Using the oil lamp in his hand, I saw.
The man before me seemed a little older than Ali.
Seeing he wasn't leaving, I paid him no mind.
Making my hands into a pillow, I leaned against the tree trunk and closed my eyes slightly.
He put down the basket on his back, sat beside me carefully, and placed the oil lamp on the ground.
He tilted his head slightly, peeking at the sleeping person, then felt it was improper and shyly turned his face away.
I opened my eyes slightly and turned my head to ask him.
"Are you planning to sleep here tonight too?"
Hearing me speak, he replied.
"You are a young lady, alone here, I am not very at ease."
"You are truly kind, but aren't you afraid?"
"Afraid of what?"
"Afraid I'm a bad person."
"You're a bad person? Hahaha."
He couldn't help but laugh out loud.
I found it strange, not knowing what was so funny to him.
"Aren't I scary?"
He shook his head and said.
"You look rather kind, how could you be a bad person? And you're a girl, I'm a man.
If anyone should be afraid, it should be you being afraid of me."
I smiled faintly, finding the person before me endearingly foolish, and said.
"You look so gentle and weak, like a delicate scholar.
I'm different, I'm quite brave."
"Quite brave? Yes, I can see that. But I still believe you are a good person."
I never expected someone to trust me so much, even a stranger.
I couldn't help but feel a bit more favorably towards him, and thought of asking his name.
"What's your name?"
"Me? My name is Qi Ge'er."
"Qi Ge'er? What a unique name."
"And you? What's your name?"
I thought, since he had told me truthfully, I should also be truthful. So I said.
"My name is Liu Muye."
"Liu Muye, that sounds like a very strong name."
"Yes, it is quite strong."
He smiled faintly, his gaze drifting into the dark forest ahead, and suddenly said.
"You don't have any friends in Wangyang Sea, do you?"
I was immediately astonished, unable to figure out how he knew, but I still asked calmly.
"How do you know?"
"I can tell, your lying skills are not very high."
I never expected someone to see through my lie for the first time, but this lie wasn't very convincing anyway.
He paused and then said.
"The recent sensational villain incidents, yet no one has caught the culprit.
We don't even know if the person is male or female, but I think that person should be not far from me."
My brow furrowed. It seemed he had guessed something. Seeing he didn't elaborate, I could only play ignorant.
"What do you want to say?"
He suddenly looked at me and said firmly.
"That villain, it's you, isn't it?"
I smiled faintly, knowing this would be the answer, and didn't hide it, saying directly.
"You are very smart. You guessed correctly, it was me."
Getting a satisfactory answer, he then became disbelieving and asked me again.
"Did you really kill those people?"
I shook my head slightly and told him.
"I'm not sure myself, but I did see those people. However, after I fainted each time.
When I woke up, I saw they had all turned into skeletons."
"I see. Logically, if it wasn't you, then someone must have framed you.
Now that you are wanted, I can take you to explain everything, that it wasn't you."
I smiled faintly, finding him a bit amusing again.
"If I could easily clear my name, why would I be on the run?
I heard the bounty is quite high. You seem decent, so I'll give this business to you."
His brow immediately furrowed, his face filled with disbelief, then he let out a helpless laugh.
"What do you take me for? If I were such a petty person, I wouldn't be practicing medicine to save people.
As the saying goes, a doctor's heart is like a parent's. I only wish to save one person at a time."
"Well, I haven't figured out this matter myself yet. I'll figure it out first.
After dawn, you should leave quickly."
"And you?"
"I can go anywhere."
"If you don't mind, you can come to my home. There's no one there."
I shook my head, refusing his kind offer.
"No, I prefer to wander around."
"Alright then, I'll accompany you until dawn."
"Mhm."
I nodded slightly, then closed my eyes again, though I didn't fall asleep. Instead, I thought about the strange events of the past few days.
Why did those people turn into skeletons only after I fainted?
And why couldn't I remember what happened when I woke up?
If there was truly a villain, with the Ten Thousand Ghost King attached to me, they would certainly not dare to do anything.
If there was no villain, then the only ones present were me and the Ten Thousand Ghost King.
If the Ten Thousand Ghost King came out to harm people while I was unconscious, it was not impossible.
Could it really be the Ten Thousand Ghost King?
Even though I thought so, I had no concrete evidence, so I just considered it a thought.
