The Twelve Trials Starting from Zero

Screams echoed throughout the entire mansion.

……

In the pure white space, Su Qi lay sprawled on the floor, looking up at the sky, his face filled with lingering fear.

He had been back here for some time, but he still hadn't fully recovered from the scene. After all, for an ordinary person, being cut in half at the waist and seeing their own intestines was just too shocking.

That's just how he is. He's already experienced death several times, so he's developed some resistance. If some timid and fragile people came here, they would be so scared that they would be traumatized and spend their whole lives hiding in this system space.

"I was wrong, I was really wrong. I shouldn't have posted that comment in the first place. If I hadn't posted that comment, I wouldn't have gotten entangled with this damn system; if I hadn't gotten entangled with the system, I wouldn't have ended up in such a dark place; if I hadn't ended up in such a dark place, I wouldn't have experienced so many ways to die in such a short time... Sigh, it's so hard to be a good person."

After a long while, Su Qi finally sat up, wiped away the tears that had not yet welled up in his eyes, and began to rack his brains, thinking about how to defeat that powerful enemy.

"First, let's rule out a direct confrontation. A direct confrontation is impossible, absolutely impossible in my life. I don't know how to use any other cheats either. The only way to win is to rely on external forces. So, where can I find such external forces?"

"Monsters? No way. Not only would we not be able to find them, but even if we could lure them over, they wouldn't be able to distinguish friend from foe. It's easy to invite a god, but hard to send it away."

"A trap? That's very difficult. That guy has keen observation skills and a strong intuition to sense the killing intent of others. It won't be easy to trap him. Moreover, given my strength, which allows me to be killed in one hit, can I successfully create distance and lure him into the trap?"

"Find someone else to help? Everyone in the village has been killed, and Little Chu is just a little girl who's useless. Where can we find anyone to help? Hmm, no, there are indeed people who can help... As the saying goes, two fists can't beat four hands, and even a hero can't withstand a group of women. If we arrange things properly..."

He sat cross-legged on the ground, thought for a long time, and finally stood up, clutching his head. "Ugh, I've been thinking too much, my head hurts. Anyway, I'll just try it out for now."

……

Next, following his own plan, Su Qi tested the Red Demon a second time.

At the cost of two lives, he finally confirmed his thoughts, and then went back to the house. But this time, before setting off, he woke up the sleeping chick.

"Brother Su Qi, you said... you'd take me... to see Mom?"

In the moonlit village, on the way to the bandit's stronghold, a sleepy little girl, holding Su Qi's hand, was first stunned, then her bright eyes widened in surprise, and she asked, "Is it true? Is it true, Brother Su Qi? Can I really see Mommy?"

"Of course." Su Qi, in front, smiled confidently and said, "Didn't I tell you? For a battle-hardened hero like me, what are a few bandits? I'll show you what real infiltration and assassination are like in a moment. And once I've taken care of those lackeys, you'll be able to see your mother."

After saying that, he silently added two more sentences in his mind: Of course, that is, if she is still alive.

"Ding! Congratulations! You've unlocked a new way to die on the battlefield. Keep up the good work!"

Chapter Ten: Did your brother Qi lie to you?

Before long, Su Qi, familiar with the place, led the little chick to the front of the mansion.

"Little Chu, wait outside for a while, I'll be right back."

Just as he was about to enter, Xiao Chu grabbed him, looked up at him pitifully, and said, "Brother Su Qi, are you really not going in to die?"

"Of course, when has your brother Qi ever lied to you? Just wait here for me to come back."

With a smile, Su Qi patted her head, then strode into the room, leaving behind what he considered a dashing silhouette.

Like a game he'd already played through several times, the assassination, while not flawlessly executed, proceeded smoothly, and he quickly completed his objective. When he returned and found Little Hina hiding in the bushes by the door, she stared wide-eyed in disbelief, "Eh? You really succeeded?"

Su Qi stood with his hands behind his back, exuding the air of a master. "Hmph, this is the natural outcome."

"But I didn't hear a sound outside."

"This is a silent assassination technique passed down from Zabuza Momochi, a Jonin of Kirigakure. Of course you won't hear any sound."

"Never heard of that before. How did you do it?"

He looked up at the new moon at a 45-degree angle and said calmly, "Nothing special, just practice makes perfect."

"Wait...you're not lying to me, are you?"

