harleyscars Chapter 59 : 狰
Chapter 59 : 狰
Su Nian stayed in the small town for five days.
For the first three days, she walked through almost the entire town.
It's called a town, but it's really just a few dozen houses lined up along both sides of a red dirt road.
The town center is a crossroads, where there is a grocery store, a hardware store, a gas station, and a tavern.
There was nothing else.
There were no hotels, no hospitals, and no police stations.
There was only a tin shack with a sign that read "Sheriff's Office," inside which sat a white policeman named Mike, in his fifties, with a beer belly, whose gun was never cocked.
Su Nian went to see him on her first day in town.
It wasn't because she needed the police, but because that's the rule.
When you arrive in an unfamiliar place, it's best to greet the local law enforcement officers first to show that you have no malicious intent, which can reduce a lot of unnecessary trouble.
Mike was initially wary of her.
A young Asian woman, all alone in this godforsaken place, seems completely out of place.
But Su Nian only took two days to make him lower his guard.
The method was... to help him solve a problem.
Behind Mike's sheriff's office was an open space piled with garbage for decades, stinking and swarming with flies. He had approached several groups of people, but none of them were willing to clean it up.
Su Nian took less than two hours.
She used her detection magic to locate a broken sewage pipe buried under the garbage heap, and then quickly dug at several key points to get the sewage flowing again.
As for the trash, she burned it all away in one go.
It was certainly not ordinary fire.
Fire departs, the wilderness is burned.
This is one of Su Nian's most frequently used Xia Lan techniques. It is a flame formed by condensing fire-attribute Yuan Qi, with controllable temperature and range, and it burns completely without spreading.
Mike stood to the side, watching the pile of garbage that had been burning for decades turn to ashes in minutes, his mouth agape enough to fit a fist.
From then on, Mike became her "official contact person" in town.
The news spread very quickly.
On the third day, someone came to her to fix the water pump.
On the fourth day, someone came looking for her looking for the lost sheep.
On the fifth day, someone came to her to reinforce the foundation of the wall that had been eroded by wind and sand.
Su Nian accepted all comers.
It wasn't because she was enthusiastic.
It's because she needs money.
The sniffing organization's supply plane crashed, and it was unknown when the next one would arrive. She only had a little over a hundred Southern Wilderness coins left, which wouldn't last more than a few days in this ridiculously expensive town.
Fortunately, the Four Symbols Warriors possessed physical constitutions far exceeding those of ordinary people.
Her detection ability allows her to quickly find the root cause of a problem.
Monthly processing allows her to complete a large amount of work in a short period of time.
As for strength... she can pin an adult ram to the ground with one hand and make it unable to move, and she can handle stones that would require three people to move by herself.
The town's residents didn't offer much compensation, but it wasn't cheap either.
For repairing the water pump, I was given fifty Southern Wilderness coins.
They found a sheep and were given thirty Southern Wilderness coins, plus a leg of lamb.
They reinforced the wall foundation and gave him eighty Southern Wilderness coins, plus a meal.
After five days, Su Nian had saved up nearly six hundred Southern Wilderness Coins.
enough.
That should be enough for now, at least for the time being.
But Su Nian still goes to the tavern every day.
It's not because she likes to drink.
On the contrary, she didn't like the taste of alcohol.
She had never liked that burning sensation in her throat.
But the tavern is the only place in town where information is gathered.
There is no internet here, or if there is, the signal is so weak it's practically nonexistent; a mobile phone is basically useless except for making calls.
There was a television, hanging on the wall of the tavern, but the screen was always filled with static. Occasionally, one or two channels could be received, but the picture kept flickering and the sound was intermittent.
In this situation, the most reliable source of information is actually what people say.
Herdsmen returned from hundreds of kilometers away, truck drivers came from other towns, and mining company workers came down from the mountains to the north.
They brought all sorts of messages.
Real, fake, exaggerated, distorted, all mixed together like a stew.
But Su Nian was able to discern useful information from these messy messages.
This is what Yi Songjin taught her.
"When listening to someone, don't just listen to what they say, listen to what they don't say."
"When a person lies, they often say a lot of unnecessary things to cover it up."
"The truth is often simple, so simple that it's unbelievable."
Su Nian kept these things in mind and then used them during these days.
