Chapter 53: A New Game
“Little Fish! No!”
Xiang Er lurched forward, her body heavy, wanting to reach Shen Yuhe, to pull her back, but she was too weak!
She stumbled after a few steps, falling to the ground, the relentless rain pelting her face, her eyes stinging, her vision blurred by tears and rain.
The sky darkened abruptly, further limiting her vision. Xiang Er looked around, but she couldn’t see any light source, couldn’t see what was happening ahead.
She was going to lose it! Her Little Fish, fighting that monster! And she was stuck here, unable to help, unable to even stand up, she was useless!
Xiang Er gritted her teeth, clawing at the slippery ground, trying to stand, her fingers digging into the mud, but the ground was too wet, there was nothing to hold onto, she couldn’t get a grip, she couldn’t see!
The world was completely dark, only a few faint, reddish glimmers in the distance, like stars in the sky, or distant lights… Xiang Er stared intently at the darkness, and she seemed to see flashes of white, was that… the glint of bone spurs?
Her heart clenched in her chest, like a fist squeezing tight, unable to breathe, her body cold and trembling. She crawled forward, her body like a rag in the rain, crawling, just crawling!
She had forgotten everything, her movements driven by pure instinct, she didn’t want to run away, she wanted to go forward, towards that terrifying battle!
She had to know if Little Fish was alright!
Those bone spurs were so thick, so sharp, extending and retracting, it was a monster! A terrifying being beyond human comprehension, a product of this world gone mad! Shen Yuhe was just an ordinary person… perhaps not so ordinary, but still human!
The image replayed in her mind, over and over.
Shen Yuhe pushing her aside, taking the brunt of that thick bone spur, turning to smile at her, that smile gentle, broken, sincere, and pure.
Pure as a lily, as a camellia, as all things innocent, so beautiful, yet so fragile.
Shen Yuhe mouthing the words, don’t worry.
How could she not worry?!
Xiang Er crawled and crawled, tears and rain streaming down her face. She lifted her head, her voice hoarse, and cried out into the darkness:
“Run! Shen Yuhe! Run!”
There was no answer. She couldn’t see the battle in the darkness ahead, she couldn’t hear if there was a reply, the rain drowning out everything, the blood, the horror, the guilt… everything suspended in uncertainty.
Xiang Er lifted her head, continuing to crawl, her fingers bleeding, a sharp pain, but she kept crawling.
She could vaguely make out something now, a blur of grey ahead, some flickering lights, some blackness, and a faint, almost indistinguishable red… what were those?
She strained her eyes, but she couldn’t see clearly.
But… the rain suddenly stopped.
The world became eerily silent, the darkness even more so, a silence that terrified Xiang Er.
She stared, her eyes stinging, the salty water blurring her vision, but she could still vaguely see…
Something was approaching from the darkness.
The smell of blood. A pungent, overwhelming stench, even stronger than the smell of rain, making her nostrils ache.
A sound accompanied the stench, a scraping, dragging sound, like something large and heavy being pulled across the ground. The sound grew closer, and Xiang Er, lifting her head, saw… something larger than the darkness itself, almost blocking out the sky above her…
Then, a flash of white appeared.
Xiang Er held her breath, hope, like a wildfire, spreading through her.
As the rain stopped, an invisible barrier, imperceptible to humans, shattered, strange light filtering through the cracks.
Like the dawn breaking after a long night, the pure white of a figure slowly materialized, like a curtain being drawn back.
A woman in white, her clothes stained with blood, her high heels clicking against the ground, sending up sprays of water, red water, tinged with blood.
Xiang Er looked up, her eyes filled with uncontainable joy and relief. It was her, that familiar, beautiful face.
“Shen Yuhe!”
Her voice was hoarse as she cried out, and before she could say anything else, she burst into tears.
Tears of joy streamed down her face, but even as she cried, she couldn’t bear to close her eyes, her gaze fixed on Shen Yuhe, taking in every detail.
One of Shen Yuhe’s arms hung limply by her side, clearly useless, a dark, bloody hole in her shoulder.
Her white clothes were stained with blood, hers or the monster’s, she couldn’t tell.
Her clothes were torn, her umbrella gone, one of the straps on her high heels broken, making her limp slightly, perhaps she had other injuries as well.
Her beautiful face was streaked with blood, washed down by the rain, like the tribal markings of some ancient warrior, a badge of honor made of her enemy’s blood.
Her long hair, completely soaked, clung to her shoulders and face. She walked slowly and with difficulty, like a cold-blooded assassin after a battle, an aura of death and danger clinging to her, yet also an irresistible allure.
In Xiang Er’s blurred vision, Shen Yuhe bent down, extending her uninjured arm, and gently lifted her.
Xiang Er, leaning on her, stood up.
“Careful…”
Shen Yuhe’s voice was hoarse and tired. After helping Xiang Er to her feet, she withdrew her hand, not touching her again.
As if maintaining a cautious distance, she took a step back, her eyes carefully scanning Xiang Er’s body, a look of relief on her face.
