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墨書 Inktalez
Time passed slowly, making one anxious. Outside, silence quickly enveloped everything, with only the lingering smell of blood clinging to the air.
Ren Pingsheng had left; the effects of the drug would last for two hours. In ancient times, two hours equated to four modern hours. After four hours, everything would be too late.
So, they must have gone far by now. Ren Pingsheng... would he be alright?
Finally enduring through those four hours, my hands and feet gradually regained their ability to move, and the energy within me began to flow smoothly. I had thought that with my current martial arts skills, I should have been able to recover a bit sooner, but four hours were indeed four hours; not a moment less.
This person was terrifyingly clever. He had silently assessed my capabilities and understood them completely.
I pushed aside the barrier next to me with all my strength and crawled out like a corpse rising from the dead. The body of Villain BSS, whom Ren Pingsheng had slashed at the neck, lay grotesquely to one side, its form mangled by the scythe's blows, already stiffening into a ghastly sight.
Looking at this corpse, I felt no sympathy or thoughts of mourning for the dead. I leaned against the wall and kicked the body with all my might before spitting on its face.
If it weren't for this bastard, perhaps there would be one less calamity in the world and one more wise being filled with positive energy. Maybe Ren Pingsheng and I could have met under better circumstances and become colleagues or even good friends.
"Serves you right! You deserved it!" For the first time, such brutal thoughts arose within me.
It was easy to guess that in this underground tunnel, there probably wasn't a living soul left. The overseers had all been killed by Ren Pingsheng, the laborers had long since escaped, and Rong Fu and his group had surely completed their tasks and left. I had such confidence in Ren Pingsheng's judgment; if he couldn't ensure my safety upon waking up, he might have administered an even stronger drug.
So I dragged my numb body over one corpse after another and crawled out of the mine back to the surface.
By the time I emerged, it was nearly dusk. Surrounded by mountains with no signs of human life, only the sounds of cicadas and insects added to the desolation of the environment.
I slipped deep into the forest, found a safe spot, sat cross-legged, and began to regulate my breathing and circulate my energy to restore my bodily functions.
As I recovered my physical strength, I also regained my ability to think clearly.
Yes, from now on, I was on my own again. Every action would need to be meticulously planned by myself; without a clear mind, how could I proceed?
Suddenly realizing that during those months as Ren Pingsheng's captive, life had been surprisingly easy because I hadn't needed to think much at all. Now that I was using my brain again, it felt somewhat unfamiliar.
The primary question was, where should I go from here?
Calming down to think, I realized there were two things I wanted to do.
The first was undoubtedly to find my Qiu. Ren Pingsheng had firmly told me before leaving that Nie Qiuyuan was not dead; he was just severely injured and likely still unable to move freely. This information was a crucial boost to my spirits. No matter how firmly I believed it, there were times when I couldn't help but feel shaken and confused.
However, this information did not provide any clear direction; I still had no idea how to find Nie Qiuyuan.
The second thing was something I had never thought would make it onto my plan. I wanted to rescue Ren Pingsheng from the clutches of Mirror Gate.
It was quite laughable. When he had been captured, my ambition was to eliminate him. Yet, in such a short time, my grand aspirations had turned into a mission of heroically rescuing him.
But charging into Mirror Gate now seemed like a foolish choice. Even someone as formidable as Ren Pingsheng couldn't escape its control; it was clear that going there would only lead to my demise. I might even end up putting Ren Pingsheng in greater danger.
After the last plan at Mirror Gate failed, they were significantly weakened, so it should be an opportunity to take advantage of them. Even if Rong Fu hated Ren Pingsheng, he wouldn't go so far as to kill him. However, the consequences of being caught would likely be severe, and just thinking about it made me uncomfortable.
After considering everything, I felt the best course of action was to return to Chang'an, back to our own base. There, I could discuss these matters with Luo Dachun and Han Meilan; after all, they were truly on my side. Moreover, with Luo Dachun's intelligence quotient, I looked forward to his constructive suggestions.
So off I went. By the time I adjusted my physical state and stood up, night had already fallen.
We had given our horse to San, but that was no trouble for me. With my current lightness skills, getting out of this mountain and reaching the nearest town posed no problem at all. Besides, when Ren Pingsheng had shoved me under the bed, he had also stuffed our belongings in there. Inside were all my gear and some of Ren Pingsheng's medicines along with a few receipts from the shop.
By the time I reached the town, it was already late at night. I found an inn to stay at and put everything out of my mind. After taking a good bath, I fell into a deep sleep.
After eating well and resting enough, I finally had the energy to fight; after all, I wasn't in a hurry.
It wasn't until midday that I got out of bed and felt like my normal self again. I walked out into the market, exchanged some silver at the shop, bought a fine horse, and set off toward the northwest direction where Chang'an lay.
