Chapter 21: Bluffing

Bang!

The shot pierced Gu Lian’s left shoulder.

A bloody mist mixed with bone fragments sprayed through the air.

Dirt flew everywhere as she slammed heavily onto the ground.

‘Dammit, what kind of bullet is this?’

Her ears rang with a sharp buzz as blood welled in her mouth.

A wave of shock traveled through her limbs, eventually reaching her skull.

At the joint where her left arm met her body, a dark, bloody hole had appeared.

If she had not dodged quickly just now, the shot would not have simply pierced her shoulder; it would have pierced her heart.

Earlier, just as the bullet was about to tear through her chest, Gu Lian had not pushed the log in her hands away.

Instead, she had used the log as a brace against the ground, using the counterforce to tilt her body to the side.

Furthermore, the moment the bullet touched her skin, she relaxed her body instantly.

This prevented the bullet from piercing through immediately, allowing her body to ride the bullet’s momentum and fall backward.

Seizing that opening, Gu Lian hunched her waist and tilted her head back.

The bullet had eventually grazed the muscle and bone of her left shoulder, causing the flesh to explode, but that was the absolute limit of what she could do to survive.

“Pah, I guess it really wasn’t going to be that simple.”

Spitting on the ground, Lan charged toward Gu Lian.

He had no confidence in escaping this monster—or rather, he had never intended to run away in the first place.

“Cough, cough…”

Gu Lian braced her arms and pushed her body off the ground.

A grayish-white flame seemed to burn within her gaze.

At that moment, Lan swung his pistol like a club, aiming for Gu Lian’s head.

She responded instinctively with a roundhouse kick to Lan’s abdomen.

Thud!

Flecks of blood sprayed from Lan’s mouth as he stumbled back several steps.

He did not dare retreat too far because Gu Lian had already pounced.

Her right hand formed a fist, swinging through the air in a wide arc.

“You—”

With a heavy impact, Lan’s body tilted forward as a punch slammed into his neck.

Beads of blood splattered from his mouth, and he felt as though his neck were about to snap.

As Lan’s body was nearly airborne and falling, Gu Lian grabbed his head with her right hand and drove her knee into his stomach.

Splurt.

Lan coughed up bile.

Gu Lian released her grip and stepped slightly to the side, letting Lan’s body slump forward in a curled position.

As he fell, Gu Lian took a step to the right.

Her pitch-black right claws clamped onto Lan’s neck, and she applied pressure with her fingertips.

Crack.

The sound of snapping bone rang out clearly.

Lan’s eyes rolled back as the pistol he had been clutching slipped from his hand.

His once sturdy body went completely limp; this time, she had not held back.

“If you had stayed down like a good boy, you would have had a chance to live.

But since you won’t cooperate, I don’t need you anymore.”

If it had not been for that final bullet, she might have let him live.

But that last shot had nearly killed her, so she no longer felt like sparing his life.

As for the two heavily injured ones, she truly had not dealt them a fatal blow.

However, this was a forest at night.

If no one came to provide immediate rescue, only death awaited them.

She was a Weiyi, a monster, and they were Lieshou.

She felt she had already shown enough mercy for the sake of that 30,000 yuan.

Gu Lian let go, and Lan’s corpse hit the ground, his limbs twisted at unnatural angles.

Ignoring the dead hunter, she pressed her palm against her left shoulder.

‘It really hurts… if that bullet had actually pierced my chest or neck, I would be dead today.’

A cold sensation spread from her left shoulder.

Gu Lian’s face contorted as she weathered the initial numbness, her body trembling slightly under the intense pain.

After giving Lan’s body one last kick, Gu Lian headed toward The Sinkhole.

With one dead and two unconscious from heavy injuries, and given that five had already run away, she was temporarily safe for the time being.

She did not know when the Lieshou would attack next, but she assumed they would organize a second round within 2 hours.

This time, the people they sent would only be more numerous and stronger than the last.

After walking for a while at a brisk pace, Gu Lian became so hungry she could hardly stand it.

She yanked several berry bushes out by their roots and ate while she traveled.

Soon, she reached the top of The Sinkhole.

