Split Zone No.13

Volume 5

285 Falling Out With Si Luo

Clap. Clap. Clap.

Cang Ming clapped with a sardonic smirk on his face. “Gaoqin, should I be congratulating you now that you’ve finally gotten the girl of your dreams?”

Gaoqin Jiuye did not look happy even after hearing me agree to leave with him.

“Have you forgotten about this arm, Gaoqin Jiuye?” Du Yue pointed at her missing arm on her left.

Gaoqin Jiuye looked at the floor for a couple of seconds before suddenly grabbing his left hand and forcefully tearing it away from his body.

I covered my mouth in shock.

Everyone was stunned by what just happened. Gaoqin Jiuye looked up slowly, exhaustion apparent in his eyes. He threw that broken arm at Du Yue’s feet.

Du Yue’s face was full of disbelief as she stared blankly at that bloody arm near her feet.

Blood continued spurting from Gaoqin Jiuye’s left shoulder which did not show any signs of healing.

I stood rooted to the ground, unsure of what to do.

Gaoqin Jiuye walked towards me unsteadily, a piece of hair covering a part of his eye as it fell across his face.

A mysterious smile appeared on the corner of his lips as he continued looking at the floor. “I’m returning this arm to you, Du Yue. I’m too tired. All of you think that I, Gaoqin Jiuye, don’t really care about anything, don’t you? But I’m sick of it. I’ve already told you this from the very day I left the Gate of Heaven with Si Luo, that we would have nothing to do with each other from then on.

“I owe you one, but didn’t you fall in love with Ta Lai too? I don’t owe you anything on this. With this broken arm, we’ll have nothing to do with each other from now on.”

I reached out as he stumbled towards me. My eyes met Nie Zun’s just as Gaoqin Jiuye fell into my arms.

An unknown pain seemed to emanate from my empty chest as Nie Zun stared at me with a profound gaze.

I could feel the tacky blood from Gaoqin Jiuye’s wound as I held him. Du Yue was striding towards us with a stormy expression, but Si Luo raised an arm to block her way.

Du Yue said coldly, “Move.”

Si Luo sounded casual as he spoke. “You shouldn’t be stopping him now. You should’ve stopped him before the both of us left the Gate of Heaven years ago.”

Du Yue trembled in anger. “Years ago? Don’t talk about the past, Si Luo. Did Feng Zhu let you down? Why did you have to betray us and take Gaoqin Jiuye with you…? I wouldn’t have turned out like this if you hadn’t left. Ta Lai wouldn’t have fallen in love with Bian Ying either.”

Du Yue pointed a finger at Ta Lai as she spoke.

A hint of a smile appeared on Si Luo’s lips. His eyes were sparkling with an otherworldly light. “You’re wrong. Ta Lai and Bian Ying had been fated since a long time ago, and I had nothing to do with that. You can’t blame me for that. Whether or not I ended up taking that lonely boy away from you at that time, you didn’t have any right to abandon him. The both of you made that decision on your own, it wasn’t something that I forced upon the two of you.”

Du Yue gritted her teeth.

“I’ve said this before, that if I was Gaoqin Jiuye’s choice, I would give him what he really wanted, no matter what it was. I would give him anything in this world, whatever it was that he wanted. I had already decided from the very moment he declared his loyalty to me when we met. I’d help him obtain whatever he wanted and nobody else had the right to destroy him. Not you, not her.”

Si Luo pointed a finger at me when he said ‘her’. He looked at me with dazzling eyes.

This was the first time I felt a sense of vigilance as I met his eyes.

“I’ve told you this before, haven’t I, Li Shen? That I didn’t want you to kill him. Gaoqin might be lonely, but as long as his heart still lives, I’d be able to give him everything he wishes for. But how could you wish for his death time and time again?”

I shook my head profusely. Though I didn’t understand Si Luo at all, I felt that I would be destroying Gaoqin Jiuye’s life if I admitted to this.

“I didn’t.”

