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On a hillside, not far away stood a closed white house without a door, with a lemon tree to the right. At the other end of the thicket were Gu Ze and He Min, while below her was a stone path.
To her left, about two or three meters down, lay a mermaid statue on the soft sandy ground.
Xu Nuan was unsure where this statue had fallen from. Not believing that something good could just drop from above, she hesitated about whether to go down and retrieve the Mermaid Statue herself or call Gu Ze and He Min over.
This hesitation lasted only a few seconds until she noticed a man walking toward her from down the slope. The distance was neither too far nor too close, but she could clearly see his bald head and remembered that he was Guo Xu, one of the Second Batch Players. From Guo Xu's perspective, taking a few more steps would allow him to spot the Mermaid Statue as well. With that thought in mind, Xu Nuan no longer hesitated; she jumped down the slope, landed on her knees, and quickly made her way to the Mermaid Statue. She picked it up and swiftly placed it into her backpack.
The entire sequence of actions took no more than ten seconds. Still somewhat incredulous, Xu Nuan planned to walk down the slope and figure out how to climb back up. However, when she looked up, she saw Guo Xu standing at the top of the hill, his muscular frame and intimidating presence glaring down at her.
“How is this possible?”
Xu Nuan glanced back at where Guo Xu had been standing earlier; it was at least a hundred meters away. How could he have reacted so quickly and arrived here in such a short time?
A sense of foreboding crept into her mind. Not yet on the slope, she took a few steps back and scrutinized Guo Xu under the sunlight, which highlighted his robust physique. She realized with dread that she couldn't win against this man. Had she lost her mind? Wasn't Chi Xiaoming supposed to be monitoring them from the shadows? She should have reacted faster.
Knowing that her skills were inadequate against him, Xu Nuan prepared to call for help. She hoped to attract Gu Ze, who might be able to contend with Guo Xu, rather than He Min. Yet at the same time, she didn't want Gu Ze to get hurt; her words faltered on her tongue. Just as this pause lingered in the air, Guo Xu spoke first.
“Xu Nuan?”
His voice was as dangerous as his presence, and for some reason, Xu Nuan thought of Zhang Xiao and Ning Han.
“I didn’t expect you to be alone. How about we have a little chat?”
As Guo Xu jumped down the slope, Xu Nuan quickly drew the short knife from her waist. She still hesitated about whether to call for Gu Ze; given her assessment of this man’s abilities, she doubted that Gu Ze could defeat him without getting hurt.
Injury, blood, death.
The nightmare from yesterday swept over Xu Nuan's mind once again. Her face was pale from lack of rest as she hoarsely stepped back, while Guo Xu moved forward at a leisurely pace.
"What is there to talk about between us?"
Xu Nuan scoffed.
"You should know that my team still has two members. If I shout, they will come."
In truth, she understood that she didn't want to call anyone over. She no longer wished to see anyone get hurt or die.
Death was the heaviest word; it was a burden she could not bear.
"If you wanted to shout, you would have done it already."
Guo Xu chuckled, and as he did, the flesh on his face tightened, making him appear particularly ferocious.
"Your personality is just like his."
Guo Xu edged closer, and the short knife that had somehow appeared in his hand glinted coldly in the sunlight, as if it were ready to take a life at any moment.
"Who is he?"
Xu Nuan, still full of energy, quickly dodged to the side. As she narrowly escaped, a flurry of thoughts rushed through her mind.
She had intended to ask if that person was Zhang Xiao, but fearing that it might alert him, she swallowed her words. The burly Guo Xu was quicker than she had imagined; with a sudden lunge, he pounced on her before she even had time to react.
As Guo Xu's knife swiftly grazed his own arm, Xu Nuan managed to slash his face in return.
She kicked directly at Guo Xu's leg, using the moment when he wiped the blood from his face to roll away and quickly get back on her feet. At that moment, she didn't even have time to check the wound on her own arm.
"Do you want to kill me?"
Xu Nuan began to suspect that Guo Xu was not one of Zhang Xiao's people. Logically, before knowing where the secret passage was, Zhang Xiao wouldn't want her dead. So why was Guo Xu attacking her so fiercely without even asking a single question?
"Just know it."
Guo Xu gave Xu Nuan a very affirmative answer before lunging at her with a sinister grin.
"I didn't expect you to have some skills; you don't seem like a woman at all!"
As Xu Nuan pondered this in confusion, she had no choice but to dodge to the other side. In her haste, Guo Xu managed to cut her arm again.
Knowing full well that she was at a disadvantage, she still refused to call for help. If Guo Xu was indeed serious about wanting to kill her, then anyone who came to assist her would be in danger, something she did not want to see. She didn't want to witness anyone getting hurt; wasn't that the very intention behind Qin Yaojie's sabotage? And wasn't that what the Mastermind wanted to see?
