Volume 3
138 You Cannot Kill Him
"I"ll go convince Si Luo and Gaoqin Jiuye, and get them to go to the Southern District with me."
"If we discover that Yu Liang is in the Eastern District, I"ll send someone to you immediately. But are you okay on your own, now that Nie Zun isn"t with you? Do you need me to get Tao Lie or Mu Li to go with you?" Jiao S asked.
I shook my head. "There"s no need for that. I know you"ve sent many people from the S Clan to defend the East-West border, if not there"s no way that Jie Pa would learn about the attack on the Yuan siblings so quickly given how busy he is now. Your people have already helped me out so much, and the defences on your side might weaken if you send more. I can"t trouble two more of your B-rank officers."
Jie Pa nodded. "Miss Ah Shen is right. Miss Jiao S, I haven"t been able to thank you properly. Your people from the S Clan have been a great help to us."
Jiao S moved her neck stiffly. "No problem at all. What"s important is that we all work together in uncovering the secret of the Split Zone. After going through so much, I"m sure that this isn"t the place for people to live forever. We have to go back someday."
That"s right, we"re going back someday. At least, you guys are going back.
I looked around involuntarily, and I did not see her.
Hah, a bitterness welled up in my heart.
Can I still escape from here?
"Right, Ah Shen, if I remember correctly, you haven"t slept in about a week. Though people in the Split Zone can go without food and water, our consciousness still needs rest. If you don"t sleep, it"s more difficult for you to manipulate your MF. You should rest up before you go," Jiao S said.
I shook my head, saying, "I don"t want to sleep."
Jiao S and Jie Pa looked at each other, and then back at me with worried gazes.
I did not want to sleep, and I could not fall asleep either.
It had been almost two years, one day and sixty hours. All this time, Nie Zun was always by my side as I fell asleep.
In that time, he was always lying quietly on the top bunk, being still most of the time.
Many nights ago, he followed behind me as I ran around in the Split Zone. As I came back, he returned as well, and we always went to sleep at about the same time.
It became such a habit that I forgot he was always beside me, keeping me company.
Now that such a person has left, how do I break this habit?
How do I fall asleep without him around…
I forced myself to smile. "It"s fine. I can manage, trust me on this. Furthermore, if Si Luo and Gaoqin Jiuye go with me, what do I have to be scared of with the both of them around?"
"Gaoqin Jiuye might not let you leave the Western District with Si Luo, unless you bring Mi Fu along," Jiao S gave her a.n.a.lysis.
This was definitely a problem.
"Jie Pa, what do you need me to do? Find the experimental grounds and bring back an experimental subject, right?"
Jie Pa took a bottle from his jacket pocket. "The Yuan siblings are good at using poison. Though their combat ability might not be great, it"s not difficult for them to leave a trace on Yu Liang. This is something which can track him. Try your best to bring him back too, if you can."
I stiffened as I took the bottle in my hand, because I thought of that bottle we used the last time we were tracking Laurel.
"This… has to be dabbed on the nose again?" I asked awkwardly.
Jie Pa nodded without hesitation. "Miss Ah Shen, there"re no animals here in the Split Zone, so we can"t use animals like dogs for tracking. I"ll need to trouble you for this."
The way you say it…
The emotional quotient of a doctor is really high, very good at socializing…
Jiao S laughed. "Your subordinate can come up with some really good things, I"m quite envious."
You use it then!
I took the bottle with an unwilling face.
There wasn"t even any place for me to keep it with this dress of mine! I guess I"ll just have to put it on my nose later.
"I"m guessing Gaoqin Jiuye will never let you leave with Si Luo if you don"t bring Mi Fu along."
I nodded. "But if I bring Mi Fu along, Gaoqin Jiuye will definitely take her life if Si Luo"s condition worsens when we"re on the road. What do I do if both you and Huan Qing will be away looking for other bodies of consciousness? Oh, I also forgot to ask, did you go to the Northern District with Huan Qing?"
Jiao S said, "We didn"t enter the Northern District, but Huan Qing did bring me to that blood-red border. He didn"t expect Gaoqin Jiuye to find you guys so quickly, so we turned back. I don"t know the way to that blood-red border line either, since Huan Qing used an illusion when he took me there. I don"t know what relations.h.i.+p he has with Si Luo, but we returned when Si Luo directly summoned him, and we weren"t yet able to enter the Northern District."
