Chapter 217: Want to Feel My Heartbeat?
Approaching her meant death.
This reminded Qin Chu of a phrase: Death is like the wind, always by my side.
And then he remembered the unpleasant memories of being repeatedly killed by a certain someone.
He shook his head, trying to banish those thoughts.
But to the Daughter of Death, his action seemed like disbelief, and a troubled expression appeared on her face.
She tapped her cheek thoughtfully.
After a moment, she looked at Qin Chu. “If you don’t believe me, you can try…”
She didn’t intend to kill him. She knew how important the Hero was to this world.
But if she just got a little closer, just enough for him to feel some discomfort, and then retreated immediately, it shouldn’t be fatal.
The Daughter of Death floated towards Qin Chu, her long legs, encased in black stockings, not moving at all. Hey, hey, hey, don’t come any closer! I believe you! There’s no need to prove anything… Qin Chu thought, his expression a mixture of amusement and apprehension.
He didn’t believe that such a beautiful girl could possess such a bizarre ability. To die just by getting close to her? Was that even possible?
But he also didn’t have the slightest urge to test it. Just in case.
Before he could protest, she had already moved a meter closer.
And that one meter made all the difference.
Hum…
A heavy, oppressive weight pressed down on him, and he saw a vision of a swirling black fog, dark and turbulent, filled with pain, resentment, and despair.
Within the fog were countless fragmented memories, each one a scene of death and dying.
Eerie screams echoed in his ears, twisted figures writhing in agony.
I don’t want to die, I want to live.
This desperate plea, the culmination of millions, perhaps billions, of souls on the brink of death, their deepest resentment, the most twisted parts of their being, assaulted Qin Chu’s senses.
Their wails, like sharp claws, tore at his soul.
A sharp pain pierced his eyes, his muscles convulsing.
But Qin Chu’s strong will and powerful soul held firm, though the pain was almost unbearable. And this was just the effect of her being one meter closer. If she continued…
But then, something strange happened.
The small sapling within him, usually quiet, only interested in consuming his experience, suddenly reacted.
Its two leaves rustled.
A vibrant green light emanated from Qin Chu’s body, the aura of life pushing back against the encroaching death.
The black fog receded, the screams faded, and the pain subsided.
His mind cleared.
“Huh?”
The Daughter of Death was puzzled. She had never encountered such resistance before.
She moved closer, but there was no reaction from Qin Chu, the green light fading.
She was now standing right before him.
Up close, her beauty was even more captivating, strangely alluring.
Despite her dark attire and unsettling aura, she was truly beautiful, her face almost childlike, a hint of innocence in her features.
Her figure was slender, her chest small but not flat. She was definitely not as…developed… as Louisa.
Her waist was so slender it seemed like it could be snapped with a single hand.
At this moment, the Daughter of Death displayed a childlike curiosity, circling Qin Chu, her eyes studying him intently.
She even felt the urge to poke his face.
She didn’t understand why he wasn’t affected by her aura of death.
Suddenly, her dark eyes lit up, and she exclaimed, “The Seed of Life! It’s within you, isn’t it?”
“It has sprouted. Perhaps one day it will grow into the Tree of Life.”
“Life and death… No wonder you’re not afraid of my aura.”
Qin Chu’s lips twitched. So it really was going to grow into a tree?
Could you please leave my body? he pleaded inwardly. I’ll find you a nice pot.
But the sapling had no intention of leaving.
It had found a good host.
It wasn’t stupid!
How much nourishment could it get from a pot compared to the endless supply within this man’s body?
Besides, the other parasites hadn’t left, so why should it?
No, no, no! It wouldn’t leave!
The two leaves within Qin Chu swayed, seemingly mocking his helplessness.
The Daughter of Death was delighted, her eyes narrowing into crescent moons.
Perhaps it had been a long, long time since she had been so close to another living being.
Because of her aura of death, anyone who approached her would die. Even mosquitoes wouldn’t bite her.
She couldn’t even stay in a forest for too long, the trees around her withering.
Her black hair and eyes, common on Earth, were rare in this world.
It even made Qin Chu feel a strange sense of familiarity.
With her black stockings, she was the perfect embodiment of “black, long, straight” hair.
After a moment of silent joy, the Daughter of Death seemed to realize that her behavior was a bit impolite. She stuck out her tongue slightly. “Ah, I apologize,” she said, “I haven’t introduced myself.”
She took a step back, every movement graceful and ladylike.
“My name is Ireta.”
“If I’m not mistaken, I should be the Daughter of Death, one of the thirteen remaining Witches.”
“And also… the agent of Death.”
Qin Chu bowed elegantly. “Qin Chu, the Hero,” he replied simply.
Then he asked, “Can you tell me what you mean by ‘agent of Death’?”
He had been curious about this title.
He understood the literal meaning, but he didn’t understand why the Daughter of Death would be an agent of Death.
“A thousand years ago, the gods perished, their authorities scattered across the land, and the Witches were born.”
“And I inherited the authority of Death.”
“Just as you inherited the Seed of Life.”
“Ah, please don’t misunderstand, Mr. Qin,” Ireta quickly added, waving her hand slightly, “Death isn’t about reaping lives, as you might think.”
“The authority of Death is actually about souls.”
“Souls, in essence, are also a form of energy, just a very special kind.”
Ireta wasn’t a quiet person. She would occasionally speak, but usually only to the dead. Perhaps because it had been so long since she had a normal conversation with a living person, she seemed unusually talkative.
“Those who die unjustly often have a lot of resentment in their souls, which causes them to linger in this world, eventually becoming ghosts. My job is to cleanse this resentment, to purify their souls and transform them into pure soul energy, sending them to where they belong, preventing the human world from being overrun by ghosts.”
Qin Chu understood now.
It seemed that Shaye’s wariness of the Daughter of Death wasn’t unfounded.
Even someone like Violet couldn’t withstand the corruption of Divine Authority, gradually descending into madness.
But Ireta not only hadn’t been corrupted… or perhaps she had been, but she had overcome it. She had even mastered the authority, acting as an agent of Death.
And it was thanks to her.
Think about it, a thousand years, such a long time.
How many people had died in the Heavenly Continent during this time?
If it weren’t for Ireta cleansing the souls of the dead, this world would probably be uninhabitable, overrun by ghosts…
After her long explanation, Ireta seemed to realize how much she had been talking.
This puzzled her.
Although meeting someone she could talk to, someone who could approach her, was indeed a joyful thing, there was also a special aura about this man that drew her in.
She couldn’t understand this feeling.
Shaking her head, she stopped thinking about it.
Not dwelling on things she couldn’t understand was how she had endured her loneliness for a thousand years.
“Your talent is truly amazing,” Qin Chu said with sincere admiration, “Violet told me that almost all the Witches who inherited Divine Authorities a thousand years ago went mad. But you haven’t been affected by the authority of Death, you’ve even mastered it.”
“Not affected? Mastered it?” The Daughter of Death murmured these words.
After a few seconds, her dark eyes stared into Qin Chu’s. “Hero,” she asked, “do you want to feel my heartbeat?”
Huh?
What did she mean?
How… how was he supposed to feel it?
This wasn’t appropriate, was it?
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