Chapter 1136: The Doll

Xuanwu emerged from the rolling thick smoke, lowering her head to look at her own body.

The current situation was truly strange; she had no memory of her body ever being in this state before.

She stared at her arm, and the sight that met her eyes felt quite odd.

Some thorns were wrapped around her arm, while others had sunk into it. She stood there in puzzled silence, unable to tell whether her dark, vast forearm was recessed or protruding.

She reached out to touch it and found that she could indeed grasp her own forearm, but the thorns beside it had truly embedded themselves into her arm.

Xuanwu felt a sense of confusion, not just in her mind but in her perceptions as well.

When the numerous thorns pierced and cut into her body, she experienced a unique pain she had never felt before.

If this pain had to be described in two words, it would be "remote."

She felt incredibly distant from the pain, as if her skin had been left in another city, yet the sensation of pain had crossed time and space to drift into her mind.

Slow, dull, ethereal, remote.

Because the pain was so remote, her brain did not reject it; the pain no longer seemed frightening, and her brain simply accepted it gradually, allowing it to enter her thoughts.

"What a wonderful feeling... I don't even need to activate Wang You."

Seeing that Xuanwu was completely unaffected by the attack, the nearby people maintained their composure, as this was exactly what they had anticipated. The plan had not gone awry.

If the first attack could have fully defeated Xuanwu, that would have been shocking enough to stun everyone.

The entire Mao group stared intently at Xuanwu. They knew the worst-case scenario was that she was already furious and would kill everyone present without hesitation. But observing her state, they saw that she was merely filled with curiosity.

"How novel." Xuanwu said softly, "This sensation is so novel—it hurts but doesn't hurt, scares but doesn't scare, pains but doesn't pain."

After hearing this, Luo Shiyi turned back to glance at Song Qi on the high platform, as if waiting for orders.

Song Qi pondered for a moment before nodding slightly.

"Ha." Luo Shiyi turned back to Xuanwu. "Xuanwu, how about us? Do we have some skill?"

"Yes." Xuanwu nodded. "This feeling of slow, aching pain all over my body is almost like Qinglong's handiwork."

"Long?" Luo Shiyi laughed. "Then you're overestimating us. At best, we're just a 'Long Mao.'"

Xuanwu ignored Luo Shiyi and lifted her head as if gazing at him. "Is there more to the attack?"

"Don't worry, there's plenty more."

"Good, that's great. Come and kill me..."

Just as everyone was preparing for the second wave of attacks, they witnessed an extremely bizarre scene.

Xuanwu's entire right arm swayed twice before detaching and falling to the ground.

The arm was like a black fish leaping from a river, now flopping wildly on the ground.

Song Qi furrowed his brow and looked at the severed arm on the ground, momentarily baffled.

He knew Xuanwu carried "Bu Mie," but could a divine beast with "Bu Mie" really have an arm broken off like this...?

Was the power of this joint attack truly that immense?

Su Shan wrinkled his brow, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes, and quickly spotted the clue.

"I've seen it... but I'm not sure if this counts as a 'weakness.'" Su Shan said. "There's a broken bone stuck in her shoulder, and her arm is attached to her body like it's been inserted..."

"What...?" Song Qi had never heard of such a rare situation before, and his mind raced.

After all, no one had ever launched such an intense attack on Xuanwu. Could it be that her limbs were like those of a doll, simply pieced together?

But if that were the case, Xuanwu would be as fragile as a glass doll, shattering at a touch.

"That's not right..." Song Qi said firmly. "If Xuanwu were that vulnerable, her combat prowess couldn't possibly be as legendary as it is."

Xuanwu lowered her head, gently picked up her arm, and reattached it to her shoulder.

The strange sight left everyone present in silence.

Regardless of whether she was actually a doll, she was certainly treating herself like one right now.

"No matter what, this should be our breakthrough..."

After thinking for a few seconds, Song Qi curved his index finger into a hook and placed it in his mouth, then blew a strange whistle.

"Huh?" Ma Shier was stunned by the whistle. "Wait... Qi Ge, what are you saying? Why bring this up now?"

Song Qi didn't respond and blew the strange whistle again.

Ma Shier: "Huh? What on earth are you saying! I don't like this at all; I object to this plan..."

"Hee-hee-hee." From another rooftop, Bai Jiu's childish laughter rang out, as if she were overjoyed.

"Jiu Jie, you..." The fifty-something-year-old Ma Shier shouted, "Do you all think this is fine? Damn it, I'm getting on in years, and I just ran all the way here..."

Ma Shier had been fleeing with Luo Shiyi and Wu Shisan, leading Xuanwu along, and now standing on the ground, he felt the gazes of the Mao group from all directions converging on him, making his face flush red.

"What about you, Shi Ge? Say something..." Ma Shier looked toward Jiang Shi on the rooftop, as if grasping at his last straw.

Jiang Shi simply crouched slowly in the corner of the rooftop. His slender frame made him look like a ridge beast on an ancient roof beam.

He glanced at Ma Shier and said seriously: "A million troops besiege Xiangyang, no aid outside and no provisions inside. When the city falls one day, those crying for their fathers will cry for their fathers, those calling for their mothers will call for..."

"Ah, fine, fine!" Ma Shier was completely defeated. "Shi Ge, stop it. I get it—you're all ganging up on me. I'll go, all right."

Then, as if resolving himself, he turned back with a serious expression and looked at Xuanwu. "Xuanwu... um, if someone took your things... would you get angry?"

"Angry...?" Xuanwu seemed to think it over seriously before saying, "You can take anything of mine, but not my food. As long as it's not food, I won't get angry."

"Great, that's perfect... Sorry about this!"

Ma Shier gave an awkward laugh and immediately used "Nuo Yi."

In an instant, Xuanwu's right arm detached from her body and flew straight toward Ma Shier.

Xuanwu tilted her head in confusion again, only to see Ma Shier vanish into the streets among the low buildings with her flying arm.

"Ahhh, damn it..." Though Ma Shier had stolen Xuanwu's arm, he looked more frightened than anyone.

His frantic escape made Xuanwu feel like she'd been tricked, yet not quite, so she remained silently in place for a long time.

"Hee-hee-hee." Bai Jiu couldn't stop laughing. "Oh, I'm dying of laughter."