To Xiao Shu, this question was clearly long overdue. He should have asked Xiaoyu this the moment he reappeared by the Fountain of Youth after his death. But their bond was too deep; he couldn't bear to believe that the vibrant friend standing before him wasn't truly alive. Yet, the truth had never left them; some had simply chosen to keep their eyes shut.

Seeing the dullness in Xiao Shu's gaze, Bing Yu guessed she had frightened him and smiled faintly. "That day, I ran into a group of thugs. They dragged me into the mountains, violated me, and then killed me to silence me. When I opened my eyes again, I was floating above a pool of Peach Blossom Spring water, inhabiting someone else's body, wearing someone else's face. The pool gave me a revelation: if I wanted to keep this new shell, I had to kill ninety-nine people within three days. I found this scythe by the edge of the pool, like a covenant. I must complete this task to continue living in this world."

"Ninety-nine people?" Xiao Shu was utterly stunned. It was the first time he had ever heard such a story; rebirth required such a devastating price—ninety-nine innocent lives exchanged for one person's return. If Bing Yu was reborn, what about Xiaoyu? Did he too carry such a contract? And wasn't that scythe the very weapon he clutched so tightly, never letting go! He suddenly remembered the body bags filling the trunks of the police cars and roared in fury, "How could you bring yourself to do it? Ninety-nine vibrant lives! Every single one of them had parents, relatives, friends—some were parents to others! Ninety-nine lives, what a tragedy! How many people will grieve their loss until their hearts break! Did you ever consider any of that?"

"That's why I only kill bad people!" When Xiao Shu challenged her, Bing Yu grew agitated and defended herself loudly.

"What is a 'bad person'?" Seeing her so self-righteous only fueled Xiao Shu's rage. He felt a suffocating pressure build in his chest. Pointing at the woman in red lying on the ground, he snapped, "Is she a bad person? She was just a little greedy, wanting to claim what belonged to others. Did you see her murder anyone? Did you see her harm anyone?" Xiao Shu's voice rose higher, "Maybe she has a child just a few years old at home, eagerly waiting for their mother to bring something back for them to eat!" Finally, his voice breaking with intensity, he shrieked at Bing Yu, "Tell me, is she a bad person? Does she truly deserve to die like that?"

Bing Yu flinched, stumbling back two steps, her grip unconsciously tightening on the scythe, causing it to tremble. His interrogation felt like a branding iron searing her soul. Those acts of indiscriminate slaughter could no longer bear any veneer; their hideous true face was laid bare.

"I..." Bing Yu hesitated, unable to finish her thought. After a long silence, she finally found her voice. "I only did what I had to do. I have parents too, friends. This is the only way back to them."

"You..." Seeing her unwavering stance, Xiao Shu lunged forward, intending to slap her, but as his hand rose, the words of the police officers and the sight of the body bags filling the trunks flashed in his mind. He involuntarily calmed down, pointing a steady finger at Bing Yu. "How many 'walking corpses' like you are there in the city?" He had almost called them 'people,' but their actions had tainted that very word.

Bing Yu, seeing him become calm, grew more wary. She evaded the question about numbers, stating only softly, "There is more than one."

This answer was not what Xiao Shu had sought. But looking at the state of the entire city, it was enough to potentially overturn half of it. How many such twisted killers were lurking in the shadows, no one probably knew the exact count. If this weren't a civilized society, if the police guarding the shelter entrances weren't armed, this place would likely already be their domain.