Centipede Hag

"Let go of me." Unable to break free, Xu Zhiqiu opened her mouth and tried to bite the man's face.

"Oh, quite the fiery one, aren't you?" Onigumo tilted his head aside to dodge Xu Zhiqiu's "tickling."

Xu Zhiqiu's face flushed, and her body instantly went rigid. She even forgot to struggle, glaring furiously at the creep.

She was still a virgin in her twenties. She had inexplicably been transported to another world, only to face the prospect of being molested. What had she come here for? Why not report straight to the underworld and try for reincarnation instead? Why suffer like this?

When the woman over his shoulder stopped struggling, Onigumo looked around and spotted a mat in the upper-left corner. He kicked away the little table on it and threw her down.

Thud.

At that moment, Xu Zhiqiu was grateful she wasn't old enough to throw out her back so easily, but it really hurt!

When he threw her down, her back slammed into the ground through nothing but a thin straw mat. The pain made her grimace and suck in a sharp breath.

Before she could get up, a dark figure pressed down on her.

No!

At that moment, Xu Zhiqiu was filled with despair.

Just as the bandit was about to molest her, a voice outside interrupted him.

"Hey, Onigumo, what are you doing? Hurry up and find something good. We're leaving."

Xu Zhiqiu had heard that voice before. It seemed to belong to this man's companion. And this man was actually called Onigumo-how strange. The name sounded somewhat familiar, as though she had heard it somewhere before, but she couldn't remember where.

Irritated at being interrupted, Onigumo glanced at the woman shielding her face with her arms, then turned toward his companion outside. "You go ahead. I'll screw this woman first."

Hearing that, his companion looked over at Onigumo. From where he stood, he could only see the woman's delicate, pale feet. She seemed like a beauty, and a flicker of envy crossed his eyes.

The man looked regretful. "Fine. Hurry up and catch us when you're done. Don't fall behind."

"Got it."

After his companion left, Onigumo turned toward Xu Zhiqiu, who had already gotten up and was shrinking into a corner. Bare-chested, he walked toward her and clicked his tongue. "You think you can get away? You might as well submit to me. Still, seeing how stubborn you are only makes me want to lavish more affection on you."

"Shameless." His obscene words made Xu Zhiqiu's shoulders tremble with anger, yet she really was powerless. She couldn't fight off this strong, sleazy man.

"Heh, shameless? Then let me show you something even more shameless." Onigumo grinned lewdly and strode toward her.

Seeing him approach, Xu Zhiqiu shrank back until her entire back was pressed against the wall.

Her face was frantic, while the man savored the sight of her helpless desperation.

Soon, the very thing Xu Zhiqiu dreaded most happened anyway. The man grabbed her shoulders, threw her onto the mat again, and leaned over her.

"!" Xu Zhiqiu turned her face away, unwilling to let him touch her. Even in this situation, an overwhelming will to survive surged within her.

The jade at her neck grew warm for a moment.

Unable to kiss her, Onigumo exhausted what patience he had left. He pinned Xu Zhiqiu's legs with his own, seized her hands, and pulled them apart. Then he leaned toward her chin, looking at her rosy lips, and was just about to kiss her.

The woman beneath him suddenly burst with strength again. She struggled to shake off his grip, twisting her body until the pendant that had been hidden beneath her clothes slipped into view.

Onigumo glanced at it. Suddenly, the jade emitted a blue-green glow. Before he could dodge, that beam struck his left eye.

"Aaah!" A piercing male scream rang through the room.

Onigumo released Xu Zhiqiu's hands, clutched his injured eye, and rolled aside, howling in pain.

Freed at last, Xu Zhiqiu breathed a sigh of relief. She looked down at the jade pendant, which had already returned to normal. Her jade had saved her life.

With no time to think further, she braced herself against the wall and stood, supporting her aching lower back. She had barely caught a few breaths.

"Woman!" the man's voice rang out.

Xu Zhiqiu turned toward him and saw him rolling on the floor in unbearable agony. Blood seeped over the back of the hand covering his eye. It seemed that beam had pierced it.

He groaned for a while, then passed out.

Xu Zhiqiu gathered her wits and picked up the Samurai Sword he had discarded. It had some weight to it, but she could lift it.

After taking the sword and her bundle, Xu Zhiqiu paused before leaving. She looked at the bandit lying on the floor and gripped the sword, intending to stab him.

But as she prepared to plunge it into him, her hands trembled. Even though he was a villain who committed every kind of evil, she still didn't dare kill anyone.

In the end, she kicked him in the crotch several times, putting an end to his bloodline. Then she hurried away. She had to... she had to adapt to this place as quickly as possible.

