Chapter 80: I will bear the hatred.
Guo Luo walked through the dense forest, her steps quick but quiet. She covered most of her body with her illusions, causing the covered areas to darken and blend into the surroundings. It was not a perfect camouflage, but it was the best she could manage at the moment. After all, she still had to use illusions as she fought, so she could not cover her entire body with illusions.
As she walked, it was not hard for her to follow the tracks of the two men. There were broken branches and small bushes that were stepped down that were easily spotted. The two men felt that they were the ones chasing, so why would they bother wasting time by covering their tracks?
She found the two men only a few minutes after she passed the area where she had first camouflaged herself as a tree. The two of them were currently backtracking, following the path that they had made, carefully examining their surroundings as they walked.
They had clearly realized that something was amiss. They had not found any marks or traces of the girl, no matter how much further they went. This could only mean that she had either managed to hide her tracks perfectly, or that they had been tricked.
They did not believe that she was able to cover her tracks perfectly, so that could only mean that they had been tricked. They were angry that they had been tricked by such a small girl, but they did not let the anger get to their heads. They carefully made their way back, examining everything around them as they did so.
Guo Luo pressed her body up against a tree, using the darkness to hide her even more, and held her breath as she watched the two of them move closer. She was camouflaged very well, but there was no guarantee that they would not spot her.
The two men continued to walk closer, the bald man walking a bit behind the other man. The bald man was examining the right side of the forest with a sweeping gaze, while the other man was examining the left side, making sure that they missed nothing.
The two men walked past Guo Luo, not sparing the spot where she stood another glance. Guo Luo stood on the right side, coupled with the fact that the bald man was walking further in the back, Guo Luo was closer to him than the other man when they both passed her.
Guo Luo wanted to take a deep breath as she took a quiet step forward, but she was afraid that they would hear the sound of her heart pounding in her chest if she were to open her mouth. Despite her fear, she still held a determined expression as she stabbed out with the sword in her left hand.
While she stabbed out with the sword, she produced an illusion in the form of a small and colorful ball of light. She made the illusion appear at the corner of the bald man's eyes, causing him to turn his head away from where Guo Luo was.
The moment the bald man turned his head, Guo Luo's sword reached him, appearing next to his throat like a ghost. The bald man suddenly felt a horrible sense of danger approach him as he turned his head, so he reacted on instinct.
He moved his upper body backwards, attempting to dodge whatever caused the sense of danger. As he moved backwards, he also turned his head in the direction of danger, spotting the camouflaged Guo Luo, as well as the sword next to his throat.
Moving his upper body backwards proved fruitless, as it only made the blade of the sword slice his throat open, rather than stab through it. The man felt a burning sensation on his throat, as well as a comfortable warmth on his chest as blood started running down from the cut.
That warm sensation brought with it the sense of death. He knew that this was where he was going to die. His sect teacher had died in the hands of an unknown youth, and now he was dying in the hands of that youths lover?
He felt a strong sense of unwillingness to simply die like this, so he used the last of his strength to twist his body towards Guo Luo. This caused the blade to slice deeper into his throat, but it also allowed him to send out a punch at Guo Luo.
The punch made contact with Guo Luo's abdomen, causing her body to curl up as she could feel the last meal she had eaten make it's way up her throat. The vomit was mixed with blood, causing a bitter taste of iron to appear in her mouth. She swallowed the vomit and pulled away from the man, but a small stream of blood still ran out from the corner of her mouth.
“Little San!”
Zhou She turned around when he heard the commotion, but by then it was already too late. He could see that Guo Luo's sword had sliced far too deep for his brother to survive, it would hit his spine if it cut any deeper. Zhou She's eyes immediately turned red and bloodshot, tears dripping down.
He rushed forward to hold his brother's body, but his brother stopped him with a stern look and indicated for him to attack the girl instead of care about him. Zhou She stopped in his tracks, he knew that his brother was correct, if he held his brother's body now, the girl would use the chance to stab him as well.
“How could you! First your lover kills the sec teacher who raised us, and now you killed my brother! Why must the two of you continue to tear our family apart like this?!”
Zhou She drew his sword and charged at Guo Luo as he shouted, his voice hoarse and raspy. He and his brother had been abandoned by their parents when they were just babies, dropped off at the Crow's Nest Sect. They were then taken in by one of the seniors of that sect, Zhou Xinya.
He was the one who raised them and gave them their names. They called him sect teacher out of respect for his position, but in private they would always call him father. Only a few days ago, Zhou Xinya had been killed by the boy that this girl was carrying. And now even his brother had been killed? Killed by the lover of the same boy that killed their sect teacher?
“I had to do it.”
Guo Luo answered the man while she carefully deflected his attacks. Her voice was slightly weak, almost faltering when she heard him scream at her, but her eyes still held the same determination they had when she left the cave. She could not block the man's directly, only use her sword to guide the attack away from her, causing it to hit the trees around them.
“Had to?! Don't fucking joke with me, you had no reason to do it!”
Hearing her words, Zhou She got so angry that he almost vomited blood on the spot. Had to do it? You had to kill my brother and sect teacher? Sect teacher rarely left the sect, so how could he possibly have any relationship with the two of you? Much less my brother and I?
“If I did not do it, I would lose the place where I belong.”
Guo Luo's eyes looked directly at the man as she spoke, her voice gaining in strength. If she did not kill them, they would kill her Yao Jun, and she would end up all alone in this cold and cruel world.
Yao Jun was willing to bear the hatred of the world to create a safe place for those he cared about. She wanted to follow beside him and help him, if she could not even bear the hatred of these people, how could she possibly be qualified to stand beside him?