Seeing that the situation had turned against him, Big-Eye was scared out of his wits. He spun around and ran behind the pile of rocks, grabbing the cowering woman and then snatching up the little girl beside her, pressing his machete against the child’s neck.
“Don’t come any closer! One more step and I’ll slit this little girl’s throat!” Big-Eye shouted, his voice trembling.
The little girl’s face turned red from being held too tightly. A muffled sound escaped her throat. Ye Qing heard it clearly—she was calling him “Father.”
What kind of beast was this? He wouldn’t even spare his own child?
Seeing that Ye Qing had indeed stopped, Big-Eye became smug.
“I knew it! You look ruthless, but you’re soft-hearted inside! Be smart and let me go. We’ve got no grudges between us!”
The little girl fainted weakly.
Taking advantage of the moment, Ye Qing flicked a stone from her hand. It struck Big-Eye’s wrist, causing him to cry out in pain and throw the child aside.
Realizing that no one could save him now, he immediately dropped to his knees.
“Spare me, miss! Spare me! I’ll give you everything! They forced me into this—I was just running errands for them!”
Ye Qing was inwardly shocked.
How long had this group been watching her? How had she not noticed at all?
Staring coldly at him, she asked, “Who are you people? Why were you lying in wait for me here?”
With a flick of her wrist, she pressed her dagger against the back of his neck and lightly drew it across. A thin line of blood immediately appeared.
“I’ll talk! I’ll talk!” he cried. “Yesterday, Heiwa smelled meat cooking over here and found out you were alone. He also realized you weren’t a boy but a girl. So… so we thought we’d get something out of you and maybe kidnap you too…”
As soon as he said that, the killing intent in Ye Qing’s eyes deepened.
Big-Eye was terrified and hurriedly added, “We’re just refugees! We had no food left… We saw that woman and child looking pitiful and thought…”
“You’re lying.”
Ye Qing cut him off, pressing the dagger in a little deeper.
“What relationship does that child have with you? And when you were arguing just now, did you think I didn’t notice the looks you exchanged?”
She stared directly into his eyes.
“You… are all in this together.”
Big-Eye trembled all over. The color drained from his face.
“One last chance,” Ye Qing said coldly. “Talk, or die.”
“I’ll tell you everything!”
He completely broke down.
“The four of us are together! I picked that woman up on the road. I don’t even know if the child is hers!
“We had nowhere to go, so Heiwa came up with this trick to deceive people.
“There are lots of refugees on the road, but some always travel alone. Women and children make people let down their guard the easiest. So we rob them of their water, food, and valuables.”
“And after you rob them?” Ye Qing already knew the answer, but she still asked.
“The men… we kill them right away. The women… after we’re done playing with them, we kill them too. The children… the children…”
He trembled so badly that he couldn’t continue.
But Ye Qing understood.
A chill shot up her spine, and her stomach churned with nausea, followed by a wave of furious rage.
Cannibalism.
The hellish scenes of people eating one another, of parents exchanging children to eat, were unfolding right before her eyes.
These weren’t people at all.
They were demons wearing human skin.
She remembered her moment of hesitation earlier and broke into a cold sweat.
She had almost fallen into their trap and become the meat in their pot, the fish on their chopping board.
Fear and anger intertwined, making the hand holding her dagger tremble.
“How many people have you harmed?” she asked hoarsely.
“I… I can’t remember… Five or six? Seven or eight? They were all refugees. No one would care if they died…”
A foul smell suddenly spread through the air.
Big-Eye had wet himself from fright.
“Please spare me, miss! I won’t do it again! They forced me! That child… we haven’t had time to…”
“Shut up.”
Ye Qing took a deep breath.
In this world where law had collapsed and humanity had degenerated, showing mercy to monsters was cruelty toward the innocent.
If she let him go today, more people would die tomorrow, just like all those unjustly slain souls.
Her wrist moved slightly.
Big-Eye’s scream came to an abrupt end.
At that moment, the woman who had been pretending to be unconscious could no longer keep up the act.
She crawled over to Ye Qing’s feet, tears and snot streaming down her face as she clutched at her trouser leg.
“Don’t kill my child! Please don’t kill her! They forced me into this—I never wanted to hurt you! The child is innocent!”
Ye Qing looked down at her, her eyes completely devoid of emotion.
Seeing no response, the woman cried even harder, but quickly threw out a tempting offer.
“As long as you spare us, I’ll take you to their hideout!
“There’s water, food, and lots of valuable things we’ve stolen! You’re so capable—everything there can be yours! Please, let us go!”
She kowtowed desperately, terrified that Ye Qing’s blade would fall on her the next second.
Ye Qing watched her performance coldly.
“When you were pretending to be unconscious, your right hand was pressed against your lower back the whole time. What’s hidden there?”
The woman’s crying abruptly stopped, and her eyes darted nervously.
A flash of steel.
Ye Qing’s dagger flicked open the tattered cloth at her waist, and a sharpened bone dagger fell to the ground.
“Innocent?” Ye Qing sneered, her gaze sharp as a blade. “The blood on your hands is no less than theirs.”
The woman’s face turned deathly pale.
Knowing she couldn’t fool Ye Qing anymore, a vicious look suddenly appeared in her eyes. She grabbed the bone dagger and lunged at Ye Qing, no trace of weakness remaining.
But Ye Qing had been prepared.
She sidestepped and seized the woman’s wrist. A crisp crack of breaking bone sounded, and the bone dagger fell to the ground.
Before the woman could even scream, Ye Qing tightened her grip and snapped her neck.
The woman collapsed limply to the ground, dead.
“I gave you a quick death. Consider it a bit of virtue for the child’s sake.”
Ye Qing searched the bodies but found little of value.
It seemed this group had another hideout, and today’s trip had been specifically intended to ambush her.
She glanced at the unconscious little girl nearby and frowned.
Leaving her behind felt heartless.
Taking her along would be a burden.
But then another thought occurred to her.
Since the little girl had come here with them, she must know where their hideout was.
If she could find it and wipe them out, she could eliminate the threat once and for all.
Having made up her mind, Ye Qing hoisted the little girl onto her shoulder and walked to an open area not far from the corpses. She casually set the child down.
Squatting, she wiped the dirt and blood from her hands, then took the other two bodies out of her storage space and arranged them with the others. She kicked around the scattered weapons, deliberately creating the illusion that two groups had fought each other to mutual destruction.
After finishing, she sat beneath a nearby tree, unscrewed her water flask, and took a few drinks before stuffing several pieces of jerky into her mouth and chewing slowly.
In these chaotic times, physical strength was the capital that kept one alive.
She had to replenish her energy whenever she could.
Leaning against the tree trunk, Ye Qing closed her eyes to rest, but her ears remained alert to every sound around her.
Not long afterward, a soft whimper came from beside her.
The little girl slowly woke up.
Her eyelashes fluttered as she opened her eyes and looked around blankly. But the moment she saw the corpses on the ground, her face turned deathly pale, and her body began to tremble uncontrollably.
Ye Qing lazily lifted her eyelids and glanced at her. She neither moved nor went to help.
This little girl had come with those people to ambush her. Whether she was friend or foe was still unclear, and her character was completely unknown.
Better to observe her first, lest she invite disaster upon herself.