11 Forest (IV)
◎ Die here together ◎
"Sister Atang, you were hiding here," Qiuyan said, smiling as she approached. "It made it so easy for us to find you."
Li Jintang cried out "Ah" and looked around. He saw that the trees were densely grown and it was indeed difficult to be found. He couldn't help but apologize, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean for you to be unable to find it." After that, he raised his eyes and looked behind the other person. He saw that Qu Lingfei was in high spirits. The pill was really effective. In less than a quarter of an hour, the wound on his left arm was healed.
Qiuyan had intended to make a joke, but she didn't expect her to apologize so seriously. She burst out laughing: "My dear sister, there's no need to apologize. No one blames you."
The five of them rested here for a while, and Nangong Xiu took some more elixirs from the inner room. About half an hour later, they set off together.
"Brother Nangong, is this map accurate?" Qu Lingfei craned his neck to peer at his hand. After a long moment, he couldn't figure out what was good or bad. He asked suspiciously, "Could it be that the map your commander left behind is a fake?"
"Impossible," Nangong Xiu pressed the hilt of his sword against his chin, pushing him away. He glared at him and said, "Qu Lingfei, if you dare to speak disrespectfully to your superiors again, beware of me..."
"Oh, I don't dare anymore," Qu Lingfei said, pressing down on the hilt of his sword with a grin. "Don't be angry, Brother Nangong. Whatever you say is true, it's true. But where is this Huidu?"
He thought to himself, Brother Xie is usually quiet, and Junior Sister likes to argue with him, so it's so hard to have one more person, it can finally help to relieve his boredom.
Nangong Xiu glanced at him, put his sword back at his waist, and said, "This is an extremely dark place in my demon world..."
"Sister Atang——"
Li Jintang and Qiuyan were walking at the back. She was not good at chatting with others, so when she saw the other party speak first, she leaned over to listen.
Qiuyan blushed and paused for a moment before she said coyly, "What do you think of my senior brother?"
"Brother Qu?" Li Jintang didn't expect her to ask this question suddenly. After thinking seriously for a moment, she was about to speak when the other party interrupted her hurriedly:
"Never mind, let's talk about it later."
Li Jintang was stunned for a moment, swallowing his words as he was told. When he turned around, he realized that the other person's expression was not right. He asked curiously, "Sister Qiuyan, why is your face so red? Are you feeling unwell?"
Qiu Yan had been staring at the figure in front of her, but her blush deepened after hearing this. She turned her face away, made a few evasive remarks, and then quickly walked forward.
After walking for half a day, they followed the route on the map and unknowingly returned to the town where they came from.
Qu Lingfei stopped in front of the restaurant and sighed, "I'm thirsty. Why don't you all go in and have a cup of tea before continuing on your journey? Brother Xie, why are you staring at a wall?"
Xie Changyan raised his eyes and glanced at him, then took a half step away. Several people then surrounded him.
There were only a few paintings hanging on the wall, the content of which was very sloppily written, and I had no idea who the paintings were of.
There are four big words on it: Kill without mercy.
While he was pondering, someone suddenly shouted "Catch the traitor" behind him, followed by the sound of wind and murderous intent.
Several people suddenly realized that the few strokes scribbled on the painting were actually themselves.
"Okay, you still don't want to let us go."
Qu Lingfei sneered and was about to draw his sword when his hand on the hilt was pressed down. Nangong Xiu shook his head and said in a deep voice, "Don't kill."
Hearing this, Qu Lingfei clenched his fingers, cursed inwardly, and said with a wry smile, "Brother Nangong is kind-hearted. Let's run."
Before he could finish his words, he felt a sudden strong wind blowing, which made him lean back involuntarily. When he could see clearly, he found that he had been surrounded by a group of townspeople with weapons in hand.
"We're not breaking any barriers. Will you please let us go?" Li Jintang's heart was pounding as he tried to sound calm. He held his breath and looked at them.
The men looked at each other in bewilderment, then suddenly raised their weapons and chopped down. Before Li Jintang could react, his wrist was suddenly pulled back, and several figures leaped forward. With a few clangs, the townspeople's weapons were all deflected.