Every night, she would sit in the corner of the tavern, order the cheapest drink, take a small sip, and then listen.
Listen to the herdsmen talk about the pastures and livestock.
Listen to truck drivers talk about road conditions and fuel prices.
Listen to the miners talk about strange things happening in the mountains.
Most of the information is useless.
But she wasn't in a hurry.
Finding something takes time.
Day .
When Su Nian arrived at the tavern, Lao Hong was already sitting in his usual spot.
He wore a dark red jacket today, which matched his hair color perfectly.
Although Su Nian felt that this combination was a bit too "bright", Lao Hong was obviously in a good mood.
When he saw Su Nian come in, he immediately raised his hand to greet her.
"Girl, over here!"
Su Nian walked over and sat down in the chair opposite him.
There was a glass of wine in front of Lao Hong, which he had already drunk more than half of.
Su Nian noticed that this time the one in his cup was the cheaper kind.
Last time she treated him to a mid-range drink, but this time he ordered the cheapest one himself.
"Why are you up so early today?" Su Nian asked.
Old Hong's expression suddenly turned serious.
He leaned forward and said in a low voice.
"Girl, something happened last night."
Su Nian looked at him.
"Those three drunkards," Old Hong's voice was very low, so low that only Su Nian could hear it, "are dead."
Su Nian's finger paused on the table for a moment.
"Dead?"
"He's dead."
"How did he die?"
Old Hong looked around to make sure no one was paying attention to them before continuing.
"Mike found it this morning."
"Three people were lying on the side of the red dirt road north of the town, not far apart, about one or two hundred meters apart."
"The manner of death..."
Old Hong paused for a moment, seemingly considering his words.
"His death was gruesome."
Su Nian didn't urge her, and waited quietly.
"He has lacerations," Old Red said. "Very large lacerations, like they were torn open by something's claws."
"Mike said he had been a police officer in this area for over 20 years and had never seen a wound like that before."
"It wasn't a knife, it wasn't a gun, it wasn't anything he could think of."
"Mike's exact words were that it felt like being torn apart by a monster."
Su Nian's brows twitched slightly.
"Mike has already reported it," Old Red continued, "but it will take at least three days to send someone from the capital, and in those three days..."
He glanced at Su Nian.
"Girl, don't wander around at night."
Su Nian looked at him.
"Do you know what it is?"
Old Hong hesitated for a moment.
"I'm not sure," he said, "but I've heard some things."
He picked up his glass, took a sip, and moistened his throat.
"That red dirt road to the north has been quite turbulent for the past few months."
"Some drivers say that when they drive through that section of road at night, they see something standing by the roadside."
"It's huge, bigger than a dog, bigger than a wolf, and it's so dark you can't see it very clearly."
"At first I thought they were stray dogs. There are indeed many stray dogs in this area, and they sometimes run to the roadside to look for food."
"But later someone saw it clearly."
Lao Hong lowered his voice even further.
"Not a stray dog."
"That thing has four legs, but it's a size bigger than the largest wild dog. Its fur is dark red, similar to the color of red soil, so it's hard to spot at night."
"The strangest thing is..."
Old Hong held up three fingers.
"Three tails."
Su Nian's pupils contracted slightly.
"And on his head," Old Red pointed to his forehead, "there's a horn growing there, straight and sharp, about this long."
He gestured with his hand, indicating it was about a meter or so.
"The driver said that the thing was standing by the roadside, motionless, as if it was waiting for something."
He thought it was the carcass of some kind of animal, so he slowed down to get a better look.
"As soon as he got close, the thing suddenly moved."
"It was going very fast, so fast that its headlights couldn't keep up."
"He jerked the steering wheel and veered into the sandy area by the roadside, narrowly escaping injury."
"He went back to check the next morning, but there was nothing by the roadside, not even a footprint."
Old Hong finished the rest of the wine in his glass and placed the empty glass on the table.
"The locals call that thing a red dog."
"But I've looked up some information," Old Hong's gaze deepened, "that thing is recorded in ancient books."
Su Nian tapped her finger lightly on the table.
"The Classic of Mountains and Seas".
Old Hong glanced at her, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.
"Does the young lady know about the Classic of Mountains and Seas?"
"Know."
Su Nian didn't say much.
She knows more than just the Classic of Mountains and Seas.
