Runes • Rifles • Reincarnation
99. Liu Hua, Awake

"Stroong," Liu Hua said, her blindfolded gaze fixed on Jin Shu’s rifle. Purple lightning still crackled around her body, but her tone held something new—interest.

"Giivee iit. I leet yoouu liivee."

Jin Shu was still on the floor, gasping for breath, his throat aching from her grip. He couldn't answer.

But he could move.

He lifted the rifle, holding it out for her to take.

After all, what was one rifle compared to his life?

He could make another. He could make as many as he wanted.

Liu Hua took a step forward—

And in an instant, she vanished from where she stood, appearing right beside him.

She plucked the rifle from his hands with delicate fingers, then stepped away—suddenly standing beside Ying on the far side of the room.

Jin Shu exhaled shakily. He hadn't even seen her move.

Liu Hua traced her hands over the rifle’s frame, running her fingers across its grooves with the curiosity of someone inspecting a rare treasure.

Before anyone could process what was happening—

"What are you doing?! Kill her!" Ling Shi's voice cut through the silence, filled with rage.

Slap!

Boom!

The entire room shook as Liu Hua casually backhanded Ling Shi.

Ling Shi’s body blurred, shooting across the room, slamming into the far wall with a deafening crack.

The wood splintered. The wall shattered.

Ling Shi disappeared through the debris, crashing outside the pagoda.

Silence.

Even though Ling Shi had just tried to kill him with a borrowed knife, Jin Shu still cringed at her violent end.

Well—she was probably still alive.

Probably.

"Big Sis! Please don't hurt anyone anymore!" Ying pleaded, grabbing onto Liu Hua’s sleeve.

Liu Hua didn't react.

She was still focused on the rifle.

Her hands moved over it, inspecting every inch, feeling its weight, its balance.

Then, without looking up, she spoke.

"Aanootheer. Coompeensaatiioon."

She pointed at Ying’s bleeding cheek.

Jin Shu coughed, still struggling to breathe through his partially crushed throat.

"That's… my… only… one…" He forced the words out between ragged breaths.

Biyu, Tian Li, Yin’er, and Li Xue immediately stepped in, helping him stand—then forming a protective wall in front of him.

Liu Hua tilted her head slightly, finally directing her attention back to him.

"Yoouu maakee thiis?"

Jin Shu swallowed, his throat burning. "…Yes."

"Eeveen stronger, yoouu caan maakee iit?"

His brow furrowed. "Stronger… than that one?"

"Yeess." She nodded slowly.

Purple lightning crackled louder.

Jin Shu realized she wasn’t here to kill him any longer.

She was now here to recruit him.

Before he could even think of a response—

"Yaaaawn…"

Liu Hua stretched, leaning back with a loud, lazy yawn.

Then, with slow, deliberate movements, she reached up and removed her blindfold.

"Are you awake now, Big Sis?" Ying asked softly.

Jin Shu blinked. She was asleep this entire time…?

Liu Hua’s eyes fluttered open.

They were deep purple, shimmering with motes of electricity, like a storm trapped behind glass.

She blinked once, twice—then smiled.

"Yeah, I'm awake now. So—" her voice was different now, clearer, almost sing-song in its cadence. "Who was the one that hurt you? If it was that one, I'll rip them apart… after they make me a stronger weapon."

She spoke so gently that it took a second for the words to register.

Ying rapidly shook her head. "No, no, it was the one you slapped. So, no need for any more bloodshed. Okay?"

That… wasn’t entirely the truth.

But Jin Shu wasn’t about to correct her.

Liu Hua held his gaze, still cradling the rifle. Then she grinned, slow and wicked.

"Fine… but I still want another one of these. Only stronger."

Her lightning-filled gaze drifted past the women shielding Jin Shu, locking onto him.

Ying turned to him, her hair hiding her face—but he could feel her pleading expression.

Her voice suddenly sounded in his ear.

"My Big Sis likes to collect powerful weapons… and she pays handsomely. Please agree… otherwise…"

Jin Shu barely stopped himself from flinching.

Man, I need to learn that technique.

Liu Hua’s grin deepened.

She can definitely hear her little sister...

He sighed. "Okay," he agreed. "But I’ll need materials. And a forge."

"Master's mountain has all that," she said, reaching out a hand. "Come with me."

"Now?"

She nodded. "Uhm."

Jin Shu resisted the urge to groan.

"I can barely walk right now," he admitted. "My body was already wrecked from an earlier incident—" he glanced at Tian Li, "—not to mention what just happened."

Liu Hua hummed, tapping a finger against her chin.

Then—

Jin Shu blinked.

