Silence.
Only an oppressive stillness reigned in the Black Forest. The wind no longer whistled. The branches of the gnarled black trees no longer moved to the sound of the breeze. Only the stench of oxidised blood hung in the air like a noxious substance.
The silence was so heavy and palpable that Yuan Tianzhu felt his lungs seize.
"Aahhhhhhh!"
Soon, the bestial howl of Tie Xin echoed through the heights of the Black Forest like a dissonant requiem, making the hair of those who heard it stand on end.
Yuan Tianzhu could see that the young woman's mouth was very similar to that of the Abyss Wraith King. No. It was the same mouth — Yuan Tianzhu was absolutely sure of it.
The young woman was the Abyss Wraith King.
Without a shadow of a doubt.
His transparent blue eyes looked at the scene coldly, with no glimmer of emotion passing through them. He had a bad feeling about the situation he'd found himself in before — and that feeling proved true.
The expected had happened.
The young woman, after fiercely tearing off Tie Xin's arm, began gnawing it as if it were candy she had bought at a corner store. The crack of shattering bones broke through like a nail being driven. Blood spattered in arcs here and there, dyeing the crimson quicksand red. Soon after, the blood was drunk greedily by the earth as if it were alive, leaving no trace behind in its fall.
Yuan Tianzhu's eyes pinched into a lethal slit.
He looked at Tie Xin, who was submerged in the quicksand.
Because it seemed Tie Xin had calmed and was trying to recover his strength — but it was in vain. His body was being devoured by the cursed quicksand. Only his neck and head remained to tell the tale.
He would surely die.
"Why?"
Tie Xin asked with great difficulty.
The young woman didn't answer — she was content just to chew Tie Xin's arm thoroughly. Soon, she stopped chewing like a madwoman in ecstasy, wiping her mouth with a motion of her gigantic tongue. Only then did she look at Tie Xin with cold, inhuman eyes, with no trace of emotion in them except panting scorn.
"Why do you ask, my dear Tie Xin? Hehehe… how foolish you are. Your sense of justice always nauseated me. Do you know how much of a drag it was having to listen to you every single day?
Hehehehe… Oh, how I wanted to kill you. My being was itching to skew you, scatter your ashes, drink your blood, rip out your spinal cord, eat your heart, huh? And you still come and ask me why? Hehehe… don't be a fool."
Then, she looked at Yuan Tianzhu.
At last, he could see her beautiful and grotesque features.
Half her face was as before — a beautiful young woman at her peak, with lovely phoenix eyes, full eyebrows, a perfectly oval face, rosy and plump lips, a slender body well-endowed in all the right places.
However, the other half of her was horrid to behold — completely opposite. Her skin was white and pale as a corpse. Her body was disproportionate, filled with sharp, rotten claws. Various parts of her body were decaying, with larvae writhing out and feeding on her already dead flesh.
Chills ran through Yuan Tianzhu's scalp and his feet tingled. He couldn't help but swallow hard. Such an image would disturb even the strongest minds.
Speaking of minds… his wasn't in the best condition — if he could say that at all.
"You're smart. Unlike that lunatic who spent his whole life among fakes," the young woman said in a hoarse and terrifying tone. Her voice was like a cat scratching a chalkboard.
Yuan Tianzhu gave a cold laugh.
"Haha… you're flattering me. I'm not that smart. I just found the situation too strange and prioritized my life above all else."
"Strange?"
The young woman raised an eyebrow, causing Yuan Tianzhu's face to freeze for a moment before returning to normal.
"That's right. Strange. You and the ragged old man should have more experience in the Black Forest than anyone. And yet you chose to act alone, without any caution." Yuan Tianzhu paused and looked at the ragged old man. "Even though you tried to make him look like the ragged old man, he's still full of flaws."
"Hehehehhehehehehe…"
The young woman suddenly burst into hoarse, terrifying laughter.
Yuan Tianzhu's legs nearly buckled from visceral fear.
"Hehe… how perceptive. You even noticed that. However, you weren't close to that old man… how did you realize he was fake?"
Yuan Tianzhu scratched his head helplessly.
"Eh… how to explain this properly… Hm… I guessed."
"You guessed?!"
The young woman's face twisted into something dark and ugly.
"That's right," Yuan Tianzhu nodded, "It was just a hunch. Because before we got here, we heard a scream — probably that cursed old man being devoured by you. But at that time, I thought it was him transforming into the Abyss Wraith King."
"You suspected him?"
The young woman interrupted him, much to Yuan Tianzhu's displeasure.
'Tsk… couldn't you let me finish explaining, please?'
"That's right." Yuan Tianzhu shook his head, then added, "But not just him. I suspected all of you. Tie Xin, the ragged old man, his grandson, and you. I never trusted any of you from the beginning. The situation was too strange and precarious to afford trusting anyone besides myself."
"But that doesn't explain why you suspected he was me."
The young woman had question marks on her face.
"Of course it does. It's because you have limited intelligence that you can't see beyond my words."
"Me, limited intelligence?! Hehehehe…"
The young woman snorted coldly but didn't do anything dramatic.
She merely stared at Yuan Tianzhu with glacial coldness.
'Huff… I almost crapped myself.'
Yuan Tianzhu sighed in relief.
"Cough… as I was saying: there were several points that made me suspect the ragged old man could be you. No one knew anything about him or his past — not even our dear Tie Xin here.
But the most decisive factor was that he wanted to kill me. Sure, it's not logical — but hatred doesn't need to be logical. You either hate or you don't, period. I hated that stinky old man, and so I suspected him."
The young woman was left speechless for a moment before bursting into unhinged laughter.
"Hehehahahahahabahah… truly a rare specimen. How wonderful, Yuan Tianzhu."
Yuan Tianzhu trembled slightly but quickly regained composure.
"You might fool those kids with your pathetic speech of hatred, but not me." The young woman narrowed her evil eyes. "You… you always suspected me, didn't you? From the start, didn't you, Yuan Tianzhu? You think I didn't notice that strange look you gave me?"
A murmur that seemed to be saying "what" sounded from above, making Yuan Tianzhu turn toward its source — only to see the nearly lifeless Tie Xin. His face was pale and purple at once, sweat dripping from him — he looked like a walking corpse, drained of blood.
Yuan Tianzhu shook his head melancholically.
'In the end, you were a good scapegoat. I hope this brings peace to your sin-stained soul.'
"Your voice." Yuan Tianzhu raised his index finger. "Please, lower it."
"Huh?!"
The young woman was incredulous.
'This worm dared?!'
"I just thought you were too perfect. Normally, in a place like this, you shouldn't be a good person. If you survived… There's no way someone survives the Black Forest and remains good. You… however, were kind to me and the others.
And I always found that strange. No one is kind to others for no logical reason. Not only that, but you were trying too hard to act nice — I even felt disgusted at one point. Humans are strange creatures, aren't they? You can be the nicest, kindest person in the world, and there will always be people who find fault with you, right? Hehehe…"
"That explains nothing! Why did you suspect me?!"
The young woman flashed a terrifying smile, revealing her rotten teeth.
"Oh, right… how do I put this… Hm… you said 'yesterday'."
"I said 'yesterday?!' What does that mean?! That's why you suspected me??"
Yuan Tianzhu facepalmed.
"Hehe… your intellect really is subpar. In the Black Forest, where our perception of time is distorted… how would you know exactly when I arrived?"