Closing the distance, Shi Heng Yi grabbed the girl’s calf.

  “Ah! What are you doing?” she yelped, her voice pitching higher in a mix of fear and confusion.

  [Is this how you do it?] He thought injecting he spiritual essence

  The touch sent a shudder through her—part of her recoiled, but another part, shamefully, felt her face heat up. She had never been touched by a boy before, and the sheer absurdity of that thought, given her situation, made her want to scream.

  Then, she felt it.

  Her eyes widened, breath hitching as a sudden warmth spread from her calf. A sickening realisation dawned, and her heartbeat pounded in her ears.

  What was on her calf were her cousins green talisman.

  No… no, no, no!

  Before she could react, Shi Heng Yi pulled away, and in that instant, a brilliant purple flame erupted from her skin.

  A bloodcurdling scream tore from her throat. Fire—searing, hungry, merciless—crawled over her body, sinking into her flesh like a thousand burning needles.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  She writhed, her body slamming against the tree she was bound to, but the fire didn’t care. It devoured her dress, her skin, her very being, using her as fuel.

  “It hurts! It hurts! PLEASE—”

  Her voice cracked, turning to ragged screams, then to pitiful whimpers as her throat burned raw. Tears streamed down her blistering cheeks, evaporating before they could fall.

  She tried to crawl away, desperate to escape the agony, but just as her fingers clawed at the dirt, something sharp and cold drove into her back.

  Her body jolted. A choked gasp escaped her lips.

  She didn’t need to look up to know who it was.

  Of course, it was him.

  Shi Heng Yi had driven a stolen machete straight through her spine, pinning her in place like an insect on display.

  A strangled sob left her lips, but she no longer had the strength to fight or scream. Her vision blurred as pain consumed her entire being.

  Shi Heng Yi said nothing. He simply grabbed the other girl’s corpse, tossing her into the flames to suffer the same fate as her cousin.

  The fire roared, uncaring.

  Her consciousness flickered. In her final moments, she thought of home—her mother’s warm embrace, the laughter of her younger siblings, the quiet comfort of her bed. For a fleeting second, she felt safe. She couldn’t even cry as those too were consumed by the flames.

  Then, darkness swallowed her whole.

  Shi Heng Yi tossed his old clothes and straw shoes into the fire and walked away without a glance, disappearing into the forest.

  [Curse you… you demonic bastard…]

  A thought barely formed before it, too, was consumed by the flames.