"We've always avoided laying hands on the girls inside the academy. Every time, we would only abduct people from outside the school—capturing the living through spells to feed the cultists in the underground palace. But a few days ago, those cultists suddenly went berserk, and I had no choice but to seize two students to stabilize the situation. I didn't expect that this impulsive mistake would end up attracting the Grandmaster here."
Tao Xiangkong glanced in Zhao Minmin's direction before continuing, "When you first entered the academy, Zhao Minmin recognized the Grandmaster. But at the time, she couldn't be sure what your intentions were. To test you, I had her do a little trick. Since the Grandmaster was present, we didn't dare use sorcery—only some medicine, to make a young girl faint from low blood sugar.
"As I suspected, once your people responded, you immediately set up a formation to detect Yin and Yang energies. And it wasn't even Ghost Path Sect methods—it was something far more advanced.
"I figured you must have come for the two girls I abducted earlier. So, not wanting to disappoint you, I stirred things up—when the Grandmaster wasn't around, I cast a spell to frighten one of your junior members (probably referring to me), making it clear that something ghostly was happening in the academy.
"After that, I didn't act again until most of you had left. Then I began laying out the real trap. First, I did some work in the abandoned warehouse at the academy. It worked out even better than I'd hoped. Almost all of you walked into the trap and had your Heavenly Eyes sealed with corpse oil. While you were inside the warehouse, I went to the dormitory and took those strange pistols of yours.
"Just as I thought—without your guns, you panicked and followed the path I had set for you. You gathered everyone into the gymnasium, thinking you could protect them all in one place. I knew Mr. Wu was particularly interested in Shao Yiyi, so I had Zhao Minmin attack her soul right under your noses, keeping you too busy to interfere.
"While you were chasing Shao Yiyi, I opened the gate to the underground palace. As bait, I abducted more than a hundred students. My setup was nearly flawless. I just didn't expect that our greatest trump card—the Ancestor Shaman's blood given to me by Lin Huo—would fail. The Grandmaster woke up. The moment he did, I knew we were finished. But even so, we had to try one last gamble."
"Gamble?" Yang Xiao sneered. "You think turning yourselves into half-corpses counts as gambling? You're not even fully human anymore. A few more years and you'll be indistinguishable from those dried-up corpses outside."
Tao Xiangkong gave a helpless smile. "Ever since we learned the Grandmaster had entered the academy, Zhao Minmin and I began practicing the 'Immortal Technique of Agelessness.' In our position, it was worth the risk. The outcome had only two possibilities: if we succeeded, we'd take the Grandmaster to Yunnan to see Lin Huo, who could restore us. If we failed, we'd die by the Grandmaster's hand. Whether we ended up like the cultists didn't matter anymore."
After hearing this, Wu Rendi gave a slight nod and said, "Very well. As we agreed—tell us everything, and you live while she dies." As he spoke, he raised his small crossbow and aimed it at Zhao Minmin's head. Unexpectedly, Tao Xiangkong shouted, "Don't touch her!"
Wu Rendi turned to look at Tao Xiangkong, his voice cold. "What are you saying?"
With sorrow in his voice, Tao Xiangkong replied, "We agreed—if I told you the whole truth, you'd spare one of us. I'll die. She lives."
"What nonsense! If you die, what am I living for?!" Zhao Minmin, who had been silent all this time, suddenly shouted at him, crying.
Tao Xiangkong wouldn't look at her. He just stared at Wu Rendi and said each word with solemn finality, "We agreed. I die. She lives."
Crying, Zhao Minmin yelled, "Live for what? If you're gone… what am I staying for?!"
Tao Xiangkong still didn't dare look at her as she fell apart, repeating only: "I die, she lives. I die, she lives. I…"
Wu Rendi looked back at him, then abruptly lowered his crossbow. "Send him on his way," he ordered Yang Xiao.
Yang Xiao's expression turned grim. He raised the third bronze nail and prepared to plunge it into Tao Xiangkong's heart. Tao had already shut his eyes, waiting in despair for death.
Then came a piercing shriek. Zhao Minmin suddenly leapt up from the floor. The bolt that had pinned her hand to the ground tore off half her palm but remained embedded in the floor.
