“If Xia Xiao Man would just die, that would be great.”
Xiao Luo said this to Mazu.
Elio’s Notes: Mazu, name of a sea goddess still widely worshipped on the SE China coast and in SE Asia
Mazu sat beneath the roadside tree’s shade, offerings from the daytime worship still laid before her. The night was deep. A cool wind lifted a tattered plastic bag, which fluttered down and landed atop Mazu’s head.
“Sister Luo! What’s wrong? Hurry up!” the sisters ahead called out.
“Coming.” Xiao Luo drew out her nunchaku from behind her back and ran to catch up.
They were going to fight a group of filthy men.
They were a gang of fly girls.
Elio’s Notes: Fly girls are basically a gang of tough, street-fighting girls, not just rebellious teens.
Women were naturally weaker in strength—if they fought men with machetes, they would usually lose. So Xiao Luo trained often with throwing knives and nunchaku. She could also handle guns, but there were rules in the Walled City: firearms could not be used. Once a gun was used, it became a major incident—one that required all gangs in the city to convene and resolve together.
This kind of small matter did not warrant such a meeting.
The cause was simple—at least, according to rumor.
It was said that tonight, a Straw Sandal from Yao Dong Hall, drunk while eating dog-meat hotpot, had mocked Azure Dragon’s newly married wife—the Big Sister-in-Law of Xiao Qi Hall—calling her a former prostitute, a whore.
It was only hearsay—just rumors.
But Cui Dong Dong had already gone alone, carrying a machete.
Xiao Luo refused to act foolishly with her—she ran back and gathered a group of sisters.
When they arrived at the scene, Cui Dong Dong was already in the thick of battle, wielding her blade alone against ten opponents. She had already taken a slash across her back.
Xiao Luo rushed in, blocking a strike for her with her staff. When she reached out and touched the blood on her back, tears immediately welled up.
“Are you stupid?! You dared come alone?!”
“I knew you’d bring people,” Cui Dong Dong said, waving it off carelessly.
Xiao Luo, furious, kicked her hard.
Cui Dong Dong jumped from the pain and snapped, “You crazy woman! Are you here to help me or beat me?!”
Cui Dong Dong, full of pent-up anger, finally pinned the Straw Sandal face-down onto the table. Using the flat of her blade, she slapped his blood-smeared face again and again, striking once with each sentence:
“Was it you who said it? Was it you?! Huh? Did you say it? Did you or not?!”
The man’s face had swollen beyond recognition. He wailed, sobbing, “I said it! I said it! But I was talking about Xiao Qi Hall’s Big Sister-in-Law! What does that have to do with Tan Xiang Hall?!”
Cui Dong Dong slapped him again with the blade.
“Then tonight I’ll merge Tan Xiang Hall into Xiao Qi Hall! Xiao Qi Hall’s Big Sister-in-Law is my Big Sister-in-Law! Does that make it my business?! Does it or not?!”
Outside, Xiao Luo sat alone, wiping the blood off her nunchaku.
Soon, Cui Dong Dong came out with the others.
“Xiao Luo? Let’s go!” Cui Dong Dong called, casually tossing a severed finger to the roadside as she walked.
Xiao Luo followed silently behind her. Seizing a moment, she pretended to stumble and slammed into Cui Dong Dong’s wound from behind.
“Crazy woman! Are you trying to kill me?!” Cui Dong Dong cried out in pain. “Did you do that on purpose?!”
Even as she cursed, she pulled Xiao Luo close, kissed her once, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, laughing as they walked. “What are you mad about now?”
“You just said you’re merging Tan Xiang Hall into Xiao Qi Hall?”
“I agreed to it a few days ago. Following Azure Dragon won’t treat our sisters badly, right?”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Why would I tell you? Who are you—my wife or something?—Ah, damn! That hurts—!! Try touching my wound again and see what happens! You’ve got no sense of limits anymore, huh?!”
Xiao Luo ignored her angry scolding. Her gaze drifted once more to the Mazu statue they passed again.
“If Xia Xiao Man would just die, that would be great.”
Xiao Luo knelt on a prayer cushion before the Four-Faced Buddha.
Monks chanted solemn sutras. Around her, devout men and women knelt in reverence. In this foreign land, no one could understand the venom of her curse.
If the gods above could truly see her, perhaps they would be astonished by her audacity—her irreverence, her lack of piety.
