Chapter 217: Foul

“Xu Liunian…” Qi Xia frowned. “Do you refuse to admit defeat until you’re at death’s door? Right now, you’re the one with a hand around your throat.”

“It… doesn’t matter…” Xu Liunian smiled painfully. “In this ‘Land of the End,’ as long as you’re on guard, it’s nearly impossible for anyone to kill you… But I want to prove that I can do it anyway.”

Qi Xia furrowed his brow. “I don’t care what you’re thinking. I just want to know—what did you do to Qiao Jiajin?”

“What happens to him doesn’t matter…” Xu Liunian’s expression slowly twisted into madness. “Chu Tianqiu is even crazier than I imagined… Hahaha… Tonight, he wants everyone here to die…”

“And you’re no less insane.”

Qi Xia paused, then finally released his grip on Xu Liunian’s throat.

“Stop struggling pointlessly,” Qi Xia said. “If you stand with us now, we still have a chance to escape.”

“No…” Xu Liunian lay on the ground, slowly pulling a small knife from her pocket. “My mind is made up… Only by killing you here can I prove what I’m capable of.”

“Qi-ge, watch out!” Li Xiangling, seeing the weapon, tried to rush forward to help, but she had forgotten her sprained ankle. After just three steps, she collapsed.

But Qi Xia reacted quickly, immediately grabbing Xu Liunian’s wrist. “Hey! I said enough! Can’t you understand?”

“I don’t want to pretend anymore,” Xu Liunian laughed. “I don’t want to be anyone’s pawn… I just want to be myself.”

She slowly turned the knife toward Qi Xia, but his grip was ironclad, stopping her completely.

“Stop struggling,” Qi Xia said. “You said it yourself—with me on guard, an ordinary person can’t kill me.”

“So you think this is all I’ve got?”

Xu Liunian smiled, then flipped the dagger—pointing it straight at her own chest.

Qi Xia frowned slightly, confused by her actions.

The next moment, Xu Liunian used Qi Xia’s own hand to plunge the knife into her heart.

“Cough—” She hacked violently, blood spraying from her mouth.

The blade had clearly pierced her lung.

“You…” Qi Xia’s eyes widened. “Have you lost your mind?!”

“Qi Xia…” Xu Liunian bared her bloodstained teeth. “How do you like this move?”

Qi Xia felt Xu Liunian’s other hand brush against his pants pocket—then she went still.

“What…?” Staring at Xu Liunian’s lifeless body, Qi Xia was utterly baffled.

She had sworn to kill him, yet she had just killed herself.

Li Xiangling climbed to her feet, equally bewildered by the scene.

She had clearly seen Xu Liunian flip the blade and stab her own heart.

“Qi-ge… are you okay…?” Li Xiangling asked.

Qi Xia stood up, dazed. This was his first time experiencing the sensation of having killed someone, and it left him unsettled.

“I… I’m fine…”

The moment the words left his mouth, the entire room suddenly trembled.

Then, something humanoid abruptly appeared in midair, startling both of them.

“Audacious…” the figure murmured.

Qi Xia and Li Xiangling looked up to see a woman floating above them. Her hair was impossibly long, draped over her body like clothing, obscuring not just her skin but her face entirely.

“Divine Beast…?” Qi Xia muttered in shock.

The woman in the air raised a hand, slowly parting her hair to reveal a pale, stern face. She stared at Qi Xia and repeated, “Audacious…”

A chill ran down Qi Xia’s spine. Just being under her gaze made him break out in cold sweat.

“Are you… talking about me?” Qi Xia forced himself to ask. “How am I audacious?”

“Murder to steal a ‘Dao’—violation,” the woman said coldly.

“Steal…?” Qi Xia jolted, realization dawning.

He quickly reached into his pocket—and sure enough, there was a small sphere inside.

This must have been the “Dao” Xu Liunian had slipped into his pocket before dying.

“Wait, hold on…” Qi Xia, unusually flustered, protested, “She killed herself! The ‘Dao’ was planted on me! How does that count as my violation?”

“Audacious.” The woman’s voice was icy. “She died beneath you. The ‘Dao’ is in your possession. Violation.”

“Damn it, that makes no sense…” Qi Xia gritted his teeth. “Do you only judge by appearances? If this counts as my violation, then this method could be used to kill anyone in the ‘Land of the End.'”

The woman in the sky paused, as if processing his words. Then, she uttered again, “Violation…”

Qi Xia’s face twisted with fury. He pointed at the door beside him. “Just outside this door, two factions are fighting—people are dying left and right! And all you care about is whether I violated a rule?”

“Qi Xia. Die.”

Seeing her complete indifference, Qi Xia felt half his hope drain away.

He had encountered three “Divine Beasts” by now.

Though Baihu and Zhuque were utterly mad, they could at least hold basic conversations.

But this woman before him seemed to have lost all capacity for rational thought.

What now?

A ridiculous thought crossed Qi Xia’s mind.

Run?

As a normal human, could he possibly escape from a godlike lunatic?

What were his odds of survival?

“Scammer!”

A brash voice called from outside the door. The person tried to push it open but found it locked.

“Damn it, Scammer, Kung Fu Girl—are you still in there?” the voice demanded.

Qi Xia’s expression darkened as he glanced at the door, then back at Li Xiangling. “Tell that idiot that if he can’t win this fight, he has to run.”

“Qi… Qi-ge… What’s going on…?”

Qi Xia bent down and pulled the dagger from Xu Liunian’s body.

He knew he was dead no matter what.

If death was inevitable… was there a chance he could fight this woman?

“Hey, which ‘Divine Beast’ are you?” Qi Xia asked.

“I am ‘Xuanwu,'” the woman replied as she slowly descended, her hair spilling across the floor. “Drop your weapon. Accept your execution.”

“Hah…” Qi Xia sneered. “After being dragged into this hellhole… you think I’ll just obey you?”

Unflinching, Qi Xia stepped forward, his eyes burning with fury.

“You bastards… give Yu Nian’an back to me…”

Xuanwu slowly lifted her gaze. “Audacious.”