Rebirth: The Time-locked Girl
Chapter 392 Big reveal! Emotional progress【2 updates】

Chapter 392: 392 Big reveal! Emotional progress【2 updates】

The sound of bones breaking was crystal clear in the air.

But strangely, Ye Wanlan, looking at her dangling arm, didn’t feel any pain.

Nor was it the bustling streets of Yunjing before her eyes, but a dark space of infinite expanse, with no end in sight.

There was a faint light in the space that allowed her to see clearly what was grasping her.

Indeed, it was a person, but this person was wrapped entirely in white bandages, revealing only the lips and a pair of dark eyes.

A Bandaged Person whose age and gender were indistinguishable.

Ye Wanlan’s reaction was extremely quick; she pressed down on the Bandaged Person’s hand with a counter move!

"Bang!"

The Bandaged Person, apparently not anticipating such a swift counterattack, failed to respond in time, and his body crashed heavily to the ground.

Ye Wanlan expressionlessly reset her arm in its socket.

Such minor injuries were nothing to her, far from the pain she inflicted on herself.

Trapped in time at the very beginning, she even attempted various self-harming methods to break free from the time loop.

"Worthy of being a Time Escapee..." A grim laugh emanated from beneath the bandages, as unpleasant as the sound of a broken bellows, sending shivers down one’s spine, "You’re much stronger than the Time Betrayers I’ve killed. Once I kill you, my merit will be even greater, and then I can claim my reward!"

The moment his words fell, he swooped toward Ye Wanlan at explosive speed, the air crackling around him.

The Bandaged Person planned a quick battle, to kill Ye Wanlan and then continue his pursuit of new targets.

He had no time to waste with Ye Wanlan here.

However, what happened next was completely beyond the Bandaged Person’s expectations.

Ye Wanlan didn’t dodge or evade but faced his attack head-on.

It was a brutal close combat, relying solely on fists and legs.

But each move was ferociously lethal, meant to kill.

Ye Wanlan never learned useless martial arts; if she learned something, it was meant for killing.

"Crack!"

Ye Wanlan fiercely seized the Bandaged Person’s wrist, preventing him from moving an inch: "Why do you call me a Time Escapee?"

"You don’t know? You really don’t know?" The Bandaged Person suddenly burst into laughter, "You have the power but lack the necessary information. You will spend your life being pursued and never become a Hunter. How pitiful!"

Ye Wanlan looked at him calmly, saying nothing.

"You escaped the time loop; thus, you are now a Time Escapee." The Bandaged Person chuckled intermittently, "Time Betrayers are a rank below you. They’re easy to kill."

"I see." Ye Wanlan smiled faintly, "The puzzle that’s been troubling me has finally begun to unravel. At first, I was a Time Betrayer, but after leaving the 999-year time loop, I became a Time Escapee."

Hearing this, the Bandaged Person finally showed signs of distress.

He stared disbelievingly, his hoarse voice issuing a shrill scream, "How long did you say the loop was? Impossible! Absolutely impossible! You’re lying to me! Lying!"

Most Time Escapees only looped for a few days, at most two or three years.

The longer one is trapped by time, the less likely they are to escape.

How could someone trapped by time for nine hundred and ninety-nine years still escape?

No—!

How could someone trapped for so long have not gone mad?!

He’d killed many a Time Escapee, but nine out of ten were insane.

No one could endure the same day repeated day after day.

What does 999 years mean?

Over three hundred thousand identical beginnings, with no new day ever arriving.

Who wouldn’t go mad?

But this seemingly frail girl had not. If she had not gone mad, then the time loop was not a prison for her, but a gift!

What heights could one reach with an extra few hundred years to learn more?

He’d encountered a terror of a Time Escapee!

That moment, the Bandaged Person lost his will to fight and turned to run.

But Ye Wanlan grasped his throat, and he was unable to move.

"Where do you think you’re going?" Ye Wanlan said coldly, "You bring me here and think you can just walk away? Tell me, where did you and that Transcendent Woman come from?"

Unable to escape, the Bandaged Person finally gave up struggling.

Ye Wanlan’s grip tightened: "Speak!"

"You can’t escape," the Bandaged Person replied but did not answer, seemingly uttering a cold chuckle, "Killing me will be of no use. As long as ’time’ has branded you, you will be pursued continuously until you die unless..."

