Split Zone No.13

320 The Tables Have Turned

"Tsk tsk, what an emotional scene, tsk tsk."

A familiar voice came from somewhere within the snowy fog just when Bian Ying was about to leave with Cang Ming.

This voice… I looked towards the source of it.

This voice belonged to Huai Du, but I couldn't see anything in the white flurry of snow.

Li Qing's expression turned dark. This was the first time I've seen such an expression on her.

Seems like it really is Huai Du then.

The wind tousled Li Qing's short indigo hair, but it wasn't able to cover all the emotion in her eyes. Apart from Li Qing, there were two other individuals whose faces turned dark. They were Cang Ming and Nie Zun.

A look of worry appeared on Cang Ming's face while Nie Zun knitted his brows as he looked at me.

"I guess the big guy is here this time, judging from the faces of these people who don't usually fear anyone," Piercer said casually as she stood by my side.

"You're going to go against my orders like this, Cang Ming? You're going to betray me just for a woman?" Huai Du's voice reverberated in the air.

Cang Ming remained silent while Bian Ying looked at him encouragingly as a form of assurance.

The pain in Ta Lai's eyes intensified as he saw Bian Ying look at Cang Ming with such sentimental eyes. Du Yue reacted in a similar way.

This is the pain of being in love, when you have to look at another person like this.

I took a glance at Gaoqin Jiuye, who was near Si Luo to assist him in the fight against Feng Zhu. There was nothing but a flurry of wind and snow in Gaoqin Jiuye's eyes.

For some reason, my heart hurt at that.

Scenes then started playing like a movie reel in my head.

***

"When are you going back?" I was swaying my legs on the rooftop as I looked at Gaoqin Jiuye sweetly.

I could now tell that the other person was not Senior Gao Qi but Gaoqin Jiuye from his gaze alone.

"I'll be going back when I can be sure that he won't hurt you anymore and that I can protect you."

I covered my mouth as I smiled with joy. "Can't bear to leave me?"

Gaoqin Jiuye patted me on my head as he said, "I'll be back again. Wait for me, and don't fall in love with anyone else."

I shook my head. "I can't promise that. You know that I have a split personality too. I might just fall in love with somebody else if you don't come back."

***

An overwhelming sense of destruction seemed to encapsulate me as more scenes continued playing in my head.

***

"Kill me, kill me quick. I can't stay in this body for much longer now, and there isn't much time left. Quick, kill me. He'll hurt you if you don't." Gaoqin Jiuye's hazel eyes were wide with worry and desolation as he shook me roughly by the shoulders.

I kept on shaking my head like a broken rag doll as tears drenched my face.

"Do it quickly, it'll be fine. I promise it'll be fine. I'll try everything to take you away from this world and bring you to mine. Ah Shen, think about it, you'll be able to leave this painful world very soon. Do it, quick."

"Ugh… I don't want to!" I cried out.

"Do it, quickly." He then took my hand which already had a knife in it and plunged it into his own chest right in front of my very eyes.

I felt the sticky blood flow from the wound onto my hands, which were still being held by his.

"Gao… Gaoqin Jiuye."

I screamed until my throat felt as if it was tearing apart.

"No!" I cried as I held my head in my hands.

***

Frowning, Piercer shook me. "What's wrong, Ah Shen?"

I was shaking so badly that I collapsed in a heap on the ground while the strong winds continued to mess up my hair.

A dark figure emerged from a distance.

The figure was dressed in a full-length black jacket with a hood, but a jacket like this did not hide the face under that hood. It was an extremely pale face.

So Huai Du actually looks like this.

He didn't look fierce or terrifying, neither was he extremely beautiful. He looked neat and put together, and an intelligent light shone through those upturned eyes of his.

He took slow, deliberate steps in the snow.

Cang Ming grabbed Bian Ying's hand tightly and pulled her behind him.

Nie Zun, on the other hand, walked over to me unhurriedly, stationing himself in front of me and obscuring my vision with a view of his back.

Nie Zun finally spoke after being silent for so long. He addressed Huai Du, who was heading straight for me. "I can do anything you want me to, just don't hurt her. Don't forget what you promised."

I was still shaking when Nie Zun's familiar voice brought me out of my daze. I looked up at his figure. He didn't turn back to look at me, and all I could see was an inky black back.

