out.

He raised his palm, showing five fingers as he solemnly vowed, "I promise to work diligently. Rest assured, everyone."

"All I ask is food and shelter."

Yu Yunxiao eyed him suspiciously and eventually spoke with sympathy, "I’ll treat you a bit later."

A treatment for the mind.

He believed the wound caused by the loss of Xuan Jiu’s Star Stone must have also affected his already unstable mind.

Previously, they’d been quite wary of Xuan Jiu.

But after spending time together, discovering he was merely mentally peculiar, Yu Yunxiao had let go of his vigilant guard.

Shi Xie paid no heed to Xuan Jiu’s ravings.

Mo Jiao had no interest in conversing with Xuan Jiu, having realized his demeanor was somewhat unhinged.

This unhinged air was all too familiar to him.

It reminded him of the time when Xiao Jinsheng had promised to change.

Even now, Mo Jiao couldn’t forget when Xiao Jinsheng had purposefully antagonized him to the point he couldn’t even finish his dinner.

All Xuan Jiu wanted was a job with food and shelter, especially since Xiao Jinsheng had already spoken up—no one could muster a counterargument.

With the Terminal’s conditions laid bare, the looming five-month death sentence hung over everyone.

Apart from Xuan Jiu’s erratic behavior, the group enjoyed a brief moment of ease. During dinner that evening, silence prevailed.

Xuan Jiu glanced at one person, then another, noting the somber atmosphere but choosing not to speak further.

In silence, dinner was finished.

With everything out in the open, Xiao Jinsheng no longer cared whether the Terminal was monitoring them at the moment.

After all, if the Terminal was listening in, there was nothing they could do about it.

"If the Terminal knows about us, then surely it knows about Bai Yan, the Insect Brain, and the impending invasion of Mist Continent by the Insect Clan, right?" Xiao Jinsheng asked aloud.

Her question seemed directed at the others, but it was aimed at the Terminal as much.

Still, the Terminal gave no response.

It delighted in watching the insect eggs scattered across Mist Continent, hidden in various corners, slowly hatch—a sight that tempted it to salivate fervently.

But these insect eggs were far too small.

They wouldn’t even satisfy a snack craving.

The Terminal had no choice but to patiently wait. When the craving became unbearable, it would bring out the phantom of Bai Yan’s bound Insect Brain for a couple of indulgent sips.

But the Insect Brain was the sole delicacy among those bugs. Even with its intense longing, the Terminal dared not consume the Insect Brain outright for now.

A single feast versus perpetual meals—it knew the difference well enough.

For now, it still needed the Insect Brain to keep feeding more insect eggs into the Mist Continent.

Just as it continued to nurture Xiao Jinsheng.

Only ripened food was truly delectable.

After dinner, there were no longer the usual Q&A sessions.

No schedules.

No games, either.

The family sat together on the sofa, each with a solemn expression.

Xuan Jiu tried to cheer them up: "You guys can’t go on like this with despair."

"Even if death has set a deadline, we should live out our final days well."

"What it wants is precisely our hopelessness," Xuan Jiu said gravely.

Having interacted with the Terminal and learned about it, Xuan Jiu felt no one present had more authority in the matter than himself.

If humans could control their own emotions, perhaps the Terminal wouldn’t even bother devouring them.

"Five months—there’s still so much we can accomplish," Que Zelian comforted everyone.

Su Ye nudged his chin toward Huaiqing, who was seated across the room, and asked, "Prophet, any glimpses of the future?"

Huaiqing responded with a helpless smile, "It only triggers passively; I can’t just see whenever I want."

As soon as he finished speaking, Huaiqing’s expression froze.

What entered his mind was an endless expanse of red.

The blend of crimson skies and a sea of blood—every corner of Mist Continent in mourning.

Countless massive and terrifying insects emerged from the depths below and descended from the heavens above.

The piercing red glare made Huaiqing’s vision swim.

When the vision subsided, he raised his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose, his voice weighted: "Regardless of whether the Terminal gives us a timeline, the rules of Mist Continent are about to change again."

"What did you see now?" Shi Xie asked.

"The end of days—the arrival of the Insect Clan," Huaiqing said, a grave look on his face.

The group was reminded of the conversations they’d overheard before.

The Insect Brain had sent Mist Continent’s coordinates to the Insect Clan.

Soonest arrival: six months. Latest: two years.

The Insect Clan would eventually reach Mist Continent.

Having already spent three months boosting their superpowers in the Mist East’s Star Stone Mine...

Based on that timeline, if the Insect Clan truly reached Mist Continent, only three months remained.

They might not even survive the Terminal’s granted five-month deadline.

If the Insect Clan arrived prematurely, it would be an apocalypse from the start.

Yet, despite the explicit revelation Xiao Jinsheng had made to the Terminal about the Insect Brain and Insect Clan...

The Terminal’s behavior suggested it didn’t intend to intervene.

The Terminal, aware of dangers threatening its nurtured food in Mist Continent, showed no reaction.

It hadn’t devised a countermeasure like it had against the Fog Corpses either.

Xiao Jinsheng could only speculate about two possibilities:

Firstly, the Terminal and the Insect Clan were adversaries, but the Insect Clan posed no threat to the Terminal.

Secondly, the Terminal and the Insect Clan were allies.

"Whatever the future holds, we should focus on the present," Huaiqing said cryptically.

Even Yu Yunxiao could sense something was off about him at that moment.

Xiao Jinsheng wanted to ask Huaiqing if he saw something else in his prophecy.

But in Mist Continent, wherever one hid, any spoken words could still be monitored by the Terminal.

Xiao Jinsheng couldn’t outright ask.

Huaiqing dared not elaborate.

Or perhaps, this time, Huaiqing had resolved to stay silent about his prophecy.

"Five months of time... isn’t bad," Huaiqing hinted subtly.

The others wore varied expressions but stayed silent.

"After five months, does food and shelter still apply?" Xuan Jiu asked.

"It should," Huaiqing replied with a faint smile.

He eyed Xuan Jiu and Chen Yunji; both had died twice in his prophecies.

The difference lay in how he’d envisioned Chen Yunji as Xuan Jiu’s puppet.

A false death for Chen Yunji.

A true death for Xuan Jiu.

Huaiqing asked Xuan Jiu, "Do you believe that a predicted future—one ending in inevitable death—can truly be altered?"

"Of course it can," Xuan Jiu replied. "I’ve died twice in your prophecies. Once in the Terminal’s Illusion Realm. Another time at the hands of the Terminal."

"Three more deaths, and I’ll collect all Seven Dragon Balls and summon the Divine Dragon," Xuan Jiu said, stroking his chin in thought.

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