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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 6: The Woman Who Plays the Man
Ji Zichen kicked up some sand at the first Sand Bandit attacking him, hitting the bandit in the eyes. The Sand Bandit winced in pain and squinted, giving Kiko a chance to grab his wrist and wrest the long knife away. With a swift strike, the blade made a sharp sound as it hit the Sand Bandit's face, leaving a mark that made him collapse to the ground as if crushed by gravity.
Kiko pointed the knife at the remaining bandits and shouted, "Come any closer, and I won't hold back!"
The three remaining Sand Bandits shouted in response and charged at Kiko. Seeing they wouldn't heed his warning, Kiko had no choice but to fight fiercely. He twisted his wrist, reversing the long knife, and slashed one bandit's throat, blood spraying out as he declared, "One!"
The second Sand Bandit came from behind with a downward strike. Kiko blocked it with his knife, and sparks flew as their blades clashed. Then, with a quick motion, Kiko rubbed his fingers together and aimed for the Sand Bandit's eyes. Black blood streamed from the bandit's eyes as he screamed in agony. Kiko followed up with another slash, cutting through the bandit's chest, causing him to fall lifelessly.
Kiko counted aloud, "Two!"
Lin Chuyu closed her eyes and used Vermilion Bird's Eye to probe into Kiko's heart. "What's going on? Why does he feel pleasure from such slaughter?"
The last Sand Bandit was knocked down by Kiko's elbow strike, hitting his chin and collapsing to the ground. Kiko announced, "Last one!"
The figure accompanying the Masked Man coldly watched Kiko.
Kiko said, "With the Masked Man gone, it's just you left. Do you still want the Vermilion Bird Pearl?"
The Masked Man snorted disdainfully. "You have some skill; defeating them without a magical artifact is impressive. I thought you only relied on magical tools for defense."
Kiko replied, "I don't need magical artifacts to deal with you."
The Masked Man glanced at the beads on Kiko's wrist. "Those beads are your magical artifact, right? Without them, you can't win against me."
Kiko smirked. "That depends on whether you can make me use them."
With a sudden movement, the Masked Man swung his large axe like a gale towards Kiko. "If you have what it takes, don't use your magical artifact!"
Kiko felt a chill run down his spine. "That speed is incredible!"
The clash of blades echoed in the air, and Ji Zichen felt a sharp pain in his hands. But what was worse was that his vision blurred as he looked at the Masked Man, who seemed to be surrounded by a double image. Panic surged within him as he thought, "No... not again!"
Unaware of Ji Zichen's condition, the Masked Man saw him block a swing of the axe and took a step back before lunging forward with a powerful, wave-like attack. Ji Zichen could still make out the hazy outline of the axe in his vision and struggled to defend himself.
Noticing something was off, the Masked Man thought, "Why does his movement seem sluggish?"
Suddenly, Ji Zichen's vision went completely dark, rendering him blind. "Ugh!" His long knife was knocked from his grasp by the Masked Man, who then slashed at Ji Zichen's chest, tearing his clothing and leaving a shallow wound that began to bleed.
After the initial pain subsided, Ji Zichen's eyesight returned to normal just in time to hear the Masked Man say, "You managed to dodge one blow, but you won't be so lucky next time."
Meanwhile, Lin Chuyu kept her eyes closed, peering into Ji Zichen's heart. "I can't see much from his face usually, but deep down, I sense a growing anger and intense hatred within him. What could be causing such turmoil?"
As Lin Chuyu probed into Ji Zichen's emotions, the Masked Man shouted, "Die! Axe of Thousand Shadows!"
A multitude of axe shadows descended from above. Ji Zichen gasped in realization, "So this axe is also a magical weapon!"
With determination, Ji Zichen summoned the Thunder Buddha Bead. "Furnace Thunder!"
Countless bolts of lightning rained down from above, striking each axe shadow and dispersing them one by one. Although there were many shadows, only one was real. The real axe took damage from the lightning strikes, causing the Masked Man to lose grip on it. As soon as it slipped from his hand, the shadows dissipated.
Electricity surged through the axe and into the Masked Man's body. He was jolted by the shock and collapsed onto the ground. Ji Zichen raised his hand to increase the current. The Masked Man cried out in pain as his clothes were torn apart by the electric surge, splitting him down the middle.
As he split apart, the Masked Man's true appearance was revealed: a woman in her twenties with glossy black hair, round eyes, a high nose, and skin as smooth as cream. Her clothes were tattered, exposing her full chest right before Ji Zichen.
Ji Zichen quickly withdrew the electricity in shock and exclaimed, "Your... your chest... you're a woman!"
As her body regained sensation after the electricity ceased, she covered her chest with her hands, blushing furiously while glaring at the stunned Ji Zichen. "You... you shameless pervert!" With that, she picked up her axe and fled while covering herself.
Ji Zichen stood there dumbfounded as she ran further away.
Her figure disappeared, and Ji Zichen finally came to his senses, picking up the broken Masked Man and asking, "Why did she bring the Masked Man with an axe pretending to be a man?"
Lin Chuyu walked over to his side and shot him a sideways glance. "Pervert!"
Ji Zichen's face turned red. "I... I'm not a pervert."
Lin Chuyu gave him a sidelong look before turning back to lead her horse away. "Clearly you are. If not, why would you use lightning to tear her clothes?"
Ji Zichen's face flushed. "I didn't do it on purpose."
Lin Chuyu ignored him and continued walking, while Ji Zichen hurried after her. "Wait... why are you walking so fast?"