In the materials sent by Xiaoman and Baozi, there was an entire chapter about the "Gap in the Extreme Yin Realm".
According to the notes left by Mo Zhanchi, the barrier between the Yin Realm and the Human Realm is not completely closed.
Cracks will appear in the barrier at certain locations and at certain times.
Those cracks are so small that nothing can pass through, but something even smaller can.
For example, the strange beasts recorded in the Classic of Mountains and Seas.
When Su Nian saw this part, she had a question in her mind.
If the mythical beasts in the Classic of Mountains and Seas really came from the rifts of the Yin Realm, then why would they appear in the human world?
Was it a coincidence?
Or was this done intentionally?
She had no answer.
But what Lao Hong said next deepened her doubts.
"That thing is called 'Zheng' in the Classic of Mountains and Seas," Lao Hong said. "There is a beast on Mount Zhang'e that looks like a red leopard, with five tails and one horn. Its sound is like striking a stone, and its name is Zheng."
He paused.
"However, the book says it has five tails, but I heard it has three tails."
"It could be a record error, or it could be..."
He didn't finish his sentence, but Su Nian knew what he wanted to say.
It could also be a mutation.
Or evolve.
Or it was modified.
Su Nian was silent for a while, then asked a seemingly unrelated question.
Have you ever seen Suzaku?
Old Hong was stunned for a moment.
"Suzaku?"
"Yes, Suzaku."
Old Hong looked at her, his gaze holding something unfathomable.
"Young lady, what exactly are you doing here?"
Su Nian did not answer.
She picked up the almost untouched glass of wine in front of her and took a sip.
The bitter liquid slid down my throat, and that uncomfortable burning sensation rose in my stomach again.
She frowned and put the cup down.
"Looking for something," she said.
Old Hong looked at her for a few seconds and didn't ask any more questions.
He ordered another drink, the cheapest one, took a sip, and looked out the window.
The view outside the window is of a desert.
A reddish-brown, boundless desert.
The distant mountains, bathed in the setting sun, turned a dark red, like a half-burnt piece of charcoal.
"Suzaku," Old Red finally spoke, his voice somewhat unsteady, "that thing..."
Su Nian looked at him.
"Do you know where it is?"
Old Hong shook his head.
"I have no idea."
He paused.
"But I know who might know."
Su Nian's fingers stopped on the table.
"Who?"
Just as Lao Hong was about to speak, the tavern door was pushed open.
A young man in a mining company uniform walked in, looking exhausted. He plopped down at the bar, ordered a strong drink, and downed it in one gulp.
Then he started talking to the bartender.
The sound wasn't loud, but Su Nian's hearing was much more sensitive than that of an average person.
"Something's happened again," the young man said. "The exploration team from the north, the three men they sent out yesterday, haven't returned by this morning."
"We can't get in touch with them by radio either."
"The company sent out a search and rescue team, and after searching for a long time, they found it."
"Found it?"
"Found it."
Where are they?
The young man paused for a moment.
"He's alright."
"That......"
"Their equipment was completely destroyed."
"What equipment?"
"All electronic devices—walkie-talkies, GPS devices, prospecting equipment, flashlights—were burned; the circuit boards were melted."
The young man ordered another glass of wine and downed it in one gulp.
"The captain said that there is a strong electromagnetic field in that area, and all electronic equipment will break down if it goes in."
"But the problem is..."
He wiped his mouth, his expression complex.
"The equipment we use is all electromagnetic interference resistant, military grade, and ordinary electromagnetic fields can't affect it at all."
"So that electromagnetic field is not ordinary."
Electromagnetic field.
A thought flashed through Su Nian's mind.
It's not an ordinary electromagnetic field.
An electromagnetic field strong enough to burn out military anti-jamming equipment.
This reminded her of the plane that had been diverted.
The airline stated that "abnormal electromagnetic interference" caused the navigation system to malfunction.
The same phenomenon is now appearing in the mountains to the north.
The two events occurred in close proximity and at close time, so they cannot be unrelated.
But what Su Nian couldn't understand was that if the Vermilion Bird constellation was really in this area, it should be a fire-attribute power.
Fire attribute.
Remove from heat.
The Vermilion Bird is the god of the south, belongs to the fire element in the Five Elements theory, and corresponds to the Li trigram in the Eight Trigrams.
