60 Ancient City (15)
"If you don't want to die, you'd better not be too far away from me."
The shadows of the trees filtered through the moon, and a ray of clear light spread over the stone steps, casting lonely shadows on the street.
"How long do you want to kneel?"
After the group walked away, Qi He immediately changed his demeanor. He glared coldly at the person who had been kneeling on the ground for a long time, flicked his sleeves, and said, "Get up. You are not to blame for this."
Si Yun suddenly looked up, and under the moonlight, he saw a curve at the corner of his lips, and he seemed to be in a very good mood.
"City Lord, you..." She stood up tremblingly, covering her arm, and looked in the direction the group had just left. "Aren't you going to catch up? Forgive me for being frank, but now that Miss Li has left, I don't know when I'll see you again."
"Who said I won't chase her? Of course I will. Otherwise, how can I let my junior sister be with that kid from the Demon Realm?" Qi He suppressed his smile. He could tell at a glance what that guy surnamed Xie was thinking about his junior sister.
However, since his junior sister had lost her memory and didn't allow him to call her "junior sister" anymore, it wasn't really a bad thing.
Anyway... he had stopped wanting to be her senior apprentice brother and sister a long time ago.
*
The ancient city, along with the eerie forest, was left behind. Nangong Xiu hung his head, twirling his empty fingers, and said in frustration, "I should have asked that Qi guy for directions earlier. Now that we don't have a map, how are you going to get there?"
"Nangong Xiu, don't be impatient when things get tough. You know, things will work themselves out when the time comes," Qu Lingfei patted him on the shoulder and sighed, "Besides, even if we had asked him earlier, he might not have told us the truth."
Nangong Xiu glared at him, then shook his head and stopped talking.
The path was pitch black, the sky was covered with dark clouds, and only a faint moonlight occasionally shone through, but there was no guessing when daybreak would come.
"It would be great if there was another town up ahead," Qiuyan yawned, covering her mouth with her hands. "It's all their fault. I haven't had a good night's sleep in days."
Upon hearing this, Li Jintang immediately lowered his head and rummaged through his purse. After a moment, he pulled out a small medicine bottle and said, "Sister Qiuyan, this contains herbs that can invigorate you. If you smell them, you won't feel tired anymore."
Qiuyan was too lazy to free her hands to take it, so she simply bent down and sniffed her hand. Then she stood up and patted her shoulder gently, saying with a smile, "Atang, your purse may be small, but how can it be like a treasure box? It has everything you need."
This reminded her that it was time to sort out the things in here. Li Jintang was busy sorting her purse, walking slower and gradually falling behind the group.
Just as she was about to put the small medicine bottle away, a hand suddenly reached out and stopped in front of her.
Li Jintang raised her eyes with a hint of confusion. The moment their eyes met, the young man looked away first and said calmly, "Miss Li, Xie is tired too."
“……?”
She stared at him for a long moment with a puzzled look in her eyes, and finally took her hand out of her purse. Suddenly, she thought of something, her cheeks flushed slightly, and she curled her fingers around the medicine bottle and said, "Put your hand out."
Xie Changyan paused slightly, and after a few seconds he extended his hand as he was told.
The girl quickly placed the medicine bottle in his palm, then turned around and left with her hands behind her back, leaving the tender green leaves floating in the wind, like green buds quietly emerging in the dark night.
"You can take it. You don't have to return it to me." She waved her hand generously.
The young man lowered his eyes silently. After a few breaths, he raised his thumb to put the cork on the bottle and then put it to his waist.
"Junior sister, you're lucky today," Qu Lingfei chuckled, pointing to the bright spot ahead and saying, "Isn't that a small town?"
When they looked carefully, they saw lights flickering in the distance. It was indeed a very small town that they could see the end at a glance.
"Wait—"
Xie Changyan's eyes darkened, and he tilted the scabbard of his sword, blocking the way of the girl behind him. However, the other three moved too quickly and had already stepped forward.
"What's wrong……"
Before Li Jintang could finish her question, a dense net suddenly descended from the sky, sending a cloud of dust flying in her face. She quickly closed her eyes and took a few steps back. When she opened her eyes again and tried to brush off the dust, she discovered that her skirt was spotless.
Instead, the young man in front raised his arm slightly, and his white sleeves were covered with dust. He raised his sleeves and the dust immediately fell like snow.
"We've fallen into a trap," Nangong Xiu, who was caught in the net, turned his head with difficulty and said to the two people in the same situation: "That town is fake, and this net was set up by them on purpose!"
"The net is real, and the town is real too." Xie Changyan stepped forward, his sword unsheathed. With a flick of his hand, he ripped the dense net apart. "It's you who haven't figured out who's living here."
After being trapped for a short time and finally escaping, Qu Lingfei breathed a sigh of relief. Before he could open his mouth, he heard the sound of wind and rustling in the bushes.
"Hey, what a pity, we almost caught them all."
Before he could finish his words, several dark shadows emerged from all directions, immediately blocking all their escape routes.
Qu Lingfei's pupils trembled: "You..."
"Don't you remember me? Humph, half of my tail was cut off in your hands!"
As soon as that shrill voice came out, everyone's memories were immediately brought back to the day when they were in the ghost market.