A slight smile appeared on Huai Du's pale, young face. "I won't hurt her. I remember telling you this before, that the both of you have lives which intertwine with each other. There's only one of you who can leave this Split Zone, and I'm sure you haven't forgotten about that."

My eyes widened at that.

"You're not going to say hi to me when you're here, Huai Du?" Li Qing seemed to have interrupted Huai Du and Nie Zun's conversation on purpose as she moved to be right in front of Huai Du.

From his looks and how he carried himself, Huai Du looked just like a youth who was quiet and who kept to himself. He didn't look like he wanted to harm anyone, and he looked absolutely different from how I had imagined him to be.

But when he saw Li Qing, all that calm seemed to be gone in a second. There was a flurry of emotion in his eyes as looks of excitement, bloodlust, and enchantment passed through them.

He looked like he was possessed by an evil demon as he stared at Li Qing's face with greed. He said in a queer voice, "Then, are you willing to use your life in exchange for everyone else's lives here?" Huai Du went closer to Li Qing to lick her face with his bright red tongue.

His words seemed to carry with it an evil, mesmerizing aura.

"I'm pretty lucky to be able to see you when I'm still alive, Huai Du. I guess it's not a waste of my time being the ruler of the Gate of Heaven." Feng Zhu spoke in a booming voice. Those twelve prayer beads above his head seemed to shine with an even brighter light.

That blinding light felt like it was able to cleanse everything it shone upon, and my eyes were bedazzled by the piercing brightness.

"Si Luo!" I heard Jiao S call out as I held my hand up to shield my eyes.

I stood up immediately and looked towards where Jiao S was, no longer bothering about the blinding light.

Those brightly burning prayer beads dropped to the ground and made it crack open with a bout of volcanic fire that spouted from the ground like a fiery geyser.

An air current stream then shot towards me.

Piercer grabbed me tightly while Scorpion Ray on my left hand and the skull ring on my right both dazzled with light, protecting me from getting hurt.

Gaoqin Jiuye and Jiao S, who were running towards Si Luo, were both knocked down by the flames.

In a split second, the tables seemed to have suddenly turned!

An impending sense of destruction overwhelmed the entire plaza, and everyone else created a protective layer around themselves with MF. Feng Zhu's kasaya then tore itself apart into a million pieces of fabric.

As that muscular frame of his was exposed, the killing intent in his eyes flooded the entire plaza.

Huai Du was the only one whose expression remained calm and tranquil.

Raising a hand, he slowly put his hood down. That serene face of his regarded Feng Zhu as his lips turned up slightly. "You think so highly of me that you can't wait to kill me upon my arrival?"

Piercer, who was holding me tight in her arms, spoke in my ear. "Escape quickly. You can't handle this situation. I already understand all that's happening with what they just said earlier. Seems like Nie Zun treated you the way he did because he wanted you to forget about him. He's the only one who was closely involved with Huai Du, and I'm sure he's already aware that there's nobody in the Split Zone who can win Huai Du in battle. He can't leave with you either, so this is why he's-"

"No." I shook my head vigorously.

"Stop being stubborn, Li Shen. Listen to me. These flames are called hellfire, and it's Feng Zhu's ultimate move. Apart from when he heavily injured Li Qing and Huai Du years ago, dividing the Split Zone into three, he had not used it again. If he's using it at such an early stage now, this means he knows that it isn't possible to win if he doesn't use all his effort against Huai Du's current abilities. With such power, Huai Du is still eyeing you. How are you going to escape from him?"

'Why should I escape?' was what I initially wanted to say, but a hand stopped me from doing so.

Her voice dripped like honey into my ear. "Shh, don't talk. It's okay. No matter how powerful these people are, they can't do anything to you as long as I'm around. I'm the only one who can take you away. I'm the only one who can protect you. Let's just watch in silence."

My eyes filled with tears. I then saw Li Qing charge at Huai Du with her halberd without any forewarning.

"Don't blame me for being hostile if you still insist on taking her life like you did in the past."

Huai Du squinted at Li Qing. "I've already told you this when she just arrived in the Split Zone. She's the only one who can help us find Mr Blond again. I've already promised to give you your freedom back, but you're still unwilling to give her up to me. Tell me, just why are you being so protective of her?"