The trigram Li represents fire, lightning, and thunder.
Su Nian's mind suddenly went blank.
She had always thought that the power of the Vermilion Bird constellation was pure fire, but upon closer reflection, fire and lightning were never separate.
Thunder and fire are mutually reinforcing.
Lightning strikes the ground and ignites forests; this is one of the most common phenomena in nature.
In ancient Chinese legends, the Thunder God and the Fire God are often the same god or have a close relationship.
The Thunder God described in the Classic of Mountains and Seas is described as having "the body of a dragon and the head of a human, and drumming his belly," meaning that striking his own stomach would produce thunder.
As one of the Four Symbols, the Vermilion Bird governs the south and commands the fire element.
Fire inherently contains the power of thunder.
Su Nian tapped her fingers lightly on the table, her mind racing.
If the power of the Vermilion Bird constellation is not only fire but also includes lightning, then the continuous lightning strikes and electromagnetic interference make sense.
But there is still one problem.
There are many constellations associated with the Vermilion Bird.
According to Mo Zhanchi's notes, the seven stars of the Vermilion Bird are: Well, Ghost, Willow, Star, Extended Net, Wings, and Chariot.
Seven constellations, seven powers.
The information Xiaoman and Baozi gave her mentioned that, according to intelligence from the sniffing organization, the Zhenshui Earthworm was indeed in the Southern Wilderness State.
The Zhenshui Earthworm is one of the seven constellations of the Vermilion Bird, belonging to the water element, and in charge of wind and rain.
This information doesn't seem to match Su Nian's current observations.
There is no wind or rain here, only thunder and electromagnetic fields.
Was the intelligence incorrect?
Or is the strange phenomenon here unrelated to the Zhenshui earthworm?
or……
Is there more than one constellation here?
Su Nian's finger stopped on the table.
If that's the case, then things are much more complicated than she imagined.
Her phone vibrated.
Su Nian took her phone out of her pocket and glanced at the screen.
Unknown number.
Local number.
She hesitated for a second before pressing the answer button.
"Feed?"
"Is that Su Nian?"
The voice on the other end of the phone was that of a middle-aged man, speaking Mandarin with a slight southern accent.
"I was sent by the sniffing organization. My surname is Zhou, Zhou Yuanshan."
Su Nian did not answer immediately.
"Teacher Yi Songjin sent me," the other party continued, "I have all the supplies and intelligence."
"But there was a problem with my landing site. A mining company's convoy was passing by the designated open area, so I couldn't land."
"I'm currently located about 15 kilometers north of the town. There's a dry riverbed there, and upstream there's a relatively flat area where I've parked the plane."
"Could you come over here?"
Su Nian tapped her fingers lightly twice on the table.
"North?" she asked.
"Yes, to the north."
"bed?"
"Yes, it's a dry riverbed. It's easy to spot. Just go north along the red dirt road north of the town until you reach a fork in the road. Turn left and walk about three kilometers more."
Su Nian remained silent for two seconds.
"I'll find someone to go with me."
"Okay, as soon as possible."
The phone hangs up.
Su Nian placed her phone on the table and stared at the screen for a few seconds.
Then she dialed Yi Songjin's number.
It rang three times before being answered.
"dad."
"Su Nian, what's wrong?"
"A man claiming to be Zhou Yuanshan just called me, saying he was sent by a sniffing organization and that his plane landed on the riverbed to the north."
There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone.
"Zhou Yuanshan," Yi Songjin repeated the name, "was someone I sent."
Su Nian felt half relieved.
Is this person reliable?
"reliable."
"He has been a member of the sniffing organization for over a decade and has carried out numerous missions without ever having any problems."
"it is good."
"But he arrived faster than I expected; I thought it would take another two days."
"Perhaps the flight path is favorable."
"Maybe. Su Nian, be careful."
"I know."
Su Nian hung up the phone and stood up.
Old Hong looked at her.
"Going out?"
"Um."
"Don't go north at night."
Su Nian glanced at him.
"I know."
She turned to leave, then stopped.
"The person you mentioned who might know where Suzaku is..."
Old Hong waved his hand.
"We'll talk about it when you get back."
Su Nian nodded, turned around and walked out of the tavern.
