"You said something about a discussion?" May asked in slight annoyance seeing Lin Yu looked around her office like a child seeing something for the first time.
She had put her trophies in the display cabinets to remind herself of who she is. As if being pulled away from a dream, Lin Yu smiled and sat opposite May.
"I want you to become my first residents. You and everyone here." Lin Yu said with a glint in her eyes. "I also want you to work for me, you and all your men." She smiled when the stoic expression on May's face cracked a little.
If she is able to lure this woman and stop her from following behind her older sister like a trained dog, would her life not end in a few years? A woman of bold values will be wasted as a mere follower! It's disgraceful!
"You are not actually my fan are you?" May having figured out a few things, asked with a straight face.
"Not as a boxer no. I like your other values." Lin Yu said honestly.
"And what values are those?" May asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Your stance on gender equality." Lin Yu answered straightforwardly.
"What do you mean?" The slight amusement disappeared. It is not until recently that she had used her power to enforce her values. An outsider like her shouldn't know so much about her.
"I'm Lin Yu. It is nice to meet you. Please forgive me for not shaking your hands, I am quite attached to it." In the novel, this lady has a habit of breaking people's hands for fun when they shake her hands.
May frowned. It seems this Lin Yu knows her very well, it is not a good start.
"Don't be alarmed. I'm harmless darling." Lin Yu shamelessly lied hoping to ease May's tense nerves. Seeing her words not believed, Lin Yu is not worried, she continues to speak about why she is here.
"You are a strength type ability user which is very useful in the beginning of .....difficult times. But soon, every mutated creature will be evolving and a boxing technique will not be useful." Lin Yu offered some insight into her situation.
"Are you saying my ability will become useless?" May asked not showing any expression. As a woman in a sport dominated by men, she has long gotten used to people looking down on her.
"It's not a personal attack on you it's an observation. Besides, awakening a strength type power could mean you have a powerful bloodline." Having spoken up to here, she puffed up her girls in pride before making a bold statement.
"I can help you awaken it. Bloodlines come with extraordinary powers."
Lin Yu spoke as two horns grew on the sides of her head, her eyes turned ruby red with slits. Her hand on the desk grew razer sharp claws seamlessly cutting the hard wooden desk like a hot knife cutting butter.
May stood up and took a step back in apprehension. Seeing the genuine fear in her eyes, Lin Yu took back her partial transformation. After a long while, May returned to her seat she had abandoned a while ago.
"Are you still human?" May asked after calming down her rapidly beating heart.
"Of course. I didn't awaken a bloodline, I awakened by spirit body. Spirit bodies can grant partial transformation."
"Bloodline means ..well, it's in your blood. A completely different concept than a spirit body."
"What's the difference?"
"Spirit bodies could be anything. A person could awakened a scroll spirit body turning them into an unparalleled genius in most subjects. Or they can awaken a flower exuding a fragrance that grants them a variety of abilities."
"A bloodline can only be from living things. A lion, a hell hound. It could be anything, yours should be something that grants you incredible strength but it's limited like this. Only if you completely awakened will you tap into the full extent of your potential." Lin Yu has talked for a while now. She looked at May whose expression seem to hold a huge question mark.
"Do you want to be ...all that you can be? Or do you want to be a small time boss who will one day be abandoned by your people because you restrained them from doing what they really want to do to those women?" Lin Yu asked leaning back on her seat.
"What do you want?" She finally asked knowing the discontentment in her men will only grow stronger as time goes by.
She is not completely oblivious to the limitations of her power. Lin Yu is pleased to hear her inquiry. It expresses interest.
In the novel, she is plotted against by some of her men. They conspired and killed almost all the men who supported her whole heartedly and imprisoned her along with those women to vent their build up frustration on them. If not for the timely rescue of her half siblings...
Many of the children die, the women killed themselves seeing their children being used for food and lastly, May Torry completely became numb to the cruelty of humans.
She was broken down and then her elder sister came in like a knight on a horse. Lin Yu couldn't help but want to cry thinking of this story line. It's cruel and insane.
"You can somehow help me fully awaken?" She asked and saw Lin Yu nod.
"What do you want in return?" May knows nothing comes for free.