Before dawn, I slowly woke up. I turned my head slightly to look and saw he was still asleep.
Without thinking further, I slowly got up and quietly said to him.
"Thank you for staying with me all night. I have to flee for my life now, you should go home quickly."
After saying this, as if he already knew, I smiled slightly and then got up to leave.
A gentle breeze blew, bringing with it a hint of cold.
A sneeze, "Achoo!" The person who had been sleeping soundly was finally awakened.
He opened his eyes in a daze, then turned his head slightly to look. The space beside him was already empty.
He rubbed his eyes, thinking he was seeing things.
However, no matter how many times he looked, the space under the tree trunk was still empty.
He suddenly became flustered, hurriedly got up, and shouted.
"Miss Liu! Miss Liu!"
However, the surroundings were eerily quiet, only the occasional passing breeze.
He then understood that the person was gone.
For a moment, he felt an indescribable sense of loss. It was the first time he had met such a unique girl.
But they parted in haste, making it difficult to meet again.
He stood there, staring blankly at the empty surroundings for a long, long time.
Finally, he mustered the courage and shouted into the wind.
"Miss Liu! I want! I want to see you again!"
I walked through the forest, feeling disoriented, sensing the sound from behind me.
Confused, I turned my head, but it was just a leaf blown down by the wind. I couldn't help but smile slightly.
I was still too worried.
Without further thought, I hurried away.
Continuing south, I guessed that I would reach Wangyang Sea within a day.
Thinking that I would be safe there.
As I stepped into the forest, I suddenly smelled the scent of a damp mountain forest.
A sense of unease welled up in my heart. I slowly stopped and cautiously looked around.
A sea breeze blew, carrying a hint of fishy smell.
In a daze, I heard something approaching in the wind.
Hurriedly turning around, I suddenly saw a hidden weapon flying towards me from the darkness.
I had no choice but to quickly dodge to the side.
Immediately after, countless feather arrows, like a night rain, soared into the sky.
I was instantly shocked by the scene before me.
In my panic, with no way to avoid them, I could only wave my hands randomly and knock them away.
Perhaps it was due to the demonic power of the Ten Thousand Ghost King, but I was unharmed.
Having witnessed so many ambushes, I guessed that a group of people must be hidden in this forest.
However, the enemy was hidden and I was exposed, making it difficult to attack. I could only show weakness for now and see if they were reasonable people.
So I gathered my courage and cupped my hands towards the surroundings.
"This humble girl was traveling and arrived here. If I have offended anyone, please forgive me."
After waiting for a moment, there was only the sound of the wind passing through, followed by silence again.
I thought, perhaps those people had left, and I should also leave.
As soon as I took a step, I heard a "whoosh" sound, like a gust of strong wind.
In an instant, a masked man in black suddenly appeared, standing on a branch.
I immediately became vigilant and cupped my hands.
"I presume you are the esteemed person? I have caused much disturbance, I will leave now."
Saying this, I prepared to leave.
He did not reply, but raised his hand and swung a sword, which flew down in front of me, blocking my path.
I was slightly startled and raised my head in surprise, looking at him warily.
I wondered if this person was after the bounty, and if so, how did he know it was me?
Unable to figure it out, I cupped my hands again.
"This humble girl has caused much disturbance, I will leave now."
Then I lifted my feet and quickly walked away.
The man in black chuckled secretly, spread his arms, revealing the black arrows hidden beneath his black robe.
Then he waved his hands and shot out several feather arrows.
The sky was filled with black arrows, like black rain falling from the heavens, strange and captivating.
It seemed these arrows were shot by this person.
It was truly miraculous, one person could achieve the effect of hundreds, truly an esteemed person.
Looking at the tens of thousands of black arrows, I was lost in thought.
Before I could even react to the arrows, I was suddenly kicked and fell to the ground.
I narrowly dodged the incoming black arrows.
Seeing this, the person felt around his waist, pulled out a soft sword, and lunged forward to stab me.
I dodged to the side, and as I turned to kick, my soft sword became entangled.
He quickly dragged me away and hung me on a tree.
Seeing me so easily defeated, he became somewhat arrogant.
"It is said that the Ten Thousand Ghost King is very powerful, but I see he is nothing but a useless fellow.
I even have to do this myself."
What? He knew I had the Ten Thousand Ghost King on me?
I was instantly astonished, unable to guess who sent him.
Saying this, he took out his soft sword and was about to chop off my head.
I leaped up with all my might and kicked him in the head.
Breaking free of the restraints with force, I then struck him in front with a palm.
In an instant, my left hand became uncontrollable.
It lifted on its own, and in my astonished gaze, it slowly opened.
Then, an unknown suction force was generated in my hand.
In a moment, the person before me was sucked into a skeleton.
My mind went blank. Even after my hand returned to normal, I still couldn't believe it.
"I, it's me! Those people, I killed them!"
The blow came too quickly, leaving me unable to react.
The villain I had been desperately trying to guess was me all along, but how could I kill people? How could I kill people?
I raised my hands in terror, looking at them again and again.
Suddenly, my head began to buzz.
This was the first time I had seen myself absorb someone's essence.
Startled, I came back to my senses and raised my uncontrollable left hand again.
I saw the black blood vessels on my arm gradually fade, and my whole body felt light.
Recalling the woman from before, those two skeletons, it was all my doing.
Having never killed anyone, I felt both shocked and terrified. I fled in a panic without looking back.
I ran all the way, until I ran out of the forest and saw the boundless azure sea.
I smelled the sea breeze coming from the wind, carrying a faint fragrance, and the subtle scent of dried fish.
Seeing this scene, I couldn't help but laugh out loud. For a moment, I forgot that I had just killed someone.
Perhaps I felt safe, or perhaps I was captivated by the beautiful scenery.
Having never seen the sea in my life, I was now truly seeing the ocean.
Even if it was here, under these circumstances.
As if I had lost my mind, I walked step by step out of the forest and onto the beach.
Suddenly, a gust of sand flew up, and several men in black emerged from the sand.
Each holding an iron chain, they suddenly swung them, binding my hands and feet.
Pulling them apart, they lifted me into the air.
At this moment, several of them drew their swords and prepared to dismember me.
Facing this situation, I was not afraid and roared.
"Who dares to kill me!"
They were startled by this sudden roar and froze for a moment.
Only when one of them realized something was wrong did he shout.
"Kill her!"
Only then did they snap back to reality and charge forward.
Seeing this, I forcefully pulled the iron chains, coiled my legs, and leaped into the air.
With a powerful shake, I broke all the iron chains, then landed on the ground, kicked up sand and stones to blind them, and turned to run.
Unexpectedly, they flew forward, blocked my path, and surrounded me.
Raising their swords, they charged at me. I leaped up, landing on their sharp blades, and roared.
"Don't force me to kill!"
They seemed not to hear, sidestepped, and threw hidden weapons.
I leaped up again and fell headfirst from the sky.
I placed one hand on each person's head and sucked forcefully, instantly turning them into skeletons.
The crowd was terrified by this never-before-seen terrifying technique and retreated a few steps.
But then they suddenly remembered that they were death warriors.
One by one, they charged forward again, as if they had no regard for their lives, swinging their swords.
I dodged left and right, sucking one person with each hand.
In a moment, the people who were alive and well were now just a pile of gleaming white bones.
I collapsed on the ground, looking at the skeletons before me, realizing my sins were too great to turn back.
With a sigh, I knelt on the ground and kowtowed deeply to them.
Regretfully, I murmured.
"I didn't want to kill people, I didn't want to kill people. Why did you force me? Why?"
Tears fell one by one, like surging waves, with each question, slowly rolling down and sinking into the earth.
After a long period of sadness, I finally accepted the reality. I had not only killed people, but a group of people.
It was truly unforgivable.
Then I stumbled to my feet again and buried the bones by the sea.
My heart was filled with pain. As the saying goes: a life for a life.
Since I had killed people, and innocent people at that.
I had also broken my promise to the Ten Thousand Ghost King after he possessed me that day.
I slowly walked back to the scene of the battle, picked up the scattered sword, and looked up at the sky with a mournful expression, filled with despair.
Then I raised my sword and was about to take my own life.
Suddenly, a mysterious force shot out and knocked the sword from my hand.
I knew it must be the Ten Thousand Ghost King.
So I asked him.
"You know I didn't want to kill people, so why did you make me kill?
After killing, you don't let me die, what do you want me to do?"
He still remained silent.
"Speak! What do you want me to do?"
He still remained silent. I sighed helplessly and casually lay down on the sandy ground, closing my eyes in silence.