Split Zone No.13

Volume 2

69 You Will Beg Me

The Violet Blade seemed to carry an electrical current, winding up a strong gust with it. As the three giants clutched their eyes from my arrows, it struck them against the chest.

Boom! There was an explosion of violet light and blood sprayed the surroundings!

Pu-tsst!

As if it was alive, the Violet Blade continued ruthlessly forward even after it collided with the giants, until it had completely sliced through them into halves.

Rumble!

Severed into six segments, the giants clashed loudly to the ground.

When I descended back down, I twisted my head towards Nie Zun.

He donned a peaceful smile, his starry eyes were surging with a shred of radiance, and his jet-black fringe fell in front of his eyes, covering that fair forehead of his. When he noticed my gaze on him, he smirked, reaching out to return the Piercer.

I glanced sideways at him, "It seems like you're more suited for this weapon."

There was a faint smile on him when he shook his head lightly, "I have no use for something so violent. I'm a very gentle person." He winked.

In reciprocation, I rolled my eyes again.

When I returned my attention, the situation ahead of us had already changed.

Five of the giants flew back from the impact of Tao Lie's bellow and another three were torn apart by his arms. This was even worse than being sliced by my Piercer.

The remaining two were just about to charge forward when Ta Lai jerked his finger again. Keeping their ferocious expression, they obediently returned to Ta Lai.

On the other end, Mu Li's giant net had flung all the weapons back to where they came from. With a piercingly cold gust of wind, the countless number of sharp weapons deflected back towards Zou An.

Zou An's pale face did not express any changes; he merely lifted a hand calmly, and dropped it again decisively.

Rattle!

As though it had lost its anti-gravitational force, the weapons that were cutting through the air fell to the ground in a rattle, littering the ground in front of him.

Just as I was about the step forward, there was a glaring light emitting from the giants which we had sliced apart, as well as those that Tao Lie ripped into shreds. With a blink of an eye, they shrunk into mini version of those giants like a wooden figurine.

I was taken aback by the transformation. Were these… Were these figurines brought to life by Tao Lie, then transfigured into giants and placed under his control? Did he infuse his MF in order to do that? Was that possible? I had infused MF in my Piercer as well, but I couldn't convert it into an element of control over the weapon. The only thing I could manage was to become one with the Piercer and unleash an attack that was immensely more damaging.

These people, Mu Li and Tao Lie included, had mastered the trick to controlling their MF with precision, including those that were expended.

Among those I've met, Song Lu had been the best at her precision of MF control; even though she didn't have a high level of MF, with a tiny stream of water, she would be able to fatally pierce through her enemies.

These people, on the other hand, had clearly honed their skills in MF control to perfection.

I frowned. As it turns out, my time here was still too short, right?

It appears that MF could be used in two ways. The first would be precision control to fulfill its attack on the enemy, while the second was the sensing of MF, using it to construct a unique ability of your own. Just like Guan Nie with his illusions, Jie Pa with his shield, and Yu Liang with his soul projection.

It was apparent that I couldn't incorporate either methods deftly… Or perhaps, I just hadn't ever figured out how to do so since the very start.

At a time like this, I truly wish I could ask Li Qing and Mr Blond for the reason behind my appointment. What had they seen in me that made me worthy of being a District Commander? Could it be that it was my double identity disorder which convinced them? Would my second identity emerge again and transform me into a deadly female warrior?

I really don't understand it… Among these people… I'm practically useless…

Sigh…

It was obvious that our enemies on the other end couldn't comprehend the knit in my brows or the dip of my head, much less the reason for my gloominess.

Ta Lai watched me with great interest before finally speak up, "Are you surprised by this puppetry technique?"

Preoccupied by my self-hatred, I didn't respond.

"Li Shen, it seems like you have brought reinforcements upon your return from Eastern District. However, I'm afraid you have been oversimplifying the situation at hand."

Still stuck in my dejection, I couldn't gather enough anger for a retort. Instead, I raised a brow at him coldly and stared, "What do you mean?"

Zou An smiled but didn't answer.

I seriously can't stand people who speak in such baffling manner…

Graceful and calm, Ta Lai shot me a smile, as though our successful counter to their attack was not at all surprising to him.

He turned and took a step, then, with his long and slender legs, he leapt onto one of the remaining two giants, taking a seat upon their shoulder.

He faced us, and crossed his legs with incomparable elegance, a hand stroking the jade stone ring on his other, "Li Shen, I'm not interested in taking your life. I want something else."

"What?" I raised my brow.

"I want you and you alone, to tag along with me somewhere, and stay there for a month." Ta Lai smiled gracefully.

… I don't understand this at all.

These two lunatics must have snuck out when You Ji wasn't looking…

"I know you don't understand it now, but you will one day. In fact, you will be begging me when the day comes." Ta Lai turned the ring on his right hand twice, and spoke with a firm but calm voice.

A sardonic laugh escaped me, "Oh? How are you so sure that I will beg you? Haven't you heard that I, Li Shen, has never begged anyone?"

