Chapter 184 Who Rejoices, Who Sorrows
Yi Qingxue and the boy were both startled by the gruesome scene. The boy with the braid felt the old woman's grip on his clothes weaken, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth, her body slumping to the ground. He struggled a few times, spitting out, "I told you not to court death! What bad luck!"
The old woman's eyes quickly dimmed. The burly man drew his knife with a "whoosh," and the old woman immediately collapsed to the ground, lifeless. Blood gushed out like a leaky water bag, meandering and flowing, soon mingling with her son's blood.
The burly man spat coldly, then turned and grinned lewdly as he approached Yi Qingxue again. Yi Qingxue gripped the edge of the wooden bed tightly, her heart pounding in her chest. As the burly figure drew closer, her clear eyes filled with terror and despair…
The man with the braid was also drooling with desire, captivated by Yi Qingxue's beauty, almost forgetting their earlier misunderstanding. The young boy, however, had a sudden inspiration and hurriedly suggested, "Uncle! Why not capture her and present her to the chieftain? We'll surely receive a great reward!"
These words were like a bucket of cold water poured over his head. The tall, muscular man froze, his eyes darting around, hesitation evident on his face. The man with the ponytail, however, seemed to have been struck by a realization. Without hesitation, he turned his knife and lightly tapped the baby-faced man on the back of the head with a "smack": "Fool! How much money can the new chieftain possibly give us? Such a rare beauty is naturally for us brothers to 'have a taste' first! Chieftain? It'll be too late by then!"
"Yes, yes, yes! That makes sense!!" The burly man suddenly realized, and greed returned to his face. He grinned maliciously at the trembling Yi Qingxue and said, "Little beauty, don't be afraid! Uncle is very gentle! He cherishes women the most..." As he spoke, he casually stuck the still-dripping steel knife into the mud at his feet with a "whoosh," and rubbed his rough hands together as he was about to pounce on Yi Qingxue!
"Don't come any closer!" Yi Qingxue screamed shrilly, grabbed a shriveled wheat husk pillow, and smashed it hard on the tall, muscular man's head! "Get away!!" she gasped, her eyes wide with rage as she glared at him.
The husk pillow hitting his head felt like a mere scratch, yet it was a profound humiliation to the burly man. His lewd grin froze, replaced by a狰狞 (zhengning, meaning ferocious or hideous) expression. He rubbed his head, his voice icy: "Let me tell you, cooperate obediently and I might spare your life. Otherwise, I have tricks up my sleeve that will make you wish you were dead!" His cold gaze made Yi Qingxue unable to meet his eyes.
Two lines of tears silently streamed down Yi Qingxue's face. Extreme fear, anger, and despair scorched her nerves like wildfire. Just as the tall, muscular man approached and his shadow almost completely enveloped her, a chilling current suddenly broke through the defenses of her consciousness!
In an instant, the panic in her eyes vanished without a trace. In its place was a deep, still silence, an emptiness devoid of joy or sorrow; an indescribable force took control of her body. She slowly stood up, ignoring the thug so close at hand. Her deep gaze swept indifferently over the three bandits in the room, then over the two corpses lying on the floor, finally settling on the tall, muscular man's face. That gaze was devoid of emotion, yet carried a chilling, oppressive force.
The tall, strong man felt a chill run down his spine from the sudden change in his gaze and instinctively took a half-step back!
"What are you waiting for? If you're not going, I'll go first! Everyone's back in line soon!!" The man with the braid, seeing Yi Qingxue's delicate appearance, was already impatient and urged her on impatiently. He shoved the torch into the baby-faced man's hand, threw the steel knife aside, and hurriedly began to loosen his belt.
Seeing the man with the braid in such a display, how could the tall, strong man let him make the first move! The man's beastly nature suddenly erupted. He swallowed a mouthful of saliva, throwing the slight palpitation from his mind: "Little beauty! Uncle is here!!" With an excited roar, his massive body bared its fangs and claws, pouncing on Yi Qingxue's petite figure like a tiger!
Just as his body was within three inches of his grasp, a sudden change occurred! "Ugh..." A muffled suffocating sound rang out! An unbelievable scene unfolded—the burly man, nearly eight feet tall, was suddenly grabbed by the neck by an invisible force and lifted more than a foot off the ground!
The tall, muscular man frantically clawed at his neck with both hands, as if it were constricted by iron chains. He could only utter broken gasps of "Eh... Eh..." from his throat. His legs kicked wildly in the air in despair. The veins on his temples bulged, his eyes bulged from bloodshot eyes, and his face rapidly turned from red to purple. He was on the verge of suffocating to death!
This unbelievable scene unfolded so suddenly that it instantly petrified the man with the braid who had just begun undressing and the baby-faced man holding the torch! After a moment of stunned silence—
"Uncle! What's wrong with you?! Uncle!" The baby-faced man's voice was shrill and piercing, filled with sobs and deep-seated fear. The torch in his hand trembled violently, sparks flying everywhere.
"Dazhuang! Are you possessed by a ghost?! Stop pretending!" The man with the braid was also terrified. He mustered his courage and cursed as he tried to pull his companion, who was struggling in mid-air, forward.
The two men's calls became a death knell! The tall, strong man, who had been struggling in mid-air, suddenly stopped moving as if his bones had been removed. "Thump!" His heavy body crashed to the ground. In the firelight, his eyes were bloodshot and wide open, his tongue was half sticking out, and his face was purplish-blue and ferocious. His death was horribly gruesome!
As the torch shone on the baby-faced figure, a scream pierced the night sky, and the steel knife in his hand clattered to the ground. He trembled all over.
The man with the braid glanced at Yi Qingxue standing in front of the bed out of the corner of his eye. In the flickering firelight, he was horrified to see that a strange crimson aura was faintly emanating from Yi Qingxue's cold eyes! It was as if a monster had appeared in the world!
Demon…fairy! This thought struck him like a thunderbolt! Terrified, he screamed hoarsely, “Run—ah—!!”
With a tearful, distorted "ah," he grabbed the utterly bewildered baby-faced man and turned to dash desperately towards the door! The two ran with incredible speed, their shoes shimmering in the distance! But to their horror, they found themselves completely still—their feet had somehow left the ground, eerily dangling from it!
Yi Qingxue slowly rose and walked silently towards the door. As she passed the two people suspended in mid-air, her cold, inhuman gaze swept indifferently over their terrified and distorted faces. Just as her jade-like feet, clad in embroidered shoes, lightly stepped out of the threshold, the feeling of being suspended in the room vanished abruptly! "Bang!" The two bodies, along with the two torches, landed simultaneously.
There were no screams, no groans. The instant they hit the ground, two thick, inky clouds of black smoke burst from their eye sockets! Then, their heads, limbs, bodies... like snowmen under the scorching sun, silently and visibly melted and vanished!
In the flickering firelight, only two charred human-shaped imprints remained on the ground, and a faint, acrid smell of burning filled the air. Two living people had been drained and devoured in an instant by a terrifying force, reduced to nothingness.
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