My Family Is Very Odd

"Sister, my home is this way."

"Sister, why are you over here?"

"Is your home here too?"

"Oh, by the way, sister, I have snacks. Do you want to eat some?"

Li Xiao Gui chattered away, but the woman didn't reply at all. Holding an umbrella, she walked silently ahead.

As Li Xiao Gui spoke, she started feeling tired, and since she hadn't received any response, she guessed that her sister might not be fond of talking. So, gradually, she stopped talking too.

She thought that her sister might prefer silence, so she followed suit and became quiet.

She obediently walked beside the woman.

Li Xiao Gui took small steps, moving forward bit by bit, while the woman silently matched her pace.

On the road she often walked with her father, many dark figures appeared. Taking advantage of the rainy weather, they slithered and squirmed from both sides of the road onto the main path, swaying as they walked, seemingly wanting to go outside.

Some were large, some were small, and they were all unevenly shaped. When they intersected while moving, the larger shadow would merge with the smaller one, becoming even bigger.

But as they walked forward and reached a certain threshold, the smaller shadows suddenly turned into black smoke and disappeared, while the larger shadows shattered into several smaller ones, as if something was obstructing them.

And as they continued forward, the shattered smaller shadows reached a certain position and the process repeated.

This situation occurred three times in total until no more shadows moved forward.

The yellow umbrella abruptly stopped at a certain point and didn't go any further.

Li Xiao Gui raised her head and looked at the woman. Just three steps ahead of them, the shadows that had been wriggling forward all turned into smoke, one by one.

The woman bent down, lowered the umbrella, and handed it over to Li Xiao Gui. The bag of snacks slowly floated down to her left hand.

Blinking her eyes, Li Xiao Gui instinctively reached out her small hand. She hooked the bag of snacks with her left hand and received the umbrella with her right hand. In the moment her eyes blinked, the woman disappeared beneath the umbrella.

"Let's go back."

The chilling breath she exhaled still lingered in Li Xiao Gui's ears.

"Huh?" Li Xiao Gui turned her head in all directions, "Sister?"

...

After Li Xiao Gui confirmed that she really couldn't see her strange sister anymore, she blinked her eyes and looked at the scene before her. She had seen these shadows before, but it was the first time she saw them turn into smoke.

Was there something in front?

She bit her hand for a while, then cautiously reached out to touch it. Huh? It didn't hurt, as if she couldn't feel anything? Thinking this way, she continued to push her entire arm forward and discovered that there was no difference. With reassurance, she continued moving forward.

First, the umbrella, then the yellow rain boots, and half of a body... Meanwhile, at a certain distance from her but on the same line, the shadows continued to melt into smoke, one after another.

Li Xiao Gui continued walking unharmed, keeping in mind what her father had told her, carefully avoiding those shadows that kept moving outward.

The shadows paid no attention to Li Xiao Gui and continued to advance, seemingly unwilling to get close to her.

The drizzle fell softly, and raindrops dripped down from the umbrella with a steady patter.

A light flickered within the rain mist, right in the direction of her home.

Tick-tock.

Tick-tock.

Then gradually, the dark shadow became clearer. This shadow was much larger than the ones she had seen earlier. Li Xiao Gui wanted to bypass this shadow, even though it was big enough to block her path home, almost in the middle.

But Li Xiao Gui wasn't afraid at all because these shadows had no faces. They were just black masses that neither stared at her nor approached her on their own.

She was about to pass by the edge when numerous golden lines suddenly bound the shadow, and beneath its body was a square array of light. The four edges of the array emitted countless beams of light, enveloping it like a golden cage.

The shadow was shattered within this golden cage and finally dissipated into thin smoke within the light.

"Deity, seal."

A clear voice echoed from behind the light.

After the radiance dissipated, someone slowly approached. Short hair, not tall. As this person drew closer, Li Xiao Gui recognized him. He was the boy who helped her up when she fell in kindergarten, her huffing and puffing little brother!

