Miss He Wei Ni Ya, Run

The news brought back from the Forbidden Forest deeply shocked those who remained at the academy.

"How could this happen?! Zell could be killed?"

"Even Golden Sound's band couldn't beat him? That shouldn't be happening!"

"But it's already happened! That guy definitely has powers we don't understand. Damn it, what about the other bands? We have to inform them of this situation. If that guy has the ability to consistently take down a band, then we can't let them go solo."

"That guy is hunting down the Golden Sound! Is he going to devour all the orchestras? Are we just delivering musical notes to him?"

"Impossible! If that guy really had that kind of strength, would he need to hide in the Forbidden Forest? Wouldn't he just attack directly?"

"Stop talking about those pointless things, the important thing is what we should do now?!"

"The only thing we can do is play the Resonance Music to spread the news to the other orchestras in the Forbidden Forest and find out about their situation."

The musicians on night duty argued fiercely, breaking the silence of the snowy night into fragments before finally quieting down again after a long time.

However, it was destined to be a sleepless night. Every musician on night watch stared intently at the dark Forbidden Forest, as if if they didn't, the beast they were hunting would break free of the prison of the night and rush towards them.

Unbeknownst to them, in the makeshift room behind them, where the wounded and dead were kept, a musician who should have been unconscious slowly opened his eyes.

Those pupils, which were once filled with fear, now held only coldness and indifference.

He slowly sat up, reached into his clothes, and touched a handful of blood.

These injuries are not faked.

After all, even if such a thing existed, it wouldn't be possible to devour a band led by Golden Sound without paying any price.

However, compared to the gains, this cost is negligible.

He rolled up his sleeves, and there were four golden notes embedded in the silver musical score.

However, one of the newest Golden Sound is noticeably darker than the other three, as if it has faded in color after being stained by time.

"What a pity," he said softly, "This can no longer be used for the Grand Ceremony, otherwise we would have collected all three."

He paused.

"So I've always thought that musical notes are like precious flowers. Although they have a not-so-short cycle from planting to growth to withering, what truly makes them stand out is only the few days they bloom... Don't you think so, Miss He Wei Ni Ya?"

He raised his head and smiled as he watched He Wei Ni Ya slowly emerge from the darkness.

Although it's not the same face anymore, the elegant expression is still exactly the same as Daniel's from two days ago.

He Wei Ni Ya stopped about five or six meters away from the other party.

"How should I address you?" He Wei Ni Ya asked calmly. "Should I still call you Mr. Daniel?"

He laughed, "That's your freedom. Of course, you can also call me by my real name— Xi Ze."

... Xi Ze.

He Wei Ni Ya silently memorized the name.

"So it seems you're not the real Miss He Wei Ni Ya either?" Xi Ze said. "Then how should I address you?"

After a moment of silence, He Wei Ni Ya said, "I can't remember my old name."

"I see." Xi Ze didn't seem annoyed at all; instead, he smiled even more broadly. "Then I'll still call you Miss He Wei Ni Ya. You know, Miss He Wei Ni Ya, when I guessed your identity, I was quite shocked. It was almost like... seeing a kindred spirit."

He stared at He Wei Ni Ya with an extremely aggressive gaze.

It didn't seem like they were looking at their own kind; it still seemed like they were looking at prey.

"When did you see through me?" He Wei Ni Ya asked.

Xi Ze chuckled and asked, "Which one are you referring to? Is it the identity of your musical score, or... the remains of some legendary figure?"

... Just as Mr. Visas had said.

He did indeed sense He Wei Ni Ya's body parts.

Although He Wei Ni Ya was very surprised, she maintained a calm demeanor. "I want to know everything."

"Hehe, no problem, I can tell you everything." Xi Ze said generously, "I had some suspicions about that legendary figure's body parts when I first saw them, but I wasn't sure at the time. It wasn't until the second and third time that I was able to be basically certain."

He paused, then looked into He Wei Ni Ya's eyes.

"Don't you feel that way too? That shared, boundless, magnetic life force that seems to want to draw closer to each other—there's no way you couldn't sense it, is there?"

He Wei Ni Ya remained silent.

Because she genuinely didn't know what that feeling was like.

Was it because of Bai Wei's presence that she was shielded from such pointless attraction?

He Wei Ni Ya wasn't sure, so naturally she didn't answer.

Fortunately, Xi Ze didn't seem to mind He Wei Ni Ya's silence. Instead, he smiled and said, "Well, ladies always have the right to remain silent. But I can roughly guess the reason... It seems you don't understand that powerful force enough. That's normal; there aren't many records about that legendary figure in the Holy Sound. I only gradually learned about Him after I possessed His power. Of course, if you want to know about this, I can tell you."

"In the Holy Sound, there are probably few people who understand Him better than me, that great being called... Visas."

