Chapter 17: The Strange Seed
“Mr. Lin Wei, you seem quite interested in the power within me…” Elena fixed her cautious gaze on Lin Wei, her voice tense with wariness. “If you let go of Uncle Shatur, I can tell you the secret of this power.”
“Don’t… Elena… run…”
Before Lin Wei could respond, Shatur struggled with all his remaining strength, his body trembling as he forced out broken words from his throat.
Crack.
Lin Wei’s grip abruptly tightened. Shatur’s massive, thrashing frame slackened in an instant, his head dropping limply onto his shoulder, utterly devoid of support.
A smile spread across Lin Wei’s lips, his tongue, tinged with crimson, flicking the corner of his mouth like a leopard about to feed. He slowly released his hand, and Shatur’s body slid to the floor, first dropping to his knees before collapsing entirely.
Elena’s body trembled, and a mist of tears welled up in her pale violet eyes.
Lin Wei remained unmoved. He stretched languidly and spoke in a gentle tone, “Now that I’ve let him go, will you hand over the power to me?”
“Uncle Shatur… Lin Wei, go to hell!”
The gray stream swirling in Elena’s hand suddenly coalesced into a frenzy, resembling a storm imprisoned in her palm.
“If you won’t cooperate, I’ll just take it myself!”
Lin Wei drove his heel hard into the floor, sending cracks racing outward. Using the force of the rebound, he flashed to Elena’s side in an instant.
But Elena showed no panic, only grim resolve shimmering in eyes heavy with pain and suppressed agony. She thrust the gray energy in her hand toward Lin Wei’s abdomen.
A mocking smile played at Lin Wei’s lips. Although he had belittled Elena’s strength with words, in truth, he never underestimated the mysterious sorcerous power she wielded. Well prepared, Lin Wei spun like a recoiling bow, evading the surge of gray energy.
The gray stream shot from Elena’s hand and struck the room’s wall.
A sinister hiss—
The once smooth wall was instantly corroded by the gray force, opening a gaping hole.
Lin Wei’s heart sank. Had he taken the full brunt of that attack, his body would likely have been shattered to pieces.
This realization brought a new edge of savagery to his already ruthless gaze.
Suddenly, Lin Wei lashed out with a punch.
Elena’s fragile body flew like a severed kite, first slamming into the ceiling, then crashing heavily to the ground. Her clothes were torn, blood flowing freely.
Seeing Lin Wei approach step by step, Elena fumbled in her pocket and produced a seed, no bigger than a fingernail, in her palm.
She hurled the seed fiercely at Lin Wei.
“Hm?” Lin Wei frowned, puzzled. Though he didn’t know what she had thrown, he sensed that with such force, it could never harm him.
But in that instant of hesitation, the tiny seed swelled rapidly, exuding a dangerous aura.
Lin Wei’s instincts screamed. With a sharp slap, he knocked the still-expanding seed aside, and by chance, it landed next to Shatur’s body.
Something strange occurred.
The seed immediately burrowed into Shatur’s flesh, sprouting and growing before his eyes. In the blink of an eye, it shot up over two meters tall. But Shatur’s body withered completely, becoming nourishment for the monstrous flower.
The strange blossom seemed to crave further growth, straining to form a gray fruit at its top. Yet, lacking enough nourishment, it crumbled to ash before it could take shape. The barbed trunk, entwined with Shatur’s remains, turned to dust in an instant.
Lin Wei’s heart surged with desire—his craving for sorcerous power intensified.
“Ruthless… Elena!” Lin Wei roared as he advanced, his fist swinging savagely toward Elena’s head.
Had it landed, her skull would have burst like an overripe fruit, blood splattering everywhere.
But Elena reacted swiftly. Suppressing her pain, she leapt up and ran—not toward the door, but straight for the wall.
“What?!”
Lin Wei’s understanding of the world was shattered once more. The thick wall seemed to turn to mist, and Elena’s body passed through it unhindered.
Without pausing to think, Lin Wei charged after her, bellowing as his arms bulged with power. He smashed his fists into the wall, his body like a tank, shattering the barrier entirely.
“If I can’t walk through walls like you… then I’ll just smash them to pieces!”
With a thunderous crash, the bricks exploded outward, and Elena, not yet clear of the collapsing area, was struck down and buried.
Darkness crept into Elena’s vision. Gritting her teeth, she pressed her arms to the ground, struggling with all her might to rise.
Crack.
The moment she lifted her head, a boot-clad foot slammed it back to the ground.
Her chin met the floor with brutal force—blood and saliva mingled, spilling from the corner of her mouth.
A demonic voice whispered in her ear.
“Elena… I’ve caught you.”
Lin Wei loomed over her like a hunter with his prey, his eyes blazing with a terrifying light as he gazed down at Elena’s blood-soaked form.
“Uncle Shatur… Sword and Flower…”
Elena’s consciousness blurred, yet she trembled, stubbornly trying to rise.
Crack.
Lin Wei stomped her head down again as she tried to lift it.
“I can’t die… The honor of the Sword and Flower still needs me to protect it!”
Her voice broke with sobs—she was crying.
“I still have to set the world right…” Tears slipped past her lips, mixing with the metallic tang of blood and the salt of grief.
Lin Wei was unmoved, silently watching her.
Elena moved her hands to his boot, straining with all her strength to lift it from her head, but it was useless.
A heavy silence fell, broken only by Elena’s delirious murmurs.
“Do you truly not wish to die?” Lin Wei finally spoke. “If you tell me the secret of your sorcerous power, I’ll let you live.”
At last, Lin Wei voiced the true desire in his heart.
Were Elena a mere ordinary enemy, he would have dispatched her already, never hesitating for the sake of a woman’s beauty. His foot on her head was merely to crush her spirit with absolute power and humiliation. From the very start, what he wanted was the power she held.
To encounter such an enigmatic sorceress, and without risking his life—how could Lin Wei let such a chance slip away?