QT: Against My Will-Chapter 660 - 13.25 - Triggering An Old Trauma

"Release the female," Moyu demanded, landing in the middle of the camp.

"And why should we?" Liam, the snake beastman, asked, slithering out from behind a tree with Meiyiang in his coils, "She is our prize."

Liam was the group’s spokesperson, shameless enough to act like a two rated villain from a third rated novel.

"ROAR!" Paxter immediately rushed in when he saw Meiyiang being suffocated, but Alain, the bear beastman, met him head on, blocking his path. Their clash created a shockwave that shook the ground.

Moyu attacked from above, but Juliet, the tiger beastman, was ready for him.

Bing Shi landed right next to Douglas with Xuan Mu’s help, handing him Stinky Bun.

Douglas treated the little bunny cub like a hot potato, quickly passing him to the next person in the circle, and so on until he ended up with Henry.

Henry gave Stinky Bun a berry, and the little one happily munched on it, enjoying the fight with full interest. Everyone was too busy with their problem at hand to notice them.

Meiyiang didn’t handle the violence as well as the cub did. She was a city girl, who had never seen a real fight before. When Paxter’s blood splashed on her face, she almost fainted from the horror. "Please, stop," she pleaded, but her cries went unheard as the males continued to battle with ferocity.

Paxter and Moyu were easily overpowered by Bing Shi’s subordinates, who were holding back and only using a fraction of their strength. Leaving Ziek and Xuan Mu no choice but to intervene.

The ex elite force were a bit surprised by how powerful the swan and deer were, but they adjusted and fought with more seriousness.

Liam used Meiyiang like a shield against Bing Shi’s attacks, seeing his team struggle he did what a two-bit villain would do. He tried to flee, dragging the female with him. "Let me go, or she will die," he threatened.

"Kill me if you must," Meiyiang said with a newfound courage, surprising everyone with her bravery, "I don’t want to be a burden to anyone."

"NO!" Paxter and Moyu shouted in unison, horrified at the thought of losing her.

Bing Shi thought they needed a bit more of a push to advance their rank and marched in Liam’s direction, sliding past the snake’s tail and appearing behind him. A quick chop at the back of his neck sent him falling to the ground, unconscious.

Douglas caught a glimpse of Bing Shi’s finger pointing downwards and knew exactly what she wanted him to do. He took the chance. He quickly grabbed a rock and smashed it against her head.

Meiyiang’s screams finally stopped as she fainted from the shock of seeing someone close to her die in front of her.

Douglas’ hand trembled as it fell to the ground, separated from his arm, "Arrgh!" he groaned in pain.

Everyone stopped in their tracks to look at Xuan Mu, who was already holding Bing Shi in one arm, his other arm mid-air after it cut off Douglas’ arm. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

He then disappeared on the spot, leaving the battlefield in complete silence.

Douglas tried to stop the bleeding with his other arm. Alain reacted quickly, wrapping a piece of cloth around the wound, trying to save him.

Paxter and Moyu were defeated, laying unconscious on the ground.

Henry and Juliet looked at each other, not really sure what they were supposed to do. Henry’s hand started covering Stinky Bun’s eyes the moment it became too violent, not wanting the cub to see the gore.

"That was the last time you tried to take away her life," Ziek said in a warning tone, walking to the spot where Xuan Mu had disappeared with Bing Shi and finished the work she started. Her body reappeared in his arms as he placed her next to the unconscious female lead.

"..." The group moved their attention to Douglas, whose instincts were unmatched. Him unable to avoid that swan’s attack only proved that they were not on the same level.

"Is she in big trouble?" Douglas didn’t know why he asked, but he felt like he should, and the rest waited for an answer. Bing Shi was their boss after all.

Ziek paused for a second before answering, "Not as much as you will be if you don’t get your arm treated," he said and disappeared, probably to check on Xuan Mu and Bing Shi.

Xuan Mu didn’t take the sight of Bing Shi’s death well at all. Any form of her lifeless body triggered something inside of him. At that moment, the world around him faded away, leaving him in a dark, cold void.

He had a flashback of the countless times he had lost her in the past, and the feeling of despair and hopelessness that came with it. The image of her lying motionless in a pool of her own blood was burned into his mind, haunting him day and night.

Bing Shi only wanted to force the female to become stronger, to start taking the dangers of the world more seriously. The male leads should also stop fighting each other for her, and work together instead.

She didn’t think much of giving up her body at that moment. She could always get a new one like she did with dresses, but she forgot to take into account how much this would affect her husband.

"Hello?" Bing Shi looked around the dark void, a bit lost. "Anyone here?"

A dark silhouette appeared in front of her, its presence overwhelming. It was Xuan Mu, but not the Xuan Mu she knew. This version of him was different, twisted, and corrupted by grief.

"Xuan Mu?" she called out to him, but he didn’t respond.

She approached the figure, her curiosity getting the better of her. As she got closer, she noticed that he was crying. His tears were like black ink, staining the ground beneath him.

Bing Shi reached out to touch his shoulder, but he flinched away from her touch.

"Don’t touch me," he whispered, his voice hoarse and full of pain.

Bing Shi looked at him, then at her hands.

She tried to contact Dai An with her mind, but there was no response.

She had a feeling that Xuan Mu blocked her off on purpose.