Runes • Rifles • Reincarnation
105. He Slept With Me!

The moment Jin Shu stepped out of the portal, a palm wreathed in crackling purple lightning shot toward his face.

He barely dodged, the lightning licking his cheek and leaving behind a faint scorch mark.

“Wait! Stop!”

He threw his hands up in surrender.

Too late.

Another palm strike came for his chest.

This time, he couldn't react fast enough.

Pure instinct took over—he summoned a portal just as her palm slammed into him, sending him flying back into the slipspace.

Weightless, he drifted in the endless blue void.

Cough!

A mouthful of blood splattered into the air.

“She’s actually trying to kill me…”

Shaking, he pulled open his robe and glanced down at his chest. It was partially caved in, his ribs undoubtedly broken. If not for the body-strengthening rune etched into his skin, that blow would have killed him outright.

Groaning, he forced himself upright, standing on unsteady legs.

Before he’d escaped, he had spotted Phoenix City in the distance. At least now he knew which direction to run.

He started limping forward.

He couldn’t stay in this space too long.

The slipspace was filled with pure Water element. Short-term exposure wasn’t an issue, but the longer he remained, the more it would infiltrate his body—leading to elemental poisoning.

If a human absorbed too much of a single element, they would first fall violently ill, then lose their cultivation, and finally—die.

He wasn’t about to let that happen.

Clenching his teeth, he pushed himself forward, moving as fast as his battered body allowed.

Luckily, each step in this dimension covered the equivalent of dozens in the real world.

He had maybe an hour before the poisoning took hold.

That should have been enough time.

“Ten seconds!” Nano’s voice rang in his mind.

His blood ran cold.

Ten seconds before the poison began affecting him.

Yet he was still only at the foot of the mountain range where his Aunt Chen lived.

He needed minutes, not seconds.

Gritting his teeth, Jin Shu expanded his senses beyond the slipspace.

Liu Hua was still there—stalking just outside.

No choice.

Summoning two portals, just as he had when saving Tian Li, he placed one directly in front of Liu Hua and the other as far up the mountain as he could manage.

Limping through, he spared a glance back.

Liu Hua stood with her back to him, staring intently at the portal, waiting for him to emerge.

He didn’t waste the opportunity.

Forcing his battered body forward, he climbed as fast as he could—until his foot caught on a loose stone.

Shit—

The rock tumbled down the path behind him.

Crackle!

Lightning roared to life.

Whoosh!

Jin Shu dove to the ground just as a palm passed through the air where his head had been.

“Stop! Seriously, Liu Hua, listen to me!”

She halted, her palm hovering just over the tip of his nose.

“What?” she asked casually, as if she hadn’t just tried to cave his skull in.

“I—”

Cough!

He spat out another mouthful of blood.

It splattered across her palm, staining her pristine skin. The scent of charred iron mingled with the crackling of her lightning.

Liu Hua raised her hand, staring at the crimson smear. Then she smirked.

Her wrist flicked.

The blood scattered in bright red droplets.

Then, without hesitation, her palm came down again.

Jin Shu tried to speak, but the blood clogging his throat strangled any words.

The world slowed.

His vision was filled with smooth skin and arcs of purple lightning.

First the Heavens, then a monster, then a tiger… now a woman. I wonder if I’ll have a fourth life.

A dry, bitter laugh tried to escape, but only a gurgling choke emerged.

The strike was inevitable.

Then—

“Liu Hua, what are you doing?”

The voice of a goddess.

His savior had arrived at his time of need once more.

Liu Hua’s wrist was locked in place by a delicate hand.

A centimeter.

That was all that separated Jin Shu from life and death.

“Big Sis Ai Yun, let go. I have to kill him.” Liu Hua said calmly.

“And I’m asking why.” Chen Ai Yun responded.

“Because he slept with me and tried running away.” She stated matter-of-factly.

“Ow!” She yelped as Chen Ai Yun tightened her grip.

“Oh, I’m sorry!” Chen Ai Yun quickly released her wrist.

Liu Hua pulled her hand back, rubbing the red mark now forming on her skin.

Jin Shu could finally see clearly—Liu Hua’s palm was no longer hovering over his face.

His Aunt Chen stood above him, looking down with a furrowed brow.

“You… slept with her… and ran away?” she asked, her tone far from pleased.

Jin Shu frantically shook his head, tried to speak—only to choke on blood.

Turning to the side, he spat out the thick glob clogging his throat before looking back up at her.

“I didn’t—”

“You did!” Liu Hua cut him off.

“I did, but it was just sleeping together!” he shot back.

Chen Ai Yun’s stern gaze bore into him. “So, you did sleep with her, and now you’re running away after doing the deed?”

“We slept in the same bed, but I didn’t have sex with her!” Jin Shu blurted.

“Oh…” Chen Ai Yun turned to Liu Hua. “Is that true? You just slept in the same bed? It wasn’t… sex?”

Liu Hua tilted her head. “I don’t know what this sex thing is, so I don’t know.”

“What?” Chen Ai Yun’s expression twisted with disbelief. “Liu Hua, you’re twenty-nine and you don’t know what sex is?”

