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Kapitel 19

The Self-Strengthening Alliance is facing its first test since its inception.

"Zhu Qian, get out here," the leader said calmly. His voice contained no murderous intent, but to the nine members of the Self-Reliant Alliance, it was still more terrifying than a chilling threat.

With the terrifying, completely different A Ding in front of them, and the menacing Boss and Little Shovel behind them, the fear in the hearts of the nine members of the Self-Strengthening Alliance suddenly reached its limit.

Xiao Chan calmly replied, "Everyone, as long as she's dead, we'll still be family."

Zhu Qian shrank into the water and whispered urgently, "If the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold. I hope everyone remembers this principle. Their purpose is definitely not simple. Killing me is just the first step! Once we fight each other, without unity or resistance, I will be next! Remember! There are only two of them! But there are nine of us! As long as we kill them, we can achieve true safety!"

But while she was anxious, the others were not at all. Wu Xiaohui was silent for a moment, then said, "Vice Alliance Leader Zhu. The alliance's motto is self-reliance and mutual assistance! But self-reliance means that each of us must first become strong. We must have the courage and confidence to overcome everything. This is certainly a matter of life and death, but as the person in charge and also the vice alliance leader, if you don't have the will to fight, it will be difficult to inspire courage in others. Don't worry. As long as you can persevere, we will never sit idly by!"

Zhu Qian looked at Zhou Lingli.

Zhou Lingli quickly replied, "Do as the Alliance Leader says, you can't go wrong. Stand up boldly, we've got your back!"

---Magpie Bridge Fairy

Reply [63]: Zhu Qian looked at Zhang Dawei and Yan Kaixin again. "Don't worry, as a protector, you should fight for justice. I fully support you!"

The others chimed in, "Don't worry. We're here!"

Zhu Qian took a deep breath and stepped out of the stream. She glanced at the cold-faced leader, then at Xiao Chan, whose eyes were fixed on her breasts. She exhaled slowly, her breasts trembling. Xiao Chan's gaze was filled with even more bestial lust. Her gaze then swept over Wang Jia and Wang Mu, who were arguing in the distance. She was finally disappointed.

This is truly a world that has lost all hope.

This is a reality that has left no hope at all.

She moved her feet little by little, slowly lifting off the ground, as if she were gathering all her strength and courage and finally succeeding. Without any warning, she suddenly turned and ran.

However, her expression suddenly turned utterly horrified, revealing a terrifying fear. Her running posture also seemed to rewind in slow motion.

In that instant or for a long time, everyone had a strange feeling, as if they saw Zhu Qian running, but at the beginning of the running process, she became fragments of digital special effects shots, and then those fragments gathered together again, reuniting into a complete Zhu Qian.

In the ghastly green light, almost like daytime, people could clearly sense Zhu Qian's despair from the moment she started running until she returned to the point before she started running again. They could clearly feel her despair and her last attempt to escape. They could clearly perceive that she had disappeared—no, it should be called annihilation—at the very beginning of her escape. Yet, in a fleeting moment, history returned, or time reversed, or perhaps the annihilated Zhu Qian was reassembled into one—in short, it was a very strange and terrifying feeling. Everyone could clearly realize that Zhu Qian had been "annihilated" but had also been "restored."

But is the restored version really Zhu Qian?

Or perhaps, was it Zhu Qian who was "destroyed"?

Time resumed its course, as if Zhu Qian, who had once contemplated escape and almost acted on it but ultimately stopped herself, was calmly looking at Xiao Chan and calmly asking, "I'm out now. What do you want?"

It was still Zhu Qian's usual sweet voice, fresh and elegant. But the word "I" seemed to be different.

It was as if a cold wind from another world had blown by, and the leader, Xiao Chan, and the others from the Self-Reliant Alliance couldn't help but shiver.

The eldest brother's face finally turned cold and indifferent.

"I don't want to die. I don't want to commit suicide either..." Zhu Qian straightened her curvaceous body, her beautiful and alluring figure displaying its most captivating side, yet she spoke with a weak expression and a pitiful voice: "...As long as I don't die, I'll do whatever you want me to do..." A blush even appeared on her face.

As she spoke, she lowered her head, her long, flowing hair obscuring her face and most of her breasts. Under the green light, this submissive posture certainly aroused a beastly desire, making one want to ravage her at will. Yet, at the same time, an extremely eerie scene also shook the heart.

—Her long black hair had turned a ghastly green.

Her jade-like skin seemed to turn as green as grass.

(Under this ghastly green light, almost like daytime, she seemed to have become a transparent entity blended into the green light! A phantom object, no longer a person!) As if an eerie green mist was emanating from her body, she raised her head.

