Chapter 59: The Woman Bitten in the Wasteland

Time slipped away, and before they knew it, evening had arrived. After having dinner, Bai Peiyu finally decided it was time to head back.

By the time the two returned to the town, it was pitch dark.

Without a word, Bai Peiyu took the lead, guiding Qiu Yaoyao to the wasteland by the river.

"Why are we suddenly coming here..."

Before she could finish her sentence, Bai Peiyu made a "shh" sound toward her.

Qiu Yaoyao acutely sensed that something major was about to happen.

The two crouched down in the nearby tall grass, while mosquitoes buzzed around them in swarms.

Before long, Qiu Yaoyao had several welts bitten onto her arm, itching so badly she scratched them until they bled.

She cursed in a low voice, "Damn mosquitoes, always picking on me."

Feeling a bit irritated, Qiu Yaoyao looked over at Bai Peiyu, who was crouched motionlessly, and asked out of curiosity, "What blood type are you? How come the mosquitoes don't bite you?"

Bai Peiyu chuckled, "Maybe your flesh is more fragrant."

"Thanks a lot. I can't even tell if you're complimenting me or insulting me."

"Bear with it for a moment. It's coming soon."

"Oh."

Qiu Yaoyao nodded. Since she had already waited this long, waiting a little while longer wouldn't hurt.

About a dozen minutes later, a sudden gust of strong wind swept through, kicking up dust from the ground, accompanied by a shrill, piercing scream.

It was finally here.

Qiu Yaoyao felt a mixture of excitement and apprehension, unsure of what horrifying sight she would witness next. To keep herself from screaming out loud, she reached up and covered her mouth.

The sound grew closer and closer, as if something was being dragged along the ground. The groans blended with the wind, sending a chill down her spine just like the special sound effects in a horror movie.

"Stop screaming. No one here can save you."

A man's voice rang out, low and hoarse.

"Let... let me... go..."

The voice of the dragged woman was intermittent and fragmented, as if she had already been exhausted by the struggle.

Qiu Yaoyao knew that if she didn't step in to stop it, the next scene she would witness would be the woman dying a tragic death right before her eyes.

She tried to rush out, but Bai Peiyu grabbed her arm. "Not yet."

If this wasn't the right time, then when was?

Qiu Yaoyao felt anxious, but she had no choice and could only obey obediently.

"You should feel honored to come here and contribute to the development of our town. That's an opportunity countless people wish for in vain."

Under the moonlight, the man clearly stopped in his tracks. He bent down, grabbed the woman fiercely by the chin, and lowered his head to sniff her body.

"Don't be afraid. Once you're scared, the meat won't taste as good."

The woman was already trembling all over from terror; now, she was so frightened she couldn't even make a sound, her mouth agape as she stared at him in horror.

Seeing this, the man appeared quite satisfied.

Taking aim at her neck, he bit down hard.

A miserable, agonizing scream pierced the night sky. Qiu Yaoyao's heart leaped into her throat, and suddenly she felt someone give her a heavy push from behind.

Was this the moment?

She burst out from the grass and shouted at the top of her lungs, "You beast, stop... no, shut your mouth!"

The man looked up in bewilderment. He didn't recognize Qiu Yaoyao; he was simply annoyed that his feast was being interrupted just as he was about to dig in.

Then a thought crossed his mind: he already had one prey, and now another one had shown up—this was actually a great thing.

The ferocious expression on his face suddenly gave way to a smile. "Little sister, didn't anybody tell you not to wander around alone at night?"

Qiu Yaoyao crossed her arms over her chest with a disdainful look. "Somebody did. The moment I first arrived, someone told me never to wander around at night, otherwise..."

"Otherwise what?"

"Otherwise, you're bound to run into some ghost-like freaks. And lo and behold, the rare time I come out, I run into you."

"You certainly have a lot of courage," the man said as he took a slow step forward, walking around Qiu Yaoyao twice and sizing her up carefully. "Soft skin and tender meat. Not bad."

