Split Zone No.13

Though I felt the malice in what I said, I didn’t actually know what exactly was it that made it feel so malicious. But what I didn’t expect was for Gaoqin Jiuye to pounce on me.

He suddenly hugged me.

It felt foreign and unfamiliar. From that hug, I could tell he definitely was not Gao Qi.

“It’s different right, me and him.” I heard his enchanting voice in my ear.

“Yeah, different,” I answered softly.

Gaoqin Jiuye seemed to have wanted to say something else, but before he could do so, both of us felt this gust of wind above us.

A familiar feeling of unease overcame me, and I pushed Gaoqin Jiuye away. Something hit me as I looked up.

Thud!

“Why do I always have to get hit by falling objects in such an enormous Great Hall!” I lay on the floor complaining while the girl who fell on me was struggling to get up.

“You scared me.” Jiao S extended a hand to help me up as she stood up.

“Lucky I used my MF. At least I didn’t break you into pieces even though there was very little time for me to react.”

My lips twitched as I responded, “I’ve already been broken into pieces earlier.”

I realized Nie Zun had also fell from above as I stood up, but he didn’t crash like Jiao S did.

“This is... the Great Hall?” Jiao S looked around, surprise on her face.

Nie Zun did not take his eyes off me ever since arriving here.

“Yes, you guys were swallowed by that snake too?”

Nie Zun answered calmly, “We got swallowed on purpose, to look for the both of you.”

“How’re things in the Southern District?” Gaoqin Jiuye asked.

Jiao S looked glum. “How should I put it. Nobody knew where those monsters came from, and Nie Zun and I definitely cannot turn the tide on our own. Since the both of you had already disappeared into the stomach of that snake, we decided to just follow.”

“That was weird. Also, why would Laurel appear together with those monsters? Why does the stomach of the snake lead here to the Great Hall?” I felt like I was about to go insane.

We were all silent.

“Since we’re already here, let’s go out and have a look,” Jiao S said.

“The problem is that we aren’t able to leave. That glass seems to be able to cancel out MF, and Gaoqin Jiuye and I can’t think of anything else.”

Jiao S walked over to the glass window and used a similar attack to what Gaoqin Jiuye did with the air currents!

Nothing changed. The glass window looked as good as new.

“Try it this way. You’ll see how the MF feels like it’s being absorbed.” I pressed my palms against the window as I demonstrated it to Jiao S and Nie Zun.

Following my example, they pressed their palms against the window.

“You feel it right?” I smiled at Jiao S.

Her expression changed. “Wait, don’t take your hands away!”

I was a little stunned at her reaction, but I followed her instructions.

When I pressed my hands against the window again, a peculiar feeling entered my palms, spreading throughout my entire body.

“What’s this feeling...” I muttered.

Nie Zun’s eyes flashed. “This feels as if that the glass would melt into a liquid form when all three of us have our palms against it, as if it was about to suck us in.”

What Nie Zun said reminded me of something, and I turned back quickly to Gaoqin Jiuye. “Gaoqin Jiuye, come over quickly. Try to press your palms against this.”

Though Gaoqin Jiuye seemed doubtful about this, he still walked over and did what I asked.

A miracle happened when he put his hands against the glass.

It was as if the last key had opened the final lock. When Gaoqin Jiuye’s hands touched the glass, it turned into a transparent liquid form, and whirlpools appeared where our palms were, slowly sucking us into them.

“Shall we enter?” I asked the others, since we were still unsure of what would be on the other side.

The three of them met my eyes.

Once I was sure of their decision, we let the glass suck us in.

In just a minute or so, the four of us had passed through that glass in the Great Hall and arrived outside in the thick fog.

The Great Hall was already gone when we turned back to look.

“It’s exactly like Yu Liang said. I guess we’ll be able to see three huge doors soon if we continue walking ahead.” I realized there was nothing but thick fog surrounding us as I looked around.

“Everything is so bizarre. We better be careful,” Jiao S added.

“Si Luo and Guan Nie are still with us, right?”

A transparent vortex appeared in the fog with a wave of Jiao S’s hand, and Guan Nie’s prone figure was partially hidden in that vortex.

“As long as our MF does not reach its lowest point at any time, they’ll be safe with us,” Jiao S explained.