Ye Wanlan fixed her eyes on his bandage-covered face: "Unless what?"

But the following words were never heard as the Bandaged Person simply faded before her eyes.

More accurately, he disintegrated into dust bit by bit.

With the Bandaged Person’s death, the darkness scattered before Ye Wanlan, and light poured in, revealing the faces of Yan Tingfeng and Xiang Shaoyu.

"Miss Ye?" Seeing her open her eyes, Xiang Shaoyu let out a long sigh of relief, "What happened? You’ve been standing there motionless, not responding to calls. Did something happen? Was there a Psychic who attacked you from thousands of miles away?"

Ye Wanlan repeated, "I’ve been standing there all this while, without moving?"

Hearing this, Yan Tingfeng’s brows furrowed, and he gestured for Xiang Shaoyu to step back a few paces before supporting Ye Wanlan’s shoulders, asking in a low voice, "Did she come again?"

"It’s not her," Ye Wanlan gently shook her head, "But... there’s a possibility they come from the same place, because their objectives are the same—they want my life."

Different from the Transcendent Woman who called her a "Time Betrayer," the Bandaged Person labeled her a "Time Escapee."

Ye Wanlan massaged her temples slowly, a clue gradually becoming clear in her mind.

Since she was entitled a "Time Escapee" due to escaping the time loop.

Then her initial title of "Time Betrayer" was it because she carried her memories through reincarnation, something not permissible to "time"?

She had defied "time" and hence had been given the title of "Time Betrayer"?

Ye Wanlan closed her eyes again, her mind storming at full speed.

The Bandaged Person had said the powers of a "Time Escapee" were greater than those of a "Time Betrayer," perhaps explaining why the Transcendent Woman failed to take over her body on her second assault.

If a "Time Escapee" is a higher existence than a "Time Betrayer," then what would the next level be?

The highest level?

Ye Wanlan opened her eyes and slowly clenched her fingers.

After killing the Bandaged Person, she indeed felt her spirit had grown considerably stronger.

The Bandaged Person had also said she was marked by "time" and would continually be pursued by others until she died.

She was the prey; these were the Hunters.

Then, let her see what these Hunters are capable of.

As long as she did not die, she would keep getting stronger.

"It’s really hard to guard against." Yan Tingfeng’s pupils harbored a glint of ferocity, "It seems these people’s powers do not belong to our world."

"I’m fine," Ye Wanlan replied with a faint smile, "I countered him. I’ll be waiting for the next one to come after me."

Yan Tingfeng fell silent and, after a while, heaved a sigh, "I promised your uncle I would protect you, but sometimes, I really feel powerless."

"How could that be," Ye Wanlan raised her eyebrows, "You’ve protected me. Without you, I would have died in the depths of the Nanling Sea without understanding why I died."

She lifted her hand, stroking his silver-white hair: "I can now trust you enough to place my back in your hands."

This statement made Yan Tingfeng’s heart tremble.

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

His heart palpitated unrestrainedly, as if it would burst forth.

The back is both the weakest and most unguarded part of a person; to hand it over means entrusting one’s life.

Even though the nine Lords of Highest Heaven Tower were loyal to him, he still couldn’t fully trust them with his back.

Only someone like him understood how precious such trust could be.

"But I am indeed somewhat tired now," Ye Wanlan said, massaging her brow, "I need to rest for a day before we leave. It’s not a good idea to enter the Northern Lands without being fully recovered."

Yan Tingfeng came back to his senses, copying Ye Wanlan and gently stroking her hair: "Alright."

**

At this very moment, in the Northern Lands.

An elder tapped on the table, inquiring, "You’re sure Xiang Shaoyu is coming to the Northern Lands and will attend this banquet?"

"Confirmed," Matvey replied respectfully.

"If he dares come to the Northern Lands, then he shouldn’t think about going back," the elder murmured dispassionately, "If they want him to return, the Xiang Family must trade something from the Qianyuan Treasury."

Three hundred years ago, the Northern Lands took away a number of antiques, but they knew the real treasures were hidden in the Qianyuan Treasury.

"You’re right," Matvey smiled, "He even dreams of taking King of Yan’s relic back to his country, what a daydream and a fantasy."

Since ancient times, the Northern Lands have always been unyielding, with the only concession made because of Princess Yongning.

Alas, Princess Yongning is long dead!

Who else could there be?