V1: Chapter 33: Who is the Real Culprit?

Liang Lin raised her sword to block.

The girl's strength was astonishing; Liang Lin found herself forced back half a step. Her shoes scraped against the sandy ground, making a sizzling sound.

Liang Lin looked up; the girl looked down. At this moment, Liang Lin finally saw the girl's face clearly. The girl's mouth was open, revealing four sharp teeth, somewhat resembling her own. There were specks of blood beside her mouth.

What the hell? Could she have just drunk someone's blood?

Wait, didn't she say she was hungry today? Could it be that she didn't drink enough?

They only stared at each other for a second before fiercely entangled in a brutal fight. The two faced each other in the open forest, their gazes like knives, seemingly tearing each other's souls apart. Their feet moved swiftly, silently unfolding a fierce battle.

As Liang Lin swung her sword again, the girl dodged too fiercely, and with a crisp "crack," her ankle twisted. Seeing the girl fall to the ground, Liang Lin nimbly pulled a rope from her waist and pounced, intending to tie her up.

But she didn't notice that the girl's hands were hidden behind her back. In the split second Liang Lin lunged, a handful of sand, mixed with small pebbles, slammed into her face, some getting into her eyes.

"Damn it! You fucking used dirty tricks!" Liang Lin cried out in pain, stepping back and rubbing her eyes haphazardly.

No, she couldn't close her eyes, otherwise…

Liang Lin opened her eyes a tiny crack, tears streaming down her face. Through the blur, she saw the blonde girl lunging towards her.

She could stop her.

But before she could stop her, she saw the girl fly away, crashing heavily into a tree. The trunk shook, leaves falling in a flurry, swirling as they landed on the ground.

"Gahh!"

A mouthful of blood spurted out, and the girl fell to the ground.

Liang Lin finally opened her eyes and saw Liang Di's tentacles extending.

So it was her who had struck.

That was a really hard hit; the girl was sent flying about six meters away, unconscious, with glistening saliva and blood at the corner of her mouth, her eyes rolled back—she was probably passed out.

"This woman, using dirty tricks." Liang Lin cursed angrily, wiping her face again, and went over to tie up the blonde girl, cursing as she did so: "Despicable tactics, no fighting spirit whatsoever, trash!"

Once she was completely tied up, the blonde girl woke up.

The girl looked left and right, struggled a couple of times, and found herself unable to move, bound like a pretzel. So, she steeled herself and looked ahead, only to see the smiling Liang Di and the extremely "kind" Liang Lin. Yes, very "kind," extremely "kind," her fists clenched, veins bulging on her face.

The girl looked at the two pitifully.

“You…” Liang Lin began to speak.

“…Waaah!” The girl burst into tears.

Liang Lin: “?”

Liang Di: “??”

Liang Lin: “Wait you…???”

The girl cried and shouted at the top of her lungs, “I really didn’t kill that cat! I watched it jump off the roof and get its belly ripped open by nails on the wooden planks next to it. I really didn’t do it, waaaaah… Cats are so cute! How could I kill a cat!”

At this point, the girl swallowed hard. “Although I couldn’t resist and tasted its blood in the end… but! But that was after it died, waaaaah… I really didn’t kill it…”

“Huh…? A cat?” Liang Lin and Liang Di blinked in confusion.

The girl sniffed, also confused.

"Yeah, weren't you talking about a cat? Or maybe the piglet the aunt next door keeps? Or the chicks the uncle across the street keeps? I admit, those, those were indeed killed by me… I'm sorry, I was just too greedy, so… But! I usually just sneak a sip of the juice from frozen meat…"

"Stop! Stop! Stop!"

Liang Lin made a "stop" gesture.

"Wait a minute! You, you didn't kill anyone?"

"Huh?"

The girl stopped crying, her eyes clear yet foolish. She blinked in confusion.

"Wh... What? Who? Killed someone? Who killed someone? Me? Huh?"

"Huh?"

"Huh?"

The three people looked at each other, wide-eyed.

"So you didn't kill anyone?"

"I...I just stole some livestock and frozen meat... Is livestock considered human now?"

"..."

Liang Di rubbed her head, her head throbbing. "Why didn't you say so sooner?"

"You didn't ask, and you didn't even add a subject back then...I thought you were talking about that cat that got itself killed a few days ago."

"...."

"...."

Damn it.

After all that work, they arrested the wrong person.

"What's your name?" Liang Di asked.

The girl replied, "My name is Gladys."

"Okay, Gladys, do you know that many girls have died recently? Their bodies are deep in this forest," Liang Lin asked.

Gladys hesitated for a moment, then answered.

“I saw it… back then… a man dumped the body out of the bag, and I hid in a tree, but I was a little scared. After the man left, I went over to check on the woman, and I found… she had no blood left.”

“You… didn’t want to taste it?”

“I… I went over just to taste it, but who knew she not only had no blood, but she was also a bit rotten, covered in maggots.” Gladys became increasingly disgusted as she spoke.

Liang Di pointed to her wrist, “Then, those little holes on the corpse’s arm, did you bite them with your teeth?”

“Ugh…!” Gladys’s expression was indescribable, her eyebrows almost knotted together. “She stinks! Stinks! How could I possibly bite her?”

“Are you telling the truth?”

“Yes! Why would I lie to you!”

Liang Lin asked, “What exactly are you?”

“That question… I don’t even know myself. I’ve always been alone, wandering.”

It was clear that Gladys’s clothes and shoes were tattered and worn; she was obviously a homeless, pitiful child.

"Alright, the trail ends here."

"Who are you people? Are...are you here to investigate those dead women?" Gladys asked.

Liang Lin nodded.

"Good child, since it wasn't you, can you tell me, do you know, have you seen, where those men who dumped the bodies came from?"

"I...I saw them."

Liang Lin's eyes widened in surprise.

"Where?"

The words were on the tip of Gladys's tongue, but she swallowed them back, her eyes darting around, clearly not planning something. Sure enough, her dirty little face turned sly.

"I'm still hungry, I haven't eaten enough. Ugh, my mind is blank, I can't remember anything. My arms are so numb, the rope is chafing so painfully."