Ta Lai tilted his head, supporting it with the palm of his hand as he leaned against the giant's head, his composed smile was beginning to get on my nerves, "Of course you wouldn't beg anyone for yourself, but what if it's for him?"

Unhurriedly, he lifted his left hand and pointed to the spot beside me, right at Nie Zun.

I was stupefied. I turned and took a glimpse at Nie Zun. What… did he mean by that?

Before I could respond, Nie Zun chuckled and brought his gaze slowly towards Ta Lai, "I will never allow her to beg anyone on my behalf."

There was an indecipherable stabbing in my heart.

It was as if Nie Zun words had intrigued him; his usually unperturbed eyes was suddenly flooded with strong interest as he watched Nie Zun.

For some reason, I hated the way he was looking at Nie Zun; the way he watched Nie Zun like he was something he could attain with extreme ease, something he must have.

"Whatever you are thinking about, whatever you want to say or do, just spill it. I'm not interested in prolonging this meaningless conversation. Do you want to continue the fight, or did you want something else? Just say the word and get this over with."

I raised my voice, fearlessly looking at the people opposite me.

Ta Lai was not in the least affected by my loud declaration. His eyes remained fixated on Nie Zun even as his words were directed at Zou An, "Let's go. There's no way you'll be able to kill her today."

A self-deprecating smile crept across Zou An's face for a split second before it was wiped away completely. He turned towards Ta Lai, "Don't forget about your promise."

Ta Lai's smile was as composed as ever when he nodded in response. Then, to Zou An, he added, "Let's go."

Meanwhile, I was startled.

"Hey, hey! Aren't you taking us too lightly? You charged at us out of nowhere and initiated a battle, and now you are just leaving as you please?!"

I have had enough with this ridiculous situation. With a swing of my Piercer, I clamored.

However, the giant had already turned its body and began walking into the depths of the forest. Zou An, on the other hand, regarded me coldly before jumping onto the other giant's shoulder, then followed after Ta Lai.

"We're just going to let them come and go as they please?" Frustrated, I turned towards Nie Zun.

His eyes were unexpectedly solemn, and the words tumbled out, "We won't pursue."

Fine. Even though I was still raging, but since Nie Zun had made the decision, then I've lost all interest in it as well. And so, I merely gritted my teeth while I watched their retreating backs before spinning back towards Tao Lie and Mu Li.

I had initially wanted to admire their tactics in detail, but by the time I turned my gaze towards them, they were already back to their usual form. Tao Lie still had his sunglasses on, standing respectfully to the side, while Mu Li's sparkling green eyes were no longer as terrifying as it had been.

Jie Pa stepped out from behind us, and pushed against his glasses before calmly making his way to one of the abandoned wooden figurines. Crouching down, he took out a white handkerchief and wrapped it around the figurine before placing it into a glass bottle that he had prepared. Once again, he stuffed the bottle into his backpack.

"Tch, tch. Jie Pa, that backpack of yours is basically Doraemon's magical 4D pocket! Despite all the bottles that you keep in there on a daily basis, it still fits."

Jie Pa smiled warmly at me, "Ms Ah Shen, what's a Doraemon?"

…

"Jie Pa, were you a doctor in your previous life?"

Jie Pa nodded, "Yes, a psychiatrist."

Ah, it's no wonder…

Awkwardly, I scratched my head and laughed.

"Ms Li Shen, I've never seen the guy in blue before today. Who is he?" All of a sudden, Tao Lie asked.

"He's one of my floor managers. He wasn't that active in the past and I don't know much about him either. I only know of his existence."

With his sunglasses on, I couldn't read his expression.

"Ms Li Shen, I hope you will practice even more caution when you meet him again." Eventually, Tao Lie said.

I frowned, "Why? Did you notice something?"

Mu Li continued on behalf, "It's like this… The man had claimed that it was a form of puppetry technique he used earlier to control the giants. Typically, we might assume that it's a mere manipulation of the MF. However, to Tao Lie and my understanding, puppetry techniques are capable of much more than that."

"Basically, even if it was the puppetry technique, there was practically no one in the split zone who had achieved perfection in its execution." Adding on to Mu Li's answer, Tao Lie pushed against his sunglasses. "With the exception of Southern District's soul snatcher, Rong Jin, we haven't met anyone who would exhaust this much MF to practice this sort of puppet manipulation skills.

"But that's not the most important part. What's most crucial is the fact that such a person with puppetry skills had gone under Mu Li and my radar all these years. They might have chosen to keep it low profile, or maybe they have something to hide. Either way, it puts us ill at ease."

Jie Pa nodded in agreement, "Yes, that's the most critical. My informants had never reported this to me either. A floor manager with such ability… Even Nie Zun and I have never heard about him before today."

…

I'm no longer surprised. There were many people with astounding abilities in the split zone and they were always more mysterious than the next. After such a turbulent month, there was nothing much that could shock me anymore, including our new discovery.