Drip...
The squelching sound of footsteps treading through sticky blood echoed through the room.
Qin Yi stopped three paces away from the girl.
When it came to treating others as one would treat oneself.
He certainly didn't want to be on the receiving end of a sudden knife from this girl either.
A childish voice rang out:
"If you're awake, get up. I've already killed them."
"......."
No response.
The girl seemed to still be unconscious.But that was impossible.
A kidnapped person's nerves would be stretched taut. Even if they were exhausted to the point of collapse, they would be startled awake by the slightest movement around them, let alone the fact that he had just been flung directly against her side.
Should he kill her?
Qin Yi considered it.
With his current physical condition, fighting an adult was like dancing on a blade's edge. He couldn't afford a single variable. What if this girl suddenly screamed the moment the scarred burly man came back?
Thinking about it,
Qin Yi drew the short dagger from its leather sheath...
"Don't don't don't, I'm awake, don't make a move!"
The voice rang out, and Su Nuo shot up into a sitting position, her big black eyes blinking rapidly as she stared at Qin Yi.
She had actually been awake the whole time.
She had witnessed everything - the two bandits arguing over their card game, and the big man beating up this little boy.
She had originally been hesitating about whether to speak up and save this little boy,
when the short-haired woman suddenly died.
In an instant.
Su Nuo saw it very clearly, and heard it very clearly too.
The gurgling sound of a throat being slashed open, the faint whisper of a steel blade sinking into flesh, and the look in this little boy's eyes as he killed - she had seen it all with perfect clarity.
He hadn't even blinked.
After the short-haired woman died, she had wanted to say hello, but before she could get the words out, the boy's blood-stained face suddenly loomed close to hers.
Su Nuo: "......."
Qin Yi: "......."
"Waaah!"
Su Nuo's little head jerked backward, smacking against the earthen wall. She winced in pain and shrank her neck, curling up into a ball in the corner of the room, staring at Qin Yi with pitiful eyes.
Small, helpless, and utterly alone.
Qin Yi didn't pay it much mind, instead beginning to size her up.
At her age, the fact that she hadn't burst into tears yet only meant she had a bright future ahead of her.
She wore expensive silk brocade, was quite beautiful, fair and tender like a porcelain doll, her body trembling slightly from pain.
"Um..."
Su Nuo shrank her head, staring at the short dagger in Qin Yi's hand, then suddenly blurted out:
"...Can we be friends?"
"?"
"I can give you money! My family is super rich!"
"......."
Qin Yi tried to make sense of the girl's thought process.
After a long silence,
He tilted his head, using the tip of the dagger to point at his own blood-soaked little face, and asked:
"Aren't you afraid of me?"
Su Nuo tilted her little head too:
"Why would I be afraid?"
"I killed her, and dismembered her body."
"But you didn't eat her."
"?" Qin Yi.
Su Nuo's eyes rolled around, then she curved her eyes into a smile and asked:
"You're planning to disguise this as a monster attack and go down the mountain to kill that big guy, right?"
"......."
Qin Yi was surprised. That was indeed what he had been thinking.
"Hehe~ Looks like this young lady guessed right~"
Seeing Qin Yi's silence, Su Nuo's delicate pretty face showed a hint of smugness, her small nose sniffing proudly: "This young lady is truly brilliant. Actually, you don't need to go through all that trouble. Let me help..."
"No."
Qin Yi refused her coldly.
Su Nuo's cheeks puffed up slightly as she asked in dissatisfaction:
"Why not! I'm actually really capable."
"Then you got captured by this group of amateurs."
"Uh..."
Su Nuo instantly deflated, then looked back at the boy and muttered quietly: "Weren't you captured too?"
Qin Yi: "......."
Su Nuo turned her little face away and continued muttering:
"I... it's because they drugged me. I didn't even get a chance to fight back. But I really am super capable!"
By the end, she seemed to realize her own words weren't very convincing, and her voice gradually faded away.
The boy, drenched in blood, silently watched the girl.
This world contained certain "anomalies" that defied common sense. His sister was one such person.
After a long moment,
Qin Yi suddenly spoke up:
"Alright then. If you can break free from those hemp ropes, I'll agree."
"Huh?"
Su Nuo let out a soft whimper, lowered her head in disappointment, and continued muttering:
"I... I can't do that."
Qin Yi smiled upon hearing this.
Seeing this, Su Nuo grew anxious:
"I'm serious! Untie me, and I'll prove it to you right now... Hey, hey, don't... don't touch me with your hand, it's so dirty!"
Qin Yi reached his blood-soaked little hand toward the girl's head.
Su Nuo twisted around like a little white rabbit, trying to dodge, but there was no escape from the corner. The palm made contact, yet surprisingly gentle beyond all expectation.
Qin Yi patted the girl's little head, looking down at her from above, his childish voice soft and tender:
"Thank you for your kindness, but I can manage on my own. Once I've killed them all, I'll escape with you together."
The look in Su Nuo's eyes shifted as she watched the boy. She pouted and asked in a small voice:
"Really?"
"Of course."
