Chapter 1136: The Doll
Xuanwu emerged from the thick, rolling smoke and looked down at her own body.
The situation now was indeed strange—she could never recall her body being in such a state. She stared at her arm, and the scene before her eyes felt rather peculiar. Some thorns were coiled around her forearm, while others had sunk into it. She paused in confusion, as if she could no longer tell whether her pitch-black, vast forearm was concave or three-dimensional.
She reached out and touched it, finding that she could indeed pinch her forearm, yet the thorns beside it were also embedded inside. Xuanwu felt a sense of chaos—not just in her consciousness, but also in her perception.
When the countless thorns pierced and cut into her body, she experienced a special kind of pain she had never felt before. If she had to describe this pain in two words, it would be **"distant."** She felt as though the pain was incredibly far away, as if her skin had been left in another city, yet that skin’s pain had crossed the boundaries of time and space to drift into her mind. Slow, dull, ethereal, distant.
Because the pain was so remote, her brain didn’t instinctively reject it. The agony no longer seemed frightening; her mind simply accepted it unhurriedly, allowing it to enter her thoughts.
*Such a strange sensation… I don’t even need to activate Forgetfulness.*
Seeing that Xuanwu was completely unaffected by the attack, the expressions of those nearby remained calm—this was an expected outcome, and the plan had not gone awry. If the first assault had utterly defeated Xuanwu, that would have been the real shock.
All members of **"Cat"** watched Xuanwu intently. They knew the worst-case scenario was that Xuanwu might now be enraged, killing everyone present without hesitation. But observing her state, they saw only curiosity.
"Novel," Xuanwu murmured. "This feeling is so novel. Pain yet not pain, fear yet not fear, bitterness yet not bitterness."
Luo Eleven turned back to look at Song Qi on the high platform, as if waiting for orders. Song Qi thought for a moment and nodded slightly.
"Hah." Luo Eleven turned back to Xuanwu. "Xuanwu, what do you think? Are we capable or not?"
"Yes," Xuanwu nodded. "This slow, aching sensation all over my body feels almost like Qinglong’s handiwork."
"Dragon?" Luo Eleven laughed. "Then you flatter us. At best, we’re a 'dragon-cat.'"
Xuanwu ignored Luo Eleven and looked up as if gazing toward him. "Is there more to come?"
"Don’t worry, there is."
"Good, very good. Come kill me…"
Just as everyone prepared to launch a second wave of attacks, they witnessed an extremely bizarre scene.
Xuanwu’s entire right arm wobbled twice, then fell directly to the ground. The arm writhed on the earth like a black fish leaping out of a river, full of life.
Song Qi frowned at the severed arm on the ground, momentarily baffled. He knew Xuanwu possessed **"Undying,"** but could a 'Divine Beast' with Undying actually have an arm chopped off alive? Had their combined assault been that powerful?
Su Shan narrowed his eyes, a sharp gleam flashing within them, and quickly noticed the abnormality.
"I see it… but I’m not sure if this counts as a 'weakness,'" Su Shan said. "Her shoulder has a broken bone inserted into it—the arm and body are connected by that…"
"What…?" Song Qi had never heard of such a strange condition, and his mind raced. After all, no one had ever subjected Xuanwu to such a fierce assault before. Were her limbs all attached like a doll’s?
But if that were the case, wouldn’t Xuanwu shatter like a glass doll at the slightest touch?
"No…" Song Qi said decisively. "If Xuanwu were that fragile, her combat ability wouldn't be as legendary as they say."
Xuanwu bent down, gently picked up her arm, and reinserted it into her shoulder. The bizarre sight left everyone in silence. Whether she was truly a doll or not, at that moment, she was treating herself like one.
"Regardless, this should be our breakthrough…"
After a few seconds of thought, Song Qi curled his index finger like a hook, put it to his lips, and blew a strange whistle.
"Huh?" Ma Twelve was startled by the whistle. "No way… Seventh Brother, what kind of order is that? You're telling me this now?"
Song Qi didn't reply but simply blew the strange whistle again.
Ma Twelve: "Huh? What kind of talk is that! I don't like hearing it! I oppose this plan!"
"Giggle, giggle." Bai Jiu let out a childish laugh from another rooftop, clearly delighted.
"Ninth Sister, you…" Ma Twelve, who looked about fifty, shouted, "You all think it's okay? Damn it, I'm this old, and I just ran all the way here!"
Ma Twelve had previously led Xuanwu in a frantic escape with Luo Eleven and Wu Thirteen. Now standing on the ground, he quickly felt the gazes of all the "Cat" members converge on him, making his old face flush red.
"What about you, Tenth Brother? Say something…" Ma Twelve turned to Jiang Ten on a nearby rooftop, looking at him as if at his last lifeline.
Jiang Ten just crouched slowly in a corner of the rooftop. His small frame huddled at the edge made him look like a ridge beast on an ancient beam. He stared at Ma Twelve for a moment, then said earnestly, "A million troops besiege Xiangyang, no relief outside, no food inside. When the city falls one day, some cry for dad, some cry for mom, some cry for—"
"Ah, fine, fine!" Ma Twelve gave up completely. "Tenth Brother, stop. I get it. All of you are out to get me. I'll go."
He then seemed to make up his mind, turned back to look at Xuanwu with a serious expression, and declared magnanimously, "Xuanwu… um, if someone took something of yours… would you get angry?"
"Angry…?" Xuanwu seemed to seriously consider the question before replying, "You can take anything of mine, but you cannot take my food. As long as it's not food, I won't be angry."
"Good, that's really good—sorry about this!"
Ma Twelve gave an awkward laugh and immediately executed **"Teleport."** In an instant, Xuanwu's right arm detached from her body and flew far away toward Ma Twelve. Xuanwu tilted her head in confusion again, only to see Ma Twelve vanishing with her arm into the streets among the low buildings.
"Ahhhhh, damn it!" Even though Ma Twelve had stolen Xuanwu's arm, he looked more scared than anyone. His pathetic fleeing figure made Xuanwu feel like she had been tricked, yet somehow not. So she could only stand there in prolonged silence.
"Giggle, giggle." Bai Jiu couldn't stop laughing. "Oh, I'm dying of laughter!"