Sundering Nature

TL: ZhaoEditing: Krisaia

“Is it him?” Five men in black were standing at the entrance of the fruit shop. The man who seemed to be the leader asked one of his subordinates. 

“We have a match. He should be the right guy.” One of the men holding a scanner answered hesitantly. 

“Alright, bring him along.” The man who led the group frowned as he looked at the rather odd scene in the fruit shop: a young man tied to a chair, a small child, and a woman who was frightened for her life. ‘Well… shit… He’s doing it again… How did the police track this guy that quickly?’ 

“Are you here to save us?” Wu Jia skirted around Li Tie and ran toward the men in black with a smile, desperate for help. 

“Don’t!” Chen Jiawang noticed that there was something wrong with the men in black. 

“Yeah, yeah, you’re rescued alright.” The leader said and one of his subordinates reached into their pockets. 

“She’s thinking of you as her savior, and this is how you repay her?” A voice was heard from behind. The group of men turned around in shock and prepared themselves for a fight. 

Standing behind them was a middle-aged police officer, who seemed to be high-ranked based on the shoulder pads of his uniform.

“Who are you?” The leader knew full well that very few could make their way into their current location, meaning that the man in front of them was no ordinary person. 

“I’m just passing by.” The police officer said with a smile, completely ignoring the question. 

“We’re from Yunyu corporation.” The man in black decided to reveal their background. 

“I know.” The police officer kept his smile and looked at Bai Ze instead. 

“Who… who are you?” Li Tie, who had barely recovered from Bai Ze’s slap, asked with a weak voice. He looked at the empty streets, at the still clock hanging by the wall of the fruit shop, and realized that he was still indeed in his “own world”. ‘So… how the hell did all those people get in here?’ 

“If you’ve heard about Yunyu Corporation, then surely you’re going to mind your own business.” The man in black threatened the police officer. He could tell from the latter was not some kind of incredibly strong foe.

“Of course. I'm just having a look.”  The officer stepped back with a smile, indicating that he was not going to intervene.

The men in black frowned but nonetheless nodded at one of his subordinates, who raised his gun in the direction of Bai Ze, Wu Jia, and Chen Jiawang.

“Watch out!” Chen Jiawang rushed forward to protect Wu Jia, putting himself in front of her.  

Instead of a gunshot, the man who held the gun suddenly knelt down with his other hand holding his hand, and blood seeping out of his wrist.

“Fang Shui’er?” The leader spotted the newcomer. 

“Don't look at me. We're not working together.” The police officer took another step back.

“I let my guard down…” The leader looked at Chen Jiawang’s glowing palm. He had thought of the latter as an ordinary person, but it was now obvious that Chen Jiawang had let himself be restrained just so the criminal would drop his guard. 

“I thought the Star Alliance was supposed to protect the innocent,” Fang Shui’er said. 

“I’m just afraid to bite off more than I can chew.” The officer shrugged his shoulders.

“You know what, I really don't like this face of yours.” Fang Shui’er said jokingly.

“If I knew that you would come, I would have shown up with a different face. How about this one?” The officer said as he began to rub his cheeks. Suddenly, his body morphed into that of a handsome young man.

“Qian Mian? Star Alliance? Fang Shui’er, you’ve joined them?” The leader jumped back, no longer able to control the situation.

“I've told you that we're not working together.” Qian Mian shook his head in frustration. 

“Not working together? Then who are you working for?” The leader turned his attention toward Fang Shui’er, but she stayed silent. The leader then had no choice but to look at Chen Jiawang. 

“We’re from… Pure Water Herb Hall!” Chen Jiawang’s heart was racing. ‘Yunyu Corporation? Star Alliance? Are these guardian organizations? Boss never told me anything about that… I’ll just have to come up with something…”

“Pure Water Herb Hall?” The leader asked with a face full of perplexion.

Unlike the leader, Fang Shui’er and Qian Mian’s eyes lit up as soon as they heard the name. They turned toward Bai Ze to see her reaction, only to see that she did not refute the claim. The two instantly thought of it as confirmation that Li Yiming had indeed created his own organization.

“I don't care which organization you're from, but we should work together as guardians. I need this guy.” The leader stated — his mission was to recruit fresh blood, not make new enemies. He supposed that neither the Star Alliance nor the organization Chen Jiawang belonged to had the courage to stand up to Yunyu Corporation. 

“He stays here,” Bai Ze suddenly interrupted.

“You…” The leader grew angry. 

Qian Mian squinted his eyes, as he was well aware of the strategic value of Li Tie’s ability. Based on what he knew, Li Tie’s ability consisted in creating a small plane of existence parallel to the world, almost like creating his own small domain. This was a much-needed asset for creating a training ground for guardians, as well as for transporting goods and weapons onto the battlefield. Furthermore, Li Tie had large potential to grow and acquire even more useful abilities.

“So are we really enemies?” The leader made one last attempt to solve the issue diplomatically. He no longer considered Bai Ze to be a frail, inoffensive little girl anymore, but he still greatly underestimated her due to her looks.

“Shit! What are you doing?!” Bai Ze suddenly spat out her apple and rushed outside.

The group of men in black backed away in a hurry, only to realize that Bai Ze was not coming for them.

‘What happened?” Qian Mian looked in the direction Bai Ze was looking, but he could not feel anything. Yet, he could see the visible anxiety and even terror on Bai Ze’s face. 

“It’s him?” Fang Shui’er suddenly felt her chest tighten. She knew that the feeling came from her connection to Li Yiming.

“No! Don’t!” Bai Ze suddenly let out a long roar which pierced the clouds all while releasing her aura, immediately affecting everyone around her.

The five men in black instantly collapsed to the ground, completely terrorized by Bai Ze’s suddenly display of might.

Qian Mian took out a jade pendant and put it in front of him. His talent was not made for combat, so there was no way he could resist Bai Ze’s might without some help. He had not expected Bai Ze to grow so much in such a short span of time.

Since Fang Shui’er was also connected to Li Yiming just like Bai Ze was, their emotions became linked - she felt Bai Ze’s terror. Her first course of action was sending the men in black flying back into the real world. 

“Sorry.” Fang Shui’er turned toward Qian Mian. Instead of pushing him out directly, she created a dome of light which instantly covered half of the city. Qian Mian’s silhouette vanished in an instant. 

“A Boundary? She’s a sage?” Qian Mian could not believe his eyes.