“Our family has been temple guardians for generations,” Xuanwu said again. “So we cannot commit suicide. Suicide is disrespectful to the Bodhisattva. We would descend to the eighteenth level of hell…”

After hearing this, Qiu Shiliu scratched her head, then placed her hands on her waist.

Now she had even more questions than before.

“Jiu Jie… did you hear that?” Qiu Shiliu murmured. “I’m getting a bit confused.”

“I did hear it…” Bai Jiu said puzzledly. “I don’t really understand this kind of identity… but if it’s true… then help her.”

“Help her meaning…”

“It can only be this way,” Bai Jiu replied. “The lives of all our brothers and sisters are held in her hands… If we can’t stop Xuanwu, if Wangba and Shiyi fall, then little Jiang Shi will be buried along with them, followed immediately by me and Qi Ge. Our defeat will be like a mountain collapsing. At that time, saying anything will be futile.”

“Okay… okay…” Qiu Shiliu nodded gravely. “I understand, Jiu Jie. Leave it to me.”

Qiu Shiliu put the “Door” into her pocket and turned back to look at little Xuanwu again.

“Can you kill me now?” Little Xuanwu asked again.

“Xuanzi,” Qiu Shiliu called out. “You say you’re a ‘temple guardian,’ but where is the ‘temple’?”

Little Xuanwu paused for a moment, then spread her hands. “This is it.”

“Fine, this is the ‘temple,’ but where is the ‘Bodhisattva’?” Qiu Shiliu said again. “You say you’re a temple guardian, but there are neither memorial tablets nor deities here. What are you guarding?”

“Big sister…” Little Xuanwu slowly lowered her head after hearing this and said, “When Mother was still alive, there was some incense burning here. Then for three or four consecutive years, first there was great flooding, then great drought, and finally an earthquake on top of it all. The village suffered famine. Almost half the people died. Even my mother starved to death in the great drought. Some people said the Bodhisattva failed to protect us. Others said I brought death upon them. Later, they angrily rushed up the mountain, smashed the Bodhisattva, dismantled the shrine, melted the incense burner, and captured me.”

“Captured you…?”

“You…” Qiu Shiliu was momentarily at a loss for words, not knowing what to say.

“I could only beg in the village…” Little Xuanwu furrowed her brow, revealing an expression of extreme sorrow. “But they weren’t willing to give me food. Perhaps if I starved to death, they wouldn’t be executed by firing squad…”

“You… actually tried to beg for food in a mountain village…?” Qiu Shiliu shook her head. “Do you truly believe the Bodhisattva is protecting this village?”

“The Bodhisattva sees everything. He worries about everyone, so how could He not be protecting everyone?” Little Xuanwu said again.

“Then how is He protecting everyone?” Qiu Shiliu asked. “Floods, drought, and earthquakes all piled together—no matter how you look at it, it doesn’t seem like there’s divine protection.”

Perhaps having experienced everything in the “Land of the End,” when Qiu Shiliu heard about things like “deities,” she felt a sense of rejection from the bottom of her heart.

“Do you remember? No matter how lofty the Bodhisattva may seem, His brows and eyes are always lowered. He is watching all living beings,” little Xuanwu answered. “If not for the Bodhisattva’s protection, perhaps even more people would have died.”

“But you’re also alive. Even though fate has treated you this way, you still believe the Bodhisattva is protecting you?”

“Yes,” little Xuanwu said again. “Even if His face is stained with mud and ash, it doesn’t prevent Him from looking upon all living beings with a humble gaze. He is in a high place, yet always looks toward the low places.”

After hearing this, Qiu Shiliu sighed. “But He’s gone.”

“I pray to Him day and night. He is in my dreams,” little Xuanwu said again. “He promised that in the future I would not worry about food and clothing, would have no illness or pain, and also promised that I could walk openly in the world.”

“So the Bodhisattva wants you to die?” Qiu Shiliu directly asked the crucial point. “Now you’re seeking death. Is this also at the Bodhisattva’s instruction?”

She discovered that the little Xuanwu before her eyes actually seemed more mature than the real Xuanwu, and couldn’t help but wonder what exactly had happened to Xuanwu.

“I don’t know. I have no way to fathom the Bodhisattva’s meaning,” little Xuanwu said. “But I know that if I’m killed, I won’t go to hell, because I’ve always been guarding the Bodhisattva. Perhaps after I’m killed, I’ll reach the place the Bodhisattva mentioned—where I ‘won’t worry about food and drink,’ ‘will have no illness or pain,’ and ‘can walk openly in the world.'”

After hearing this, Qiu Shiliu sighed. “Alright, I understand.”

“So… are you willing to kill me?”

“I am willing,” Qiu Shiliu said. “Forgive my offense.”

“Thank you, big sister.”

As soon as the words fell, Qiu Shiliu directly reached out to grip little Xuanwu’s neck. This time she no longer had any psychological burden, only silently increasing the force in her hands.

She finally understood Xuanwu’s past. Only by killing her could she truly save her.

But thinking carefully, if little Xuanwu died, she might enter the “Land of the End,” this place that truly allowed her to have no worries about food and clothing, no illness or pain, and to be open and aboveboard.

There she wouldn’t need to eat, wouldn’t get injured, and wouldn’t wear clothes.

What an ironic protection!

“Xuanzi, I’m sorry,” Qiu Shiliu said. “The Bodhisattva has too many people to protect. He might have accidentally overlooked you.”

Little Xuanwu’s face turned red, and she squeezed out a bitter smile from the corner of her mouth. “It’s okay, big sister… Thank you…”

Qiu Shiliu watched helplessly as little Xuanwu gradually lost her vitality bit by bit. Her face gradually turned purple, and both her eyes became blood-red due to congestion.

Just when she was about to die, she suddenly widened her eyes, her expression instantly becoming completely vacant.

Before Qiu Shiliu could react to what was happening, little Xuanwu grabbed her arm with her slender palm.

Her strength was incredibly great, as if the real Xuanwu had descended.

A sentence that sent chills down Qiu Shiliu’s spine drifted out from little Xuanwu’s mouth:

“How audacious… not only trying to kill me… but also trying to disintegrate my heart…”

……

“How audacious… not only trying to kill me… but also trying to disintegrate my heart…”

Xuanwu roared angrily and directly reached out to grab Wangba’s massive arm.

Sensing something was wrong, Wangba struggled several times but couldn’t break free at all.

Then Xuanwu took a step forward, extended her foot to press against Wangba’s lower abdomen, then suddenly kicked. Wangba’s arm was forcibly torn off, and blood sprayed out from his shoulder like a fountain.

“Ugh!”

Although Wangba couldn’t feel pain, he instantly felt his body turn cold.

“Ba Ge!!” Luo Shiyi and the others let out cries of alarm, attracting Bai Jiu’s attention.

Bai Jiu looked over. Before she could even confirm the situation on Xuanwu’s side, she heard another scream coming from Jiang Shi’s left eye.

“Ahhh!!!!”

She looked closely and saw that Jiang Shi’s left eye was also spraying crimson blood.