Chapter 115: Bitches Are Always Pretentious (Dedicated to Qianxiao Qingsha for the He Shi Bi)

Bang!

The gunshot reverberated within the vast, seemingly sealed space, its sharp, echoing report slowly fading into a hum.

A thin trail of white smoke drifted upward, and the air filled with the scent of gunpowder.

And... the scent of blood.

One second after the echo subsided, Sui Yi stood beneath the wall, her Xieya Dagger hanging slightly downward. She closed her eyes for a fleeting moment, then looked toward Gong Jiu.

Gong Jiu still had her gun aimed at her, a wisp of white smoke curling from the barrel.

At the intersection point between them, Gouzi stood in a wretched state, a bloody hole in his right arm—pierced through by a bullet.

Ah Hai and the others were stunned.
Brother Ma chuckled.
Feng Sha remained silent.

Hua Yaofei raised an eyebrow, wiped her handgun with a silk handkerchief, and said indifferently, "You seemed as weak as a dog just a moment ago. I didn't expect you to be so fast when facing death."

She paused, narrowing her eyes with a mocking smile. "Fast in a way that doesn't look like the you I knew at all."

She had always been meticulous in investigating the people under Gong Jiu’s command. While Gouzi was not a primary figure, she had still looked into him. It was precisely because he was insignificant that his current reflexes seemed all the more bizarre.

"The Gouzi I knew..." Gong Jiu tilted her head, looking at his right arm, and said coldly, "The old him wasn't this fearless of pain. I must say, to remain so expressionless after being shot through the arm, you are quite the character."

"Or perhaps, I should say, you, the Bitter Ghost Child, are quite the character!"

"What!"

Ah Hai and the others finally realized!
This Gouzi was a Bitter Ghost Child?
So, the one Young Miss Jiu intended to shoot earlier wasn't Sui Yi, but Gouzi!

Laughter erupted from Gouzi—a sinister, eerie, and insidious sound emanating from beneath his pale, aggrieved exterior. It echoed through the space.

What was even more unsettling was that his mouth had not opened. His throat had not moved. Where was the laughter coming from?

Slap! Brother Ma struck his thigh. Damn it, that was the sound!

"Damn it! It was you making that sound back then! You were the one leading those monsters to chase us relentlessly, and no matter how hard I tried to lose them, they kept catching up because you were dragging them along! I kept wondering why those things were acting like ghosts!"

They had been hunted by these Bitter Ghost Children in the corridor... and Gouzi had been in their group! A-Fei had been there too!

"Gouzi! It really was..." A-Fei suddenly remembered, pointing at him. "I kept saying your expression was weird back then... and it hasn't changed since..."

How many expressions can a human face have?
The answer is countless.
But what is the minimum number of expressions a human face can have?
Medical studies suggest at least four: happiness, anger, sorrow, and joy.
But there are some with extreme personalities who only have two:
--Opening their eyes and closing their eyes.
They are "stone-faced."

Gong Jiu had once joked that Sui Yi was stone-faced, but that was just teasing. There is no such thing as a person who is one hundred percent stone-faced unless it is a medical condition.

Was Gouzi one?
He wasn't, yet whether A-Fei and the others observed him intentionally or otherwise, he always wore only one expression.
A pale, weak, slightly aggrieved expression.
This expression was the most effective at lowering others' defenses and minimizing his own presence.

"Yes, it has always been me," a voice like an infant’s—delicate, fine, and coy—emerged from the mouthless Gouzi.

The tone was strange, twisted.
In an instant, the expression on Gouzi's face changed; or more accurately, it looked like something was wriggling beneath his skin...

The hearts of everyone present tightened.
Gouzi raised his hand and placed his palm against his face...
And pulled.
Rrrrrip!
The skin was torn away.
A bloody, raw face.

--A ghost face!

Ugh!
Many felt their stomachs churning, especially Gong Jiu and Hua Yaofei, who both thought of their daily skincare routines...
A gentle peel...
And the skin would be in their palm.
In the mirror was a face of mangled flesh and protruding veins.
Two eyes...
Staring blankly.
Terrifying. Absolutely terrifying!

"Damn it, a ghost!"

In an instant, the bullets from Gong Jiu and the others fired!
*Whoosh!* Gouzi’s figure flashed into the shadows!

The group’s tactical lights swept over, but they couldn't keep up with his speed. They could only hear him darting through the dark, weaving between the immobile stone soldiers.

Like a phantom, the eerie laughter followed them like a shadow.

"You must all die, you must all die! It's coming soon, it's coming soon! He is coming... they are coming..."

The terrifying laughter made everyone present restless; cold sweat broke out on their brows, and they grew increasingly impatient.

"Damn it, the bullets can't hit him!"
"Kill him! Kill him!"
"Damn it, kill this ghost thing!"
"Damn it!"
"Damn that Gouzi!"

Many had bloodshot eyes, filled with murderous intent.

In that moment, Sui Yi, who had remained quiet, shot out from beneath the wall. She slid, dodged two stone soldiers, spun around, and flung the Xieya Dagger in her hand!

*Swish!*
It traced an arc...
*Puff!*
It sliced across Gouzi as he crawled along the wall.