Mike's sheriff's office is just across the street from the intersection.
When Su Nian pushed open the door, Mike was having dinner.
A thermos filled with coffee, a box of sandwiches bought from a gas station convenience store, the bread was a bit dry, and the lettuce was wilted.
"Sue?" Mike looked up, a little mayonnaise still on his lips. "What's wrong?"
"I need to go north, about fifteen kilometers away. A friend is coming from the north and I need to pick him up."
"North?" Mike put down his sandwich, his expression turning serious. "Tonight?"
"right."
"Su, haven't you heard? Three people died last night, on that highway to the north."
"I've heard about it."
"Then why are you still going?"
"That's why I came to find you."
Su Nian looked at him.
"Come with me; it'll be safer with two people."
Mike hesitated for a moment.
He glanced at the half-eaten sandwich on the table, then at the sky outside the window.
The sun had completely set, leaving only a last sliver of orange-red light on the horizon, but it would soon be swallowed by darkness.
"Why did your friend arrive at night?" Mike asked. "Can't he fly during the day?"
"The plane changed its route at the last minute, and the original landing site was occupied by a mining company's convoy."
Mike was silent for a few seconds, then sighed.
He stood up, took a pistol from the drawer, checked the magazine, and put it back in the holster on his waist.
I took another flashlight off the wall and tested it; the light was very bright.
"Let's go," he said, "but it's agreed that you'll come back as soon as you pick up your friend and won't stay out any longer."
"it is good."
Su Nian and Mike drove a beat-up SUV north along the red dirt road.
The car headlights shone on the red road, and tiny dust particles danced in the beams of light.
On both sides was a desert, pitch black, with nothing in sight except for a few occasional baobab trees that cast huge, distorted shadows the car headlights swept across.
Mike wasn't driving fast.
It wasn't because the road was bad, but because he was nervous.
His right hand remained on the steering wheel, his left hand rested on his pistol, and his eyes constantly scanned both sides of the road.
Su Nian sat in the passenger seat, holding her phone and looking at the map on the screen.
The signal was weak, and GPS positioning was intermittent, but the general direction was correct.
"There's a fork in the road ahead," Mike said. "Should we go left or right?"
Su Nian glanced at the map.
"To the left."
Mike turned the steering wheel, and the car turned onto a narrower road.
The road surface changed from red soil to gravel, and the wheels made a crunching sound as they rolled over it, raising a cloud of dust behind the vehicle.
"What does your friend do?" Mike asked.
"Friend," Su Nian said.
Mike glanced at her but didn't ask any further questions.
It drove for another ten minutes or so.
Su Nian looked down at her phone.
Her fingers suddenly stopped.
Call logs.
All her outgoing and incoming call records have disappeared.
The latest record is from her phone call with Yi Songjin yesterday afternoon.
Both phone calls she received today—the call from Zhou Yuanshan and the call she made to Yi Songjin—are now unanswered.
Su Nian's blood turned ice-cold in that instant.
It's not a signal problem.
Call logs will not disappear due to weak signal.
Someone deleted it.
Or rather, something was deleted.
"Turn around," Su Nian said.
Mike paused for a moment.
"What?"
"Turn around, now, immediately."
Mike didn't ask why.
He jerked the steering wheel, and the car swerved sharply on the gravel road, the tires screeching as they rubbed against the ground.
The engine roared, and the car began to drive back.
Su Nian's phone vibrated.
She looked down.
A line of text appeared on the screen. It wasn't a text message or a notification from any application; it was text that appeared directly in the center of the screen, as if it had been written there by something.
"Once you're here, don't leave."
Su Nian's fingers tightened suddenly.
The next second, the car's headlights shone on a person.
No, it's not a "person".
A figure dressed in a black robe stood in the middle of the road, blocking the way.
The black robe covered him from head to toe, obscuring all physical features; even his face was hidden by the shadow of the hood.
But Su Nian noticed a detail: this person was very short.
It only reached about her chest.
Mike slammed on the brakes, and the car stopped less than five meters from the man in the black robe.
He had one hand on the steering wheel, and the other hand had already drawn his gun, pointing it at the man in black.
"Who goes there? Get out of the way!" Mike shouted, his voice visibly tense.
The man in black robes did not move.
Mike shouted it again, this time even louder.
