Under the cover of night, Marcus led Karin out of the Necropolis and arrived at an Abbasid Citadel military camp above the ground.
Marcus crouched his massive body in the darkness of the corner, wrapped Karin tightly in his cloak, and nervously watched the soldiers receding into the distance above.
"I can't breathe."
Hearing the soft moans of the woman in his arms, Marcus hurriedly loosened his cloak, giving Karin some breathing space.
With her eyes blindfolded, Karin finally asked her question: "What exactly do you want to do?"
Marcus wrote in Karin's palm: "Save you."
Karin asked again, "Why?"
Marcus remained silent for a long time before hesitantly writing, "I don't know."
Karin sighed helplessly, temporarily abandoning her plan to press for answers, and asked instead, "Why can't I use my special ability?"
Marcus thought for a moment, then used his hand to fiddle with the handcuffs and shackles on Karin's body.
Karin raised her hands in annoyance and said in a deep voice, "Open it for me!"
Marcus hesitated for a moment.
Receiving no response, Karin guessed the other person's worry and said directly, "I'm blind now, where else can I run to?!"
Marcus scratched his head, then removed all of Karin's handcuffs and shackles.
Kicked aside the strange, stone-like shackles, Karin touched her freed hands and feet, first closed her eyes, and entered her soul space. A few seconds later, the tension and unease on her face were gone.
Karin nestled back into Marcus's arms: "Go north, to the ground below a high wall, where stones are arranged in a circle, and there's a broken gap there."
Marcus crouched down, and with Karin in tow, they carefully made their way through the Abbasid army camp under the cover of night, and soon found the stone markers under the high walls of the camp.
"Push aside the weeds and sand, and you'll find a hole at the bottom of the wall, big enough for a person to crawl through."
Marcus did as instructed, removing the clutter and discovering the hole Karin had mentioned.
The opening was a bit small for Marcus's size, but with his superhuman strength, he quickly doubled its size.
After bringing Karin out of the underground cave in the military camp, Marcus finally arrived on the main street.
It's still late at night, and everything is quiet except for the occasional bark of a dog.
Karin closed her eyes and reconfirmed the escape route with Rachel in the soul space.
"There should be a spice shop on this street with colorful banners hanging outside. Go into the alley next to the shop."
Marcus followed Karin's directions and entered the alley.
"At the end of the alley, there is a path leading down to the canal."
Marcus, holding Karin in the darkness, found the path at the end of the alley.
However, the muddy path was too slippery, and Marcus didn't watch his step, tumbling down the slope with Karin.
Karin struggled to her feet, brushed the mud off her clothes, and said softly, "I'm fine, let's keep going."
Marcus looked around and found a piece of rope lying by the roadside. Ignoring Karin's objections, he tied her to his back and then walked downhill towards the downstream of the city's canal.
Clinging to Marcus's back, Karin confirmed the route in the soul space while giving instructions: "On the right-hand wall, there's a five-pointed star drawn with charcoal. Go up from there, and there's a broken step on top of it. Climb up from there."
Marcus led Karin up the side wall of the city canal to a dilapidated warehouse.
Karin patted Marcus on the shoulder and whispered, "Put me down."
Reaching the locked warehouse door, Karin knocked three long and two short signals.
Soon, a voice came from inside: "Who's knocking?"
Karin whispered, "I've ordered some fine wine to be sent north."
What kind of fine wine?
"Barley, alfalfa, and four-leaf clover."
The warehouse door opened, and a middle-aged merchant with a turban raised a torch. He saw Karin's burned face, paused for a moment, and then asked uncertainly, "Are you Lord Forman?"
Karin pulled her cloak down a little to cover her face: "You should all have received Rachel's message. I'm leaving here tonight."
The middle-aged merchant nodded: "No problem, our caravan will leave the city at dawn. The soldiers at the gate have been taken care of, as long as..."
Caught off guard by Marcus behind Karin, the middle-aged merchant was so shocked that he reached for his weapon at his waist before he could even finish his sentence: "My God, what is that?! Lord Forman, get out of the way!"
Karin stopped him, saying in a low voice, "He's with me!"
The middle-aged businessman couldn't help but glance at Marcus again and whispered, "He doesn't seem like a mutant at all, or even a human."
Ignoring the other person's question, Karin gestured for them to lead the way.
Arriving at a place resembling a bookkeeping room in the warehouse, the middle-aged merchant went to arrange matters for the caravan, and Karin and Marcus were finally able to rest for a while.
Leaning against Marcus, Karin said, "Now I can finally ask you a few questions."
"First of all, why did you save me?"
This question left Marcus speechless for a long time; perhaps he himself didn't know the answer.
Karin analyzed, "You were with Myris, which means you're also an undead. Whether you're master and servant or superior and subordinate, you must have a good reason for disobeying orders to save me."
Marcus pulled Karin's hand and wrote in a crooked handwriting: "Karin, alive."
Karin shook off his hand and said irritably, "What kind of answer is this? Sympathy?"
Marcus pulled Karin's hand again and stubbornly wrote once more: "Karin, live."
This time, Karin didn't shake off his hand. She repeatedly stroked his handwriting and said thoughtfully, "I don't know why, but you seem somewhat familiar to me."
Marcus quickly released Karin and hid in a corner of the room, as if he had heard something terrible.
Karin desperately tried to recall everything from the past, searching her memory for the source of that familiar feeling.
However, she failed.
The feeling was like a fleeting ghost, quickly passing before her eyes and then disappearing.
She didn't have much time to think. Soon, the middle-aged merchant entered the room and said to Karin, "Lord Forman, the caravan is ready."
Karin struggled to her feet and limped to her side.
The middle-aged businessman tilted his head, frowned, and looked at Marcus: "Lord Forman, what... should we do with this person?"
Karin turned her head toward Marcus, thought for a few seconds, and said, "Take him with you, let's go together."
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