Into The Sea

Lan Wu stared at her silently, but suddenly a muffled sound caught her attention.

Coming back to her senses, she turned toward the noise and met a grotesque face. The man was covered in blood, with a gaping hole in his chest. Yet somehow, he wasn’t completely dead, making raspy sounds from his throat while bloodshot eyes fixed upon her.

In her struggle with Ji Lingyue, she had almost forgotten the dangerous situation they were in.

“You really have the wrong person,” Lan Wu said, turning to leave. “I still need to find someone. You should run too.”

Ji Lingyue grabbed her wrist. “Then what’s this?”

Lan Wu froze, seeing the silver bracelet gleaming beautifully on her wrist. Her eyelashes fluttered nervously as she stammered, “This… this is…”

Ji Lingyue stood, casually slicing an approaching black beast in half, but her gaze never left Lan Wu. “Lan Wu, why won’t you admit it?”

“I’m not…”

Ji Lingyue cut her off furiously. “You just walked away without a care, ignored me all these years, you never came back to find me, not even a single word or letter! You always hated how I felt about demons, but haven’t your actions only proved how cold and heartless they truly are?!”

Lan Wu clenched her fists, staring at her for a long moment before whispering, “I have something important to do right now. I don’t want to…”

“Ah Li, right?” Ji Lingyue scoffed, her voice laced with bitterness. “What, have you found yourself a new lover? Are you deceiving her like you did me, or have you finally learned how to be honest?”

“Don’t talk nonsense!” Lan Wu retorted, she frowned as she raised her voice. “Ah Li is my disciple!”

“See… you admit it.” Ji Lingyue tightened her grip, her eyelashes trembling as tears welled up in her eyes. Yet, a smile slowly spread across her face. “You really are Lan Wu…”

Lan Wu’s resolve almost crumbled at the sight of Ji Lingyue’s anguish. But the memory of her purpose here, of Ah Li’s unknown whereabouts, steeled her resolve. She yanked her hand free and strode away.

Ji Lingyue stood frozen, her gaze fixed on her empty hand. Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears before she finally closed them.

When she opened them again, the tears were gone, replaced by cold resolve.

Lan Wu had only taken a few steps when a wave of guilt washed over her. She slowed to a stop, hesitating. With a sigh, she turned back.

Ji Lingyue stood where she had left her, the wind whipping her hair around her face. Lan Wu couldn’t make out her expression. Just as she was about to speak, a flash of gold caught her eye. In the blink of an eye, a thin, nearly invisible sword was at her face.

She jumped back in alarm, instinctively raising her hands in defense. Silver threads shot out from the bracelet on her wrist, wrapping tightly around the blade, halting its advance. Lan Wu stared at the cold, sharp tip inches from her face, her voice laced with disbelief. “Are you trying to kill me?”

Ji Lingyue said nothing, yanking the sword back and pulling the still-dazed Lan Wu toward her. Seeing Lan Wu still somewhat disoriented, Ji Lingyue silently opened her hand, her palm glowing faintly. Long, needle-thin spikes appeared, and without hesitation, she struck them toward Lan Wu’s abdomen.

Lan Wu’s eyes widened. She finally understood what Ji Lingyue was trying to do.

She wanted to seal her spiritual core!

The silver threads retracted into her bracelet as Lan Wu summoned her own sword with one hand, swiftly slicing through a black beast that lunged at her. With her free hand, she blocked the energy spikes, her blue spiritual energy flowing like water to meet the attack and slowly push it back.

Ji Lingyue frowned, realizing Lan Wu was more powerful than she anticipated, no longer someone she could easily subdue.

She refused to back down, Ji Lingyue channeled her spiritual energy into the spikes, seemingly determined to overpower Lan Wu. But just as their powers clashed, Lan Wu’s gaze flickered past Ji Lingyue’s shoulder, landing on something behind her.

The sound of scales scraping against the sand grew closer. Ji Lingyue sensed the approaching danger but didn’t flinch. She even lowered her sword, showing no intention of defending herself.

Lan Wu’s expression changed, growing more anxious as her eyes kept darting to Ji Lingyue’s back. “You…”

The remaining cultivators were either dead or had fled. As far as she could see, they were the only two left. The beast horde was closing in from all sides, the fastest ones already upon them. Still, Ji Lingyue made no move to protect herself, focused solely on pushing her energy spikes forward. Lan Wu realized what she was trying to do, her chest heaved with frustration. At the last moment, she raised her left hand, reaching over Ji Lingyue’s shoulder to strike at the gaping maw about to clamp down on her neck.

With this opening, the spikes were left unobstructed, piercing into Lan Wu’s stomach. She gasped, pain searing through her as her spiritual core was sealed. Just then, Ji Lingyue collided into her, wrapping her arms tightly around Lan Wu’s waist.

Ji Lingyue leaped onto her flying sword just before hundreds of black beasts could reach them. Lan Wu coughed dryly, tasting blood in her throat. She looked up through the pain to see Ji Lingyue bite her finger and move the bloodied tip toward Lan Wu’s forehead.

Lan Wu panicked, grabbing Ji Lingyue’s wrist as she wavered on the edge of falling off. “You’re trying to form a blood contract with me?!”

“So what if I am”, Ji Lingyue’s eyes were ice-cold as she spat out. “You’re always trying to leave me, always abandoning me. Since you won’t return to my side willingly, then I won’t hold back anymore!”

“Have you lost your mind?!”

The repeated attacks had pushed Lan Wu to her limit. Her dark eyes flashed with a blue light, her pupils narrowing until she resembled a cornered beast.

“Lost my mind?” Ji Lingyue laughed bitterly, enunciating each word. “You’re the reason I’m like this. You better stay like this, so this madwoman won’t hesitate to do what needs to be done.”

Lan Wu stared at her, speechless. After a long moment, the blue light in her eyes faded, replaced by a familiar gentleness. She released Ji Lingyue’s wrist and whispered, “I won’t let you bind me.”

Ji Lingyue stared at her unblinkingly.

Lan Wu sighed, wiping the blood from her lip. “Since you’ve sealed my spiritual core and won’t let me use my spiritual power, I don’t need to hide anymore.”

With a final glance at Ji Lingyue, she spread her arms and leaned back, allowing herself to fall into the heart of the oncoming horde.

Ji Lingyue’s eyes widened in alarm. She lunged forward, but her fingers grasped at empty air. She looked down in horror, seeing Lan Wu’s robes fluttering like a butterfly as she fell into the sea of black beasts, disappearing almost instantly.

Ji Lingyue froze, her heart feeling as if it was being crushed by an invisible hand. She couldn’t breathe.

But in the next moment, a black beast roared and leaped from the horde. The silver-haired woman sat astride a beast with a scorpion head and snake tail, glancing up at Ji Lingyue once before racing away with the surging tide.