The children were stunned into silence. Time froze beneath the blazing sun. Only the cicadas' relentless chorus filled the sudden silence.
"Get down there!" Liao Liao snapped into action first. The children scrambled down their makeshift stairs.
"Watch your steps!" she warned.
They reached the ground safely, gathering around Big Fei's motionless form. Panic rippled through the group, but none truly grasped the gravity of the situation. The youngest girl burst into tears, more afraid of punishment than anything else.
"Liao Liao, do something! Tell us what to do!"
All eyes turned to the neighborhood's smartest girl, desperate for guidance.
Panic clutched at Liao Liao's chest, but she forced herself to think, searching her memory for anything useful from her books.
Finally, she spoke with manufactured authority: "You two, go get help!"
"Okay!" Two boys sprinted away.
"We'll stop his bleeding. He's hurt his head—we need to cover the wound!""Yes!" Two girls knelt, struggling to turn Big Fei over and prop him up.
"Find something to shield him from the sun," Liao Liao continued. "We can't let him get heatstroke!"
"Okay!"
A boy returned with discarded cardboard, creating makeshift shade.
Liao Liao squatted beside Big Fei, pressing her hand against the back of his head. Blood soaked his black hair, warm and viscous as it leaked between her fingers. Gradually, the flow seemed to slow.
Her heartbeat steadied. Pride began to replace fear. Thank God the bleeding's stopping. Big Fei will be alright. I'm awesome. I'll be his savior. His parents will thank me, and the neighborhood children will admire me even more. They'll always invite me to play...
Big Fei died.
Multiple bone fractures throughout his body. Severe trauma to the back of his head.
The children's attempts to "save" him—moving him, touching his head—had caused additional trauma. The doctor couldn't say if he would have survived otherwise, but their well-meaning actions had destroyed what chance he had.
A family shattered. A young, vibrant life frozen forever in that blazing noon.
"It's all Liao Liao's fault! She had to say it was an alien spaceship!"
"Yeah, she told us to climb up! We didn't want to! I said it was dangerous, but she wouldn't listen!"
"Liao Liao told us to stop the bleeding, so we touched his head!"
"That's your prodigy? She got my son killed because she thought she was so smart!"
"Oh, she did it on purpose. She read so many books she had no friends. She was jealous of our Big Fei's popularity. Such a vicious heart in such a young girl!"
"That's right! She never hung out with Big Fei before, but today she did, and he had an accident. Too much of a coincidence!"
"Prodigy? No. She's a little devil! A born villain!"
"You should be ashamed to be alive! Can you even sleep at night?"
"Why don't you go to hell?"
"Die!"
"Die, die, die!"
No, I did nothing wrong!
I'm not going to die! I'm not letting you get what you want.
I'll outlive all of you, and one day, I'll be sweeping all your tombs!
I'll wear all black and bring white flowers, smiling at your graves with catharsis. I'll tell you clearly that I no longer hate you, I no longer hate anyone. I've led a happy, full, and wonderful life.
"Liao Liao!"
"Liao Liao, are you listening?"
Liao Liao raised her head slowly, face pale but determined. Through her disheveled fringe, she stared at Gao Yang through the gray barrier. The helplessness in her eyes had hardened into cold conviction.
What if he's the Divine Scion? What if he's the Malediction?
So there's the domain of Judge. So what?
I'll decide my own fate!
…
Meanwhile, Qingyang Bridge.
Three-quarters of the structure had crumbled, leaving countless pillars protruding from the river like the spine of an ancient water monster. The remaining central section stood as a rectangular island shrouded in thick smoke and spreading flames. Signs of destruction were everywhere—cracks, rubble, and elemental damage, predominantly from light elements.
At the heart of the destruction lay a circular safe haven. Telekinesis had shielded the surviving Ocean River Union members from the light elements' bombardment. Among them, Qilin stood with a thin, long crimson bone sting through his chest. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, yet his expression remained unchanged—no fear, no shock, no pain.
Two seconds passed. Qilin slowly looked up at the falling Wang Zikai and Zhang Wei. His green eyes appeared blank and lifeless—no, they seemed dead.
"It's not right," Wang Zikai frowned.
Zhang Wei started, a bad premonition gripping him. "What's wrong?"
"That man isn't Qilin." Wang Zikai began plunging toward the river with Zhang Wei on his back, retracting his bone sting almost instantaneously.
Wang Zikai's bone stings were vital parts of his body—hardy enough to slice through steel, sensitive as a dog's nose. The moment his sting had penetrated "Qilin's" body, he'd sensed that the energy pathways within weren't those of a powerful being, but of a well-crafted yet lifeless replica.
Though Zhang Wei didn't understand Wang Zikai's certainty, he immediately reported to command.
[Zhang Wei: He’s not Qilin!]
[Nine Frost: Mission failed! Everyone, retreat!]
Just then, "Qilin" pinched his face with his right hand, fingers sinking into the skin. With one yank, he tore off a human skin mask, revealing the pale, stiff face of a middle-aged wanderer—a dead one.
Behind him, "Xiao Xin" reached up and removed his own mask, revealing the true Qilin.
Qilin had never placed his full trust in anyone, Surnamed Li included.
He'd considered Prophet's limitations—in chaotic combat, she might miss certain threats. Thus, he'd prepared contingencies, the substitute being merely one of them. He'd borrowed the idea from the former Black Tortoise: using Puppeteer this way, letting a substitute be the face while the real person remained hidden, was optimal.
Watching Wang Zikai and Zhang Wei fall back into the river, Qilin scoffed.
To you, the battle is coming to an end.
To me, it's only getting started.
Houseau3's Thoughts
The mundane sorts of horror are always much more visceral.
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