Qiu Yaoyao rolled her eyes. To be able to tell someone had tender skin in the dead of night with no lights on—his eyesight was truly something else.

"Much more tender than yours, that's for sure."

With Bai Peiyu hidden behind her, Qiu Yaoyao felt completely fearless.

She walked around the man to the side of the victim, bent down, and gently stroked the woman's face to comfort her, then said casually, "Two people died here before, and it was always rumored to be suicide. But looking at it now, you must be the killer, right?"

The man burst into loud laughter. "Then why did you still dare to come out? Aren't you afraid of making tomorrow's front-page newspaper headlines with your partner?"

"Let them put us on the headlines, then. It's not like nobody's ever been in the news before."

Feeling around for a stone near her feet, Qiu Yaoyao took aim at the man's body and hurled it.

"You beast, let's see if I don't teach you a lesson today."

Her sudden action caught the man off guard. Recovering his senses, he bared his teeth and lunged forward.

Seeing the man closing in on her while there was still no movement whatsoever in the grass, Qiu Yaoyao hurriedly dodged to the side.

She knew Bai Peiyu must be waiting for the right moment, but when exactly was that? She certainly didn't want to get bitten like that woman did.

An idea struck Qiu Yaoyao, and she suddenly shouted at the top of her lungs, "Don't you come any closer! If you take one more step, I'll have our family's Old Qiu deal with you. He used to practice martial arts—he'll beat you until your teeth are scattered all over the ground!"

"Old Qiu?"

Sure enough, the man stopped in his tracks.

Qiu Yaoyao secretly breathed a sigh of relief. When she had first returned, Qiu Shengming had mentioned to her that there weren't many people left with the surname Qiu in this town.

Aside from a few elderly folks who were either too frail to walk or too lazy to move, everyone else had already moved away to live in the big cities. In Yueli Town, she was the only one left in the younger generation with the surname Qiu.

Therefore, upon hearing that cry of "Old Qiu," the man cleverly deduced Qiu Yaoyao's identity.

Yet verbally, he scoffed, "Cut the crap. I heard that Old Qiu's daughter isn't entirely right in the head. Would she be sneaking out in the middle of the night? Honestly, who the hell are you?"

Knowing he was deliberately trying to provoke her, Qiu Yaoyao slipped right into character. "Oh, my! If you hadn't mentioned it, I almost forgot. So... am I hallucinating again?"

She feigned utter astonishment. Since Bai Peiyu had told her she could do whatever she wanted, she didn't need to hold back anymore. If she were truly in danger, he wouldn't just stand by and watch.

Qiu Yaoyao glanced around and spotted a wooden stick not far away. She walked over, picked it up, and rushed toward the man, swinging it wildly. "Why do you guys always keep coming to scare me? If you want to scare someone, go scare those big, strong men! What kind of a bully are you, picking on a delicate young girl? Jerk, I'll beat you to death!"

The man hadn't expected her to suddenly charge forward and was caught off guard, taking a heavy blow from the wooden stick right on his arm.

"What an absolute lunatic!"

Reaching out, the man tried to snatch the stick away. Anticipating this, Qiu Yaoyao nimbly ducked out of the way, swiftly spun around behind him, and delivered a swift kick straight to his backside.

Stumbling forward, the man fell to the ground. Furious, he bellowed, "Wretched girl, it seems I really have to teach you a lesson today!"

Gritting his teeth, he pushed himself up from the ground and let out a howling sound—resembling a wolf's cry, yet far sharper.

In the darkness, his eyes seemed to gleam with a bizarre, eerie light.

Gripping the wooden stick tightly in her hands, Qiu Yaoyao shouted, "Come at me if you've got the guts! What are you doing mimicking animals?"

The moment the words left her mouth, the man lunged fiercely toward her.

White-surnamed mister, you'd better show up right now!

Qiu Yaoyao's heart leaped right up to her throat.

Just as the man was about to lay his hands on her body, a flash of white suddenly zipped swiftly past right behind him.