Xiang Er suddenly remembered, in the elevator, just moments ago… she had screamed at Shen Yuhe, “Don’t touch me.”
She was such a jerk!
Tears streaming down her face, her body weak, Xiang Er leaned forward, collapsing into Shen Yuhe’s arms.
She couldn’t see Shen Yuhe’s expression, but she could feel her body stiffen in surprise, then relax, a small detail that brought her comfort.
Xiang Er wrapped her arms around Shen Yuhe’s back, pressing her body against Shen Yuhe’s, her head resting beneath her neck, the strong scent of blood filling her nostrils.
But this blood wasn’t the putrid stench from before, it was Shen Yuhe’s blood, carrying her unique sweet fragrance.
An almost intoxicating scent of blood.
Xiang Er nuzzled her face against Shen Yuhe’s neck, her voice hoarse and slightly accusatory:
“I… told you to run!”
Shen Yuhe’s voice was also hoarse, but incredibly gentle:
“I told you not to worry, I’m fine.”
Xiang Er’s heart ached. Even now, Shen Yuhe was comforting her, despite the gaping wound in her shoulder.
Thinking of this, Xiang Er immediately tried to stand up, her words tumbling out incoherently:
“No, you’re injured, your wound is so serious… we need to go to the hospital, now! Let’s go…”
But a gentle force pushed her back into the embrace.
Shen Yuhe’s uninjured hand rested on Xiang Er’s back, holding her close.
Xiang Er immediately stopped struggling, relaxing her body, her arms tightening around Shen Yuhe, her heart pounding against her ribs, wanting to burst through her skin and flesh, and merge with Shen Yuhe’s.
She didn’t need Shen Yuhe to speak.
She understood. Completely understood.
Shen Yuhe was saying, don’t go, don’t leave, let me hold you, let me be comforted after that terrifying battle.
Shen Yuhe’s hoarse voice, close to Xiang Er’s ear, said something completely unexpected:
“You see… this is the truth.”
Xiang Er hadn’t been thinking about that at all.
She had been too focused on the trust and comfort Shen Yuhe offered, on her sweet fragrance and her heartbeat, she had almost forgotten about the truth… She suddenly remembered now.
She opened her eyes slowly and looked at Shen Yuhe’s shoulder, at her long, damp hair, matted with blood.
And beneath that hair, on her jade-white neck, even at such close proximity, there were no visible veins.
Was that… the truth…
Fighting a monster covered in bone spurs and emerging unscathed, and judging by the pungent smell of blood, it was the monster who had died, not Shen Yuhe.
Her entire being, so exquisitely beautiful, almost inhuman, yet she wasn’t a celebrity, there were no records of her fame.
Her lack of common sense, her occasional adorable clumsiness.
The way she acquired things so quickly, as if she had a private express delivery service… The necklace, for example, seen just last night, appearing in her hands this morning.
Xiang Er hadn’t had time to ask about the necklace, but even she knew that something wasn’t right.
And that black substance the small eyeball had secreted, Shen Yuhe had been able to see it clearly.
Who… was Shen Yuhe?
Shen Yuhe’s hand rested on her back, her face nuzzling against Xiang Er’s neck, like a predator sniffing its prey.
Her breath, cold, damp, and sweet, caressed Xiang Er’s skin.
Shen Yuhe sighed, a long, melancholic sigh, and held Xiang Er even tighter, as if cherishing the moment.
Her voice, low and cello-like, whispered Xiang Er’s name:
“Xiang Er, Xiang Er… do you understand now? Who I am?”
A faint, chanting melody echoed in the dark silence, birds taking flight in the distant sky, the world undergoing a strange transformation…
If Xiang Er had looked up, she would have seen the hazy, golden moon, as if seen through frosted glass, slowly turning a vivid red, the blood-red consuming the fading gold…
It was the power of the world, clashing against the Evil God.
The Evil God would choose, based on her answer, whether to save, or destroy, this world.
The fate of the world hung in the balance, dependent on Xiang Er’s thoughts, and she didn’t even know it.
Her thoughts, flowing freely and naturally, reached a conclusion.
Goosebumps rose on her neck, then spread across her entire body.
She thought she understood the truth, piecing together the clues, arriving at the correct answer.
She had summoned Shen Yuhe.
The Evil God came first, then Shen Yuhe!
She slowly pulled away from Shen Yuhe’s embrace and stood up straight, her body trembling.
The frail girl, her back slender, stood tall, facing the rain-soaked woman, unflinching.
Xiang Er stared at Shen Yuhe, her gaze unfamiliar, as if seeing her for the first time.
Shen Yuhe’s face was expressionless, waiting for her answer. Xiang Er didn’t see the shadow on the ground behind Shen Yuhe rapidly expanding, turning into a swirling mass of darkness, sprouting countless tentacles.
Just as the tentacles were about to break free from the shadow, just as the crimson red was about to consume the moon, just as the world was about to be turned upside down…
Xiang Er spoke.
Her voice was soft:
“So you’re… a person with special abilities? Here to help me deal with that thing?”
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