HP - Chapter 36

Thank you Elaina for the Ko-fi

Kingdom of Gods 14

Grave City lay outside the main city district. Though called a “city,” compared to the truly prosperous, extravagant urban center, it was more like a slum.

Dark, damp, and filthy—these were the most lasting impressions of this place.

Tangled electrical wires wrapped around a few clusters of old residential buildings. The roads were narrow, mostly alleys. Because there were far fewer houses than people, many residents built metal-sheet shacks along the roadside.

It was said that these few halfway-decent buildings only existed because several gods had undergone trials here back when they first obtained their Tarot cards.

Not long ago, those who had been stripped of their Tarot cards—forced out of the city district if they wanted to survive—had no choice but to come here.

And with the rise of the Tarot Path, more and more people were being deprived of their card-given divine power. They flocked here en masse, and so this place came to be called Grave City.

“Humans are strange. They struggle, they suffer, yet they still want to live.”

Zhong Xu had learned all this over the past few days from Xu Mu’s casual conversations beside her.

And now, Xu Mu’s voice sounded again—this time tinged with reflection, even a little pity.

“Shouldn’t you ask yourself that question?” Zhong Xu sat on the sofa, her tone flat. “Why do you want to live?”

“Because my life isn’t painful,” Xu Mu replied cheerfully. “I get to eat meat every day, and Little Butterfly keeps me company. I’m really happy.”

“Time to sleep. Good night.” Xu Mu rose from the chair and returned to his room.

Zhong Xu remained quietly seated until the person inside seemed to have fallen asleep.

Then she stood, went to the kitchen to get a fruit knife, and walked toward the door.

Xu Mu, as if he knew medicine, had been changing her bandages and feeding her medicine on schedule every day. Thanks to that, she had recovered enough to walk.

After spending this much time in the house, she could now navigate without bumping into anything—she could find the fruit knife, find the door.

She pressed down on the handle; the latch clicked softly, and the door opened.

The roads in Grave City were truly difficult to walk on. Few were paved with cement or stone; most were sand paths. A heavy rain would turn them to mud. Walking on them—one deep step, one shallow—it was easy to soil the hems of one’s pants.

She couldn’t see clearly, but her hearing had become sharp, catching even the smallest rustle.

Nights in Grave City were dangerous.

There were no rules here, and morality had become a luxury. Being stripped of their Tarot cards and pushed to the very bottom only intensified residents’ resentment and rage.

They liked to vent it in… certain ways.

Nighttime was hunting time—and Zhong Xu looked exactly like prey.

A woman who didn’t appear strong, whose eyes seemed impaired, wandering toward deserted areas.

Zhong Xu knew she had been targeted.

She had spent time preparing; tonight was the first time she judged herself ready to venture out.

“Hey.” A man who fancied himself a hunter walked up, speaking in a friendly tone. “It’s so late—what are you doing out here? This place is very dangerous.”

“I can’t see…” Zhong Xu answered in a panicked tone. “I thought this was the way home, but it… doesn’t sound right.”

“Where do you live? I can take you back.”

Zhong Xu gave him a location.

“Ah, that’s right along my way. I’ll walk you there. A young girl really shouldn’t wander around at night. Too many bad people here.”

“Thank you.”

“No problem.”

The man looked kind and friendly, a helpful stranger—yet he was quietly leading her farther and farther away.

Zhong Xu knew.

 Zhong Xu thanked him anyway.

“How long have you been here? I’ve been here a month.” The person beside her began talking, though he didn’t seem to expect Zhong Xu to answer—more like he was venting. “I came here because I had nowhere else to go. I thought I could at least scrape by, but it turned out to be worse than being a dog. You can’t see, so you don’t know. The sky here is gray every single day. There’s no difference between day and night. I want to live, and I want to die… Tell me, why are those people so hateful? Why did they have to steal my card?”

Zhong Xu said, “Aren’t we all gods? Why are there still human-like wicked intentions?”

“Because they’re played by humans too,” the man said in pain. “As long as people exist, there’s greed, suffering, resentment… So don’t resent me either…”

His voice grew quieter and quieter.

By then, they had already reached a dead-end alley, completely silent.

He pulled a knife from his pocket and pressed it to Zhong Xu’s neck.

“Got any money?” His earlier grief was gone, replaced by viciousness.

“What if I don’t have money?” Zhong Xu asked.

“What can you offer in exchange for your life? If you can’t hand over anything, then don’t blame me for using your life to vent my hatred.”

“If you have that much ability, why don’t you go get revenge? Why target someone just as pitiful as you?”

“They’re gods—they have divine power! I’ve already fallen to the bottom! How could I possibly defeat them?!”

“You don’t even dare to fight them to the death. You really are useless.”

“You—!” Enraged by her words, he pressed the knife harder against her neck.

The next moment, he suddenly felt a chilling sensation in his abdomen.

He slowly lowered his head and was shocked to see a fruit knife lodged in his belly.

He couldn’t react in time. He hadn’t expected her to be carrying a knife too, just like him—and he certainly hadn’t expected her to act so decisively—

His mind went blank for an instant, and then the searing pain hit.

