Chapter 41: Sudden Change

Xing Yue threw the unconscious, roughly bound Baron Jiefulun at Debbie’s feet. His bloated body hit the ground with a dull thud, raising tiny dust particles.

“I’ve brought back the person you wanted. He’s yours now.” Xing Yue’s voice was calm, betraying no emotion.

Debbie stared blankly at the bloated figure on the ground that had haunted her nightmares night after night. Her breath first stopped, then suddenly grew rapid.

The next second, she scrambled up from the ground, almost using all fours, then knelt heavily. Her knees hit the cold, hard floor with a dull sound, but she didn’t notice. She just bowed deeply, her forehead pressing against the dirty floor, and thanked him with a sobbing voice, “Th...thank you... truly thank you... Demon Lord...”

“Mm, you’re welcome. After all, it was a deal between us. All right, get up now. I’ll leave the execution to you.”

Hearing Xing Yue’s voice, Debbie’s thin shoulders began to tremble uncontrollably. It wasn’t fear, but something as hot as magma, threatening to burst from her chest. Her drowsiness and weakness were instantly burned away.

She kowtowed to Xing Yue once more to solemnly thank him, then staggered over to the tattered cloth bag in the corner and frantically searched inside with both hands. Finally, her fingers touched cold metal. An old fruit knife with a worn blade stained with dried fruit juice.

Debbie gripped the handle tightly, her knuckles white from the strain, as if holding onto the sole obsession that had kept her going. She turned around and walked back to Jiefulun. Each step was heavy and unsteady.

She knelt down, her left hand trembling as she grabbed Jiefulun’s greasy hair, forcing his slack, unconscious face to turn toward her. When that face, those eyes that even closed gave her nightmares, was truly inches away, all the pent-up pain, fear, and hatred burst forth like a dam breaking.

Debbie released her grip and formed a fist. That fist was not big, even thin from long malnutrition, but at this moment it condensed all her hatred, pain, and finally erupted courage. Without any hesitation, she used all her strength and punched Baron Jiefulun’s greasy, fat cheek hard!

Bam!

The dull impact echoed in the basement. The force of this punch might not be very heavy, but it was enough to break the boundaries of unconsciousness. Baron Jiefulun’s swollen eyelids twitched violently, and a vague groan of pain escaped his throat. His hazy consciousness was forcibly pulled back by the burning pain on his cheek and the discomfort of a dislocated jaw.

He opened his eyes with difficulty and confusion. His vision was initially blurry, only seeing a trembling, shadowed, thin silhouette in the dim light.

“...Uh... who...” he slurred, his bulky body struggling against the restraints before fully waking.

When his eyes finally focused and he recognized the familiar face kneeling before him—streaked with tears and blood, twisted by extreme hatred—

“Look at me!” Debbie suddenly shouted, tears streaming from her eyes. “Do you see who I am now?”

“You...” Jiefulun recalled who she was. One of the slaves who had escaped from the manor a few days ago. His voice suddenly rose, and he instinctively began to berate her, trying to display a lord’s authority. “You damned ! How dare you—!!!”

But halfway through, Jiefulun’s voice abruptly stopped. Only then did he realize his situation. Bound by some rope, lying on the cold, dirty, unfamiliar ground, and that little slave he had always regarded as an ant, even having “disposed” of her family, was now looking down at him with a terrifying gaze he had never seen before, staring fixedly.

“W-wait, what are you trying to do!?”

“Heh, what am I trying to do...” “I want to ask you! Why did you do that!? What did we do wrong!?” Tears mixed with snot streamed down. Debbie broke down, crying out in a sharp, broken voice. “We just wanted to live like human beings! We just wanted to be with our family... Why did you take everything from me! You demon! Waaahhh—!!”

The fruit knife was raised high by Debbie, flashing coldly in the dim light.

The first stab sank deep into Jiefulun’s thick shoulder blade. Not a vital spot, but deep enough. Warm blood splattered onto her cheek and arm. On the ground, Jiefulun immediately let out a pig-like scream, his body twisting and struggling.

Then she pulled out the knife and stabbed again quickly, without any pattern, just manically repeating the thrusting and pulling motion.

“This one... for my sister! She was so gentle... She just wanted to trade for some food...”

“This one for Zofia! She believed so much that we could escape... She had family in the tribe waiting for her!”

“This one for Father! He worked so hard... How could you drag him away!”

“This one for Mother! She just wanted to protect me... You didn’t even spare her...”

Each stab was accompanied by a blood-soaked accusation or a broken howl. The basement echoed with fragmented screams, the dull sound of blades sinking into flesh, and someone’s agonized wails. Her movements gradually shifted from frenzied stabs to mechanical repetition. Her strength was draining rapidly, but hatred kept her raising her arm again and again.

Xing Yue had already turned away silently, not looking at what was happening behind her. For a child like her, who had only just been born not long ago, Debbie’s revenge process was really a bit primitive and bloody—very unsuitable for children. Better not to watch. Even though it was torture, it was aimed at an evil person, so Xing Yue did not stop it.

Xing Yue fixed her gaze and prepared to leave quietly, to find some food for Debbie, and also to check if the orc slave she had left in the lord’s manor had evacuated safely, and then later go see if there was anything unusual about him.

Just as she lifted her foot toward the stairs—

“Cough... ugh...”

Behind her, there was an extremely faint grunt that didn’t sound like Jiefulun. Then, the sound of a heavy object falling to the ground.

Thud!

Xing Yue stopped in her tracks, frowning slightly. ’What’s going on?’ ’Did Debbie collapse from exhaustion?’

She turned around. Moonlight filtered in from the high ventilation opening, illuminating a small area in the center of the basement. Jiefulun was still lying there, covered in horrific stab wounds, blood flowing freely, and Debbie had also fallen beside him. She lay face down, motionless. The blood-stained fruit knife had dropped from her hand, lying beside her.

Xing Yue’s pupils contracted. ’No, this isn’t normal. Collapse from exhaustion wouldn’t look like this.’

She instantly rushed back to Debbie’s side, crouched down, and reached her fingers to the girl’s neck. Immediately, an icy chill crept up her spine through her fingertips. No pulse. No breath either.

She carefully turned Debbie over. The girl’s face still bore tear stains and blood. Her eyes were wide open, pupils already dilated, frozen in that final moment... seemingly of extreme shock and pain? From the corner of her mouth, a trickle of blood was slowly seeping out, winding down and dripping onto the dirty floor.

Debbie is dead... She died without any warning.

Xing Yue froze in place, staring intently at Debbie’s face, which was rapidly losing warmth. ’What happened!?’ She quickly examined Debbie’s body. There were no new wounds, no signs of poisoning, but... her vitality had mysteriously vanished, as if something invisible had instantly drained her remaining life force. ’This was certainly not a natural death!’

And the moment that conclusion appeared in her mind, Phyllis’s whisper, seemingly laced with a smile, pierced through her memory like an ice pick, echoing again in her ears.

“Wei Anna!!!”