novelraw Chapter 398: Sister Wu Ji, Help Me
Chapter 398: Sister Wu Ji, Help Me
The depletion of Stamina Value took effect almost instantaneously.
Ye Cong Xin once again felt the familiar weakness that left her gasping for air. Her expression quickly turned sour, her eyes brimming with disdain. She loathed this frail and broken body. More than that, she detested her destiny, which was nothing more than being manipulated by others.
Why her? Why did it have to be her?
“Ding! Host’s Stamina Value is critically low. Please initiate self-rescue immediately!”
The System gave no response to her anguished cries. It merely repeated its cold reminder for her to plunder Luck Value. Holding her chest, Ye Cong Xin felt the weak throb in her chest cavity and shivered with cold dread. At that moment, the mask of the System was torn away, revealing its grotesque fangs. She realized that they were never in an equal partnership. From the beginning, she had been nothing more than a tool for the System to extract Luck Value.
As long as the System required it, no matter how dangerous, she would have to go out and conquer Luck Bearers. This was her fate.
A trickle of blood slid down the corner of her lips. In a hoarse voice, she murmured, “Fine, I’ll go now…”
She once saw a plant called Dodder. To the untrained eye, the Dodder seemed frail and delicate, surviving by parasitizing on stronger plants. Yet in truth, it was tenacious, devouring the nutrients of its host until it could ultimately strangle it. The System thought her weak and harmless. Little did it know, even a rabbit will bite when pushed too far. She would never remain a puppet forever. Never.
…
“Wu Ji… Sister…”Yao Wu Ji’s meditative state was abruptly interrupted. Her eyes snapped open, and she looked with surprise at Wu Shao Zhen, who was slumped inside the large urn. “What did you just call me?”
“Sister Wu Ji,” Wu Shao Zhen repeated, trying to maintain a cheerful tone despite his pale complexion.
Yao Wu Ji’s eyes lit up as if she had discovered a rare treasure. She scanned him from head to toe, her gaze almost glowing with delight. Just as Wu Shao Zhen thought his pitiful state might invoke her sympathy, Yao Wu Ji let out a scornful laugh.
“A beauty trap? Sorry, but I’m immune to that now.”
Wu Shao Zhen’s face, admittedly, was entirely in line with Yao Wu Ji’s aesthetic preferences. But she had already given him a chance in the past. Back then, when Wu Shao Zhen was still Wang Sheng, Yao Wu Ji had never mistreated him. She even privately begged her master to treat his illness. But later, Wu Shao Zhen left with Ye Cong Xin, humiliating Yao Wu Ji. From then on, her affection for him soured.
Hearing Wu Shao Zhen use such a sickeningly sweet title for her now only made her disdain him further.
Despite the Gu worms writhing painfully within his body, Wu Shao Zhen forced a pitiful smile. “Sister Wu Ji, please… help me. If you plead on my behalf… I’ll… ah!”
His plea was cut short when Yao Wu Ji smirked at him and, without a shred of mercy, tossed more poisonous insects into the urn. The newly added insects initially hesitated, but when Yao Wu Ji slashed a few wounds on Wu Shao Zhen with her small blade, the scent of blood spread in the air. The insects, seeing their opportunity, surged towards him, burrowing into his wounds.
“Aaaaah!”
Wu Shao Zhen’s veins bulged as he let out an agonized scream. Yao Wu Ji reached out, gently patting his head with mock pity.
“So pitiful,” she said.
Wu Shao Zhen swallowed the rest of his cries and forced himself to lift his head, hoping to elicit some compassion from her. But the next moment, Yao Wu Ji’s hand struck his face with a brutal slap, twisting it to the side.
“Don’t look at me with those disgusting eyes.”
Realizing she was toying with him, Wu Shao Zhen’s eyes burned with rage. “You…”
Before he could say more, Yao Wu Ji turned her gaze away, her expression suddenly contemplative. Her eyes brightened as a familiar figure came into view. Waving her arm enthusiastically, she called out, “Yu Zhao! You’re back!”
Wu Shao Zhen instinctively followed her line of sight. The face that had haunted his dreams countless times appeared before him. At that moment, he forgot the pain from the Gu worms, forgot the venomous Yao Wu Ji, and focused solely on the woman before him.
“It’s her. It really is her…”
Yao Wu Ji ran over to Yu Zhao’s side, her expression one of excitement. Grabbing her hand, she said, “I heard you’d already left when I arrived. I thought I wouldn’t get to see you here at Chaozong Gorge. Why are you back? Is your task complete?”
Yu Zhao nodded with a smile. “Mostly. I had some free time and heard you were here, so I came to find you.”
After coming up with a plan, Yu Zhao had discussed it with Abbot Jie Tan and Master Qing Yan before heading to the territories of the Heaven-Devouring Rat and Moon Shadow Rabbit. The two great demons, knowing they were no match for Master Qing Yan and the Abbot, quickly surrendered and offered six Spirit Cores, drastically reducing the burden on Yu Zhao’s group. Upon returning to Chaozong Gorge, they gathered the remaining cores with surprising ease. Messages were sent to the famous Array Masters of the cultivation world, and with their arrival, the construction of the ancient formation could begin.
While waiting, Yu Zhao met Hermit Bao Hua and learned of Yao Wu Ji’s presence, prompting her visit.
As Yu Zhao and Yao Wu Ji exchanged greetings, she felt a heated gaze fixed on her, making her uneasy. Her sharp eyes swept over the surroundings until they landed on Wu Shao Zhen.
“Wang Sheng? Why is he here? Did you capture him?” she asked, puzzled.
Yao Wu Ji waved dismissively. “I wouldn’t take credit for that. After spending time messing around with Ye Cong Xin, she abandoned him when trouble came. He was captured by Abbot Jie Chen.”
Hearing this, Yu Zhao gave Wu Shao Zhen another glance. It was impressive that he had managed to survive by Ye Cong Xin’s side without becoming her sacrifice. However, his gaze unsettled her.
Yao Wu Ji noticed his inappropriate stare and snarled, “If you keep looking at Yu Zhao like that, I’ll gouge out your eyes!”
Knowing her ruthlessness, Wu Shao Zhen immediately lowered his gaze. Yet, his trembling hands betrayed his emotions. He had seen her, his dream woman. Her name was Yu Zhao. The name felt hauntingly familiar, as though he had whispered it a thousand times in another life.
Convinced they shared a bond from a past life, he began plotting how to rekindle her memories or win her favor once more. Lost in thought, Wu Shao Zhen’s resolve deepened.