Chapter 42: Green Face Part 2

Wang Ya’s eyes lit up! These must be the Other Shore Flower Demon’s roots—I ran right into them! She gritted her teeth, ripped off the bandage on her palm, reopening the clotted wound. Fresh blood seeped out instantly. She pulled an ancient bronze coin from her pocket, pressed it hard into her palm to soak it in blood, then began forming a Blood Seal. In her mind, she roared: Damn Flower Demon, hit the road!

Her seal was only halfway formed when a greenish face emerged from the stone pillar, followed by dozens of roots whipping through the air. Despite Wang Ya’s Taiji Step dodging frantically, she couldn’t evade the dense barrage. The roots lashed her like whips, sending her flying. Mid-air, another root coiled around her waist, halting her momentum. The next instant, roots wrapped her wrists and ankles, suspending her spread-eagled three meters off the ground. A clatter echoed from below—the Seven Ancient Copper Coins hitting the floor. Wang Ya saw her coins on the ground and paled. She felt eyes on her; looking up, she met a green human face on the pillar ahead.

This time, it was close—only two or three meters away. Wang Ya clearly saw it wasn’t as large as the previous one, but she recognized the eyes as the same. The face shrank to normal human size: oval-shaped, pointed chin, slender brows arched sharply with a hint of ferocity, lips diamond-shaped and quirked in a smile. By features alone, it was a beauty. But closer inspection revealed it woven from verdant leaves, five facial features protruding over dense roots underneath. Wang Ya’s skin crawled. The eyes weren’t leaves but hazy green glows that stared piercingly at her, paired with that mocking smile. She couldn’t tell if she’d encountered a demon or a millennium ghost. She was certain even the Dead Old Lady would get insta-killed here.

The green eyes made Wang Ya’s skin crawl. She snorted coldly: “What’re you staring at? Never seen a beauty before?” Suddenly recalling her own pig-headed, swollen face, she itched to charge up and shred every leaf off it!

The green face kept staring, still smiling. Wang Ya sensed cold malice in those eerie green eyes, along with roots tightening around her. Remembering how she’d been dragged into the Yellow Springs mud before, her face paled with rage. She gnashed her teeth and struggled fiercely. The more she fought, the tighter the roots bound her wrists, numbing her limbs until she had no strength left. As she slackened, another root snaked around her neck and squeezed tight.

This damn Flower Demon wants me dead!

Wang Ya closed her eyes, focusing on the qi she’d cultivated over the years within her body. She circulated it slowly to her limbs, then strained hard. Her arms didn’t budge, but her neck constricted tighter; her lips numbed, face congested, scalp tingling. A faint voice whispered: “Come back and keep me company.”

Wang Ya glared hatefully at the green face, but it blurred. Her chest felt like it would explode; she gasped desperately but couldn’t draw breath. Her neck burned with pain.

Suddenly, a green light streaked from the darkness, a heavy object lunged from behind with the swish of a sharp blade slicing air. The roots binding her loosened; she plummeted, crashing onto someone who grunted—a woman’s voice. Wang Ya gasped for air, heedless of who was under whom, sucking in huge breaths. Before two full ones, she was shoved off. Flashlight light hit; Wang Ya saw Huang Qi biting her lip as she sat up beside her.

Huang Qi said: “Wang Ya, you really need to lose some weight.”

Zhang Qingshui rushed to Huang Qi’s side: “Are you okay?”

Huang Qi replied: “I’m fine!” She rubbed her arm as Zhang Qingshui helped her up.

Wang Ya rubbed her neck and stood: “That damn demon flower is here.” She glanced at the pillar; the face was gone, leaving severed roots and two clear blade slashes on the stone. She turned to Old Tang nearby, who held the Tang Dao, a thin white Paper Effigies floating behind him.

Old Tang asked: “Where’s Wang Cheng’an?”

Wang Ya said: “Probably snatched by the damn demon flower. Where were you all?”

Old Tang said: “Scouting. A’qi said something might’ve happened to you, so we turned back.”

Huang Qi asked: “Wang Ya, what happened?”

Wang Ya borrowed Old Tang’s flashlight, limped on her numb right leg to retrieve her ancient bronze coins, and recounted everything—including the hallucinatory “Come back and keep me company.” She finished with a heavy sigh: “Zheng Yanxia, can you help me find my dad?”

Huang Qi paused two seconds: “If you stop calling me Zheng Yanxia from now on, I’ll try.”

Wang Ya stared at Huang Qi speechlessly.

Huang Qi’s sightless eyes faced her, unyielding.

Wang Ya rolled her eyes and compromised helplessly: “Miss Huang, that okay?”

Huang Qi shook her head: “I’m older than you. Call me Qi Jie.” Ignoring Wang Ya, she turned and “scanned” around: “We scouted earlier—this place is riddled with that plant’s roots everywhere. We don’t know what it is yet; let’s call it the demon. There’s wind and water flow, so an exit exists, but the roots probably block it. Wang Ya, you’re injured? You smell strongly of blood.” She didn’t turn, but spoke with certainty.

Wang Ya rolled her eyes irritably. Having to ask Zheng Yanxia for help, she held her tongue. Among them, only she was hurt— repeatedly targeted by the suspected Flower Demon. What rotten luck! She silently pulled out bandages, covered her hand wound, hiked up her pant leg, and saw her right leg scraped raw and bloody. Beaten senseless without a chance to fight back, Wang Ya had no fight left. She wiped the blood around the wound with tissues from her canvas bag and bandaged it. She’d been biting her fingers lately and figured she’d keep doing so; she’d stocked plenty of bandages—as long as she didn’t hit a vein, they’d suffice.