HP - Chapter 33

Kingdom of Gods 11

Even someone as hard-hearted as Zhong Xu had to admit that Ji Zhou was a difficult person to dislike.

So, Zhong Xu lowered her eyes, looking somewhat helpless.

“You’re not going to ask me why?”

Ji Zhou shook his head, speaking casually: “If you want to tell me, you will. If you don’t, even if I pester you for an answer, you could just lie to me.”

“Come to my place?” Seeing her expression soften slightly, Ji Zhou struck while the iron was hot. “We caused trouble at a small Tarot Path base, so we need to lay low.”

“My place has two rooms. The sheets and quilts are all freshly washed and smell nice.”

Zhong Xu looked at him, and after a long moment, gave a slight nod.

Ji Zhou immediately brightened, reaching out to pull her up, chattering as he led her out: “Then let’s hurry. Mainly because I’m afraid you’ll change your mind.”

Leaving the abandoned tower, Zhong Xu saw, in the distance between the buildings, that lone gray tree standing tall.

Looking through the rain, the tree’s color seemed to have gained a faint, almost imperceptible sheen.

Was it an illusion?

Bzzz bzzz.

A very faint vibration caught Zhong Xu’s ears.

She looked up and saw a small drone sweeping across the sky, circling around the abandoned tower.

Of course—no matter how small, it was still a base.

How could it possibly be completely unwatched?

Killing two of their people—even if they were small fry—there was no way the Tarot Path would just let someone walk all over them.

Covering the thoughts in her eyes, Zhong Xu said, “I still haven’t collected my wages from the tavern.”

Ji Zhou looked at her: “Then shall we go to the tavern first?”

“You go.”

“Huh?” Ji Zhou was puzzled.

“That boss is annoying. I’m afraid I won’t be able to control myself.”

“…”

Ji Zhou thought for a moment. “I’ll take you to my place first, then I’ll go to the tavern to get your wages for you.”

“The downpour is about to hit. No need to waste time.”

Ji Zhou began to suspect something. “Ah Xu, are you planning to run away?”

“If I didn’t want to stay with you, could you even stop me?”

Zhong Xu raised an eyebrow and began walking toward the station. “The tavern boss is an NPC. When you go, you can ask if there are any useful clues.”

Hearing that, Ji Zhou froze, his expression shifting.

After all, his goal was to leave the game. Any clue that could help him clear it was something he absolutely couldn’t miss.

“I’m really exhausted today. I need to go back and sleep.” Zhong Xu opened her palm. “Besides, your flame is still with me—you can sense my location, right?”

At that, Ji Zhou chose to trust her.

He sent her his address and then rambled on about what food and supplies were in his home.

Zhong Xu grew irritated and simply shoved him into the maglev train.

She had, of course, lied to Ji Zhou.

He was really easy to fool.

After the maglev train started, the first thing she did was open her palm. When that cluster of flame ignited, she stretched her hand out into the rainwater, dousing it completely.

Just as she had predicted, this world had its own operating rules.

Since the heavy storm was associated with information like danger and monsters, it could also suppress divine power.

The rain wasn’t heavy enough yet to be dangerous, but it was enough to break Ji Zhou’s sensing ability.

Zhong Xu glanced once more at the small drone that had silently followed from the abandoned tower, then turned and walked toward the outskirts of the city.

She had already been targeted by the Tarot Path.

Now she had no choice but to leave this city.

After getting off the maglev train, the worried Ji Zhou ignited that cluster of flame.

“…Liar Ah Xu.”

The information about her location had vanished completely.

Just then, Qiu Heming called.

His voice came through the communication device: “I’ve finished my work here. Where are you two? I’ll head over to meet up now.”

Ji Zhou said guiltily, “Lost her.”

“…”

Qiu Heming: “Perhaps I shouldn’t have placed too much hope in you?”

After a moment of silence between the two, Ji Zhou said softly, “But I still want to team up with her.”

“Where do you think she went?” Qiu Heming asked.

“There are many possibilities.”

“I might need to consider changing teammates. Without you, she would probably be more willing to team up with me.”

“Don’t rush, brother. What are you panicking for at your age? Let me squeeze my brain cells a bit.”

Ji Zhou began racking his brains. After squeezing his mind dry, he slowly voiced a guess: “I think… I think she left because she didn’t want to implicate me.”

A flicker of amusement passed through Qiu Heming’s eyes, but he said, “Heh, hard to imagine.”

“Anyway, I’m convinced of my guess.” Ji Zhou grew more enthusiastic as he spoke. “So where might she have gone?”

Qiu Heming pondered and said: “To be safe, go back to your place once. If she’s not there, keep looking around the urban area. I’ll head toward the city exit to check.”

The rain grew heavier, and the sky rumbled with terrifying thunder, as if lightning could strike at any moment.

There were already fewer people outside; in this weather, even fewer were heading out of the city.

Heavy storms indicating danger had become common knowledge.

But the Tarot Path members were very diligent.

Falling into the mud, Zhong Xu thought so.

An intense sense of pressure swept over in waves, making the puddles surge wildly.

“What a ruthless woman.”

