So I Had No Choice But to Stop Being the White Moonlight – Chapter 51

“Don’t love me, I’m free.”

The night was like ink. A few low, dark clouds pressed down from the sky, silently and without a sound covering the silver moon’s silhouette.

The dim light and the dense leaves coordinated, lightly and easily concealing the figure shuttling through.

The surroundings were quiet and still, but the sha sha¹ sound from the branches continuously betrayed the person’s tracks.

The stepped-on leaves hung in the bushes. When the light hit them, it revealed a path that looked like broken walls and ruined fences².

Chi Qian shuttled along the densest tree shade. Through the green that filled her eyes, she continuously looked back at the glaring light in the distance.

Suddenly, for some unknown reason, the high-beam light that had been chasing her the whole way disappeared.

She stopped in her tracks, nervously glancing around. Her heart hammered against her chest, venting its exhaustion.

And unease.

This isn’t right.

Did the killer realize I’m not Shi Jinlan? Or did another killer find the real Shi Jinlan I hid?

“!”

A glaring light suddenly flashed in the darkness, crashing into Chi Qian’s eyes with crude violence.

She squeezed her eyes shut in extreme discomfort. Standing in the halo of light was a man dressed as a fisherman.

“Miss Shi.” The killer spoke slowly and deliberately. He had an expression of someone with a victory ticket in hand³ as he looked at the woman he’d locked in the center of the light.

All around them was pitch black, and the harsh, unnatural light was extremely unsettling.

Chi Qian clenched her fists, watching the man gradually approach. Forcing herself to be calm, she imitated Shi Jinlan’s manner. “Whatever my Uncle⁴ offered you, I can give you double.”

Hearing this, the killer’s lips twisted into a smile, and he stared at her like prey. “I’m afraid Miss Shi can’t give me what my Boss can.”

“I thought you were going to say your line of work has rules, like ‘one deal, one payment.'” Chi Qian’s psychological fortitude was unprecedentedly strong. She actually had the nerve to make small talk with a killer.

“That’s a great reason.” The killer chuckled at her words and lowered his head, pulling a knife from his pocket. “After I finish this job, I’ll use that line for the next one.”

“Then you add oil⁵.” As soon as Chi Qian spoke, she turned and ran.

She never expected the killer to agree or be persuaded.

She was only doing this to solidify the fact that she was “Shi Jinlan.” It would be even better if she could distract the killer a little more.

The killer hadn’t expected “Shi Jinlan” to react so quickly. He had only shifted his gaze for a moment, and she had seized the opportunity to run.

How could he let prey that was already in his mouth get away? This was an absolute disgrace!

Filled with resentment, the man gripped his knife, latched onto Chi Qian’s retreating figure, and gave chase.

This was an escape that was destined to fail.

The killer’s physical fitness was extremely high; Chi Qian was no match for him.

But unlike the killer, who was a complete stranger to this mountain forest, Chi Qian relied on her subconscious judgment. She ran wildly through the overgrown mountain night with a familiarity that was like a fish in water⁶.

It’s as if I’ve run this path before.

Chi Qian was startled by the thought, but the current situation gave her no time to ponder it.

The killer was still in hot pursuit. The two of them, one in front and one behind, maintained this precarious distance that was just short of letting her escape for a very long time.

This continued until she ran further ahead, and the mountain path suddenly became less complex.

The taste of iron filled Chi Qian’s throat. She ran for her life, watching as the familiar landmarks around her were gradually whittled away.

The greenery was no longer dense; a rugged black line cut through the dimness.

The killer’s light spread out behind Chi Qian, pushing aside a patch of dense green ahead and revealing the ferocious-looking tree trunks growing on the cliff face.

It was a cliff.

Dong dong!⁷

Two heartbeats hammered against Chi Qian’s chest like the God of Death knocking on her door.

Her frantic steps screeched to a halt, and her breathing hitched along with them.

It seems this is the place from the original novel where I’m supposed to jump.

“You’ve reached the end of the road, Miss Shi,” the killer’s voice came from behind her.

His footsteps slowed to a pace that was not hurried and not slow⁸. Watching Chi Qian run herself to the cliff’s edge like this, he couldn’t help but laugh. “You really chose a fine escape route for yourself.”

