Stranger Danger

Chapter 572: Snip

I’m going to die! I’m going to die!!!

Terrible fear welled inside Xiong Kuohai’s heart. He had a feeling that he would die if Joy Bodhisattva was allowed to cut off the paper doll’s head. One hundred percent.

But... there was nothing he could do about it. His senses were completely cut off, he had no control over his own body, and even his spirit was completely isolated. Right now, he was no different from a puppet that anyone could manipulate as they pleased.

Snip!

Joy Bodhisattva was cutting through the paper doll very, very slowly. Maybe it was because the blade was too dull, but every time she made a small snip, she would shake almost as if the act took every bit of strength she had in her.

She was doing it though. As she made progress, bright red blood began to drip down the paper doll’s neck profusely.

No! No! I don’t want to die! I don’t want to die!

Defiance and the desire to live swelled inside Xiong Kuohai’s heart. He didn’t want to die. His plan was so close to succeeding. He was so close to becoming a ruler of a corner of the world. Thousands and thousands would answer to his beck and call, and his success would be recognized and rewarded appropriately by the Way Lord, master of the Way of Taiping. He had a bright future ahead of him.

In fact, conquering Bei You might not even be his absolute limit. Who was to say he couldn’t become a Sage in the future? Who was to say he couldn’t become a god-on-earth and reach never-before-seen heights?

He couldn’t die here. He just couldn’t.

He was the predator, and everyone else the prey. Metaphorically speaking, he had Joy Bodhisattva and the others inside his gullet. He couldn’t possibly choke to death now!

I refuse! I won’t accept this!

Defiance and fury burst out of his heart like a dam, and to his surprise... It actually worked. The paper doll in Joy Bodhisattva’s hand began struggling violently, and the hand Joy Bodhisattva used to hold the scissors began shaking as well. She was unable to make another snip for a time. Hope welled inside Xiong Kuohai’s heart when he saw this.

Alas, it was not meant to be. Countless flesh buds abruptly grew out of the scissors and sank into Joy Bodhisattva’s flesh, causing a pained look to appear on her face. Then, Joy Bodhisattva began squeezing the scissors with all her might.

As the blades slowly clamped around the paper doll’s neck, Joy Bodhisattva’s smooth, jade-like skin began to lose its luster. Her pitch black hair began turning white almost as if she had aged decades in a single motion as well.

No! NO!

Xiong Kuohair roared again and again inside his head, but it was futile. He could only watch as the scissors completed its final sequence and cut off the paper doll’s head completely.

Snip!

When the paper doll lost its head, it ceased struggling immediately. Xiong Kuohai’s consciousness was also extinguished at that exact moment.

“Not... like... this...”

Back in the real world, Xiong Kuohai abruptly trembled and muttered what sounded like gibberish at the beginning. Then, a red thread abruptly appeared on his neck, and his head rolled off his neck and hit the floor with a sick thud. He was dead.

“Who am I? Where am I? What just happened?”

The combatants abruptly froze in place and stared into the dead Grandmaster’s wide, lifeless eyes. They were speechless with shock to say the least.

How did Xiong Kuohai suddenly lose his head?

He just died without any warning at all!

“Useless. Worthless.”

It was at this moment a cold hmph interrupted the moment. The shadow in the air abruptly wrapped around the Nan Ming Li Fire and devoured it before transforming into a faceless, humanoid silhouette. Then, it turned its head and looked in a certain direction.

Countless shadows enveloped the area the shadow was looking at, and a person fell down from the sky. It was none other than Joy Bodhisattva.

It took the crowd a second to recognize the Bodhisattva. It was because her skin was coarse and wrinkly, her hair was grayish white like an old woman’s, and her vitality was practically a dying candle compared to the inferno she was before. It was as if she had aged decades during the short period she went missing.

The shadow paid little attention to her appearance, however. Its attention was drawn to the scissors she was holding.

“The Beheading Scissors?!” The shadow sounded slightly astonished. “I did not know that the Beheading Scissors was in your hands. No wonder you were able to extinguish Xiong Kuohai’s life and soul in an instant without me noticing.”

Some people had heard of the Beheading Scissors, but some hadn’t. Luckily for Ye Qing, he was one of the people in the know.

The Beheading Scissors? Heavens above!