In her blurred vision, several figures looked down on her from above, carrying both killing intent and contempt.

These people were extremely strong; a casual strike from them had left her unable to even stand.

Among them, one was the bald man she had encountered when first entering the city. He wiped the rain from his face and asked somewhat incredulously, “Luo Shen, is it true she really has no card?”

“Don’t you trust my ‘Divine Eye’?” The one called Luo Shen was a tall woman, her cheongsam outlining a graceful figure. Her lips were painted a vivid, seductive purple.

“Then why was she just now…” The bald man recalled her gaze and couldn’t help shuddering. Then he began doubting again—at the tavern a few days earlier, hadn’t she also been that calm and natural?

That day… did she actually have card power on her or not?

“Hey.” Luo Shen lifted her chin and asked, “Where’s your card?”

Zhong Xu forced herself to stand, replying calmly, “Aren’t you people specialized in stealing others’ cards? And now you’re asking me?”

“You’re saying You Shaofei—the one you stabbed to death—stole your card?” Luo Shen let out a cold chuckle, killing intent bursting in her eyes. “What kind of lie are you trying to feed me?”

“Why couldn’t he have stolen my card?”

“If you were capable of killing him, why didn’t you take your card back?”

“Maybe I just didn’t want to live anymore.”

“Such a stubborn mouth. But that’s fine—plenty of ways to make you suffer.”

Her pupils instantly shifted color. A sharp blade of light shot from her eyes, slicing through the curtain of rain and stabbing straight into Zhong Xu’s leg bone.

Ah—

Zhong Xu curled up and fell into a puddle, rainwater mixed with blood splashing everywhere and blurring her vision again.

It hurt.

The pain stabbed all the way into her heart, making her entire body tremble.

She thought her heart would stop on the spot—but strangely, she was still alive.

As long as she wasn’t dead.

And she wasn’t afraid of dying anyway.

At the bottom of the muddy puddle, Zhong Xu felt around and found a sharp stone.

She climbed up again. This time, using only her blurred vision to approximate someone’s position, she lunged straight at them.

“What the—are you insane—”

A scream tore through the rain.

Zhong Xu raised the sharp stone and smashed it down onto a head.

It didn’t matter. If she died, she died.

But if someone wanted to kill her, they had to pay for it.

“Luo Shen! Help me! Luo Shen!”

“She’s a lunatic—how is she still able to…?”

Everything grew chaotic, blurry. Zhong Xu could barely hear anything now; she was simply acting on instinct, demanding a price.

Suddenly, a blinding flash exploded before her.

Even sharper pain surged through her body.

She convulsed, her vision going pitch-black.

But she didn’t collapse. She could still move.

When the body beneath her stopped breathing, she climbed up again, lunging at the next one.

She lost track of how many wounds she’d taken. In the end, she couldn’t see or hear anymore.

She should have died. But she hadn’t. The pain across her body remained painfully vivid.

It hurts so much…

Why am I still not dead…

When the last of her strength finally ran out, she dropped like a cut kite.

“Zhong Xu!”

The storm had arrived. Under the torrential downpour, the road leading out of the city had become a river of blood.

Qiu Heming rushed forward in disbelief, walking faster and faster—until someone in a cheongsam blocked his path.

He recognized her—a key figure of the Tarot Path.

She was in a wretched state, her face streaked with blood. The seductive charm her eyes once carried was gone, replaced by a bottomless darkness.

“It’s you—”

Qiu Heming’s gaze turned icy. A scalpel gleamed silver in his hand.

“Qiu Heming, that woman is a monster.” Luo Shen could barely stay standing in the heavy rain; the umbrella she had held earlier had long vanished, blown who knows where.

The storm hammered down on her face, washing away all traces of her former allure. Her divine power—usually concentrated in her eyes—had been nearly exhausted, and now she could only vaguely make out shapes through the rain.

She clutched at the chance of survival like a drowning person grabbing at a straw—then froze as she realized something. “You know her?”

“Monster?” Qiu Heming’s voice turned dark. “Are you talking about yourself?”

“No matter how we tried, she wouldn’t die! She doesn’t have a Tarot card, but she can’t be killed!” Luo Shen shouted, her voice cracking.

Her expression twisted fiercely. “Do you understand what that means? She’s different from us—she has to die! She is—”

The scalpel sank into her chest.

A tool meant to save lives had become a weapon for taking them.

“Whether she deserves to die…” Qiu Heming said quietly, expression blank, “I’ll decide later. But you people—you who’ve slaughtered countless victims—you’re the ones who deserve death.”

Blood spilled from Luo Shen’s mouth. She let out a choked laugh. “You’re all insane… Take me with you, then? I think teaming up with you would be… fun.”

“Not worthy. Not qualified.”

“I’ll remember your words. Murderous doctor… I’ll be back.” She accepted death with eerie calm, an elegant smile forming as she tried to maintain her final poise. “Don’t forget what our leader’s ability is.”

Qiu Heming ignored her. He pulled out the scalpel and dashed toward Zhong Xu.

She was grievously wounded, drenched entirely in blood.

Her eyes were tightly shut, her face pale, as though she had already lost all breath.

Sevyn here ~~~

Enjoy!