“Fine or not, I still bought myself several tens of minutes.” Chi Qian turned around, her expression blank. She wanted to imitate Shi Jinlan’s manner, to be like a light breeze and pale clouds⁹, but her ragged breathing kept making her break her skill¹⁰.

As if all the bad things were arriving at once, her asthma decided to join the fray.

Chi Qian felt her throat swelling as air was squeezed into her mouth. She couldn’t get enough oxygen, and the thick, metallic scent of blood filled her senses again. Every breath was torture.

They won’t even let me have a quick and painless death.

“Heh.” Clutching at her throat, Chi Qian sneered.

It was then that she discovered that, at some point, the pain in her heart had stopped.

That was the System’s alarm, warning her about whether Shi Jinlan was safe. Its current silence transmitted a message to Chi Qian: Shi Jinlan was, at the very least, safe.

That’s great.

The cold moon passed through the heavy, dark clouds, casting a faint trail of light onto the dim cliff.

A trace of desolation flickered in Chi Qian’s eyes, and her tense expression melted away with a long sigh of relief.

She pretended her left leg was injured, retreating step-by-step to give the appearance of stalling. “Does Shi Cheng want my whole corpse?”

“The Boss wants to see the person if you’re alive and the corpse if you’re dead. Even if you jump from here, I still have to bring you back. It’s just a matter of a little extra effort,” the killer said, as if sketching lightly and painting faintly¹¹.

He took a step forward; Chi Qian took one back.

They were at a stalemate. In the silence, the sound of a small stone rolling down could be heard.

No one heard it land.

And no one could see her tiny shadow being swallowed by the night.

The wind howled, lifting the young woman’s long hair.

Chi Qian was still forced to the edge of the cliff.

It was only now that Chi Qian realized that knowing you’ll be on a cliff’s edge and actually arriving there were two completely different feelings.

She thought she was fully prepared. She had even pulled Thirteen along to watch pop-science analyses of falling from great heights, trying to figure out the least painful posture to fall in.

But when the night wind from the cliff’s edge whistled past her ears, the gentleness she was used to transformed into a ferocity that circled high in the sky.

A sharp clamor pierced her eardrums and shot straight to her heart, awakening the primal unease and fear deep within her consciousness.

Near north.¹²

Chi Qian gripped her hands tightly.

She suddenly remembered that in her original world, she didn’t even dare to try bungee jumping.

Can I take it back? I’m fine with another way of dying…

Suddenly, Chi Qian’s heart gave in to cowardice.¹³

Her courage was just that small; even facing Shi Jinlan for the first time had scared her half to death.

Shi Jinlan.

As those two words imprinted themselves on her mind, her tense gaze softened for a second.

I’m not jumping for any other reason. It’s to prevent those killers from discovering the fact that I’m substituting the package¹⁴. I have to delay. I have to make sure Shi Jinlan is safe. She has that huge gash on her leg and can’t move. I can’t let her face any danger.

Under the glaring light, the killer saw Chi Qian’s eyes suddenly grow firm, as if she had made a decision.

“Then I’ll have to trouble you to come down and find my corpse.”

The moonlight was bright and clear. Chi Qian raised the corners of her eyes slightly, smiling at the killer.

The moment she finished speaking, all hesitation and cowardice vanished. She decisively threw herself backward.

Toward the cliff.

Toward her end in this story…

“!”

Just as the frantic wind and the feeling of weightlessness began to engulf her, the hand she had subconsciously raised was seized by a powerful force.

An icy coldness pressed against her wrist. Amidst the gray, dusty scent of earth, a clear fragrance descended.

What?!

Chi Qian couldn’t believe the answer her senses were giving her, and she snapped her eyes open.

The cold moon hung high. Under the mottled tree shadows was Shi Jinlan’s face.

Somehow, she had suddenly appeared here. Her hands gripped Chi Qian’s arm tightly, arresting her fall.

Chi Qian’s eyes filled with disbelief. Behind Shi Jinlan, the killer was inexplicably curled up on the ground.

Thirteen was here too. It bared its sharp claws and circled the man, continuously pouncing to claw and bite him, preventing him from getting up. Fresh blood bloomed across the brown earth.