Her waist swayed like a willow in the wind, and her upper body suddenly disappeared into a thin layer of green. Her eyes, which radiated a cold light and made people afraid to look at them, also suddenly turned green, and in this ghastly green color, Zhu Qian's voice became even more pitiful.

"Please spare me, okay?"

The eldest brother's expression changed. He stared at Zhu Qian, who had suddenly mutated, and took two steps back. "Heavens! ... The 'Tree of Life'!"

His voice was practically squeezed out from between his teeth.

"What is the 'Tree of Life'?" Little Shovel asked.

The eldest brother was startled, took two steps back, and said in a deep voice, "Little Shovel, do it!"

But Xiao Chan was stunned. He stared blankly at Zhu Qian, whose color had changed, his gaze fixed on her still-skin-colored lower body. He asked blankly, "Master, what does 'Tree of Life' mean?" As he spoke, the green of Zhu Qian's upper body had turned a deep, vibrant green, like the color of summer grass. The eldest brother cried out in alarm, "Quick! Do it now! There's no time to explain!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Zhu Qian's green color broke through the limits of her waist and rapidly seeped down her body, instantly covering her entire thighs, as if she were being devoured by a demon, or as if she were enveloped by a green aura. Her slender, jade-like legs also began to show green, and at first glance, they seemed to have no skin left, becoming just two withered bones.

Xiao Chan swallowed hard, becoming even more nervous. "Master, can we use the killer move?" His gaze was fixed on the lower part that was no longer visible, and his short penis began to "wake up" at that moment.

---Magpie Bridge Fairy

Reply [64]: In just the time it takes to say this one sentence, the green has already penetrated to the calves. The green airflow is fluctuating up and down at the ankles, and may break through the ankles at any time.

The eldest brother had no time to explain. He roared, took the Seven Star Step, extended his fingers like a sword, made a sword incantation with one hand, and rapidly chanted, "Supreme Lord Laozi, hasten as the law commands! Supreme Lord Laozi, hasten as the law commands! Supreme Lord Laozi, hasten as the law commands!" In the blink of an eye, he had taken thirteen steps, each step in a different direction, approaching Zhu Qian. He no longer answered Xiao Chan's question, and continued to take the steps of Taoist exorcism, taking another thirteen steps to connect with the energy ball surrounding Zhu Qian. With a roar, he swung his palms and kicked repeatedly, seemingly mad and without rhythm, yet each palm was as swift as thunder and each kick as fast as lightning. In an instant, he had already kicked countless times, and it seemed that each kick hit Zhu Qian, some even piercing through her body, but Zhu Qian was unharmed, only the energy ball rose to her knees.

Only then did the eldest brother have a chance to speak.

He chopped, slapped, pressed, controlled, kicked, swept, topped, and circled, his movements and words never ceasing. "It's a kind of qigong." After saying these five words, his movements slowed considerably. Xiao Chan could clearly see every movement of his boss, but after seven consecutive elbow strikes, he said, "It helps to enhance vitality!" As he spoke, he kicked seven times in a row, continuing, "But at this moment, it will turn into a living zombie, an evil spirit! It has the effect of altering time!" His speed slowed considerably, his movements resembling those of an ordinary person with no martial arts skills, pretending to practice a set of moves that they could never quite master and had to think for a long time before executing the next one. After several strikes, even his voice slowed down, "...when the tomb passage is full of life, it can also become a mechanism..." His movements became as if in slow motion, "...causing...life...to...be...cut off...the...corpse...to...become...a...zombie...and...the...living...to...become...a...demon..." Suddenly, he exhaled with a powerful shout, "Chop!" His movements quickened to the level of a normal person's kicks and punches, and Zhu Qian's green had returned to her waist and above.

The green light suddenly rose, revealing the lower part in an instant, and Xiao Chan's gaze abruptly fixed on it. He stared at that spot, letting out a groan, his breathing suddenly becoming extremely rapid, and his short penis instantly hardened and grew large. But even so—it was only about the size of an average person's thumb.

No wonder Xiao Chan hasn't made love to anyone yet.

However, if he becomes self-conscious because of this, then when he lashes out, does he possess a cruelty that is difficult for ordinary people to understand?

When the leader shouted "Tree of Life," Wang Jia and Wang Mu had already focused their attention on them simultaneously. "Tree of Life?" Wang Mu murmured to himself, seemingly lost in thought. "Tree of Life?" Wang Jia repeated, but his body suddenly trembled. The two exchanged a glance, both filled with terror. After staring blankly for a moment, they turned to look at the leader, who had already made his move.

