Split Zone No.13

Volume 4

238 Song Lu's Deal

Song Lu did not want to hear me continue. She waved a hand and said, "There's no need to talk about all that. What's past is past, and I'm living quite well now as Du Yue's High Priest in the Gate of Heaven. I have power over everyone else here, and it's much better than when I was in the Western District."

Seeing the rush of emotion in her eyes, I stopped talking. There's no use in rushing things. She must have been through so much pain.

I decided to change the subject instead. "Since you're the High Priest in this Palace of Cold Blood, you must be on the same side as Du Yue now. Do you know what her goal is?"

Song Lu smiled. "Li Shen, you've said it yourself. Since I'm on the same side as Du Yue now, do you think I'll tell you that? Why are you guys here anyway? As the High Priest in the Palace of Cold Blood, I can't let intruders get away scot-free."

Nie Zun responded, "But you've not attacked and you've even let her speak."

Song Lu looked at Nie Zun with an appreciative gaze. "Nie Zun is still as intelligent as ever. Observant and always quick to react."

"Chirp…" Bing'er called out again, as if it was trying to warn us of something.

A mysterious smile appeared on Song Lu's face. "I guess I have to teach this creature a lesson before I can go against the both of you."

Go against the both of us?

Before I could react, she was already headed towards the inner area of the palace hall.

Worried about Bing'er, I turned to Nie Zun with unease. But Nie Zun was not intending to stop Song Lu at all, and he acted like this had nothing to do with him.

In my anxiety, I went after Song Lu.

Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.

She seemed to be walking faster and faster, and it felt like I had to chase after her.

"Song Lu."

"Li Shen, we can talk later." Song Lu addressed me without even turning around.

"What are you going to do to Bing'er? It's just an ordinary bird." I grabbed Song Lu's arm as I caught up to her.

She seemed to flinch slightly at my touch, and I wondered if it was me just hallucinating.

"Haha, an ordinary bird? If you can tell it's a body of consciousness, do you think that I, as the High Priest, wouldn't be able to tell? Li Shen, there's no need to act so childishly even if you want to save someone." She stopped in her tracks as she said this.

She then continued with a smirk. "No wonder you weren't able to save us. If you're trying to save people like this, it's no surprise that you'll lose them."

She seemed to have placed more emphasis on those last words.

I thought I didn't mind this, but in all honesty, it was upsetting to hear harsh words from someone who used to be so close to me.

I didn't know what to say to her, and she continued on her path towards the ice phoenix.

Bing'er flew up as it seemed to sense her looming presence. With a flap of those snowy wings, it flew straight towards Song Lu.

Song Lu remained perfectly still, reacting exactly as I did earlier. She then asked me, "You like this phoenix?"

I nodded, before saying yes when I realized she wasn't able to see me nod.

"Haha, good. I'll destroy it."

I didn't expect for Song Lu to say something like that.

She must hate me so.

She grabbed the air with a hand.

Lifting that hand, she swung it towards Bing'er.

Though her arms were not very powerful, the beads of water that came out from her palm seemed to fly towards Bing'er at great speed.

I squinted my eyes as I focused MF on my vision to see how fast those beads of water were going. But I was too late to do anything about it.

Bing'er stopped in mid-air, staying still like a statue as those beads of water were about to reach it. I reached out a hand, trying to stop whatever might happen, but it was just a futile attempt on my part.

All of a sudden, a black ray passed through those beads of water, shattering them all. Looking like beads of mercury, they dropped to the ground abruptly.

I turned to Nie Zun and saw that he was using his pupil abilities.

Song Lu did not sound upset, and she turned to praise Nie Zun instead. "Great pupil ability. You've always been hiding it, but you're finally willing to use it now?"

Nie Zun smiled casually as he pointed at Bing'er. "Don't scare that little creature there. It isn't very brave."

Song Lu laughed out loud. "Little creature? Isn't very brave? I guess the both of you really know nothing at all."

