There were plenty of people in the slums whose minds had gone wrong. Alcohol, illness, and despair could all break a person's will.
But the homeless man who might have been an NPC offering a quest gave Qu Xuanqing a feeling that this wasn't simple madness.
She tentatively took a step forward, blocking his path, and spoke as calmly as she could. "Sir? Do you need help?"
Her voice seemed to break some kind of balance.
The dazed homeless man jerked violently, as if pricked by an invisible needle. His unfocused gaze snapped into focus, but he hadn't come to his senses. Instead, his eyes were instantly filled with an extreme, indescribable terror!
"Ah—!" He let out a short, piercing scream, as if he'd seen the most horrifying sight in the world. He abruptly raised a trembling hand and pointed wildly at Qu Xuanqing, yet didn't dare actually touch her.
"No, this isn't!" he shrieked incoherently. His body began shaking violently. He suddenly shoved to the side, trying to push Qu Xuanqing out of his way even though she wasn't directly in front of him. But he overexerted himself, and his unsteady legs gave way beneath him.
He lost his balance and fell forward with a scream—
It all happened too fast.
Qu Xuanqing's body reacted in time, but her mind hadn't decided whether she should catch him. All she heard was a faint yet teeth-gritting crack—
The homeless man hit the ground, but his head... His head had actually snapped off his neck from the fall!
Like an overripe fruit whose stem had long since rotted through.
The waxen-yellow head came loose and rolled forward, gathering mud and filth as it went. At last, it bumped softly against the corner of a wall at the end of the street