When Qingmu and Petru arrived at the woods below, Su Huilan was still standing there. Her face was flushed, as if she had just exercised, and her slightly panting chest caused the cat in her arms to rise and fall with her movements.
Not far in front of her lay the blonde woman, whose face was now only half visible. Blood flowed from one side of her head, seeping into the soil. Several ugly, unidentifiable insects crawled out of the ground, their antennae probing the taste of the blood.
Behind the bushes ahead lay a male corpse, with a large splatter of blood on the upper left side of his chest, the center of which was dented—the spot where he had been shot.
This guy is amazing. Even after being hit by such a large-caliber bullet, he still managed to hold on until the end and use his mental self-destruction to help his female companion. His final suicidal mental attack was extremely powerful. Su Huilan was clearly greatly affected, while the native boy Qiqika, who had wet himself in fear and was lying on the ground praying for divine protection, had already fainted in the woods.
If Petru hadn't fired that last shot, the blonde woman would likely have been able to shift from a passive to an active position during her confrontation with Su Huilan. The battle of wits may seem silent, but like in a boxing ring, once an external force intervenes, even a slight disruption can allow the one who has been passively taking hits to land a powerful counterattack and knock out the one who has the advantage.
"They're all dead." Qingmu examined the corpses for a moment, then said to Petru, "You really have no mercy for women, why didn't you hit the men?"
Petru said, "The bushes blocked my view; I wasn't confident I could kill him with one shot."
Qingmu knew he was right. If a single shot didn't kill him and prevent his mental self-destruction, then no one knew what would happen in the confrontation between the two women. If Su Huilan was injured or controlled, it would be a very troublesome matter for Qingmu.
While he was grateful for Petru's decisiveness in firing the shot, Qingmu was still slightly uncomfortable with his cold-bloodedness.
The man who was already dead on the ground had considerable Mental Power; he was able to sense danger from such a distance and avoid it in time. If Petru hadn't used a large-caliber rifle, and if he hadn't followed his mentor, the Pastor's, instructions to fire immediately, this guy wouldn't have died.
Qingmu wondered, if Petru had fired so decisively when he and Su Huilan arrived at the series of traps in the forest, and had used a large-caliber anti-materiel sniper weapon instead of bullets tainted with Mental Power, would he have been able to escape from Petru's gun?
This question sent a chill down his spine.
The human body is so fragile! No matter how strong the consciousness, humans still have to rely on a weak body to live. It's like an ancient and terrible curse, imprisoning a great soul within a tiny shell, and confining vast spiritual energy within a scattered material world.
Crow swooped down from the tree and landed on the top of the Qingmu, cawing Guagua, "Damn it! What did this guy do? My head is spinning!"
Su Huilan also recovered her senses, let out a soft sigh, and stroked the cat in her arms, saying, "I didn't expect the people who came to be so strong!"
Qingmu asked, "So, any leads?"
Su Huilan said, "Although her mental strength and self-control are not as good as mine, her willpower is extremely strong. It's clear they've undergone very systematic and specialized training. The time was too short; I couldn't get much useful information from her. I really should have let you come down with me; I couldn't have stopped that man's suicide attack from behind the bushes alone. Also, Petru, I have to thank you; that shot saved my life. This woman is ruthless; her subconscious wasn't trying to hypnotize me, but trying to kill me. They must have trained a whole set of methods for eliminating consciousness. Qingmu, we need to be careful from now on!"
Su Huilan spoke so much in one breath, Qingmu could tell that she had exhausted a lot of her Mental Power and had not yet fully recovered her composure, so he said:
"I'm glad you're alright. We can talk about everything else later."
Petru crouched down behind the bushes and rummaged through the dead man's arms, finding a passport and some money, but no weapons.
He opened the passport, looked at it, and then handed it to Qingmu. The passport showed that the person was Italy, Alessandro, and the most recent visa record was a tourist visa issued by the French Polynesia government two weeks ago. Other than that, there was nothing special about it.
Petru walked to the woman's body, glanced at Su Huilan, and asked, "Should we search her?"
Su Huilan said, "I'll do it."
She crouched down and saw the blonde woman's remaining half-face; a wave of acid rose in her stomach. Even so, she refused to let Petru, that rough man, touch the corpse; she maintained basic respect even for a formidable enemy.
Su Huilan suppressed her nausea and searched the woman's body for a while, but found nothing. She looked up at Qingmu and Petru and shook her head in confusion:
"Strange, there's nothing there!"
Petru said, "It's impossible that he doesn't even have a passport! I touched that man all over, even his crotch, and that's all."
Su Huilan glared at Petru when she heard his vulgar words. Then she had to search the woman's body again carefully, including some private parts, but still found nothing.
"Damn it, who are they?!" Petru cursed.
Su Huilan said, "Stop cursing, quickly bury the person, and then leave this place."
Petru said, "Why are you leaving?"
Su Huilan said, "Do you think the organization behind these two people will let this go after they've died here?"
Petru said, "With your Mental Power and my marksmanship, I should be able to hold this place by setting a few more traps, right?"
Su Huilan warned, "Do you think you're the only one with a gun? If they really wanted to kill you, they could flatten this island. Besides, why should we help you guard the island? I'm here to rent a boat."
"All right."
Petru shrugged helplessly, picked up the man's body, and threw it into the pit he had dug earlier. As he turned back to carry the woman's body, he saw the unconscious Qiqika halfway there, raised his gun, and pointed it at her head, ready to shoot.
Su Huilan quickly stopped him, saying, "Don't kill him!"
Petru said, "I'm not afraid, but it would still be troublesome if he told anyone."
Su Huilan walked over, pushed aside the muzzle of his gun, and took out several hundred-dollar bills, stuffing them into Qiqika's shirt pocket. This was the price she had agreed to for Qiqika when she arrived on the island.
She patted Qiqika's head twice, then stood up and said, "Okay, he won't remember what happened here."
Petru paused for a moment, put away his gun, and said, "Oh, I forgot, you're hypnotic wizards who can erase people's memories!"
Su Huilan said, "Isn't it perfect that the great Redbeard has two wizards by his side? Besides, you're a wizard too!"
Petru chuckled a few times, his long red beard trembling, and walked over to hoist the woman's body onto his shoulder.
The female corpse lay on his shoulder, her head and upper body drooping, her golden hair hanging upside down, obscuring her ugly, half-missing face, but revealing her fair neck and back shoulder.
Qingmu suddenly called out, "Wait a minute!"
Petru turned to look at him, puzzled.
Qingmu walked over and ripped open the woman's clothes from behind.
There was a noticeable bulge on her cervical spine, like a swollen bump after being bitten by a mosquito, but upon closer inspection, no bite mark could be found.