She, Xu Nuan, was determined not to let that person have their way!
"Looks like you’re a tough nut to crack."
Guo Xu felt a surge of irritation at his inability to subdue a seemingly fragile woman with two strikes. His demeanor shifted entirely, but for Xu Nuan, as long as Guo Xu lacked weapons like those possessed by Zhang Xiao or Ning Han, she still had a chance of winning. The odds were slim, but how could she know if she didn’t try?
"Do you know? People like you usually die from talking too much."
With newfound determination, Xu Nuan sneered as she spoke, noticing Guo Xu's breathing grow heavy.
People always had their flaws; take this one before her, for instance—unable to withstand provocation. When such flaws were exposed, they became weaknesses, and all she needed to do was exploit them.
"When you die by my hand, you can take that to hell."
Unable to tolerate the taunt any longer, Guo Xu lunged at her again. This time, his knife nearly pierced Xu Nuan's heart. She raised her hand to block the strike and instinctively kicked toward the vulnerable parts of his body; after all, every man had his weak spots.
"Hiss!"
In pain, Guo Xu stumbled backward. While trying to suppress the agony, he also had to defend against Xu Nuan's swift counterattack. He couldn't help but feel alarmed; her strike was quick and fierce—far from what one would expect from a delicate woman.
As Guo Xu fell back, Xu Nuan seized the opportunity to kick him again while using her other hand to grasp his knife. Ignoring the sharp blade cutting into her palm and drawing crimson blood, she exerted all her strength to wrest the weapon away from Guo Xu.
Guo Xu, having lost his weapon, immediately rolled backward and stumbled to his feet, keeping a wary eye on Xu Nuan, no longer daring to underestimate her.
"I'm sorry, but I don't think hell would take in a wandering soul like me."
The smile on Xu Nuan's lips was so faint it was almost imperceptible.
"Men do have an advantage in size, but that doesn't mean women are destined to lose."
After taking a beating from Guo Dafu, Xu Nuan had deliberately trained herself, mastering the art of using softness to overcome strength; such old tricks still proved effective.
"Bah! You really are getting too full of yourself, woman!"
Guo Xu's anger flared up again. He flexed his arms, muscles bulging under the strain. Xu Nuan felt a chill run down her spine as she realized that Guo Xu had not been serious earlier. However, it didn't matter; he was unarmed now, and she wouldn't give him the chance to retrieve another weapon. With a short knife against a bare chest, it was time to go all out!
Of course, Xu Nuan knew she still needed to escape. Unfortunately, Guo Xu was positioned lower on the slope, able to easily climb up by pushing against the ground. Her current position was the least favorable for her escape, meaning that if she could switch places with Guo Xu during their fight, she might have a chance to break free. Once she got into the woods, she could find a way to shake him off.
"Who sent you?"
Even Guo Dafu hadn't been so intent on killing her; Zhang Xiao only wanted to extract secrets from her. What puzzled her was Ning Han—who was clearly Zhang Xiao's man—had tried to push her off the cliff with murderous intent. Unless Ning Han had switched allegiances along the way, and that person might very well be Guo Xu's master.
"I have nothing to say about that."
Unarmed, Guo Xu twisted his neck and flexed his hands. His bald head and rippling muscles looked terrifying in the sunlight.
"I just need to know that my mission is to kill you!"
Xu Nuan kept retreating, her eyes scanning the surroundings.
"Kill me?"
Xu Nuan felt confused. If this person wanted to kill her, it meant he wasn't with Zhang Xiao. Then who was he? The Mastermind? Why would the Mastermind want to kill her? No, wasn't Zhang Xiao the Mastermind? Then who was behind Guo Xu? What role did he play in this game?
Her head felt like it was about to explode, but Guo Xu wouldn't give her any time to think. He lunged at her again, his movements familiar—similar to Gu Ze's fighting style but more skilled and powerful.
It seemed that Guo Xu had come prepared; perhaps it was his prowess that had led to his selection.
While Xu Nuan was still lost in thought, Guo Xu reached her side. With a swift motion, he knocked the two knives from her hands and grabbed her shoulders, intending to throw her down.
Currently alert and with enough strength left, Xu Nuan wasn't going to be subdued as easily as she had been against Guo Dafu last time. As Guo Xu attempted to execute a shoulder throw, she quickly shifted her weight and locked his arm, both of them now in a stalemate.
However, after this encounter, Xu Nuan had to admit that the physical difference between men and women was hard to overcome. She managed to hold him off for only a few seconds before he threw her aside.
She crashed heavily onto the ground, pain shooting through her back as she gritted her teeth. But there was no time to assess her injuries; Guo Xu was already charging at her with a fierce expression, and lying on the ground put her in a precarious position.
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