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Translator's note: Well… I mean, they could've saved the woman just by pulling her into the candlelight, right? That wasn't gonna take a very long time. To me, it's like Fang Xiu had done something wrong and he killed the woman who called his bluff.
The woman, with an angry and bitter tone, raised her hand to use her powers against Head Lantern. Fang Xiu had always told them never to do this because if they did, they would interrupt the Specters' Killing Moves.
That way, they would get overwhelmed by the alerted Head Lanterns in no time. They would all be trapped, surrounded by many Head Lanterns, with no way to survive.
The woman knew this but still chose to attack, wishing harm to those who didn't help her. She didn't think that if everyone had helped, they could have all been in danger. Stopping among so many enemies was always dangerous.
When they heard her bitter voice, everyone looked scared. They had always believed Fang Xiu since they saw his amazing abilities. If Fang Xiu said not to attack Head Lantern, they shouldn't, or people would die. But they couldn't stop the woman's attack in time.
Just when it seemed like there was no hope, a dark golden knife flew through the air and hit the woman in the forehead. She fell down, her eyes still open. The danger was over.
The knife seemed to move by itself, pulling out of her forehead and flying back to Fang Xiu. Everyone understood that Fang Xiu had acted to stop her attack.
After this, the group finally got away from the Head Lanterns and could breathe easily. But a young woman, who seemed to be the friend of the one who had died, questioned Fang Xiu.
"If you had stopped to help her, she wouldn't have done this. She wouldn't have died. Why didn't you help her?"
Before Fang Xiu could answer, Liu Shuai said angrily, his face pale, "What are you saying? If it wasn't for Fang Xiu, we would all be dead. And stop to help her? That would have made me lose so much blood, I might have died right there!"
"We could have taken turns bleeding," she retorted. "That way, we would have had enough time to save her. She was wrong to fight the Head Lanterns, but you're not right either. You could have chosen to save her. Why didn't you?"
"Why should I save someone who's not helpful? Someone who can't control their energy in such a situation only adds to the fear of the Nightmare," Fang Xiu answered calmly.
The young woman was shocked and then turned angry. "She's a breathing, living being! How can you be so uncaring? We could have saved her if we took turns bleeding. And the psychics who died before, if you had used the bronze candlestick earlier, they wouldn't have died. You caused their deaths!"
Fang Xiu agreed, "Yes, I caused their deaths. What are you going to do about it?"
Her shock at his blunt admission quickly turned to anger. "Do you have any conscience, any sense of right and wrong? How can you just be responsible for their deaths?"
Fang Xiu looked at her emotionlessly. "Are you just going to complain? They all died because of my actions, so what will you do? Take revenge? Or leave the group and try to survive alone?"
Realizing she was powerless to act, the young woman struggled to respond. Leaving the group was unthinkable; without Fang Xiu, surviving the Nightmare's Specter Zone seemed impossible.
She turned to the others. "Are you all okay with him abandoning our teammates? Should someone like him lead us?"
The group remained silent, giving her cold stares. They were not stupid. They had seen Fang Xiu's extraordinary abilities and knew he was their best chance for survival. In fact, they agreed with his decisions.
They could have used the bronze candlestick earlier to save everyone, but it came at a great cost. Losing lots of blood to save just a few weaker members wasn't worth it.
With the journey to Putuo Temple still ahead, and unknown dangers lurking, conserving their strength was crucial. If they depleted their resources now, they wouldn't be able to face future challenges, not to mention confronting Nightmare.
Saving those few would give them more blood, but the weak ones would only hinder them again and again. If they couldn't handle the current situation, what was coming next would definitely kill them.
Fang Xiu's decision with Head Lantern was practical. If they couldn't grasp that, they would never be able to handle future challenges.
Fang Xiu didn't even look at the young woman. He just said, "Let's go."
As he began walking, the others quickly followed him, worried about being left behind. Their recent encounter with the Head Lanterns had taught them a harsh lesson: one wrong step could be fatal.
Everyone walked away without saying a word to the young woman. She stood alone, believing she was right, yet felt cut off by everyone.
Watching them go, she felt bitter and upset. She couldn't understand why, even though she thought she was correct, the group still supported Fang Xiu, whom she saw as wrong.
'They're all heartless!' she thought angrily. But as they got further away, leaving her alone in the dark, fear struck her. She bit her lip and quickly followed them.
However, as soon as she caught up, Fang Xiu stopped and faced her, "What makes you think you can join us?"
The young woman's face went white, then red.
Fang Xiu asked, "If you don't respect me as the leader, why follow my group?"
"I'm following you because I need to reach Putuo Temple to stop Nightmare and save Greenvine City. You're heartless, but this isn't the time for it. After Nightmare is dealt with, I'll get justice for those who've died," she answered, looking stressed.
Fang Xiu nodded, "So, to save Greenvine City, you'll put up with me, the heartless leader, and stay in my group, planning to confront me later?"
The young woman, a bit defiant, said, "You don't need to tease me. You played a big part, but that doesn't change the fact that you're heartless."
Then, suddenly, a flash of silver. The young woman stopped talking as a sharp scalpel landed on her neck.
"In these situations, you always have to deal with the justice warriors first," Fang Xiu said calmly, taking back the scalpel, while the group watched in shock.
Translator's note: Well… I mean, they could've saved the woman just by pulling her into the candlelight, right? That wasn't gonna take a very long time. To me, it's like Fang Xiu had done something wrong and he killed the woman who called his bluff.