Even Wu Rendi didn't expect this. Fortunately, he reacted fast, raising his crossbow and firing at Zhao Minmin's chest. The bolt struck her right in the chest—but Zhao Minmin didn't seem to feel a thing. As the bolt hit her, she lunged at Wu Rendi and clutched his throat.
The scene that followed left us all in horror—Zhao Minmin, gripping Wu Rendi by the neck, lifted him off the ground. Wu Rendi's face turned crimson as he struggled to breathe. Zhao Minmin wasn't interested in a drawn-out fight. She flung him toward the wall with terrifying force.
With a loud thud, Director Wu was slammed solidly against the wall and then crashed to the floor. Wu Rendi rolled a few times before collapsing face down, completely unconscious.
I was stunned on the spot—Wu Rendi… had fallen like this? Though he once told me himself that his monstrous abilities would vanish for thirteen days, I had still been under the illusion that he was as formidable as ever—after all, he had just fired an arrow at Zhao Minmin, and Tao Xiangkong had practically begged for death in his presence. It wasn't until he fainted that I realized: though Wu Rendi's powers were gone, his airs had remained—but the bravado no longer matched the strength.
While I stood there dazed, Zhao Minmin had already lunged toward Yang Xiao. Unfortunately, Yang Xiao was no Wu Rendi—he withdrew the bronze spike that was aimed at Tao Xiangkong's chest. As Zhao Minmin reached for him, Yang Xiao countered with the spike, driving it straight through her forearm, nearly to her wrist, carving out a horrific wound. The flesh on her arm was split open, exposing stark white bone.
"Aaaagh!" Zhao Minmin let out a shriek of agony. She had endured Wu Rendi's crossbow bolt, but Yang Xiao's bronze spike was too much. She stumbled back a few steps but still refused to give up on Tao Xiangkong lying on the ground. By now, Xiong Wanyi and the others had charged over with their batons raised.
But like bullets, the batons were useless against Zhao Minmin—she barely flinched from the blows. Instead, she struck them down one by one, leaving them unconscious on the ground.
Tao Xiangkong shouted desperately, "Go! They can't stop you—just go!" But Zhao Minmin seemed not to hear. She was dead set on saving Tao Xiangkong. In the end, he grew frantic, slamming his head into the ground and screaming, "Go! Get out of here! Leave!"
Zhao Minmin didn't dare approach Yang Xiao again, and Yang Xiao couldn't go on the offensive either. The aftereffects of his massive blood loss had begun to show—his face had turned deathly pale, sweat poured from him like rain, and his shirt was soaked through. His vision had doubled.
Seizing the stalemate, I picked up the crossbow Wu Rendi had dropped. But the groove was empty. Just as I turned to search his body for more bolts, I saw that Sun Fatty had already found one. He tossed it to me and said, "This is the last one. Aim for her head!"
While I was loading the bolt, the situation on Zhao Minmin's side had changed again.
The female students behind Yang Xiao had fallen into chaos. Zhao Minmin, unable to approach Yang Xiao directly, changed tactics. She charged into the group of students, picked one out, and grabbed her by the throat.
"One for one!" Zhao Minmin hissed at Yang Xiao, tightening her grip.
Yang Xiao's face darkened, but he remained silent. The hostage she had picked was a problem—she had chosen Shao Yiyi.
Zhao Minmin wrapped her uninjured arm around Shao Yiyi's neck and, through gritted teeth, said again, "If you won't trade the living, I'll give you a corpse instead." As she spoke, her hand slid toward Shao Yiyi's chest.
Around her neck hung a jade pendant—the same one Shao Yiyi had asked me to pass to Wu Rendi a few days ago, which I'd handed off to Yang Xiao to deliver. Zhao Minmin grabbed it instinctively. The moment her fingers touched it, smoke billowed from her hand. She let out a scream and flung Shao Yiyi away. Her "good" hand was now a mangled mess of burned flesh, and a scorched stench filled the corridor.
That jade pendant—worth less than a street vendor's trinket—turned out to be devastating. The cheat-code-level Zhao Minmin couldn't even touch it.
