Runes • Rifles • Reincarnation
147. Berserk Spirit

Gold sat frozen in shock, staring down at his bare chest. Someone had removed his robes while he was unconscious—which would’ve been fine if his transformation technique had held. But judging by the lean, masculine muscles staring back at him instead of the softness of his female form, it clearly had not.

My qi must’ve run out while I was unconscious, he realized. Shit.

He was screwed. He had no idea how to salvage the situation, but he had to try.

Raising his eyes, he met the blank gaze of Nurse Xiyue. “Uh… did anyone else see me like this? If so, I can explain…”

“I am the only one,” Nurse Xiyue said, shaking her head. “Your technique unraveled just a moment ago.”

He let out a breath of relief and patted his chest—only to remember he still owed her an explanation.

“Oh, um… so the reason for my appearance is… is… uh…?” he stammered, mind scrambling for an excuse.

“Your mother already told me,” she said, as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world.

He blinked. “Oh… she did?”

She nodded, face still unreadable—expressionless as a stone.

Several moments passed in silence as she continued to stare at him.

Gold’s gaze darted nervously around the room. He had never done well with stoic people. His eyes landed on the bloodstained medical tools. Scalpel. Forceps. Bone saw? He frowned. As far as he remembered, no one had been injured badly enough to warrant surgery.

Certainly not him. His wounds were serious, sure, but nothing surgical. And there were no incisions or stitches on his body.

Then a terrible thought struck him.

“Did… did I injure Bing Hou badly?”

Nurse Xiyue tilted her head slightly. “No.”

“Then what’s with the bloody tools?”

“They were used on Ling Shi and Tian Li.”

“Oh… Wait. Who?!”

Adrenaline surged through him. He leapt to his feet despite the pain, heart pounding like a drum. Jin Shu’s dormant psyche surged forward, taking over in an instant.

Grabbing Nurse Xiyue by the shoulders, he asked again, more forcefully this time. “Who did you say?!”

“Get dressed first,” she replied, calm as ever, glancing down.

“Tell me!” he shouted, ignoring her words entirely.

“Haa…” she sighed, then placed her palm flat against his chest.

He felt her qi spread through his body—and suddenly he went completely limp, collapsing onto the cold stone floor. Then her qi lifted him gently and laid him back on the cot.

“What—!?”

“Quiet,” she said, calm but commanding—her tone brooked no argument. “Sit still, and I’ll tell you.”

Tian Li rose to her feet and took a fencer’s stance, her embroidery needle spirit transformed into a slender sword, poised to strike with the speed of a viper.

Across from her, Ling Shi began forming hand signs to summon her spirit. But Tian Li wasn’t about to give her the chance. She lunged forward and hurled her sword like a javelin.

Ling Shi flinched and abandoned her signs, twisting her body just in time to avoid the incoming blade. It sailed past where she had stood a heartbeat ago.

But Tian Li wasn’t finished.

With a sharp tug on the invisible thread attached to the hilt, the sword reversed midair. Spinning like a thrown shuttle in a loom, it pierced deep into Ling Shi’s left shoulder—slicing through muscle, severing nerves, and striking bone. Her left arm fell limp, completely immobilized.

Tian Li moved to circle her, attempting to ensnare Ling Shi in the thread. But Ling Shi pivoted, refusing to let her opponent gain the advantage of her back.

Snarling through the pain of the embedded blade, Ling Shi lunged with her good arm, reaching to grab Tian Li.

In response, Tian Li yanked the thread again—ripping the needle-sword clean through Ling Shi’s back.

Ling Shi crumpled to the floor.

For a moment, it seemed the battle was over. Tian Li advanced, her sword back in hand, its tip leveled at her fallen opponent.

But it wasn’t over.

With a guttural cry, Ling Shi summoned her spirit—this time without sealing its will.

A naked ape burst into existence behind her, bellowing with rage. Before Tian Li could react, the massive creature was already mid-swing, its gnarled club arcing toward her.

Tian Li leapt back, just barely evading the blow as the club slammed into the stone floor. The impact sent a shockwave of force crashing across the arena, flinging her hair back and pushing her several steps further away.

She stumbled back, but quickly regained her footing. With a sharp flick of her wrist, she spun the thread attached to the needle's hilt, whipping her weapon into tight loops overhead. The blade blurred, its speed increasing until it nearly vanished from sight.

Then she let go.

The needle shot through the air like a bolt of lightning—its blinding speed leaving only a flicker in its wake—before burying itself deep into the naked ape’s right eye.

GRAWR!!

The spirit shrieked in pain. One massive hand clawed at the tiny needle jutting from its face, while the other flailed wildly with its club.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The gnarled weapon slammed into the stone floor again and again, striking blindly in every direction—

“Ah!” Ling Shi cried out as shards of debris struck her. One chunk caught her squarely in the side.

