Chapter 123: Only Choice
So there was only one choice.
"We’re leaving," she said at last, her voice steady and commanding as her group gathered around her.
"Leaving?" Xian Yu blinked, his delicate face still pale from mana exhaustion. His soft voice trembled, though more from surprise than weakness. "Where... to?"
"Another camp," Ling Yu replied. She tilted her head slightly, her sunken gaze cutting toward the distant mountains.
Song frowned as he fell into a deep thought. "But wouldn’t that put us farther from the main road? The map Shen Ming gave us shows the closest camp to the east. You’re saying we should go west?"
"Yes." Ling Yu didn’t hesitate. "He’s going east. Which means we go west. That’s all there is to it."
Still, her companions hesitated. Nie Ziyu in particular looked conflicted, his lips pressed into a thin line. He kept his meek expression, nodding lightly, though the mystery in his eyes flickered like a poisonous ember.
Fluffy, perched on Ling Yu’s shoulder, yawned loudly as though it found the entire matter trivial. Then, with a mischievous tone only she could hear, it chirped like a little cutie.
[Unknown Cosmic Deity shows interest in the relation between both of you.]
[Unknown Cosmic Deity wonders if that lower being with an annoying sponsor was the Streamer’s secret crush.]
"Nonsense." Ling Yu rolled her eyes as she ignored the messages, even though they kept pouring from all the deities one after another.
[Hehehe~ running away from your crush, are you? How cute. The great little demon king, afraid of a man’s attention. Tsk, tsk, so pathetic~]
Ling Yu’s eyelid twitched. Shut up.
[Unknown Cosmic Deity snickers at the Streamar from behind the veils.]
[But really, I don’t get it. He’s strong, you’re strong, so why not team up? He’d be good for your team, no? Instead, you go scurrying in the opposite direction like a rabbit. A cowardly rabbit, hihihi.]
Her System intervened before she snapped.
[System Notification]
Analyzing user choice...
[Strategic avoidance of potential threat recognized.][Rationale: Preserves anonymity. Reduces the chance of forced recruitment or exposure.][Emotional anomaly detected: User’s reluctance to meet Target Entity appears rooted in personal sentiment.]
Ling Yu ground her teeth together. "I don’t need you to analyze that," she hissed under her breath.
Xian Yu tilted his head curiously at her muttering, but wisely said nothing.
The divine sponsors, however, had been watching silently until now. And with Ji Xiulan gone, they grew bold again, their voices flooding her mind like a storm of whispers:
[War God Tyr snickers at the Streamer.]
[Cowardice ill-suits you, Child of Vengeance. Do you fear a mortal man more than the waves of apocalypse?]
[Trickster Raven plots against the Streamer.]
[No, no, can’t you see? This is a strategy! A game of shadows. The hunter hunts, but the fox dances away. Delicious tension, oh, I do love it!]
[Heavenly Maiden of Mercy shows concern for the Streamer.]
[Her heart trembles, that is all. Such bonds, even unspoken, have weight. Do not mock her choice.]
[Unknown Cosmic Deity — ???]
[...If he is a potential danger for you, then stay away... or take care of him.’]
Ling Yu’s expression remained unreadable as she adjusted the strap of her pack, ignoring the chaotic chorus.
Whatever the sponsors thought, her decision was final. Ji Xiulan was heading east. She would head west.
The preparations for departure were quick. The scavengers, still rattled by Ji Xiulan’s presence, didn’t dare question her order directly. Some muttered under their breath, exchanging venomous glares, but none dared to block her path after seeing what she had done to the Bee Queen’s underlings.
Xian Yu limped at her side, still leaning on his staff for support. Ling Yu offered him a mana potion, tilting the bottle to his lips without hesitation. His delicate fingers brushed against hers as he accepted, his wide, tear-bright eyes full of gratitude.
"You’re... really not afraid of him?" he whispered, voice so soft it was nearly lost to the wind.
Ling Yu glanced at him, her lips curving in the faintest of smirks. "I’m not afraid of anyone. I just know when to pick my battles."
"But..." His brows knitted together. "The way he looked at everyone. It was like he could see straight through us. What if he already knows...?"
"Then let him chase ghosts," Ling Yu replied coldly. "As long as he doesn’t know which shadow is mine, it doesn’t matter."
Xian Yu shivered at her words, but nodded, his trust in her unwavering.
Behind them, Song adjusted his sword, muttering, "West, then. Whatever awaits us there, I’ll carve a path."
Ling Yu’s lips twitched faintly at his loyalty. Her gaze returned to the horizon, to the setting sun bleeding crimson across the sky.
She wasn’t truly running away, just biding her time.
When the day came that she stood face to face with Ji Xiulan, not as a shadow, not as an unknown survivor, but as herself, it would be on her terms.
.
.
.
As they trudged across the ruined landscape, silence hung heavily over the group. The stench of blood, the faint buzzing of lingering insect wings, and the oppressive night sky made everything feel claustrophobic despite the open terrain. Every crunch of boots on gravel echoed in their ears. Ling Yu, walking at the forefront, looked outwardly calm, but her mind was anything but still.
Why east?
Her brow furrowed faintly as her thoughts spiraled. Ji Xiulan’s reputation wasn’t merely for his terrifying strength, but also because his precision and his movements were calculated, deliberate, and never wasteful. He wasn’t the type of man to misstep or take a detour without purpose. Yet, the direction he had chosen gnawed at her.
’He surely had some kind of business in the west during this time of the disaster, that much I know from the past. Then why head towards the east?’
A dozen possibilities crossed her mind: a trap, a diversion, some hidden mission she hadn’t heard of... or perhaps he was searching for her in his own way, moving deliberately opposite to draw her out?