Killer Queen (GL) - Chapter 23

The battle between the two sides was in a stalemate. Xi Qi stood on one side, and the other three stood on the other, both sides eyeing each other’s every move with fierce vigilance, yet neither dared to strike first easily.

Silence, unspoken. The air was filled with the faint scent of orchids, mixed with the pungent, foul smell of bl00d.

But no one expected Nan Qi to suddenly make a move.

The kodachi (small katana) was plunged into the stomach of her own person, then violently pulled sideways. The victim’s eyes widened in disbelief, unable to comprehend that Nan Qi would defect during the battle. Bl00d streamed down profusely. Nan Qi’s method was extremely brutal; the injured person did not die immediately, but their internal organs and intestines spilled out, and they lay on the floor struggling and trembling in agony.

Nan Qi savagely stomped on the person’s palm. The high heel pierced the center of the palm. Amidst the screams and the thick bl00d, Nan Qi still smiled, alluring and dazzling. “It was you who just hurt Sister, wasn’t it? Sister is so noble, how dare you touch even a single hair on her?”

“Sister Nan, you…” Before he could finish speaking, Nan Qi’s kodachi flew out and stabbed the speaker’s right eye. Nan Qi pulled the blade out, and a round eyeball was dangling from the tip of the sword.

Luo Yu felt nauseous, but Xi Qi remained composed. Taking advantage of the opponent’s distraction, she immediately struck the enemy closest to her. Perhaps because Luo Yu was nearby, Xi Qi didn’t use her samurai sword, but instead used a hand chop to knock the person unconscious.

“You’re looking at Sister too intently. I’ll get jealous,” Nan Qi continued to smile, her beauty mesmerizing.

Luo Yu couldn’t help but shiver. Ever since Xi Qi appeared, her eyes had never left her.

Perverted woman! Luo Yu cursed in her heart.

Now, among the three assassins, one was dead, one was unconscious, and one was writhing on the ground in pain.

“Sister, I’ve booked a single flight ticket. Let’s go back together.”

“Single?” If they were going back together, why wasn’t it a double ticket? Luo Yu asked in confusion, but Xi Qi understood the hidden meaning in Nan Qi’s words and calmly awaited her next statement.

“Because I’ve prepared a box for Sister, we can just put it in the luggage rack then.”

Luo Yu glanced over. It was a small suitcase, about half a person’s height. It was impossible for an adult to fit inside.

Luo Yu was completely bewildered, but Xi Qi seemed to understand to some extent.

“You want to kill me?” Her tone was flat, cold, and utterly detached. There was no smile, only a chilling coldness that sank to the bottom of the ocean.

“How could I? Xiao Qi loves Sister so deeply. Xiao Qi wants to be with Sister forever, by her side.” Nan Qi was entranced, infatuated, gazing unblinkingly at Xi Qi’s cold and heartless face.

“So?” Xi Qi playfully twirled the bl00d-stained knife in her hand.

“Xiao Qi will chop off Sister’s hands and legs, put Sister’s body into the suitcase, and take a flight back to Chiying with Sister. After returning to Chiying, Xiao Qi will tie Sister to Xiao Qi’s bedside, so Xiao Qi can sleep with Sister every night.” Nan Qi wore a somewhat innocent, adoring smile, completely oblivious to the cruelty and horror in her words. “Don’t worry, Sister, Xiao Qi will bandage you up and absolutely won’t let Sister die from excessive bleeding.”

Luo Yu shivered violently. The bl00d flowing in her body seemed to have stopped.

Xi Qi suddenly attacked unexpectedly, her movements swift and her strike vicious, catching everyone off guard. Nan Qi gripped her kodachi to block, but unexpectedly, Xi Qi had a dagger hidden in her left sleeve. Wielding the dagger with her left hand, she fiercely stabbed Nan Qi’s thigh. Nan Qi didn’t have time to defend and quickly retreated. Bl00d instantly stained the hem of her long dress.

Luo Yu thought Nan Qi would be angry and resentful at Xi Qi’s sneak attack, or heartbroken over Xi Qi’s ruthlessness, but Nan Qi never acted according to convention; no one could guess her insane thoughts.

Nan Qi smiled, a beautiful, dazzling, and wild smile. “Sister is going to kill Xiao Qi! Sister’s knife piercing Xiao Qi’s skin, Sister’s tongue licking Xiao Qi’s bl00d—what a wonderful feeling! Sister, hurry and kill Xiao Qi! Xiao Qi wants it, wants it so much, I can’t hold back! Just thinking about the thrill of Sister personally stabbing the dagger into my throat makes Xiao Qi tremble with excitement.”

Luo Yu couldn’t follow Nan Qi’s train of thought and thought she was completely insane. To love someone to the point of madness—was it because the love was too deep, or because the love was too painful? There seemed to be no release except death.

At this moment, Nan Qi was full of weaknesses and was no match for Xi Qi. Perhaps from the very beginning, she never truly intended to kill her Sister. Her Sister was her heaven, her earth, her whole world. Life without her Sister would be like the sky collapsing and the world ending. How could she endure the feeling of living alone in an apocalypse?

Nan Qi used a two-sword style, with a kodachi in each hand. Xi Qi slashed down, breaking the kodachi in Nan Qi’s right hand. Nan Qi turned and attacked Xi Qi’s back. Xi Qi blocked Nan Qi’s offensive with a strike behind her, and then, with lightning speed, she switched the samurai sword from her right hand to her left. Nan Qi hadn’t expected Xi Qi to use this move, so she was unprepared for Xi Qi’s left hand. Xi Qi’s long sword immediately stabbed into Nan Qi’s shoulder. Nan Qi retreated step by step, and Xi Qi pressed closer, step by step, until the tip of the sword was embedded in the wall. Nan Qi was unable to move.

