Chapter 534: Assimilation
The moment their hands touched, Qian Wu only felt a biting coldness, as if he were gripping a corpse.
Though he had seen "Xuanwu" many times before, this was the first time he had actually touched her. The sensation was even stranger than he had imagined.
Xuanwu was like a person without body heat. Her fingers were as cold as a dead person's, yet as soft as a living one's.
"By holding your hand... you can kill me?" Xuanwu asked.
"I'm not sure, but I'll do my best," Qian Wu replied. "No matter what, I'll stake my life on killing you."
"You must do your best." Xuanwu nodded blankly. "Even if it takes several tries, it doesn't matter. But you must do your best."
Tianma and Tianhu behind Xuanwu saw this and slowly retreated a step. Since Xuanwu had taken the stage, they no longer had the right to speak.
Qian Wu slowly turned his head and gave a signal to the two behind him. Luo Shiyi and Chou Ershi nodded, picked up the daggers from the ground, and slowly came before Qian Wu.
"Fifth Brother." Luo Shiyi reached out and gripped Qian Wu's shoulder. "Don't worry... it won't hurt..."
"It's fine." Qian Wu nodded. "Go ahead."
Luo Shiyi glanced at Xuanwu. She and Qian Wu stood hand in hand, as intimate as lovers, yet the cold aura constantly emanating from her sent chills down everyone's spine.
"Fifth Brother, I'm sorry." Luo Shiyi took a deep breath and drove the dagger straight into Qian Wu's heart.
Qi Xia and the others in the distance held their breath. It seemed the plan was going surprisingly smoothly.
Qian Wu felt no pain, only the sensation of something ice-cold piercing his chest.
"No... can't use 'Forget Sorrow'..." Qian Wu gritted his teeth. "Pain can speed up my death..."
Luo Shiyi nodded gravely upon hearing this. "I understand."
He closed his eyes and silently chanted a few words, but when he opened them, Qian Wu still showed no reaction.
"Remove the 'Forget Sorrow,'" Qian Wu said again.
"I..." Luo Shiyi felt something was off. "Fifth Brother, there is no 'Forget Sorrow' anymore..."
"What...?" Qian Wu was slightly stunned. "No 'Forget Sorrow'...?"
Not only did he feel no pain, but there was also no sign of death approaching.
Xuanwu reached out with her other hand and parted the long hair covering her chest. The three of them saw a fresh wound blooming on her chest as well, identical to the injury on Qian Wu's chest.
"Is that it...?" Xuanwu asked, her tone tinged with disappointment. "Is this what you call trying to kill me...?"
Qian Wu felt something was very wrong. He turned his gaze to Chou Ershi beside him.
Chou Ershi understood immediately. Without a word, he drove his dagger straight into the artery in Qian Wu's neck.
With a dull thud of blade piercing flesh, a hole suddenly appeared on Xuanwu's neck as well.
"What's going on...?"
Qian Wu was the first to sense something amiss. There was no "Forget Sorrow" on him, yet he felt no pain from either the fatal chest wound or the neck wound.
Seeing this, Qi Xia's eyes turned ashen. He stepped away from the prison gate and slowly retreated a few paces, calling out to Chen Junnan and Qiao Jiajin: "Qian Wu has lost. Get ready. The 'Tianma Moment' is about to be activated."
"Lost...?" Chen Junnan and Qiao Jiajin were taken aback. "Isn't he trying to kill Xuanwu right now?"
"Impossible now," Qi Xia said. "At this point, not only Xuanwu, but even Qian Wu probably can't die anymore."
Zhou Liu looked at Qi Xia in disbelief, then turned her gaze toward Qian Wu.
Qian Wu pushed Luo Shiyi away and pulled the dagger from his chest. Looking down, he saw a pitch-black hole in his chest, not a single drop of blood flowing.
"How can this be..." Qian Wu muttered to himself. "Is this 'Immortal'...?"
He had intended to assimilate Xuanwu's body, but for some reason, his own body had been assimilated by her into "Immortal."
Unwilling to give up, Qian Wu reached up, grabbed the dagger in his neck, and slashed it sideways, opening a large gash across his throat.
A jet-black color appeared simultaneously on the necks of both Qian Wu and Xuanwu. Their heads now seemed sewn onto their bodies, looking utterly unreal.
Yet neither of them died.
"So this is how it is..." Qian Wu lowered his head, his face filled with despair as he muttered to himself. "I was really too naive before... I imagined many outcomes, but never this one..."
"Hey." Xuanwu called out coldly. "What's the difference between this weird trick of yours and just slashing me with a knife?"
"From the looks of it..." Qian Wu shook his head regretfully. "There really is no difference."
"Ah...?" Xuanwu's eyes instantly showed disappointment. "What are you saying...? So you can't kill me?"
At this moment, Qian Wu fully understood the power of "Immortal." His neck now had a fatal enough wound, yet he felt nothing unusual.
Even if he cut off his head, he wouldn't die. But why couldn't he assimilate her body?
"Run..." Qian Wu said in a low voice. "Shiyi, Ershi, find a way to run..."
"Fifth Brother... then you..."
"The moment I let go, I'll die," Qian Wu said, his expression one of complete despair. "I've lost this time..."
He turned his head to look at Xuanwu and asked with a frown: "All you need is my life, right? I was the mastermind behind this attempt to kill Tianma."
"No." Xuanwu shook her head. "The three of you all carry strong killing intent toward Tianma. None of you can escape."
"You..." Qian Wu knew he had no bargaining chips in front of Xuanwu.
If even "Twin Flowers" couldn't deal with Xuanwu... was there any other way to eliminate her?
"No need to beg her, Fifth Brother." Luo Shiyi gave a faint smile. "I didn't want to leave anyway. I'll just stay here today."
He took the dagger from Qian Wu's hand and thrust it at Xuanwu again, like Qi Xia before him, frantically cutting countless wounds into her body.
But Xuanwu showed no reaction whatsoever.
"It's always like this..." Xuanwu said, her eyes vacant. "None of you who want to kill me... ever put any real effort into it."
As her words fell, a bright red object appeared in Xuanwu's hand—a fresh, beating heart.
Luo Shiyi froze. Before he could say anything, Xuanwu had already squeezed the heart cleanly in her hand.
It was like a sponge saturated with water. As Xuanwu crushed it, a torrent of blood sprayed out, and Luo Shiyi fell to the ground with a stunned expression.
"Shiyi!"
Qian Wu knew that although it looked like he had a hold on Xuanwu, his situation was far more dangerous than hers. The moment he let go, he would die instantly.