“It’s you…”
"You're not dead yet?" Qu Lingfei began, but Qiu Yan took over. She placed her hands on her hips and grimaced, "The person who cut off your tail isn't here. You're looking for the wrong person for revenge. No wonder you can't get the upper hand."
The long-tailed demon's face turned green, then he actually laughed and said, "What's the rush? I'll deal with you first, then I'll catch that kid."
"Junior sister, please speak less." Qu Lingfei frowned, obviously realizing that something was wrong.
The monsters surrounding them this time were even more powerful than those they had encountered along the way. Coupled with the fact that they were outnumbered, it was really difficult for them to escape this time.
"The reinforcements you found are good," Xie Changyan said with a faint smile, his eyes full of disdain, "It's a pity that the trick they used was too childish."
The last word fell softly, and suddenly a beam of golden light passed straight through the crowd. Before they could see clearly, they suddenly heard the long-tailed demon scream, and the remaining half of its tail was lying clearly on the ground.
Several people were stunned. Qu Lingfei was the first to react and gave a thumbs up, "Thank you, brother, great swordsmanship."
“You… you actually dare…” The long-tailed demon was shocked and angry, but because of the unbearable pain after his tail was broken, he spoke as if he was crying, “Boss, please kill them and avenge my tail… my tail!”
"Shut up, aren't you ashamed enough?" one of the great demons shouted in disgust, then turned cold again and snorted, "No need to waste time with them, just start now!"
"Wait a minute!"
Suddenly, a female voice rang out, temporarily interrupting the fierce battle that was about to break out. Everyone turned around in surprise, only to see a young woman in a white dress slowly approaching. Not only was the dress white, but even every inch of her skin seemed to be translucent white.
"Sister Alan?!" Li Jintang recognized her at a glance. He didn't expect to meet her again. He was surprised and happy. Just as he was about to run forward, his wrist suddenly tightened and someone pulled him from behind.
She turned around and met the boy's dark eyes.
He raised his hand without allowing any refusal, and a red rope was faintly visible under his wide sleeves.
"If you don't want to die, you'd better not stay too far away from me." His cold voice fell.
"..." She struggled slightly, and then found that she seemed to have no chance to refuse.
"Are you from the Ghost Market?" The big demon's power was indeed not weak. Even from several steps away, he could sense Alan's aura. "You are quite brave to dare to come out."
Alan was quite calm: "I'm not the only one here."
She blew a whistle, and suddenly a gust of cold wind blew up, and a pair of pale hands grabbed the long-tailed demon's neck without warning.
"Boss, save...save me..." His eyes widened and he was about to suffocate.
One of the big monsters made an impatient "tsk" sound and was about to step forward when his feet suddenly tightened and several hands came up to him.
The other several big monsters were also trapped and unable to escape.
The shrill ghostly howls echoed in everyone's ears: "You killed me, give me back my life, give me back my life!"
The four of them felt uncomfortable and covered their ears.
"They're entangled, run quickly." Alan warned, then turned left and said, "Go this way."
"Stop! You..." the big demon cursed, but couldn't escape for the moment, "You dare to trick me? If I see you again next time, I will skin you alive!"
After walking for a while, the howling sounds were far behind them. They thought that the monsters would not catch up with them anymore, but they did not dare to slow down, for fear of encountering another ambush.
Qu Lingfei was extremely surprised and couldn't help asking, "Alan, how did you know we were in trouble and still manage to get here in time?"
"This area isn't far from the Ghost Market," Alan replied calmly, turning his head. "The clan leader noticed something was happening here, and I was worried something might have happened to you, so I brought them here."
So that's how it is. Qu Lingfei bowed, feeling incredibly grateful: "Miss Alan, this time... we really don't know how to repay you."
"We've known each other for a while, so how could I just stand by and watch you get into trouble?" Alan's eyes drifted to Li Jintang and he smiled. "Besides, it's not all for you guys."
Li Jintang was slightly startled - the people here were so strange. Just because she looked similar to someone, would they take such a risk for her?
"Sister Alan, thank you so much. I..." She was halfway through her words when her eyes fell on a stack of talisman papers beside Alan. Suddenly, she changed the subject and asked curiously, "Sister Alan, why don't you use the teleportation talisman?"
Alan didn't know if it was an illusion, but her face seemed to be panicked for a moment. "I encountered a few monsters on the way here and it was damaged." After she said that, she raised her hand and threw away the talismans casually.
Li Jintang felt strange, but didn't think about it any more.
There were fewer and fewer green plants around. Alan led the way in front, and they unexpectedly arrived in a desert.
Qiuyan asked in surprise, "Alan, are you sure this place is safe?"
"We often come here," Alan smiled and pointed ahead. "There's an oasis over there. The houses next to it have been uninhabited for a long time. Those big monsters will probably catch up soon. You two should go in first to avoid the limelight."
The house looked normal from the outside, but a few people were still hesitant, wondering if there might be some mechanism inside.
At this time, the sky was bright, and the sunlight baked fine cracks on the walls. The house was as silent as a bag abandoned by a saint, but it also revealed a bit of weirdness.
The spiritual rope on his wrist suddenly loosened, and Li Jintang lowered his head. He said lightly, "Miss Li, you cooperated well."
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