An enchanting smile appeared on Si Luo. “You didn’t. You didn’t? Why did you have to take his hand at a time like this? Your heart isn’t with Gaoqin, Li Shen. Why lie to yourself? You’d still leave him someday even if you’re holding his hand now. When the time comes, you’d be the one to kill him. I will never let that happen.”

A gust of wind blew across the plaza right after he spoke.

This wind was no ordinary wind. It felt like a really stable wind which caressed every inch of my skin. It felt unnatural.

Gaoqin Jiuye, who was panting lightly earlier, stood up straight. His eyes turned wary, like those of a wolf who sensed the sudden arrival of a hunter.

He pulled me closer with his remaining arm.

In my uneasiness, I asked softly, “Why isn’t your arm healing?”

“I wouldn’t be repaying a debt if it healed.” Gaoqin Jiuye answered quietly as he looked around us.

That unnatural wind continued blowing across the plaza. Jiao S came over and took my hand, but her eyes were on Si Luo.

“Don’t hurt her.” Jiao S looked at him as she spoke in her hoarse voice.

Gaoqin Jiuye’s eyes seemed to contain a warning as he turned to look at Si Luo.

Si Luo tilted his head slightly, his silvery hair falling to one side. “Jiao, I’ve said this before. Don’t go easy on me if you end up going against me someday.” The steady wind turned into something fierce right as he finished speaking.

White fog surged in Si Luo’s eyes. It was extremely similar to that fog in Gaoqin Jiuye’s eyes when he controlled air currents.

The situation then hit me. Si Luo would actually attack me?

He was using the technique to control air currents, the very same one that he taught Jiao S and Gaoqin Jiuye. He was making his stand very clear by using this technique against us.

My hair and dress were ruffled by the strong winds that blew across the entire plaza.

My hair whipped across my face and I felt my body sway in the wind. Si Luo kept his eyes on me the entire time as white fog continued to surge in his eyes.

Gaoqin Jiuye and Jiao S grabbed me on either side as white fog began to surge in their eyes.

I turned to the both of them and called out, “No, don’t!” I don’t want the two of you to turn against Si Luo just because of me.

Cang Ming looked at us with slight interest as he stood in his sultry pose. “What a weird fight. What are you thinking, Si Luo? You’re going to stop Gaoqin Jiuye when he can finally elope with the woman of his dreams?”

Ta Lai then spoke with an elegant smile. “Whatever his goal is, he isn’t doing it for Li Shen’s second personality. How about we just come clean with each other since our goals are the same, Cang Ming?”

Cang Ming raised a brow at what Ta Lai said. “Oh, how do we come clean? Li Shen doesn’t have her heart now, and she can’t summon her second personality without it. Are you telling me that we should fight over an empty shell?”

Ta Lai fiddled with the jade stone ring on his finger. “Her heart is with Nie Zun and he’s right here. Everything will be solved as long as we get the heart from Nie Zun. Since Li Shen is here too, we’d just have to capture her first. Nie Zun would definitely give up the heart once we do that.

“Nie Zun, you might fool others by pretending that you don’t care about Li Shen anymore, but I wouldn’t believe it. Do you still remember what happened in that space where your five senses were rendered useless? What did you do at the time to protect her? Did you think I’d really be unaware?”

The image of that dark space reappeared in my mind.

“I did what I did because it was a natural reaction for me after seeing you get hurt. It didn’t have anything to do with being sensitive to looming danger nor being rational during times of crisis. It was simply because you were hurt. Everything I did was my subconscious mind telling me to protect you and take you away.”

I got more upset as I thought about what Nie Zun had said in the past. I saw Nie Zun smile as I stole a glance at him. “So, you’re trying to get Cang Ming to work with you?”

Cang Ming’s smile disappeared as a bloodthirsty expression took over. “I’m sorry, but I don’t intend to work with you, whether I’m planning to take Li Shen or not. Don’t you find games more interesting when there are more players involved?”

Si Luo wanted to attack me, while Jiao S and Gaoqin Jiuye were ready to launch counter-attacks. Ta Lai was eyeing me as well, but Cang Ming refused to work with him on this.

Du Yue stared at Cang Ming. “Do you think you’re really able to succeed alone without working together?”