Chapter One Hundred and One: The Betrayer of Sacred Poems (Part One)
Boom—
The gale roared like thunder, almost tearing through my eardrums.
Simple and unadorned, without any flashy moves, but it felt like the most ferocious sword strike a man had seen in over twenty years. The sword hadn’t even arrived yet, but the edge was already slicing through the air. The chaotic wind made it hard to keep my eyes open, and murderous intent surrounded me from all sides.
I knew I couldn’t escape this sword strike.
So, I turned, raised my hand, and tried to brace myself for the blow. But just the moment the blades clashed, I was met with a power beyond imagination, and everything went dark before my eyes.
What the heck…
I managed to block it, but just barely. I could only hold on for a moment—no, half a moment—before the back of my hand slammed into my face, and my feet were suddenly off the ground, as if caught by a raging wind, whoosh, and I was sent flying.
Boom!
After a loud thud, piercing pain shot through my body. I had no idea where I landed or what I crashed into; I just heard a cacophony of “crash, crash, crash,” as stones tumbled around me, landing on my legs and body. Pain made it hard to breathe, and after what felt like an eternity, I finally gasped for air.
“Ugh, cough—”~
But the ash-filled air choked me, make me cough like my lungs were on fire. My head felt fuzzy, and when I wiped my mouth, it was all bl**d.
My nose was broken…
The third and fourth ribs on my left side were snapped.
My right hand’s lunate and triquetrum were badly damaged, and my ulnar was shattered…
As a doctor, I instinctively assessed my injuries. My left hand trembled as I fished out a small vial from my clothes and held it to my nose for a good sniff.
At that moment, a gust of wind blasted from above.
No time to get up, I dropped the vial and quickly shoved the stones pressing down on my chest aside. I lunged to the side, rolling a few times among the rubble when suddenly—bang!—stones flew overhead, and something smashed into the place I had just occupied—an ominous shadow.
Amid the massive noise, the wind danced wildly and swept up more dust. I staggered to my feet not far away, steadied myself, muttering under my breath, with golden light shimmering in my eyes, as green sparks began to swirl around me, rapidly healing my broken bones.
I brushed the dust off my sleeves, ran my fingers through my disheveled hair, took a deep breath, then exhaled. I repeated this twice, my expression serious and neither sad nor happy, slowly retreating.
Then I saw a silhouette emerging from the smoke—a young woman.
…………
In the chaotic old streets, I stepped out of a stone building that had been completely kicked down, dusting off my skirt while looking at the figure slowly retreating in front of me. I blinked and stopped in my tracks.
It was a man with light red hair.
His doctor’s robe was now dirty and torn from the earlier clash, faintly stained with frost, yet he showed no signs of frostbite, nor did he bear any visible injuries from the impact…
A divine miracle?
He wore a silver mask, but not the kind with a bird beak; it was a sculpted mask covering just half his face. The exposed half revealed a gaunt cheek, pallid skin, dark blue lips, and heavy eye circles, looking like he hadn’t slept in days.
He should be quite a handsome guy, definitely under thirty, but right now, he looked ominously pale and lifeless.
“Well, well, this is surprising…”
He kept retreating while speaking to me, a shallow smile curving his lips. If it weren’t for the mask, it would be quite the gentlemanly, calm smile.
“Chris?”
I stood still, whispering his name.
Though it wasn’t our first formal meeting, I had never seen his face before, so I didn’t recognize him, and his voice didn’t leave a strong impression.
Yet this guy exuded a vibe that made me feel oddly familiar…
Is it a divine relic?
Or—
“Oh~”
His brows shot up in exaggerated surprise as he bowed and waved his hand to me in a rather elegant but slightly sickly noble gesture.
“I’m honored you remember my name. It’s a great pleasure to meet you here, Miss Silvya. You have no idea how surprising this is.”
Ha.
So it really is him, not hiding it at all…
And this guy recognized me so quickly?
I’m wearing a hat, for crying out loud…
“That said,” Doctor Chris continued, still backing away, “today’s timing isn’t great; I believe you’ve noticed I’m a bit busy…”
“If you want to catch up, let’s save it for another day in a romantic setting—like a manor or something—drinking tea, stargazing, perhaps having a beautiful evening together.”
As he spoke, he reached towards his lower back.
Was he going for a medium ball?
No way I’ll give him that chance.
“Go hang out with Aunt Li for a night instead.”
Whoosh—
With a Moon Step, I zipped in front of him and grabbed his hand reaching behind.
Chris’s pupils shook like an earthquake!
At this close range, I caught the extreme fear in his eyes—the kind that screams “I’m scared of you” loud and clear.
But that emotion faded in an instant. Chris quickly regained his composure. The muscles in his jaw twitched, and he opened his mouth, unleashing a breath of yellow mist at me!
Whoa…
That’s a bit gross.
Having already grabbed his hand, I let go instantly; I had no desire to touch this mist, toxic or not. I felt a deep-seated aversion to this attack.
So, I moved again, disappearing just before hitting that mist, reappearing behind Chris with a furrowed brow, raising my hand with fingers poised like a blade, aiming for his neck.
“Ah-ha!”
But in the next instant, Chris let out a short, smug laugh. Without turning, a surge of water suddenly engulfed us.
Splash, splash, splash—
Dozens of thick pillars of water shot up, turning into flexible water whips that swept over me as Chris ducked, lunging forward to create distance, and with a crash, the water drowned me.
“Ugh…”
Water quickly gathered around me, turning into a massive floating water ball. I was submerged inside, lifted off my feet, barely able to breathe.
Inside the ball, the water churned in a swirling vortex, making me quite uncomfortable. My blue eyes sparkled, and cold energy erupted from my body, freezing the water ball into an ice sphere. Crash! It hit the ground, shattering into pieces—
Crack, crack!
As the blue light faded from my eyes, a flash of scarlet flame flared and extinguished. I exhaled a puff of white mist, tearing at the cracked edges, and as I burst through the broken ice, there was Chris, casually holding a golden orb and waving goodbye with an amused grin.
“Still trying to run?”
Boom!
Using Moon Step once more, I surged back toward him, my body wreathed in wind, suddenly appearing in front of him. My hand struck like lightning, smacking the orb from his grasp, then sprawling my fingers wide, I yanked back and slapped his unmasked cheek with a crisp sound.
The force wasn’t heavy, but the sound was impressively loud.
“Now that you recognize me, do you really think you can escape?” I said, shaking my hand lightly, my voice calm.
Chris staggered back from the hit, covering his face, a flicker of anger flashing in his eyes as he looked back at me.
“Heh, heh.”
But he quickly laughed, his anger vanishing in the blink of an eye. He dusted off his shoulders where the water had soaked, and his demeanor returned to that gentlemanly air: “Romani was right, you’re not going to d*e so easily…”