Looking down from above, the faint glow at the bottom of the pit had vanished, and the Cryptic Energy had become very thin.

‘Is the evolution over?

That makes sense.

If this evolution lasted a long time, Yao Yao wouldn’t have been able to handle it.’

Gu Lian whispered to herself and walked toward the Small Stone House.

She traveled through the deep woods, winding and turning for half an hour until she found the familiar small hill.

As she entered, she noticed out of the corner of her eye that the place where she had hidden her things had been dug up.

Walking to the small house that was built almost directly into the mountain, Gu Lian pushed open the door and entered.

The room was currently in total disarray.

The few pieces of furniture lay scattered on the ground as if a great battle had taken place here.

“Ha… ha…”

Heavy breathing echoed from within the room.

Gu Lian navigated through the fallen furniture and walked into the inner room.

A snake-like claw the size of a half-grown child came swinging at her.

The snake claw tore through the air, creating a sharp whistling sound.

Facing this attack, Gu Lian stood her ground.

She did not shift her stance or even raise a hand.

The gust of wind blew Gu Lian’s hair back, revealing her perfect face.

When the palm was barely 30 centimeters away from her, her pupils suddenly turned grayish-white, and she struck like lightning.

Boom!

A sound like muffled thunder erupted between their palms.

The resulting airflow blew her bangs back.

Gu Lian shook her head and sighed.

“I have no ill intent.

Don’t be so hostile toward me.”

“Leave… this place…”

“Like hell I will.

You need to leave this place too.

The Lieshou are coming.

Are you just going to stay here and wait to die?

I could block the first wave, but I absolutely cannot block the second.

They’ll be here in 1 hour at most.”

“…”

The owner of the snake claw, Yao Yao, remained silent for a moment.

The claw blocking the doorway slowly shrank and transformed back into a fair, delicate little hand.

Yao Yao stepped out from behind the wall.

When she saw Gu Lian’s left shoulder, which was still healing, her expression softened considerably.

“Why… are you here?”

“To do what I was supposed to do.”

Gu Lian walked into the room, and Yao Yao followed behind her.

She stopped to look around the room, finally spotting Yi Yi lying on a pile of straw.

“Has Yi Yi successfully evolved into human form?

When will she wake up?”

“One day… but she can no longer fully revert to her Weiyi form.

She can only transform parts of her body at most.”

Yao Yao lowered her gaze, her thoughts unreadable.

“No, no, you misunderstood me.

What I meant was, will she be discovered by human instruments?”

Gu Lian walked to Yi Yi’s side and poked her rosy cheek with a finger.

Sure enough, Yi Yi’s tail had disappeared.

“No.

Usually, the Cryptic Energy is gathered within the core inside the heart.

As long as she doesn’t use that energy, she generally won’t be discovered.

Why are you suddenly asking this?”

Yao Yao rubbed her abdomen.

Gu Lian shifted her gaze to watch Yao Yao for a moment.

“I want to take Yi Yi to Human Society.

Living in the deep woods forever isn’t the answer.

Didn’t she say she wanted to be an Idol?

How can she be an Idol without an education?”

At this point, Gu Lian’s tone shifted.

“We have 1 hour at most.

And I mean at most.

You should know how the Lieshou operate.

We need to move fast.”

This caused Yao Yao’s expression to turn grim, for she knew that what the other said was true.

Gently rubbing her temples, Gu Lian felt a headache coming on.

There were some things she did not dare tell Yao Yao.

For instance, the fact that she had killed one of the Lieshou and left two others heavily injured on the spot.

A 1 hour window was only the ideal scenario.

In reality, having half an hour would be considered lucky.

Of course, if she told Yao Yao these things, the girl wouldn’t think; she would simply grab Yi Yi and run immediately.

Naturally, Gu Lian had her own selfish motives.

She truly liked these two girls, so she did not plan on letting them continue fleeing through the wilderness.

Entering Human Society was a very good option.

This was why she had previously described herself as an illegal resident.

As for whether she would be discovered…

She would go and test the waters herself first.

If it worked out, it wouldn’t be too late to bring Yi Yi over.

As long as there were no damnable blood tests, she was quite confident in herself.