Chapter 44 : Escape
Escape
"Aren't you about to die? You really are pitiful."
Zhixi looked at the heavily injured Aili in front of her and mocked.
"I don't care who says it, I just don't want to hear it from you."
Aili barely managed to stand up.
"Miss Zhixi, right? Didn't Luna come with you?"
Lingqian questioned.
Having seen this red-haired girl once before at Yushi Mall, she had always been on Lingqian's mind, but she hadn't expected her to be this powerful.
"Ah, you're Luna's sister, your name is... Lingqian, right?"
Zhixi nodded thoughtfully.
"Idiot!"
Aili shouted emotionally.
"Elder sister, huh? Looks like my feeling was right."
A rare smile appeared on Lingqian's face.
"What are you doing?!"
Aili was a bit agitated.
"Calm yourself first. These are things she'll have to face sooner or later. I'm just letting the overture come a bit early."
Standing to the side, shen Baixue held her gun and asked, "So, are you an enemy? Or an enemy?"
"An enemy?"
Zhixi glanced at Aili and replied coldly, "In fact, erasing you here and blaming the other side doesn't sound bad, either."
From the killing intent radiating from Zhixi, she was dead serious.
"...."
Aili stared at her coldly.
"How ugly,"
Shui Cangxuan said in disgust.
"Just kidding."
Suddenly, Zhixi changed the subject, and the tense atmosphere instantly dissipated.
"I can't use healing skills. Can you still fight?"
Zhixi asked.
"... Looks like not..."
Aili's condition was much too bad.
"Wait, I have a suggestion,"
Lingqian said.
"What?"
"Join the Empire."
"Why?"
貳究⊙吾 珊岜柒亦⒊
"It's simple. Because you have the ability. Counting you two, the Empire would then have four Sages, more than half the total. Uniting humanity may not be impossible."
"You haven't even become king yet, and you're already planning to be emperor?"
Zhixi narrowed her eyes.
"Exactly,"
Lingqian made no attempt to hide her ambition.
"For this, you'd even use the sister you always looked down on?"
"I only value ability. As long as you're qualified enough, I don't care who you are."
"And what's in it for us?"
"Everything I can offer in my power."
"Alright, sounds like a good deal—I've got no reason to refuse."
Zhixi reached out her right hand. Lingqian was slightly surprised, but then she extended her own. The two shook hands. She hadn't expected Zhixi to accept so readily.
But just as Zhixi's foot stepped on Lingqian's shadow—
"Just kidding."
Zhixi's voice dropped to a whisper.
"Anyone who dares hurt Luna (Mama), deserves to die."
"Eh?"
As everyone froze in surprise, a bizarre giant shark suddenly leaped from the shadow behind Lingqian. Pitch black except for its green-glowing eyes, its gaping mouth filled with sharp fangs, it seemed intent on swallowing Lingqian whole.
There was nowhere to escape from those jaws.
'Am I going to die?'
Lingqian couldn't help but think.
"Sky Curtain!"
"Treading Snow!"
In that desperate moment, Shui Cangxuan urgently cast a shield on Lingqian, while Shen Baixue charged at the monstrous fish.
The size difference was overwhelming—like bait rushing at a shark.
"Domain: Frost Nova."
Six icicles abruptly rose around the giant fish, with chain-bound locks suspending it in midair. Shen Baixue, like a snow sprite, moved swiftly through her domain; at some point, her spear had become an ice blade, carving up the giant fish so quickly that only afterimages could be seen. In no time, the fish was sliced to pieces.
Then, something strange happened: the giant fish turned into a shadow and slipped beneath Lingqian's feet.
The towering ice pillars, naturally, caught the attention of the Imperial Capital's residents. Some, believing it was an enemy attack, sparked quite a panic.
"Despicable wretch."
When Shui Cangxuan rebuked Zhixi in fury, she realized both Zhixi and Aili had already vanished.
"What was that? Summoning spell?"
Lingqian asked, still shaken—this was the closest she had ever come to death.
"I don't know. At the very least, in the human world, there shouldn't be things that jump out of shadows. Nor have I seen such a thing in the Divine Realm."
"Then, only in the Third Layer of Hell, or perhaps..."
Shui Cangxuan trailed off.
"Let's go back. We've caused quite a commotion, and there's a lot to deal with."
"When did it happen? Has my good-for-nothing sister really grown this strong?"
Shen Baixue casually slashed the air with her sword, cutting a fly neatly in two.
"What is it?"
"Nothing, just a 'bug'."
......
Several kilometers away, atop a tall building where Shen Baixue was located, Jin Xue had naturally considered that her surveillance would be discovered by Shen Baixue. However, the necessary information had already been obtained. Now, it was time to report to Lord Xing Sha.