"You'll see for yourself. But remember, when you meet your mother and the others later, be sure to say what we agreed on beforehand."

After Su Qi finished speaking, he directly pulled Xiao Chu into the house. Sure enough, they encountered no obstacles along the way and arrived directly at the backyard of the house, in front of the warehouse where the village women were imprisoned.

There were two bandit corpses lying on the ground. Seeing this, Xiao Chu finally believed Su Qi hadn't lied, and her eyes filled with a hint of reverence. So Brother Su Qi really was a great hero! But… why was he struggling so much against just one person before?

Ignoring the little girl's question, Su Qi stepped forward and opened the warehouse door. Inside, it was dark, and a dozen women with their hands tied behind their backs could be vaguely seen huddled together in a corner of the warehouse filled with various boxes and items.

"who is it?"

A clear, cool voice came from inside. Su Qi stood by the door, bathed in moonlight so that the people inside could see his figure clearly. He then cleared his throat and smiled gently, "Ladies, there's no need to be afraid. My name is Zhizhi Xiong Jianxin, just a wandering swordsman. I happened to pass by and saw bandits causing trouble in the village, so I came to help."

……

With Xiao Chu, the village chief's granddaughter, acting as guarantor, Su Qi quickly gained the women's initial trust. Even more fortunately, Xiao Chu's mother was still alive, and she was none other than Lu Hua, whom they now secretly regarded as their leader.

After Su Qi helped her untie the hemp rope, Xiao Chu immediately buried her face in his chest and cried uncontrollably. Then, after he used a knife to cut the hemp ropes for the other women one by one, Lu Hua led the suddenly shy Xiao Chu forward to thank him.

After exchanging a few pleasantries with her, Su Qi got down to business, gathered the women together, and began their discussion by the moonlight streaming in from the doorway.

"You mean you want our help to defeat the bandits' leader, Red Oni, right?"

“That’s right. To be honest, I’m a little ashamed to say that I’m not skilled enough and I was no match for that person on my own.”

“You are too modest. To be able to kill so many bandits and rescue us so silently, no one would doubt your swordsmanship,” Lu Hua said, her eyebrows slightly furrowed. “But as you can see, all that’s left here are some exhausted women. How can they possibly help you?”

“That’s not necessarily true,” Su Qiping said. “Although the Red Demon is brave, he is only one person. Although you are all women, you can also kill people with weapons in hand. As the saying goes, two fists can’t beat four hands. As long as you all wield long weapons such as spears and lances, and coordinate well, advancing and retreating together, the Red Demon, though strong, will be helpless.”

Lu Hua pondered for a moment and nodded. "Lord Jianxin is right. However, this is not a decision I can make alone. We need to ask for the opinions of others."

Having said that, he slowly swept his gaze over the women around him and said softly, "What do you all think?"

After a moment of silence, a woman suddenly said, "Impossible!"

Her face turned deathly pale, and she said with terror, "Impossible! How could we women possibly be a match for that evil spirit? Continuing like this is just suicide. We should escape tomorrow morning!"

"Yes, that person has blood-red hair; he must be a demon in disguise. How could we possibly win?"

"Luhua, let's run away."

……

Most of the women echoed this sentiment, while the rest remained silent.

Su Qi glanced around and saw that everyone's features were distorted and their faces were full of fear. They were obviously frightened by the bandits and did not have the courage to confront the Red Demon head-on.

"A bunch of cowards!" Suddenly, Xiaochu spoke up. She stood up, her face flushed, and said angrily, "Su... Brother Jianxin risked his life to save you! Can't you even help him out? If you want to run away, go ahead! I'm staying here to fight to the very end!"

"Little chick, don't be rude!"

Lu Hua lightly scolded her daughter, then glanced at the women and said solemnly, "I'm sorry, if you all want to leave, please do so, but I still want to stay and personally avenge my family members who were harmed."

The moment the word "revenge" was uttered, all the women's expressions subtly changed.

"Excuse me, Lord Kenshin, I have something I'd like to say to them. Could you please excuse me for a moment?"

At this moment, Lu Hua suddenly spoke up and made this request to Su Qi.

"Of course, I'll wait for you outside." The latter smiled slightly, got up, and left the warehouse.

Soon after, Lu Hua led everyone out of the warehouse and came to Su Qi.

"So? Have you made up your mind?"