"I want to have a trusted friend in my city. You can come and continue running your women's shelter with the city lord's full support. I just need to know when I need your help, you will not refuse me." Lin Yu said lightly.
"You are this city lord I assume?" May asked.
"Yes."
"What guarantee do I have that we are safe with you?" May continued to ask.
"Well, first I'm going to be honest with you and tell you that your approach is noble but foolish. You can not protect them forever. Why not make them get stronger and independent?" Lin Yu tempted.
"Go on." She listened attentively.
"I will give you a large territory and you can use it to train them. I have some medicine that will help along the way, I guarantee many of them will awaken and become strong which will only add to your power. Of course you will all be my tenets it's only right you pay rent." Lin Yu smiled brightly and concluded.
"What pills?" May asked curious. Lin Yu took out a blood red pill. Handing it to her but she just looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
Right! She won't just eat a pill from someone she has just met. Lin Yu took out another pill and spoke "You can use this one as a test to see if it will hurt you." She said generously.
"Then you eat it." She suggested. May is only testing if Lin Yu will refuse. But to her surprise...
Lin Yu took the pill and ate it with a roll of her eyes. This lady is really suspicious. Starting to wonder if she is even worth it.
Lin Yu groaned and spat out a mouthful of black blood that borrowed into the ground burning it as it made a hole. Lin Yu has always thought the blood cleansing pill is so painful only because she took it with the other two pills but that was an over sight.
Her entire blood started rising in temperature, just as it had done before and her skin dried up. It cracked, blood spilling out of the cracks then she fell down on a large puddle of blood. The whole process seems excruciating to May. But all Lin Yu did was groan a few times.
Her hanfu dress is now soaked in blood, some of it red most of it black and acidic. Then scales quickly grew on her body and two horns grew on her head but this time the entire head transformed looking more and more like that of a hatchling, but what kind?
The head seem to be smoking black flames, the horns look fantastically as if those of an ancient deer. The mouth has sharp teeth looking to be ready for meat. Lin Yu today felt her spirit body has four limbs and a long tail.
Odd. Snakes don't usually have limbs and horns. She felt this body is a thousand Jin more powerful than her regular body.
May watched closely as shadows embraced Lin Yu's reptile like body enveloping it completely, then a loud 'thud' sound came from inside the shadowy smoke. Then she saw it, the pair of large cold slits watching her from the shadows.
She stood up and backed away. "Are you okay? Can you come out now?" Lin Yu did come out but she is now wearing another hanfu dress the old one inside her space to wash it later. Awakened her spirit body even further than before.
"I'm here." Lin Yu said stepping out of the shadows as they vanished along with all the furniture in the room as if it never existed.
"Now, do you trust me enough to take the pill?" Lin Yu asked. In truth, May is very scared after seeing the agony on Lin Yu's face at that time.
"You're not chickening out are you? Perhaps I chose wrong." The last sentence is said in a deliberate low voice.
Lin Yu really like May and hopes to see what she will do when given a fair chance with resources from the start.
May took the pill. Lin Yu acted fast and warped them both to a roof of a building nearby. Unlike Lin Yu, May let out a blood curling scream as she felt her blood boils on her flesh.
Skin cracked and bulging muscles rapidly grew on her body as if a chain reaction from her hands to her arms the last to transform is her head. By now, she has been suffering from unimaginable pain.
Seeing this humongous creature in front of her made Lin Yu want to let out a laugh. And she did. The legendary gray ape was in front of her.
"You're huge!"
The ape looked at her and instinctively wanted to fight. Two powerful beasts in the same territory there will obviously be a fight. Lin Yu looked at the ape and then she threw a stone at it, provoking it just to see if it will be as dumb as described in the novel.
Indeed the stone angered it so much it rushed at her but she had already warped into the mall watching it through the window. Seeing the sheer size and destructive power of those ape sized limbs, Lin Yu shuddered.
There's no way she will want to fight a brainless ape who wants to 'smash' like the hulk. No way.
The ape let out a 'hoo' 'hoo' sound and to Lin Yu's surprise, it's large nostrils flared and then it turned looking straight at her.
"Shit!"
...
In the Xu family mansion.
