Chapter 37: The Latter

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Number four turned her face to the side, not expecting the change that happened. She instinctively swung her wrist, intending to withdraw the whip. The whip was wrapped firmly around the railing. She could not get it to move even after tugging forcefully. Her body staggered forwards under the force of the rebound, and she was dragged down the steps.

The ‘weapon’ that Song Qingxiao had thrown at the red whip lady knocked against the wall behind her with a loud clang. It tore off some paint from the speckled walls before it fell to the ground with a clatter.

The red whip lady quickly turned her head and tried to steady her body that was leaning forwards. She had not got over the glee of catching Song Qingxiao. There was still a smile on her lips, and her eyes were wide as she swung her arm one again.

One end of the whip was entangled around the railing, and she held the other end in her hand. The whip formed a curve in the air, but it did not manage to free it. Song Qingxiao was chased by the red whip lady for so long that it was the opportunity that she had been waiting for. The red whip lady’s weapon had been taken away, and she had suddenly lost all her attacking power.

At that moment, she definitely needed to kick her when she was down and take her life!

She endured the pain in her arm and used her uninjured right hand to catch hold of the whip that was still waving around. She tugged it forcefully, and number four yelped in surprise as she was pulled down two steps of stairs subconsciously.

The distance between the two of them had been reduced. The red whip lady reacted quickly, and the killing intent on her face changed into an expression of panic.

‘This woman is pretty incredible. She’s vicious, and her character is decisive. As soon as she realized that the situation was not in her favor, she was willing to throw away her weapon and throw her hands up in the air instinctively, turning to run away,’ thought the red whip lady.

However, how could Song Qingxiao run away? Their missions were in direct opposition to each other, and they would always end up in a fight to the death. Since Song Qingxiao was hunted by her earlier, she had made an enemy out of Song Qingxiao. No matter what, Song Qingxiao would never let her escape.

The distance between the two of them was close. However, in her panicked attempt to escape, the red whip lady reacted quickly. She threw down the whip and ran two steps up the stairs.

The situation had flipped. The hunter became the hunted, and she was anxious to escape. After that night’s chase, both parties were utterly exhausted. Song Qingxiao also desired to end the fight quickly.

She could not allow number four to escape from the emergency stairwell. Number six was still concealed on the fourth floor in an unknown state. If she managed to hunt number four and kill her, Song Qingxiao would be out of energy by then. If number six were to appear, it would be child’s play to end her life.

She watched as number four ran up one step to increase the distance between them. As she chased after number four, the elongated shadow of number four’s body fell over her. By then, Song Qingxiao no longer needed to conceal her true ability in that crucial moment. She quickly formed a seal with her hands.

“Painted ground, form a prison to trap!” Song Qingxiao commanded.

She concentrated her psychic energy and suppressed all the surrounding air. The ‘Arrival’ word art technique managed to subdue number four through Song Qingxiao’s willpower. Number four’s feet instantly seemed to weigh a ton as she tried to take a step. The air around her seemed to be compressed, making it hard to breathe.

Time seemed to stop. In a couple of seconds, number four’s face became as pale as a sheet. She naturally heard the words that Song Qingxiao had spoken earlier. Hence, she knew in her heart that the strange predicament that she was in had something to do with Song Qingxiao.

Number four had never in her wildest dreams guessed that Song Qingxiao had that ability apart from the dagger! She looked as weak as number five, a participant that number four had never considered a threat. Song Qingxiao hid such a killer move and had completely caught number four off-guard!

The ‘Arrival’ word art technique’s ‘trap’ would only be able to imprison number four for a couple of seconds since Song Qingxiao’s psychic energy was scant. However, those few seconds felt like a lifetime to number four.

In those few seconds, Song Qingxiao stepped forward, and her fingertips were in contact with number four’s clothes as she grasped them tightly.

