Volume Five: Return from the Other Shore - Chapter 373: A Mysterious Friendship (?)

"Hello." "..."

"Hello!" "..."

"Hello!!"

"... Um?"

Xiao Wu finally responded after Haoyue called her three times.

"Have something to eat, you delinquent."

"..."

Xiao Wu watched silently as Haoyue placed a box of military rations that looked unappetizing on the ground, and then turned away.

Haoyue was somewhat speechless.

"Don't just look at me and turn away. I came all this way to bring you food. Have some gratitude, you idiot. Are you a three-year-old with that long face?"

When facing Xiao Wu, especially when the two are alone, Haoyue's mouth will never hold back. At such times, she will even abandon her usual ladylike reserve and not hesitate to use the most scathing and direct words to mock her.

Xiao Wu is the same; usually, she's silent and cold, and she's never bothered to argue about trivial matters. But when Haoyue provokes her, she'll retort like a hornet's nest that explodes at the slightest provocation.

That's generally how it is, but Xiao Wu clearly isn't in the mood right now.

She stopped looking at the tedious lunch set and stared at the dozens of crude mannequins made of wood or metal, used for soldiers' training. These things were everywhere in this makeshift drill ground, which was more than two hundred meters long and wide, and each mannequin was spaced several meters apart.

Xiao Wu simply stared at them silently, without saying a word.

Then slightly bend your knees and raise your hands--

"Extreme Night Style Five Forms-- "

--Wow!

In the next instant, she vanished from Haoyue's sight, leaving not even a trace.

There was almost no air movement.

No dust was stirred up on the ground.

The world seemed to stand still.

All that could be felt was that it was too fast to be seen. Haoyue could only discern Xiao Wu's location by her own senses. Saki was moving at a speed invisible to the naked eye, passing through dozens of dolls silently and without a trace. In the frozen world, only she was dancing.

When Xiao Wu appeared at the other end of the training ground, two hundred meters away, less than two seconds had passed.

She remained in the same position, but her hands were now covered in blood.

" --Shadow Ghost Burial."

Tiny drops of blood dripped from her hand, falling to the ground in an instant—

Boom!!!

All the puppets in the training ground exploded from the inside at the same time, scattering iron filings and wood fragments everywhere. The training ground, which was clean and tidy just a second ago, became a mess.

"Whoa whoa..."

Even Haoyue couldn't help but exclaim in admiration, as this was extremely rare for her. However, Xiao Wu seemed to ignore her, only looking down at her blood-soaked hands.

The skin and flesh of both hands were torn open, revealing the bones beneath, a sight too painful to behold. Strangely, Xiao Wu's usually formidable regenerative abilities were useless; previously, even severe injuries like severed limbs would heal in less than a second, but now...

Xiao Wu didn't show even the slightest sign of pain; her eyes were hidden in the shadows beneath her bangs, making it impossible to tell what she was thinking.

The bleeding increased, but she only moved her hands slightly, as if observing.

"Hey, if you have masochistic tendencies, then just pretend I didn't say anything, but this state isn't very good," Haoyue said calmly. Although the two were far apart, she knew that Xiao Wu could hear her.

"..."

"... Tsk!"

Haoyue frowned, kicked over the military rations on the ground, and with orange runes flashing, she was already close to Xiao Wu's side.

"Shutting your head and trying to look cool, do you think you're some tragic protagonist from somewhere?"

"..."

"Xiao Ye seemed to have mentioned that in this situation, you should use... what was it again? I think it's called Lin Youde Corrective Fist?"

Thump!!

Haoyue's heavy punch exploded on Xiao Wu's nose. The seemingly soft and weak fist unleashed astonishing power. An ordinary person would probably have had their nose and cheekbone shattered, but Xiao Wu didn't even bleed from her nose.

"... Hmm? It's you."

Her eyes, hidden beneath her bangs, glanced at Haoyue, but lost interest in the next instant. Haoyue could only shrug helplessly.

"I doubt you've really only just noticed me now... well, whatever, what are you doing here?"

"Why are you asking me...?"

Xiao Wu tightly gripped her bloodied hands. Her self-healing ability had finally returned, and new skin and flesh grew back at a visible speed, restoring her to her original state in the blink of an eye.

"I want to become stronger."

"... You're already strong enough."

This is Haoyue's true feeling. If Xiao Wu isn't strong, then there are no strong people in the world.

"Not enough."

Xiao Wu turned to face the bright moon for the first time.

Her eyes peeked out from under her bangs.

This was unexpected by Haoyue—she had thought that Xiao Wu, might be depressed, dull, or even decadent and crazy.

--At least not like it is now, calm yet brimming with fighting spirit, like a flame burning in water.

"What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost... Ah, right, I really am a ghost."

He even told corny jokes.

"Uh... Xiao Wu?"

"What's wrong? If you have nothing to say, don't block the way. It's annoying to see you there."

"Hey, you delinquent, I need your help."

