Gui Yuan

Panting, she stared with fascinated terror at Ah Gui's contorted face.

His lip curled in a grim smile. "Or so you thought. Perhaps I'll be the one to kill you, after all, little snake."

Qingqing's hand crept up to her throat and touched the stinging flesh with a wince. Even withotu looking she knew there would be a bruise there. She darted a glance at him, feeling uneasiness creep up on her. His spirit energy aura was definitely stronger than the last time they had fought.

"You snakes think you're the only clever ones, don't you?" Ah Gui chuckled softly. He took a step towards her and Qingqing instinctively retreated, hand at her throat. Her heart was pounding.

His eyes narrowed to slits as he looked at her. "That day, you left me for dead. How arrogant you are, little snake. You told me you snakes make bad enemies. But we terrapin spirits, we don't die so easily."

Qingqing's eyes followed his every movement. "I was a fool," she whispered numbly to herself. "I should have made sure you were dead before I left you."

"I have you to thank, then," Ah Gui said with an ugly smile. "I am stronger than before now. It will give me great pleasure to watch you die under my hands, slowly and torturously. You were so sure of yourself the other day. I'll enjoy watching you sing a different tune."

Qingqing had been watching him. The moment he sprang she leaped into the air and hurled a bolt at him. To her surprise, he was ready for it. Ah Gui brought his hands up swiftly and blocked the shot with his energy, deflecting it as if his terrapin shell was protecting him. Qingqing had to do a last minute flip in the air to avoid being hit by her own shot. Startled, she landed on the ground and gasped in pain as Ah Gui's hand landed squarely on her back.

He was faster than she expected. Clearly he had been training while he laid low recovering on the mountain. But how had his cultivation level increased so much? It should have taken a year for an ordinary terrapin spirit like him to reach this level, even with daily cultivation.

Pain rushed through her body and she felt the claw-like fingers dig into her flesh, drawing blood. Qingqing struggled wildly, feeling like a butterfly in the claws of a praying mantis. The harder she struggled, the deeper his claws seemed to sink into her, like the thorned palms of the mantis.

Panic made her lose her head. Without really considering what would have been the best move she tried desperately to get away, anything to break free and escape. A lightning-bolt memory of how she had escaped his grasp earlier on flashed across her mind and Qingqing transformed into her snake form, hoping to slip to the ground and get away from those claws. But Ah Gui had seen this trick too recently and he was prepared. Just as rapidly he turned back into his terrapin form.

A large, battered-looking terrapin with a blunt snout and powerful jaws, he landed on his feet before Qingqing did, due to his weight, and the next thing she knew she was falling through the air straight into the waiting jaws of the terrapin.

Qingqing felt him clamp onto her tail. The terrapin's bite, though without teeth, was even harder to shake off than his human grasp. She thrashed about frantically, maddened by the pain, but the terrapin stood his ground stolidly and the snake was helpless. Qingqing struck blindly at him but her fangs only hit uselessly into his thick shell and the impact made her even dizzier than the pain.

Was this really how she was going to die? Killed in this ignominious way by this upstart terrapin spirit? Sister Bai would never know what had happened to her. Yuanzheng would wonder why she never came back…

Qingqing transformed back into her human form and managed to tear the terrapin off her leg in a vehement gesture, though part of her flesh came away as well in his jaws. She flung him away with a gasp of nauseated relief, too shaken to seize the chance and land a blow before he could change back. Her legs buckled and she fell to the ground, scrabbling clumsily at the earth as she tried to get up. His bite had broken the bone, she realized in terror. How was she going to get away?

Ah Gui landed on his feet, and smiled as he saw her cowering before him on the ground. Blood smeared the ground from her hurt leg as she dragged herself across the ground, and dust stained her face. Her eyes stared up at him in terror, wide and frightened.

"How does it feel now, my lady, to know that a lowly terrapin spirit is going to kill you? What a shame to die like this, a high and mighty snake spirit like yourself," he sneered.

Crouching down, he watched her keenly, clearly enjoying the sight of her bleeding in the dirt. Qingqing knew she would not be able to get away easily. Her brain seemed to have turned blank. No one would possibly be able to help her now. If she wanted to get out of this alive, she would have to think of something.

"My name is Gui Yuan. The least you can do is address me respectfully, something you would never deign to do in real life, you little arrogant bitch."

"Gui Yuan," she repeated, her voice thin and dry. What other choice did she have?

"Respectfully." His glare dug into her.

She swallowed. "Master Gui Yuan." Her voice was like a croak.

Gui Yuan smiled. He laughed, softly at first, then louder, until his laugh rang through the forest, a dark, mocking sound. "Ah, how sweet that sounds to my ears. Little wretch, it was worth being beaten half-dead by you if only so that I could have today."

Her eyes met his, unspoken defiant underlying the fear in them. A slow realization was dawning in her.

"You got your spirit energy from those corpses," she said slowly. "You were the one who ate their hearts."