HP - Chapter 39

Kingdom of Gods 17

Drip, drip.

Fresh blood flowed down from the knife wound on her chest, winding across the ground like a small river.

The person lying on the ground, wailing in remorse, froze and stared blankly at the person crouching in front of him.

She had a delicate but pale face. The shape of her brows and eyes was sharp and severe, without the slightest hint of softness. Her pupils were empty and unfocused, clearly unable to see, and there was no emotion in them at all.

A sinner?

She said sinner?

The word felt strangely familiar… oh, right—it was part of the game’s background. Among the gods, there was a sinner hidden.

“Yeah… this is just a game,” he murmured unconsciously. “Just a game. Why does everyone have to play it so seriously, so mercilessly?”

He slowly focused his gaze on the knife embedded in Zhong Xu’s chest, raised his hand, and grasped the handle.

The moment the knife was pulled from her chest, Zhong Xu cried out in pain. Her face turned several shades paler, and sweat seeped from her temples.

If she truly was the “sinner,” could the person in front of her judge her?

And if so… what would happen?

Zhong Xu’s thoughts were in disarray when she suddenly heard the other person’s voice, filled with despair.

“Yeah, I really am a sinner. I actually wanted to kill someone…”

Zhong Xu instinctively sensed that something was wrong.

She didn’t have time to stop it—she had already heard a wail.

He hadn’t driven the knife into her. Instead, he stabbed it into his own body.

The irritating buzz of flying insects rang in her ears. They circled overhead, then swarmed toward the corpse on the ground, burrowing into his nose and ears.

Zhong Xu couldn’t see it; otherwise, such a nauseating scene would make anyone uncomfortable.

He had no signs of life.

Suddenly, Zhong Xu felt that something about herself had changed.

She lowered her head and pressed her wound. The pain was fading, healing at an abnormal speed—and all of this happened at the very moment that person died.

“Make way…” While Zhong Xu was still somewhat dazed, someone appeared beside her at some unknown point. She sensed him drawing closer. “I need to clean up this filthy body as soon as possible.”

Zhong Xu slowly stepped away. Relying on her hearing, she could vaguely make out someone emerging from the garbage dump to deal with the corpse.

“Sigh, just one death isn’t enough. The calamity is about to appear.”

The person muttered while digging a hole.

It was an NPC.

Zhong Xu quickly identified his status and asked, “What calamity?”

“Can’t you see it? It’s right there.”

I can’t see…

Zhong Xu subconsciously scanned her surroundings. She was about to speak, but when she turned in a certain direction, her vision—still blurred—began to form an outline.

Her sight was still dark, yet she saw something.

That gray tree that seemed close at hand, yet was actually incredibly far away.

Zhong Xu’s pupils contracted instantly.

She could actually see the tree.

“The moment the Tree of Faith withers is when the calamity occurs. That’s when the entire Kingdom of God should truly perish.

“Kill a few more people. Only then can the calamity be prevented.”

Zhong Xu’s expression turned cold. “Kill people? Kill who? Kill you?”

“Killing me is useless.” The sound of digging continued. “Killing those who have made mistakes is what works. I bury them underground—their flesh and blood will nourish the Tree of Faith…”

It was a deception. It had to be a deception. He was lying.

Zhong Xu knew that the game producer would never let her go so easily and would use every possible method to attack her and push her toward collapse—for example, giving her an immortal body while forcing her to retain the sensation of pain.

This was inciting her to kill.

Zhong Xu let out a long breath, suppressing the turmoil in her heart, and prepared to move forward.

.....

“Qiu Heming—where is Ji Zhou?”

Seven or eight illusory hands surged forth, pressing down on Qiu Heming’s limbs and back. He was unable to move, his entire face submerged in filthy, foul-smelling water.

When Qiu Heming was on the verge of suffocating, the seven or eight illusory hands yanked backward, pulling him out of the water.

He gasped for breath, his heart pounding violently.

Seeing his lips move, the woman sitting on the sofa raised her hand, signaling the others not to act rashly and to let him speak.

Qiu Heming gradually calmed down. “This water—it was collected during a rainstorm, right? The recent storms have been getting smellier and smellier.”

She hadn’t expected that this would be the first thing Qiu Heming said, but for now, she still had some patience.

“And then?”

“Too dirty. The whole body’s unusable.” Qiu Heming shook his head, then pleaded, “After I die, could you help separate my head from my body? My head’s been filled with too much foul water—I’d like to soak it in disinfectant.”

“You won’t die that easily.” The woman on the sofa stood up and walked over to Qiu Heming. She was beautiful, bearing seven or eight parts resemblance to Luo Shen, but compared to Luo Shen’s seductive charm, she carried a far colder air.

“I’ll make you beg for death and find no way to die.”

Qiu Heming examined her for a moment, then asked curiously, “Are you Luo Shen’s older sister or younger sister?”

As soon as he asked this, the illusory hands moved again, pressing him down into the foul-smelling water.

Gurgle, gurgle.

This time, before he could even close his mouth, he swallowed several mouthfuls of water in succession.

From mouth to intestines, everything would need to soak in disinfectant for twenty-four hours.

“Luo Luo is my younger sister. Let me introduce myself—I am the Moon Goddess.”

