In a brief moment, my thoughts felt as if they were being violently torn apart; on one hand, I felt I should trust Han Zong and Zi Mu, while on the other hand, I believed that Shi Hu had not deceived me. At that time, I still did not realize that Shi Hu had already achieved her goal—she intended to instill two enemies in my heart, one being her and the other Han Zong. The cunning of Shi Hu lay in the fact that she neither denied having caused my grandfather's death nor did she deny wanting to kill me. She merely guided me to suspect that the mastermind behind the tragedy of the Chen family was Han Zong. My grandfather and I, along with Shi Hu, were all pawns in Han Zong's game; I should hate Shi Hu, but I should hate Han Zong even more. When a person faces two enemies at the same time, the stronger the hatred for one, the more they wish to eliminate that one first. And before me lay two powerful crossbows. My gaze unconsciously swept over the heavy crossbows set up in the cabin, and a terrifying thought emerged in my mind. Han Zong also wanted my skin; if I tore off my own skin, would he come out? Once that thought popped into my head, I could no longer suppress it. Coupled with the unbearable itch on my body, I instinctively curled my fingers and clawed at my own chest, digging deep enough to draw four bloody lines on myself. When I clawed down, not only did I not feel pain, but it also made me feel considerably lighter. I could no longer control myself and continued to scratch at my own body. In no time, my body was covered with countless bloody scratches, some areas even torn to the point of being unrecognizable, yet I showed no sign of stopping, repeatedly raking my bloodied and flesh-laden nails across my skin. Finally, I grasped the edge of a wound and forcefully tore a piece of skin from my body. When I saw the palm-sized, blood-soaked piece of skin in my hand, I froze. As blood dripped from my fingers onto the deck, a sudden muffled sound came from outside the cabin. I turned to look, and the doors on both sides of the wooden boat had been flung open. The small boat, propelled by some unseen force, began to spin in the water. At the moment the bow turned toward the shore, at least thirty pairs of eyes glowing with a faint green light appeared on the bank. When I steadied myself against the boat's edge to take a closer look, I discovered that they were a group of corpses dressed in funeral garments, half-squatting on the shore, staring intently at the wooden boat in the water. The wooden boat, which had still been turning, came to a halt at that moment, its bow perfectly aligned with the figures on the shore.聊天GPT-4o miniIn a brief moment, my thoughts felt as if they were being violently torn apart; on one hand, I felt I should trust Han Zong and Zi Mu, while on the other hand, I believed that Shi Hu had not deceived me. At that time, I still did not know that Shi Hu's goal had already been achieved—she wanted to instill two enemies in my heart, one being her and the other Han Zong. Shi Hu's cunning lay in the fact that she neither denied having caused my grandfather's death nor did she deny wanting to kill me. She merely guided me to suspect that the mastermind behind the Chen family's tragedy was Han Zong. My grandfather and I, along with Shi Hu, were all pawns in Han Zong's game; I should hate Shi Hu, but I should hate Han Zong even more. When a person faces two enemies at the same time, the stronger the hatred for one, the more they wish to kill that one first. And before me lay two powerful crossbows. My gaze unconsciously swept over the heavy crossbows set up in the cabin, and a terrifying thought suddenly emerged in my mind. Han Zong also wanted my skin; if I tore off my own skin, would he come out? Once this thought popped into my head, I could no longer suppress it. Coupled with the unbearable itch on my body, I instinctively curled my fingers and clawed at my own chest, digging deep enough to draw four bloody lines on myself. When I clawed down, not only did I not feel pain, but it also made me feel considerably lighter. I could no longer control myself and kept clawing at my own body. In no time, my body was covered with countless bloody scratches, some areas even torn to the point of being unrecognizable, yet I showed no sign of stopping, repeatedly raking my bloodied and flesh-covered nails across my skin. Finally, I grasped the edge of a wound and forcefully tore a piece of skin from my body. When I saw the palm-sized, blood-soaked piece of skin in my hand, I froze. As blood dripped from my fingers onto the deck, a muffled sound suddenly came from outside the cabin. I turned my head to look, and the doors on both sides of the wooden boat had been opened by someone. The small boat, propelled by some unseen force, began to spin in the water. At the moment the bow turned toward the shore, at least thirty pairs of eyes emitting a faint green glow appeared on the bank. When I steadied myself against the boat's edge to take a closer look, I discovered that they were a group of corpses dressed in funeral garments, half-squatting on the shore, staring intently at the wooden boat in the water. The wooden boat, which had been spinning, came to a halt at that moment, its bow perfectly aligned with the figures on the shore.
