Chapter 115: What a Complete Failure [Please Subscribe]

As she spoke, the old hag thrust out hands that looked like desiccated chicken claws, lunging toward Zhou Yi. Her fingers were withered, appearing as if skin were stretched thinly over bone, while her fingernails were black, long, and jagged.

The first two swipes missed Zhou Yi, who managed to dodge by swaying and retreating, but the third time, her nails plunged directly into his chest, sending blood spraying into the air.

As Zhou Yi stumbled backward, the old hag pressed her pursuit. Desperate, Zhou Yi gripped an ice arrow in each hand like a dagger, slashing toward the hag’s wrists. It was a mutual destruction tactic—if she wanted to grab him, she would have to pay with a hand. The hag’s movements faltered for a heartbeat.

She quickly raised a foot to kick him in the stomach. Simultaneously, the fingernails embedded in his chest snapped off, wriggling like living creatures as they burrowed deeper into his flesh.

Zhou Yi was sent flying horizontally across the floor until he slammed into a pillar. He could no longer feel the pain in his back from the impact. The nails inside his chest felt like burning acid being poured into his vitals, constantly twisting and churning, causing his face to twitch uncontrollably in agony.

Zhou Yi did not want to die. If he died, Fatty Cheng Zhi would die too.

But he had no choice now; events had forced his hand. At this point, begging for mercy was useless, and he refused to be that spineless. If death was coming, so be it. He would at least die with some dignity, so that if anyone spoke of him later, they might say, "That kid was a tough nut to crack." That kind of reputation would make the fight worth it.

Gritting his teeth against the pain, Zhou Yi scrambled to his feet.

The old hag had already lunged back at him. Despite Zhou Yi’s efforts to block with his ice arrows, the hag was blindingly fast, pinning his arms with her left side. She raised her right hand and rained down slap after slap on his face, while her knees hammered into his abdomen and legs.

With the sickening sound of snapping bones, blood spilled from the corners of Zhou Yi's mouth. His face was swollen like a pig’s head, and he couldn't tell if it was his teeth, ribs, or leg bones that had shattered. The sound only made the old hag’s smile grow wider.

"Good backbone! You really won't beg for mercy!"

Though his mind was reeling, Zhou Yi did not let go of the ice arrows. He swung them whenever he could, disrupting the hag’s rhythm or managing to score a hit on her wrist or abdomen, letting black vapor hiss out from the wounds.

Zhou Yi was holding on by sheer force of will. He watched as the hag grew tired and wanted to deliver a defiant final word, but his arms were pinned, and his legs, likely fractured, could no longer support his weight.

Watching the hag raise her withered claws to pierce his eyes, Zhou Yi had no strength left to dodge. A wave of desolation washed over him.

Is this really how I die today?

"Heh, what a... waste... of space..."

Just then, a voice rang in Zhou Yi’s ear. Upon hearing it, he shuddered, his mind snapping into total clarity.

He would never forget this voice, even in death. It was this very voice that had pulled him into that world of stone statues and raging waves. Although he had never seen the speaker, the fear this voice instilled in him far surpassed that of the old hag.

Suddenly, a bizarre scene unfolded: the old hag before him, his own body, and the curtains fluttering nearby—everything froze in place.

The voice had just spoken, and this strange occurrence followed. Even a fool could tell this was the work of the voice, but how could this entity be here? Could it be... could it be that it had been inside him all along?

The thought made Zhou Yi tremble. He dared not dwell on it; if it was inside him, did that mean it could perceive everything? His thoughts, his experiences, his schemes—did it know all of it?

"Analysis... finished?"

The voice sounded impatient, even lazy, as if the life-or-death struggle Zhou Yi was facing was merely a nuisance that had disturbed its sleep.

"You're in my body, right? We’re coexisting?"

The entity fell silent for a long moment. Zhou Yi’s heart hammered against his throat, but he fought to keep his mind blank, refusing to think about the situation lest the entity read his thoughts. He scrambled to recall the pastries displayed in the study of the Martial King’s mansion.

"Heh... not entirely stupid. Among the wastes... you’re of some... use."

