The leader of the Revival Society was captured, and after brutal interrogation, he immediately ratted out some of his important comrades, including Gu Lan and that unfortunate Foot Bath City.
Gu Lan had originally planned to return to the Foot Bath City and use it as a hideout to recover, but she saw a crowd gathered at the entrance from afar, and when she got closer, she spotted the Boss being led out by the Police.
The city was no longer safe, so she had no choice but to pick an Unfinished Building on the outskirts. Gu Lan had prepared multiple hiding spots throughout the city, so she immediately turned and left.
This place had nothing—not only was the environment terrible, but there was no one to treat her wounds. Compared to the comfortable Foot Bath City with people to attend to her, this place was seriously lacking.
Gu Lan had lost an arm, making it very difficult to tend to her injuries alone. By the time she finished handling everything, she realized it was already dark.
Gu Lan sat in place for a long time, feeling like there was a pair of eyes watching her from somewhere nearby, but she couldn’t find any clues.
“What am I supposed to do now?”
She had been thinking about this question for a long time.
She had contacted the Revival Society, but after the failed rescue attempt, they actually chose to give up and instead elected a new leader.
Right now, they were arguing heatedly over who that new leader should be.
“What a bunch of useless trash. Picking this moment to fight among yourselves—are you afraid you haven’t been wiped out yet?”
The more Gu Lan thought about it, the angrier she got.
“And what about that Sun Huaimeng? Where has she run off to this time?”
Back then, she had come to Gu Lan, blubbering with snot and tears about her miserable situation. Gu Lan had dismissed her at first, but when her own people were bullied—and by the Luo Family no less—she felt she had a duty to step in.
She had thought it would just cost a bit of extra time and effort, never imagining it would end up in this miserable state.
Gu Lan had lost her entire left arm, and the Revival Society had fallen into infighting. How could she ever face her master again?
Just thinking about her master’s peculiar temper made Gu Lan tremble, worried she might be discarded as a useless failure.
Was hiding the only option for now?
When it came to hiding, Gu Lan was a professional. Her Secret Art included some very reliable survival abilities, though they were limited by the number of uses.
Even if someone attacked her right now, she was confident she could escape—provided some fool was desperate enough to mess with her at a time like this.
“Hm?”
As if reminding her of something, Gu Lan re-extended her Nine Tails, and one of the tails suddenly twitched.
“Someone actually came?”
Who could it be at a time like this?
Only Gu Lan knew about this hiding spot, and this was the outskirts—not even a homeless person in sight.
Gu Lan narrowed her eyes and slowly stood up.
“You’re going alone again?” the Black Cat asked before she left. “There are better helpers available.”
“What’s wrong with going alone? Why rely on Lu Yunze for everything?”
Jiang Sui spread her hands. “There’s only one thing I need from him, and that’s the Luo Family Destruction. After that, he has no more use.”
“Really?”
“Senior, you’ve gotten so annoying. Some things just need to be done personally to feel at ease.”
Jiang Sui turned and walked toward the window, leaving by jumping out.
The Black Cat took two steps, then looked back at the Bedroom door, recalling what Jiang Sui had just said. Her golden eyes seemed to hold swirling thoughts.
Last night when Gu Lan fled, she had dropped two sections of her tail, which gave the Black Cat the material needed to cast the tracking Secret Art on her.
She figured the Fox Tail Parasite was such a personal item to Gu Lan that it was the First Time it had directly revealed her location.
The Black Cat also mentioned this was her first successful attempt—previous results were either inexplicable images or completely useless information. Finding the target required her own deduction.
Jiang Sui spent an hour figuring out the location of the Unfinished Building, and it wasn’t until deep into the night, after everyone else had fallen asleep, that she made her move.
“We’re here, miss.”
The Driver parked the car but couldn’t help asking, “Do you really live here?”
“I never said that. I’m just here to find someone important.”
“Oh, I see.”
The middle-aged Driver didn’t ask any more questions. After receiving the fare, he immediately restarted the car and drove back the way he came.
Only after the car had turned around did Jiang Sui drop the gentle smile from her face, shifting her gaze to the Unfinished Building not far away.
She didn’t take the direct road but instead slipped into the Small Forest beside it, circling around to the back.
The image had indeed shown Gu Lan inside this Unfinished Building, but every floor had the same layout, making it troublesome to pinpoint her exact location.
Fortunately, Jiang Sui still remembered the most effective way to find Gu Lan: Scent Tracking.