Wang Mu took a step forward and was about to rush out, but Wang Jia pulled him back.

"They outnumber us!" Wang Jia exclaimed urgently. Wang Mu struggled, "What good are numbers!" Wang Jia retorted, "As long as you dare to resist!" These three sentences caused both men to shudder simultaneously, ceasing their speech and movement. They felt as if imprisoned in an invisible space, unable to move. Wang Jia looked at Wang Mu with terror, his eyes saying, "We're being controlled!" Wang Mu returned the question with equally terrified eyes, "How is this possible?!"

But the two were immediately dumbfounded, realizing they couldn't even make a sound.

However, the Tree of Life could not control their eyes and thoughts, so the two could clearly see everything happening in front of them.

The green had risen above the waist. The leader seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. He paused slightly, then continued, "...became part of the tomb passage mechanism."

When these sentences are put together, it means that "the Tree of Life is a kind of Qigong that helps to enhance vitality, but at this moment it will become a living zombie or an evil spirit, and has the effect of changing time; when the tomb passage is full of vitality, it can also become a mechanism to cut off the vitality, turn the dead into zombies, and the living into spirits, and become part of the tomb passage mechanism."

For Wang Jia and Wang Mu, this explanation of the "Tree of Life" was completely new, except for the statement that it was "a kind of qigong that helps enhance vitality." The other explanations, especially the things about living zombies or becoming part of the tomb's mechanisms, were all unbelievable, even to Wang Jia, who found his boss's claims exaggerated, far-fetched, and hard to believe. However, their inability to move or make a sound meant, in a sense, they could indeed be considered trapped by the "tomb's mechanisms."

Before the leader finished speaking, the green mass on Zhu Qian's upper body suddenly rippled and clashed, as if an invisible demon was struggling to break free of the restriction.

The eldest brother's face turned ashen. "Quick—"

Zhu Qian moved her legs. Her movement was very simple; she just swayed in place for a moment, then, like a ballerina, she rose onto her tiptoes, placed her left foot on the ground, squatted slightly, and extended her right leg straight outwards. She then returned to her original position.

The eldest brother, however, seemed to have been met with the fiercest counterattack. His body swayed twice, and suddenly he was lifted off the ground, flying backward and crashing heavily to the ground with a "bang!"

The green that enveloped Zhu Qian quickly receded.

"—Quickly—move—your—hands—!"

The eldest brother suddenly screamed, spitting out mouthfuls of blood, one word at a time, revealing that he had suffered severe internal injuries. Three mouthfuls of blood gushed out, and under the green light, the blood was a ghastly green color.

At this moment, Xiao Chan no longer hesitated.

He withdrew his gaze from Zhu Qian's lower body, focusing on the deep green hue of her upper body. He sneered, his upper body remaining motionless, while his feet flew out as if detached from his body. One foot stepped towards those crystal-clear jade feet, while the other swept towards the green edge of the surging energy that was about to break through the knee limit. At the same time, his hands, which were clasped together, also flashed out one above the other with lightning speed.

A creaking sound like wind blowing through wooden planks could be heard.

Zhu Qian screamed and fell to the ground.

---Magpie Bridge Fairy

Reply [65]: It was only at this moment that people could see Xiao Chan's legs fly out and connect to his detached feet, and then quickly retract. His hands, which he had scooped up and imprinted, also retracted at the same time and returned to their original position.

The little shovel was stunned.

The battle that the boss had been struggling to resolve for so long was won by Xiao Chan in one fell swoop. He couldn't help but be surprised by this outcome.

But when he saw that the green covering her body had completely vanished because of Zhu Qian's failure, he knew that he had indeed succeeded: Zhu Qian had failed. Her tree of life had fallen!

He clapped his hands casually, and then he heard Zhu Qian scream: "...Help...help me!"

With a scream, Zhu Qian groaned and laboriously turned her head to look at the stream.

When this cry for help came, how did the members of the "Self-Reliance Alliance" respond?

Wu Xiaohui immediately gave the order: "Go!" Instead of advancing, she retreated, taking the lead and rushing towards the cave not far away. Guan Wen, Yu Bing, Yang Yang, and Leng Momo followed without hesitation, heading towards the cave at the same time Wu Xiaohui gave the order. Zhou Lingli hesitated slightly before following closely behind. Zhang Dawei stepped out of the stream with a heroic air, but after only taking half a step, he saw Xiao Chan's cold gaze and heard the footsteps of the others running away. He paused slightly, gave a dry laugh, and suddenly did a somersault in mid-air, crossing the stream and stepping onto the other side. He immediately used the momentum to twist his body and, like a lost dog, chased after his companions who were running "ahead."

