Female Transformation: I Run Away When I See the Female Lead

Jing Wanyi's shield was like a candle in the wind under the attack of the monk in the fusion stage, and the golden light of the three copper coins was gnawed by the black fog, leaving only a few scattered points.

As Luosang's soft sword split the last shadow, the fallen corpses suddenly opened their eyes, their mouths etched with bloody smiles, their skin covered with dark blue curse lines at a visible speed. All the shadows stood up, and her pupils constricted. So this was the imperial family's most hidden life-saving talisman. The more puppets they sacrificed, the closer their cultivation would approach the Mahayana stage.

"Be careful! They'll be resurrected!" Luosang's warning was drowned out by the blood mist. The nearest shadow had reached Jing Jin. The moment the scimitar cleaved through the shield, Jing Wanyi rushed forward, dragging her right leg, pierced by the sword's energy. The hem of her skirt, embroidered with golden peonies, swept across the sand, splashing dark red mud.

The sound of the blade piercing her back was like a piece of rag being torn. Jing Jin felt her nose suddenly filled with the smell of rust, and her mother's warm blood sprayed on her face, hotter and fishier than rain.

"Jing Jin... close your eyes." Jing Wanyi's voice escaped from her throat like bubbles. Her fingertips were still holding half a copper coin, but she no longer had the strength to throw it out.

The black shadow kicked her away, and the python pattern on the sole of the boot rolled over the birthmark on the back of her neck. Jing Jin heard the muffled sound of her mother's ribs breaking.

Jing Jin watched Jing Wanyi die in front of her, and the memories deep in her consciousness began to shake violently.

"Why... why..." she whispered.

At this moment, Su Yan was lying in the vines in the secret realm, with the sword she handed to him stuck in his chest.

Memories shattered like a broken mirror at this moment. She saw Yan Mo waving at her from the alley entrance, clutching a freshly bought candied haws. She saw Jing Junheng shoveling a spirit frog into her bed while being chased around the yard by a toad. She saw the candlelight reflected in Jing Wanyi's pupils as she counted money, a light brighter than any gem.

But the next second, all these images were torn apart by the harsh sound of brakes - the steel frame of the truck pierced Su Yan's chest, and warm blood splashed on her face, mixed with the smell of engine oil, which was fishier and hotter than the rain in the ghost town.

"Jing..." Su Yan's voice was like crumpled paper. The black blood from his throat dripped down his chin, staining Jing Jin's fingertips black.

She raised her hand to wipe the blood from her lover's body, only to find her arm pierced by the steel frame, bones faintly visible beneath the tattered flesh. The moment the second truck struck, her reflection shattered into dust in Su Yan's eyes, only to find herself back in the rainy ghost town in the blink of an eye, Jing Wanyi's body being run over by the shadowy boots.

Jing Jin suddenly grabbed the other person's wrist and dug his nails deep into the curse pattern on his throat. The black shadow let out an inhuman roar, and black blood gushed out from under his skin.

The Phantom Flower hummed with contentment in the secret realm, its vines trembling with excitement. It watched the blood drop from Jing Jin's palm take root. Its petals condensed not with dew but with a hatred that could feed on countless meals: Yan Mo's severed head, Jing Wanyi's pierced abdomen, and countless unknown lives. These fragments transformed into nutrients that seeped into the soil, thickening the roots of the Phantom Flower even more. The bud was about to bloom into the most beautiful flower of death.

The ground of the ghost town suddenly trembled, and an ancient formation rose from beneath the bluestone slabs. The totem engraved with runes glowed a faint blue light in the rain. Those dark figures who stepped into the formation were instantly engulfed by lightning and fire, emitting shrill screams.

An old man came from nowhere, holding a bronze lamp. Wherever the flame passed, the black shadow's body turned into ashes.

The vines of the magic flower wrapped around Su Yan's body, but the moment they touched Jing Jin, the vines became dangerous.