Someone shouted "Run!" and she didn't have time to think before she immediately followed the crowd.
"Don't panic, little girl." The fortune book trembled and opened its pages, and dozens of stones fell out. "Use this to hit them, and I guarantee they won't be able to catch up with you."
Li Jintang reached out to take it, his voice drifting in the wind: "No, we can't hurt them."
The fortune teller cried out, "Ouch," and said earnestly, "It won't kill anyone if you hit him. You're such a conservative kid."
Seeing that she was about to be caught up, she had no choice but to raise her hand and throw it backwards, but she didn't want to hurt anyone, so the force was weak and the stones fell empty.
"Stop chasing me! If you do, I'll really hit you." Li Jintang ran so hard she was breathing rapidly. Rows of tree shadows flashed by the corner of her eye, and the scene before her seemed to blur for a moment. She dodged behind a tree, her hand on the knife handle trembling slightly.
If they chased her again, she would have no choice but to fight for her life. She closed her eyes, but the surroundings were eerily quiet. When she looked back, there was no one behind her. She was alone in the empty space.
Li Jintang's hand shook violently, and the dagger plunged straight into the ground. He was so focused on escaping that he got separated from everyone else.
They had just been to this forest the day before, and she was familiar with the route, so there would definitely be no problem.
She drew her dagger and took a few steps forward. The more familiar the route seemed, the more at ease she felt.
Further ahead should be the swamp they fell into yesterday.
Li Jintang tried calling their names as he walked. His voice circled above the woods and echoed back, but there was no response.
Within a quarter of an hour, she saw a swamp ahead. She ran forward a few steps and stopped beside the swamp.
She was alone now, and if she couldn't break the barrier after entering, she would be trapped to death in this swamp. Thinking of this, goose bumps appeared on her body, and she took a few steps back, watching the swamp gurgling and bubbling before her.
I just don’t know where everyone has gone. Li Jintang slowly squatted under the tree, his mind a little dazed.
However, since even she could escape, the others must be fine too. Thinking of this, she felt a little relieved. She stood up and was about to go look for them again, but she suddenly took a step back and bumped heavily into the tree trunk, causing leaves to fall in front of her eyes.
The swamp just now...has disappeared.
Li Jintang's face turned pale and his fingertips suddenly felt cold. He looked around anxiously, but the forest was still the same forest.
Was she hallucinating just now?
Just as she was dazed, she suddenly heard someone calling her from behind. She felt relieved and ran back quickly: "I'm here..."
When I went around the old tree, there was no one in sight, only leaves rolling on the ground.
She was stunned for a moment, but before she could continue wondering, the Order Book had jumped behind her and shouted, "Look here, little girl! You've gone too far."
"Tang'er."
Just this one sound was like throwing a stone into a lake. Li Jintang's heart was moved and he turned his head suddenly.
Under the banyan tree, the girl's clothes fluttered and dust rose up around her. She stood in the middle of it, but her body was not stained with a speck of dust. She was like a lotus flower emerging from the water, totally out of tune with the surroundings.
Li Jintang just suspected that he was dazzled.
"Ah...sister?"
She called out carefully, fearing that her voice would be too loud and shatter the illusion before her.
Yes, as long as she could see her parents and elder sister, she would be willing even if it was an illusion.
"What are you standing there for, silly girl?" Mingshu pushed her from behind and urged, "I've been waiting for you for ages, why don't you go?"
Finally, he turned the page of the book to the girl and said with a smile: "Miss Li Baiwei, your sister is really stupid."
Li Jintang came back to his senses instantly and stared at it blankly: "What does it mean?"
"Oh, I forgot to explain to you," the fortune teller laughed and said, "You're lucky, kid. The tree you just touched was actually a trap..."
Li Jintang was completely bewildered. It was then she realized that her touch had actually opened a passage between the storybook and the real world. She clenched her palms and asked in disbelief, "So, I can go home now?"
Although the fortune-telling book usually talks nonsense, it will not speak nonsense at critical moments. Moreover, it has just mentioned my sister's name, so it should not be false.
