Split Zone No.13

Volume 3

146 Not Going to Look for Him?

Jiao S nodded slowly. "That's right, this is no easy task. But since it has already come to this, I guess we don't have any choice. Guan Nie is gravely injured. Gaoqin Jiuye, you really don't care about him at all?"

Though Guan Nie and Jiao S are working together because of their own personal goals, I could understand Jiao S's desire in wanting to protect Guan Nie after having worked with him for such a long time.

Gaoqin Jiuye shot her a cold look. "Does it matter if I care about him or not? He's not a child anymore. Does he still want to continue these extreme acts to attract my attention? He already knows that there's no one else but Si Luo in my eyes."

After speaking, Gaoqin Jiuye seemed to steal a quick glance at me, as if he was less sure of himself.

Jiao S pointed at Guan Nie, saying, "He tried his best to help you, you can't leave him like this. Since you said there're soul splitters who can save him in the Northern District, how about you bring us there.

"We'll first go to the experimental grounds to look for clues, then we'll head for the Northern District to look for Song Lu. If Song Lu can get Yu Liang to return to his normal state, then we'll be able to get Yu Liang to take his splitting key out and help Si Luo recover."

Gaoqin Jiuye looked towards me. "All of your friends, they're really great at using this huh," he pointed at his own head while speaking, words laced with sarcasm.

I understood his frustration at this. Before, he listened to no one and only did what he wanted to do, what his heart told him to do. But now, because of Yu Liang's tactics, we had no choice but to help him look for Song Lu. Furthermore, Si Luo is being held hostage in such a situation, and this situation was something that was extremely hard to accept for Gaoqin Jiuye. It was understandable that he was not happy about it at all.

But how do I consider his feelings at this point?

Originally, Jie Pa was waiting for me to bring Yu Liang back in order to take a proper look at an experimental subject and look for a feasible solution before we head to the Northern District to confront Du Yue, and also to find Song Lu and Laurel. Yu Liang's sudden appearance threw a wrench in the works, and right now, we could only head for the Northern District first to solve the current situation. Now that Nie Zun is no longer with me, and Huan Qing and party had gone missing, only Gaoqin Jiuye, Jiao S and I were left. It would be extremely tough if Gaoqin Jiuye does not work with us, especially when I was still unable to use Piercer very well.

Right now, my best option is to calm Gaoqin Jiuye down. I thus tried to speak to him as calmly as I possibly could, "This is our original route as well, just that it seems to be forced upon us right now. Don't forget that you've promised to help me find Zou An. How about we work together to solve this, since Huan Qing and his party are also missing right now. I'm sure you know that light is how Mr Blond transports people. This means that Huan Qing, Mi Fu and Ku Fei should be in the Northern District for now, for whatever reason it might be.

"Now that Si Luo is in a state of deep sleep, and he doesn't have an heir yet, if we don't head for the Northern District and his condition worsens, there might really be no way of saving him, since Mi Fu is not around. From the current situation, you'll still have to go with us to the Northern District, whether you're willing to work with us or not."

Something flashed past Gaoqin Jiuye's eyes. "I'll definitely go, but all this just fell into place too nicely, and I can't help but suspect you."

I lifted my brows as I smirked. "Suspect me? You can't be thinking that I was working with Yu Liang on this, would you? If I was working with Yu Liang on this, would I still need to plan it in such a way?"

"But…" Gaoqin Jiuye narrowed his eyes at me. "When you lost your consciousness momentarily, Jiao S had also lost her fighting ability, and I didn't forcefully activate my MF either. At that point, it was difficult for Guan Nie to even support himself, to the point that his illusion started to fall apart. So who inflicted so much damage upon Yu Liang?"

I frowned as I began to understand what he was trying to get at.

"How would I know. You said it yourself, I lost my consciousness momentarily." I looked at him, but my heart was doubtful.

I lost my consciousness because I went too many days without proper rest. That dream felt long, but it felt like I woke up rather quickly. But if I had lost all awareness and was in such a deep state of unconsciousness, how did I manage to wake up so quickly?

Gaoqin Jiuye kept his eyes on me. "Li Shen, at the point, I only saw a dark shadow pass in front of the window, and when I tried to focus on it, Yu Liang already collapsed on the floor. Dark shadows are pretty common here in the Split Zone, but if I remember right, Nie Zun is someone who loves wearing black, right?"

My heart skipped a beat.

