“I really don’t remember.”
Xuanwu whispered softly, “If only I could remember forever.”
What a long stretch of time…?
No, perhaps it wasn’t that long—because whenever Xuanwu looked back on this path, she found nothing behind her.
Even the Bodhisattva in her heart had vanished somewhere along the way.
At least she had managed to hold onto one final memory.
It was from before she came to this place, the days she spent hiding on the hillside.
“People can die, but memories must not.” Xuanwu slowly stretched out her hand. “If even the last memory in my heart is destroyed, I will be completely undone.”
A moment later, an eyeball appeared at her fingertips.
“This eyeball was clearly on my back… yet now, no one can take it. You may use it to kill me, but do not undo me.”
She flicked the eyeball lightly, and Song Qi caught it in his palm.
Turning it over, he saw that the eyeball was clean and clear, lying there like a delicate glass artifact.
At the same time, Su Shan descended from the rooftop and walked over, standing behind Song Qi.
She glanced at his hand, where pure, undying ripples shimmered.
Xuanwu said nothing more. She simply lowered her head, picked up her severed arm from the ground, then walked step by step to the wall of a low building and sat down slowly.
Baihu also approached her and silently watched this pitch-black, inhuman monster.
“Brother Hu,” Xuanwu called.
“What is it?” Baihu replied.
“I lost the Bodhisattva.”
Baihu stiffened slightly at her words, then moved to sit beside her, lowering himself carefully.
Just like the first time they met all those years ago.
“Silly child… what are you saying?” Baihu shook his head. “Even if the Bodhisattva isn’t in your heart, they’re still in others’.”
“Ah…” Xuanwu buried her face. “I hope the Bodhisattva can forgive me… forgive this wretched, stubborn fool.”
“They will,” Baihu nodded. “They absolutely will.”
Song Qi had initially planned to detonate the eyeball in his hand, but after staring at Xuanwu for a long time, a flicker of pity crossed his mind. Instead, he turned and handed it to Bai Jiu.
Understanding, Bai Jiu took the eyeball and turned it slightly in his palm. Gradually, it dissolved into a murky liquid.
A few drops slipped from his fingers, sliding over his skin before falling to the ground and seeping into the earth.
This way… at least Xuanwu wouldn’t suffer too much, right?
When they turned back to look at her, the blackness covering Xuanwu’s body began to shift. Instead of restoring her skin, it started transforming her feet into charred remains.
The scorching decay spread like a plague across her body. Instinctively, she clutched her severed arm.
“Brother Hu, I heard that when people die, they must be whole to reincarnate,” Xuanwu choked out. “That way, they can find a new mother. Otherwise, with an incomplete soul, they’ll just wander in hell forever.”
“Is that so…” Baihu murmured absently. “Xuanzi, hold onto your arm. You won’t suffer anymore… You’ll find new parents, and they’ll—”
“But Brother Hu…” Xuanwu’s sobs grew more anguished. “I can only go to the next hell…”
“What are you saying…?” Baihu stiffened. “Xuanzi, you have your arm now. You’ll reincarnate whole.”
The black carbonization reached her legs, then her abdomen, and finally her chest.
Her body stiffened, immobile. Only faint, distant sobs remained, drifting in from another space.
The sound was so far away—as if millions in this world were weeping, as if countless worlds were crying.
“Brother Hu…” Xuanwu uttered in despair. “But I never found my heart… My heart is lost.”
“What—?”
Baihu looked around in shock, spotting scattered fragments of carbonized remains on the ground.
Xuanwu’s heart seemed to have shattered into pieces, scattered everywhere, impossible to reassemble.
“Xuanzi… go ahead,” Baihu said. “I’ll find your heart for you. Every last piece. I won’t leave a single one behind.”
Xuanwu hugged her arm and slowly lowered her head.
“But my heart…”
The carbonization reached her neck.
“It was lost long ago.”
Her face darkened entirely, her features no longer recognizable. She curled silently against the wall, her long hair draping over her like a shroud, motionless as stone.
She merged into the crimson backdrop.
No one could find Xuanwu anymore. No one could even make out her form.
Like a stone Bodhisattva, she remained quietly by the wall, becoming part of the “Land of the End.”
“Ha…” Jiang Shi landed softly, then dropped to one knee, coughing lightly. “Difficult, difficult, the path of virtue—never speak unless to a kindred soul…”
“Little Jiang Shi!” Bai Jiu rushed to his side, reaching to help him up—but his left hand grasped Bai Jiu’s arm while his right hand plunged into empty space.
“To a kindred soul, speak a few words… but to others, it’s a waste of breath…”
Before anyone could lift Jiang Shi, Luo Shiyi staggered and collapsed in the distance.
It seemed that making Jiang Shi “forget” such widespread pain was no easy feat.
As Luo Shiyi lost consciousness, Jiang Shi let out a piercing scream. The overwhelming agony sent his blackened body writhing violently on the ground.
“Little Jiang Shi…” Bai Jiu stood helplessly, tears welling in his eyes.
The “Cat” team members rushed to surround Jiang Shi, while Song Qi stepped forward, his expression cold, and walked straight to Baihu.
Before dealing with Jiang Shi, there was a more pressing matter to resolve.
Baihu lifted his grief-stricken, bloodshot eyes to Song Qi.
“Baihu, are you going to fight us?” Song Qi asked.
Baihu didn’t answer. He only shook his head.
After watching Xuanwu die quietly, some of his lost rationality had returned.
He knew his enemies had never been the participants.
“Are you going to move against me?” Baihu asked in turn.
“This mission doesn’t include killing Baihu,” Song Qi replied.
“Then do as you please.”
Song Qi nodded slightly, relieved, and turned back to Jiang Shi.
Jiang Shi’s screams echoed across the small square. Between his cries, he kept repeating one phrase—
“Don’t let me die alone!”
“Don’t worry… little Jiang Shi…” Bai Jiu murmured beside him. “Everyone is here with you. You won’t die alone.”
But he couldn’t hear. He only screamed. Only wailed.
The crowd watched silently as burns spread across his body, until finally, he fell still.
When Jiang Shi lay motionless, smoke rising from his charred form, the Cat team bowed their heads in respect.
Xuanwu—execution successful.
“Cat” team casualties: three dead, one missing, multiple severely injured.
Without hesitation, Song Qi turned and issued orders. The remaining members swiftly split into seven squads, preparing immediately for the second phase of their mission.
Seeing this, Baihu sighed softly. “So… are you going after Zhuque?”
Song Qi turned back, untying his braid. His hair fell loose over his forehead and cheeks. The hairband in his hand sparked faintly.
“May I?” he asked.
Baihu studied Song Qi’s right hand, intrigued. “How? With your ‘Detonation’?”
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