[Nether God Sacrifice] Turning on Each Other

Before the distant flames from the boat Xu Jiawei had set ablaze drew her attention, Qin Ning had been telling Shao Lan about her encounter with the person in black.

Qin Ning described what had happened, including the person's build.

"What about the details of the fight?" Shao Lan asked.

"They seemed inexperienced, with no formal training."

Qin Ning gestured. "They swung the knife horizontally, slashing toward my face."

"That angle usually means they're going for the throat. He must have missed."

Shao Lan thought for a moment. "No, he didn't miss. He wasn't aiming for your throat. He was aiming for your eyes."

Qin Ning froze slightly.

"Have you tried to work out who attacked you?" Shao Lan asked.

"I'm not good at deduction. I'm only good at fighting." Qin Ning's face was expressionless. "Judging by their height, I'd say Xu Jiawei or Xu Nan."

"Both answers are wrong," Shao Lan said slowly. "The person who attacked you was Xu Gao."

Xu Gao...

Qin Ning's expression darkened.

After a long silence, she laughed.

It was the first time Shao Lan had seen Qin Ning smile, but it had nothing to do with happiness.

"What is it?" Shao Lan asked.

"I just think I'm ridiculous." Qin Ning smiled and shook her head. "I never considered Xu Gao. The reason probably sounds laughable-my instincts told me he was grateful to me and wouldn't hurt me."

Qin Ning wasn't good at deduction or analysis. What she relied on to survive was an animal-like instinct.

Her instincts helped her sense danger and read other people's emotions.

They rarely failed her, yet today, for once, they had.

Shao Lan was silent for a moment. "Your instincts weren't wrong."

"You saved Xu Gao's child. He's deeply grateful to you."

"He didn't want to hurt you. He... wanted to save you."

Save her? Qin Ning raised an eyebrow, her expression almost mocking.

If her reflexes had been slower, that knife might have already blinded her.

Wait...

Blinding her was supposed to save her?

Qin Ning suddenly understood.

Without her eyes, she would no longer have any value as a sacrifice.

"Good. We've found the person we needed..." Shao Lan slowly spoke his name. "Xu Gao."

"We'll go find him first thing tomorrow morning."

Qin Ning nodded, then turned and headed down the mountain.

"What are you going to do?" Shao Lan asked her.

Qin Ning lifted her head, moonlight falling across the side of her face.

"The moonlight is lovely tonight," she said softly. "I'm going to fulfill our bargain."

Shao Lan had already told her everything he knew.

Now it was her turn to kill.

The day seemed to pass unusually quickly.

When the setting sun once again cast its last light over the land, Xu Zijian dragged Zhang Fang slowly toward the shore.

Xu Jiawei still hadn't found Shao Lan and Qin Ning.

Searching for them had never been easy. The village's trails formed a tangled maze, with remote mountains right beside it. The villagers were short-handed, too. If the pair were determined to hide in the mountains, even a month of searching might turn up nothing.

Xu Zijian felt he had no choice but to look out for himself.

Zhang Fang had already lost consciousness. Scales were beginning to grow on his arms and neck, and his mouth opened and closed like a fish's, occasionally spitting out mucus.

In this state, he couldn't survive on land much longer. He would have to be thrown into the sea tonight at the latest.

As the sky grew darker, Xu Zijian quickened his pace.

Suddenly, a figure emerged from the bushes to one side.

"Zijian."

Xu Zijian narrowed his eyes and looked over. It was Xu Jiaojiao.

"Zijian, what are you doing?" Xu Jiaojiao asked.

"Taking Zhang Fang to see the Village Chief."

"Why didn't you ask me to help?"

Xu Jiaojiao spoke reproachfully and hurried forward, but Xu Zijian took a step back.

"Jiaojiao." Xu Zijian's voice had lost its earlier warmth. "Hauling things is physical work. You're a girl, so stay out of it."

Xu Jiaojiao's expression darkened completely.

"Are you keeping me out of it because it's physical work, or because you want all the credit for offering Zhang Fang as a sacrifice?"

They had been working together before, but now Shao Lan and Qin Ning were both missing.

Zhang Fang was the only sacrifice left. Even counting Song Liru from before, that made just two.

Yet there were still three members of the Xu family on their side.

No matter how they divided them up, there weren't enough.

No one could say for certain what punishment awaited a member of the Xu family who failed to offer a sacrifice.