"What's wrong?"

"Slap me." Slap!

The bright moon has flown away.

It flew back a few seconds later.

"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! You have no mercy on me!"

"You're the one who asked me to smear your face with this smear, aren't you?"

"I just want to know if I'm dreaming!"

"... And the conclusion?"

"Someone actually slapped away a stunningly beautiful woman like me, the most gorgeous woman ever! I must be dreaming!"

"..." Smack!

"... So, you've finally emerged from the shadows?" Haoyue squatted down dejectedly, a rather unladylike posture for a lady, as her thighs and tied panties were clearly visible through the slit of her cheongsam.

Incidentally, she also had two red handprints on her face.

"Shadows and such, well, they're... tsk..."

Xiao Wu's face twitched, and she lowered her head.

The two fell silent for a moment.

It was Xiao Wu who broke the silence.

"... I always thought I'd had enough of losing someone, but... when it really happened again, I discovered something even more terrifying."

Xiao Wu suddenly gave a wry smile.

It was a very sad smile.

"I think I've gotten used to it."

Isn't that pathetic?

She shrugged, but Haoyue didn't laugh.

"So, over time, the speed at which that 'sadness fades' has become faster and faster. Have I become heartless? Or has deep down I already mentally prepared myself to lose someone again? I don't know. It's precisely because I don't know that I stop thinking about it, stop touching on it, and shift my attention from 'mourning the dead' to 'fighting for the living.'"

"A delinquent girl..."

"I think I've really had enough. Mom, Lucy, Margaret, Ling Ye, and now even Xiao's gone. Looks like I really am a jinx. Who knows if I'll be next—"

"I just thought you were really back to normal, and then you pull this? Don't you dare jinx me!!!"

Smack! A critical hit!

Haoyue slapped her across the face, leaving a red mark on Xiao Wu's stunned face. Before she could react, a fragrant body grabbed her and hugged her tightly.

"Hello, hello...?"

Xiao Wu was completely at a loss.

Ever since she met Haoyue, they have disliked each other. As time went by, although they unknowingly developed a strange relationship of trust, sparks always flew whenever they came into contact.

This is the first time we've had such intimate contact.

With a soft, fragrant body in his arms, and a perfect height difference between them, even Xiao Wu was also a woman, couldn't help but feel her heart flutter. No wonder Ye never rejected the Qipao Woman's intimate gestures; it felt so good—wait, wait, what am I thinking?!

"Don't, don't try to turn me gay! Don't lump me in with you lesbians!"

Hold me tight!

"Hey, I already said--"

"No, it won't."

"Huh?"

"I love Xiao Ye, so I won't let Xiao Ye die before me."

"What's the big deal?--"

"But as for you, I hate you the most. I hate everything about you, from your icy exterior to your sickeningly kind heart, so..."

Haoyue slightly raised her head and met Xiao Wu; their faces were almost touching.

"So don't worry, you idiot, Xiao Ye and I will never die before you, we will never... let you watch us die in front of you."

"That's all..."

Little Ying stared blankly at the small box in front of her.

Inside were a few simple dresses, a change of underwear, towels, toiletries, and a few books that were almost worn out from being read so many times.

These are Xiao's belongings—to be precise, these are all the things she brought to the West Saint Continent.

"So, what should we do with these? Customs seem to differ from place to place. Should we burn them, bury them, or put them up as offerings?"

"When the war ends and people hold a formal ceremony to erect new graves for the fallen heroes, let's bury these with them as burial goods."

Little Ying remained expressionless.

She had long since stopped crying.

She felt as if she had been dragged from her warm bed, stripped naked, and shoved into a powerfully cold refrigerator. The tears she had shed were now frozen in the cold, and the overflowing sorrow in her heart had nowhere to go but to be bottled up inside.

"Little Ying, you..."

"Hey, Xiaoyun, am I... too weak?"

"Well..."

Yun Can sighed.

"Your strength would place you among the top experts in any faction; it's not that you're too weak, it's that the enemies you've faced are too strong."

"Isn't that just being weak?"

"... Well, if you insist on understanding it that way..."

I want to become stronger.

Ignoring Yun Can's surprise, Little Ying continued speaking on her own.

"I want to become stronger, I must become stronger, so that no one else will become the next older sister!"

After the catastrophe, everyone had their own thoughts.

The changes brought about by Xiao's death are beginning to emerge at this time.

However, I have no idea what my comrades in the revolutionary army and Nidrose, who has temporarily left, are thinking.

I have my own things to do, things that are more important.

"We've arrived, hooded lady!"

"Thank you, sir."

"Not at all, it's just a ride, nothing at all."

The kind-hearted driver waved goodbye, bidding me farewell as I was finally able to get off the bus.

We've finally arrived...

Looking at the pristine white city walls and the church spires that could be seen far beyond them, I was overwhelmed with emotion.

Kasser Province.

The place where Blood Fiend was born and grew up.

The place where it all began.