Her expression turned cold in the next second. "This creature can never leave the Palace of Cold Blood. This is an order from Du Yue."

I looked at Bing'er, wondering if it could understand all that was happening. I tried to change the subject again in an attempt to stall Song Lu's attack on Bing'er.

"Tell me, where are Yu Liang and the rest?"

Even though Song Lu said she didn't love Yu Liang anymore, I didn't believe that she'd really leave him for dead.

Song Lu's unexpected response surprised me. "Yu Liang is here?"

I frowned. "Aren't you the High Priest in the Gate of Heaven? Don't you know that Yu Liang is being locked up by Du Yue right now?"

Song Lu regarded me with doubt in her eyes. "Are you kidding? I know that your friend from the Eastern District is here, but I've not heard Du Yue say anything about Yu Liang being here as well. I do know that he survived that catastrophe in the Western District though."

I nodded. "When we were in the Gate of Ghost, Du Yue told me that Yu Liang is in the Gate of Heaven. I'm guessing that he's being locked up just like Jiao S and the rest. I want to save them. Are you able to provide me with their locations?"

Song Lu's brows furrowed. "There's no way I'm betraying Du Yue. As for the two of you, don't think you can escape easily once you've stepped into the Gate of Heaven, especially now that you're in the Palace of Cold Blood. As for whether Yu Liang is here or not, I'll be looking into that."

"Where's Jie Pa?" Nie Zun asked suddenly.

Song Lu regained her indifferent expression upon hearing this. "Your doctor is fine, no need to worry about him. You should take care of yourself instead. He seems to be really worried about you."

I was stunned at what happened next.

Nie Zun seemed to have teleported right in front of Song Lu as he grabbed her neck. "I'll ask you one more time. Where is he?"

Something flashed in Song Lu's eyes, but she remained silent.

Black fog began to rise in Nie Zun's eyes. This was a sign of Nie Zun turning demonic, and this meant he was ready to destroy everything in his path.

I rushed forward to grab him. "We're all friends. You're not an amnesiac now, so there's no need for this. Song Lu will tell you where Jie Pa is if you ask nicely."

Nie Zun then let go of Song Lu slowly.

Song Lu smiled at me. "Li Shen, Nie Zun seems to have changed. Why is that? Are the both of you no longer in love? Are the both of you like Yu Liang and I now?"

This made me feel a little uncomfortable, but it wasn't the time for such a discussion. I spoke quickly, "Song Lu, can you tell us where Jie Pa is being hidden? At least this friend of mine can go take a look at him."

Song Lu brushed her hair aside unhurriedly. "How about we make a deal?"

Nie Zun and I responded immediately as we heard the word 'deal'. "Okay."

Such telepathy made my heart jump with joy. I stole a glance at Nie Zun, but he was focused on Song Lu right now.

"What deal do you have in mind? We'll try our best."

Try our best? When did you start seeing me as being on the same team?

Song Lu smiled as she answered, "It's easy. I'll bring you to Jie Pa if you leave Piercer with me."

She was referring to Jie Pa, not to the group of friends who were being locked up.

I realized Nie Zun and Piercer were the two things which were the most valuable in the Split Zone at this point.

Many have been looking for me because their goal was to find them. But this meant that all these people were of the opinion that the both of them belonged to me.

As I was pondering about this, Nie Zun took Piercer from his waist and waved it at Song Lu. "There's no need for an introduction, is there? It's not like you haven't seen this before."

Song Lu's eyes narrowed upon seeing Piercer. "That's right, it's Piercer. What, Li Shen gave it to you because she doesn't want it anymore?"

I responded coldly. "He snatched it from me. But what do you want Piercer for?"

Song Lu stretched lazily. "Who doesn't want a powerful living weapon like this? Power is what we rely on in order to survive in the Split Zone. There are only a few living weapons, and it's probably impossible that any new living weapons would appear. Why wouldn't I want it if given an opportunity?"

I replied immediately, "It belongs to me, sadly. And I don't intend to give it away."