Slay the Gods: How Could My Fellow Patient Be a Herrscher?

My name is Fu Hua, and today Qiye and I are being discharged from the hospital.

Everyone at Sunshine Hospital knows I’m her personal accessory. Wrapping an arm around my waist or draping one over my shoulder is an everyday occurrence, and rubbing against her shoulder during naps is my signature move.

But only I know how scorching the gaze she hides behind her black satin blindfold can be. Her fingertips tremble when she shields me from boys who bother me, and her breathing turns uneven when she brushes my hair.

“Ah Fu’s hair feels like black silk ice.” Her ribbon-wrapped eyes “stare” at me, and a low laugh catches in her throat. “I really want to... cut off a lock and take it with me.”

That night, a violent storm poured down. In the shabby stairwell, the sound of a masked man gnawing on someone’s face mixed with the patter of rain striking the ground.

Behind me, Qiye suddenly tore off her blindfold. Her molten-gold, blazing angel eyes shone through the rain.

And then she saw the Herrscher of Sentience, white-haired and red-eyed, standing blood-soaked in front of me with a chain blade in hand.

“Who gave you permission to...” The voice behind me was as sweet as candied fruit, yet colder than freezing rain. “Dirty my Ah Fu?”