Xie Lian said, "Sanlang, are you really alright? Let me down."
But Sanlang said, "Don't come down."
Xie Lian was startled, thinking, "What's going on? Is there something on the ground?"
The hands still held him tightly, showing no sign of loosening. Xie Lian wanted to raise his hand and gently push against Sanlang's chest. However, as soon as he placed his hand on it, he remembered that when he fell and was caught, he had fumbled and felt the hard protrusion at the boy's throat, and he secretly withdrew his hand. He didn't know why, but Xie Lian had lived through hundreds of years and still didn't know how to write the word "embarrassment", but at this moment, a voice in his heart kept warning him to stop touching and be quiet.
At this moment, a roar filled with anger and grief was heard, and a shrill roar came from the other side of the pit: "What's wrong with you!?"
The sound was Ban Yueyu's, and judging by the voice, it was none other than General Ke Mo, the one Xie Lian had pulled down with him. He was already dead, so the fall certainly didn't kill him. It was just that the fall was so violent that it probably created a human-shaped crater, leaving him embedded in it. When he got up, he started yelling, "What's going on? Brothers, what's wrong with you?!"
He had just shouted down from the high wall, and hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of voices echoed him, as if the depths of the pit were teeming with surging evil spirits, wailing for food. Yet, at this moment, all Xie Lian could hear was dead silence, save for the furious roars. He couldn't even hear Sanlang's breathing or heartbeat, even though he was so close.
Yes, he was clearly clinging tightly to Sanlang, but he could not hear the boy's breathing or heartbeat at all!
Ke Mo yelled, "Who killed you? Who killed you!!!"
When Ah Zhao fell down, he could still hear the horrifying sound of something eating a living being coming from below. But after San Lang jumped down, there was no more sound from below. Who else could it be?
Ke Mo must have reacted immediately and said, "Central Plains people, you deserve to die! I want you dead!"
Although he couldn't see, Xie Lian could still sense danger coming his way. He moved his body and said, "Sanlang, be careful!"
Sanlang said, "Don't worry about him." Still holding him, he took a slight step and seemed to turn around.
In the darkness, Xie Lian heard a series of extremely subtle "ding-ding" sounds, crisp, pleasant, intense, and fleeting. He tried to catch it again, but Ke Mo missed and attacked again. San Lang spun lightly and nimbly, dodging it. Xie Lian's arms involuntarily scrambled up to hug San Lang tightly, unconsciously clutching the clothing around his shoulders.
Yet, those hands held him very firmly, dodging and moving, still holding him steady. However, Xie Lian would feel something cold and hard against those hands from time to time, and he couldn't help but be startled. In the boundless darkness, a silver light flashed, and from all directions came the sound of blades slashing and the angry sounds of grinding. General Ban Yue seemed to be seriously injured, but he was extremely brave and still did not retreat, attacking again with a gust of angry wind. Xie Lian felt that he could not sit there like this any longer, and said, "Ruo Xie!"
The white silk flew out with a "snap" sound, seemingly knocking Ke Mo over in the air and throwing him to the ground. The fall made Ke Mo roar: "You! Two of you! Two against one! Despicable!"
Xie Lian thought, "You're going to kill us now, so why bother about two-on-one, two-on-one, or being mean? Saving your life is what matters. Kill first, then talk." Sanlang, however, snorted without a smile and said, "You stand no chance in a one-on-one. Don't bother." This last part was addressed to Xie Lian, his voice a little deeper, the sarcasm from the previous sentence gone. Xie Lian said, "Okay." But then he gave another warning, "Sanlang, why don't you put me down first? I'm really in your way."
But Sanlang said, "It's okay. Don't come down."
Xie Lian couldn't help but ask, "Why can't he come down?" It couldn't be that this young man enjoyed fighting with people in his arms, right?
Saburo's answer was just one word: "Dirty."
“…”
Xie Lian had never expected him to give such a reason, and he even said it so seriously. It was a little funny, but also a little strange and indescribable. He felt an inexplicable warmth in his chest. He said, "You can't hold me like this forever."
Sanlang said, "That's not a bad idea."
Xie Lian's words were merely a joke, but Sanlang's were anything but. He was completely lost for words. In between these words, Ke Mo launched another tenacious attack in the darkness. Sanlang clearly had both hands around him, yet somehow, he was beating Ke Mo back repeatedly, shouting, "That bitch let you..."
Before he could finish his roar, there was a loud thud, and a massive figure collapsed, seemingly knocked unconscious. Xie Lian hurriedly said, "Sanlang, don't kill him yet. If we want to leave here, we'll probably have to question him."
As expected, San Lang didn't attack again. He stood still and said, "I didn't intend to kill him. Otherwise, he wouldn't be here until now."
At the bottom of the Sinners' Pit, there was dead silence again.
After a moment of silence, Xie Lian asked, "Sanlang, did you do all this?"
Even though it was impossible to see anything in the darkness, the overwhelming smell of blood and murderous aura, along with Ke Mo's recent burst of grief and fury, clearly outlined what was happening below. After a moment of silence, Xie Lian finally heard San Lang's response.
