Split Zone No.13

Volume 4

205 Fight to Obtain Piercer

"Who sent you?"

Laurel thought for a moment before answering. "It wouldn't be me coming to jiejie if I could tell you that, right? Jiejie, this is your only flaw. Always doing dumb things and asking dumb questions."

Nie Zun raised a hand suddenly. "I agree with that."

My lips twitched in annoyance. I really wanted to beat this shameless amnesiac up.

"Jiejie, are you going to give it to me or not?" Laurel was losing her patience. She was still addressing me as jiejie, but her gaze was sharp.

"Let her go." I pointed at Yuan Qian.

Laurel laughed. "Old habits die hard, Ah Shen jiejie. You want to save everyone, but in the end, nobody would be saved. You might even lose your life in the process. Don't do it if you don't have the ability. Why don't you understand this?"

Hate flashed momentarily in her eyes as she finished.

I'll admit that I felt apologetic towards her, but feeling sorry won't bring my friends back. Now wasn't the time to think about all this.

I responded coldly, "You're right, I'm always thinking about saving the world. I admit that it was my fault that time when I wasn't able to save you, but I'm the only one involved in it, it had nothing to do with her."

Laurel raised her pitch. "Nothing to do with her? Why're you pretending to be the nice guy here? You think I didn't see it? You let Li Wen cut up her brother's corpse in that cave. You saw it with your own eyes but you didn't do anything about it. You, Li Shen, love to say things that merely sound nice. Do you dare deny whatever I've seen?"

So it was Laurel who told Yuan Qian about this. But why would Laurel be there? Even if she was there, there's no way Li Wen wouldn't have sensed her presence. Or was it that Li Wen pretended not to have sensed it?

There were only two possibilities. The first was that Li Wen did it on purpose, and the second would be that Laurel had gotten much stronger, to the point that Li Wen wasn't able to sense her presence.

I started to plan my next move. What was more likely?

There had to be different solutions for different situations.

I asked, "Li Wen asked you to do this?"

Laurel smirked. "Her? She can't wait to make use of me, so there's no way I'd work with her. Soul splitters are all horrid, and you're working with them all day. Li Shen, what are you thinking? You let the Western District down and you let your friends down."

I was a little angered at this. "Why be so pretentious? It's true that I've let the Western District down and that I wasn't able to save you guys. But do you have the right to say these things? Look at what you're doing now…"

Laurel answered coldly. "I've told you this before when we were in the Eastern District. We've made our choices and we've chosen to go on different paths. You're on the path to destruction while I'm trying to survive."

I was silent.

Taking a deep breath, I told myself to stay calm. From what Laurel had said, she wasn't working for the soul splitters. It was obvious how much she hated them from how she talked about them. Who would she be helping then?

The Eastern, Western and Southern Districts have been destroyed and only a few heirs survived. Just who was it controlling everything behind the scenes?

It must be somebody who had gone missing but who was still alive.

A name appeared in my mind. Yes, he had been missing for a while.

I asked again, "Are you sent by Rong Jin?"

Laurel frowned. "Rong Jin?"

Seems like she wasn't.

Rong Jin had been missing since that battle. With his abilities, it's unlikely that he died in the Southern District. This was why I suspect that he might have been acting behind the scenes.

"Enough with the small talk. Give Piercer to me, or else, you can forget about leaving this place today."

Laurel clapped her hands and everyone stopped to look at me. So this was how it felt to be under the spotlight… It was terrifying…

I took Piercer out and said, "This treasure of mine is really stubborn. Do you think you can control it even when I can't? Come and get it then."

A fight seemed to be inevitable. I looked around me as I retreated.

The only way out now was to pass by that huge pool. But the path was littered with people on both sides.

Laurel smiled in a weird manner as she looked at Yuan Qian.

Hesitation could be seen in Yuan Qian as she bit her lip. "Ah Shen, I'll ask you again. Was Laurel telling the truth? That you let my brother die?"

I looked at her. "Yes."

