PTYS Chapter 67

Shen Qingqiu felt the impending danger but was unable to move quickly enough. She braced herself to take the arrow, but instead of pain, she found herself in the warmth of Xiao Muyu’s arms. Xiao Muyu had teleported to her side just in time.

“Muyu, are you alright?” Shen Qingqiu asked, her voice filled with concern. She sensed Xiao Muyu gritting her teeth, stifling a groan. The arrow had not hit the door, meaning it must have struck Xiao Muyu.

The light from the horse lantern had faded, and Shen Qingqiu’s hand found the arrow lodged in Xiao Muyu’s left shoulder, warm blood seeping out.

Shen Qingqiu’s face paled. She turned to see the corpse charging at them again, her anger flaring up.

Xiao Muyu held her back, panting, “I’m fine. I can still hold on. Open the door quickly.” She extended her right hand, creating a barrier to hold off the corpse.

Zhang Yangfeng took advantage of the distance created by Xiao Muyu, shooting arrows one after another to keep the creature at bay.

Huang Junfeng, grateful for his narrow escape, wielded his baseball bat with renewed determination. His bat had an attribute that slowed the enemy with each hit. With Zhang Yangfeng’s arrows pinning it down, Huang Junfeng rushed forward and landed several heavy blows.

Yang Rui placed her puppet in front of Shen Qingqiu to prevent the corpse from interfering with her opening the door.

Despite her urgency and anger, Shen Qingqiu maintained her composure. The priority was to unlock the door. In the dark, finding the keyhole was difficult. She quickly pulled out her “Heartbreaker” and handed it to Yang Rui.

The soft glow of the red wedding candle illuminated the keyhole.

Under the corpse’s furious roars, Shen Qingqiu inserted the key. She didn’t turn it immediately, instead, she called out, “Muyu!”

Xiao Muyu understood immediately.

Shen Qingqiu whispered to Yang Rui, “Hold onto the key. Be ready to open the door when it gets close!”

“Got it. Don’t worry!” Yang Rui replied, gripping the door handle and the key tightly.

The candle stood quietly in the hallway, unnoticed in the tense situation. Meanwhile, Xiao Muyu unleashed her ghostly power, black tendrils wrapping around the corpse.

With a mighty pull, Xiao Muyu yanked the corpse, slamming it towards the bathroom door.

“Open it!” Shen Qingqiu shouted. Yang Rui, fully focused, twisted the key, and pushed the door open in one smooth motion.

The door swung open, and a dim yellow light spilled out. Eight dolls stood at the entrance, their presence shocking enough, but the most terrifying sight was one doll with Hou Liang’s head. His eyes were open, staring directly at Yang Rui.

Yang Rui staggered back, almost fainting in terror.

The corpse, on the verge of crashing through the door, extended its fingers, digging into the walls to stop its momentum.

Xiao Muyu’s forehead veins bulged as she strained to hold the creature.

Shen Qingqiu, eyes dark with determination, reversed her grip on her dagger and slashed at the creature’s neck.

Her dagger, sharp as ever, sliced through the roughly stitched neck, sending the head rolling. Shen Qingqiu, prepared, kicked the head away.

The body of the creature convulsed, but without its head, it couldn’t reattach itself. The force from the bathroom pulled it in, piece by piece, until the last limb vanished inside. Shen Qingqiu slammed the door shut and locked it.

Breathing heavily, the group slowly recovered from the intense confrontation.

“It’s over,” Shen Qingqiu said, leaning against the door, her voice filled with relief.

Xiao Muyu, reverting back to her normal form, showed signs of exhaustion but also triumph.

Zhang Yangfeng lowered his bow, while Huang Junfeng, still shaking, managed a grateful smile. “Thanks… for saving me.”

“We need to regroup and figure out our next steps,” Xiao Muyu suggested. Everyone nodded in agreement, aware that their ordeal was not yet over, but at least they had survived this nightmarish encounter.

The precision was impeccable, and the object flew straight into the hands of Xiao Er standing in the center. Xiao Er’s expression twisted, his eyes turning blood red, and his mouth stretched open, revealing a row of fangs as he grabbed the head tightly.

The surrounding dolls erupted into chaos, screaming and rushing out, seemingly losing all rationality.

“They can’t be allowed to escape!”

If the dolls got out, these vengeful spirits, driven mad by their thirst for revenge, would not spare them.

Shen Qingqiu’s expression changed as she quickly grabbed the candle next to her and shoved it into Xiao Er’s hands, saying urgently, “Look at me!”