He said, "Yes."
It was an expected answer. After a while, Xie Lian sighed and said, "How should I put it..."
He thought for a while, and finally said earnestly, "Sanlang, next time you see a pit like this, don't jump into it again. I can't stop you, I really don't know what to do."
As if he hadn't expected such a question, Sanlang seemed to choke. When he spoke again, his tone was a little strange, and he said, "Don't you want to ask any more questions?"
Xie Lian asked, “What else do you want me to ask?”
Sanlang said: "For example, am I a human being?"
Xie Lian rubbed his brow and said, “Well, I don’t think there’s any need to ask.”
Sanlang said, "Hmm? Isn't that necessary?"
Xie Lian said, "Hmm. Is it necessary? It doesn't matter if he's human or not."
Sanlang said, "Oh?"
Xie Lian folded his arms in his, saying, "When interacting with others, it's about rapport and compatibility, not status. If I like you, I'd like you even if you were a beggar; if I hate you, I'd hate you even if you were the emperor. Isn't that how it should be? It's a perfectly simple truth, so there's no need to ask."
Sanlang laughed and said, "Well, what you said is very reasonable."
Xie Lian asked, "Isn't that so?" and laughed a few times. As he laughed, he felt something was amiss, and then suddenly, he finally realized what was going on.
He was actually held by Sanlang like this all the time, and the scariest thing was that he had gotten used to this posture without realizing it!
This is really killing me. Xie Lian coughed lightly and said, "Well, Sanlang, we can talk about this little thing later. Can you please let me down first?"
Sanlang seemed to smile and said, "Wait a moment."
He held Xie Lian in his arms and seemed to walk down a distance before gently setting him down. Xie Lian landed on solid ground and said, "Thank you very much."
Sanlang didn't say anything, so Xie Lian thanked him and looked up.
There is a bright moon hanging in the deep blue sky, which is extremely beautiful, but it is framed in a square piece of sky, which reminds people of the frog sitting in the well and looking at the sky.
He tried to drive Ruo Xie upwards again, but as expected, something invisible blocked Ruo Xie mid-air and she bounced back, unable to rise. Sanlang said, "There's a formation around this sinner's pit."
Xie Lian said, “I know. I’m just trying. I won’t give up until I try. I wonder what’s happening to the others up there. I wonder if that girl in black will sweep them down too.”
He told Sanlang about the girl hanging from the pole who had suddenly attacked and swept down a group of soldiers. After a few words, he tried to take a few steps forward, but he stepped on something that looked like an arm. Xie Lian almost tripped, but he quickly regained his balance. Sanlang still helped him up and said, "Be careful."
He added casually, "I told you, the ground is dirty."
Xie Lian also understood what the word "dirty" meant and said, "It's alright. I just want to raise a palm flame to see what's going on down there before making any plans."
Sanlang remained silent. At this moment, a cold and piercing voice rang out again from afar: "You work for that bitch! Millions of wronged souls in our country will curse you, curse you!"
Xie Lian turned around and said in a half-moon voice, “General Ke Mo, who exactly is that person you’re talking about?”
Ke Mo said in a hateful voice, "Why bother asking? That demon!"
Xie Lian asked, “Is that the nun wandering around the city?”
Ke Mo spat viciously. It seemed so. Xie Lian asked, "Aren't you loyal to Ban Yue Imperial Preceptor?"
Ke Mo was enraged by this statement and cursed, "I, Ke Mo, will never be loyal to her again! I will not forgive this bitch!!!"
What followed was a long string of mumbling curses. Ke Mo was so excited that he spoke at a very fast pace. By the end, Xie Lian was completely confused and could not understand anything. He could only whisper, "Sanlang, Sanlang."
Sanlang said, "He was cursing. He said that woman betrayed their country, opened the city gates to let the Central Plains army massacre the city, killed the people of Banyue Kingdom with her own hands, and pushed his brothers into this hellish pit. He wanted to hang her a thousand times, ten thousand times."
Hearing this, Xie Lian suddenly felt as if something was amiss.
The "women wandering the city" he'd just mentioned had originally been referring to the woman in white. But now, Ke Mo kept calling Ban Yue Imperial Preceptor a "bitch," saying she'd pushed his brothers into this damned pit. And just now, when the black-clad girl had swept the soldiers down from the high wall, Ke Mo had also cursed, "It's that b*tch again," and then, "Hang her a thousand times over." Suddenly, Xie Lian realized they were talking about something completely different.
Xie Lian interrupted Ke Mo's curses and asked, "General, is the Ban Yue Imperial Preceptor you're talking about the girl in black hanging from the pole in the prison pit?"
Ke Mo said, "If not her, who else could it be?!"
“…”
The thin girl in black who was hanging on the long pole like a corpse was actually the real Ban Yue National Master!
But if that is the case, then who are the white-clad woman who is strolling leisurely in Half Moon City and saying she wants to kill them all, and the black-clad woman who is traveling with her?
The black-clad girl's movements were strange and unpredictable. She could sweep dozens of fierce and brave Half Moon soldiers off the high wall in an instant. So why was she hung above the prisoner pit?
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