A pair of chuunibyou sisters.

Qiu Heming felt great regret that he couldn’t speak at the moment.

“I want to see just how long you can hold on.”

Once again, on the brink of death, he was dragged back out. This kind of torment left Qiu Heming’s face deathly pale, his eyes reddened by the contamination of the black water.

“You think that even if you don’t say anything, I won’t be able to find him?” the Moon Goddess sneered. “It’s only a matter of time. I just want to avenge my sister. Ji Zhou stayed with that woman—we just need to find him and teach him a lesson.”

“So it’s revenge you’re after. Why didn’t you say so earlier?” Qiu Heming said helplessly.

“Oh?”

“Your sister—I killed her.”

“……”

Killing intent gradually burst forth in the Moon Goddess’s eyes. The illusory hands tightened around Qiu Heming’s neck, as if they were about to snap it in the next instant.

Just then, someone hurried in from outside.

“Moon Goddess, the woman on the wanted notice has been found… Her Highness says Brother Cat has already gone to apprehend her, but to be safe, she asks that you make the trip as well.”

A ripple passed over the Moon Goddess’s cold expression. “Oh? That was fast.”

“Yes. There was an anonymous tip, and it said the woman’s name is Zhong Xu, and that she’s in Grave City.”

In that instant, the Moon Goddess caught sight of the sudden change in Qiu Heming’s expression.

Earlier, no matter how he’d been tortured, he’d worn that infuriatingly calm, indifferent look. Now, at last, he showed some signs of being alive.

The Moon Goddess smiled faintly. “Excellent. I’ll go right away.”

After the messenger left, the Moon Goddess kicked Qiu Heming away and looked down at him from above. “For killing my sister, I won’t let you die so easily. I’ll have your other two friends reunite with you, and then you can torment each other…”

Qiu Heming slowly raised his head. Those eyes, without his glasses, were unexpectedly cold and profound.

“Do you know what my Tarot card is?”

He asked suddenly.

The Moon Goddess looked puzzled. “The Death card? What—are you going to say you’re like Death itself? Unfortunately for you, your reversed Death card can only save people.”

“Yes. At first, I even thought it suited my profession quite well.”

“Oh? And what’s your profession?”

“I’m a doctor.”

“A doctor? But you killed my sister.”

“Yes. That’s why I can no longer be a doctor.” Qiu Heming tried to rise from the ground, his voice devoid of emotion. “But I want to try… sending you to reunite with your sister.”

A Death card floated in front of Qiu Heming.

The Moon Goddess was about to sneer when she suddenly realized the card was turning—it had actually reversed.

The originally reversed Death card, which brought life from death—if it reversed again, wouldn’t that mean…

The upright Death card.

“Tarot cards can change abilities?!” the Moon Goddess cried out in disbelief. The Tarot Path had always been researching the use of Tarot cards, yet they had never discovered that this was possible.

Qiu Heming shook his head. “It’s best not to do this… because it doesn’t seem like a good thing.”

But at this very moment, Qiu Heming still made that choice.

A shadow fell over the Moon Goddess. She looked up, her face pale. Directly in front of her stood a colossal monster.

“You can torment me if you want, but you can’t direct your killing intent toward my teammates.”

The interrogation light shone down, making Ji Zhou squint and close his eyes.

“Could you dim this light a bit? We’re just chatting, not working—there’s no need for it to be this bright.”

The light remained harsh and glaring. No one moved.

“Ji Zhou, we’ve checked all the surveillance. You went to the Tarot Path’s abandoned tower stronghold with the woman on the wanted poster.”

“If we were able to find this out, then the Tarot Path must have found out as well.”

“Bringing you here is also meant to protect you.”

A group of people in identical black uniforms stood densely packed in front of him, every one of them wearing a solemn expression.

Ji Zhou thought to himself that he could give up on the idea of joining Judgment Eye.

He didn’t like this place.

“We of Judgment Eye have no malicious intent.” The other party adopted a negotiating posture, though the pressure was overwhelming—more like half cooperation, half threat. “The Tarot Path is a common enemy to us all. We can work together.”

Ji Zhou thought to himself that he did want to know where Zhong Xu was.

It was just that Qiu Heming had said she was already dead. If he could at least see the body, that would be good—he could bury her properly and put up a headstone. He just didn’t know what words should be carved onto it.

“Ji Zhou!” The person opposite him snapped in exasperation, dragging Ji Zhou back to reality once again.

“The Tarot Path will find her sooner or later!”

Ji Zhou finally spoke. “Good luck.”

After all, his strength was limited. When it came to finding a body, more people meant more power.

“……”

Just then, a voice sounded. “Team Leader, forget it. Ji Zhou was closest to her—he definitely won’t say anything.”

The speaker was Xiao Huan.

Xiao Huan then turned to Ji Zhou and said sincerely, “Ji Zhou, we’re friends. I truly want to help you. If you go out now, you’ll be captured by the Tarot Path immediately… Your friend from before, Qiu Heming, has already fallen into the Tarot Path’s hands.”

Ji Zhou’s casual, nonchalant expression finally changed.

“What did you say?”

Sevyn here ~~~

Enjoy!