"How about this, Ah Shen. Since Huan Qing and I are going to the Northern District again, he"ll also be more at ease if we bring Mi Fu along. How about we go to the Southern District with you to find the experimental grounds, and after that, Huan Qing and I can head for the Northern District," Jiao S continued.
This was a pretty good idea.
"This is definitely a good idea, Miss Ah Shen. I"m a little worried if Miss Jiao S isn"t with you too. Both of you can go together, and the priority is to bring Yu Liang or another experimental subject back. Don"t head for the Northern District impulsively," Jie Pa said.
"Okay, you go ahead to take a look at the Yuan siblings. I"m throwing everything here to you again. I"ll try to be back as soon as I can." I felt a little guilty as I looked at Jie Pa"s tired face.
"You need some rest too, Jie Pa. Don"t be too hard on yourself."
Jie Pa smiled. "Don"t worry about me, Miss Ah Shen."
Jie Pa was about to leave, but turned back as he seemed to think of something. "Miss Ah Shen, if you happen to find Nie Zun while you"re on the road, you have to bring him back. I"m afraid that he might be hurt from that fight."
My heart hurt once again. I nodded slowly.
Initially, I wanted to discuss matters regarding the trip to the Southern District together with Si Luo, Huan Qing and the rest. But as we were all gathered, Si Luo requested to first speak with me in private.
Recently, it seemed to be private negotiation time. I wonder why people in the Split Zone have so many secrets.
I felt like heaving a sigh. Humans are really simple!
"Heh…" Si Luo laughed softly. "Seems like I"m not the prettiest man in the Split Zone."
Not expecting him to say something like that, I asked, "How could that be? Who else can be prettier than you?"
His silver eyes shone with a dim light. "Then why do you look distracted? Others won"t be distracted if they were looking at the prettiest person."
Did he get infected with Gaoqin Jiuye"s narcissism…
But I have to plead guilty for this. As someone with an ident.i.ty disorder, I was always distracted and daydreaming. Though I have suppressed my other personality for years, my thoughts are sometimes going in different directions. This is also why I always have an inattentive and distracted look. Those who know me have gotten used to this as well.
So it"s not you, it"s my mental illness. But I couldn"t say something like this, it sounded too weird.
I tried to change the subject. "What did you want to discuss in private?"
Si Luo"s eyes creased a little. "To agree upon some conditions."
Huh… these people are either trying to have a heart-to-heart or trying to agree upon conditions. What"s wrong with this world.
"Li Shen, I know what"s your curse after you activated your split symbol." Si Luo smiled casually.
My face stiffened. He, he knew?
"There"s a monster hidden in your heart." Raising his pale fingers, he pointed towards my chest.
"This is the reason why you are different in the Split Zone, and it"s also the reason why my condition is improving."
What? What has your condition got to do with me?
Dazzling light shone through Si Luo"s eyes. "Li Shen, I want to ask three things from you. If you"re able to complete them, I"ll give you whatever you want."
This was an attractive condition, but can you give me whatever I wanted?
My instincts tell me that Si Luo was different from the ordinary person. I should not underestimate this man who is able to take people like Gaoqin Jiuye and Rong Jin under his wing.
The feeling Si Luo gave me was different from most. How he looked into my heart, how it backfired on him, how Li Qing respected him when she was alive, and now that I know he is a soul splitter, I had a feeling that he is the key to uncovering the secrets of the Split Zone.
There had to be a particular reason that he could stay with the ordinary residents and protect them for so long.
Thus, I said meekly, "Go ahead."
"Firstly, you can"t kill Gaoqin, ever." Si Luo smiled, and a gentle warmness filled the corner of his eyes.
My heart skipped a beat.
Why did he say that?
But taking a step back to think, he does have his reasons.
Since I saw Gaoqin Jiuye in his heart, I could tell that Gaoqin Jiuye was very important to this Southern District Commander. He was probably afraid that I would insert my splitting key into Gaoqin Jiuye"s corresponding split symbol one day, and Gaoqin Jiuye would then be forced to find another body of consciousness to survive.
But he did not say this.
"I know Gaoqin very well, and I"m afraid that he"ll do something extreme someday. If ever I"m no longer in the Split Zone, I hope you can stay by his side. If you want to leave, you can insert your splitting key into his split symbol, but he needs to be agreeable to it. I"m not asking you to stay here forever, because I believe that once I"m dead, he"ll willingly let you insert your key into his split symbol to undo it. All I want from you is that, at that point in time, just do what he wishes for."
I was confused. How is this not killing him? Isn"t this killing him?