Qin Yi smiled slightly, his tone gentle:
"But first, you should sleep for a while. When you wake up, everything will be over."
"Huh? I don't want to sleep aga—"
THUD!
Before she could finish speaking, he struck without warning. Qin Yi used the wooden handle of his dagger to hit the girl hard on the side of her neck.
The little girl went limp and collapsed instantly.
Qin Yi stared at the unconscious girl. Ultimately deciding not to dig deeper for now, he turned and extinguished the torch mounted on the wall.
In the darkness,
He silently pondered about that sister of his.
The available information was telling him that his sister, despite serving as his "guardian," had allowed him to fall into danger - undoubtedly some sign of losing control.
If the situation became truly dangerous, he would have to abandon that sister immediately. And this rich girl with the broken thought process in front of him seemed to have potential as his new insurance policy.
...
The sun was setting in the west.
After buying some braised food in town, Wang Ma hurried back without stopping.
Along the way, he suddenly had a realization - he should have borrowed money and continued gambling with Third Auntie. With his sharp eyes, now that he was on guard, if she dared to cheat again, he'd definitely catch her.
When that happened, not only would his lost silver be returned, even Third Auntie's principal would become his.
This was a rule personally set by the boss.
And if he won a lot of silver, maybe he could even get a round with Third Auntie tonight.
Heh.
The more he thought about it, the more excited he got.
Wang Ma unconsciously quickened his pace, his burly figure stepping into the narrow passageway, brushing past the torches embedded in the walls and stirring up a gentle breeze.
Jogging up to the wooden door, Wang Ma pushed it open and barged in, shouting loudly:
"Third Auntie, I'm back! Lend me some silver, let's conti—"
He stopped mid-sentence.
The torch had gone out.
The secret room was dim and silent. The only light came from the torch at the entrance of the passageway, leaving most of the cramped chamber swallowed by shadows, with only faint outlines visible.
"...Third Auntie?"
His night blindness made it hard for Wang Ma to see what was inside. He called out tentatively, but the only response was a silent deadness, and the sticky sound of some liquid dripping.
The gambling itch and desire in his heart were quietly replaced by unease. Wang Ma reached out and drew his pudao saber, standing at the doorway and scanning the dark room warily.
...Something had happened.
Had someone broken in while he was away?
SHING—
His heartbeat began to accelerate. Wang Ma suppressed the urge to turn and leave, took a deep breath, pulled out a fire starter, and struck it. The flame ignited in the darkness, casting a warm yellow glow around him.
Large patches of the mud wall plaster had peeled off due to dampness, revealing the rammed earth underneath. The ground was covered in dark red viscous liquid. A chair lay toppled on its side, and atop the square table used for card games sat a spherical object that stood out starkly.
But the light was dim, and he couldn't see clearly.
"Ha... hoo..."
Wang Ma took a deep breath, suppressing the unease and fear in his heart. Grip tight on his pudao saber, he stepped forward slowly. As the firelight flickered, he made his way step by step to the spherical object, then suddenly stumbled back two paces.
He saw a pair of eyes staring at him.
A hideous, distorted face - Third Auntie, dead with her eyes wide open.
BUZZ—
His mind buzzed. Wang Ma's frantic gaze swept around the room, and only then did he realize it wasn't just her head. Third Auntie's entire body had been torn apart. Blood was everywhere in the secret room - severed limbs and various internal organs scattered left and right, as if she had been ripped to shreds by something!
The idiot was lying in the pool of blood, and the girl in the other corner appeared unharmed but seemed to have lost consciousness. Loose silver coins were scattered all over the floor.
There was too much information in the scene for him to process at once.
Who did this?
It wasn't for money - the silver was lying on the ground.
It wasn't to save anyone either.
And they had torn Third Auntie apart.
Was it... one of those mountain monsters?
The thought made the scarred burly man curse under his breath:
"Son of a bi—"
SWISH!
A faint sound.
The fingers holding the fire starter were pierced through, and at the same time, a faint stinging sensation in his chest interrupted Wang Ma's thoughts. When he looked down, thanks to the fallen fire starter, he saw a patch of blood already spreading steadily across his right chest.
"........."
Wang Ma's pupils contracted and dilated wildly. The pain wasn't intense due to the surge of adrenaline, but his breathing uncontrollably began to quicken, and the strength in his body was rapidly draining away.
The darkness amplified his fear, the blood scent clouded his thoughts, and the attack from the shadows became the final straw that broke Wang Ma's nerves.
Run...
He had to run first.
He suffered from night blindness. This damn place was too dark - there was no way he could fight here.
Finding excuses to convince himself, Wang Ma simply gave up thinking. He stopped wondering who the enemy was or what weapon was being used, and sprinted at full speed toward the exit.
Past the passageway was a rundown temple. Out in the open again, his night blindness eased, but Wang Ma didn't slow his pace. Once fear took root in your heart, it was hard to muster up courage again.
Having escaped the dark environment, he now wanted to find a safe place to bandage his wound.
The sun that hadn't yet fully set gave Wang Ma a false sense of security. But he hadn't run even a hundred meters before he felt like he couldn't catch his breath. Cold sweat poured down his body, carrying with it a bone-chilling sensation of impending death.
