Venerable Demon King & The Doting Immortal (QT)

The dim light flickered, casting shadows that danced around Peng Xiu like restless spirits. She stood with trembling hands, the dagger clutched tightly behind her back.

Each breath felt heavy in her chest, weighed down by the burden of her task and the pain that gnawed at her heart. Han Xin was a few paces away, an imposing figure with eyes that burned like iron.

As she gathered her courage, Peng Xiu tightened her grip on the hilt. She moved toward him, her legs shaky yet determined. She summoned the most coaxing tone she could manage, her voice laced with false sweetness.

"I can tell you where he is," she said, her words trembling just like her body. "He will be safe, as long as you let me speak....Xin-ge, just give me five minutes... please."

Han Xin's eyes narrowed, fierce and piercing. He glared at her like an unyielding hawk sizing up its prey. The air around them thickened, heavy with an unseen tension.

With each step she took, Peng Xiu felt her resolve waver, her strength seeping away. Tears streamed down her cheeks, tracing paths of despair. "That's, that's all I am asking for," she pleaded, her voice breaking. "Just five minutes. Isn't it a better deal to get him back?"

She crossed the final distance, nearly reaching him. One hand slipped from behind her back, revealing the dagger, glinting wickedly in the dim light.

But before she could reach out, a sudden force seized her. It wrapped around her neck like a vice, choking the words from her throat. The storm outside grew fiercer, echoing the chaos within her.

Peng Xiu gasped, her vision blurring as panic set in. She clawed at her throat, desperation flooding her being. Each breath was a fight, gasps escaping her lips in frantic bursts. She felt her spiritual core splintering, unravelling like a frayed thread. This was just the beginning of her torment.

Suddenly, pain shot through her arm. The dagger twisted violently in her grasp, an unseen force bending her wrist in an unnatural angle. She heard a sickening crack as bone broke, the sharp sting radiating up her arm. A scream tore from her throat, raw and unrestrained. The dagger slipped from her fingers and fell to the ground, clattering on the ground.

Han Xin stood before her, his expression cold and unwavering. Without a word, he made the dagger disintegrate into nothingness. Peng Xiu's heart sank. This was her last chance... her last chance to geg what she wanted but just like in the past she had failed.

All she wanted was for Han Xin to love her. To treat her half as good as he treated Xiang Yu but not once did he look at her. Not in this life and not in their real world. She was as invisible as a ghost hovering around him seeking his attention.

With a flick of his hand, her body was yanked from the ground, dragged outside as if she were a mere puppet. Lightning split the sky above, illuminating the darkness with fierce brightness. The storm gathered its fury, and with each strike, a bolt converged on her, all of it aimed at her. The first bolt hit, searing through her meridians, igniting pain like fire through her veins. She screamed, the sound lost to the thunder.

The lightning hammered her, strike after strike. Her dantian felt as if it were melting under the assault, her body and spirit scorched into impotence. She couldn't move, could barely think. The world around her turned chaotic, flashes of light blinding her, pain swallowing her whole.

Then, with a final crackle, the storm subsided. Her body fell eight floors to the ground, too broken to feel the impact, but not hard enough to end her suffering. Han Xin had left her alive on purpose as he wasn't done with her yet.

Her legs were grotesquely bent, twisted in directions that would make one grimace just by looking at it. Blood seeped from her wounds, mingling with the dark burns that covered her skin.

As the last remnants of her strength ebbed away, her vision blurred. Darkness crept in, and Peng Xiu felt her consciousness slipping. Just before the world faded to black, all she could think was how utterly alone she felt. The pain consumed her, and she surrendered to the void.

***

Xiang Yu fell, his body colliding with the writhing mass of zombies. Decaying hands grasped at him, pulling him down into the chaos. He should have been panicked, overcome by fear, but instead, a twisted smile spread across his face.

There was something unsettlingly calm in his expression as the zombies sank their teeth into him, biting and clawing. They climbed over one another, a frenzied horde desperate to reach him.

Torn clothes fluttered in the wind, echoes of frantic groans filling the air. The scene was reminiscent of a macabre ballet with bodies jostling and fighting for a taste of flesh. Blood and grime mixed in the chaos, a whirlwind of horror. Minutes passed, the biting growing frantic, but nothing could shake Xiang Yu's eerie composure.

Suddenly, his eyes snapped open. He gasped for air, lungs filling with the musty scent of decay. Every inch of his body was slick with blood and dark fluids, remnants of the zombie horde. Yet, he had no injuries. With a lightning flash of clarity, he rose to his feet, revealing a figure cloaked in horror. His eyes glowed a chilling red, a stark contrast to the darkness that surrounded him.

Xiang Yu looked like a demon that had crawled out of hell, a grotesque transformation that radiated power. The air thrummed with his dark aura, pushing back against the undead crowd. Those zombies that had tasted his blood fell silent, their wild movements halting as if tethered by an unseen force. They stood at attention, eyes vacant but obedient, waiting for his command.

He walked through the crowd of zombies with an unsettling grace. Each step was filled with authority. Wherever he tread, the undead parted, creating a path wide enough for a king.

Soon he reached the heavy metal door that was barricaded shut. He stared at it his intention clear. In an instant, the air crackled with energy.

With a flick of his wrist, the heavy gate flew off its hinges, crashing violently against the wall with a resounding thud. The sound echoed in the stillness, a sign of his dominion. Xiang Yu stepped forward, the horde of zombies at his back, ready to follow his lead.