Chapter 34: A New Deduction! Let Me Bear All the Sins Alone!

Zhai Qingwu glanced toward the direction of the tunnel.

She saw Zhou Quan standing at the tunnel exit, staring at her from across the void, his mouth slightly agape as if stunned by the sight.

I’m done for! Zhai Qingwu felt utter despair.

This door doesn’t play by the rules!

What happened to the curse it promised?

How did it make the ground disappear, and why is there magma underneath? Does that even make any sense?

What kind of door is this?

Is it evil?

At that moment, Zhai Qingwu lost all hope.

The spot where she was suspended was dozens of meters away from the tunnel exit, with nothing but air in between, and she didn't possess the supernatural ability to walk on thin air.

I’m done for, really done for.

The distance from this height to the magma beneath her feet was the exact length of her remaining life.

A sense of weightlessness engulfed Zhai Qingwu’s body.

She fell into a freefall.

The sweltering heat enveloped her, making it difficult to breathe, and waves of dizziness washed over her.

In a trance, flashes of light flickered in her mind, pulling her thoughts into the depths of her memory.

"Xiao Wu, your mom and dad have gone to the city to work. Once they’ve saved enough money, they’ll come back to see you."

"I understand, Grandma!"

"..."

"Grandma, why haven't Mom and Dad come to see me yet?"

"They haven't saved enough money yet."

"..."

"Xiao Wu, they won't be coming to see you anymore."

"Why?"

"..."

"Grandma, if I had money, would Mom and Dad not have to work, and would they not have been killed by the boiler explosion?"

"Xiao Wu, you must strive for success. Your parents are watching over you from heaven."

"..."

"Grandma, what's wrong?"

"Grandma is fine, just sick. Everyone gets sick eventually."

"..."

"Grandma, I got first place! Grandma?"

"Little girl from the Zhai family, hurry to the town hospital! Your grandma fainted and the ambulance took her away!"

"..."

"Little girl, the surgery costs two hundred thousand. Hurry home and raise the money!"

"I don't have any money. Can you please treat my grandma first? I have excellent grades at school; I’ll pay you back double later!"

"..."

"This is the cheapest coffin. If you can't even afford this, just have her cremated and put in a box."

"How much is the cheapest box?"

Zhai Qingwu gave up on struggling.

Her gaze grew unfocused, lost in her memories, cherishing the final moments of her life.

Dad, Mom, Grandma.

I have money now, but none of you are here anymore...

A scorching heat rushed at her. Zhai Qingwu closed her eyes, calmly welcoming death.

Thump!

She felt as if she had landed on something warm, which was actually quite comfortable.

Is this what falling into magma feels like?

She felt a bit puzzled.

One second, two seconds, three seconds...

As the seconds ticked by, she didn't feel any pain. Finally realizing something was wrong, she opened her eyes and looked beneath her.

She saw a patch of dense, silver-white fur.

What is this?

At that moment, she heard a familiar voice.

"Remember to watch your step."

She looked up and saw a massive head.

"Zhou Quan?!"

In an instant, a surge of overwhelming surprise washed over her, and she couldn't help but gasp.

Seen from a distance, a hulking silver-white werewolf lay floating in mid-air.

He was only a meter away from the magma. Though there was no visible support beneath him, his descent was incredibly slow.

Zhai Qingwu lay sprawled on his back, having escaped the disaster.

"Wow, do you werewolves not answer to Newton?" Zhai Qingwu realized that Zhou Quan was hovering in the air.

She clutched Zhou Quan’s fur, clinging to him like an octopus, not daring to let go.

Zhou Quan said calmly, "I can't hold this for too long."

From the moment "Reward Evil, Punish Good" was triggered, he had a bad premonition.

Sure enough, that ancient door was no simple matter.

It used curses on those who feared them, and magma on those who didn't.

Fortunately, he had been keeping a close eye on Zhai Qingwu, which allowed him to save her at the critical moment.

Relying on his "Slow Motion Master" ability, he could float over this one-meter gap for half a minute.

Slap! A familiar pain erupted from his back.

[Kindness triggered, meddling in others' affairs]

[Penalty: One "Whipping"]

Zhou Quan endured it, silent.

"Amazing!"

"You’re my savior!"

Zhai Qingwu was extremely excited.

