Split Zone No.13

Volume 4

222 The Taking

Should I help him regain his memories? Though he was a little weird, he could really be himself and be free like this. He was so much happier without those memories about his hands being cursed.

I could see that happiness seep out from within him. It was such freedom when whatever he had been suppressing in the past was no longer being suppressed.

Did I really have the right to decide if he should get his memories back?

"You… Actually, if you don't want to recall whatever you've forgotten, I…" I hesitated.

Nie Zun smiled. "If you can really help me do so, let's just try it. It's kind of boring now anyway, when I can't remember a thing."

Boring… You're really happy right now though…

I suddenly felt that I would be responsible for his happiness if he recalled the past.

I had to be responsible for whether he was happy or upset about it, for his solitude.

"What would you do if recalling the past only gives you pain? That suffering might be even worse than the loneliness you've felt on that stone tablet. It would be a solitude that comes from deep within your heart. Are you afraid of that?"

Nie Zun looked at that tablet for a long while before he spoke. "I really didn't want to return here at first, and I haven't really wondered about what happened in the past either. But now that I'm standing here again, I suddenly feel as if I should try to remember what happened in the past, even if I don't want to. There seems to be something extremely important to me in those lost memories.

"I want to find out exactly what it is." He smiled as he turned to me.

We looked at each other for about a minute. After that, I took a deep breath and walked over to the tablet.

Going to the back, I saw the character for 'demon'. It was a bright red, and it had this mysterious, blood-thirsty aura. I then walked around the platform looking for that hourglass.

In it, only a little bit of sand was left in the top-half. Quickly, I calculated how much time we still had left, looking at my watch to double check.

If I couldn't get his blood back within three hours, he'd never be able to get it back.

As I was about to walk back to where Nie Zun was, I heard a voice in my brain just as I happened to glance at the word 'demon' on the tablet.

"Though there is great power with this demonic energy, its side effects are extreme. He should have died that time, but I found the old man's protection on him. I guess he's trying to go against me now, but in any case, it'll be a bane to Nie Zun if that demonic energy stays with him. Instead of a human, he'll be a demon as long as he doesn't learn how to control that power. He doesn't remember you because his blood had been changed. Now that he's reborn, he'll slowly merge with that demonic energy. You'll be doing him a disfavor if you want to get his blood and his memories back."

For some reason, Huai Du's words echoed in my mind, as if it was suddenly activated.

According to Huai Du, this tablet had not only changed his blood, it had also activated Nie Zun's demonic powers so that he'd be able to merge with it. He might end up being in danger if I forcefully change his blood.

But, Li Qing didn't mention this.

No, Li Qing will never lie to me. This was what my instincts told me. But…

I used to think this way, and she still lied to me in the end.

Would she take a chance on Nie Zun? I don't think so though. Nothing's in it for her even if she did so.

Even so, I didn't know what to do. Li Qing did not tell me how to execute this…

"What are you standing here for? Didn't you say you'll help me get my memories?" Nie Zun appeared beside me.

I looked at him awkwardly. "I don't actually know how to do it. I just know that you'll be able to recall the past when your blood and the blood in that 'demon' character is exchanged."

Nie Zun looked at the character and suddenly jumped onto the stone platform.

I was a little taken aback. Didn't the platform have a protective screen? Was this because Nie Zun wasn't there now?

I leapt up onto the platform.

Nie Zun touched that 'demon' character with those pale and slender fingers of his. It was such a contrast to the bright red.

I felt fear overwhelm me suddenly. I walked up to him quickly, trying to stop him from doing anything else.

But when I reached him, his eyes seemed to have darkened.

Something didn't feel right. "What's wrong?"

Nie Zun stared at that 'demon' character. "I seem to have remembered something."

I asked in joyous surprise, "Really? What is it?"

Nie Zun's gaze turned darker and darker as bleak coldness seemed to emanate from his eyes. "I shouldn't touch this. Forget about my memories."

What. Why the sudden change of heart now? I glanced at the hourglass in the corner. Not much time was left.

I grabbed his arm. "No, you can't give up. Since we're already here, I have to help you get your memories back."

Nie Zun lips turned up at a condescending angle. "Do you think you can force me into doing anything I don't wish to?"

I started getting anxious at this.

If he really recalled something he didn't want to remember after looking at that 'demon' character, then I probably couldn't change his mind on this. His abilities were extraordinary now, and he could even fight evenly against Li Qing, Feng, Huo and Lei. How would I be able to force him into doing anything?

He looked like he was about to turn and leave at any moment.

I was at a loss of what to do for a split second.

In my discomposure, I grabbed his other hand and tip-toed towards him.

A flood of emotions overwhelmed me again as I touched those ice-cold lips of his.

This was the first time I realized that I had missed him so badly.

He looked slightly surprised when my lips touched his, but he did not avoid it. I looked at him as I thought about what I should do next.

Taking his neck, I kissed him harder on the lips.

I saw a fire light up in those starry eyes of his. Something changed in that very moment.

Nie Zun grabbed me in an embrace and returned my kiss with fiery passion. Something seemed to explode in my brain, and I wasn't able to remain rational about it.

He entrapped me with those fiery eyes of his, before pushing me back against the stone tablet. Instead of cold stone, I felt a sudden warmth as my back came into contact with the tablet.

As I tried to catch my breath in a tiny break, Nie Zun's lips crashed into mine again. The warmth from behind and the heat on my lips created a deep crevice that I could not get out of.

Nie Zun's eyes looked maddened and bloodthirsty. My head was spinning and my mind was a total blank.

This is what Li Qing described as his deepest wish after he had lost his memories.

He trapped me against the stone tablet and I could feel the engraved character for 'demon' against my back.

Rip…

The ripping of the fabric behind my back pulled me back to reality. The tablet had affected Nie Zun's mind. He couldn't see me clearly now, and that calmness in him was gone. All that was left was a bloodthirsty madness.

I was suddenly fearful.

Even though I've been fighting in the Split Zone for so long, as a woman, I was still fearful.

I wanted to break free, but I realized that the 'demon' character was a force of its own as it seemed to trap me against that tablet.

I felt something painful on my lips as Nie Zun bit it.

As I looked at him with tearful eyes, he forced my lips open with his tongue, and I felt a softness enter my mouth with the flavor of blood.

At the same time, I felt an eerie cold in the air. My heart felt like it was being continually squeezed by something, and my vision started to blur.

Everything happened so quickly. I saw a tear roll down Nie Zun's cheek.

I was almost immune to pain now, but this pain made my lips quiver. I smiled at those sorrowful eyes of his, and returned his kiss with welcoming lips.