But she did not care.
She had never felt any kindness from the gods.
She had been abandoned, sold, belittled, and abused—treated as less than human. Heaven had never pitied her.
Only Cui Dong Dong had.
But that love was not even one ten-thousandth of what Cui Dong Dong felt for Xia Xiao Man.
She too had once wished to be pure and kind—untainted by the mud. To lower her eyes and smile shyly, gentle and innocent—then surely Cui Dong Dong would love her deeply.
But she did not know why she had grown into this twisted heart instead—why her jealousy and hatred had, over the years, sharpened into something that pierced her to the bone.
If Xia Xiao Man would just die.
She had everything—a life without worry for food or clothing, a younger brother who cherished her, a husband who loved her.
And Xiao Luo—all she had was a tiny fragment of love.
A tiny fragment, casually given by Cui Dong Dong to any pretty girl she encountered.
Why… why must even that be taken away?
Xiao Luo stepped out of the temple. Cui Dong Dong stood outside, yawning.
“Took you long enough,” Cui Dong Dong complained. “I told you earlier—the calming incense from that place always has a long line. If you go late, it’s all sold out.”
“You could’ve gone to buy it yourself.”
“Hah—leave you here alone? Are you sure you wouldn’t stab me in the back tonight?”
“I wouldn’t. I’d just put laxatives in your coffee tomorrow morning.”
“Tsk, that ruthless?”
Of course, she wouldn’t be that ruthless.
At most, she would only add brown sugar and fresh milk to the coffee.
If Xia Xiao Man would just die…
Xiao Luo thought this as she looked at the brown sugar and milk.
The coffee was freshly ground, dark and steaming.
Xia Xiao Man sat on Cui Dong Dong’s sofa. Xia Liu Yi was there as well. And of course, Cui Dong Dong herself was there too. The three of them were chatting happily.
Xiao Luo stood in the kitchen, brewing coffee for them, listening expressionlessly as Cui Dong Dong asked Xia Xiao Man about her recent sleep, asking whether the calming incense she had brought back from Thailand was effective.
There was no poison in the house.
But there was disinfectant in the bathroom. Drinking it could probably kill someone, right? At worst… it would at least ruin Xia Xiao Man’s voice.
She had heard Xia Xiao Man sing before.
Once, Cui Dong Dong had played that record at home. After listening, Xiao Luo understood everything.
Her own singing voice… was far too similar to Xia Xiao Man’s.
But Xia Xiao Man’s voice was clean, pure.
And from the day she heard that record onward, Xiao Luo never sang again.
Their first time together had been forced by her.
She knew Cui Dong Dong did not want to sleep with her. Cui Dong Dong had said rabbits don’t eat the grass by their own burrow, said she wanted to raise her well and marry her off to a good man someday.
So Xiao Luo tied her up.
It had been a loose knot that could have been undone with a single tug. A bedroom that could have been left with a single step.
Yet that night, the lights stayed on for a very, very long time.
Cui Dong Dong’s words said one thing, but her body said another.
Her palms were damp.
Even the breath that mingled between their temples was damp.
After the lights went out, they touched each other softly in the darkness.
Cui Dong Dong kissed every inch of her skin—kissed her throat.
Dong Dong liked her.
Dong Dong liked her voice.
If Xia Xiao Man would just die…
But without Xia Xiao Man, there would be no such voice.
And Dong Dong would not like her.
A tear fell into the coffee.
“Hey, you crazy woman—are you messing with me in front of Xiao Man and Xiao Liu today? Mine’s the only coffee without sugar! It’s bitter as hell, don’t you know?!”
Yes.
It was bitter.
Don’t you know?
On the bed, she traced her fingers along Cui Dong Dong’s neck. Her nails, painted a deep crimson, were like blades, gliding back and forth across her throat.
Cui Dong Dong frowned slightly. “What? Does it hurt?”
“A little deeper—not there yet.”
“Like this?”
“Deeper… deeper… ah—ah! Right there—kiss me, kiss… kiss lower… suck there, I want, I want…”
Her legs wrapped tightly around Cui Dong Dong’s neck, then trembled and loosened.
She stretched across the blood-red sheets, her body opening. The damp air felt like shackles. Her sweat-slick wrists twisted, revealing their flushed red hue. Her fingers clawed at the bedside, as if resisting, as if yielding.