The man in black robes still did not move.
Su Nian pushed open the car door and got out.
The night wind blew by, carrying the dryness and coolness of the desert, stirring her clothes and scarf.
She stood in front of the car, less than five meters away from the man in black.
"Who are you?" Su Nian asked.
The man in black robes did not answer.
Su Nian's hands hung at her sides, her right index and middle fingers joined together.
"I don't have time to waste with you," Su Nian said. "Get out of my way."
The man in black robes moved.
Instead of stepping aside, he charged towards Su Nian.
It was incredibly fast, faster than any human could imagine.
Su Nian reacted even faster.
With a wave of her right hand, a stream of fire-attribute energy shot out from her palm, condensing into a fireball the size of a fist, which struck the black-robed man's chest.
She used 30% of her strength.
It wasn't because she wanted to show mercy, but because she wasn't sure who the other person was, and she didn't want to kill them before she figured it out.
The fireball struck the man in black.
"Bang!"
A muffled thud.
The fireball exploded the moment it touched the black robe, but what Su Nian saw was not the black-robed man being repelled, but a bright, dazzling light that bounced back from the black robe and shot straight at her.
Su Nian dodged to the side, and the light grazed her shoulder before striking the SUV behind her.
"boom!"
The front of the car exploded.
The hood was blown off, thick smoke and flames billowed from the engine compartment, and debris flew more than ten meters away.
Mike was thrown to the ground by the blast wave, his pistol flying out of his hand and landing on the gravel a few meters away.
He lay on the ground, his hands covering his head, shouting something, but Su Nian couldn't hear him anymore.
Her gaze was fixed intently on the man in black.
She used 30% of her strength in that attack, and the force that bounced back was at least double that.
Rebound.
This person can deflect attacks from Yuan Qi.
Su Nian's mind raced.
She had heard of two types of attacks that could deflect Yuan Qi attacks.
One type is a special Xia Lan technique, but casting this technique requires a large amount of Yuan Qi and has a cooldown period, so it cannot be activated instantly without any warning.
Another one is...
She didn't have time to think.
The man in black robes charged forward again.
This time, Su Nian didn't use her Yuan Qi to attack, but instead went straight to meet the attack head-on.
She clenched her right fist, which was covered with a thin layer of primordial energy for protection, and struck directly at the black-robed man's face.
She used purely physical attacks.
If the opponent can only reflect Yuan Qi, then physical attacks should be effective.
Her fist struck.
But something doesn't feel right.
It wasn't the sensation of hitting flesh, but rather the feeling of hitting a wall.
An invisible, hard, cold wall.
The force of the shock traveled from my fist back to my arm, causing a tingling sensation throughout my right arm, and a faint cracking sound came from the bones.
Su Nian gritted her teeth and simultaneously attacked with her left hand, gathering primordial energy in her palm, but instead of attacking, she pushed.
Fire Separation - Cloud Pushing Palm.
This is Su Nian's most proficient control-type Xia Lan technique. It uses fire-attribute Yuan Qi to form a powerful thrust that can knock back the target without causing fatal damage.
She wanted to push the man in black off the road to buy herself some time.
The palm strike landed squarely on the black-robed man's chest.
then……
Gunshots.
It wasn't Mike's gun; Mike's gun had already flown away.
The gunshots came from the darkness behind the man in the black robe.
Su Nian felt a sharp pain above her right knee.
She glanced down.
blood.
Dark, warm blood seeped from the fabric of the work pants, flowing down the thigh and quickly soaking half of the pant leg.
The bullet entered her right leg from the outside and exited from the inside, causing a penetrating wound.
Su Nian had only one thought in her mind... and one more person.
There was more than one man in black robes; another was lurking in the darkness.
And that person had a gun.
The man in black robes didn't give Su Nian any more time to think.
The moment Su Nian was hit, the man in black robes had already rushed in front of her.
A hand wearing a black glove emerged from the robe and placed it on Su Nian's shoulder.
A tremendous force came from that hand, and Su Nian was pushed away, her back hitting the side of the SUV, causing a large dent in the door.
A dull pain shot through my chest, and a metallic taste rose in my throat.
Su Nian gritted her teeth and swallowed back the metallic taste.
She cannot collapse here.
