[Vol. 1] Chapter 13 - Whose Head is Harder, Mine or Yours?
Ever since meeting this fool, Feng Yue had felt a spark of interest, though she expected it to be nothing more than a passing whim.
After concluding her dealings with the Shadow Guards, she made no effort to conceal her face. The looks this fool had given her made it clear she was already recognized.
Her interest had only one source…
Whenever she gazed at this little one, she could hear the girl's innermost thoughts.
Like now, for instance.
Xiaolan's tears fell like rain upon pear blossoms. "To be saved by you again… it must be the blessing of karmic fortune from my past life!"
Yet what echoed in her heart was quite different—
(AAAAHHHH! To be saved by her again, does god hate me? saved, was I truly saved?)
(Damn it, my whole body aches from all that running! And this devil actually looks pretty after a fight? That's just unfair. I can't even stop crying now.)
Xiaolan wept bitterly on the outside while wincing inwardly, mentally exhausted and ready to lie down and surrender.
Feng Yue hummed softly. It was as if the heavenly Dao itself bowed to her whims. She had been contemplating how to uproot the entire Lin-Lao-Chen Clan…
And now this had fallen right into her lap—the ability to hear Xiaolan's inner thoughts.
She had tested it on the other Shadow Guards, but it didn't work. It was specific to Xiaolan, and no one else.
How curious.
Lin Zheng was no fool. From the formidable skills this newcomer displayed, he felt a grudging respect for the strong, yet disdain for such a nosy interruption.
Lin Zheng looked around at his fallen group and immediately signaled them silently to retreat. He would have to deal with this himself, with his own hands.
"You, stay out of this," he said. "This is personal, between me and Lin Xiaolan!" No matter what, he had to settle the score. His goods had just been stolen right from under his nose.
He hadn't formally married Chen Mingyuan yet, but ever since he first saw her, he'd already taken this woman as his wife in his mind. Technically, wasn't what Xiaolan doing a form of cuckoldry?
Feng Yue didn't even bother to look at Lin Zheng, only at Xiaolan. She gave a noncommittal "Mhm," then stepped casually aside.
Both of them were stunned at once. Just like that?
Xiaolan had mistakenly believed this devil would kill Lin Zheng and his cronies for their disrespectful words. (No, sister, where's your backbone?)
Lin Zheng was even more baffled. In his experience, strong cultivators always carried a disdainful arrogance, not this oddly cooperative kind. He gave Feng Yue a stiff nod. "I'll compensate you for this later."
Then he turned back to Xiaolan, reclaiming his weapon. After a moment of careful thought, he declared, "I'll face you fair and square, Lin Xiaolan. Draw your weapon."
When no response came, he simply added, "Let's settle this with our pride as Alphas on the line."
"Hold on, I haven't even presented as one yet!" Xiaolan protested. "Wouldn't that be unfair either way?"
Lin Zheng only grunted in reply.
Feng Yue smiled brilliantly. "How about this? I'll be the referee." She turned to look Xiaolan in the eyes.
"I'll give you a handicap. Your opponent will face my pressure, so no Alpha advantage in strength or speed will come into play. You'll both be on equal footing."
That's right. Nothing good ever came from Feng Yue. Nothing at all.
The faint scent of mellow red spider lilies drifted through the air, Feng Yue's unique fragrance. It distracted Xiaolan for a moment: (What is Feng Yue's secondary gender?)
A flicker of cold amusement surfaced on Feng Yue's face. The girl was trying to pin a label upon her. As if the simple-minded classification of Alphas, Omegas, and Betas could signify anything in her presence.
Xiaolan snapped back to reality just in time to see Lin Zheng hurl his blade aside. With an instinctive will to survive, and aided by the original body's fairly athletic build, Xiaolan dodged.
"Since you won't draw your weapon, I'll fight with my bare fists!" Lin Zheng launched his attack, literally bare fisted.
(No! Don't get hit!)
Xiaolan yelled in her mind, desperate to not be hit but with both a tired body and mind she couldn't dodge in time.
A blow landed, sharp and bruising. Tears of pain and frustration welled in her eyes just as the system flickered back online… only to lock down again instantly.
[You have been hit. System functions disabled for 1 minute.]
(Damn it!)