Zhong Xu had already yanked the knife free and kicked hard at his knee.

The kick forced him back two steps, and the knife at her neck loosened.

But Zhong Xu didn’t feel good either—the kick made her bare her teeth in pain.

Her wounds weren’t fully healed; the force of that movement pulled at bone and tendon, sending pain shooting through her.

“You’re ruthless, woman!” He clutched his stomach, steadied himself quickly, eyes feral. “You dare attack me even though you’re blind?”

“Even if I die here today, I’m dragging you down with me.”

Though realistically, she might not die—but the pain tearing through her made living feel worse than dying.

A cool drop touched her face—it had started raining again.

At the corner of the alley, in a shadowed and unnoticed place, someone stood quietly.

A young man, wearing a white shirt utterly out of place in this filthy environment, holding a black umbrella.

A faint smile tugged at his lips, his gaze deep and unreadable.

“Little Butterfly, you’re too resilient.”

She was nothing like a butterfly. No butterfly would flap its delicate wings only to shed blood, to bare sharp claws.

A butterfly’s wings snap at the slightest bend.

Hers broke, yet she still flew.

He stood there pristine in the shadows, watching through the curtain of rain as she was thrown into the mud—only to push herself back up again.

Because she couldn’t see, she didn’t bother protecting her eyes; she used her face and eyes to block strikes, as long as she kept her ears safe.

Using her ears to locate her opponent, she endured the agony from her earlier wounds, every stab vicious and precise.

She gritted her teeth, bore the pain, and fought for victory.

She had no desire to live before… so why?

“Kill me.”

“Qiu Heming, kill me.”

Thunder roared, lightning split across the sky. Its light flashed across her face—her closed eyes dull and lifeless.

On the only road leading out of the city district, blood flowed like a river. She lay in the bloody water, almost merging with it.

“Why?” Qiu Heming asked.

“I want to die.” Zhong Xu’s lips trembled as she spoke. “I stopped wanting to live a long time ago.”

“Don’t you want to leave this place?”

“Dying anywhere is the same.”

“…”

 Her ashen expression clearly showed she had no will to survive.

Qiu Heming had seen this expression many times when he worked at the hospital—but those patients had first been full of hope. Only when they learned they were beyond saving did their expressions turn to despair.

It was different with Zhong Xu.

He had already noticed during the previous stage of the game that from the very beginning, Zhong Xu had no desire to live.

Beneath her calm or teasing exterior was stagnant water—utterly lifeless.

He didn’t know what she had gone through, but as a doctor, he felt a responsibility to pull her back up.

Besides, she was exceptional. Her future was worth something.

So, he sent her a team invitation.

Maybe… with a bond, she wouldn’t be so hopeless?

“Sorry.” Qiu Heming said softly, eyes filled with sorrow that wouldn’t fade. “I should’ve found you earlier. I invited you to be my teammate, yet I was always one step behind you. I’m sorry.”

Pain spread wildly through every nerve.

Zhong Xu could barely hear his voice anymore—she only wished the real darkness would swallow her faster.

Let me die, I want to die, please…

“I know. Even if I forcefully take you away and save you, you still won’t cherish your life.”

“We’ve known each other… maybe I should help you end it? But I’m sorry—friends don’t lay hands on friends.”

“Zhong Xu, I hope you live. Live boldly and freely.”

“Zhong Xu, we need you. We really, really need you.”

“Follow this black river downstream—there’s Grave City. Many stripped of their cards by the Tarot Path ended up there.”

Qiu Heming carefully lifted Zhong Xu onto a small boat.

She was covered in wounds, and he moved cautiously so as not to worsen her pain. Sweat mixed with the rain and dripped onto her face.

“I can’t take you back to the city district. You’re already fully targeted by the Tarot Path. But don’t worry—I’ll hold them off first… I probably won’t manage for long, so you need to heal quickly. And… if I die, could you avenge me?”

Qiu Heming smiled as he spoke, wiping the blood- and rain-stained lenses of his glasses with his sleeve.

“Living actually takes more courage than dying. I know some decisions are hard… but you can do it.”

 “Zhong Xu, come back and avenge me.”

The self-piloting boat drifted forward along the rapid river, farther and farther away.

Qiu Heming put his glasses back on. A faint, gentle smile appeared on his pale face.

Zhong Xu let him ramble on, no longer responding.

She lay drifting on the boat for a while, thinking, why should I listen to him?

So she used all her strength to roll herself over, sinking down to the bottom of the river.

Lying at the bottom, she still wasn’t dead. Honestly, back when she buried herself and still survived, she should’ve realized something was wrong with her.

The river water was so cold.

Her body hurt so much.

But… why…

It infuriated her. Qiu Heming was like a resentful ghost, his plea for revenge echoing nonstop in her ears.

And then Ji Zhou’s bright smiling face would flash through her mind.

So noisy. These two were so annoyingly noisy.

Just then—

She heard someone swimming nearby, apparently startled because they thought she was dead.

“Not dead.”

She heard her own voice.

Sevyn here ~~~

Enjoy!

Release will follow the schedule again once I get past my busy season T^T