Knowing the bandit's companions would be on the road either ahead or behind, Xu Zhiqiu chose to cut straight through the bushes and kept moving without pause.

This time, she chose not to stop. When she was hungry, she ate wild fruit; when she was thirsty, she drank from streams. Once she had filled her stomach enough, she continued on her way. Whenever she stopped, she remembered that bandit's face and couldn't help trembling.

Xu Zhiqiu spent the whole day traveling, until the sun sank and the light of dusk fell across her face.

Only then did she stop, raising a hand to shield herself from the light ahead and narrowing her eyes.

Suddenly, a dripping sound came from the woods.

Xu Zhiqiu lowered her hand and turned toward it. She saw bright red blood dripping from a tree. Her gaze traveled upward, and she saw a naked woman with long black hair poking her head out of the thick foliage, her eyes as large as bronze bells and filled with sinister menace.

Just as Xu Zhiqiu wondered why this woman had climbed a tree, the woman stretched out her arms-all six of them. Below her upper body was a segmented body. Although only half remained, it looked nothing like a human's.

Realizing this, Xu Zhiqiu hurriedly backed away, raising the Samurai Sword toward the monster as she retreated farther and farther.

The monster had a long red tongue. In an eerie voice, she said, "A human. A morsel to fill the gaps between my teeth." She had just been wounded by those damned demon slayers and had failed to seize the Shikon Jewel. Now she desperately needed to replenish herself, and a frail human was excellent nourishment.

"Heh heh."

As she spoke, she stretched out one of her hands and flew toward Xu Zhiqiu without hesitation.

When she emerged from the tree, Xu Zhiqiu saw her true form. It looked as though something had chopped her in half. Apart from those arms, the remaining portion had one or two legs. If the rest hadn't been severed, there would probably have been more.

She looked a little like a centipede.

She was a centipede demon!

Seeing the centipede demon flying toward her, Xu Zhiqiu raised the sword and slashed at her without a moment's hesitation.

The blade, steeped in countless traces of sinister energy, struck the centipede demon's hand but failed to cut through.

Even with only half her body, the centipede demon had enough strength to seize Xu Zhiqiu's sword. She easily snatched it out of Xu Zhiqiu's hands and aimed the blade at her neck.

There was a snap.

The cord around Xu Zhiqiu's neck broke, and the pendant fell. She reached out and caught it in her palm.

A stinging pain came from her neck.

Xu Zhiqiu stared wide-eyed at the monster before her, momentarily at a loss for words. That bandit had cut one side of her neck, and now a monster had cut the other.

The neck was a human's most vulnerable spot.

The monster certainly knew exactly where to strike.

A faint smell of blood spread through the air.

Centipede Hag sniffed the scent, her deathly pale face taking on an intoxicated look. She extended her tongue and licked Xu Zhiqiu's face.

It felt slick and slimy.

Xu Zhiqiu tightened her grip on the jade. Sensing her anger, it began to heat up.

Just as Centipede Hag was about to swallow the human before her in one gulp.

"Die!" Xu Zhiqiu shouted sharply.

She raised the jade, pointing it at the centipede demon's face.

Before Centipede Hag could understand what this human was doing, an invisible blade suddenly appeared out of thin air and cleaved straight into her face.

Her eyes widened as she watched her own body split in two, black blood spraying in every direction.

Thud-

The sword slipped from the centipede demon's hand and fell to the ground.

Xu Zhiqiu wiped her neck and raised her palm to inspect it. She had been cut again.

She picked up the fallen sword and looked at the centipede demon, now split in half, turning the jade over in her hand. She hadn't expected it to possess the power to cleave someone apart from a distance.

To test her idea, she gripped the jade, aimed it at one half of the centipede demon, and swept it through the air. An invisible long blade visibly took shape beside the demon, like a razor-sharp edge, and sliced straight into that half of her body.

With a ripping sound, the already-halved centipede demon was split in half again. Her deathly white face and female upper body, in particular, looked rather horrifying.

Seeing this, Xu Zhiqiu thought the centipede demon was dead. With the sky almost dark, she stopped worrying about it and continued along the path ahead.

Night was approaching.

The centipede remains Xu Zhiqiu had cut into pieces began to glow purple. They gradually drew together, finally merging into one.

After restoring her original body, Centipede Hag did not rush after her. Instead, she looked in the direction where the human had disappeared.

Once she had pinpointed the direction, she turned and vanished into the darkness. She was still badly wounded and was in no hurry to seek revenge.

Just wait. I won't let that damned human get away.

"Heh heh."