She grunted, stumbling back, and swung a clumsy, untrained fist in return. All force, no form. Desperate.
Lin Zheng was ready, though his own clothes were now disheveled, far from the pristine image of a respected Alpha heir.
A strong body paired with an inexperienced soul and mind. Xiaolan was awkward, all uncoordinated force, but she kept throwing risky, wild swings.
It was unpredictable, and that alone threw him off balance. He couldn't recognize any style or skill in her brawling; it was pure, frantic survival.
Throughout, Feng Yue watched with a faint, amused curve to her lips. Because—
(AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH! YOU SON OF A BITCH!)
(EAT THIS MUDCAKE!)
(FUCK—FUCK—IT HURTS!)
Countless high-pitched screams and curses reverberated in Feng Yue's mind. Her lips twitched. This one is… annoyingly loud.
She took the chance to observe Xiaolan closely and confirmed: a woman, not a man. No technique. No style. Just desperate hits thrown in blind hope.
[6 hours passed without use of Save/Load.]
[Charge points +50]
[Current charge points: 326]
Xiaolan's eyes widened, just before another heavy blow smashed into her cheek.
"Urk—!"
And at that exact moment, another notification flashed:
[System functions restored.]
The words blazed in her vision just as Lin Zheng, wiping dirt from his face with a furious roar, lunged for her again.
This time, Xiaolan's lips were already moving, shaping a single, silent word into the dirt.
"Save."
[Target (1000 Charge points) amount not met. Debt issued to restore Save attempt.]
[1 Save attempt restored and expended.]
[Charge points -100]
Blood trickled from her nose and eyes.
[Save points used: 2/2
Load points used: 2/2
Charge points: 226]
Simply put, her Save and Load usage was displayed as 2/2 because every time she "saved," a quick animation flashed:
Save points used: 2 → 1 → 2/2
One point was instantly restored, followed immediately by a new save.
Now, running on pure adrenaline and a raw will to survive, she twisted her body in a painful, awkward dodge—just enough to evade Lin Zheng's lunge. Through gritted teeth, she choked out the command:
"Load!"
[Target (1000 Charge points) amount not met. Debt issued to restore Save attempt.]
[1 Save attempt restored and expended.]
[Charge points -100]
Blood trickled from her nose and eyes.
Every new save overwrote the previous one, and speaking "Load" automatically triggered a return to the most recent save point.
[Save points used: 2/2
Load points used: 2/2
Charge points: 126]
200 Charge Points gone...just like that. The entire sequence had taken less than twenty seconds.
And in that span, time rewound.
Xiaolan found herself back at the exact instant Lin Zheng wiped the dirt from his face, a furious roar tearing from his throat as he lunged for her once more.
This time, Xiaolan knew what came next: his lunge would shift into a grappling move to unbalance her.
—like martial arts from those YouTube videos.
Lin Zheng's eyes were focused, intense enough to burn through Xiaolan's clothes. Under the pressure of the newcomer's higher-level presence, he fought not only to defeat Xiaolan but also to prove to this intruder that they were equals.
Seeing Xiaolan's bewildered look, he seized the opportunity and lunged. Center the focus, shift the gravity… Tai chi!
But before he could complete the motion, Xiaolan gripped his wrist and—
BAM.
She slammed her forehead into his.
Whose head is harder, mine or yours?
Pain exploded behind Lin Zheng's eyes, bright and white. He staggered back, vision swimming, a dull roar filling his ears.
Xiaolan didn't wait. While he was disoriented, she drove her knee up into his unprotected stomach. The air left his lungs with a choked gasp.
His grand Alpha posturing, his careful footwork, his righteous fury...all of it crumpled under a move so basic it was almost insulting.
Feng Yue let out a soft, melodic lazy laugh. "Very… direct," she mused, the scent of spider lilies seeming to sweeten with her amusement.
Lin Zheng hit the ground on one knee, coughing. Humiliation burned hotter than the pain in his skull.
He was an Alpha, a presented and trained Alpha from the prominent Lin family. Yet here he was, being bested by a nobody using nothing but a street brawler's trick.
He looked up, rage sharpening his gaze. This wasn't over. He pushed himself up, stance shifting into something lower, more dangerous. The playful trial was gone. Now, it was a fight.