Mike was still lying on the ground, and it was unclear whether he was dead or alive.
There was another person with a gun in the darkness, who could fire again at any moment.
The black-robed man in front of them could deflect attacks of primordial energy, and physical attacks would also be blocked by some kind of invisible barrier.
She can't beat him.
We can't beat them, at least not right now.
Su Nian took a deep breath, clasped her hands together, palms facing each other.
The primordial energy condensed between his palms, growing brighter and hotter.
The man in black paused, seemingly trying to figure out what she was going to do.
Su Nian thrust both palms forward forcefully.
Fire departs, crimson feathers flow.
This is one of her special skills.
It's not an offensive Xia Lan technique, but a deceptive one.
A surge of fiery energy erupted from her palm, but instead of condensing into a beam of light, it exploded into countless tiny, feather-like specks of light, like hundreds of burning feathers dancing in the air.
These points of light spun, drifted, split, and replicated in the air. In just one second, the entire highway was enveloped in a fiery red light, and countless figures of Su Nian appeared, moved, overlapped, and separated in the light.
The man in black robes reached out to grab it, but only grasped a phantom.
Su Nian's true form had already activated Moon Chase under the cover of light.
Moonlit Night.
This is Su Nian's most proficient movement technique. She infuses her primordial energy into her legs, unleashing speed and agility far exceeding that of ordinary people in a short period of time.
She pushed off with her left leg, and her body shot forward like an arrow, skimming the ground.
The wound on her knee was throbbing with pain, and the blood was flowing faster, but she gritted her teeth and tried not to think about it.
A muffled thud came from behind.
It was the sound of gunfire.
The bullet whizzed past her ear with a sharp whistle and struck a buffalo tree a dozen meters in front of her, shattering the bark and scattering wood chips everywhere.
Su Nian did not turn around.
Her entire focus was on the road ahead and on the vital energy within her body.
The moon's cycle consumes a great deal of vital energy, especially when one is injured.
She could feel her vital energy rapidly draining away.
But she can't stop.
To stop is to die.
The scenery on both sides of the highway is rushing past.
Su Nian didn't know how long she had been running.
One minute?
Two minutes?
Five minutes?
She lost track of time.
Her consciousness began to blur, and black spots appeared at the edges of her vision, as if she were running into a tunnel that was getting narrower and narrower.
The vital energy in his body was almost completely depleted.
She could feel the flame in her dantian turning into a small cluster of flames, which could go out at any moment.
My right leg has lost all feeling, but blood is still flowing.
She didn't know how much blood she had lost, but her trousers were completely soaked and her boots were filled with blood.
Su Nian had only one thought in her mind.
Find a safe place.
To stop the bleeding.
Alive.
She ran for a while longer and finally saw hope.
On the left side of the road, there is a rock wall, not high, about two stories high, with an uneven surface, many cracks and depressions.
Su Nian used her last bit of strength to rush over and found a depression at the bottom of the rock wall.
It's not deep, but deep enough for a person to curl up inside.
She crawled inside, leaned against the rock wall, and slid down to sit on the ground.
The rocks on the cliff face were very cold; you could feel the chill even through your clothes.
Su Nian was panting heavily, her chest heaving violently.
She looked down and, by the faint starlight, saw her right leg.
The legs of the work pants were soaked in blood, turning the dark fabric black.
She reached out and touched the location of the wound.
The bullet entered through the outside of the thigh and exited through the inside.
Penetrating wound.
The only good news was that no bullet remained inside his body.
But the blood loss was too great.
Su Nian felt a wave of dizziness, the starlight before her eyes became blurry, and the outline of the rock wall began to distort and deform.
She pinched her thigh with her left hand, using the pain to keep herself awake.
He took out the roll of bandage and the bottle of disinfectant alcohol from the side pocket of his backpack with his right hand.
She bit one end of the bandage, unwrapped it with her right hand, and then unscrewed the cap of the alcohol bottle.
There's no time to clean it up slowly.
She poured the alcohol directly onto the wound.
A sharp pain shot through my thigh.
Su Nian bit down on the bandage, letting out a muffled groan.
She didn't call out.
She never cries out at times like this.
The alcohol flowed into the wound, washing away some of the blood and dirt around it, revealing the rolled-up flesh underneath.
Su Nian glanced at it, then looked away.