“Yes.” After glancing at the crowd behind him, Lu Hua said solemnly, “Lord Kenshin, we have decided to help you defeat the Red Demon. No, we should say we are helping ourselves.”

Clearly, driven by the fire of hatred, the women temporarily overcame their fear of the Red Demon.

"Very good. Please don't worry, the Red Demon is just a stronger human. As long as we target his weaknesses, he won't be difficult to defeat."

“Speaking of weaknesses…” The woman behind seemed to remember something and turned her gaze to Lu Hua, “Lu Hua seemed to have spoken with him in the hall earlier, do you know anything about it?”

"Oh?" Su Qi asked curiously, "What happened before? Does Miss Luhua have any information about the Red Oni's weaknesses?"

Lu Hua glanced at the woman who had spoken and said calmly, "It's nothing serious, before..."

Then, she briefly recounted what had happened to Su Qi, and said, "After that, I thought he would try to touch me inappropriately, but he just asked me to help pour wine, and even told a strange story after drinking."

Su Qi's heart skipped a beat. "Could you tell us that there might be clues to defeating him hidden within?"

"of course can."

Uh, I have something to do today, I'll be there later...

Chapter Eleven: The Despicable Transmigrator

That was a story about a "Red Demon".

The story begins with the birth of a strange baby. He has blood-red hair, an unusually tall stature, and develops at a faster rate than normal. Therefore, the superstitious villagers call him the "Child of the Demon," believing him to be born of a demon and bringing disaster to the village.

In a feudal country where most people were ignorant, and in a turbulent era where demons and monsters ran rampant, anything too unusual would touch people's sensitive nerves, so the baby and his family were naturally rejected and persecuted.

This persecution reached its peak after his father was eaten by a monster while hunting. The villagers believed that his father's death was caused by him, so to avoid being implicated, his mother, brother, and he himself were all driven out of the village.

In this dark and turbulent world, a woman with two children in tow can only struggle to survive, and his unusual appearance only makes things worse... The mother is forced into prostitution and the brother is forced into thievery, but this is only the beginning of their suffering.

War, monsters, oppression of the weak, being driven away again because of the leak of secrets... They constantly wandered and lived in constant fear, until finally... his brother was beaten to death by the samurai for stealing, his mother fell ill and was bedridden, and he, who was still young at the time, was powerless to do anything about it.

In dire straits, the long-suppressed resentment finally erupted.

"It's all your fault! It's all your fault! It's all because of you that I've become so unfortunate! It's all because of you that I've ended up like this!"

The mother, who should have been bedridden, suddenly erupted, her hands gripping his neck tightly like iron clamps, screaming with resentment as she tried to kill him, to kill her own son.

But he didn't think so. He believed that he, who was called a demon by others, was not a demon. The demons were those humans who ruthlessly persecuted his family simply because of their appearance. He believed that it was all the fault of those demons that he had ended up in this situation, so he rebelled.

However, perhaps fueled by intense resentment, the ailing body unleashed a power beyond reason, rendering all his efforts futile. Fortunately, at the last moment, perhaps due to the lingering maternal love within her, she finally let go.

But then, a monster drawn by resentment and despair suddenly appeared and attacked them. At the last moment, the mother pushed her child aside, taking the blow, but died in the process.

He thought he would be the next to die, but to his surprise, the monster called "Rat Thief" did not kill him. Instead, it took advantage of his will to survive and his predicament of being rejected by humans, and forced him to cooperate with it.

Having nothing, he agreed.

Then, he watched helplessly as the thieving rats devoured his mother's corpse, as if they were eating away at his own human heart.

After that, he secretly vowed to himself that he would live on, no matter what it took. Since humans regarded him as a demon, then he would truly become a demon and take revenge on all of humanity.

Then he conspired with the rat thief, swindling and cheating, committing all sorts of evil deeds, even deliberately luring humans to his door so they would become food for the monster. When he grew up, he found an opportunity to kill the rat thief and have people make meat soup for them to eat.

In the end, he did indeed become a demon, a fearsome demon.

……

"Why would he tell you so much?" Su Qi asked, somewhat puzzled after hearing the story. As for whether the child in the story was the Red Demon himself, such obvious facts didn't need further explanation.

He said that seeing my smile reminded him of that woman.

Without a doubt, that woman was his mother. However, only Akaki himself knew how the two were connected.