She was suddenly in his face.

Nose to nose.

What—?

Something pressed against his lips.

His eyes dropped—her finger.

His mouth opened on instinct, and before he could react—

Something slid in.

His throat worked on reflex. He gulped.

The moment he did, a surge of warm, electric energy flooded his body, seeping into every wrecked muscle, every bruised inch of his skin.

Relief.

Bliss.

It was so intense that—

"Ah~"

A moan slipped past his lips before he could stop it.

Heat rushed to his face.

His entire body froze.

Liu Hua’s grin widened.

Jin Shu wished the floor would open up and swallow him.

Liu Hua grabbed his hand.

The world blurred.

Before Jin Shu could even blink, they were next to Ying.

Another blur and the next thing he knew, they were standing on a moonlit mountaintop.

The air was crisp, carrying the scent of metal and coal. Two buildings stood before him—one was unmistakably a forge, its chimney still faintly smoking, while the other looked like a modest house.

"Big Sis, I still had work to do~" Ying whined, tugging at her sister's sleeve.

Liu Hua flicked the top of her head. "You were playing hostess again, and look what happened. I told you to stop messing around and just manage the business."

Ying pouted, rubbing the spot where she'd been flicked.

With a flip of her palm, a small white pill appeared in Liu Hua’s hand.

"Here."

Ying swallowed it without hesitation, and the cut on her cheek vanished instantly.

Jin Shu’s eyes narrowed.

That must be the same pill she gave me.

He touched his throat absentmindedly, still able to feel the ghost of her grip.

What grade of pill can instantly heal a body that was falling apart?

Liu Hua turned to him with a wide grin.

"Go make me that weapon." She pointed toward the forge.

Jin Shu hesitated. A part of him wanted to refuse.

But then he remembered the feeling of her delicate hand crushing his throat like dried leaves.

The ever-present crackling of lightning around her didn’t make refusal any easier.

"...Fine."

He stepped toward the forge.

Ting, ting, ting!

A rhythmic, metallic sound echoed from inside.

Liu Hua’s expression brightened. "Oh, sounds like Master is sleepworking again."

Jin Shu stopped mid-step. "Sleepworking?"

She nodded. "Never mind, you’ll have to make it tomorrow."

Sleepworking…? He didn’t know what that was, but he wasn't about to stick around and find out.

Time to leave.

Spinning around, he made his way toward the path leading down the mountain.

"Where are you going? The house is this way."

He turned. Liu Hua was pointing at the small house.

"Uh… I’m going home."

She shook her head. "No. You’re staying here tonight."

She said it like a fact.

He cleared his throat. "I appreciate the offer, but I’d rather just—"

"No."

Her expression went blank.

The kind of blank that warned him not to contradict her.

Jin Shu froze.

...Ah.

He was being held hostage, wasn’t he?

We are so fucked. His main psyche muttered.

You don’t say… Jin Shu replied.

With no other choice, he followed them inside the small house.

It had a simple layout—a modest living room, a kitchen with a dining table, and three bedrooms. The decorations were minimal but intentional, giving the space a cozy, lived-in feel without being overly extravagant like most sect dwellings.

He liked it.

Ying turned to him with a hesitant expression—or at least, that’s what it felt like. Her long bangs still hid her face.

“...Good luck.”

Then she scampered off to one of the bedrooms.

Jin Shu stared after her.

Ominous much?

Before he could fully process that, Liu Hua’s voice rang out.

“You’re sleeping with me.”

Jin Shu froze.

“What?”

She was already leading him toward another room.

Nope. That is a bad idea.

Sure, he might look like a woman right now, but he was still very much a man.

“Uh… no… I… I’ll just sleep out here.” He stammered, gesturing weakly toward the living room.

Liu Hua turned and gave him that look.

The blank one.

The one that meant disobedience was not an option.

Jin Shu gulped.

And quickly followed her into the room.

The first thing he noticed was the walls and shelves.

They were filled with weapons.

A lot of weapons.

Many were coated in dried, flaking blood.

Liu Hua walked to a cleared shelf space and carefully placed the rifle there.

She took a step back, admiring it.

“Perfect.”

Jin Shu barely heard her. He was still staring at a particular sword with red-stained grooves and a faint, lingering aura of resentment.

Liu Hua caught his gaze and grinned.

“Most of these weapons,” she said, voice filled with amusement, “I got from killing demonic cultivators…”

Then her grin widened.

“With their own weapons.”

She let out an unmistakably evil chuckle—borderline villainous.

Jin Shu took a step back.

Nope. Nope. Nope.

He really, really wanted to leave.

This chick is insane.

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