---
The two of them traveled for half a day, still twenty miles away from Corner City of the Horned Lodge when night fell. They could have reached their destination before dawn if they had pressed on, but Ji Zichen chose to spend the night in Juggernaut Forest instead. The horse stood nearby, dozing off, while Lin Chuyu sat cross-legged on the ground, wiping the Vajra with a clean cloth.
Ji Zichen occasionally glanced at Lin Chuyu's Vermilion Bird Pearl. "Has that pearl ever glowed red?"
Lin Chuyu replied, "I've always had it with me; I've never seen it glow red."
Ji Zichen smiled wryly. "Looks like legends are just legends after all."
Lin Chuyu didn't know what to say. After wiping the Vajra for a while, she looked up at the starry sky. "The stars here are so big and bright."
Ji Zichen gazed at the twinkling starlight. "Each star represents a person who has passed away."
Lin Chuyu couldn't hide her emotions upon hearing this and stared intently at Ji Zichen. "So does that mean there are stars up there representing Uncle Lin?"
Ji Zichen lay down on the ground with his hand as a pillow and closed his eyes. "That's just a comforting lie people tell themselves. Sleep now; we have to travel again tomorrow."
Lin Chuyu gazed up at the twinkling stars and said, "No, look, the stars are twinkling. I believe they are watching over us."
Ji Zichen slowly opened his eyes, as if Lin Chuyu's words held some kind of magic that compelled him to awaken. Although his eyes were open, his lips seemed sewn shut, and he did not utter a word.
The two remained silent for a while. Lin Chuyu looked at the vast sky and asked, "You sell magical artifacts; you must have traveled to many places. Can you tell me just how big this world really is?"
Ji Zichen listened quietly but showed no reaction. After a long pause, he finally replied, "You could spend your entire life and still not make a round trip in this world. Compared to it, we are merely insignificant and trivial beings."
Ji Zichen closed his eyes again. Lin Chuyu was about to speak but noticed that Ji Zichen had already shut his eyes. She moved her lips silently, not wanting to disturb his rest.
Lin Chuyu began to fiddle with the Vajra.
She muttered to herself, "He told me to take good care of this Vajra. How did he say it last time?"
As she questioned herself, she examined the Vajra. "This Vajra can be disassembled; first, I need to twist off the Buddha Head grip."
With a click, the Buddha Head came off.
Tilting the disassembled Vajra, Lin Chuyu watched as five red beads, each the size of fish eyes, rolled out from inside the Vajra's tube. She looked at them in her palm and said, "So this is the Demon Soul Pearl? Every time a monster is killed, the Vajra retains some of its soul energy. Through the Vajra's own process, that energy condenses into a Demon Soul Pearl. These beads can be sold in shops."
Lin Chuyu pocketed the beads and took a piece of cloth to roll it into a thin strip, inserting it back into the Vajra's tube and rubbing it back and forth. "Water can't get inside; if it does, the soul energy will dissolve and won't form a Demon Soul Pearl. I see this Vajra is well-sealed; unless I fall into a river, even rainwater would have a hard time seeping in."
As time passed and the stars shifted in the sky, when Ji Zichen opened his eyes again, he found that Lin Chuyu had vanished without a trace. He wasn't worried because he knew she hadn't gone to Corner Lodge alone; she must be nearby. In this wilderness, Ji Zichen felt a twinge of concern as he noticed Lin Chuyu's footprints on the ground—shallow impressions that indicated she had walked carefully, perhaps afraid her footsteps would wake him from sleep.
Lin Chuyu's caution was unnecessary since Ji Zichen hadn't enjoyed a deep sleep in many years.
The trail led him to a pond in the forest where the water was no deeper than his knees. Beside it was a waterfall cascading down like a gentle curtain of water. Lin Chuyu stood beneath the waterfall, completely bare, bathing herself. She had smooth, translucent skin that was almost flawless; using a snow-white silk scarf, she wiped her body.
Her chest was firm, her waist slender, her abdomen flat; her long legs were strong and well-defined. Every inch of her skin bore no wrinkles at all—this was the perfect gift bestowed upon a young girl by the Creator.
After passing through a grove of trees, Ji Zichen arrived at the side of the waterfall under the dim moonlight. Lin Chuyu's body was translucent, completely merging with the moonlight.
At first, Ji Zichen did not notice anyone bathing under the waterfall. As he approached, he saw clothes scattered on the rocks by the pool. It was then that Lin Chuyu noticed him; she had never expected Ji Zichen to appear so suddenly, as she was certain he had fallen asleep before she decided to come for a bath.
But he had appeared and seen her, leaving Lin Chuyu stunned.
Her face flushed crimson, and she covered her chest with her hands, retreating into the water as she shouted, "What... what are you looking at!"
Ji Zichen's eyes widened in shock, momentarily frozen like a wooden post. "I didn't see anything! My eye condition is acting up again."
Lin Chuyu's ears turned red; she couldn't believe him. "Turn around!"
With a whoosh, Ji Zichen turned his rigid body away, his eyes wide open. "I've turned around."
Seeing him turn away, Lin Chuyu hurriedly climbed ashore to dry herself and put on her clothes.
Feeling shy, Lin Chuyu asked, "How much did you see?"
Ji Zichen pretended to be blind, reaching out to touch the air. "I really can't see anything now. Help me back."
Biting her lip, Lin Chuyu looked at Ji Zichen and said, "I don't care if you're really blind or pretending. If you dare to think about anything inappropriate, I... I will kill you." With that, she left him behind.
Watching her walk away, Ji Zichen couldn't help but chuckle. "How would you know what I'm thinking?" He also headed back to the campsite.
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