Chapter 21 Carrot And Stick

Just as I was about to turn around and leave, a shadow suddenly appeared in the air.

What is that?

A massive fox shadow appeared in the dark. It had white fur with blood-red striped patterns. I recognized at a glance that it was the true form of the nine-tailed fox. But unlike the image in my dream, the nine-tailed fox in front of me was crouching on the ground, moaning painfully. It seemed that he was severely injured.

He was dying.

“Wen Jiubo…?” My eyes were wide open from the surprise, and I slowly approached it.

However, it seemed to be just an illusion because no matter how many times I called for him, the shadow never responded.

“What happened to you? Why are you injured so badly?” I asked in a very low voice as if I was talking to myself.

The nine-tailed fox still did not answer. Blood kept dripping from his wounds. He let out a sorrowful growl in his last breath before dying. He was calling someone’s name in a sad voice.

I could not hear it clearly, who was he calling for?

I walked closer to hear clearer, but all of a sudden, a gunshot cracked in the air as loud as thunder, followed by the roar of the nine-tailed fox.

The fox was shot and fell on the ground.

My heart sank heavily. Who is it? Who shot him?!

Deep down inside, I already knew the answer.

A gunshot… That was a human weapon.

“Gu Yu!”

Someone suddenly called my name again while I was deep in my thoughts. I was startled and felt goosebumps all over my body. But when I looked back, the image in front of me disappeared.

“Who’s there?” I hastily took out the fan, pointing it in the direction where the sound came from. I must have looked like a cat whose hair was standing on end after being frightened. “Who’s there?!”

“Gu Yu, it’s me.”

This time I recognized that voice and I breathed a sigh of relief. But still, I could not believe that I could hear his voice.

It was… Wen Jiubo.

“Wen… Jiubo?” I asked timidly, but I did not draw closer as I was afraid it was another illusion created by the four-dimensional space. “Is that you?”

“Of course it’s him, you moron!” Another voice came from the same direction, and it seemed to be irritated.

This time I was finally relieved. No one in this world would talk to me in that tone except for that stupid weasel.

“Wen Jiubo? Bai? Is that you? I don’t have a flashlight. I can’t see you!” I shouted their names.

Zhu Xuan, who was not far from me, clearly heard me shouting.

“Gu Yu? Where are you? Don’t move an inch, we’ll come and get you!”

Then I heard some footsteps.

I immediately walked towards them, shouting, “I’m here! And Wen Jiubo and ——”

However, before I could finish my words, someone suddenly grabbed me from behind and held me in his arms. And that person covered my mouth before I could scream for help.

“Don’t scream.”

I felt Wen Jiubo’s breath by my ear; it was warm and little ticklish. I could feel the warmth of his body, and I immediately flushed.

He——how could he jump out from nowhere and grab me without notice! I got angry at him. How was he able to catch me by surprise every time?

I twisted my body and tried to break free from his embrace.

“Let me go! Zhu Xuan will come soon!”

Unexpectedly, Wen Jiubo held me even tighter. “Don’t move! Do you want to die?”

At this moment, Zhu Xuan, Shi Yitong, and Su Xiaoyun arrived. Their flashlights lit up the surroundings. And everyone gasped after seeing what was in front of me.

In front of me was an abysmal cliff. I could not see the bottom of it, but I knew that if anyone accidentally fell into it, their body would be shattered when they hit the ground. And because I was so hurried and anxious to meet Zhu Xuan, I did not notice the cliff under my feet. I was just one step away from falling down that deep cliff.

Wen Jiubo seemed to be a little relieved when he saw Zhu Xuan; he looked up at him. “Come around, but be careful.”

However, it seemed that Wen Jiubo did not intend to let me go.

“Wen Jiubo, you——” I struggled to break free, but before I could open my mouth, his lips mashed against mine.

An intoxicating kiss. My body was embraced by his powerful arms, they seemed to be the only safe and solid thing in this dizzy, swirling space. He pressed his mouth to mine so hard that he shared the flowery taste of his saliva with me; it was overwhelming and drowning. I was so unprepared that my mind was blank. I could do nothing except close my eyes and kiss him back.

I didn’t know how much time passed, maybe five seconds, or a century, until his lips parted from mine. I opened my eyes and looked at him in confusion, and then, before I could react, I was slapped.

“Hey!” I stepped back a few steps, covering my mouth and staring at him with my eyes wide open.

Then, I heard waves of laughter as if it was a prank. The white weasel standing behind me was laughing wildly.

“Hahahaha! You definitely deserve it! ”

“What are you doing?!” I glared at Wen Jiubo with one hand covering my cheek; I was embarrassed and angry.

“How dare you ask me that?” Wen Jiubo said coldly. “Why are you here? Didn’t I tell you that you would only burden us if you came?”

I was furious. “Wen Jiubo! Why are you so unreasonable! Do you know how much effort it took me just to find you?! Do you think that you’re the only one who cares about what’s happening in Yan City now? This is not about you. If Xu Yinchen’s plot succeeds, we’ll all be dead. Why are you being so arrogant thinking that you’re the only one who can solve this?”

To be honest, if I was not in front of my friends, I would have slapped him back.

“I don’t care.” Wen Jiubo grabbed my wrist. The light in his eyes was as cold as ice. “I’m already a sinful person. I’ve killed more people than you’ve ever seen in your life, but I don’t care, because your life is more important to me than all of their lives combined!”

“You——Wen Jiubo!”

I never thought he would say such irresponsible words! Why did I risk my life to come and try to save this despicable person!

Just when the atmosphere became very stiff, Zhu Xuan stood between us. He grabbed Wen Jiubo’s hand and asked him to let me go.

“Fox, isn’t there a question you need to think about first before blaming him?” Zhu Xuan asked in a low voice. “How did he escape from the magic barrier you set?”

Suddenly, I saw the light in Wen Jiubo’s eyes suddenly change. He let go of my hand as if he was burnt. Then Zhu Xuan let go of him.

“What happened?” I felt perplexed. I stared at Wen Jiubo. However, Wen Jiubo looked away to avoid meeting my eyes.

“AHHH!”

At this moment, Shi Yitong suddenly exclaimed in shock. He pointed his finger at me and then at Wen Jiubo; his mouth was open so wide that I could put an egg inside. “You… Gu Yu, you and him…”

“Yeah,” I replied bluntly.

“But… but you’re both…”

“Men. You don’t need to point it out.”

“But, but, Zhu Xuan said that he is… you are…”

“He’s a nine-tailed fox, and I’m a college student,” I answered Shi Yitong, annoyed. “He kissed me and slapped me. Do you have a problem with that?”

Shi Yitong looked at me foolishly, and then he looked at Su Xiaoyun, who looked back at him helplessly. He kept shaking his head.