Bl00d flowed down the blade, quietly, steadily.

“You lost.” Xi Qi’s words were simple, devoid of any emotion, still indifferent, calm, and heartless.

It was only about winning or losing, nothing more. Sister never even spared me a glance. All this time, all this time, it was just me being infatuated on my own.

Many, many years ago, cherry blossoms drifted in the sky, her ink-black hair fluttering in the breeze. Sister stood on the stone slab, personally instructing her in every move. Sister taught her the gun skills, Sister taught her the kodachi, and she learned the art of killing from Sister. Sister had never taught anyone else, only guiding her hand-by-hand. They said Sister’s hands were only capable of killing, but only she knew that Sister’s hands had once gently stroked her fluffy little head. Sister would kill people who were noisy and annoying but could tolerate her incessant chatter. Sister never tested the food she cooked for poison. In those years, she racked her brains to find ingredients and improve her cooking skills, just for a smile from Sister.

She knew Sister was heartless and cold-blooded, but she always, always thought that in Sister’s heart, she was different from others. At least there was a small corner for her in Sister’s heart.

But that day, when Sister left without a second glance, abandoning her all alone, she understood. She had been wrong.

In Sister’s heart, she was just as insignificant as those who died under Sister’s blade. Sister’s heart was stone, cold and hard. It held no attachment, no pity, and no understanding of love. That ice-cold heart had never been melted by her.

Tears streamed down. Nan Qi cried. She had been laughing, wantonly and charmingly, but now, she was crying. “Why didn’t you take me with you back then? Didn’t you say you would never leave me behind? I hate you. From that moment on, I wished I could kill you! You hated the bloodshed, the cold darkness there, and ran away alone, but you left me alone in that dark place! Why? Why!” Nan Qi’s cries were somewhat hoarse and hysterical, venting nearly two years of suppressed grievance. You clearly said that we wouldn’t be lonely if we were together, so why did you break your vow? “Even if it meant living on the run and being chased by Chiying all our lives, Xiao Qi would be willing to follow Sister, as long as Sister didn’t abandon me. But why? Why didn’t Sister take me with you back then!”

Xi Qi said nothing more, only untied Luo Yu, held her in her arms, and walked out, one step at a time.

Tears blurred Nan Qi’s vision. She reached out, but couldn’t touch Sister’s retreating back. Are you going to leave me again this time?

Xi Qi had walked quite far when Luo Yu finally spoke, “Why didn’t you tell her that you also almost died at sea when you escaped back then?” If she hadn’t met Luo Yu back then, Xi Qi would have had no chance of survival. If she had taken Nan Qi, both of them would likely have perished.

Xi Qi sighed, “There’s no point in saying more. Let’s go home.”

Home, a beautiful word. That narrow, humble dorm room had somehow become the shared home of Luo Yu and Xi Qi.

Leaning in Xi Qi’s embrace felt safe, even though it was covered in bl00d, and every breath was filled with the smell of iron. Luo Yu pressed her ear against Xi Qi’s chest. The strong heartbeat, thump-thump-thump, echoed in Luo Yu’s heart.

It was good that she was still alive.

“It’s good that you’re still alive,” Xi Qi simultaneously lowered her head and whispered softly in Luo Yu’s ear.

If something had happened to you, I would probably have razed Chiying to the ground and fallen back into the heartless, ruthless killing machine I once was.

But, fortunately…

They returned to the dorm room, their own little world.

“Oh, right, something just came to mind. Did you send the little angel out to sea?” Luo Yu had wanted to ask this before but hadn’t found the opportunity.

“No.” Xi Qi gently placed the Luo Yu she held in her arms onto the bed and pulled the covers over her. “The port is full of the Luo family’s cruise ships. Going out to sea would be like sending her to her death.”

Luo Yu breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, she didn’t listen to my wild directions.

“How do you even know that?” Why are you so familiar with the Luo family, even more so than me, the young mistress?

“I used to be with Chiying. As the top assassin organization, I naturally know a lot of intelligence about the Luo family.” Xi Qi spoke casually, but Luo Yu was quite surprised. She hadn’t expected Chiying to investigate the Luo family so thoroughly. Could it be that there were Chiying spies among the Luo family?

Xi Qi frowned, looking at the bloodstains all over her. Her clothes were completely dyed red, their original color unrecognizable.

Xi Qi took off her coat and removed her inner clothes. The lights in the room were off, and the moonlight from outside the window gently poured in, illuminating Xi Qi’s smooth, jade-like, rounded shoulders. Xi Qi’s back was turned to Luo Yu, and what caught Luo Yu’s eye was the long knife wound on Xi Qi’s back. The scar was very long, very long, extending from her waist all the way to her shoulder, traversing her entire back. Crystal-like bl00d beads were embedded in the wound, yet they hesitated to drop.

“Does it hurt?” Luo Yu asked softly.

Xi Qi did not answer, but continued to remove her clothes. In the evening moonlight, in the dark room, this sight seemed somewhat seductive. Xi Qi removed her black tight-fitting pants. Her long, taut thighs looked very delicate and elastic. Luo Yu suddenly felt a strong urge to reach out and touch them.

Luo Yu hadn’t expected herself to actually act on that impulse.

Xi Qi turned her head and asked in a cold voice, “What are you doing?”

Luo Yu blushed, but her flush was invisible in the darkness. “I wanted to see if you were hurt.” Xi Qi’s cold hand touched Luo Yu’s face. “Don’t worry, I’m fine.” The temperature was icy, but not chilling. Luo Yu was a little fond of the unique coolness of Xi Qi’s body.