Yan Kaixin was the only one who didn't escape.

He stood blankly in the stream, grinning widely as if he were laughing heartily, while, of course, he was also constantly emitting "hoho, hoho" laughs. Even when Xiao Chan lazily and slowly turned his gaze to Yan Kaixin, he was still laughing "hoho".

Xiao Chan looked around with a hint of surprise—among this group of people, there were actually some who were bold?

But he immediately noticed that Yan Kaixin was still smiling, but his body was trembling uncontrollably—this fierce-looking man had actually been scared out of his wits!

Since that's the case, there's no need to pay him any more attention. Xiao Chan sneered, then suddenly stomped on Zhu Qian's left knee, which was lying on the ground. The sound of bones breaking immediately rang out. At the same time, a sharp scream that was completely inhuman rang out.

That kick clearly shattered Zhu Qian's left knee.

The scream startled Yan Kaixin awake. He chuckled foolishly twice, then suddenly plunged into the stream, swimming downstream in utter panic. After a few strokes, he realized his escape speed was too slow, jumped to the stream bank, ran a few steps, but then felt he was too easily caught, so he returned to the water. This time, he didn't surface again. His terrified expression made it clear to anyone that he was so overwhelmed by fear that he had lost his senses; he undoubtedly had no idea what he was doing.

Even a startled hare is nothing more than this.

※※※※※

Wang Jia and Wang Mu witnessed all of this. They clearly saw Xiao Chan turn around expressionlessly, not even glancing at her, and then, with unerring accuracy, stomp on Zhu Qian's right knee.

Another piercing scream.

The screams were terrifying; the long, drawn-out screams seemed to be the only sound in this area, filling the entire space.

But for some reason, both of them seemed to have a strange feeling—in the distance, it seemed as if they heard another person's scream at the same time.

It echoes in my ears. It echoes beyond this world.

IV. The blooming and withering of a flower are both so beautiful.

Huang Zilan couldn't hear her own screams. She had never imagined she would die like this. Perhaps she should have remembered her husband Lei Zhenyu's words—don't be kind to others; don't hear too many secrets; don't stand out rashly; don't… But now, it was all over. It was all too late.

Everything is in the past. Everything no longer holds any meaning.

※※※※※

From the moment Chen Xing started to "talk" to Huang Zilan, Xiao Dao and Er Gou watched coldly from the sidelines.

They had long harbored murderous intent towards this utterly despicable man.

A gentleman has his own code of conduct. Since they were members of this "gentleman's school," they naturally adhered to their own set of principles. In their view, since Chen Xing had joined them so early, rather than being forced by circumstances, there were at least two reasons to kill him: first, he was spineless and despicable; such a fickle person shouldn't live; second, he was too clever and untrustworthy, so no one could guarantee they wouldn't die at the hands of such a despicable villain. Although they had long harbored the intention to kill him, they hadn't shown it due to their leader's orders and the circumstances. Now, with their leader gone and a chance to survive appearing, if Chen Xing, still so arrogant and daring to offend them and humiliate their women, were allowed to live, it would seem they were not men at all. Moreover, once they made their move, they immediately realized that Chen Xing's skill level was actually comparable to theirs, and even surpassed theirs in martial arts. This further fueled their murderous intent.

So the moment they regained their strength and were able to act, they made up their minds—no matter what, they had to kill him!

If he wanted to kill someone, the longer he waited, the better. However, after slapping Huang Zilan twice, Xiao Dao realized that he hadn't actually recovered his strength. Those two powerful slaps hadn't even knocked out a woman. Killing Chen Xing in one fell swoop seemed impossible. Moreover, after the two slaps, he suddenly realized he had no strength left. If he acted rashly now, he might be the one to die. Weighing the pros and cons, he immediately decided to "delay the time to act, conceal the truth, and feign leniency," and didn't interfere with Chen Xing and Huang Zilan's conversation.

---Magpie Bridge Fairy

Reply [66]: Of course, Er Gou had no idea about his actual situation and true mentality. But they had been through this kind of "cat and mouse" situation before, so Er Gou didn't care. He thought that Xiao Dao was confident of victory and could eliminate Chen Xing at any time. In addition, although he had the ability to move, he was actually short of energy and needed to recover his strength. Therefore, when he saw that Xiao Dao did not interfere, he did not say much and just tried his best to recover his strength.

They knew, of course, that Chen Xing's actions were also a way to buy time and recover his strength. However, since they were the ones recovering first, they certainly didn't believe Chen Xing could recover more strength than them in the same amount of time. Therefore, why bother with Chen Xing's pointless behavior?