A shield suddenly materialized in front of Wen Xian, blocking her body. Yu Xiang was still startled when sharp whistling sounds rang out and danger surged toward him. He hurriedly dodged to the side, but the vines appeared behind him as if they had eyes. In the next instant, he felt a sharp pain at his neck, and his entire body was flung outward.
“Third Brother!”
Bai Zhisheng dashed forward at once and intercepted Yu Xiang midway.
Having survived countless life-and-death situations, Yu Xiang steadied himself in a split second and grabbed the vine around his neck. With a loud shout, he activated his strength ability, and Wen Xian was yanked forward abruptly.
She dispelled the vine instantly, her body coming to a sudden halt, it was Da Bai biting onto her clothes.
Both sides immediately retreated to their original positions. After that brief exchange, much of the contempt faded from Yu Xiang’s face, though he still wore a grin. Touching the red welt around his neck, his eyes turned vicious. “You really are fast. I underestimated you.”
Fortunately, Bai Zhisheng possessed speed abilities; otherwise, Yu Xiang would have been dragged over just now. Even more astonishing was that she could manifest two different forms at once, and that wooden shield of hers had actually blocked most of the bullets.
Yu Xiang stared at the wooden shield in front of Wen Xian, his expression dark and wary.
At that moment, Ba Hai stepped forward. His gaze fell on the patch of blood seeping through Wen Xian’s sleeve, and he said calmly, “Wen Xian, I may be ugly and not tall. Maybe I don’t fit what women consider handsome. But I truly like you. If you follow me from now on, no one will dare bully you again. If you still refuse…”
His straight brows twitched slightly, and his hoarse voice made one’s scalp prickle. “You might be able to survive against Third Brother alone, but if the three of us attack together, you may not be so lucky.”
Without changing her expression, Wen Xian shifted her arm slightly. Sure enough, she could feel something lodged inside, but there was no pain. She quietly let out a breath of relief.
She had taken a gamble just now. If the wooden shield had failed to stop the bullets, she might have been riddled with holes instead of merely grazed by a stray shot. She might not have died, but her greatest secret would have been exposed.
Now that she had confidence, what did Ba Hai’s threat amount to?
She gave a cold smile. With the wooden shield in front of her, she charged out in an instant.
Ba Hai had not expected her to act without hesitation. His face darkened at once. He drew his handgun in a swift motion and fired at her head without the slightest pause.
“Bang.”
It hit.
Wen Xian fell to the ground. The wooden shield collapsed with her, covering her upper body. She lay completely still.
“Awooo!”
Da Bai seemed heartbroken. It slowly lay down beside her and stopped moving as well.
“Is she dead?”
Old Qiu, who had been watching from a distance the entire time, could not help asking Xiang Yuyang, “Is she dead?”
Xiang Yuyang’s phoenix-shaped eyes drew together slightly. He could not quite describe what he was feeling, but he still nodded. “Most likely. Ba Hai used to make a living along the border. I’ve heard his marksmanship is excellent. More importantly, he’s ruthless and steady. If he was determined to kill Wen Xian, she probably wouldn’t survive.”
After saying that, he sighed inwardly. The reason he had stepped back earlier was precisely because he had sensed Wen Xian’s strength. Even Shao Qingqing’s sudden, humble plea for mercy had likely come from realizing how much stronger Wen Xian had become.
He had originally intended to build goodwill from then on. He had not expected that even such powerful abilities would still fall before firearms.
He felt a twinge of regret. Seeing Ba Hai walk over with his gun to check on her, he was already considering how to befriend the man, when the situation changed abruptly. The wooden shield covering Wen Xian suddenly flipped up and smashed toward Ba Hai. He retreated quickly, but at the same time a vine shot out along the ground, instantly binding his feet. With a sharp tug, Ba Hai was yanked down.
“Boss!”
“Big Brother!”
Bai Zhisheng and Yu Xiang had always trusted Ba Hai’s strength and thus had not been particularly on guard. Now they were shocked. Bai Zhisheng rushed forward, intending to repeat the same tactic as before, but Wen Xian was prepared. A tender green vine shot straight toward his chest.
