Drip, drip~
Water droplets fell onto Gu Lian’s face. Her eyes snapped open, and in the dim environment, her pupils were unfocused for a moment before gradually sharpening again.
Sunlight streamed in from the cave entrance. The rich aroma of roasted fish drifted into her nose, while burning wood crackled in the fire.
Gu Lian shook her head and sat up, dry straw falling off her body.
“Ugh… my head hurts so much…”
She raised a hand and rubbed her slightly swollen head. Something felt off, yet her instincts told her nothing was wrong.
Her palm brushed against her scalp, and a long-forgotten sensation surged through her mind. Gu Lian frowned—this didn’t feel right…
She brought her arm in front of her. The moment she saw her hands, her expression changed completely.
Her Black Claws had reverted back to normal fingers—five slender digits, pale as jade, with none of the metallic sharpness they once had. However, on her left arm, there was now a Wolf Head Tattoo outlined in black lines.
“Changed… back?”
Gu Ye froze for a moment, then instinctively reached up to touch her cheek. It felt smooth—completely free of the hardened texture from before.
Looking down, her chest… well, completely exposed. Aside from that, her previously beast-like ankles had also returned to normal human ones.
A surge of overwhelming joy instantly washed away the gloom of being hunted. Gu Lian felt like she was about to cry. Who knew how she had survived these past few days?!
When she was tired, there was nowhere to rest. When she was hungry, she could only eat wood and stones. She was practically one step away from eating dirt to survive!
“Oh! Sister Yao Yao, she’s awake~ Should we go say hello?”
While Gu Lian was still dazed, a little girl with pink hair peeked out from behind the cave wall. Her bright, watery eyes curiously examined Gu Lian. Then suddenly, she exclaimed, “Sister Yao Yao, look! She seems a bit different from before? Why does she feel… uglier now?”
“Idiot Yi Yi, don’t say things like that. It’s very rude.”
Yi Yi, whose face was full of curiosity, was pulled back behind the wall by a hand that reached out from behind it.
“Sorry, my sister’s brain… got hit before, so it doesn’t work very well.”
???
Gu Lian blinked, staring blankly at the pink-haired girl being dragged away.
Oh, right. She remembered now. She had jumped into The Sinkhole while being chased by TFV…
A flash of realization struck her mind like lightning. Her pupils shrank, and a strange killing intent surged within her, dyeing her eyes red.
How the hell did I get out?!
“Um… friend? What’s your name?”
A timid voice came from behind the wall. Judging by the voice, it should be Yi Yi’s sister, Yao Yao.
“Me?”
Gu Lian took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, forcibly suppressing the inexplicable boiling killing intent in her heart. She replied softly, “My name is Gu Lian.”
They hadn’t killed her while she was asleep—that alone showed their attitude. There was no need to antagonize them or silence them. And if her guess was correct…
These two little girls were probably Weiyi as well.
“Big Sister Gu Lian, what are you thinking about?”
Seeing that Gu Lian hadn’t spoken for a while, Yi Yi suddenly jumped out from behind the wall. Then, as if realizing something was off, she dragged Yao Yao—who had been hiding—out with her.
“Sister Yao Yao, why are you hiding? You were the one who carried Big Sister Gu Lian back!”
“…”
Gu Lian scratched her temple. The two girls in front of her looked like they were acting cute. The younger one, Yi Yi, had waist-length pink hair tied loosely into a bow-shaped bun with a willow branch. Although her clothes were a bit worn, she radiated a pure, lively energy.
Behind her was a tail resembling a snake’s, swaying in an S-shape, though the scales at the end stood up slightly like a cat’s fur.
As for the older sister, Yao Yao—she had no tail. Her light blue eyes carried a lazy expression. Her long, wavy blue hair fell to her waist. Compared to Yi Yi, she wore ripped jeans and a slightly faded white jacket.
Unlike Yi Yi, a triangular horn grew from the right side of her forehead. Aside from their different hair colors and beast-like traits, the two sisters looked almost identical.