It was time to turn on each other, and neither of them needed to keep pretending. Xu Jiaojiao stepped straight forward. "Xu Zijian, give Zhang Fang to me. You delivered Song Liru last time. This time it should be my turn!"

Xu Zijian sneered. "Don't make yourself sound so generous. Did you really give Song Liru to me? She'd spat mucus all over herself, and you were too disgusted to touch her. That's why you dumped her on me."

Xu Jiaojiao choked on her words. Regret was useless now, so all she could say was, "Whatever the reason, if the sacrifice belongs to whoever delivers it, you've already got one! I don't have any. Can't you let me have this one?"

Xu Zijian shook his head.

"Why?" Xu Jiaojiao demanded anxiously.

"Because I want [Precious Memories]," Xu Zijian said. "Maybe whoever gives Mother Ming the most sacrifices gets Mother Ming's [Memories]."

Xu Jiaojiao bit her lip. "That's only a possibility, right? But I'll definitely die if I don't have a sacrifice. Zijian, you can't just stand by and let me die!"

Xu Zijian said coldly, "What value do you have to me that would make saving you worth giving up my chance at [Memories]?"

Suddenly, a cold gust swept past Xu Zijian's ear.

"Watch out!"

Xu Jiaojiao lunged forward and shoved Xu Zijian aside.

In the darkness, the Miao Saber sliced through the air, its cold gleam illuminating Qin Ning's expressionless face.

Just as the Miao Saber was about to slash toward Xu Jiaojiao, Qin Ning swiftly pulled it back, turned, and lunged at Zhang Fang, who lay on the ground.

"Shit! She's going to kill Zhang Fang!"

Xu Zijian picked up a large rock and hurled it at Qin Ning, then sprang forward like a leopard, driving his massive fist straight at her.

When it came to fighting, Xu Zijian was no pushover either!

Qin Ning seemed to sense the threat he posed. She tilted her head to dodge the rock, pushed off the ground, and floated backward as lightly as a white crane spreading its wings, retreating into the dark thicket.

"Fuck!"

Xu Zijian chased her a few steps into the bushes, but Qin Ning had already vanished.

She had retreated.

Protecting Zhang Fang came first. Xu Zijian gave up the pursuit and turned back to him.

Zhang Fang lay on the ground and let out two pained groans. Qin Ning's blade had cut his face, but the wound wasn't serious. His life wasn't in danger.

Xu Zijian breathed a sigh of relief and told Xu Jiaojiao, "Zhang Fang's all right."

"And thanks for just now..."

Xu Zijian wanted to thank Xu Jiaojiao for pushing him aside, but the words stuck in his mouth.

He opened his mouth and spat out a great mouthful of blood.

Standing behind Xu Zijian, Xu Jiaojiao pulled out her folding knife with an icy expression, then stabbed him again.

Xu Zijian collapsed to the ground, his eyes wide as he stared at Xu Jiaojiao.

"I'm the one who should thank you, Zijian."

Xu Jiaojiao spoke without expression.

She aimed at Xu Zijian's face and stabbed him twice more.

Once she was certain Xu Zijian was dead, Xu Jiaojiao struggled to drag Zhang Fang up and headed toward the shore.

Night had soaked into the surface of the sea. The Village Chief sat by the shore, with two elderly people beside him.

One was an old man and the other an old woman. Both had wrinkled skin and white hair, their backs hunched as they leaned on oddly shaped walking sticks.

Xu Jiaojiao knew they were the village elders responsible for the Nether God Sacrifice.

Several villagers stood behind the elders, their bearing deeply respectful.

As Xu Jiaojiao dragged Zhang Fang over, the old man and woman both smiled.

"Good child. Good child."

They nodded, the wrinkles on their faces twisting with their smiles. They looked deeply unsettling.

Unwilling to look at them, Xu Jiaojiao simply said, "Village Chief, I've brought the sacrifice. It counts as mine, right?"

The Village Chief nodded. "Of course. Of course it counts as yours."

Xu Jiaojiao sighed in relief. "Good. I'll be leaving, then."

She didn't want to stay here. Xu Zijian's body was still waiting for her to deal with it.

She needed to stage the scene. Then, if Xu Jiawei asked, she would say Qin Ning had killed Xu Zijian.

There was another important reason, too: Xu Jiaojiao didn't want to witness Zhang Fang turning into a fish.