Chapter 1157: Kill Me

Chapter 1157: Sha Wo

"Oh no..."

Qiu Shiliu shifted his body backward, but the dilapidated wall corner made it nearly impossible to turn around, leaving him with nowhere to hide.

Sure enough, as Xiao Xuanwu approached the corner, she immediately spotted Qiu Shiliu's foot sticking out from the straw. She snapped her head up, her gaze piercing through her disheveled hair as she looked straight at Qiu Shiliu.

Qiu Shiliu's heart leaped into his throat, and he clenched his right fist tightly. No matter what this little girl really was, she was undoubtedly Xuanwu. If necessary, he wouldn't hesitate to beat her to death right there.

To his surprise, Xiao Xuanwu didn't attack. Instead, she hurried back to the stove, using a stick to pull out the corn cobs. Without caring about the heat, she grabbed them and placed them respectfully on the ground in front of Qiu Shiliu.

Then, Xiao Xuanwu quietly stepped back, eyeing him fearfully from a distance.

Qiu Shiliu was at a loss for what to do. He glanced at the corn cobs at his feet and then at Xiao Xuanwu, finally asking, "What are you doing...?"

"It's mine... I stole it," Xiao Xuanwu whispered. "I'm giving it back..."

...

Xuanwu lost control again, rampaging like a mad beast and leaving countless wounds on Wang Ba's massive stomach.

Mao Mu and Feng Chang worked together, sending vines bursting from the ground to entangle her, but she seemed wildly stimulated, tearing through them relentlessly as she charged at Wang Ba.

Wang Ba instinctively stepped back, as her strength far exceeded human limits, and each punch required immense courage to withstand.

Luo Shiyi quickly cast his "Wang You," helping Wang Ba overcome his fear temporarily.

"This crazy woman..." Luo Shiyi said, moving to Wang Ba's side. "Wang Ba, doesn't she seem more like... some kind of animal now?"

"An animal...?"

"I can't quite put my finger on it." Luo Shiyi examined Xuanwu's form.

She had no face, which meant she couldn't show expressions. Even when Xuanwu was normally ice-cold, people could read hints in her eyes. But now, she was like a pure killing machine—silent, focused only on slaughter.

"Jiu Jie!" Luo Shiyi shouted toward the distance. "If we don't hurry, we're really going to be done for here!"

Bai Jiu was clearly giving instructions to a group of people pointing at Jiang Shi and didn't respond to Luo Shiyi.

"Shiyi, don't rush Xiao Jiu." Wang Ba stepped forward, his heavy footsteps making the ground tremble slightly. "Anyway, 'Yan Mie Ri' is coming soon. I'll stay here."

"Ba Ge, you..."

"This feels damn good, being the hero." Wang Ba said. "Usually, you all call me 'Wang Ba,' but in times like this, you call me 'Ba Ge.'"

Luo Shiyi frowned after hearing that. "You can't just act tough because I called you 'Ba Ge' once, can you?"

"Who? Me, acting tough?"

"Dying like this doesn't solve anything." Luo Shiyi said. "If you're going to die, I can help with that."

"There's still your 'Wang You' on Xiao Jiang Shi, so don't die—just get beaten to a pulp if you have to." Wang Ba replied.

"That makes sense. Getting crippled is fine; then Shi Ge won't have to die."

The two steadied themselves and once again faced Xuanwu, charging forward after a brief pause.

...

Qiu Shiliu furrowed his brow slightly and picked up the corn cob from the ground. It was hot and felt unusually hard.

"Were you eating this just now?" Qiu Shiliu tried to engage Xiao Xuanwu in conversation, noticing that she seemed like a genuine little girl, worlds apart from the aura Xuanwu gave off.

"Uh..." Xiao Xuanwu hesitated before saying, "I've given it back to you. I thought no one wanted it, so I picked it up over there."

Qiu Shiliu shook his head and held up the corn cob. "This isn't meant to be eaten."

"Yes, I won't eat it." Xiao Xuanwu shook her head and hid the half-eaten corn cob behind her back.

"Damn..." Qiu Shiliu scratched his head. "That's not exactly what I meant. If you want to eat, go ahead, but this stuff probably isn't good for your body, right?"

"Good for me...?"

"Shit... why am I even worrying about you..."

As if struck by a thought, Qiu Shiliu suddenly threw the corn cob to the ground viciously and grabbed Xiao Xuanwu by the collar of her ragged clothes.

Xiao Xuanwu didn't look afraid; she simply closed her eyes quietly.

Qiu Shiliu knew there was something wrong with this Xuanwu, since she shouldn't be a child, which meant the whole world here was likely an illusion.

"My teammates are out there getting slaughtered by you... and you're acting all pitiful with me?" Qiu Shiliu said. "Do you think I won't hurt you just because you look like a kid? Starving to death or losing your life—which is worse?"

Xiao Xuanwu said nothing, just kept her eyes shut.

Seeing this, Qiu Shiliu lifted her up and slammed her down hard on the ground.

Xiao Xuanwu's head scraped against the surface, tearing off some skin and leaving her face covered in blood, but she didn't react. She simply got up and closed her eyes again.

Qiu Shiliu took a moment to calm his breathing.

The situation was eerily strange. Here he was, brutally attacking a ragged, half-naked little girl who had only been trying to roast a scavenged corn cob to eat, and now she was suffering for no reason.

From any moral, social, or ethical standpoint, he was the villain here.

But was that really right? Xuanwu had probably killed more people than he had ever met...

"It's fake..." Qiu Shiliu muttered to himself. "This is all fake... You're Xuanwu's weakness. If I kill you, she'll die for sure... You've always wanted to die, haven't I? I'll make it happen..."

With that, Qiu Shiliu straddled Xiao Xuanwu and wrapped his hands around her neck.

But Xiao Xuanwu's attitude toward the world was no different from the real Xuanwu's—she didn't even struggle, just lay there waiting for death.

Qiu Shiliu glanced at her face subconsciously. Time hadn't left its mark on her, yet the scars of humanity had. Her hair was spread out, revealing horrifying wounds all over her face.

As he tightened his grip, Qiu Shiliu couldn't help but look at her limbs—her arms and legs were covered in shocking bruises and cuts.

After several dozen seconds, Qiu Shiliu hesitated again.

This time, the act of killing felt more real than ever. He could see Xiao Xuanwu's face turning purple, her strength fading away.

When he came to his senses, his hands were already loosening.

"Cough..." Xiao Xuanwu coughed and made a retching motion, but she quickly acted as if nothing had happened. "Kill me."

"You..." Qiu Shiliu's lips trembled, unsure how to handle this tormented child.

Seeing Qiu Shiliu hesitate, Xiao Xuanwu slowly opened her eyes.

Only then did Qiu Shiliu notice that the right eye hidden behind her hair had two pupils.