“Idiot Yi Yi, what are you trying to do now?”
Yao Yao pushed Yi Yi lightly. Yi Yi stumbled forward a few steps, flailed her arms to keep her balance, then turned back and stuck out her tongue.
“Stop acting cute.”
Yao Yao closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead helplessly. “Big Sister Gu Lian, my sister got hit on the head by a Lieshou before, so her behavior is a bit… strange.”
“…”
Subconsciously, Gu Lian chipped a piece of stone off the wall and popped it into her mouth, chewing it twice. Honestly, once you get used to eating stones, you might find they actually taste surprisingly good—with a kind of natural flavor.
“Big Sister Gu Lian, do you want to wear clothes? Yi Yi has lots of pretty outfits~”
Yi Yi looked Gu Lian up and down, then pulled Yao Yao in front of her to block her view. “If you go outside like this without clothes, people will think you’re a pervert~”
Crack—
Gu Lian’s hand pressed into the ground, leaving five deep finger marks. She felt her insides twist with anger. What kind of perverted nonsense was that? If I had clothes, would I be like this?!
Though… the way she said it almost made it sound a little exciting. Damn it!
“Alright, Yi Yi, go eat first.”
Yao Yao gently pushed Yi Yi, looking slightly troubled. But Yi Yi, being rather carefree, clearly didn’t care much.
“Huh? Aren’t I going to get the clothes?”
“Go eat first. I’ve already prepared everything else.”
“Ohhh~!”
Yi Yi cheered happily at the mention of food. Yao Yao’s headache seemed to worsen, but her affection for her sister was so great that she could tolerate anything.
After sending Yi Yi away, Yao Yao quietly walked over to Gu Lian. From within the inner lining of her clothes, she took out a slightly worn T-shirt and a pair of pants. Kneeling on the ground, she lowered her voice and said, “Gu Lian… Big Sister. You’ve probably already noticed—my sister and I are the same as you. We’re Weiyi.”
“I can tell. You two haven’t had it easy, have you? By the way, how did you avoid the Lieshou?”
Gu Lian put on the clothes and looked around. She was lying on a bed made of piled straw inside what seemed to be an abandoned building.
The windows were sealed with vines and wooden boards. Moss covered the stone walls. Vines and broken wood lay scattered everywhere. Looking up, the ceiling had collapsed into a hole, which had been patched from the outside with stones.
Her gaze shifted to other parts of the room. A termite-eaten table was shedding wood fragments. On it sat two cans with their tops cut off. The wooden door at the entrance, used to block the wind, had jagged bite-like marks along its edges.
At least on the surface, these two girls were not living well.
“We’re different from normal beings. Usually, as long as we don’t use our abilities, we won’t be discovered.”
“Abilities?”
Gu Lian spoke calmly, her voice low enough that only Yao Yao could hear.
“Yes. The Lieshou also have abilities. Compared to them… there’s actually no fundamental difference between us.”
Yao Yao and Yi Yi were born from the mysterious. In their view, there was no essential difference between themselves and the Lieshou who also wielded such power—one originated from the unknown, the other sought to control it.
“Actually… I want to ask you for a favor.”
“Go ahead. What do you need? You did save me, after all. I can help you with this.”
Gu Lian stretched her arms. From the very beginning—the way they called her “Big Sister” and carried her out of The Sinkhole—it had all been leading up to this request.
The fact that they hadn’t said it yet only meant one thing: it carried some risk.
But… why refuse?
Besides… she quite liked these two little girls. Even if they might have lived longer than her, there was one thing to remember.
She had transformed from a human into a Weiyi. They, on the other hand, were born from the mysterious.
She had education and experience navigating society. They had only known being hunted by Lieshou and surviving in the wild.
So… weren’t these two basically like blank sheets of paper?
Especially the older one, who looked mature but was clearly just putting on an act—wasn’t that worth investing in?
Spoil her rotten. Got it?!