Chapter 208 - 90: Hunting the "Snake" (Finale, Part 2)

Zhang Shutong fired off a long speech, but Lu Qinglian didn't say a single word. He was starting to get a headache. He'd thought she would surrender without a fight, but she would rather die than submit. On top of that, it was a case of mere suspicion; he couldn't even call the police.

Lu Qinglian just kept staring at him, giving off the feeling of someone who had been betrayed. Of course, that wasn't necessarily what she meant. It was possible his own thoughts were just a mess, flitting before his eyes and buzzing in his ears, tormenting him.

"Don't look at me like that. Want some apple?"

Zhang Shutong didn't dare extend his hand too far. 'What if she grabs me?'

To his surprise, Lu Qinglian finally spoke.

"Are there any other questions?"

"Not for now." Zhang Shutong let out a sigh of relief. If she had remained silent, he would have had to go find the rope and shovel Qingyi had left behind. This was for the best. "Go ahead and pick one to answer."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure…"

He hadn't finished speaking when he suddenly froze.

Although Zhang Shutong hadn't interacted with her much, he could strangely always guess her meaning. Just like now—her odd emphasis gave him a sense of foreboding.

'This isn't how a trapped person should be acting…'

The thought had just crossed his mind when he saw that familiar, playful smile touch the corners of Lu Qinglian's lips.

The hairs on Zhang Shutong's body stood on end.

'Damn it!'

'This is a snake!'

Patient. Cunning.

He had almost forgotten he was hunting a snake!

That look in her eyes wasn't one of betrayal at all; she was constantly searching for his vital points!

'A single, fatal strike!'

His eyes couldn't yet process what was about to happen, but his subconscious had already reacted for him. It was almost a muscular reflex. Zhang Shutong immediately shot to his feet and scrambled backward—

But it was too late!

The girl in the snow pit suddenly erupted upward!

'How is that possible…'

Through a cloud of kicked-up snow, he stared with wide, unbelieving eyes. Lu Qinglian hadn't fallen in at all!

The moment the ground had given way beneath her, she had already reacted!

With one leg braced forward and the other bent back, she had used her incredible flexibility to wedge herself inside the snow pit. She had been holding that position, waiting for this very moment!

She could have freed herself at any time, and now was the moment for the snake to deliver its fatal strike!

It was too late to run. A sharp whistling sound filled his ears as a leg, moving so fast it was a blur, rapidly closed in. He threw up his arms in the quickest reaction he could muster, but he still felt a tremendous force slam into his chest. His body flew back uncontrollably, his feet stumbling and nearly leaving the ground before he crashed into the snow.

Snow sprayed into the air. Dizzy and disoriented, Zhang Shutong faintly heard the woman's clear, cold voice.

"You're not bad."

He struggled to prop himself up, a burning pain searing his chest. In his line of sight was the hem of a cyan robe, flecked with snow. As he looked up, Lu Qinglian's gaze bore down on him from above.

She approached step by step. Her footfalls were light, yet they carried an overwhelming sense of pressure.

"Zhang Shutong," she said, her face devoid of expression. "You've got more guts than I thought. I originally figured you'd just keep acting timidly, but you actually dug a pit in advance and even managed to get me to fall into it."

Zhang Shutong opened his mouth, but no words came out. He took a few deep breaths, trying to quell the churning in his chest. He gasped for air, coughing violently. Before him was the bleak light of the sky, devoid of clouds, just as he was devoid of any visible opportunity. The only thing he could do now was keep his mouth shut and try to recover his strength. Wait for the next chance, if… it even still existed.

"It seems you still don't understand," Lu Qinglian said indifferently. "I already warned you. If you didn't want any 'accidents,' you shouldn't have pried into my affairs. Why did you have to get smart?"

"Forget it." She lowered her gaze. "There's no point in saying any more. I'm sure you were prepared for this outcome before you came. It would be best not to beg for mercy. That would be so boring."

Zhang Shutong just focused on steadying his breathing. He was lying sprawled in the snow in an utterly pathetic position, one he couldn't even make sense of himself. All he knew was that he had tried to sit up several times and failed.

Meanwhile, his mind was racing. He knew Lu Qinglian didn't do things without reason. Since she was never really trapped, why did she stay in that pit for so long? Was it just to extract information?

'But she could have done that just as easily after kicking me down…'

An opening.

He was still looking for an opening.

'Where is it?'

As expected, Lu Qinglian spoke again, her voice calm.

"You're smart, but you don't think enough. To be precise, your imagination is too lacking."

"What… do you mean…" Zhang Shutong finally managed to force out between his teeth.

"I mean, you have no idea what you're up against.

"You asked me what the Cyan Snake signifies, whether it's legend or fact, longevity or descendants. I can answer all of your questions, one by one. Now, listen closely."

Her amber eyes glinted with a cold light, radiating a biting killing intent.

"The truth is, you're all getting close to the right answer. But what if I told you that all those legends are wrong… and at the same time, all of them are right?"

'What does she mean, all right and all wrong…' A chilling speculation suddenly surfaced in Zhang Shutong's mind, sending a cold shock through his entire body. He had never been so stunned in his life, because this guess completely surpassed his imagination, even common sense…

"That's right—"

Lu Qinglian held up three fingers, just as she had at school that day. For each word she spoke, she retracted one finger with a movement impossible for an ordinary person. Her voice was level, her enunciation crisp, her words earth-shattering: