As I called out Xue Qing’s name, I was met by the same pair of cold eyes, but this time, a hint of surprise flickered within them.
However, she quickly regained her composure, suppressing the panic in her heart. Her eyes returned to their usual placid, lifeless state, the blade pressed against my neck, ready to sink deeper by a few more millimeters—a single stroke, and I would be a dead man.
I had already activated Thought Acceleration, but it only served to prolong my death.
…This time, I was truly done for. I could only close my eyes and await death. I lamented inwardly, never expecting to be killed by Xue Qing in the end… It wasn’t entirely unacceptable, but there were still questions left unanswered in my heart.
Why did Xue Qing want to kill me?
She must have been hired by some organization.
With her innate, exceptional dismemberment skills, she would undoubtedly be noticed by malicious individuals in any world.
In our original world, thanks to Xuan’er, Xue Qing was able to join an organization. But in this world, Xuan’er was just a young girl with a tragic past, not a ghoul. Therefore, Xue Qing’s fate had also become different.
She became an assassin… but I still didn’t understand why she wanted to kill me. Could it be a case of mistaken identity?
The fact that she held the knife to my neck without immediately striking meant she was confirming if I was her target, right?
Then my death would be truly… If I give you my little finger again, Xue Qing, will you spare my life?
Speaking of which, would I really die in this Spiritual World… This is terrible, I have no sense of reality, not even a sense of tension.
This wasn’t just because this was a Spiritual World, but more so because this was the third time I was facing death.
The first time, I was filled with shock and disbelief. The second time, I could barely say I died gallantly, but this time… I felt like my heart was completely devoid of any emotion.
Thinking things like, ‘Ah, I’m going to die again,’ with a sigh and a sense of resignation—is something wrong with me?
Should I think of a will? But here, just thinking wouldn’t reach anyone. Should I secretly write “The killer is XXX” on the ground with my finger? And let a passing great detective avenge me? What a joke.
While such nonsensical thoughts raced through my mind, from a realistic perspective, it was less than a second. In that short span of time, a killer of Xue Qing’s caliber could have already made three cuts across my neck.
But I felt no injury on my neck.
Could it be that Xue Qing changed her mind?
Ah… I don’t care! If I’m going to die, might as well do it quickly!
With that thought, I deactivated Thought Acceleration and promptly closed my eyes…
The wind blew, and the leaves rustled.
I wasn’t dead yet.
I cautiously opened my eyes and found Xue Qing staring at me, unblinking, her entire body frozen like a sculpture.
What’s wrong? What’s wrong?
What happened?
“Are, you Juncheng An?”
“Huh????”
My mind still hadn’t caught up, and I looked like an idiot, conveying my bewilderment through my voice.
A second later, I realized Xue Qing was asking for my name and quickly responded affirmatively, lest Xue Qing suddenly became impatient and killed me.
“Yes, yes, yes! I am Juncheng An!”
She fell silent again, as if contemplating something.
Perhaps this was an opportunity for me to ask some questions…
“Then… did you perhaps mistake me for someone else? I don’t think I’ve offended anyone, and there shouldn’t be anyone who hates me enough to hire an assassin to kill me…”
Although Lan’s face flashed in my mind, Lan… she wouldn’t entrust the matter of killing me to someone else, let alone find Xue Qing and have her kill me.
“You are, the one to be killed.”
Alright, it seems this is not a misunderstanding.
“…Um, could you tell me why you’re killing me? And who wants me dead—I want to be an informed ghost when I die, otherwise, I won’t die in peace.”
Another silence. But this time, after a few seconds, Xue Qing actually got off me, also pulling me up from the ground. However, the knife still didn’t leave my neck… She was so close, yet she hadn’t broken my skin. I could only say that Xue Qing’s knife skills were already perfected, like a part of her own body.
I didn’t resist at all, nor did I try to escape. I meekly followed the direction Xue Qing urged me, and when we reached a tree, I pressed the front half of my body against it… I hoped there weren’t too many ants on this tree…
“You are, the culprit.”
“Huh? I’m the culprit?”
“Don’t, play dumb.”
“No, I’m really not playing dumb… I completely don’t understand what you’re saying.”
“Then… why do you know me?”
“Uh? This, if you ask why…”
How should I answer this?
It felt like no matter what I said, it wouldn’t be believable.
Ah, I don’t care anymore, I’ll just tell the truth! There’s no need to hide anything from Xue Qing, I’ll just tell her the truth! Maybe that way, Xue Qing will let me go!
“Actually, the world we are in now is a Spiritual World, and I am from the real world. We knew each other in our original world, and we were even good friends, good partners, so…”
*Crack!* A blade plunged into the tree trunk in front of me. The bitter scent of sap filled my nasal cavity, causing discomfort.
Oh no, she still doesn’t believe me, does she? That’s understandable… Who would believe such a story! Even if it were the truth, no one would believe they were fake.
I swallowed, my heart pounding, afraid that Xue Qing would get angry and chop me down in impatience.
But Xue Qing, who had forcefully interrupted me, said three words.
“Don’t understand.”
*Pfft!*
So, she didn’t understand!
Why wouldn’t she understand?! How could she not understand?! Even without needing professional knowledge, even a Chuunibyo would understand this kind of “setting,” right?
Could it be…
“Um, Xue Qing, how old are you this year?”
“Ten years old.”
Uhhh-huh-huh-huh!
She’s a real loli!
Xue Qing has genuinely become a loli!
Before, only her appearance was that of a loli. Now, her mind, age, and even her spiritual level have become that of a loli!
Oh, oh, oh, oh! Why am I suddenly so excited!
I suddenly feel like I’ve encountered the most wonderful existence in this world!
Cough, cough, cough, calm down, am I sick? Why am I so agitated? I’ll be seen as a lolicon again…
But since Xue Qing is now just a ten-year-old loli who doesn’t understand complex topics… maybe there’s a chance to trick her. Wait. No, that’s not right. Ahem, what I mean is, to guide her?
“Um, Xue Qing, there might be some misunderstanding between us… That is, we’ve met before, you just don’t remember.”
“…Is, that so?”
Aha! Success!
Just now I was thinking, the reason Xue Qing didn’t attack me was perhaps because seeing my face gave her a sense of déjà vu, and she vaguely recalled memories from our original world.
So, if I guide her with things that happened before, maybe I can weaken her hostility towards me!
“Yes, yes, we were good friends before! We even bathed together!”
“Bathed… together… I, seem to, remember?”
“Right, right! As proof of our friendship, I even gave you my fingernails. You like collecting these things, don’t you?”
As far as I know, people in this Spiritual World are very similar to those in the original world, and their kinks are almost the same. Just like Lily is still a masochist, Ke Ling is still black-bellied, and Yu Hui is still so considerate, Xue Qing should also be a cripple fetishist.
“Fingernails…”
“Yes, yes! How about I give you my fingernails right now? Ah… I don’t have nail clippers, cough, I’ll give them to you later then.”
“Fingernails… fingernails…”
“Uh?”
“Finger.”
“Uh, uh?”
“Want.”
“Uh, uh, uh.”
“Your, finger.”
This, this familiar line…
“Give me, your, finger.”
Aaaargh! I messed up!
I made her recall the most dangerous memory for me!