We exchanged just a glance, and the dead on the shore scrambled toward the riverbank with all their limbs, leaping into the water as they neared the river's edge. Foxes! So many foxes! I watched as those who jumped into the water transformed into foxes, swiftly swimming toward the boat. At that moment, the water began to churn with whirlpools; the foxes that had been swimming just a second ago suddenly screamed and vanished into the whirlpools. The remaining foxes retreated, forming a half-circle in the water. Were the water ghosts sent by Zimu trying to intercept the foxes? This thought flashed through my mind when suddenly, a spray of water erupted in front of the wooden boat, and eight disheveled ghostly figures emerged from the water, confronting the encroaching foxes. Strings of water droplets dripped from the tips of their hair, and within a radius of several dozen meters, the water seethed with murderous intent. The foxes in the water glared fiercely, their forms darting about, as if arranging themselves into a formation, preparing to break through the water ghosts' defenses. Suddenly, the foxes and the water ghosts seemed to receive some kind of signal at the same time, surging toward each other; the surface of the water erupted in white waves, with ghostly wails and fox cries, human and fox shadows entangled in a frenzy. Although the foxes struggled to break through the water ghosts' line, the waves they stirred pushed my wooden boat further away. As I clutched the boat's edge, trying to steady myself, I heard Zimu say, "Watch the crossbow bolts; the stone fox is coming." I turned and lunged toward the crossbow bolts. The small boat had already been pushed more than ten meters away by the water, and compared to the distant battle between the ghosts and foxes, the surface here was eerily calm. In my eyes, every inch of the water's surface seemed to conceal a figure; that stone fox could burst through the surface at any moment, appearing right before me. Yet, the other side remained still, as if deliberately wearing down my patience, waiting for the right moment to strike. Time passed second by second, and because I had been staring at the water's surface for too long, I couldn't help but want to blink. Just then, Zimu spoke up, "Xiao Jiu, I'll count to three. If the stone fox doesn't come out, you'll have to cut a piece of skin off yourself. Don't worry, even if you peel off all your skin, I can still give you a new layer of rotting ghost skin." I understood; this skin of mine was ultimately still the stone fox's possession. If I destroyed my own skin, the stone fox would gain nothing. Only by being ruthless could I force the stone fox out. Gritting my teeth, I reached for my own skin again. This time, before I could tear open the wound on my body, the water erupted in a blinding splash of blood; at first glance, it looked as if someone had their throat cut underwater, causing blood to spread across the surface.
Is the stone fox beneath that pool of blood? I instinctively stood up and aimed the crossbow at the water's surface! At the same time, Zimu's figure also appeared in the water, and a provocative ghostly wail shot up into the sky. The water's surface seemed to be torn open by that cry, creating a gap several meters long, with blood surging to either side. The stone fox, drenched in blood, also revealed its form beneath the water. Lying on its back in the water, the stone fox suddenly opened its eyes wide, a fierce light flashing in them, and it splashed back towards Zimu. A red and a white figure tangled together underwater. As I focused on the intertwining shadows at the bottom of the water, I suddenly heard the stone fox whispering in my ear, "Are you looking for me?" Startled, I trembled and accidentally shot a crossbow bolt into the water! When I turned around quickly, there wasn't a single figure behind me. I had clearly heard the stone fox speaking behind me. I stood with my back to the still-churning water for a while before reaching for another heavy crossbow. At that moment, I felt a tightness in my chest. When I looked down, I saw a pair of bloodied hands without skin on my chest. Before I could struggle, those hands intertwined and pulled me into an embrace. I felt warm liquid seeping through my clothes, sticking to my back, and the stone fox's voice once again whispered in my ear, "You still have one more crossbow bolt; you could turn it around and kill me! As long as you can be ruthless, you could pierce us both. Do you dare?"