Eaten Ch.199

Chapter 199: The Right to Negotiate

After seeing the girl’s face clearly, everyone’s minds froze on the spot.

“She’s very beautiful. I remember her. My tail pierced straight through her mouth—she didn’t even have time to make a sound.” That woman had said.

Almost no one present believed it. Because if Wu Heng were a madman, then Wu Zhi would be a little madman. If a madman seeks death, then even if ten thousand people rush in to save her, she will still die. But if she seeks to live, then no one can kill her—and Wu Zhi was clearly the latter.

“Holy sht, Fool?” Lin Mengzhi stepped forward two paces in disbelief. “What are you doing here?”

Wu Zhi narrowed her eyes and slowly drew the bow in her hand.

Wu Heng pulled Lin Mengzhi behind him and coughed twice. “Shen Ping’an, get everyone across the rift.”

The moment he finished speaking, his figure had already vanished from the group. Xie Chongyi picked up his wolfskin coat from the ground.

“It’s over, it’s over… Wu Zhi’s done for.” Lin Mengzhi had a bad feeling.

Dressed in black, Wu Heng had already reached a position above Wu Zhi’s line of sight. The bowstring she had drawn was empty—whether she released it or not, no ice arrow would be fired. But her brother would appear right before her eyes—something she had never expected.

“B-Brother…”

Smack!

A heavy slap landed directly across Wu Zhi’s face.

“Who are you working for?” Wu Heng questioned softly. His feet did not touch the ground as he stood suspended in midair, gripping Wu Zhi by the throat and lifting her up.

Tears streamed down Wu Zhi’s face. She knew it—no one would forgive her, and no one would care about her. A dagger appeared in her hand, and she thrust it straight toward her own heart.

The dagger, radiating cold, was shattered by a single strike from Wu Heng. Wu Zhi was flung dozens of meters away, her body slamming into the rocks. She quickly climbed back up, standing beneath the crumbling cliff where stones kept falling. She forced a tight smile.

“Big brother… you’ve become stronger again.”

She had grown up. She seemed thinner, and the baby fat on her face was almost gone. Even though she was clearly still three years away from adulthood, she looked completely like a different person.

Wu Heng quietly watched her until the rocks, shattered by her body crashing into the cliff, finally stopped falling.

Above them, a head poked out. Beneath a face full of tattoos was a smile that concealed deep intentions. “Well, well… looks like a flood washed over the Dragon King’s temple—family fighting their own.”

“Hahahahahaha!” The man burst into loud laughter as he slowly stood up. “Wu Zhi, come up here!” Behind him, a large group of people gradually appeared.

Wu Heng recognized him—Liu Shen. They had crossed paths before. In his memory, this man wasn’t completely evil, but he was far from a good person either. How had Wu Zhi gotten mixed up with Liu Shen?

Wu Zhi’s fingernails cut into her palm. She heard Liu Shen call her name again and again, each time with less patience than before.

Actually, Liu Shen hadn’t treated her that badly. He had even sewn back together the monkey doll that the snake-woman had torn in half. He made clothes for her, had people in the group teach her how to read and write. When she got sick, he was the one who worried the most.

But she had a brother. She didn’t need a new one—she didn’t need two. She only needed Wu Heng.

So as long as her brother accepted her again, she wouldn’t need Liu Shen anymore.

“Wu Zhi! Wu Zhi! Wu Zhi!” Lin Mengzhi came riding up on a dog, panting heavily. He was shouting her name before he even arrived, breathing harder than the dog itself. He fell to the ground and took a while to get back up. Standing on a rock, he looked at the girl not far away. “Where have you been all this time? What are you even doing running around like this?”

Wu Zhi’s gaze slowly fell on Lin Mengzhi’s face. Her lips trembled. “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry for what?” Lin Mengzhi was completely confused.

“…” Wu Zhi’s vision was instantly blurred by tears.

Without hesitation, the girl ran toward her two brothers.

Liu Shen had already expected it—no matter how well you raise a dog, it will never truly become yours.

But what he hadn’t expected was that the dog he had raised for so long didn’t even look back when it ran away.

Liu Shen frowned, and the tattoos on his face seemed to darken in an instant. A brown mist drifted beneath his palm. Midway through her run, Wu Zhi’s knee joint cracked with a sharp sound, and she collapsed to the ground.

She was both startled and unsurprised. Lowering her head, she saw that her five “toes” had already transformed into roots burrowing into the ground, while rough brown bark crept up from her calves, spreading over her entire body.

“WU ZHI!!!” Lin Mengzhi rushed toward her.

“Don’t come over…” She knew she had never truly been abandoned—and that was already enough for her.

With a thunderous sound, a towering poplar tree burst up from the ground, its branches instantly filling with leaves.

Lin Mengzhi ran over, circling the roots once before grabbing a piece of clothing sticking out. “What the hell…” Even if he didn’t fully understand what had happened, he could guess most of it. He looked up at Liu Shen, his eyes splitting with fury. “Let my sister go!”

Wu Heng stared at the poplar tree standing firm against the cold wind. He thought he understood now why Wu Zhi could use her powers here—she had been parasitized by Liu Shen. It wasn’t like Shen Ping’an’s near-death grafting; Liu Shen only needed control over ability users, not something so complicated. After all, grafting meant giving up part of oneself for the other to use.

