Chapter 54: The Heart-Shaped Gem on the Peach Wood Sword

Chapter 54: The Heart-Shaped Gem on the Peachwood Sword

Wu Yue warily turned her gaze toward the door. She remembered that before the age-12 psychic aptitude test, the orphanage had once been attacked by a mutant leopard.

The mutant leopard was as large as a Siberian tiger, moving with lightning speed and far deadlier in combat than before its mutation.

The night raid left the orphanage devastated. The mutant leopard began its assault from the girls' dormitory, slaughtering nearly half the children as they slept before devouring them.

Wu Yue’s room was at the very end of the hallway. Had the leopard not gorged itself, none of them would have survived.

Even those who lived cheated death by a hair's breadth.

Now, the mutant leopard was right outside their door.

Having ended its hunting state, the leopard’s movements slowed, but the reek of blood clinging to its fur grew stronger as it drew nearer, sickeningly potent.

Out of the corner of her eye, Wu Yue glanced at the other three girls in the room, her memories coming flooding back.

She recalled that, of the three girls in the dorm, only she and Yi Na survived—the other two died.

Even then, she'd been left broken, every bone in her body shattered.

Had Yi Na not awakened psychic healing powers at the last moment, capable of blanket-healing everyone, Wu Yue would never have survived.

It was precisely Yi Na’s performance during the night raid that caught the orphanage administration's attention, leading them to alert the higher-ups.

The moment her results came in, Yi Na was taken away.

Wu Yue knew she was currently trapped in her own mindscape—Richard had infiltrated her subconscious without her knowledge.

He was likely attempting to jumpstart her latent psychic abilities before the age of 12 within her subconscious, which was why he had chosen this particular memory.

Wu Yue began scanning her surroundings, searching for any useful combat tools.

In her past life, she had wielded a peachwood sword reminiscent of Sailor Moon that had always been her constant companion through the years.

The moment she picked it up, Wu Yue suddenly noticed a heart-shaped gem embedded in the center of the sword.

The gem was a vivid red, uncannily like congealed blood.

As she tilted it slightly, the gem gave off an eerie luminescence under the moonlight, as though it were alive.

Wu Yue frowned. What was this gem doing here?

The peachwood sword she held now was supposed to be plain—there shouldn’t be any gem.

Had her subconscious misremembered?

Before she could dwell on it, the sound of blood-tinged breathing came from beyond the door.

Instantly alert, Wu Yue narrowed her eyes. Though only twelve, her rigorous training kept her whip-fast and far from sluggish—her still-growing adolescent body even lent her exceptional lightness.

Thanks to Jie Chen’s recent corrections, he'd ironed out all her combat flaws.

Now, both her mind and body were in peak condition.

Moving with panther-like grace, Wu Yue leaped between the beds, landing soundlessly each time.

She woke the three sleeping girls on the beds one by one, and the moment they were roused, Wu Yue quickly covered their mouths, mouthing silently, "Don’t speak. There's a monster outside."

The girls widened their eyes in terror, instantly wide awake, and huddled together under Wu Yue's direction.

Wu Yue pointed at the window, signaling, "Go out through the window."

"A roar!!"

Hearing the terrifying roar of the creature, the girls couldn't suppress tiny screams.

Wu Yue frowned sharply. "If you don’t want to die, shut up and run!"

This was all in her mind. If these girls didn’t obey, Wu Yue would take them out herself before they got in the way.

Fortunately, Yi Na snapped out of it first. Trembling all over, she shoved the orphanage windows.

To guard against monster invasions, the windows were heavy-duty and reinforced, too heavy for 12-year-olds to move.

The other two quickly joined in to help, and with their combined effort, the window finally moved.

But along with the window, the door moved too.

The creature outside began ramming the door. A loud "CRASH!" made the girls pushing the window instantly lose strength.

Everything was back to square one—except for the dormitory door, now ready to give way.

Wu Yue’s expression darkened. She turned back coldly. "Might as well stay put as bait and wait to be eaten.

At least you’ll buy me time."

Hearing this, the girls shot back.

"Wu Yue!! How can you be so heartless?!"

"Yeah, Wu Yue! Why can’t you help us push the window?!"

"We were too scared to move!"

In her past life, Wu Yue had also woken the girls the moment she discovered the monster.

But back then, she had no fighting experience, was terrified herself, and had poor judgment.

Faced with their accusations, she was racked with guilt but forced herself to confront the monster head-on.

Yi Na calmed them, "Don’t be angry. Wu Yue was just worried about you.

Wu Yue, don’t put it like that next time. Even if you mean well, others might misunderstand."

Wu Yue remained indifferent. "They didn’t misunderstand. That’s me.

And if you keep sitting there, there won’t be a next time. You’re all dead."

Seeing Yi Na’s face instantly pale, Wu Yue’s eyes went cold.

"Wu Yue, how could you say that to Yi Na?! Aren’t you her best friend?!"

"Exactly! You know Yi Na’s been frail since she was little!"

"You couldn't even be bothered to save Yi Na, and now you're spouting such cruel things to her!"

"You're not worthy of Yi Na considering you as her best friend! Yi Na, don’t be sad!"

"When that monster breaks through, it’ll eat Wu Yue first!"

"Then while it’s eating her, we’ll run out and call for help!"

Wu Yue let out a sudden laugh, turning to Yi Na, "They say I’m your best friend. Am I?"

Yi Na nodded with feigned fragility, "Yes, Wu Yue. I’ve always considered you my best friend."

Wu Yue nodded, "Oh really now?"

"If we’re best friends, then when the beast charges in, can you take the hit for me?"

Yi Na stiffened, biting her lower lip, "But... I’d get hurt."

Wu Yue smiled, "Don’t worry about it. I’ll call for help right away."

"You can let the beast eat your leg first. Medicine's come a long way these days—they'll patch you right up."

Yi Na shook her head frantically, backing away, "No, no, Wu Yue... I’d die."

Wu Yue nodded, "Oh, so you know that would kill you?"

"Then how could you, with that delicate little victim act, spout such two-faced nonsense to me before?"

Under Yi Na’s stunned gaze, Wu Yue, in one fluid motion, pulled out the dagger she had hidden under her pillow.

Before Yi Na could even close her eyes, blood arced through the air as her head rolled to the ground.

"AHHHHHHH!!!"

"Murder!!!"

"Wu Yue killed someone!!!"

The remaining two girls, seeing Wu Yue behead Yi Na without hesitation, shrieked in absolute horror. Pure adrenaline took over, and in an instant, they heaved open the stubborn window and bolted out in complete terror.

Wu Yue blinked in disbelief.

"Seriously, if they’d acted like this earlier, I wouldn’t have needed to get my hands dirty."

No sooner had she spoken than—

"CRASH!!!"

The dormitory door behind her exploded into splinters as the beast smashed through.

In the blink of an eye, the beast was within striking distance.