Having lost Shao Yiyi as a hostage, Zhao Minmin instead gave Yang Xiao a reason to finish the job. Seizing the moment while her hands were both injured, Yang Xiao took two steps forward, driving both bronze spikes at Zhao Minmin's chest. Just as the spikes were about to strike, Zhao Minmin opened her mouth wide and spat out a jet of dark purple blood straight at Yang Xiao's face.
He didn't have time to dodge. He raised both arms to block, but some of the blood still splattered across his face.
Without a sound, Yang Xiao collapsed backward. At the same time, the blood attack had drained the last of Zhao Minmin's strength. She fell limply to the ground, laughing weakly as she stared at Yang Xiao's fallen form. "Ancestor Shaman… You didn't think I'd only use the Ancestor Shaman's precious blood once, did you?"
With that, she slowly rose to her feet and made her way over to Tao Xiangkong. She gritted her teeth at the three bronze spikes embedded in him. But Tao Xiangkong wasn't thinking about himself—he looked at Zhao Minmin's ruined hands and trembled as he said, "I told you to go. Why did you come back? What about your hands?"
Zhao Minmin didn't answer. Her full attention was on Tao Xiangkong. He was stiff as a board, unable to move anything but his eyes and mouth. Using both hands—well, one and a half—she grasped the bronze spike in his navel.
Even the exposed part of the spike was carved with demon-suppressing incantations. As Zhao Minmin gripped it, her whole body began to convulse as if electrocuted. But still, she gritted her teeth and pulled.
Meanwhile, I had already aimed the crossbow at the back of her head. I'd never used one before, and this was my only bolt—I hesitated.
As the spike came free, Tao Xiangkong's body relaxed. He raised his head and saw me pointing the crossbow. He stared at me wide-eyed.
Caught, I no longer hesitated. I pulled the trigger. The bolt shot forward.
At the very last second, Tao Xiangkong shoved Zhao Minmin aside. The bolt missed her by a hair and struck him directly in the left eye.
He didn't even make a sound before collapsing. Blood pooled around his head. This time, Tao Xiangkong was truly dead.
Zhao Minmin had made her plan—free Tao Xiangkong, pull the remaining two spikes, and nothing would stop them. Who cared about the desiccated corpses outside? She would disappear with him into the wilderness, live out their days in peace, and let the world burn. Even if they ended up as corpses themselves, it didn't matter.
But now… everything was gone. She stared blankly at Tao Xiangkong's corpse.
My only bolt had missed. I was starting to panic. Dropping the crossbow, I pulled out my pistol. It probably wouldn't do much, but at least it gave me some courage.
A dozen seconds passed before Zhao Minmin seemed to realize what had happened. Slowly, she turned toward me. That's when I saw—blood-red tears streamed from her eyes. She muttered, "None of us should live. Let's all die together. We'll join Tao Xiangkong in death…"
"You go die by yourself!" Sun Fatty shouted from behind me. As he spoke, he hurled a gleaming short blade straight at her face—it was Wu Rendi's knife. So that's what he'd been digging through Wu Rendi's body for earlier.
Just as the blade was about to hit her, Zhao Minmin snatched it from the air with her least-injured hand. She seemed to sense something unusual about the blade and only held it gently by the handle, not daring to touch the edge.
"Lazi, strike a pose! Fire!" Sun Fatty roared, seemingly expecting a miss. I didn't hesitate any longer—I pulled the trigger.
Bang! The bullet struck the knife handle in her hand. She hadn't been gripping it tightly to begin with, and the impact sent it flying—right into her mouth. A burst of blood sprayed out as the blade exited through the back of her skull.
Zhao Minmin swayed twice, then collapsed on top of Tao Xiangkong's body. Sparks flickered at the wound in her mouth, and suddenly, flames erupted over her entire body. With her last breath, she clutched Tao Xiangkong's corpse, and the fire engulfed him too.
It was no ordinary fire. In less than twenty minutes, it had reduced them both to two ash-shaped silhouettes. Then a strange wind blew through and scattered their ashes completely.
I watched the whole scene, feeling a strange sense of sorrow. Just then, something inside my head twitched, followed by a searing pain. My vision went black, and I lost consciousness.