The woman stood amidst a ball of fire, head tilted back and eyes closed, as if savoring a memory.
After a long time, she finally opened her eyes and said to the corpse she had just arranged, “Do you hate me?”
The skeleton, of course, did not answer, but the woman nodded, as if she had heard something.
“You should hate me, I suppose.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“I hate myself, too.”
Flames danced around her, stretching her shadow long and thin.
Wu Gou hid in the shadows at the mouth of the passage, holding his breath.
He watched the woman, his heart surging with waves of shock. An underground prison filled with corpses having a strange, living person inside was clearly abnormal.
Moreover, her cultivation base was unfathomable, far exceeding his own.
Yet, bizarrely, her sensory perception seemed incredibly weak. They were less than a hundred zhang apart, and she had not noticed him at all.
Wu Gou watched her every move, watching her speak to the skeleton, observing the alternating expressions of tenderness and despair on her face.
The woman’s mental state also seemed somewhat unstable.
Wu Gou frowned.
The two words she had just carved at the head of the bed were identical to the names above.
Yan San, Huo Qi, Chai Jiu, Tan Shi’er...
Did she carve them all? Were the densely packed 'zheng' characters on the walls also her doing?
What was she writing them for?
Was she counting time?
How many years had she been counting?
As Wu Gou pondered, the woman suddenly spoke.
“Today is the third day since you arrived.”
She said this to the skeleton, her tone very earnest.
“I know you don’t want to talk to me. It’s fine, I can wait. I have been guarding this place for ten thousand years; I don’t mind waiting a few more days.”
“Do you know? There used to be many people here.”
“Many, many people.”
“They didn’t talk to me at first, but later, it got better.”
“Once everyone died, they would speak to me. Some would chat, some would tell me stories, and others would even sing.”
As she spoke, a smile appeared on her face.
“I like listening to the Mingchan sing the most. It’s different from the sound of fire.”
“The sound of fire is always the same. If you listen to it for too long, it gets annoying.”
“But the sound of the cicadas is different.”
“Every cicada is different.”
Her smile gradually faded.
“But later, they all left.”
“One after another, they all left.”
“Now, only I remain.”
She lowered her head and looked at her own hands.
On the back of her hand was a patch of festering skin, the edges charred black, revealing raw, bright red muscle beneath.
She stared at the festering patch for a long time.
Then, she lifted her head and looked at the fresh, charred corpse.
“You won’t leave, will you? You promised me. You said you would keep me company.”
“You cannot lie to me.”
“Otherwise, I will kill you, too.”
Just as she said this, the woman suddenly stood up.
“Who?”
She shouted sharply, her gaze like lightning, sweeping toward the direction where Wu Gou was hiding.
Wu Gou’s heart skipped a beat.
Had he been discovered?
Before he could react, the woman had already raised her hand, and a fire serpent shot from her fingertips, heading straight for Wu Gou.
Boom—!
The fire serpent pierced the rock layer above Wu Gou’s head, sending rubble flying. Wu Gou hurriedly tunneled through the earth to dodge, but was still grazed by the flames.
A large hole was instantly burned into his skin, revealing the bloodied muscles beneath.
He emerged from another spot, standing over ten zhang away, watching the woman with vigilance.
The woman stood where she was, flames surging around her, and asked in a cold voice, “Who are you?”
“Are you a prison breaker?”
“Prison breakers die.”
Her voice turned icy, and the flames surged violently, transforming into countless fire serpents that pounced on Wu Gou from all directions.
Wu Gou’s expression changed. He hurriedly channeled his Buddhist light, which surged from his body and condensed into a massive swastika symbol before him.
The fire serpents slammed into the swastika and exploded, sending flames and heatwaves rolling everywhere. The entire underground space trembled.
But the swastika only held for a single breath before cracks began to appear.
The woman’s strength was too great.
She was at least a seventh-stage practitioner with four symbiosis contracts, perhaps even higher.
Wu Gou gritted his teeth, desperately channeling his Buddhist light. The swastika flared up again, barely blocking the second wave of flames.
But the woman’s attacks grew increasingly fierce. The flames surged like a tide, wave after wave, giving him no chance to catch his breath.
“Prison breakers die.”
“Die.”
“Die.”
“Die.”
She repeated this mechanically, her face devoid of any expression. The flames danced in her hands like obedient pets, shifting forms at will and carrying terrifying temperatures.
Wu Gou retreated step by step. The cracks on the swastika multiplied, and golden Buddhist light leaked through them; a sliver even shone upon the woman’s face.
The golden light was faint and weak, but in the dim underground space, amidst the transparent, colorless flames, it appeared exceptionally striking.
The woman’s movements suddenly stopped. She stared blankly at the golden light, a flash of confusion crossing her eyes.
“This is... what? Is it sunlight?”
The woman’s cold voice softened for a moment, but soon, her expression changed again.
“Kill him!” she shrieked, her face twisted with ferocity. “He broke out of prison! He must be killed!”
The flames surged again.
But the next second, she covered her own face, her voice turning into a plea: “Don’t... don’t kill... please...”
“Let them go? You’re crazy! The Master will kill us!”
“We’ve been crazy for a long time. Locked up for ten thousand years, who isn’t crazy?”
Two voices came from the same person, appearing in turns, as if they were arguing fiercely.
“Kill him!”
“No...”
“He is a prison breaker!”
“He is the last living person...”
“The Master will punish us!”
“Do you still want to be a dog for Zhu Pan?”
The two voices argued more and more intensely. The woman’s body began to twist; half her face was terrifying and monstrous, the other half was streaming with tears. Flames surged around her, at times violent, at times gentle, completely out of control.
Wu Gou seized the opportunity and channeled his Buddhist light with all his might.
The golden swastika expanded instantly, erupting with dazzling radiance. The entire underground space was illuminated, and even the charred corpse the woman had just placed on the bed took on a faint warmth in the golden glow.
“Sunlight...” the woman murmured, tears streaming down her cheeks. “It really is sunlight...”
Taking advantage of the woman’s distraction, Wu Gou’s body shrank rapidly. A layer of human skin peeled off him like a patchwork robe, drifting down to the ground.
As for him, he had already tunneled into the earth, disappearing without a trace.
The woman’s expression changed drastically, and she instinctively reached out to catch the layer of human skin.
Boom—!
The moment it touched her hand, the transparent flames immediately engulfed the human skin, turning it into a ball of dazzling light. The woman was blinded by the glare, and by the time the light dissipated, the skin had been burned to ashes.
“The prison breaker has been executed on the spot.”
She nodded, as if talking to herself: “Yes, burned to death. Master Zhu Pan will praise me.”
But the next second, her expression became urgent again.
She crouched down and scooped up the pile of charred ashes on the ground, her voice trembling: “Don’t die... If you die, I’ll be alone again... I’ll help you heal... I’ll help you...”
Clutching the ashes, she hurried toward the deeper levels of the underground prison.
“Don’t die, don’t die, I have medicine there... I can definitely save you...”
“Don’t die, don’t die, don’t die... please...”
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