Zhou Yi ignored the "waste" label. Being called names wouldn't kill him or cost him a piece of flesh; he could call him whatever he wanted. But given the current situation, he had to do something—he couldn't just wait to die.

"Since you're in me, help me. If I die, you’ll have nowhere to stay!"

The voice laughed.

"You know who I am, and you want me to help you? Besides, did I ever say I would? What are your terms?"

Zhou Yi spat. Clearly, the entity was listening, or it wouldn't be speaking so fluently without hesitation.

"Stop talking so much nonsense. Isn't life sweet? You need to be alive to do anything. If I die, you're finished too. We can negotiate terms later, but let's survive this first. Don't tell me you can't beat this old hag?"

The lazy tone in the voice faded, and it seemed more interested in Zhou Yi’s response.

"You... you’re interesting. Very different... and you value your life!"

It paused, and seeing that Zhou Yi remained silent, it continued:

"I want to eat... spirit stones. Every spirit stone you find from now on... belongs to me. Otherwise, just wait to... die!"

Zhou Yi was so angry he laughed. Despite the life-or-death stakes, how could this voice be so shameless? It was like being mugged. So, he does all the work, and the entity just freeloads? In this day and age, even a service requires payment; you can't just get it for free!

"Oh, then you can go back. Let's just die. I’ve experienced enough in this life anyway."

Zhou Yi’s "break the jar" attitude made the entity laugh. This time, it didn't wait long before popping out another sentence.

"Eighty percent. Not a stone less!"

Zhou Yi wanted to shake his head, but he couldn't move. After a moment of thought, he roared:

"Fifty-fifty, not a percent more! Otherwise, I won't be able to survive in the base later on."

The voice laughed, the sound echoing within him.

Suddenly, Zhou Yi felt a sense of relief; the restraints were gone. However, his legs were broken and his ribs fractured; holding the ice arrows, he found it difficult to break free from the hag's grip.

"Heh, I said you were a waste..."

Zhou Yi waved a hand and spat on the ground.

"I don't care who you are, even guests in a hotel have to pay rent. Since you're so capable, make me move smoothly. My bones are shattered everywhere; otherwise, there’s no way I’m killing this hag."

The voice didn't respond, but Zhou Yi heard the sound of his own bones snapping back into place. It was like the sound of fingernails on glass—enough to make his molars ache with a piercing, grinding sensation.

Every sensation made him want to scream, but he bore it in silence.

The snapping ceased, and Zhou Yi could move. Though he still trembled, he pulled his hands free from the hag's grip with a forceful jerk; his fractures seemed to have mended.

At the same time, the frozen world around him jerked back into motion.

Zhou Yi shuddered, cursing internally. But there was no point in dwelling on it now. Before the hag’s claws could reach his eyes, he tilted his head slightly.

He gripped the two ice arrows and, with every ounce of his strength, plunged them into the hag’s eyes.

When the Blue-Robed Woman was struck by the ice arrows earlier, the most black smoke had poured from her head. Therefore, the eyes were likely the weakest point of these living corpses.

The hag was lunging at him, and Zhou Yi met her head-on, side-stepping just enough to drive the pair of ice arrows deep into her eye sockets.

A blood-curdling scream filled the great hall.

Zhou Yi went mad. He didn't stop; he used his hands to drive the arrows deeper, tripping the hag’s legs and pinning her to the floor. The sound of the arrows cracking bone and piercing the floor tiles echoed again and again.

"I'll show you arrogance! Come on, kill me! Ah!"

With a roar of fury, the ice arrows were driven completely into her eye sockets. But Zhou Yi didn't stop. He conjured a dozen more ice arrows, stabbing them into the hag’s heart, abdomen, and legs, pulling them out and plunging them back in repeatedly.

*Puff, puff, puff!*

*Crack!*

*Crack!*

*Crack!*

He then raised his hands, slapping her face left and right just as she had done to him, wielding the ice arrows frantically against her head and face.

Zhou Yi had entered a state of frenzy. His hands were numb, but he refused to stop. This old hag was too dangerous—she was not like the Blue-Robed Woman. He could only keep stabbing.

Keep stabbing.