Chapter 4: Finally, a Side-Attack Overload

The skeleton held a black scythe, its upper and lower teeth chattering incessantly, emitting a terrifying clattering sound toward Gu Liuxi.

Gu Liuxi's pupils suddenly contracted; she was so frightened that her soul seemed to have left her body, leaving her unable to move.

The skeleton raised the black scythe and swung it toward her. As the sharp black blade fell, a cold glint flashed before her eyes.

The sudden flash of cold light jolted Gu Liuxi awake. Her whole body shuddered, and she instinctively rolled onto the ground, narrowly dodging the strike.

Failing on its first attempt, the skeleton raised the black scythe once more and swung it down at her.

Gu Liuxi felt as though all the fright of her entire lifetime had been exhausted tonight. In the face of life and death, she could no longer afford to be afraid. She scrambled up, grabbed the stone mirror in her hand, and began swinging it at the skeleton.

The little lamb had instantly transformed into a fierce tigress.

The skeleton's black scythe blocked the stone mirror she was smashing down with. Gu Liuxi was agile; she lifted her leg and kicked at the skeleton, knocking the entire thing over. Without a second thought for what happened to the skeleton, she turned and bolted forward...

At a time like this, of course, the best strategy among the thirty-six stratagems was to flee.

But after running only a few steps, she stumbled back.

In the grassland ahead, dense crowds of skeletons were standing up one by one, surrounding her.

The skeleton army closed in on Gu Liuxi step by step. She retreated precariously, one step at a time, until she lost her footing on a branch and fell face-first into the dirt.

*Ugh... can Gu Liuxi get any unluckier?*

This had to be a dream. It had to be a dream. Otherwise, why were so many strange things happening to her? First, she fell from the mountainside and crashed into a middle-aged man, scaring herself half to death by mistaking him for a ghost. In her complete confusion, she had impulsively agreed to his dying wish to hand this broken thing over to some "Prince Fish-Spear" or whatever, and now she was surrounded by an army of skeletons...

What on earth was going on!

This wasn't allowed to be this much of a scam.

*Waaaah... I'm not playing anymore. I want to go home. Even if I'm punished every day to stay after school and do those soul-crushing, brain-cell-draining math problems, I'd be willing.*

*Dear God, please let me wake up from this dream, okay? If you can help her escape this predicament, she promises to turn over a new leaf. She'll never call her homeroom teacher a baldhead behind his back again, she'll never curse that old woman, the Dean of Students, to never get married, she'll never be a scammer, she won't curse her ancestors, and she won't call people idiots anymore...*

The skeleton army continued to close in.

*Holy crap, even that won't work...*

*God, screw your whole family!* She had been so willing to compromise, yet he still wouldn't let her go back. What was this? Was she really going to be dismembered by this inhuman horde of skeletons?

*Waaaah... I don't want to!*

She hadn't avenged her old man yet, and she hadn't graduated high school. She had heard that people who didn't graduate high school couldn't find good jobs. If she couldn't find a good job, she wouldn't have money. Without money, she couldn't support herself, and if she couldn't support herself, she'd have to rely on that father who had abandoned her since childhood.

She didn't want it; she resolutely did not want it.

At the age of twelve, she had sworn that she would live a good life on her own in this lifetime, to show that father she had never met that even without him, she could live brilliantly.

She didn't want to rely on that heartless father; she wanted to live brilliantly on her own. She wanted to rely on herself; she could not fall.

She was Gu Liuxi! She was that unkillable cockroach, Gu Liuxi!

She wouldn't be defeated so easily.

Though she feared death, she wasn't a coward.

Gu Liuxi clenched her fists, gathering all her courage, and roared loudly at the snarling skeletons, "Come on! I, Gu Liuxi, am not afraid of you!"

She would no longer suppress herself. Even if everyone looked at her like a monster with strange eyes, she would no longer hide her supernatural powers. She was going to erupt.

She could no longer be weak. Let the wind, rain, thunder, and lightning come! Come as much as you want!

Vent your fury to your heart's content! Pour out your passion! Release all your dissatisfaction! Punish the abyss of sin to your heart's content and let those evil spirits have nowhere to hide...

Suddenly, dark clouds gathered over the valley, and lightning began to strike. Countless bolts of lightning wove together into a massive web above the valley, clashing together with intense flashes of light as currents surged everywhere.

Lightning flashed and fierce winds howled. The surrounding trees crackled under the powerful electrical currents, and as countless currents converged, a sudden "boom" exploded.

The valley was shrouded in silver light and lightning. The white figure standing deep within the forest raised his head, his deep eyes filled with the blinding flashes and thunder.

At that moment, his cold and profound pupils emitted a burning, excited light.

*You have finally appeared.*

After waiting for over a hundred years, he had finally waited for her to appear.

Under the lightning, a transparent protective ring formed around Gu Liuxi, isolating and protecting her. The lightning continued to leap, weave, and strike down, smashing the skeletons into powder.

The lightning struck the trees and ignited them, and scorching flames spread everywhere. The brilliant fire brought the smell of burnt wood and soil. The light turned Gu Liuxi's face flushed red, and the rising flames reflected in her eyes like two tiny stars.

She stared at the scene before her, her mouth agape.

*Did I go a bit too far?*

The fire burned more and more fiercely, its tongues licking everything in sight as if trying to devour it all.

As the fire passed, the skeletons that hadn't been struck by lightning were caught in the blaze, emitting a pungent, burnt smell.

Gu Liuxi's mind was in a mess. Seeing the fire grow larger, her heart grew anxious. She really didn't intend to burn down the entire valley, but looking at the current situation, burning the whole valley was only a matter of time.

What should she do?

There was no other way.

She didn't care anymore; she was going to run. (Who was it that just said they weren't an irresponsible person? Someone: *Well, circumstances change!*)

By the time the white figure appeared in the great fire, Gu Liuxi was nowhere to be seen. The entire valley was covered in flames, and the perpetrator on the run, Gu Liuxi, was currently in the middle of a great escape.

Wherever the white figure passed, the flames parted to make way. As he walked into the fire, a skeleton that had been burned into charcoal crawled out from under the ground with a creak and collapsed before him, one leg already burned away.

The white figure's brow furrowed deeply; he had still underestimated her.

It seemed she was even stronger than he had imagined.

The white figure closed his eyes and spread his arms. Countless glaciers shot down from the sky above the valley like sharp swords, instantly extinguishing all the flames. The raging fire was put out with ease.

The Imperial Guards of the Marquis outside the valley saw a sudden flash of fire deep within the valley; they even smelled the scent of burning in the air, only for the light to vanish abruptly.

The white figure withdrew his arms and looked up at the pitch-black night sky.

*You cannot escape.*

*We will surely meet again.*

Meanwhile, Gu Liuxi, who was feeling guilty for her misdeeds, let out several sneezes in a row.

*Oh no, every time I sneeze, nothing good ever happens.*

Rolling down a mountainside, being scared by a "ghost," being chased by skeletons—she had already had enough tragedy. Please, don't cause any more trouble! If more trouble comes, she's going to lose her temper.