Chapter 963: Flee

Chapter 963: Flight

Raindrops drummed relentlessly, causing the leaves to heave and sway. A gale, heavy with moisture, shook the entire forest in a violent dance.

The downpour had turned the dirt path into a quagmire, rendering the road treacherous and thick with mud.

Yet, despite the impossible terrain, a figure hurried through the gloom.

The slender form, draped in a straw cape and conical hat, glanced backward repeatedly, as if wary of a pursuer lurking in the shadows.

A sudden gust caught the hat, blowing aside the thin veil to reveal the delicate, refined features of Shangguan Yuting.

Though shielded by the hat, the wild wind whipped the rain against her face, where droplets clung like dew on a lotus leaf.

Several black tentacles snaked out from beneath her garments, swiftly wiping the moisture away.

Just then, a burst of raucous laughter from behind sent a jolt of panic through Li Sui.

"Damn it, after years of rotten luck, my fortune has finally turned—I’ve actually stumbled upon a Heart-Element!" The voice was coarse and grating, like a saw biting into wood.

With a gust of wind accompanied by the jingle of bells, a massive tree crashed down before Li Sui, blocking her path.

Li Sui turned to see a man with a face of bloated, coarse flesh, wearing a wicked grin. "It’s useless. You’ve swallowed my poison; your Heart-Element tricks won't work now."

The scars on his bald scalp betrayed a past in the monastery, but the hair growing around the sides proved he had long since abandoned his vows.

Besides, no true disciple of the Buddha would wield a ringed butcher’s blade. "Damn, what a beauty. I’ve never played with a Heart-Element before."

"Don't come any closer! Stay back!" Li Sui retreated in terror, but her fear only fueled the man’s lecherous smirk.

A flash of white light, and both of Li Sui’s arms were severed at the root. As blood sprayed, a sharp, piercing scream tore from her throat.

"Hahahaha! Scream louder! The louder, the better!" The man lunged, grabbing her legs and tearing at her skirt.

Yet, the moment the fabric was pulled aside, a swarm of tentacles erupted from beneath, instantly pinning themselves to the man’s face.

As he roared and ripped the tentacles away, his features and skin were torn off along with them.

Having endured so many baptisms of fire, Li Sui was no longer the passive victim she once was.

Even after such grievous wounds, the man did not die; he gripped his butcher’s blade, radiating murderous intent, and slashed toward her.

At that precise moment, a dark gold vajra, clutched by a tentacle, was thrust upward. With a metallic clang, it struck a silver talisman, driving it deep into the center of the man’s skull.

A cracking sound echoed as the talisman dissolved, flowing into the fissures of the bone, forcing its way through his flesh to etch a wild, cursive seal into his very marrow.

Struck by the talisman, the bald man froze, locked in place, unable to move a muscle.

The next instant, a tentacle wielding a dagger lashed out, swiftly shearing off the man’s ears.

It did not end there; a dozen tentacles, tipped with blades, danced in a blur, carving away the man’s flesh and viscera piece by piece.

Finally, when the man had been reduced to a blood-slicked skeleton, Li Sui plunged a blade into his heart and twisted, ending his life at last.

Looking at her handiwork, Li Sui nodded in satisfaction, lifted a scrap of flesh from her blade, and popped it into her mouth to savor.

But as she chewed, staring at the bloody carnage, her expression curdled into panic. "No... no, this isn't me... this isn't me..."

With that, she swallowed the meat in a frantic gulp and fled, choosing a path at random.

Four hours passed, and as the rain ceased, the blood on her straw cape was washed clean.

Her composure returned, and she continued her silent trek along the road.

With each body she usurped, Li Sui felt herself drifting further from her true self.

Ever since she was forced to consume her first victim, she had lived in fear of losing herself, of becoming someone else entirely without even realizing it.

If that happened, would she still be Li Sui? Would her father even recognize her?

Yet, worry was a luxury; to survive, she had no choice. The Great Qi’s Surveillance Bureau had issued a warrant, and hunters were everywhere.

Worse still, Zuoqiu Yong had exposed her identity as a Heart-Element to ensure her death.

This made her situation desperate; anyone she encountered could be an enemy.

To survive, she was forced to usurp others, integrating their supernatural arts to grow stronger and absorbing their memories to track the Bureau’s movements.

"I once thought about finding a way back to Daliang, but in this situation, that will have to wait."

"I must find a way to mask my Heart-Element nature, just as my father did. This identity is nothing but a burden."

"But how? I have neither the copper-coin mask nor the spindle he once used."

Li Sui pondered rationally, weighing her next move.

As she thought, a village appeared on her left, its black-tiled roofs rising and falling amidst the hazy morning mist.

Feeling the exhaustion in her body, she watched from afar, using various stolen arts to scan for danger. Finding none, she approached with a measure of caution.

At the village entrance, she spotted a child of eight or nine playing with a rattan ball.

Shedding the striking face of Shangguan Yuting, Li Sui assumed the visage of a kindly matron and walked toward him.

"Stop! Who are you? What are you doing here?" The boy clutched his ball, tilting his head in curiosity. "Are you a kidnapper? Are you here to steal children?"

"I'm no kidnapper, little one. I'm a thread-face artisan. I’ve been out in the rain all night and I'm frozen through; I just wanted to rest my feet," Li Sui said, her face softening into a gentle, ingratiating smile.

This was but one of her many guises; to evade her pursuers, she had learned to cycle through identities, a skill honed through her endless cycle of usurpation.