*Hiss!*
Gouzi let out a cold hiss and suddenly lunged viciously at Sui Yi.
The one he hated most was undoubtedly Sui Yi, the first to see through him!
In fact, he had sensed from the start that the way she looked at him was profound, and she had observed him several times without drawing attention. Even though she had remained calm, he had been nervous.
He never imagined she could hold back until now!

"Kill you! Peel your face! Damn woman!"

He catapulted toward her, pouncing from mid-air!
His claws tore downward...

At the moment of impact, Sui Yi leaped from below!
In mid-air, Hua Yaofei reacted to the sound and shone her light upward.
It caught the scene in mid-air.
Sui Yi's Xieya Dagger was in her palm; in a split second, as she released it, the blade traced a beautiful, ethereal curve, instantly severing the meridians in Gouzi’s arms...
A powerful kick in mid-air!

*Boom!*
Gouzi smashed into the ground!

*Swish!*
Zhang Wei, who had been on guard the whole time, rushed over with a cold expression, pinned the terrifying-faced Gouzi’s hands behind his back, and pressed his foot onto his spine to keep him pinned to the floor.

"What kind of monster are you? Still relying on human flesh to survive? Let's see you move now!"

With his hands pinned and his meridians severed, the laughter became unsteady and soon vanished entirely.

Brother Ma stepped forward.
"Damn it, you used my brother's body to betray us!"
Brother Ma pressed his gun barrel hard against the head of the creature on the ground.
"You ghost thing, I expect you to pay for Gouzi's life!"

The gnashing of teeth came from Brother Ma’s throat, chilling and filled with hatred. Ah Hai and the others were also eager to finish him off.

Sui Yi walked over. Gong Jiu suddenly reached out and squeezed her arm. Sui Yi didn't dodge, letting her feel it...

"Is your arm okay? Making such big moves... aren't you afraid of the blood leaking out?" Gong Jiu said irritably.
As if she hadn't been the one pointing a gun at Sui Yi just moments ago.

Sui Yi raised her eyelids, the weariness in them fading slightly.
"Your moves were just as big. If you aren't afraid of blood leaking out, why should I be?"

She spoke with such indifference that Gong Jiu’s face flushed red, then turned pale...
--Damn it, you moody, stone-faced idiot!

Though she was annoyed, the beautiful Gong Jiu would never tell anyone that she actually felt quite satisfied.
*Hmph, that’s my Sui Yi for you...*

"Hey, weren't you afraid I’d really pull the trigger earlier?" she asked quietly.
"Hmm."
"Hmm what? Are you afraid or not?"
"Afraid? You aren't enough of a threat to me for that..."
"...Damn it!"

Could you just say "I trust you" or "I knew you wouldn't shoot me"... would it kill you?!

Seeing the two of them like this, Hua Yaofei rolled her eyes.
--Bitches are so pretentious!

------

After the pretense, Gong Jiu looked down at Gouzi on the ground.

"I assume a ghost thing like you won't give me any information, though I am curious about who 'they' are in your words..."
She paused and looked at Sui Yi. "What do you think we should do with him?"

Although the three of them had shared the suspicion toward Gouzi, and Brother Ma had agreed, she still wanted to ask for Sui Yi's opinion on this matter.

Sui Yi thought for a moment and said, "Pull his shirt back..."

Ah Hai, having regained his composure, realized he had caused a mess. Hearing this, he patted his chest. "Lady Sui Yi, I'm sorry. I misunderstood you earlier. I was narrow-minded to suspect you..."

"It's fine..." Sui Yi shook her head.

"Let me do it. I'll reveal this ghost's true face," Ah Hai said.
Sui Yi looked at Gong Jiu, who nodded.
"Be careful."

Ah Hai immediately stepped forward and pulled back the back of Gouzi's shirt. Sure enough, there was a protruding lump of flesh...
The lump was still wriggling, and the eerie laughter drifted out again.
"Kill me, kill me, you're all going to die anyway... wait until they come..."

Damn it, he was still so arrogant at a time like this!
Brother Ma’s eyes turned red. *Swish!* He drew Feng Sha’s knife!
He pulled the blade and slashed...
The skin on the back was sliced open, and a foul stench wafted out.

The group gasped in horror.
What a terrifying thing!

Sui Yi and Gong Jiu had seen such things before, so they weren't shocked, only noting that this one was a size larger than the others; it might be a minor leader among the Bitter Ghost Children.
No wonder it had such deep cultivation.

But before they could observe it for long, the Bitter Ghost Child suddenly lunged out.
Sui Yi and Gong Jiu were already prepared...
Blade light flared!
*Swish!*
The Bitter Ghost Child was instantly sliced into several pieces.

"Damn it, finally dead!"
"Avenge Gouzi!"
"Damn it, I want to chop him up!"

The group cursed, their murderous voices making Gong Jiu and Hua Yaofei frown. At that moment...

"Hehehe... they have already arrived, they have already awakened... they are coming for you..."

The voice dissipated into the air, echoing in everyone's mind as if a ghost were whispering directly into their ears, repeating it over and over.

Sui Yi's heart skipped a beat. Her expression shifted abruptly, and she gave a bitter smile!
"We've been tricked. They... they are already here!"

The moment the words left her lips, a long sword appeared out of thin air behind Sui Yi!
It slashed down from above her head!