Chapter Thirteen

Old He didn't waste another word on her. He drew his blade and charged through the door, slashing straight at her.

He Mei flashed a sinister smile, tossed aside the severed limb in her hand, and sent a strand of white silk shooting from her jade-lotus wrist to coil around Old He's blade, trying to yank it away. To his credit, Old He had some skill; energy surged from his palm, anchoring the hilt and locking it in a stalemate against He Mei's silk.

Seizing the moment while He Mei and Old He were locked in struggle, the others fired arrows. He Mei pushed out a wall of water with her other hand, deflecting every projectile. It all happened too fast; Jing Yuan and A Xu had just managed to suppress their nausea when the fight was already in full swing.

The two of them were standing right in the doorway, dead center of the clash. With no magic power, they couldn't advance or retreat, unsure what to do.

Seeing Old He straining to hold the blade against He Mei's force, Jing Yuan figured helping him pull back couldn't hurt.

The blade was covered in that white silk. Though there was no blood, it even carried a faint, clean fragrance of lotus root.

Jing Yuan glanced at it, still disgusted, and carefully avoiding the strands, grabbed the blade to help Old He yank it back. Who knew the originally wire-tough silk would suddenly snap?

Losing their balance, Jing Yuan and Old He toppled backwards together. Jing Yuan at least had Old He to cushion his fall, but Old He hit the ground hard first, then had Jing Yuan's full weight crash down on him. The blade hilt trapped between them pressed right into a sensitive spot, causing an excruciating, mind-numbing pain!

A Xu happened to witness this scene but didn't dare laugh. He hurriedly helped Old He grab the severed strand of silk, only to find it was just ordinary lotus root fiber that broke easily. It dawned on A Xu then: these mutants' abilities seemed useless against them. He casually picked up an arrow and flung it at He Mei.

Xiao Ai and Youyou had also recovered quite a bit by now and had witnessed Jing Yuan's glorious feat. Xiao Ai, standing far back, couldn't help but quip, "Old Jing, are you here to help or to be a hindrance?"

Flustered, Jing Yuan scrambled up and apologetically helped Old He to his feet. A few others rushed over to help block the watery arrows He Mei shot their way.

Meanwhile, the arrow A Xu had thrown flew straight through He Mei's water wall and lotus silk defenses, striking her squarely on the shoulder. She let out a piercing shriek and instantly shot forward.

Her aggressive momentum intimidated the crowd, making them fall back, but they still surrounded her tightly in the courtyard center. Now, without all those severed limbs and gore, Xiao Ai and Le You found her far less repulsive to look at.

Instead, the few splashes of vibrant red on her seemed to add a certain flair. Her legs were pure white, truly like pristine lotus roots—straight and lovely. Her green skirt swirled like a lotus leaf in a pond, paired with a pink top. "He Mei, He Mei"—wasn't she just like a lotus flower from a pond?

Holy mother of... even lotuses have started eating people now? The thought sent an involuntary shiver down Xiao Ai's spine.

Wounded, He Mei seemed incredulous and now descended into a frenzy. With a wave of her hand, she stirred the blood on the ground, shaping it into sharp weapons that shot out in all directions. A barrage of thousands of needles forced everyone to momentarily ignore Xiao Ai's group.

Although Xiao Ai, Youyou, and the other two came from a martial arts school and were decent in hand-to-hand combat, they had never seen such a spectacle. They were momentarily petrified with fright, not knowing how to dodge. Anxious like ants on a hot pan, they scurried around chaotically, the four of them bumping and tripping over each other.

Their side was knocked into a chaotic mess, but when the weapons formed from blood reached them, they simply reverted to dripping blood drops. Aside from being somewhat disgusting and smelly, it caused absolutely no harm.

Jing Yuan, the only one still relatively clear-headed, finally breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Have you forgotten? Their magic doesn't work on us. You guys darting around like that might accidentally hurt others."

Youyou and the other two grinned awkwardly. But then He Mei, seeing the blood formation was useless against them, conjured a whirlwind that tore off the rooftops, sending sand and stones flying. While the debris couldn't be aimed directly at them, the stuff crashing down from above still hurt quite a bit, especially the larger tiles.

Fortunately, Old He had also snapped out of it by then and swung his big blade to block some for them. The nearby constables also drew their swords, swinging left and right to deflect the debris.

Just moments ago, Xiao Ai had thought He Mei was beautiful. Now, seeing her so frenzied, and despite her and Old He blocking many boulders and tiles, the smaller stones that got through still stung when they hit. Frustrated, Xiao Ai rushed closer and yelled to Jing Yuan, "Old Jing, A Xu, give me a hand!"

Hearing her shout, Jing Yuan and A Xu immediately charged over, grabbed Xiao Ai, and hurled her towards He Mei. Xiao Ai landed a flying kick, knocking He Mei down, then turned to pounce on her.

But He Mei reacted swiftly. Getting hurt again and again by them sent her into an even greater rage. In a flash, thousands of lotus root fibers shot out, tangling around Xiao Ai. Though the fibers lost their strength upon reaching her, there were simply too many. Taken by surprise, Xiao Ai stumbled and fell flat on her face.

"Damn it!" Seeing Xiao Ai blow her golden chance, Jing Yuan, A Xu, and the others were filled with regret. Jing Yuan, in particular, clenched his fist and spun around a few times in frustration. Just as Xiao Ai lifted her head, she met He Mei's beautiful, ice-cold stare.

"Oh no!" Youyou and Lao He shouted in unison.

At the warning, everyone ignored the flying sand and stones, their eyes snapping to where the others were looking--at Xiao Ai. A single thought echoed in all their minds: 'It's over.'