“Stop!” she shouted, voice cracking with desperation.

But the spirit didn’t stop. It couldn’t.

It had completely lost control.

The ape swung again, this time its club smashing into Ling Shi’s already wounded arm. Bone crunched. Flesh flattened.

“AHH!!” she screamed as her arm was driven into the arena floor, bending at a sickening angle.

Gasps echoed through the crowd as realization dawned.

“Is Senior Ling Shi’s spirit out of control?”

“Did she attack herself?!”

“This is the first time I’ve seen a berserk spirit…”

“Shouldn’t the elders be stepping in by now?”

“They’ll intervene when it gets really dangerous… I think?”

On stage, Ling Shi desperately attempted to dismiss her spirit, reaching deep into her soul to force it back—but the naked ape refused. Its berserk rage overpowered her will.

And it wasn’t finished.

With a howl, the beast raised its club high—freeing Ling Shi—and hurled it across the arena, straight at Tian Li.

Tian Li had been waiting. She’d expected the match to be called off once the spirit lost control. But when no elder moved, and no referee stepped in, she realized:

They weren’t going to stop it until someone won. Or someone died.

She moved.

The club thundered past her, barely missing, the force of it rattling the air.

Without hesitation, she yanked on the thread still lodged in the spirit’s eye. The needle tore free in a spray of blood-like qi.

RAWR!!

The spirit roared in agony, its fury now completely unrestrained—its rampage about to reach its peak.

“Wait—why didn’t anyone call off the match?” Jin Shu interrupted, cutting into Xi Yue’s explanation.

She gave him a look. An annoyed look. At least, he thought it was a look of annoyance, though her expression remained as unreadable as ever.

“The Sect Master was going to call it off,” she said. “However, Elder Lu—Ling Shi’s master—disagreed.”

Jin Shu blinked. “But her disciple was the one getting hurt the most. Why would she stop it from ending?”

Xi Yue shrugged. “I’m not sure. I wasn’t there. I only learned what happened after the fact.”

“Hmm…”

Jin Shu frowned, unsettled. He couldn’t understand why his stepmother would allow the fight to continue under such dangerous circumstances—even if Elder Lu objected. The only people he could imagine influencing her decision were either his mother or Grand Elder Feng. But neither of them would’ve let a berserk spirit run loose... would they?

“Can I continue?” Xi Yue asked, snapping him out of his thoughts.

“Oh… yeah. Sorry. Go ahead.”

“As I was saying,” she resumed, her tone even and precise, “here’s what happened next…”

The needle-sword snapped back into Tian Li’s hand, the invisible thread coiling around her arm like a serpent. She let the weapon drop, letting it dangle loosely as she began forming hand seals.

Across the arena, the berserk spirit charged.

It lifted a massive foot and kicked at her. She couldn’t risk a large movement—disrupting her qi mid-seal could be fatal—so she waited until the last possible moment before dodging, fingers never stopping their intricate dance.

She narrowly avoided the stomp, but the naked ape wasn't finished. It snatched up its discarded club and brought it down in a brutal arc.

She was too slow.

The club slammed into her side, sending her flying into the arena’s qi barriers with a sickening crunch. Pain exploded through her as her right ankle twisted on impact. But Tian Li wasn’t one to quit over a broken bone.

Before the next strike could land, she forced herself to her feet and ducked beneath the spirit’s legs. Her weapon whipped around one of its ankles, then the other, binding them with invisible thread.

The ape lost its balance, stumbling just long enough for her to limp toward Ling Shi, who was still on the ground—struggling, failing to regain control over her spirit. Her left arm hung uselessly, and without both hands, she couldn’t complete the necessary seals.

Ling Shi looked up as Tian Li’s shadow fell over her.

“…End it,” she whispered, voice hollow.

Tian Li didn’t answer. She simply raised her hand, preparing to strike.

GRAWR!!

The naked ape roared.

It had found the threads binding its legs—and with one violent motion, shredded them to ribbons.

“Ahh!!” Tian Li cried out, clutching her head as soul pain ripped through her. Her spirit had been damaged once again, and the recoil this time was far worse. Darkness encroached on her vision as she staggered, nearly losing consciousness.

Sensing an opportunity, Ling Shi surged up and threw her one working arm around Tian Li’s neck, trying to ensnare her.

But in doing so, she sealed both their fates.

The naked ape raised its club and hurled it like a disc. It spun through the air faster than either of them could react.

The club struck Tian Li square in the chest, the force launching both girls backward. They skidded across the stage and crashed into the qi barrier with enough impact to make it flicker.

Ling Shi, pinned behind Tian Li, absorbed the brunt of the collision.

Both fell unconscious from the severity of their wounds.

With Ling Shi unconscious, the berserk spirit dissipated, retreating into her soul.

The match was declared a tie.