"Li Xiao Gui?" The boy also recognized her. He walked out holding a white transparent umbrella, just like an ordinary little boy.

"Brother!" Li Xiao Gui happily waved at Shen Chen, but her smile quickly froze. She saw a dark, murky figure gradually appearing behind Shen Chen. It was tall, right above his head, hunching over him with an intense gaze. The void black mass split open, revealing a wide mouth, as if it was about to pounce down at any moment.

It was the first time she had seen such a shadow. Its aura felt different from the ones she encountered before, as if it belonged to another species.

"Behind you!" Li Xiao Gui shouted, stepping toward Shen Chen, extending her arm.

【"You'll be eaten."】

At that moment, her father's words kept echoing in her mind. She had to hurry and run to a place where there were more people and warmth! Li Xiao Gui looked at Shen Chen, thinking.

Shen Chen remained expressionless, unaffected, holding the white transparent umbrella while raindrops dripped onto it. He extended two fingers, the index and middle finger, drawing something in the air.

This time, Li Xiao Gui saw it clearly. Golden lines formed shapes at Shen Chen's fingertips, and she froze in place.

Then, with a soft shout from him, a brilliant light burst forth behind him, and once again, Li Xiao Gui saw that golden cage.

"Deity, seal."

The brilliance illuminated Shen Chen's face brightly, and the enormous shadow lurking behind him instantly vanished within the cage.

Li Xiao Gui stood there, dumbfounded, as if she hadn't reacted. Wasn't it the same just now?

She looked at Shen Chen, curious yet bewildered, and asked, "What are you doing?"

"I'm doing homework," Shen Chen replied naturally.

Taking a step forward, Shen Chen frowned as he looked at Li Xiao Gui. "How did you get all those dirty things on you again? And so many, so heavy."

He said as he gently patted Li Xiao Gui's body lightly.

Puzzled, Li Xiao Gui looked down at herself. She wasn't dirty at all. There was no splatter of mud on her, and her sleeves and dress were still clean and white. She hesitated and said, "No."

Shen Chen asked again, "What are you doing here?"

Li Xiao Gui replied, "My home is in this direction!"

Shen Chen furrowed his brow, "Your home is in this direction?"

Li Xiao Gui nodded.

This area was quite remote. Shen Chen had just walked straight here, and there was a long stretch of road without a single person or store in sight. People live here?

Shen Chen thought for a moment. Indeed, some families preferred sparsely populated suburban areas, considering them quiet with good air quality.

They didn't know that remote places had fewer people and were more prone to breeding filth. However, everyday filth posed no threat to humans and were averse to sunlight and light, actively avoiding crowds and easily dissipating in the sunlight.

The real threat to humans was the mutated filth that originated from ordinary filth. They possessed a certain level of power, were attracted to humans, and had a penchant for devouring and tearing apart with strong destructive tendencies. But there weren't many mutated filth, and there were specialists who dealt with them.

The only recently mutated low-level filth in this area had been unintentionally cleared away by Shen Chen during his practice.

However, the chances of the presence of mutated filth were the same regardless of the population density. Although remote areas had more shade, on the contrary, mutated filth preferred places with more people.

Compared to filth, the inconvenience and behavioral dangers caused by the remote location were more prominent.

Without much thought, and with the rain still falling, Shen Chen decided to put aside his "practice homework" and looked at Li Xiao Gui, asking, "How much farther is your home? I'll accompany you back."

Author's Note:

Today's Knowledge Point:

Filth: Various negative entities gathered together as black shadows that devour and grow stronger. They fear sunlight and humans. They are created and dissipate every day.

They are the introductory targets for non-ordinary people practicing techniques and have no attacking power.

Mutated low-level filth: Born from filth, they possess a certain level of power, enjoy devouring and destroying, and are attracted to humans.

General combat power: One star (although there may be some exceptionally strong ones, most have low combat power).

It's okay if you don't remember everything. Just knowing that such things exist is enough, along with their approximate attack strength. That's all. Although they may seem dangerous, they are actually weak against non-humans.

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