Ye Qiyan's words filled the inhuman girl with joy, sorrow, and all manner of complicated emotions.
Those emotions intertwined, sending still more tears streaming down her cheeks.
She seized Ye Qiyan's hand as though clutching the only lifeline she had after falling into an icy pool.
"Please, I'm begging you, Mr. Hero. I, I'm not human, but, but..."
She was not human.
But Heroes from other worlds only ever helped humans fulfill their wishes.
So Shirley did not dare ask for much.
She was only a monster.
But even a monster had the right to want to live.
"Over here! You nasty little brat, what are you running for? You're the only one left for your village's heart tax. Don't tell me you're trying to evade taxes!"
As time resumed its flow, the sounds of a group approached from within the village.
The person at their head led a group of soldiers carrying guns.
The moment she saw Ye Qiyan and the train behind him, her arrogant tone abruptly vanished.
In its place came an exceedingly fawning voice.
The woman leading them knelt before Ye Qiyan.
"Greetings, Lord Hero! You, the Snow White Princess over there! Take your filthy hands off him! You worthless wretch, do you think you're fit to touch a Hero?!"
Within a single speech, her tone was utterly different depending on whom she addressed.
Shirley lowered her head in fear and hastily withdrew her hands.
"I, I..."
"You little brat! Get the hell away! If you don't move, I'll double your village's heart tax! Then I'll take your little sister too and..."
"Enough."
Ye Qiyan spoke evenly.
His gaze swept across the soldiers before finally settling on the woman's face.
"Who are you?"
Ye Qiyan did not use Bewitchment.
After all, until he grew bored, he