He Wei Ni Ya's eyelid twitched almost imperceptibly.

She naturally didn't need to ask Xi Ze about Visas's knowledge, so she continued, "Then how did you know I was a spectrogram?"

Um?

Does he not care about anything related to Visas?

Or is it that they simply don't want to ask me?

What a cautious fellow! Rather than not wanting to know Visas's knowledge, it's more accurate to say he doesn't want to get the wrong information from him.

However, Xi Ze was very curious to know which part of the body He Wei Ni Ya possessed. But he didn't show it, and continued following He Wei Ni Ya's question, "It's simple, because my prey is gone."

His gaze shifted downwards again, from He Wei Ni Ya's eyes to her body.

"I found the body of a young master in the Forbidden Forest. The musical notes on his body are gone, but I haven't even laid a hand on him yet." Xi Ze looked at He Wei Ni Ya meaningfully. "I think that golden Fifth Note is on you now."

"Miss He Wei Ni Ya."

"You stole my prey!"

Upon hearing this, coupled with Xi Ze's expression, He Wei Ni Ya felt that Xi Ze was about to make a move, and immediately grabbed the staff from inside her robe.

But she didn't take any further action, and neither did Xi Ze; he just looked at her with that faint smile on his face.

"Don't be nervous, Miss He Wei Ni Ya, I have no intention of fighting you," Xi Ze said with a smile. "Otherwise, I wouldn't have waited until now. My intuition tells me you are dangerous. And my intuition has never been wrong, especially after obtaining Visas' Corpse Pieces. Very few people have given me that feeling. The first time I saw you, when we were walking together, I even felt that I wasn't standing next to a lovely girl, but a ferocious lion. My subconscious was telling me that if I attacked you, I would likely die."

"Is that so?" He Wei Ni Ya said. "But I don't sense any fear from you, Mr. Xi Ze. Otherwise, why would you keep coming to me again and again?"

"It's simple," Xi Ze said. "Because at that time, the golden Seventh Sound was irreplaceable. Even if I was wary of you, I still had to get closer to you, and..."

"To be honest, Miss He Wei Ni Ya, I think the chances of me killing you are much greater than the chances of you killing me."

"I think..." he looked at He Wei Ni Ya meaningfully, "You are afraid of me too."

The atmosphere became oppressive once again.

Although He Wei Ni Ya's expression didn't change much, the hand gripping the staff inside her sleeve tightened involuntarily.

But Xi Ze quickly smiled easily again, "But now there's no need to think about those unpleasant things. The golden Seventh Sound is no longer unique. Now that you and I both have one, there's no need to fight each other anymore. This grand Grand Ceremony... is big enough to accommodate you and me, two wolves."

"Is that so?" He Wei Ni Ya put her hands behind her back. "If that's the case, what do you want from me tonight? Or are you saying you didn't come here for me?"

"Of course not, I came here specifically for you," Xi Ze said with a smile. "Miss He Wei Ni Ya, would you like to cooperate?"

"...cooperate?"

"Yes." Xi Ze extended his hand to He Wei Ni Ya. "Cooperation between wolves."

He Wei Ni Ya's pupils narrowed slightly.

She recalled her conversation with Bai Wei before entering the room.

Why did he come to see me?

"When two people of the same kind meet, what other reason could there be? It's either love or hate, it's that simple."

He Wei Ni Ya looked at the outstretched hand but did not respond immediately. Instead, she said, "I don't quite understand what you mean. How do you want to cooperate?"

"Does it even need to be explained, Miss He Wei Ni Ya? There are so many possibilities between us," Xi Ze said. "A wolf can only do so much, but two wolves are a different story, just like now. Miss He Wei Ni Ya, you killed TuPake, yet you can still enjoy a midnight snack in this warm house. Isn't it all because of me? I've drawn enough attention for you that even now, they still believe TuPake's notes are on me."

"... Do you want me to thank you?"

"Of course not." Xi Ze smiled and shook his head. "I'm just stating the facts. Once the two of us join forces, there are so many things we can accomplish. It's like the relationship between men and women in tribal times: I'll be in charge of hunting, and you'll be in charge of gathering."

Hunting? Gathering?

"Yes." Xi Ze bent down slightly, picked up the seriously injured musician he had brought back, and lifted his clothes.

He Wei Ni Ya opened her mouth slightly.

Because on the body of that seriously injured player, there was a golden First Note.

"This is the prey." Xi Ze enjoyed He Wei Ni Ya's surprise, then exerted a little force with both hands.

"Click"

He Wei Ni Ya's eyes widened.

Xi Ze snapped the musician's neck.

With a "poof".

Xi Ze tossed the slain musician in front of He Wei Ni Ya and said with a smile, "This is the First Note of the Golden Melody, a belated greeting, Miss He Wei Ni Ya."