Pain and anger surged in her eyes.

I knew Yuan Qian was someone loyal. Though she and her brother were not very sociable people and they did not speak much to others, I knew they have always been loyal to me. I knew they were loyal to Li Qing too.

She must be in a dilemma now that she had to decide between loyalty and revenge.

I helped her make a decision as I raised Piercer.

"No need to hesitate. Since you've already made your choice, go ahead, the both of you."

Nie Zun said, "I don't want to fight now. Can you let them continue dancing?" He pointed at those dancers who had stepped out from the pool with faces that were full of killing intent.

Laurel answered, "Sure, I'll let them accompany you."

With a snap of her fingers, the bikini-clad dancers suddenly laid face-down on the floor. Their limbs turned into spider legs and they started crawling quickly towards Nie Zun and I like a bunch of spider demons.

They looked merciless. I was sure that nothing good was in it for us if we ended up getting caught by one of these things.

"You caused this. Solve it yourself." I retreated behind Nie Zun as I told him this.

Who told you to get them to dance? Go and play with them now that they have so many legs. There's no way I'm getting involved in this.

Nie Zun seemed to yawn. I could almost imagine that lazy look on his face.

He waved a hand at the spider-women.

Black fog emanated from his palm and it floated towards them.

Laurel looked grave. "Nie Zun, didn't you say you don't remember her. Why are you protecting her even when you've lost your memories?"

Nie Zun pulled me out from behind him, smiling at me. "You protect me since I've lost my memories."

That black fog had already knocked five or six of those spider-women down.

The corner of my lips twitched. What do you need me for when your abilities are more than enough?

Laurel snapped her fingers again. The spider-women who looked like they had been strangled with that black fog suddenly got up, all energetic. One of them even jumped right at me.

Goosebumps appeared all over me. That thing was disgusting. Raising my right hand, I swung Piercer into the air.

Swoosh.

Violet light appeared as the spider-woman was slashed into two.

A pain shot through my chest at that moment.

Laurel laughed. "Ah Shen jiejie, how does Yuan Qian's pill feel? After you've swallowed it, you'll feel extreme pain in your chest as long as you use MF in the next three days. The pain will double each time you use MF. I wonder how you can leave this place without using MF."

I could still bear with this pain. Having been in the Split Zone for so long, this was nothing much.

I raised my hand again, pouring MF into Piercer. A dark purple light emanated from it this time. I felt a bone-chilling cold from Piercer. It made me more uneasy than that pain in my chest.

Was Piercer trying to devour me again?

Be good. Don't act up at crucial moments during fights.

I wasn't able to control that dark purple light produced by Piercer. A deathly aura spread around it, and Nie Zun looked at Piercer with a fire in his eyes as he sensed its energy.

Was he attracted to the dark energy?

I seemed to have lost control over my MF as it was continuously being absorbed by Piercer. The pain in my chest caused my brows to knit.

Laurel waved a hand and another bunch of spider-women rushed towards me.

Before I could respond, Piercer produced blades of dark purple light that seemed to have gone in all directions.

These blades of light were much faster than the usual violet blade as it shot everywhere, piercing the spider-women in midair. Like lasers, bright light was produced as it stabbed through their bodies. Screams could be heard everywhere.

MF emanated in the environment, causing ripples in the air.

Laurel's eyes shone. "That is a good weapon. It's no wonder it's called a living weapon."

"Don't even think about taking a good weapon like this. Piercer is mine," I answered. I swung Piercer again with my right hand.

Just when I was about to leap into the air to launch another attack, I heard a woman's voice from Piercer. It was a chilling, twisted voice that induced fear. "Do you wish to die, Li Shen?"

I looked around me. No one else seemed to be surprised at this. Seems like I was the only one who could hear the voice.

I continued directing MF to my palm, as I thought, 'Who are you? Are you the soul in Piercer?'

The woman's voice sounded like it was from the dregs of hell. "You know it's me and you dare be this audacious?"