Now is not the time to look at the wound.
She pressed the bandage against the wound, wrapped it tightly several times, and tied a knot.
It's not tight enough.
She wrapped it around again, this time with even more force.
This time it's tight enough.
It was so tight that the skin around the wound turned white.
But the blood was still seeping out.
The bandages quickly turned red.
Su Nian leaned against the rock wall and closed her eyes.
Her right hand hung at her side, her fingers trembling slightly.
His vital energy was almost completely depleted.
The wound on my leg was still bleeding.
Who knows how many more enemies lurk in the darkness?
She didn't know where she was.
I don't know if Mike is dead or alive.
I wonder if that man in black will come after us.
I know nothing.
Su Nian opened her eyes and looked at the starry sky above her.
The night sky in the Southern Hemisphere is different from that in the Northern Hemisphere.
She didn't see the familiar Big Dipper, but instead saw some constellations she didn't recognize.
An unfamiliar sky.
An unfamiliar land.
Unfamiliar dangers.
Su Nian hugged the backpack to her chest, her fingers resting on the handle of the multi-tool.
Her gaze fell on the distant horizon.
There was nothing there.
Only darkness.
The boundless darkness.
Su Nian's breathing gradually calmed down.
She wasn't afraid.
Or rather, she doesn't allow herself to be afraid.
Being afraid is useless.
Fear won't slow down the bleeding.
Being afraid won't make your vital energy recover faster.
Fear will not make the enemy disappear.
So she chose not to be afraid.
She chose to wait.
Waiting for dawn.
Waiting for my strength to recover.
Wait for the bleeding from the wound to stop.
Waiting for the next opportunity.
Su Nian leaned against the rock wall and closed her eyes.
She was not asleep.
She's just resting.
Ears are perked up, listening to every sound around them.
The sound of the wind.
The sound of sand rolling.
The sound of some unknown animal could be heard in the distance.
and also……
Footsteps.
Su Nian suddenly opened her eyes.
The sound was not human footsteps.
It was the sound of claws hitting sand and gravel.
Su Nian gripped the knife hilt tightly.
Two dark red spots of light appeared in the darkness outside the rock wall.
It floats in mid-air and moves slowly.
Su Nian's pupils contracted.
Those are eyes.
The eyes of a wild beast.
Dark red eyes that glow in the dark.
Su Nian took a deep breath and slowly, very slowly, poked half her head out from the recess in the rock wall.
The starlight was faint, but enough for her to make out the outline.
Very big.
It's even bigger than the biggest stray dog.
Its fur is dark red, almost the same color as the red soil.
It stands firmly on the ground with four legs.
It has a straight, pointed horn on its head.
Behind me...
Three tails.
Su Nian's breathing stopped for a second.
狰。
The thing Lao Hong was talking about.
There is a beast on Mount Zhang'e that looks like a red leopard, with five tails and one horn. Its cry is like striking a stone. Its name is Zheng.
But this one only has three tails.
Regardless of how many tails it has, this thing is now less than twenty meters away from her.
And they were walking in her direction.
Su Nian slowly, very slowly, pulled her head back.
She loosened her right hand from the knife handle, bringing her index and middle fingers together.
The flame in his dantian flickered weakly.
His vital energy had hardly recovered.
If this thing called Zheng launches an attack now...
She couldn't stop it.
Su Nian leaned against the rock wall and clenched her fingers.
She did not close her eyes.
She watched the two dark red dots of light in the darkness, getting closer and closer.
The light stopped less than ten meters away from her.
Zheng stood there, motionless.
Su Nian didn't move either.
A man and a beast stood silently facing each other in the darkness, ten meters apart.
A long time passed.
Su Nian didn't know how much time had passed.
It might be a minute, or it might be an hour.
The two dark red dots suddenly changed direction and moved in another direction.
The footsteps grew fainter and fainter until they finally disappeared into the wind.
Su Nian leaned against the rock wall and let out a long breath.
The blood was still seeping.
The bandage had turned completely red.
But she is still alive.
She is still alive.
Su Nian closed her eyes and hugged her backpack even tighter.
All I could hear was the sound of the wind.
And somewhere in the distance, a long, drawn-out cry, like the striking of stones.
Its sound is like striking a stone.
Its name is Zheng.