"Tang'er," the girl in front of her spoke again, causing her mind to wander, "Sister is here to take you home."
Li Jintang was no longer stunned this time. She ran forward a few steps and hugged the other person.
"Sister..." She buried herself in the girl's arms and couldn't help sobbing, "I miss you so much, and Daddy and Mommy..."
"Good girl," the girl patted her back gently, soothing her, "Dad and Mom have been worried about you. Come back with me."
Li Jintang raised his head, wiped the tears from his face, looked at the passage behind him that was gradually closing, and hurriedly grasped his sleeves, nodded and said, "Okay, let's go now."
As he stepped into it, there was a sudden loud noise behind him, and the ground shook violently. Li Jintang reached to the side and managed to stand firm.
Yu Guangzhong couldn't see the girl anymore. She turned around in surprise, only to see a bottomless black hole appear behind her. Li Baiwei was swept into the wind, clinging to the branches with both hands. As if using up her last bit of strength, she shouted at her, "Atang, run, go back to find your father and mother..."
Before he could finish his words, they were swallowed up by the strong wind.
Li Jintang was almost unable to open her eyes due to the wind. She put one hand in front of her forehead and moved forward steadily step by step. She had only one thought in her mind - she wanted to save her sister.
She slowly stretched out her hand, and when their hands were about to touch, there was a sudden flash of white light, the strong wind stopped abruptly, and an old man in white floated down in front of them.
Li Jintang quickly helped his sister up, glanced at her, and only breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that she was fine.
Li Baiwei hid her hand, which had just been scratched by the branches, and pulled her sister behind her. She looked at the old man in white and said in a trembling voice, "We have no grudges against you. Why are you trying to kill us all?"
The old man's clothes fluttered in the wind, and he looked like an immortal with righteousness all over his body.
"You ask too many questions." The old man slowly closed his eyes, then suddenly opened them. Golden light burst out from his black eyeballs. He raised his right arm, and the black hole appeared again.
Li Jintang tightly grasped the other person's sleeve, wanting to take advantage of the other person's unpreparedness to slip into the passage and escape. When he turned around, he saw only leaves shaking in the wind behind him. His pupils suddenly dilated, despair poured down like cold water, and bone-chilling coldness spread from the soles of his feet.
Her palms suddenly tightened, and the warm breath gradually soothed the panic in her heart. She turned around and looked at the person beside her helplessly.
"Tang'er," Li Baiwei lowered her head and whispered softly in her ear, "Let's die here together."
I don't know why, but when I heard the word 'death', I didn't feel as terrified as before. But when I thought about never seeing my parents again, my heart ached again.
Li Jintang resisted the urge to cry, but spoke as if to herself: "Don't be afraid, sister, I'm not afraid..."
Just as he was about to hold her hand back, their crossed hands suddenly loosened. Li Jintang looked up blankly and met his sister's gaze.
Tears welled up in the girl's eyes, but she still had a smile on her face.
The old man in white had already gathered his spiritual power. Li Jintang closed her eyes, unable to imagine what her parents would do after she and her elder sister died together.
Suddenly, a strong force came towards her. She opened her eyes in panic, but her body flew backwards uncontrollably.
"Sister, sister!"
It took her two seconds to react. She tried desperately to shout out the scream that was suppressed in her heart, but it was as if she had lost her voice. Her lips opened and closed, but no sound came out.
The strong wind brought my sister's last words:
"Tang'er, keep running forward and don't look back!"
…
The world was dead silent again, and Li Jintang didn't know whether he was dead or alive.
She would rather be dead.
But her fingertips felt itchy, as if something was scratching her, reminding her that this body was still alive.
Her eyelids were slightly opened, and the dazzling sunlight shone down. She exhaled through her nose and found that she could still move.
"Sister!"
She sat up suddenly and blurted out.
It's still in that forest... But where's my sister? And that man in white, where did they go?
"Finally woke up."
The girl suddenly turned around and saw the boy leaning against the tree trunk with his hands folded across his chest, lowering his eyes to meet her gaze indifferently.
She lowered her head and a few petals fell on her body.
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