“Give me your hand. I’ll pull you up,” Shi Jinlan said, desperately gripping Chi Qian’s arm and signaling for her to offer her other hand.

But Chi Qian delayed in lifting her other hand.

The joy of their reunion was quickly scattered by the cold wind.

This isn’t finding life in a desperate situation. This is forcing Shi Jinlan to watch me die with her own eyes.

Thirteen, what in the world are you doing…

For a moment, Chi Qian’s mind collapsed. She understood almost instantly why Thirteen had let Shi Jinlan come here.

She bit down hard, her eyes, as she looked at Shi Jinlan, were layered with despair.

Even when this broken System had punished her in the past, nearly costing her her life, she had never hated this damn thing as much as she did now. She wished she could dismantle it and eat it.

“Ah Lan, you can’t pull me up.” Chi Qian didn’t know what else she could do for Shi Jinlan. All I can do now, she thought, is try to lessen her guilt as much as possible.

I have to die. But Shi Jinlan doesn’t need to see me fall from this cliff and be trapped in this moment forever.

“I can do it! Just hold on to me!” Shi Jinlan refused, gripping Chi Qian’s hand with a firmness that bordered on paranoia, trying to pull her up with all her might.

The last time she’d rolled down the hillside, Chi Qian had done the exact same thing.

She refused to believe she couldn’t do what Chi Qian had done.

The rough edge of the cliff scraped against her wrist, tearing open her jade-like skin. Bright red blood bloomed in Chi Qian’s vision.

No more.

Don’t try to save me anymore.

It felt as if a hand was viciously wringing her heart.

She had never imagined someone in this world would so resolutely try to save her. The mix of being moved and the pain of guilt twisted together like a silver blade, carving her open, piece by piece.

“Miao—!”

Suddenly, a shrill cat’s cry rang out.

The killer had found his chance. He seized Thirteen by the neck and hurled it away.

【Zizi,¹⁵ Host… I’m fine… zizizizi… time… Lan’s people… zizizizi… are coming… Jump quickly… Mission… zizizizi… completed…】

The bushes made a thump, and the dense weeds swallowed Thirteen.

Thirteen’s intermittent voice echoed in Chi Qian’s mind, reminding her of the nearly completed mission.

The killer, who had been attacked by Thirteen for some time, was badly injured. There seemed to be a large gash on his body.

Thirteen’s claws must have hit the artery in his leg. Blood was flowing out unstoppably, soaking a large patch of soil.

Watching from afar, Chi Qian felt the situation was now extremely dangerous.

Both she and Shi Jinlan had appeared. The killer wouldn’t just kill her, the fake Shi Jinlan; he would kill the real one too.

No.

No!

“Ah Lan, hurry and go!” Chi Qian stared nervously at the limping killer.

“I’ll pull you up and we’ll go together!” Shi Jinlan refused.

She pulled on Chi Qian with all her might.

But it was as if something below was holding Chi Qian down. No matter how hard she pulled, it was no use. She even felt her own strength fading; she was about to lose her grip.

“Ah Lan, go!” The man in the distance had already staggered to his feet. Chi Qian grew frantic, even raising her other hand to try and pry Shi Jinlan’s fingers open.

“No!” Shi Jinlan was fixated.

The rough stones scraped her wrist, but she refused to let go.

“I won’t let go! I still have things I haven’t told you!”

In the darkness, Shi Jinlan’s pair of pitch-black eyes stared straight at Chi Qian.

Chi Qian noticed a long blue vein bulging on her cold, pale neck. The wind whipped Shi Jinlan’s hair into a mess, making her look utterly wretched—like a paranoid lunatic at the mercy of her emotions.

Chi Qian froze.

I think, she thought haltingly, I know how to make her let go.

“Shi Jinlan, since when did you start believing in feelings?” Chi Qian asked, her voice cold.

Shi Jinlan froze.

What… did she just call me?

Her raised hand finally managed to pry its way into the tiger’s mouth¹⁶ of Shi Jinlan’s clenched fist.

Chi Qian stiffly pried at Shi Jinlan’s fingers. Her gaze as she looked up was bone-chillingly cold, yet it held a trace of desolation. “Don’t love me. I’m free.”

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