"I don't know what happened, one minute we were doing fine. The next moment people fell into the cold water. I feel so bad. It's my fault..."
"Brother!" Lin Mei stopped her brother as he almost divulge the truth about that day.
Madame Xu looked at the Lin siblings and understood that something happened that the child's fiancé doesn't wish to divulge.
Her usually kind eyes turned sharp. She scanned the room seeing her own son be clueless and only knows how to worry endlessly.
Just then, a sharp voice sounded. "I say, how come non you fell into a coma after diving into the deep ice lake of G city? Did you take my brother out just to kill him out there? To make space for you and that Yun fella?" A female version of Xu Jun walked towards Lin Mei and gave her a resounding slap on the face.
"Xu Jing!" Mrs. Xu shouted in reprimand.
"Mom, I don't care how much you like your future daughter in law and how many resources she gave to the family, it was her own sister who stole our supplies in the first place. If my brother dies, you best believe I will bury you with him." Xu Jing shouted at Lin Mei looking to have puffy eyes as if she has cried for a long time.
Xu Jing having said her peace, turned around and left. Lin Mei could hear her soft sobs as she runs towards her room. She doesn't blame Xu Jing, if it was Lin Miyue on a coma she would also be heartbroken.
Lin Mei felt fatigue even after drinking spirit water, the matter of choosing to save Lin Miyue instead of the unconscious Xu Jun gnaws at her heart. It was an impossible choice, but she still made it. At the very least, Lin Miyue had been conscious. Still able to avoid breathing in the ice cold water, what about Xu Jun?
He had died in her last life firmly holding on to her but she...sob sob..
"Who are you?" A voice sounded from the bed. Lin Mei stood up in shock.
"Xu Jun, you're awake!" She shouted in happiness.
The man on the bed rubbed his eyebrow in annoyance at her shouting. Looking at her, he asked with an extremely displeased tone. "Who are you? Are you the new maid? Don't you know to speak softly when others are sleeping?"
Lin Mei became stunned hearing the tone of voice the other party is using on her. "Brother Xu, are you alright?"
"Who are you? Go and get me the doctor!" The tone became even more displeased hearing the familiar way she addressed him. He is a prince of a nation, 'can just anyone claimed kinship with this prince?'
Lin Mei became frightened at the man's words.
"Go and get a doctor for me quickly. This chill is spreading to my organs." The prince know very well what will happen if the cold energy sipped into his internal system. He doesn't want that to happen buy this maid is infuriating!
Just then, the 'maid' put her hand on his, and swept his body with her spirit force. "Indeed. Lay back down I know just the thing to make for you." Lin Mei left the room and came back a bowl of soup. She kept ignoring the fact that Xu Jun doesn't remember her at all.
The family is overjoyed seeing him awaken even though he woke up without his memories.
That same night, Xu Jun recovered his memories. Looking at the ceiling, he curled his lips into an impeccable smile.
"Oh? That crazy thief is here too? See how I punish you for stealing this prince's heart jade. I will hunt you down and peel off my jade from your corpse if I have to." As he laid back down, his expression is increasingly growing more and more sinister.
....
Tens of miles away from C city. Lin Yu shuddered as if a pair of eyes follow her from the sky above.
She looked at the ape running after her and thought, 'Did I make this stupid ape angry that much?'
She ran towards the forest but to her disappointment, there are no powerful beasts in there to contend against this large Ape. Having wasted an hour running away from May, Lin Yu suddenly jumped up hardening her fist with her scales armor, she punched the ape in the chest breaking something.
Just as she is about to land gracefully on the ground, the ape grabbed her by one of her feet and slammed her on the ground from side to side making her dizzy with anger.
"You..!" She is slammed on the ground again. Luckily she can now harden her scales and gain absolute protection.
Lin Yu really didn't want to maim her hero. She took out her familiar bat and shook off the hand on her foot, landed on the ground, then she smashed the knees of the ape with all her might.
A howl of pain sounded from the large animal's throat. Not feeling sorry for it, Lin Yu slammed the bat right on its head rendering it unconscious.
"Fucking animal!" Lin Yu spat trying to kick it away but it's heavy body refused to move.