Chapter 323: I Like Gambling
Li Mei raised her gaze to meet Tianling’s, but she didn’t respond, just looked at her defiantly.
"Tianling? Is this your new skin?" she asked with a smile.
But Tianling didn’t seem to be listening.
"I see, so it’s a cousin," she spoke, looking directly into Li Mei’s eyes.
Li Mei was shocked by this, but she didn’t show it on her face. She wondered if Tianling was bluffing. "What are you on about?" she asked.
But Tianling just continued gazing into her eyes.
"Let’s see, Li Li Li, Li Yao..." she spoke. She then held her chin thoughtfully. "Is that her name?"
Li Mei looked on in shock, unable to mask it anymore. She wondered if this girl could actually read her mind. At first, she had thought that it was just Tianling possessed by some demon, but what was this? She could even read minds? She hadn’t heard of such an ability before.
Tianling thought to herself that she had a name but she couldn’t divine anymore from it. It was as if something was blocking her. She turned her attention back to Li Mei.
"Where is this Li Yao?" she asked.
Li Mei smiled. "Why don’t you try reading it off my mind?" she asked with a smug smile. Li Mei thought that from Tianling’s expression, it seemed she couldn’t read anymore. She didn’t understand how it worked, but this was a good thing.
As she was thinking of this, she suddenly found her mouth filled with sand. Tianling was sinking her head deep into the ground.
"Don’t play games with me, little girl. Tell me where she is," she spoke as she raised Li Mei’s head, blood trickling from the corners of her mouth.
Li Mei just smiled. "Hehe, even when you are possessed, I won’t ever help trash like you. It’s because of people like you that Grandpa is..." she began but was smashed back onto the ground.
She was then raised again. "Are you going to talk or will you just keep spewing nonsense?" Tianling demanded.
Li Mei just smiled. "I don’t know, you tell me."
Tianling’s expression grew even more angry.
She raised her other hand and a dark energy filled it. "Suit yourself. I can just search your soul," she said. "Though I can’t guarantee your survival with this method." She added with a menacing smile.
Li Mei just watched as Tianling brought her hand closer and closer to her head. When she was just about to place it on her head...
"Stop!!!" Liu Feng yelled out.
The two women turned to look at him. Liu Feng let out a sigh. He wondered how things had gotten to this. If the Grand Elder’s sister-in-law was killed with him around, what would the Grand Elder think of him?
"What, Little Dragon? Do you also want to join in on the fun?" Tianling asked.
"Let her go," Liu Feng said.
"Oh, and what makes you think I’ll do that?" Tianling asked, bringing her hand even closer to Li Mei’s face.
"If you let her go, I’ll tell you where she is."
...
The second Liu Feng spoke those words, Tianling appeared before him. He thought to himself she was really fast; he couldn’t keep up at all.
"Start talking," she demanded.
"You haven’t let her go yet," Liu Feng said.
She grabbed his hair roughly. "I’m the one in charge around here. It’s either you tell me and I can decide to let you and her go if I feel like it, or you can just refuse to tell me and I can search your soul. I’ll get what I want either way, so you decide which method works for you," she said.
To her surprise Liu Feng began chuckling.
"No, you won’t."
She looked at him, wondering if he was also going insane like the girl. Were this generation’s people so weak?
"What do you mean?" she asked in irritation.
"You’re wrong. You won’t get what you want either way," Liu Feng said, causing her expression to shift slightly.
"What are you talking about?" she asked, her grip on his hair tightening.
"You already know, don’t you?" Liu Feng said, still chuckling.
"Soul search is an extremely crude method and completely destroys the soul of the one being searched, or at least cripples them. But even with it, you still won’t be able to get all the information," he spoke confidently.
"You’ll just get some random memories, and others will be lost forever. Good luck getting what you actually want in those random memories," he continued. "Not to mention that neither of us have developed souls yet, so it’ll be even harder. At best, you’ll find out which girl I liked in high school. At worst..." He smiled even wider.
"You’ll get nothing."
Tianling’s expression turned serious. Liu Feng was right, soul search wasn’t a good method. That’s why she was hesitant to use it. Dammit, if she was at her peak, she wouldn’t even need to bother with these weaklings.
"Why so quiet now? Sad that you don’t make the rules anymore?" Liu Feng mocked.
Tianling had a furious expression, but she exhaled deeply and calmed herself down.
"You’re right, soul search won’t work," she admitted, causing Liu Feng’s smile to brighten.
"But," she began, letting go of him, "you’re wrong in that I don’t make the rules anymore." In a flash, she grabbed Li Mei again, dragging her closer.
"What are you doing?" Liu Feng asked, his confidence wavering.
"I’m threatening you," she said. "You seem to care an awful lot about this chick." Her lips curled into a smile. "Here’s the deal: it’s either you tell me, or I perform a soul search on her."
The color drained from Liu Feng’s face as she continued, "The chances of getting what I actually want are low, but I’m willing to gamble."
Her smile then widened. "Now, what is it going to be? Are you going to tell me? Or should I just take my chances?" she asked, tightening her grip on Li Mei.
Seeing Liu Feng’s silence, she added, "Just so you know, I’m quite the gambler, and my fingers are itching. If you don’t start talking soon, my old habits might just relapse." Her face flushed with excitement.
"Dammit, she got me"
...
A/N: Is this a sign I should put it all on red?
The original Chapter title was "She Got Me"