"Son of a bitch! Besides my finger, this wound isn't... isn't bleeding that much either. What the hell is going on? Did I get poisoned?"
Sitting down under a big tree, Wang Ma gasped for air and cursed while unbuttoning his clothes to check the wound. The moment he saw it, his pupils contracted sharply.
This was a crossbow bolt wound.
Stunned for a moment, Wang Ma's furious eyes suddenly flew wide open. He realized what had happened and roared:
"You bastard, cough, cough... it's that little girl! I was wondering why she was still so clean when the monsters came! Goddamn it, I'm going back right now to—"
"Are you stupid?"
A sudden voice cut off Wang Ma's cursing.
It came from the direction he had come from.
Childish. Calm.
Wang Ma instinctively turned to look, but it wasn't the girl he expected - it was that dull-witted little brat.
The boy walked out slowly from behind a centuries-old tree, as if he had rolled around in a pool of blood. The thick, sticky liquid soaked his entire body. He carried a handheld crossbow, had a quiver of bolts on his back, and a water skin hung from his waist.
The boy didn't continue forward. He tapped his head with the crossbow, standing not far away, and looked at Wang Ma as he said:
"...Someone who dismembers bodies can't possibly be clean all over."
Wang Ma understood everything in an instant. His fists clenched, veins bulging on his neck and arms. His iron-tower-like body pushed itself to stand, his fury making his hair stand on end, his voice so loud that even leaves shook loose from the trees:
"You dare to chase after me?! I'll beat you to death right now, you animal!!"
As he spoke,
Wang Ma propelled his massive body forward, charging like a towering wall!
The boy watched him quietly, then casually fired a bolt.
SWISH.
The crossbow bolt pierced through Wang Ma's left knee joint in an instant, making his running form lose balance and crash to the ground. His burly body slid forward from momentum, stopping just two meters in front of the boy.
Looking down at the scarred burly man, the boy quietly stepped back a few paces, his cold childish voice carrying a hint of confusion:
"It's the same crossbow. Why were you afraid of it in Third Auntie's hands, but not in mine?"
Lying on the ground, the excruciating pain of his shattered knee made Wang Ma dig his fingers into the soil, growling in fury:
"Third Auntie... Third Auntie isn't someone like you..."
"But she was killed by me, just now."
"........" Wang Ma.
"Instead of being afraid of her, shouldn't you be more afraid of me right now?"
The boy continued asking, loading another bolt into the crossbow as he murmured to himself: "Oh, I see... you're an idiot too."
Wang Ma's cheek twitched, and he struggled to get up:
"...Shut up!!"
The boy hurled the short dagger with force, pinning Wang Ma's hand to the ground with perfect accuracy, cutting off his movement.
"You... HISS!!"
The hemopneumothorax caused by his pierced lung made it hard for Wang Ma to breathe. He gasped for air in great gulps, his wide, bulging eyes fixed dead on the boy.
SWISH.
Another bolt fired.
It shot precisely through the back of his knee, blasting through Wang Ma's right kneecap, completely crippling both his legs.
"Uncle, don't move, and don't shout."
SWISH!
One bolt after another - palms, elbows, shoulder blades...
Qin Yi's request received no response. Blood-curdling screams rang out one after another.
In two minutes, Wang Ma felt like he had walked through hell, and he finally understood one thing.
Monster...
This kid was even more of a monster.
No wonder the brat had randomly strapped a water skin to his waist when he chased after him. Every time he was about to pass out from the pain, the brat would splash water on his face to keep him awake.
Wang Ma no longer had any strength left to struggle. The shortness of breath and the pain throughout his body made him wish for death, and he could only whisper in a weak voice:
"Ha... haa... let... let me... go... please..."
Confirming that Wang Ma could no longer pose any threat to him whatsoever, the boy finally approached him for the first time.
The boy reached out and grabbed Wang Ma's calloused hand. Like a surgeon performing a precise operation, he suddenly used the short dagger to pry up and peel off one of Wang Ma's fingernails.
"AAAAHH!!! Ugh!! Ha... ah!!"
The scream pierced through the treetops, startling a flock of birds into flight.
The sun was sinking westward, its blood-red rays filtering through the dense forest and spilling across the woods.
Wang Ma gasped for air in great heaves, his wound bleeding into the soil beneath him. The look he gave the boy was one of terror for the first time.
A small, thin shadow,
Stretched almost across the entire forest under the dying light.
Wang Ma's voice trembled with fear:
"What... what do you want?"
"......." The second fingernail.
"Ha... ah... hiss... wh... why?"
"......." The third one.
"Ah!! AH! AH... hiss... you... what the hell do you actually want?"
"I want to know some things." The fourth one.
"No... not... you... DAMN..."
"......." The fifth one.
Wang Ma's vision went dark, and he roared in fury:
"...You... you sick bastard, if you have questions, then just ask!!"
"......."
Qin Yi seemed to pause for a moment. Backlit by the dying sun, he looked up and tilted his head:
"Oh... I forgot to ask. My bad."