“Boss, I said it before—this brat Wu Zhi has no heart. She goes all out against anyone. No matter how well you treat her, she’ll turn on you in a second!”

“That’s her real brother, right? Is it plant symbiosis or animal symbiosis? Why aren’t they together? Don’t tell me she’s some kind of spy?”

“Brother Shen, you’ve got to cut the weeds by the root. I mean—why didn’t you just finish Wu Zhi off completely?”

“Once we get over this snow mountain, we’ll reach the core of Deathlands. These people are probably here for this place too. We’d better deal with them here,” the speaker stepped forward half a pace, looking down at the group climbing up below. “Anyway, their abilities don’t work right now—easy to handle.”

“Wu Zhi can wait,” Liu Shen said. The rock beneath his feet began to loosen as he fixed his gaze on the people below—and made his move.

…

Wu Heng didn’t bother with the people behind him for now. His eyes were locked on Liu Shen as he leapt up in a few strides. Dense forest surged from beneath his feet like a flood.

Child’s play.

Wu Heng pressed his palms together. Green vines instantly coiled around the rapidly thickening poplar trees, climbing upward. The creaking sounds came from deep within the trunks as the vines directly locked down all of Liu Shen’s movements.

Standing atop a single leaf, Wu Heng looked down. The forest below had nearly disappeared from view. Poppies spread wildly across the mountains, lashing the parasitic creatures that had attacked his team and sending them flying through the air.

“Liu Shen, let Wu Zhi go.”

Liu Shen suppressed his anger. He had already lost to this kid once—now again. Whether it was because vines were just inherently annoying or something else, facing these tangled, thread-like things always ruined his mood.

“Let her go? Sure, I can… but—”

Before he could finish, a falcon shot out from behind him like a fighter jet, flames spewing from its beak as it charged straight at Wu Heng.

Wu Heng hadn’t even moved when X lunged up from below, landing directly on the falcon’s back. All the food it usually ate proved its worth at this moment—the falcon was stomped straight down to the ground under a few heavy steps.

Wu Heng brushed a few snowflakes off the back of his hand. The surrounding air grew even colder. In places no one else could see, his internal organs were already chilled through. He had no intention of showing this group any more patience.

A massive bow appeared in his hands. The string, which looked impossible to draw, was effortlessly pulled open by him.

A bundle of long swords materialized in his grasp. Tilting his head slightly, he narrowed one eye.

“With this arrow, all of you will die. Believe it or not?” Wu Heng curled his lips into a faint smile. If these people died, it would be as if he had cleared this snow mountain himself.

Liu Shen’s lips twitched. Though unwilling, he conceded quickly. He waved his hand several times, and the dense forest below receded, including the one tree that Wu Zhi had become. Clapping his hands, he said, “See? I told you—family shouldn’t fight family. You’re Wu Zhi’s friends, so naturally you’re friends of mine.”

Just moments ago he had been talking about wiping them out completely, and now they were “family.” The thickness of his skin was astonishing.

Wu Zhi was helped up by Lin Mengzhi. Without a word, he crouched down and rolled up her pant leg. Several twisted brown roots were visibly clinging to her skin. He pressed hard with his fingertips, but they wouldn’t come off.

“I said—let Wu Zhi go,” Wu Heng repeated.

The fake smile on Liu Shen’s face faded noticeably. He let out a breath and spread his hands helplessly. “I won’t. So go ahead, kill me.”

Then he jerked his chin slightly. “Kill me, and your sister won’t survive either.”

Wu Heng stared at Liu Shen’s half-human, half-monster face, suppressing the violent urge rising in his chest. Slowly, he lowered his hand. The bow and arrow dissolved into vines and withdrew back into his palm.

But in the very next second, the boy flashed behind Liu Shen. His speed was so fast that no one could react—not even Liu Shen.

No—not just speed. It was more like teleportation. But that wasn’t something a plant symbiote should be capable of! His level had likely surpassed anything they could even imagine.

From behind, Wu Heng seized Liu Shen by the throat. A fine, prickling pain seeped into Liu Shen’s neck—itchy, as if something had burrowed inside.

A moment later, Wu Heng let go and stepped back. His pale, fragile-looking face appeared among a group of vicious ability users, like a lamb among wolves—yet he remained calm, fearless.

Someone beside Liu Shen tried to take the chance to attack.

Wu Heng merely moved a finger.

Liu Shen’s body convulsed once, then suddenly collapsed to the ground. As he fell, those who had been parasitized by him also dropped one after another.

Liu Shen clutched his throat, his body seeming to be dragged downward by an invisible force. He frowned in pain. “You… what did you do to us?”

Wu Heng looked down at him from above. “I usually don’t use something as shameless as parasitism without a person’s consent.”

“But for you, I don’t think your consent is necessary.”

Only then did Liu Shen realize—he had been parasitized.

A plant symbiote like him had actually been parasitized by another plant symbiote. Most of his feigned composure collapsed. Suppressing his anger, he spoke in a negotiating tone, “Fine. I agree—I’ll release Wu Zhi. But you—”

“No need,” Wu Heng lowered his gaze. His expression was dark, yet gentle in a way that resembled a ghost sated from feeding on flesh. “Now, I am your master. You’ve already lost the right to negotiate with me.”

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