Xiao Er’s ferocious expression softened upon seeing Shen Qingqiu, even showing a hint of confusion.

“Help me drag it inside. This is your enemy.”

Xiao Muyu, gritting her teeth, tried to push the corpse inside while Huang Junfeng and Zhang Yangfeng desperately blocked the dolls from escaping.

Seeing Shen Qingqiu’s actions, Xiao Muyu remembered the candle’s other function—to increase the favorability of a single target. However, the tool card came with a warning to use it cautiously, which made Xiao Muyu uneasy.

Xiao Er’s attention on Shen Qingqiu intensified with the candle’s effect. Without waiting for further action from Xiao Muyu, Xiao Er lunged forward, grabbing the corpse and yanking it inside forcefully.

The corpse, unable to withstand the force, was torn apart, but Xiao Er paid no heed, dragging piece after piece inside and throwing them on the ground.

The dolls, witnessing the dismemberment of their enemies, surrounded the corpse like wolves, tearing it apart with unmatched ferocity. Even if the corpse could regenerate, it couldn’t withstand such brutal dismemberment and continuously howled in agony.

The scene was chaotic, prompting those outside to retreat in fear.

Shen Qingqiu, maintaining her composure, moved quickly to close the door. Just then, a hand grabbed her left hand, pulling her inside.

“Ah!” Yang Rui screamed, but saw Shen Qingqiu suddenly stop mid-air, held by Xiao Muyu’s ghostly power.

Inside, Xiao Er, clutching Shen Qingqiu, looked confused upon seeing Xiao Muyu, then spoke quickly and urgently, “Let go! She is mine! Even you cannot take her from me!”

The urgency in Xiao Er’s expression sent shivers down their spines. Xiao Muyu, feeling extremely tense, couldn’t maintain her composure, her eyes cold and fierce, “Nonsense! Who said she is yours? Let go, immediately!”

Her last words were nearly a growl, causing Xiao Er to shudder.

Huang Junfeng, despite being terrified, tried to intervene, but Xiao Er noticed him. With a mere glance, Huang Junfeng froze, unable to move.

In the next moment, a tremendous force pulled Huang Junfeng, causing him to lose his grip on the baseball bat, which flew towards Xiao Muyu. Ignoring the injury to her left shoulder, Xiao Muyu swung the bat and struck Xiao Er’s face with a solid blow.

With a loud thud, Xiao Er’s nose caved in, and his small body was sent flying. Shen Qingqiu, taking advantage of the moment, slammed the door shut.

A powerful force immediately hit the door, making it shudder violently, followed by another hit. Fortunately, the door’s enchantment held, preventing the enraged Xiao Er from breaking through.

The candle reverted to a card and returned to Shen Qingqiu’s hand. The banging stopped, but the sounds of tearing and wailing inside continued.

The five of them collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath.

Shen Qingqiu, feeling her way in the dark, supported Xiao Muyu. “Quick, we need to remove the arrow while the mask’s effect lasts.”

Though the night was no longer pitch black, they could still make out each other’s outlines. Xiao Muyu glanced at Shen Qingqiu, gritted her teeth, and nodded.

Shen Qingqiu helped Xiao Muyu into a room. The candle’s skill had expired, but it still provided light. With Yang Rui and the others’ assistance, they managed to get inside.

Huang Junfeng, pale and bleeding from his neck, needed his wound cleaned urgently.

“Most of the threat is dealt with. It should be safe to fetch water now. Let’s go.”

Yang Rui, aware of the need to clean the wounds, agreed to help after surviving the ordeal together.

After fetching two basins of clean water, Shen Qingqiu asked them to leave, using the candlelight to examine Xiao Muyu’s injury.

In ancient times, dealing with cold weapons injuries was preferable to gunshot wounds, but pulling out the arrow in these conditions was still dangerous. Xiao Muyu would be just an ordinary person without her ghostly powers, making blood loss a significant risk.

Shen Qingqiu wasted no time, quickly cutting open Xiao Muyu’s clothing. She folded a cloth and handed it to Xiao Muyu, signaling her to bite down.

Xiao Muyu, covered in cold sweat, her lips white, looked at Shen Qingqiu and bit into the cloth.

As soon as she did, pain surged through her back. Without warning, Shen Qingqiu pulled the arrow out, causing Xiao Muyu to let out a muffled scream and collapse.

Shen Qingqiu used her shoulder to support Xiao Muyu, swiftly pressing a prepared bandage onto the wound. Blood soaked through the cloth immediately.

At that moment, Shen Qingqiu was immensely grateful for the bandages she had brought from the second dungeon.