I nodded in response, while Nie Zun said, “It has already been four days since Guan Nie got injured. If we aren’t able to find the person who can save him within three days, his life might be in danger.”

Jiao S heaved a sigh. “That’s right. Moreover, we don’t even know where this person is. And now, we’ve ended up here in this godforsaken place.”

Gaoqin Jiuye smirked. “There’s no need for you people to be so forlorn. I’ve already told you I can find the person who can save him in the Northern District. Jiao S, no need to care too much about Guan Nie when you still have Si Luo to think about.”

Jiao S returned the smirk. “Who’s going to care about my subordinates if I don’t? Are you going to care about him? There’d probably be no need for me to think of how I can save this subordinate of mine if it were not because of you, who wasn’t even willing to look him in the eye properly.”

“Alright, stop arguing the moment you see each other. The priority now is to look for the person who can save Guan Nie. Gaoqin Jiuye, lead the way since you know what to do.”

I extended a hand toward Gaoqin Jiuye, signaling for him to walk ahead.

He walked towards the three of us with narrowed eyes, before turning and walking straight into the fog without looking back.

We were met with the three huge doors after just passing through one layer of fog.

I frowned slightly. All of these seemed to have been prepared specially for us, as if everything was waiting for our arrival.

“Why were we able to exit the Great Hall only when all four of us used MF on that glass? Yu Liang and Song Lu didn’t have to do that previously. Does this mean that all of these were specially prepared and designed for us?”

In response to Jiao S’s suspicions, I answered glumly, “It’s possible that this is all designed for the four of us. I’m sure it’s no coincidence that all four of us were able to arrive here at the same time either.”

I looked up at the three huge doors in front of us.

These weren’t real doors.

The ‘door’ in the middle was a few meters tall, about 10 meters wide, and it was a simple structure where a horizontal pillar on top was held up by two vertical pillars on each side. It was more like a simple doorframe made up of three pillars. A sign on the horizontal pillar was partially obscured by the fog, and it said ‘Ghost’ in huge, fancy lettering.

The gate of ‘Heaven’ and ‘Exit’ were on its left and right respectively.

I glanced at Gaoqin Jiuye, smiling half-heartedly. “Which one to enter, my dear soul splitter?”

Gaoqin Jiuye could obviously sense the hostility in my tone, but he didn’t seem to mind it. He simply pointed at the ‘Ghost’ gate.

“I’ll make a disclaimer first. I’ve never passed through this ‘Ghost’ gate, and I don’t know what’s in there. What I know is that the person we’re looking for lives inside. So whatever happens inside, there’s no need to ask me about it, since I don’t know either.”

“If you don’t know anything, how are we going to find that individual who could possibly save Guan Nie?” Jiao S asked with a frown.

Gaoqin Jiuye shrugged. “I’m very sure that if I were to pass through the ‘Ghost’ gate, the person we’re looking for will come looking for me. As long as we can enter within three days, that individual will definitely find us in a matter of seconds.”

I shot a look at him. “Seems like it’s an enemy. Well, I guess you have many of those, since you’re so unpopular.”

Unexpectedly, Gaoqin Jiuye laughed. “Seems like you’re fearless now that he’s back by your side. You don’t need anything else huh.”

He slowly pointed at Nie Zun as he finished his sentence.

I looked towards Nie Zun, but the first thing I noticed were those messy scars on his face.

He was looking at me with his usual calm and composed gaze as our eyes met. For some reason, as I looked into his eyes – though it was neither fiery nor extremely gentle – all the fear, the doubt and those complex emotions seem to just dissipate.

Those eyes allowed me to feel at ease.

I always felt like crying every time I find such a sense of security.

That’s right. I don’t seem to be afraid of anything as long as you’re by my side.

I felt a sharp glance in my direction, and as I turned back at Gaoqin Jiuye, I realized he was looking at me with this frigid expression which had replaced that cruel smile of his.

How did I offend him this time? What a weirdo.

Nie Zun walked over and took my hand, saying to Jiao S and Gaoqin Jiuye with a slight smile, “Let’s go.”

I felt a little uncomfortable at this sudden change of events. I also realized that Nie Zun had both his black gloves back on.

Jiao S’s huge eyes darted back and forth between Nie Zun and I.

“Let’s move. Aren’t we going? Why’re you guys still not moving?” Gaoqin Jiuye said moodily.