Three seconds…

Two seconds…

Number four could hear the ticking sound of the clock in her consciousness. The numbers in her mind changed twice as the force that was holding her in place slowly decreased. A wild glee appeared in her eyes. Number four already felt that the weight keeping her body imprisoned was reducing. Her raised leg sped up gradually from its original stillness to continue moving forward.

One second…

The tips of her toes were close to reaching the ground when a hand grabbed hold of her clothes and forcefully dragged her back.

Number four had regained control of her body. Naturally, she would not show weakness. As Song Qingxiao expected, she had enhanced her physical attributes. Since her life was at stake, she did not hesitate to turn around with a clenched first, ready to hit Song Qingxiao as soon as she was tugged. She hoped to catch Song Qingxiao off-guard and make another escape attempt after knocking her down.

The hand that she raised was not in the air when Song Qingxiao had already thrust the dagger in her right hand at number four’s waist!

“Ahh!”

The fierce expression on number four’s face froze as an involuntary cry escaped her lips. When the dagger plunged into her body, all she felt was her body go cold. The pain signals had not reached her brain. She subconsciously reached out her hand to grab Song Qingxiao’s hand that gripped the dagger. Song Qingxiao took advantage of the moment to seize her.

In their struggle, they lost their balance and tumbled toward the railing beside them. A loud ding rang out as they collided into it. Number four was already injured from the stab earlier, and loss of the weapon she relied on was another heavy blow to her spirits. Since she was seized by Song Qingxiao, number four instantly experienced a complete collapse of her mental state, suffering a mental breakdown.

Song Qingxiao fiercely endured the headache that came after she had depleted all her psychic energy. The tip of her foot was wrapped around the long whip that had fallen to the ground. She picked up the whip. The hand that held the dagger loosened, and the dagger fell to the ground with a clatter. It bounced twice on the ground before it was kicked further away by the struggle of the two people.

She caught the body of the whip. While number four struggled with all her might, she wrapped the soft whip around number four’s neck twice. Number four was unwilling to die and her expression became more ferocious. She seemed to dismiss the wound at her waist and reached out to hold Song Qingxiao’s body tightly within her arms.

The force of her arms was extraordinarily strong, and it felt like a giant python. It was clear that number four understood Song Qingxiao’s plan. Number four knew that if she let go, she would die.

“In your dreams…”

Number four panted heavily. At that moment, she did not seem as arrogant as she used to be in Song Qingxiao’s memory of her. Her face was pale, her hair was disheveled, and her eyes were provocatively filled with a harsh light.

In the face of death, number four’s retaliation was pretty powerful. Since she had enveloped Song Qingxiao in her arms, it felt as though she was about to snap her bones. She squeezed the wound on Song Qingxiao’s arm that had been scraped by the long whip, causing a sharp pain that seemed to pierce her heart.

Song Qingxiao ignored her words and once again put her hands together to form a seal. She used her psychic energy to trap number four. Since she was close to achieving her goal, there was no point in holding back.

“”Painted ground, form a prison to trap!”

The elation on number four’s face instantly transformed into fear and panic. The feeling of losing control over her body had appeared once again. Her arms that were wrapped around Song Qingxiao froze. Even the curved corners of her lips started to droop slowly, resulting in an extremely strange expression.

In her heart, she knew that Song Qingxiao was using the last dregs of her force. Hence, the spell would not be able to keep her ‘trapped’ for very long.

One second…

It felt as though she had been trapped for a moment before she slowly began to regain her strength. Number four did not get the chance to celebrate because Song Qingxiao had already seized the opportunity given to her through that one second. She struggled out of number four’s hold and gave number four a hard shove.

The iron railing of the emergency exit staircase was about one meter tall, and it only reached number four’s waist. However, she did not have control over her body after being shoved. She lost her balance and fell over the edge of the railing.

“Ahhh…. uhh…”

As soon as she opened her mouth to scream, the whip tightened around her neck and caused her scream to come out muffled.