“Muyu, we need to stop the bleeding,” Shen Qingqiu said urgently, her voice filled with tension.

Xiao Muyu was in such pain that she almost fainted. She barely managed to use her ghostly power to stop the bleeding, leaning against Shen Qingqiu and gasping for breath.

Understanding her suffering, Shen Qingqiu said nothing, continuing to press on her wound. She lowered her head, her eyes clouded with complex emotions. A heavy weight pressed on her heart, making her feel suffocated and pained. She couldn’t tell if she was angry or sad; she just felt incredibly uncomfortable.

Looking at Xiao Muyu’s bloodied back, Shen Qingqiu murmured in a dull voice, “Why do you always have to interfere and end up like this?”

Xiao Muyu, who had been enduring the pain, almost laughed at her words. She took a breath and turned her head to see Shen Qingqiu’s heavy, gloomy face, her tightly pressed lips, and the evident distress in her eyes.

Silently, Xiao Muyu turned her head back, her voice weak but cold, “I’m regretting it now. I should have let you get pierced through the heart.”

Just then, the light dimmed as Shen Qingqiu gently wiped her sweat with a clean sleeve. The action was in stark contrast to her earlier fierceness with the knife, each movement filled with tenderness. She muttered, “Even if it pierced through my heart, it would be better than seeing you like this.”

This wasn’t a teasing remark but an involuntary outburst filled with frustration. After saying it, Shen Qingqiu’s movements halted, and she fell silent.

After a moment, she pulled her hand back and pressed the bandage with her left elbow.

She then whispered in Xiao Muyu’s ear, “Hold on a bit longer; we need to bandage the wound.”

With only one functional hand, Shen Qingqiu found it difficult to manage everything. Xiao Muyu, with her injury, couldn’t make large movements either. So, Shen Qingqiu used her left hand to press the bandage while Xiao Muyu unbuttoned her shirt.

Xiao Muyu hesitated but eventually started unbuttoning her shirt slowly.

Just then, there was a knock on the door, and Yang Rui’s voice came from outside, “Miss Shen, how is Miss Xiao? Do you need help?”

Although help would be best, Shen Qingqiu glanced at Xiao Muyu, who had only unbuttoned three buttons, and quickly replied in a cold voice, “She’s fine. We don’t need help.”

After saying that, she and Xiao Muyu stared at each other, making Shen Qingqiu feel quite uneasy.

It was inexplicable, but Shen Qingqiu simply didn’t want Yang Rui to come in and bandage Xiao Muyu.

“Alright, take care then,” Yang Rui said, leaving after being turned away.

Xiao Muyu helplessly continued unbuttoning her shirt, letting Shen Qingqiu carefully help her take it off.

With one arm hanging and unable to exert too much force, and the other pressing the wound, the process was painstakingly slow.

At this moment, Xiao Muyu was only wearing an undergarment. Having just reverted from Qu Muxi’s appearance, her original form was now visible. The dim candlelight couldn’t hide her fair and supple skin, exuding a natural allure.

Shen Qingqiu had seen all sorts of things and considered herself quite thick-skinned, yet helping Xiao Muyu change made her feel awkward. Her eyes unintentionally lingered and then quickly looked away, like a fool.

Finally, the bandaging was done, and Shen Qingqiu was sweating.

Without the mask’s enhancement, Xiao Muyu’s energy was significantly depleted. Her lips were white, devoid of any color, making her already delicate features appear even more fragile. Her usual cold demeanor was now hidden by her weakness, making Shen Qingqiu’s heart ache.

This feeling had been swirling inside her ever since Xiao Muyu got injured saving her, leaving Shen Qingqiu confused.

After Xiao Muyu fell asleep, Shen Qingqiu sat by her side, watching her silently with a mix of dazed and heavy emotions.

This wasn’t right. She was a professional, always clear-headed and rational. She knew exactly what she was doing and what needed to be done.

Her emotions—her joy, anger, and care—were meant for others to see, not her true feelings.

In the past, she knew she was pretending. Now, she clearly felt these emotions were real.

She hated seeing Xiao Muyu hurt and couldn’t stand her being in pain. How did such a cliché and boring trope happen to her?

Shen Qingqiu squinted, leaning closer to Xiao Muyu, her gray eyes turning icy as a cold smile tugged at her lips.

This was more like it.

Author’s Note:

• Xiao Muyu: Get lost. She’s mine.
• Shen Qingqiu: I knew it. You do care about me.
• Xiao Muyu: Hmph, vixen. Who’s the one acting behind my back, setting up flags?