Since the journey was quite long, I wasn't in a rush. My principle was not to tire out the horse; I'd stop at inns when it got dark and inquire about Nie Qiuyuan's whereabouts along the way. However, less than three days into my journey, I sensed something was off.
My sixth sense was quite sharp; I began to feel that someone might be following me.
The other party was clearly a master, to the point that I hadn't noticed their presence until now. But once I sensed something was off, I realized that this unease had been there from the very beginning.
Was it them? The Mirror Gate?
That seemed to be the most likely scenario; otherwise, how could someone have been tailing me since I got separated? It meant that Ren Pingsheng still underestimated that old fox, who was convinced I was with Ren Pingsheng. So, all they had to do was wait there for me to come out on my own.
However, the person following me didn't exude any killing intent; they were simply tracking me without any intention of harming me.
Still, the question remained: why not kill me?
This time, if I wasn't mistaken, it was because they suspected there was some hidden agreement between Ren Pingsheng and me. They wanted to follow me to see what I would do. Or perhaps they aimed to use me as a lead to uncover the whereabouts of Nie Qiuyuan or the Ghost Fire Five Poisons Pill?
I couldn't help but chuckle inwardly. Rong Fu, you really overthought this. Do you think everyone is like you, constantly scheming? All I wanted was to go home. But since you chose to follow me, I would lead you into a maze of confusion; otherwise, wouldn't that be disrespectful to your cunning efforts?
So from that moment on, I suddenly changed my route, deviating from the path drawn on the map.
I opted for a winding approach reminiscent of crossing the Red River multiple times and employed all the counter-tracking techniques from reconnaissance studies to make my movements appear sporadic. After a while, I estimated that my pursuer was close to tears because my manner of travel resembled someone who had just escaped from a mental institution.
"Aren't you also trained in reconnaissance? Come on, figure out what I'm trying to do! Good luck with that!" I silently laughed to myself as my pursuer ended up in such a disheveled state that I could see them clearly. Although I could tell from their aura that if it came down to a real fight, I probably wouldn't stand a chance against them, it didn't stop me from finding the situation utterly amusing.
Even though I had managed to confuse them thoroughly, escaping their control wasn't easy. I led them through twists and turns, over mountains and across waters, entering various strange places and creating all sorts of misunderstandings. After more than ten hours of this cat-and-mouse game, I finally seized a good opportunity. Suddenly accelerating, I completely shook off my enemy's pursuit in the depths of the vast mountains.
I let out a long breath, feeling my tension ease instantly. However, after my moment of triumph, I found myself somewhat dazed.
Where exactly had I ended up?
During these days, I had deliberately memorized my route to avoid getting lost in the end. So I still had a rough idea of where I was according to the map.
This place should be south of Luoyang; according to the map's markings, it should be in the northern mountainous region of Hubei Province.
If it were simply entering a mountainous area, it wouldn't confuse me at all. The problem was that the map indicated this area should be an uninhabited wildlife nature reserve or something similar—there were no administrative divisions or towns nearby. But surely I wasn't dreaming! In the heart of these mountains appeared before my eyes a bustling town!
In a densely populated area that doesn't exist on any map, this was simply unbelievable. Had I encountered a ghost?
I led my horse into the town. It was one thing to hesitate at the entrance, but once I stepped inside, my astonishment only grew.
The people in this town seemed quite different from the common folk of the Tang Dynasty!
The town was built against the mountains, with its main structures nestled in the valley. The terrain rose and fell, giving it a unique charm. Most buildings were made of bamboo and stone, featuring pointed roofs. However, under the influence of Confucian moderation, which emphasized broadness and stability, there were few pointed roofs; instead, most structures had flat earthen forms.
Looking at the people coming and going, they resembled Han Chinese but with slightly deeper and more defined facial features, making them appear more attractive overall. Their clothing was also peculiar, primarily in deep black tones, adorned only with gold and silver thread embroidery at the waist and collar. They wore tall black pointed hats, and the women had black veils cascading down to their feet.
From this perspective, the entire town gave off a slight Gothic style vibe; I felt as if I had suddenly fallen into a place that did not belong to this world.
Could it be that I had crossed over? Oh my goodness, that would be disastrous! I vaguely remembered that when I entered this mountainous area, my foot had slipped unexpectedly at some point, causing a blur before my eyes. Could that have been when something went wrong?
Just then, I heard a loud shout from nearby: "Indeed, there are Outsiders! What are you all guessing about? This one is the most suspicious!"
I perked up; wasn't that standard Mandarin?
However, the situation was far from optimistic. As I regained my composure, I realized I had already been surrounded by a group of individuals wielding Crescent Blades.
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