Bai Zhisheng paid it no mind, until the next second, with a wet thud, the vine pierced through his chest. Another thud, and it withdrew in a flash. Only then did the pain register.
“Second Brother!”
Yu Xiang, who had been right behind him, flew into a rage and swung a powerful punch.
“Awooo!”
“Ah! My arm!”
Da Bai leapt out like lightning and bit Yu Xiang’s arm clean off. With a disgusted flick, it tossed the severed limb aside and lunged at him again. Yu Xiang was forced to dodge, no longer able to spare a thought for his two brothers.
At that moment, a series of gunshots rang out. Ba Hai gripped his guns with both hands and fired at Wen Xian in a frenzied sweep, but most of the bullets were blocked by the wooden shield. Meanwhile, several vines attacked him. Although he struggled dability userately to evade, his feet were bound; despite his fierce resistance, he was quickly tied up.
“Ah! Help! Brother, Big Brother! Help!”
Ba Hai looked over and saw Yu Xiang being treated like a toy, pinned under Da Bai’s paw and rolled back and forth. From time to time came the sound of bones shattering, or the sight of him coughing up blood. No matter how he tried to escape, the white wolf would always press him down again. The strength ability he had been so proud of was nothing before Da Bai, like a child’s punch, no more than a tickle.
As for Bai Zhisheng, his chest soaked in blood, he lay there motionless, his life or death unknown.
Ba Hai’s eyelids twitched violently. When he turned back to look at Wen Xian, his expression had completely changed.
At last, something other than indifference surfaced on his face. With a self-mocking tone, he said, “I, Ba Hai, have run rampant for half my life. In southern Myanmar they call me the ‘Living [1]“Yama” refers to the god of death in several Asian mythologies, particularly in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Chinese folklore. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_1830774_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_1830774_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });Yama.’ I never thought I’d end up in your hands today.”
Fresh blood was seeping from two more wounds on Wen Xian’s shoulder and thigh, yet the forehead Ba Hai had been certain he struck was completely unscathed.
Her face was expressionless, fatigue hard to conceal in her eyes, yet when she looked down at Ba Hai from above, her bearing was cold and commanding, impossible to ignore. “Isn’t this how the world works now? When I was weak, Ding Wei could try to kill me whenever she wanted, and you could insult me as you pleased. Now that I’m strong, naturally it’s my turn to decide what happens.”
To her surprise, Ba Hai did not hate her. Instead, a faint sense of mutual recognition rose within him. His coarse voice carried a rough sigh. “It’s just a pity I’m ugly and not to your taste. Otherwise, no matter what, I would’ve pursued you to the end.”
Wen Xian remained indifferent. “Sorry. Whether you’re ugly or handsome, I wouldn’t accept you. Goodbye.”
As she spoke, a tender green shoot appeared beside her, poised to pierce straight into Ba Hai’s chest.
“Hey, hey! Stop! Stop right there!”
An anxious male voice suddenly rang out. Immediately afterward, a dozen or so men emerged from behind and surrounded everyone present.
Wen Xian recognized a few of them; the rest were men in light brown camouflage uniforms, each armed, each wearing a sharp, stern expression.
Standing at the front was a fair, plump man wearing gold-rimmed glasses, dressed in an all-white casual suit, adorned with a gold chain and rings, a black leather briefcase hooked over his arm.
Meeting Wen Xian’s cold gaze as if he did not notice it at all, he smiled warmly. “Miss, Wen here has long looked forward to meeting you. Earlier, my men saw your impressive bearing, along with that big white wolf of yours, at the building materials factory. I immediately sent them to invite you to stay at Lishi Base for a while. Who would have thought that by the time they arrived, you had disappeared? I later sent people searching for quite some time before finally finding you here. I never expected you to be sparring with some of my other subordinates.”
A life-and-death struggle was reduced by him to mere “sparring.” Wen Xian’s gaze at him deepened slightly.
He gestured toward Ba Hai and his brothers lying on the ground, as well as Chen Lian and the others, and said with a cheerful smile, “They say troubled times produce heroes. It’s absolutely true. Look at this, so many men, and every one of them defeated by you, Miss. Wen here admires you from the bottom of his heart.”