She gripped the thick wolf fur, clamped her legs around Zhou Quan’s waist, and shakily sat up.

Looking at the magma just inches away, she felt a lingering fear.

I almost died!

She shifted her body, looking for a more stable position, terrified of accidentally falling off.

Suddenly, she bumped into something.

This is...

Zhai Qingwu’s expression was puzzled. She braced herself against it to sit steady, her body no longer swaying.

"Cough!" Zhou Quan let out a sharp cough.

Zhai Qingwu froze.

The next second, her face turned bright red at a visible rate, and her entire body stiffened as if hit by a petrification curse.

She was filled with shame and indignation, yet she didn't dare to move.

Sweat rolled down her delicate, flushed cheeks, slid past her elegant collarbone, and flowed into the deep valley of her chest.

Both of them fell into a mutual, awkward silence.

The atmosphere was incredibly awkward, yet there was something else mixed into it.

Feeling the burning sensation on his back, Zhou Quan broke the silence: "I can hold on for another thirty seconds. Do you have a way to save yourself?"

He could use teleportation again, but he couldn't take anyone with him.

Zhai Qingwu kept her head down, her eyes full of shyness.

She flicked her finger.

A black thread flew from her fingertip and burrowed into Zhou Quan’s stomach, like a parasite.

Zhou Quan’s body stopped its slow descent and began to rise slowly instead.

"What is this?" Zhou Quan asked.

Zhai Qingwu bit her lip and whispered, "A floating curse. It makes people drift uncontrollably. I’ll lift it for you once we’re out."

"Why didn't you use this curse on yourself?" Zhou Quan asked, puzzled.

Zhai Qingwu shook her head, "My constitution is special; no curses work on me."

As they spoke, the awkward atmosphere gradually melted away.

Zhou Quan stopped "Slow Motion Master," and his body began to drift upward at a steady pace.

When they reached the top of the cave, he pushed against the wall to move toward the tunnel exit.

Once in position, he whispered, "Lift the floating curse."

Zhai Qingwu nodded silently.

The black thread left Zhou Quan’s body, and the force keeping him afloat vanished. The two began to fall freely once more.

Whenever the speed became too fast, Zhou Quan used "Slow Motion Master" to slow them down a hundredfold.

Like a stuttering system, they descended in fits and starts.

The process was quite jerky.

When they finally hit the ground, Zhai Qingwu’s face was red enough to drip water.

She jumped off Zhou Quan as if electrocuted and said with her back to him, "Thank you for saving my life. I will repay you..."

"But the money is non-refundable." She bit her lip lightly.

Zhou Quan nodded, "I know. Lend me your windbreaker."

Zhai Qingwu took off her windbreaker and handed it to Zhou Quan.

Zhou Quan turned away, shrank back into human form, and wrapped the windbreaker around his waist.

Zhai Qingwu caught a glimpse of Zhou Quan’s chest muscles, and her face, which had just begun to recover, burned up again.

Zhou Quan pursed his lips, wondering where he could buy clothes that wouldn't be shredded by his transformations.

...

The two returned empty-handed.

Zhai Qingwu felt ashamed and stayed at Zhou Quan’s house for another day and night.

She tried every method she knew, hoping to remove the curses on Zhou Quan’s parents, but nothing worked.

These curses seemed to have become one with them, impossible to separate.

Because they were so complex, Zhai Qingwu didn't dare to weaken any single curse, fearing it would upset the delicate balance of the one hundred and four curses and trigger unimaginable consequences.

Often, death was far from the worst outcome.

"I’m sorry, there’s nothing I can do."

Zhai Qingwu said shamefully, "They don't have much time left. You should spend some quality time with them."

"I understand. You can go now," Zhou Quan said calmly.

Zhai Qingwu lowered her head and left the room.

Zhou Quan walked to the bedside and sat down.

[2 hours]

He took out the Evil God's notebook, placed it on his lap, and slowly opened it.

[Deduction successful: The hypocritical orphanage director / The overly sentimental superstar singer / The tight-lipped, conscientious priest]

[Would you like to start the next deduction?]

That’s three people already.

Zhou Quan reached out to touch the words on the notebook, his eyes gradually becoming lonely.

"I won't let you die. I will bear all the sins myself."

[Start deduction]

As he focused his thoughts, lines of small text began to rise on the notebook...