Activating her Beast Transformation Sense of smell, the first breath she took almost choked her. The thick dust in the air, the dampness of plants, and the stench of fox all mixed together.
Jiang Sui rubbed her nose and jumped into the Unfinished Building.
Following the fox stench, Jiang Sui climbed floor after floor, yet still couldn’t sense any change in the surrounding smell.
The fox odor seemed to be everywhere—neither stronger nor weaker.
That wasn’t going to work. What if she missed the perfect opportunity and something went wrong?
Jiang Sui suddenly stopped mid-step, then lowered her gaze.
Her lifted foot had accidentally brushed against a thin strand of wire.
Just a little further, and the wire would have snapped, triggering the trap.
Jiang Sui licked her lips, thinking how close that was. She’d almost become the prey instead.
She had only noticed it thanks to her Beast Transformation Senses. Beyond the basic enhancements to sight, hearing, and smell, she had gained a fourth sense she never had before: touch.
Each time she activated her Beast Transformation touch, a Cat Tail would grow from behind Jiang Sui. This tail wasn’t an ordinary one—it was highly sensitive to vibrations around her, capable of detecting even the subtlest movements.
It was the Cat Tail that first noticed that thin strand of wire, prompting Jiang Sui to stop. Otherwise, she never would have caught it.
Jiang Sui lifted her robe, pulled back her step, crouched down to observe the wire for a moment, then leaped straight over it.
The moment her shoes hit the ground—
Crack!
An ominous sound rang out.
Several concrete pillars nearby suddenly burst apart, shooting out nearly a hundred steel pellets with a terrifying lethality that surpassed a coordinated volley of guns.
Once the clatter of the pellets died down, Gu Lan, hiding behind, stepped out and looked at the spot where dust was rising everywhere.
Taken care of?
As the dust cleared, the ground, the Ceiling, and even the concrete pillars were riddled with holes from the steel pellets. The dense pockmarks looked quite unsettling.
But Gu Lan didn’t see Jiang Sui.
An intense Fragrance Gas had filled the air without warning, completely masking all other smells.
Gu Lan looked down at her feet—a crimson Crystal had rolled to her toes.
“Crack.”
The Crystal shattered, and a Flame burst out, engulfing her position entirely.
After the flames died down, Jiang Sui reappeared and saw the thing on the ground.
A burnt, charred tail.
Jiang Sui sensed something was wrong, but an attack was already coming from behind her, and the searing pain nearly made her lose consciousness.
Still, she managed to activate her Mist Form in time, retreating far from her original position before stopping.
Blood seeped from the wound, flowing down her arm and blooming like a small flower on the ground.
At the spot where the girl had been standing, another bloodstained tail remained.
Jiang Sui drew in a sharp breath, her expression grim.
If her reaction had been any slower, she would have become a one-armed woman just like Gu Lan.
Damn it. A slight twist of her shoulder sent searing pain through her, and her arm and fingers had lost all feeling.
Her arm was saved, but she couldn’t use it in this fight.
For Jiang Sui, who relied heavily on her Scythe, this severely hampered her combat ability.
“You want to hunt me? Do you even have the right?”
“It’s not about whether I have the right. What I’m most worried about is you running away.”
“What makes you think I’d run? Why would I need to run from an opponent like you?”
Jiang Sui let out a breath at that.
“Tell me, how long do you think it’ll take for the Police to get here from the city once they receive the report?”
“What?” Gu Lan frowned.
“I calculated it. They should have received the message ten minutes ago. From organizing their forces to finishing the trip, it’ll take about twenty minutes.”
That meant they had less than ten minutes left for their showdown.
Jiang Sui kept her expression calm, as if stating something completely ordinary.
“Also, to make sure they don’t get lost and to cut off your escape route, I prepared a little gift.”
The moment she finished speaking, the ground beneath their feet began to tremble.
Gu Lan saw thick smoke rising from below, gradually covering the bright Moon above.
“You set a fire too… You’re truly a madman.”
The Flames blocked the way downstairs, and Jiang Sui blocked the way upstairs, leaving Gu Lan with no escape and no time to stall.
The only way to survive was to kill Jiang Sui.
Gu Lan bit her lip hard, her body trembling slightly. If looks could kill, she would have riddled Jiang Sui with holes by now.
Jiang Sui gave a faint smile, then her expression turned serious.
“But then again, a madman?”
“I’m a selfish madman.”
Just thinking about how Lu Yunze was also in that Fox Spirit’s hands made Jiang Sui’s spirit sharpen.
And her killing intent surged.