He did not forget to add, glancing at Da Bai who had returned to her side, “Even this big white wolf is extraordinary, both beautiful and imposing. Wen here is truly envious.”
Although his words were courteous, the muzzles of the camouflage-clad men behind him were uniformly aimed at her. Wen Xian swept them with a glance and asked calmly, “What do you want?”
Boss Wen paid no mind to her cool attitude and replied enthusiastically, “Miss, you’ve been sparring for quite some time, haven’t you? It’s about to get dark. I see you’re injured as well. It’s cold and dangerous outside. Why not come with us to the base to recuperate for a few days?”
Wen Xian said nothing. Interpreting her silence, Boss Wen continued, “As the saying goes, no discord, no concord. Since you’ve gotten acquainted with Ba Hai and his brothers, why not treat each other as friends from now on? I assume you have no objections, Ba Hai?” The last sentence was directed at Ba Hai, who was still restrained.
Ba Hai pretended not to see the nearly bulging eyes of Kaizi and the others at the sight of him and his brothers in such a miserable state. He tugged at the corner of his mouth in what passed for a smile. “If Miss Wen doesn’t mind, we brothers would naturally be honored.”
Wen Xian looked at him. “Your two brothers might already be dead.”
Ba Hai let out a coarse laugh. “Those of us who walk this road have always known there’s always someone stronger out there. The day we stepped into it, we understood we could die at any time. You and I have no grudge. I was the one who started this conflict. If they’re really dead, it’s because they weren’t skilled enough. It has nothing to do with you.”
Then he added meaningfully, “I may be ugly, but everyone in our circles knows my code. You don’t need to worry about me taking revenge. Everyone here can testify.”
Boss Wen hurriedly chimed in, “That’s right, that’s right. The Bai brothers may look fierce, but they truly value loyalty. Any one of them is stronger than my own team. Yet just because I saved them once at the beginning of the apocalypse, they willingly stayed to work for me, never shirking responsibility. Miss Wen, you can trust that.”
Wen Xian fell silent for a moment. At last, she relaxed her hand. Before everyone’s eyes, the towering wooden shield and the vines covering the ground vanished in an instant.
Kaizi and the others instinctively looked toward her hands. Wood-type abilities usually required some kind of wooden medium to channel the power, yet they saw nothing. They were puzzled, not sure whether it was because night was falling or because her medium was simply too small to notice.
In the end, Wen Xian agreed to go to Lishi Base. Before leaving, however, she asked to change her clothes.
Boss Wen and the others assumed she simply disliked having bloodstained garments and paid it no mind. After she changed, the group set off back to the Jinpan Grand Hotel. Chen Lian and his people were taken along as well. As for how many of them were still alive, Wen Xian no longer concerned herself with it.
Boss Wen was extremely considerate and invited Wen Xian to ride in the same vehicle, a heavily modified off-road SUV, its massive wheels nearly as tall as she was. Wen Xian declined. She mounted Da Bai and followed behind the car instead. Boss Wen did not insist, and the convoy did not travel fast.
When they arrived at the Jinpan Grand Hotel, Da Bai’s appearance stirred up an uproar. Boss Wen ordered his men to keep things under control, and Wen Xian watched as the onlookers were dispersed.
Originally, Boss Wen wanted to arrange a room for her on a higher floor, but Wen Xian refused to be separated from Da Bai. She chose to stay in the duty room of the former customer service department on the first floor. Feeling that this was too modest for her, Boss Wen sent over many supplies and had the room arranged properly, thick bedding, a sturdy bed, plenty of fruit and snacks, doing his best to make her feel at home.
Later, he invited her to a welcoming banquet. Wen Xian declined, citing her injuries and the need to recuperate. Boss Wen did not press the matter, offering a few gentle reminders before taking his leave.
After closing the door, the calm expression on Wen Xian’s face visibly drained of color.
She walked straight to Da Bai and sat down beside it, lifting its foreleg and burrowing into its thick, furry belly without moving again.
Da Bai froze for a moment. Slowly, it lowered its foreleg and wrapped her in an embrace. Its large head bent down, resting over her own, and it too remained still.
References[+]