A strange red light swirled in the girl's pupils, a demonic aura fueled by countless regrets and murderous intent. With a gentle wave of the blood-red sword in her hand, the vines melted like butter in the heat, revealing the deep, bone-deep wound on Su Yan's chest, the fatal wound she had inflicted herself.

"I'll take you home." Jing Jin's voice was horribly hollow, like a fragment fished out of the abyss. She picked up Su Yan's body, and his head rested weakly on her shoulder, his hair brushing against her chin, reminding her of her alive.

But at this moment, Su Yan's blood was dripping through her fingers, but she didn't know where the home Su Yan was talking about was.

The phantom flower finally blossomed, its massive buds splitting open to reveal a dense mass of human faces within—those who had died because of her. Jing Jin looked up and saw Jing Wanyi, holding Jing Junheng, standing within the flower's stamens, offering her a gentle smile. But the next moment, those faces twisted into hideous, monstrous forms, screaming in unison, "It's all you! You killed us!"

Jing Jin's blood-red sword erupted in her hand, a blinding red light. She swung her sword at the Magic Flower, each petal shattering with a sound like shattering memories. She lost count of how many times she struck, until her arm could no longer be lifted, until the Magic Flower's roots were reduced to ash.

Jing Jin sat on the ruins holding Su Yan. Her clothes were already soaked with blood, and her hair was stuck to her face, covering her empty eyes.

She lowered her head to look at Su Yan's face, gently stroking his closed eyes, and suddenly remembered the first time they met, Su Yan smiled and said to her: "You are so beautiful." At that time, Su Yan's eyes were filled with sunshine, but now those eyes were closed forever, and even the blood beads on the eyelashes revealed a dead silence.

"Where is the home you're talking about..." Jing Jin's whisper was carried away by the draft, and no one answered.

When she stood up, she found that Su Yan in her arms was indeed getting lighter and lighter, so light that she wondered if her arm had lost sensation. But when she looked down, the blood was still spreading, but she didn't dare to let go, for fear that if she let go, even the last bit of warmth would disappear.

Jing Jin saw a line appear on the wall of the ruins: "The root of obsession, eternal damnation." She stared at the words until they dissipated into dust.

She began to walk aimlessly, the sound of her boots crunching the grass being particularly clear in the dead silence.

Su Yan in her arms became more and more transparent, and the moonlight could directly penetrate her body. Jing Jin counted her mechanical steps, but she didn't know how long she had walked, until her arms suddenly felt empty, and Su Yan's body turned into thousands of light points, falling from between her fingers and blending into the dust under her feet.

She froze in place, her arms still clasped in a hug. The wind blew up her messy hair and dried the tears on her face, but it couldn't blow away the cold emptiness in her chest.

"No... Impossible..." Her voice was hoarse and unlike her own. She stretched out her trembling hands to grab the scattered light spots, but she only grabbed a handful of emptiness.

Jing Jin suddenly jumped up, and the sword brought out a scarlet arc of light when it was unsheathed. She slashed wildly at everything around her. The sword tip hit the broken walls and sparks flew, and she was unaware that the flying gravel scratched her cheek.

She roared and screamed, turning all her despair, regret, and unwillingness into fierce sword moves, until this small world was devastated and her arms could no longer lift the sword.

Jing Jin was sitting paralyzed, staring at the blood-stained sword in a daze. Her pale face was reflected on the blade, and her eyes were as empty as the abyss.

She slowly placed the tip of the sword against her heart, and with a gentle push, she would be able to follow them.

But at this moment, Aunt Mo's last words and everything else flashed through her mind like a kaleidoscope. They had exchanged their lives for her survival, but now they had become shackles that bound her.

"Why... do you want me to live..." She curled up into a ball, tears falling to the ground. The breeze brushed across her thin back, bringing a bone-chilling chill.

Jing Jin looked at the dawn rising in the sky. For the first time, she felt that the dawn was so dazzling. She didn't know how to survive.