The demon of desire entered her—wet, soft—licking at her sensitivity, splitting her open, giving to her, seeing through everything.
Only her heart could not be seen.
Only that hollow, rotting, blood-soaked heart.
“Please let Xiao Man recover soon,” Cui Dong Dong knelt in prayer, speaking in Thai.
The Four-Faced Buddha smiled with closed eyes, embodying compassion, loving-kindness, joy, and equanimity.
Xiao Luo knelt beside her, saying nothing.
After leaving the temple, Cui Dong Dong asked, “What did you pray for just now?”
“This time, I didn’t pray.”
“Huh? Why?”
“You were so sincere in your prayers. I gave the chance to you—let the God King grant your wish.”
Cui Dong Dong sighed.
“Let’s go. We’ll go to that incense shop again to buy calming incense. Xiao Liu said Xiao Man’s depression is getting worse. He asked me to spend time with her when I can.”
“Mm. Then go spend time with her.”
“Hah, as if I’d believe you! If I really went, you’d suffocate me with a pillow in my sleep tonight! Besides… Xiao Man wouldn’t confide in me anyway… sigh, I really don’t understand what she’s unhappy about.”
“I don’t understand either.”
Cui Dong Dong held her hand tightly as they walked slowly through the crowded streets.
“Silly girl, you have to stay healthy and happy. I don’t want to one day have to buy calming incense for you.”
“Mm.”
The funeral hall was empty.
All of Xiao Qi Hall’s forces had gone out to hunt the “traitor” Xia Liu Yi.
Cui Dong Dong stood silently beside the coffin for a long time.
Xia Xiao Man’s body had been shattered beyond recognition—only a white cloth covered her remains.
Xiao Luo brought over cosmetics, as was customary, to restore the deceased’s appearance before burial.
She gently lifted the cloth.
Xiao Man’s eyes stared at her—wide open, lifeless.
Xiao Luo’s hands trembled as she reached to close them.
But after brushing over them once, those eyes still stared straight at her.
A wave of terror struck her. Her legs went weak, and she nearly collapsed.
Cui Dong Dong rushed forward, catching her in her arms. Holding her with one arm, she used the other to gently close Xiao Man’s eyes.
In a pained voice, she said, “Xiao Man, she never harmed you. Don’t blame her. Rest in peace. I’ll take care of Xiao Liu for you and Azure Dragon. The one who killed you—we will tear him apart piece by piece.”
When she removed her hand, Xiao Man’s eyes were finally closed.
Xiao Luo collapsed in her arms, sobbing uncontrollably—crying out all the tears that Cui Dong Dong could not.
“Silly girl, don’t cry. Your makeup’s ruined—you’re not a pretty girl anymore. Go put some makeup on Xiao Man too. Let her leave beautifully.”
If only I were the one who died…
Xiao Luo lowered her head, staring at Xia Xiao Man’s tombstone, thinking quietly.
Her curse had come true.
Even though she had long since stopped, long since let go—it still came true.
And what she received was endless guilt and unease.
What she received was Cui Dong Dong’s unending remembrance of Xiao Man.
What she received was the same unrelenting hatred and pursuit of the murderer that both Cui Dong Dong and Xia Liu Yi carried.
If she had been the one who died…
Would she too be able to smile so peacefully from within a gravestone, forever smiling in Cui Dong Dong’s heart?
“Sister Xiao Luo, this plan is extremely risky. You need to think it through carefully,” said the serpent of Eden.
“There’s nothing to think about. I agree.”
“But you have to understand—my people can only meet you in the secret passage after the villa ‘explodes.’ Until then, you’ll have to act alone. If anything goes wrong…”
“You’re afraid of ‘what ifs,’ aren’t you? A,San, you’re doing something this dangerous—aren’t you afraid you might die?”
“I am. I’m very afraid. I’m afraid of dying. Afraid you’ll die. Afraid Sister Dong Dong will die. Afraid the others helping us will die. Afraid Brother Liu Yi will die. I’m afraid of everything.”
“Then why are you still doing this?”
“Because there are things in this world that we cannot choose not to do, just because we’re afraid.”
“Mm. I think the same.”
I know you like Xiao Man. You’re with me because my singing voice sounds like hers. I’m not as pretty as her, my temper is bad, and I don’t listen.
Silly girl. I like you. I like you for who you are.
Mm. I think the same.
Fly Girls, End.
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Futile Devices Scans 
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