10
Gao Qin Jiu Ye
“A district commander with only 52 MF. Mr Blond must have seen something in you, but what was it…?” Sly S’s voice flit through the air, and then she suddenly appeared right next to me.
At some point during all this, she suddenly drew out a sword with her left hand.
With an easy wave, a sword sliced down at me.
I quickly sidestepped and dodged, grabbing my bow with my left hand. I pulled out an arrow and aimed at Sly S’s left eye.
Without the slightest hesitation, I fired.
Sly S didn’t move to avoid it, so it pierced directly into her left eye.
I was taken aback. My arrows were coated with an extra pain stimulating chemical, causing their targets to feel 100 times more pain than they otherwise would. Moreover, the arrow had struck her eye.
But Sly S didn’t appear to feel any pain at all. An arrow was sticking out of her left eye, as fresh blood flowed down, but she didn’t make any move and her other eye was just opened wide, staring at me.
Then, the sword in her hand arced down at me again!
Once more, I sidestepped, and then I glanced over at Nie Zun.
Nie Zun was standing still in his original spot. He wasn’t looking at me, but rather, his gaze was locked on Sly S. At some point, Muscle Man and the mummy had moved to either side of Nie Zun, seemingly waiting for their next order.
Slightly distracted, Sly S had already pulled the arrow I shot into her eye. I could see her lens being pulled out as well, but almost immediately after, her eye seemed to have completely healed over. During the whole process, there was no hint of hesitation. Her motions had been executed very smoothly.
I frowned. Grabbing a second arrow, I aimed at her left eye once more.
As I aimed at her, she raised her sword in preparation to attack again. Suddenly, a light chuckle sounded from nearby.
“That’s all your skill amounts to, and you want me to work for you?”
Everyone on the scene turned towards the source of the words.
This person had likely been hiding in the forest the entire time, somewhere outside of our field of vision. Now, this person slowly walked out from a dark crevice.
As I watched him walk into our line of sight, my grip on my bow turned unsteady.
Sly S seemed to be even more startled than me. Her already wide eyes somehow grew even wider.
He was a man around the same age as Nie Zun and myself. His hair was dark brown and medium length, and he wore a white shirt and black jeans along with a pair of clashing bright yellow sneakers. His eyes were nearly the same color as his hair, and he looked completely ordinary, just like someone from the real world. Perhaps the only thing out of place was the flexible sword at his waist.
I’d seen such flexible weapons before, and they were even harder to wield than a whip. Very few people used it.
Seeing his face and those brown eyes, my body couldn’t help trembling.
But he wasn’t looking at me. He was looking at Sly S.
The mummy had already moved to this man’s side as he said, “Gao Qin Jiu Ye, our commander sent three B-rank officers to Southside to recruit you, but how did you end up here?”
“Oh, so you sent those three stalkers. Sorry, I got rid of them…” A strange smile appeared on Gao Qin Jiu Yue’s lips, his dark brown eyes shimmering.
I felt a bit unstable and I staggered backwards.
My unusual behaviour must have attracted his attention because he was suddenly looking right at me.
As his brown eyes looked at me, I couldn’t help dropping my bow to the ground. I grabbed my head with both hands and violently shook my head.&n
bsp;No, no, no… How could he be here?
Seeing my panic, a flash of surprise crossed his eyes. “Have we met before?”
I stepped back, and then I felt Nie Zun appear behind me. He supported me up with his right hand and grabbed the bow I’d dropped in his left hand.
I didn’t turn back to look at Nie Zun. I just borrowed his strength and leaned against him.
“G-Gao Qi… How could you be here?” Tears were nearly flowing out of my eyes.
“Gao Qi? Haha, I’m sorry. While my surname is indeed Gao, my name isn’t Gao Qi. I’m… Gao Qin Jiu Ye.” He smiled at me, his eyes ever resplendent.
I couldn’t understand what I was seeing. The person standing in front of me now, the one who called himself Gao Qin Jiu Ye, was the person I’d had a crush on, the person I’d unintentionally killed—Senior Gao Qi!
I couldn’t be mistaken. His hair and his eyes were a natural but unordinary kind of brown. His pupils were slightly larger than other people’s, and they emitted an enchanting kind of light. Moreover, he always wore a white shirt with black jeans and a pair of yellow sneakers! I remember always teasing him about the odd pairing. A grown man wearing bright yellow shoes, and with a white shirt and black jeans at that!
Sly S’s voice suddenly sounded, “No matter who you’ve mistaken him for, you’re wrong. He’s been in the Split Zone for more than twice the time you’ve been here.”
“Since you know that I’ve been here even longer than you, Sly S, why do you act so impudently towards me? Aren’t you looking down on Southside too much?” Gao Qin Jiu Ye laughed tenderly. His words to Sly S were very gentle, as if he were speaking words of endearment. But even a fool could sense the callous, even murderous intent in his speech.