Gaoqin Jiuye's gaze was frigid. "After that battle, was it really like what you said? That he went missing, but actually he's still trying to protect you secretly, or was this all just a sham, something that you designed, something that you planned together with him so that Mi Fu can escape?"

I found his words ridiculous and felt incredulous.

I will do whatever I want to do.

I walked towards Gaoqin Jiuye, who was currently still crouched on the floor beside Si Luo. I bent down slightly, looked him in the eyes and gave him a brilliant smile. "Gaoqin Jiuye, if I can find Nie Zun now, as long as he can return to my side, I don't even care about anything else that's happening. Instead of working with him secretly, to me, it's more painful not being able to see him. I'm already too used to seeing him in front of me every day.

"Even if you wish that I did work with him secretly to help Mi Fu, it's something that I wouldn't do. This Li Shen isn't so noble to the point that she can endure so many days without Nie Zun, just for a little girl."

For some reason, there was a clear agony in Gaoqin Jiuye's eyes after hearing me say these words.

I was rather surprised at such a reaction.

He kept his cold eyes on me, with a slightly furrowed brow.

"You, really admire him." He seemed to be referring to Nie Zun.

Why did it feel like he was a little jealous? And to even say such words in this situation?

Jiao S walked over and pulled me away, addressing Gaoqin Jiuye, "We should stop wasting time discussing other matters. Si Luo will be in greater danger with every minute we waste. How about you help Ah Shen find Zou An quickly, so that she can wield Piercer again, and then we'll head for the Southern District to look for the experimental grounds and clues, before going to the Northern District to solve all our problems."

Gaoqin Jiuye shifted his suspicion to Jiao S. "What I'm more interested in is that, Jiao S, aren't you in love with Si Luo? Why do you not seem to be putting him as the first priority? Li Shen has her reasons for doing so, because she wants to save her friend, but how about you? Just why are you doing this?"

Jiao S's expressionless face seemed to turn a little livelier, but her smile still seemed rather unnatural. "She's doing this to save her friend, I'm doing this to help a friend."

She looked at me after saying that.

I felt a rush of warmth in my chest.

A light flashed past Gaoqin Jiuye's eyes as he looked at me. "Li Shen, you really have many protectors."

I laughed. "I would say I'm quite a selfish character, so it's just nice that I'm playing the role of someone who's protected. I'm not as noble as you though, you've always played the role of the protector, to the point that you don't even care if you hurt others while protecting someone."

My eyes swept past the prone Guan Nie very briefly.

I initially did not want to rile Gaoqin Jiuye up like this, but for some reason, when he starts taking an aggressive stance, I just wanted to fight back. We were like two hedgehogs about to freeze to death, and the only way to keep ourselves warm was to use all our spines to prick at each other.

Jiao S walked over to Guan Nie's side, looking at him with slight sadness in her eyes. "Poor thing, your persistence does not lose to mine. Seems like I didn't know you well enough…"

Gaoqin Jiuye's gaze wavered, and there seemed to be a split second where I could see exhaustion in his eyes.

I felt a bitterness in my heart. It was definitely not easy for this proud man. There was nobody he offended, but there was still no way to cure that loneliness, and the people around him even had to get hurt.

I gritted my teeth inwardly and told myself that I cannot feel any sympathy for Gaoqin Jiuye, because he is a soul splitter, and he was the one who captured me.

I looked at the quiet Yu Liang, Si Luo and Guan Nie, and that sympathy was overwhelmed by various other emotions.

What did Guan Nie do wrong? Why did he have to face this?

Si Luo is someone who seems to ask nothing of this world. Though he is a soul splitter, he probably wouldn't have been embroiled in this if he did not have other desires.

And Yu Liang.

He's just an innocent bystander. I know him, he treats me well and I know that he isn't a bad person.

Just like how my heart felt like it was stabbed a thousand times after losing Nie Zun, I could understand how desperate he must have felt when he lost Song Lu, his long-time lover.

I wouldn't be surprised if such a loss caused him to change greatly.

His love for her is so deep that he would sacrifice himself by going into the lion's den like this, just for the simple aim of trying to get us to look for Song Lu.

"Heh… He appeared again… Why don't you chase after him to ask why he's avoiding you…" A feminine face appeared in the night sky beside the window, looking at me lazily.

"How about it? You're really not going to look for him first? Uncovering the secret of the soul splitters, saving people, put these aside and go look for him. I know that's what you want to do…"

That face, which looked exactly like mine, was looking at me with a smile.