Ye Qing gulped nervously when he heard the name. Now he understood how Xiong Kuohai had died so suddenly and incomprehensibly.

The Beheading Scissors was a Disaster-class Strange Artifact. It was ranked sixty-ninth[1] on the Strange Artifact Register. An offensive-type strange artifact, it could assassinate a target without leaving any traces behind thanks to its ability to behead its target and extinguish their soul. All the wielder needed to do was to write their opponent’s name and birth date on a paper doll and cut off its head with the scissors.

But of course, the Beheading Scissors’ incredible power came at a hefty price. Its usage conditions were extremely stringent as well. First, the wielder must find out their target’s name and birth date. Then, they must write it down on a paper doll using their heart’s blood.

Second, they must curse the paper doll and prayer to the Beheading Scissors so that the two items would be linked in karma. The way to curse the paper doll was to slap it with the sole of a shoe and chanting, “Behead” repeatedly. When it was time to pray to the Beheading Scissors, they must kneel and chant their enemy’s name.

The longer the wielder cursed the paper doll and prayed to the Beheading Scissors, the stronger its ability to sever the soul would become. The wielder’s sincerity also factored into the Strange Artifact’s power.

Third, the wielder must follow a specific order when it was finally time to cut the paper doll. They must first cut off the paper doll’s eyes, ears, mouth, nose, tongue, body and spirit so as to completely sever the victim’s senses. Only then could they cut off the head.

During this process, the victim would be completely immobile and incapable of perceiving their surroundings. However, if another person noticed their state and jolted them awake, then the ritual would end in failure. The wielder themselves would suffer a terrible rebound as a result.

That was why the best time to use the Beheading Scissors was when the enemy was alone. Only then could it unleash its full potential.

Finally, the price of using the Beheading Scissors was the wielder’s own lifespan. The stronger the opponent, the greater the amount of lifespan they must sacrifice to kill them.

This was why Joy Bodhisattva looked like she had aged decades.

The Beheading Scissors were a deadly Strange Artifact that took its price from both its wielder and its victim. The remark on the Strange Register was:

“One snip to behead the body and extinguish the soul; one snip to slay one’s youth and grow white hair.”

It described the essence of the Beheading Scissors perfectly.

Ye Qing wasn’t just astonished by the Beheading Scissors’ power ability. He was deeply impressed with Joy Bodhisattva’s scheme as well.

The Beheading Scissors were powerful, but it was no easy feat to use it to kill Xiong Kuohai while everyone was watching, not to mention that he was normally guarded by a mysterious, powerful Sakyamuni.

But Joy Bodhisattva did it. The Five Qi Auspicious Cloud Altar wasn’t the only bait present. Ji Donglei and Huo Ruyu were baits. Even the mysterious Sayakmuni was a bait. The fishing hook was Joy Bodhisattva and the Beheading Scissors all along.

The Five Qi Auspicious Cloud Altar was the bait to put Xiong Kuohai in a difficult predicament. Ji Donglei and Huo Ruyu were the baits to lure out the mysterious Sakyamuni and keep him away from Xiong Kuohai.

It was the only way she could have used the Beheading Scissors on Xiong Kuohai without the Sakyamuni noticing.

Finally, the mysterious Sakyamuni himself was a bait to keep all attention from Xiong Kuohai. After all, who would anyone look at the Grandmaster when a greater threat was right in front of them? This eliminated the possibility of another warrior noticing something wrong with Xiong Kuohai and jolting him awake while she was conducting the ritual.

With three baits, a wonderful plan and a flawless execution of said him, Joy Bodhisattva finally managed to catch the big fish that was Xiong Kuohai.

No matter how you looked at it, Joy Bodhisattva deserved her victory, and Xiong Kuohai his demise.

This wasn’t the end of the incident though. No, it was just the beginning.

The Sakyamuni was no small fry. He might even prove to be more formidable than Xiong Kuohai.

Ye Qing mentally smacked himself in the head. What am I thinking? Of course the Sakyamuni is a greater threat than Xiong Kuohai. He’s the real mastermind behind all this!

He was sure that Joy Bodhisattva had a plan though. She might be grievously injured and seemingly at her wit’s end, but he knew she hadn’t used up all of her trump cards yet.

1. It’s a perfect fit with Joy Bodhisattva... ☜