Volume 4
215 Nie Zun’s Ability
Nie Zun’s abilities were still as sharp even when he had lost his memories. He turned around as he sensed an incoming attack from behind, and I definitely had to make use of this opportunity.
I raised my hand and released rays of light with Scorpion Ray. Chou Yu was wary of Nie Zun because of what I had said, and he thought Nie Zun was about to attack Yuan Qian at this point. Because of that, he was ready to counter it.
Chou Yu’s fists were powerful, and since he was closer to Nie Zun, Nie Zun turned to parry Chou Yu’s attack first. As he turned, Feng, Huo and Lei’s attack hit him in the back.
I pulled Chou Yu away as I grabbed Nie Zun’s left hand. I knew his MF was focused mostly on his hands, even though he might have forgotten about his past at this point.
Initially, I thought of breaking his wrists to activate Huai Du’s consciousness in that very moment, but nothing ever goes according to plan.
When I grabbed his left hand, I felt that ring on it.
He never took off that ring. I’ve always found it familiar, but I just can’t seem to recall anything that had to do with that skull ring.
A ray of black and red light shot out from that ring. My MF seemed to be attracted to that light, as if they were two pieces of magnets. This confused me for a moment. This feeling… It felt rather familiar…
When I looked up at Nie Zun again, his eyes looked a little teary and confused. But that lasted for only a second.
He smiled in an evil manner after that. “I have a new mission.” He slapped my hand away and headed for the carpark’s exit without any heed to the injuries on his back.
I looked at Feng, Huo and Lei, and they rushed forward after exchanging gazes with one another.
Gritting my teeth, I turned to Yuan Qian. “I’ll give you an explanation about your brother. Since you’re able to track me down with that pill, come look for me a few days later. I’m a little tied up now. Chou Yu, protect her.”
Before I left, I was reminded of something else. I turned to the both of them again. “If you really have her interests at heart, please don’t follow us. Please.”
I then turned to chase after Nie Zun, leaving the both of them with confused looks.
Nie Zun was fast and agile. He had probably gotten the order to look for Li Qing at the demon river.
Feng, Huo and Lei were able to control the natural elements, so it was easy for them to run at high speeds for long distances, but it wasn’t the case for me. I haven’t rested in days, and I’ve been using my MF too frequently. It was difficult for me to catch up with them in my exhausted state.
With Nie Zun’s speed, Huai Du seemed to have given him an urgent mission. This showed how much Huai Du cared about Li Qing.
We were met with countless stares as we passed through the crowds.
What attracted their attention was probably not because there were four individuals chasing a single figure, but probably because among the four, there were three in bamboo hats, while the last one was in a tattered red dress.
I might have been too tired, or it might just have been very far away, but I felt like it was forever before we arrived at that forest.
Though I wanted nothing more but to take a nap when we reached the river, I knew I didn’t have the luxury of time. We were so far from even catching a glimpse of that hourglass and the tablet, and I don’t know what Nie Zun might become. I did not have any time to waste.
Nie Zun looked around as he stood at the riverbank. He turned back and smiled condescendingly at Feng, Huo and Lei. “Where’s Li Qing?”
Huo answered calmly, “You’ll have to beat us if you want to find her.”
The three of them took off their bamboo hats one by one before they got into position, each of them raising a hand towards Nie Zun.
I was screaming silently. They were really pulling out all stops in order to force Nie Zun into the demon cave.
From the air, one would be able to see that the three of them had formed a triangle in their positions. If I remember right, this was called the tri-point position.
With this triangular position, they were able to cover one another from all angles. Furthermore, the combination of the three natural elements made a powerful attack.
I don’t remember seeing them in this position often. The damage would be great, and it was not only because they could control the elements. They were a team of triplets, and they were able to work together seamlessly because of that. They had also been working together for years, and they’d definitely be at least six times stronger than if they were fighting alone.
But I didn’t understand why they had to start so strongly. Did they think Nie Zun was so powerful that they had to go against him like this right at the beginning?
After some thought, I realized it was a logical choice. We had the same goal now, that is, to force Nie Zun into that demon cave. They might have already thought about the most efficient way to go about this, and the most efficient method might simply be to force him into the cave quickly by going all-out against him.
Nie Zun gave a dashing smile. “So it’s to fight me. The outside world is just no fun, everyone wants to pick a fight with me.”
I lit up at this. “How about you go back to your demon cave then?”
Nie Zun waved a hand in mock earnesty. “No no. It’s way too boring in there. I’d rather have fights outside than go back there.”
Alright, I guess a fight is inevitable then.
Feng, Huo and Lei produced three different types of attacks in the very next second.
There was a fireball, a blade of air, and a ray of lightning. The three forces combined into one before charging at Nie Zun.
Nie Zun was leaning on one feet with his head slightly tilted. He had a casual smile on him as he made a weird gesture with his hands in front of his chest.
Feng, Huo and Lei’s attack combined into a ball of whirling air. Smoke and dust rose around it, and I could hear the wind roaring in my ears.
With Nie Zun’s weird gesture, black fog started to close in on us. It spread out and enclosed Feng, Huo and Lei within. I could not really keep tabs on the entire situation from where I was.
The three natural elements were easily parried by Nie Zun as that back fog surrounding his hands seemed to have the ability of canceling MF.
Nie Zun’s eyes were shining now. I knew that he could use his pupils, but I haven’t seen him use that ability ever since he had lost his memories.
Feng, Huo and Lei did not seem to be getting the upper hand in this even though they were in the tri-point position. From what I could see, it served only the purpose of defense. They might have been wary that Nie Zun might go all-out against them.
Their attacks did not work on Nie Zun so far.
This was a waste of time. It’d be better not to have this fight at all.
I lifted my left wrist slowly, wondering if I should attack. The demon cave was still some distance away. Why were they fighting here?
Very quickly, I was given the answer as Li Qing appeared on the other side of the river.
Nie Zun’s eyes shone upon seeing her. He leapt away from the battle and walked over to her.
“There’s someone who wants to see you, and that someone wants me to take you somewhere,” Nie Zun said as he smiled at Li Qing.
Li Qing gave a charming smile. “Too bad. I don’t want to see that person.”
Nie Zun lifted a hand shrouded in black mist as he walked towards her. “Then I’ll just have to use force.”
Li Qing glanced at me. She then squinted as she raised her arms, placing her palms together.
Boom.
A gully suddenly appeared between Li Qing and Nie Zun. The ground shook violently, and the water in the river crashed and roared loudly as it flowed into the gully.
Nie Zun stared at Li Qing as he narrowed his eyes.
An external force seemed to be controlling the water. It looked like transparent silk as it rippled in the air.
Li Qing smiled as she released her palms. The water splashed everywhere, and beads of water shot right at Nie Zun like bullets.
Nie Zun’s pupils widened as black light shone in his eyes.
The beads of water stopped right in front of him.
Those beads were tiny to begin with, and they turned into mist as they disintegrated.
Nie Zun lifted a hand to grab the air suddenly.
The black fog surrounded the mist in the air, turning them into black blades that flew towards Li Qing. It was so quick that I could only see their tails even when I focused MF on my vision.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
“Wildfire!”
Fire spouted from the gully as Huo shouted. The temperature rose instantly, almost suffocating me. It felt as if all the water had evaporated in an instant.
The black blades under Nie Zun’s control had all evaporated since they were made of water.
Li Qing looked careful now, as if still wary of Nie Zun’s earlier attack.
I saw a light shine in her eyes as she muttered something I wasn’t able to hear.
White light encased her before turning into that silvery-white armor she used to have.
Her sword had also appeared on her back.