The shop owner pulled a needle from under the counter. It was a long, thick knitting needle, and it glinted coldly under the light.
Then, with a provocative look in his eyes, he stared at the girl. Without even glancing at the small straw doll, his lips curled as he raised the needle and stabbed it down viciously, right into the center of the doll's belly.
SQUEAK!
The straw doll let out a sharp cry and, like a corpse suddenly reanimating, it abruptly sat up. Though its face was featureless, one could clearly sense its intense agony.
The girl was stunned. So was Xin Huohuo.
'How could something woven from straw make a sound?' It wasn't a human voice, but it had definitely come from a living creature.
The little doll remained frozen, sitting bolt upright at a ninety-degree angle. A few seconds later, it suddenly disintegrated into a pile of grassy mush with a soft PUFF. The sound, though quiet, struck the heart like a heavy hammer.
