Chapter 1159: Blessing
"My family has been temple keepers for generations," Xuanwu said again. "That's why we can't commit suicide. Suicide is disrespectful to the Bodhisattva—you'll fall into the eighteenth level of hell..."
After hearing this, Qiu Shiliu scratched her head, then reached out and put her hands on her hips.
Now she had even more questions than before.
"Ninth Sister... did you hear that?" Qiu Shiliu murmured. "I'm a bit confused."
"I did hear it..." Bai Jiu replied, puzzled. "I don't really understand this kind of identity... but if it's true... you should help her."
"Help her meaning..."
"It has to be this way," Bai Jiu answered. "All our siblings' lives are in her hands. If we can't stop Xuanwu, and Wang Ba and Eleven fall, then Little Jiang Shi will be buried with them, followed by me and Seventh Brother. Our defeat will be like a landslide—then anything we say will be futile."
"Alright... alright..." Qiu Shiliu nodded with a heavy expression. "I understand, Ninth Sister. Leave it to me."
Qiu Shiliu put the "Door" into her pocket, turned around, and looked back at Little Xuanwu.
"Can you kill me now?" Little Xuanwu asked again.
"Xuanzi," Qiu Shiliu called out. "You said you're a 'temple keeper,' but where is the 'temple'?"
Little Xuanwu paused, then spread her hands. "This is it."
"Fine, this is the 'temple,' but what about the 'Bodhisattva'?" Qiu Shiliu continued. "You say you're a temple keeper, but there's neither a spirit tablet nor a deity here. What are you guarding?"
"Sister..." Little Xuanwu slowly lowered her head and said, "When my mother was still alive, there was some incense here. But then, for three or four years straight, first there was a great flood, then a great drought, and finally an earthquake. The village suffered a famine—nearly half the people died. Even my mother starved to death during the drought. Some said the Bodhisattva hadn't blessed them, others said I had brought bad luck and killed them. Later, they angrily rushed up the mountain, smashed the Bodhisattva, dismantled the shrine, melted the incense burner, and captured me."
"Captured you...?"
"They thought everything was related to me," Little Xuanwu said again. "If it wasn't that the Bodhisattva's blessing was incomplete, then it must be that I, the temple keeper, had failed in my guardianship. They beat me for a long time. No one dared to kill me—they were afraid they'd be executed by firing squad..."
"You..." Qiu Shiliu was momentarily at a loss for words, not knowing what to say.
"I could only beg in the village..." Little Xuanwu furrowed her brows, showing an extremely sorrowful expression. "But they didn't want to give me food. Maybe if I starved to death, they wouldn't be executed..."
"You... actually tried to beg in a mountain village...?" Qiu Shiliu shook her head. "Do you really think the Bodhisattva is protecting this village?"
"The Bodhisattva sees everything. He worries about the people—how could He not bless them?" Little Xuanwu said again.
"Then how does He bless them?" Qiu Shiliu asked. "Floods, droughts, earthquakes all piled together. No matter how you look at it, it doesn't seem like there's any divine protection."
Perhaps after experiencing everything in the "Land of the End," Qiu Shiliu felt a deep sense of repulsion whenever she heard about "gods."
"Do you remember? No matter how exalted the Bodhisattva appears, His brows and eyes are always lowered. He is watching all beings," Little Xuanwu replied. "Without the Bodhisattva's blessing, maybe even more people would have died."
"But you're alive too. Even though fate has treated you like this, do you still feel the Bodhisattva is blessing you?"
"Yes, I do." Little Xuanwu said again. "Even if His face is stained with mud and dust, it doesn't stop Him from looking at all beings with a humble gaze. He is on high, yet He always looks downward."
After hearing this, Qiu Shiliu sighed. "But He is no longer here."
"I pray to Him day and night. He is in my dreams," Little Xuanwu said again. "He promised that in the future, He would ensure I never worry about food or clothing, have no sickness or pain, and that I could walk openly in the world."
"So the Bodhisattva wants you to die?" Qiu Shiliu cut straight to the point. "Now you're asking to die—is this also what the Bodhisattva instructed?"
She realized that the little Xuanwu in front of her seemed even more mature than the real Xuanwu, and couldn't help wondering what had happened to her.
"I don't know. I cannot fathom the Bodhisattva's intentions," Little Xuanwu said. "But I know that if I am killed, I won't go to hell, because I have been guarding the Bodhisattva all along. Maybe after I am killed, I will reach the place that the Bodhisattva described—'no worry about food or drink,' 'no sickness or pain,' 'can walk openly in the world.'"
After hearing this, Qiu Shiliu sighed. "Alright, I understand."
"So... are you willing to kill me?"
"I am willing," Qiu Shiliu said. "Forgive me."
"Thank you, sister."
As soon as the words fell, Qiu Shiliu directly reached out and grabbed Little Xuanwu's neck. At that moment, she no longer had any psychological burden—she just silently increased the strength in her hands.
She finally understood Xuanwu's past. Only by killing her could she truly save her.
But thinking about it carefully, if Little Xuanwu died, she might enter the "Land of the End"—a place that truly gave her no worries about food or clothing, no sickness or pain, and openness.
There, she wouldn't need to eat, wouldn't get hurt, and wouldn't wear clothes.
What an ironic blessing?
"Xuanzi, I'm sorry," Qiu Shiliu said. "The Bodhisattva has too many people to bless. Maybe He accidentally left you out."
Little Xuanwu's face was red, and she forced a bitter smile from the corner of her mouth. "It's okay, sister... thank you..."
Qiu Shiliu watched helplessly as Little Xuanwu gradually lost her vitality. Her face turned purple, and her eyes became bloodshot from congestion.
Just as she was about to die, Little Xuanwu suddenly widened her eyes, and her expression instantly became completely dazed.
Before Qiu Shiliu could react to what was happening, Little Xuanwu grabbed her arm with her slender hand.
Her strength was incredibly immense, as if the real Xuanwu had descended.
A sentence that made Qiu Shiliu's back crawl came faintly from Little Xuanwu's mouth:
"How dare you... not only try to kill me... but also dismantle my heart..."
...
**"How dare you... not only try to kill me... but also dismantle my heart..."**
Xuanwu roared in anger and directly reached out to grab Wang Ba's massive arm.
Wang Ba saw that things were bad—he struggled several times but couldn't break free at all.
Then Xuanwu stepped forward, placed his foot against Wang Ba's abdomen, and suddenly kicked. One of Wang Ba's arms was torn off, and blood spurted out like a fountain from his shoulder.
"Ugh!"
Although Wang Ba couldn't feel pain, he suddenly felt his body grow cold.
"Eighth Brother!!" Luo Shiyi and the others cried out in alarm, drawing Bai Jiu's attention.
Bai Jiu looked over, but before she could confirm the situation with Xuanwu, she heard another scream coming from Jiang Shi's left eye.
**"Ah!!!!!"**
She looked closely and saw that Jiang Shi's left eye was also spraying with crimson blood.