“Twenty-eight,” Liu Hua corrected. “And no, never heard of it.”

Chen Ai Yun let out a long, weary sigh, pressing a hand to her forehead.

“Explain what happened.” She gazed down at Jin Shu. “You start. And you can skip the kidnapping—we already heard about that from the girls.”

Jin Shu blinked. “You knew I was kidnapped?”

She didn’t say anything at first, shifting slightly under his gaze.

“Er… your mother said it was fine…” she admitted sheepishly.

“Figures…” he muttered.

He was a little hurt by their lack of response to his kidnapping. However, his broken ribs hurt worse. 

He tried to sit up, but a sharp pain tore through his chest, forcing a groan from his lips as he clutched at his ribs.

Only now, with a moment to breathe, did he remember the healing pills in his storage space. Reaching inside, he pulled one out and swallowed it quickly. The pain dulled just enough for him to push himself up, but standing was another challenge.

Before he could struggle further, a pair of hands slipped under his arms, lifting him gently.

He turned, finding Aunt Chen watching him with concern.

“Are you alright?” she asked.

“I’ll be fine… I hope.”

Glancing past her at Liu Hua, he instinctively took a subtle step back, using her as a shield between them.

Then, with a deep breath, he launched into his story:

“She took me back to her home, forced me to strip, held me to sleep—and only sleep!—then she made me craft her a powerful weapon, which she immediately tried to kill me with! But apparently, that was just a ‘prank.’ After that, she said she’d compensate me—by demanding I marry both her and her sister. So, naturally, I refused. But then she said she’d kill me if I didn’t marry her. I ran, thought about fighting back, but decided against it because I didn’t want to hurt her. So, I surrendered instead. And she still tried to kill me. And now… we’re here.”

He spat it all out in one breath, panting by the time he finished.

“Why wouldn’t you—” Chen Ai Yun started, then shook her head. “No, we’ll talk about that later.”

She turned to Liu Hua. “Now let’s hear your side of the story. Start with why you kidnapped him.”

Liu Hua crossed her arms, tilting her head slightly. “Well, I was sleeping when my sister’s protective pendant broke. I didn't have time to wake up and rushed down without even taking off my blindfold. I couldn’t see what was going on, but I sensed Tian Li, Fan Biyu, and Ling Shi… and then there was him.” She pointed at Jin Shu. “The only one I didn’t recognize. So, I attacked.”

Jin Shu exhaled sharply. “Great reasoning.”

“Then,” Liu Hua continued, ignoring him, “his loud weapon woke me up properly. I didn’t even need to use my eyes to feel its power. I wanted it. I needed it. So, I took him.” She shrugged.

Chen Ai Yun sighed. “And?”

“Oh! But I gave him one of the pills I save for my sister.” She added this as if it balanced out the abduction. “I wouldn’t have done that if I hadn’t realized he was Big Sis Mei’er’s son.”

Chen Ai Yun glanced at Jin Shu for confirmation.

He hesitated, then nodded. “Uh… yeah. She gave me a pill that healed my wounds. But she didn’t say she knew I was my mom’s son at the time.”

Chen Ai Yun rubbed her temples. “Continue.”

“I wanted him to make me a weapon when we got home, then I was going to bring him back here. But Master was sleepworking, so I took him inside.”

“Sleep… working?” Jin Shu echoed in disbelief. He still didn't know what that was, though he could guess. It just didn't make much sense.

But then, none of this did.

Liu Hua nodded like it was obvious. “Yeah. I couldn’t let him sleep with Ying, and Master would’ve killed him if he messed up her bed. So, I let him sleep in my room. I forgot about the ‘no sleeping with men’ thing until later… but it was fine. I’d just marry him.”

Jin Shu nearly choked. “But we didn’t actually sleep together!”

Liu Hua frowned. “Yes, we did!”

“Alright, both of you stop.” Chen Ai Yun held up a hand, sighing deeply. “Just finish your story so I can make sense of this mess.”

“Okay…” Liu Hua continued. “The next morning, he made me a weapon. I wanted to prank him, so I took it and pulled the lever.”

“It’s called a trigger,” Jin Shu corrected.

“Yeah, sure, I pulled the trigger.” She waved dismissively. “But I knew it wouldn’t hurt him. I could see it.”

Jin Shu frowned. “What do you mean by ‘see’? You keep saying that.”

Liu Hua blinked at him, then shrugged. “My eyes, they show me the truth.”

Jin Shu’s frown deepened. “And what does that mean?”

Liu Hua blinked again. Then shrugged. “Dunno.”

Jin Shu’s mouth hung open in disbelief.

Chen Ai Yun sighed and turned to him. “Her eyes are the source of her Heavenly Physique’s power. They allow her to see through all illusions and discern the truth behind any falsehood. Essentially, nothing can be hidden from her.”

Jin Shu frowned. “I… still don’t fully understand. But I think I get it. Kinda.”

She’s a human lie detector. His older soul commented.

He nodded subtly, though he wasn’t entirely sure what that meant either.