He Wei Ni Ya looked at the performer who had been killed as easily as a chicken, remained silent for a long time, and then said, "Such a tone is not suitable for the Grand Ceremony."

"Indeed." Xi Ze nodded and said with a smile, "But it can enhance our strength, allowing us to hunt and harvest more effectively. Just like how hunting became much easier for primitive people after they acquired fire and spears, didn't it? If we keep searching like this, we will eventually be able to obtain the musical notes sufficient to participate in the Grand Ceremony. As far as I know, there is a Three Sound with a pretty good tone in the team that came to subdue me this time."

"If you can already do it yourself, why do you need to cooperate with me?"

"I already mentioned this; two people working together can accomplish far more than one person alone," Xi Ze said. "Hunting and gathering, remember?"

"What do you mean by 'collect'?" He Wei Ni Ya had barely asked when she immediately realized, "Could it be..."

"It seems you've already thought of it," Xi Ze said with a smile. "Just like that young lady from the Lawrence Family, isn't it all just the result of gathering?"

Just as I expected.

He Wei Ni Ya was silent for a moment, then said, "Olenna is dead. Do you think the people here will still be advancing in rank so frantically?"

"Why not?" Xi Ze said. "Believe me, Miss He Wei Ni Ya. They care more about Olenna's successful ascension than Olenna death."

"Even Olenna, who comes from a noble family, is so eager to advance her rank, let alone those who are of lower birth than her?"

"Those silver-ranked individuals from commoner backgrounds, from the Seed Zone, do you think they wouldn't yearn to become gold-ranked?"

Do you think they'll miss this once-in-twenty-years opportunity that could change their destiny?

"They won't miss it, Miss He Wei Ni Ya."

"It's as ridiculous as a sunflower always facing the sun, trying its best to stand up straight."

"And what you have to do is use your sickle to cut off their straight bodies, cut off their sun-like heads, and take away their sunlight."

"It's that simple."

Xi Ze's smile grew even brighter.

"And I will be responsible for hunting outside, while also drawing their attention and energy away from them. They will have to be wary of me and thus neglect you. In this way, no one in this academy will be able to stop you. Everyone will be like sunflowers under your scythe, waiting to be slaughtered."

"You and My Lord the fate of everyone; we are the true predators."

"Well, Miss He Wei Ni Ya?" Xi Ze had walked up to He Wei Ni Ya without her noticing, smiling and extending his hand. "Would you like to cooperate with me?"

He Wei Ni Ya stared blankly at Xi Ze's outstretched hand.

Beneath their feet lay the corpse of the Golden Sound musician.

It was as if they truly stood above everyone else.

... Should we accept it?

He Wei Ni Ya thought to herself.

My previous conversation with Bai Wei came flooding back to me.

"Mr. Visas, if he really wants to cooperate with me, should I agree or refuse?"

"That's up to you, He Wei Ni Ya. From a rational point of view, in this hostile world, it is indeed a good choice for two people of the same kind to embrace each other."

"I understand what you mean, Mr. Visas."

"No, He Wei Ni Ya," Bai Wei said with a smile, "The premise for making this decision is..."

"You really are the same kind of person as him."

...similar?

He Wei Ni Ya thought to herself.

They must be the same kind of people, right?

They are all unique scores, all for the sake of the Seven Sound Divine Song.

They are indeed the same kind of people.

What reason would He Wei Ni Ya have to refuse?

So she reached out her hand and shook hands with Xi Ze.

Then, the door was suddenly opened.

The two turned to look.

The girl with the bronze voice who had led He Wei Ni Ya to the kitchen was holding a gauze and staring blankly at the two of them.

"Miss He Wei Ni Ya?"

All of this happened so fast that He Wei Ni Ya had barely realized something was wrong when Xi Ze had already made his move.

She didn't even see Xi Ze's movements clearly, she only heard a "whoosh" sound.

The girl's body was torn in two, and then she fell limply to the ground, her blood splattering everywhere.

He Wei Ni Ya stood there, stunned.

She heard Xi Ze click his tongue beside her. "Just a bronze voice? So weak, no wonder I didn't notice."

After dealing with the girl, Xi Ze immediately looked at He Wei Ni Ya: "But I've still caused a commotion. I should leave now. By the way, Miss He Wei Ni Ya, how about our cooperation..."

He frowned again halfway through his sentence.

Because he saw the girl in the pool of blood tremblingly raise her staff.

"Troublesome fellow." Xi Ze was about to make another move.

But at that moment, He Wei Ni Ya's staff was already blocking his hand.

Xi Ze frowned.

In that instant, the girl had already unleashed the Movement Spell.

The target is... He Wei Ni Ya.

A warm light fell upon He Wei Ni Ya.

[Two Sound Blessing].

"Miss He Wei Ni Ya."

She heard the girl say to herself.

"Hurry up."