“You’re an antique, yes, but so what? I appreciate your ability, and so I invited you into my clan. You call that impudence?” Sly S suddenly smiled as well.
This was my first time seeing her smile. Her pale smile sat on her face, under two lifeless eyes, looking extremely ghastly.
“Well, whether or not I’d want to serve you depends on your ability.” As he spoke, Gao Qin Jiu Ye suddenly formed a whirlwind of air. From the vortex, a streak of wind slashed at Sly S!
Seemingly at the same time, the air around Sly S started to vibrate, and frozen ice pellets seemed to appear. I could hear a hissing, like something was about to crack.
When he felt the air around us changing, Nie Zun grabbed me by the collar and pulled me back.
Behind Gao Qin Jiu Ye, Muscle Man and the mummy also took several steps back.
A dense thicket of air needles flew out from Gao Qin Jiu Ye’s whirlwind towards Sly S, and my eyes could barely keep up.
Sly S didn’t try to dodge his attack. Instead, she seemed to have condensed the air needles headed for her. Almost like a pool of water shattering, the condensed air popped apart and disappeared.
My heart started trembling. The two of them were so strong that they could even control the way air flowed?
Gao Qin Jiu Ye remained still. When he saw that Sly S had neutralized his attack without having to move a step, he suddenly laughed deviously and pulled out the dark sword at his waist.
At the same time, Sly S’s expression tensed. She turned to Muscle Man and commanded, “Tao Lie, get him!”
The muscular man called Tao Lie immediately made a move. He extended his arms and grabbed Gao Qin Jiu Ye.
Gao Qin Jiu Ye didn’t turn back and simply said, “Stop.”
Muscle Man suddenly stopped, frozen in place like a rock.
Meanwhile, Gao Qin Jiu Ye moved to draw out his long sword.
Sly S glowered, and then the air around her started to contract. I could even feel my skin start to tighten.
The scene was tense, in preparation for an attack that would happen at any moment, when suddenly the sound of a phone ringing came from Gao Qin Jiu Ye.
“Lala, I’m a little duckie~ Lala, I want to swim across the river~” The unexpected sound of an incoming call suddenly drifted from Gao Qin Jiu Ye’s jeans’ pocket.
Everyone at the scene was stunned, and I felt like countless crows were flying past us.
This ringtone…
My lips twitched. Gao Qin Jiu Ye simply let go of his sword and shrugged. He pulled out the cellphone from his pocket.
“Hello? Si Luo, what is it?”
A strange expression crossed Sly S’s face when she heard Si Luo’s name.
I don’t know what the person on the other end of the phone said, but Gao Qin Jiuye responded, “Okay, then I’ll head back.”
After he put away his phone, his expression turned cold. Then he told Sly S, “We’ll meet again, beautiful.”
Without waiting for our reactions, he dashed off to the border.
But it wasn’t yet light, so as he approached, the borderline between the districts lit up brightly, showing the boundary barrier. However, Gao Qin Jiuye didn’t slow down.
I tried to open my eyes wider to see what would happen, but the boundary was just like a vast sheet of whiteness.
In just one second, he’d already disappeared from before my eyes. After the borderline flashed with light, it immediately returned to its ordinary dark appearance, like nothing had happened at all.
“N-no way. No one can cross the borders at night…” I stammered.
Sly S also seemed to be frowning. She continued to stare in the direction that Gao Qin Jiu Ye disappeared in.
Nie Zun suddenly whispered into my ear. “Shh. From this point on, don’t say anything.”
The feeling of Nie Zun’s wet lips near my ear left me a bit uncomfortable. I shook off his hand that was still on my shoulder.
Nie Zun’s lazy voice suddenly sounded, with no hurry. “Sly S, the sky will light soon. Why don’t we all return to our own bases. As for your dead clan members, if you’re interested in investigating, you’re welcome to Westside anytime. Westside hasn’t been entirely calm recently either, and there have been a number of bizarre deaths. I hope that we can keep in touch, as I suspect our goals are the same.”
Sly S turned to Nie Zun. After a moment, she said to the muscular man, Tao Lie, and the mummy, “Tao Lie, Mu Li, let’s return.”
So the mummy was called Mu Li. What a strange name.
Then, Sly S and her men moved. As they passed by me, she turned to look at me. Her eyes still looked just as lifeless as before.
I felt a chill.
After Sly S left, I finally let out a breath. I tidied up my hair, and then pat my frightened heart.
“You know Gao Qin Jiu Ye?” Nie Zun asked me.
I paused. After a moment, I turned my head and looked in the other direction. Then I started running, returning to Westside.
“No, I don’t know him,” I finally said as I ran.