The forest wilderness was growing dark. Hearing the commotion behind him, Lian Youming couldn't afford to overthink things; picking a direction, he ran for his life.
He looked down again at the young girl in his arms. Her beauty truly bordered on shocking—willow-leaf brows, skin like white porcelain, vermilion lips, and pearl-white teeth. A pair of pretty eyes looked utterly pitiful and brimming with tears, and her neck was slender and fair, pale as a dove's breast, as though it could gleam with light.
She was far too beautiful.
Recalling the conversation among those men moments ago, Lian Youming felt immense vexation. He never should have come here. For Li Da to go through so much trouble running all the way here on foot was actually to lure these White Lotus Sect cultists.
These heretics had followed all the way, so why...
Wait.
Something wasn't right.
The moment this thought surfaced, goosebumps silently prickled across the nape of Lian Youming's neck.
He suddenly realized a very grave matter: if those people could follow Li Da, why couldn't they be following him?
Not good.
Forcing a calm expression onto his face, Lian Youming looked once more at the girl in his arms.
At this very moment, he wished he could slap himself across the face. What kind of helpless maiden was he holding? More likely than not, he was carrying a Red Boy!
He had fallen into a trap.
They had put on a whole play for him!
Lian Youming had finally realized: that grandson Li Da had tossed him out as bait!
No, he couldn't panic.
Panicking would get him killed.
A ruthless resolve hardened in Lian Youming's chest. If worst came to worst, he could just choke this girl to death.
Yet looking at her pitiful, tearful expression, apprehension churned within him again. Something was off. What if she was also a hidden master? The moment he made a move, he might be the one who died. Moreover, his defenses were wide open right now—his waist, abdomen, and soft ribs were all exposed, full of openings. Even though her hands and feet were bound, he didn't dare gamble; what he feared most was that those bindings were fake too.
The three pursuers behind were still giving chase, covertly forming a battle formation to seal off every route leading down the mountain.
Lian Youming understood now: they wanted to herd him into fleeing into the underground fortress so he would lead the way for them.
Unable to beat Li Da, they only thought to bully him!
No wonder bad luck kept heading his way; they had been watching him in the dark all along.
The girl was still weeping, crying like pear blossoms in the rain, crying so pitifully that Lian Youming's heart trembled.
Not from sympathy or pity, but from sheer terror.
Lian Youming asked in a raspy voice, "How did they catch you?"
Looking fragile and helpless, the girl whispered, "I was picking herbs on the mountain. In just the blink of an eye when I turned around, that man rushed out."
She's so damn good at acting!
Lian Youming felt like crying himself. There was definitely something wrong with this girl.
"Don't be afraid, I'm here."
He paid her lip service while his mind spun rapidly, scheming how to handle the situation.
Without hesitating any longer, Lian Youming rushed toward the direction of the fortress.
He had no choice but to go there.
According to the map's markings, the underground fortress was full of mechanisms and traps, with countless twists and turns. Anyone without the map would likely get lost inside, making it the perfect place to shake them off.
Otherwise, if he just kept running blindly like this, who knew how many pairs of eyes were lurking around, watching hungrily?
Once his mind was set, Lian Youming simply drew a military dagger from behind his waist and severed the cloth strips binding the girl's wrists and ankles one by one.
Since they were putting on an act, he had to play it to the hilt.
Since she wanted to use him, she would certainly have to keep up the charade and wouldn't strike to kill anytime soon.
Without Lian Youming saying a word, the moment the girl was freed from her bindings, her hands immediately rested against his shoulder and one side of his waist. It looked like an instinctive gesture of fright, yet it sent chills down his spine.
Lian Youming's heart nearly leapt right out of his throat.
If she unleashed a lethal blow from this position, his little life would be forfeit right here and now.
This was downright suicidal.
Without a second thought, Lian Youming hurriedly shifted his posture, lifting the girl upward in an attempt to hoist her over his shoulder.
Yet the girl adapted with the motion. With a twist of her waist, her seemingly frail and featherlight body smoothly righted itself, turning the carry into a seat. She plopped right onto Lian Youming's left shoulder, wrapping both arms snugly around his neck.
Viewed from afar, their posture was extraordinarily intimate—one tall, burly man sprinting with giant strides, and a petite, delicate maiden perched on his shoulder, embracing his neck as she sat.
Yet looking at those two slender, delicate hands resting against his neck, Lian Youming's face turned completely dark.
His predicament had grown even more perilous!
The three fools behind kept hurling threats and shouting to heap pressure on Lian Youming.
"Damn it, if I die, I die."
Throwing caution to the wind, Lian Youming reached up with his left hand and planted it against her waist and abdomen. It looked like he was steadying her, but the instant she made any suspicious move, he could dig straight into her soft ribs in a flash.
Not forgetting to keep up appearances, he called out, "Hold on tight."
Still looking panicked and helpless, the girl hurriedly murmured, "Mm."
At the foot of the mountain, the vegetation had still been lush and green, but the deeper they ran, the more frost drifted in the air, followed by falling snow. Strangely, the woods still held their vitality, creating a truly wondrous spectacle.
With frost and snow pelting his face, Lian Youming bounded and surged through the deep sea of mountain forest. His two legs acted like springs, leaping left and right. Though not as superhuman as Li Da, he far surpassed what he had been just days ago.
Wherever they passed, the beasts of the forest were thrown into a frenzy, rustling about—rabbits darting, foxes fleeing, hawks taking flight, and deer leaping away. Pairs of eerie green eyes gleamed in the shadows, sending shivers down one's spine.
"Damn it, you've chased me all this way, can't you let me catch my breath before running again?"
Lian Youming was utterly exasperated with the three blockheads chasing and surrounding him. They couldn't even act properly! Chasing with everything they had, not even giving him a chance to breathe. He was already half-dead from exhaustion from traveling all this way, and now he had to scramble for his life while playing along in an act, forced to project an aura of desperate urgency.
"Why don't you just hound me to death already?!"
As he panted heavily, Lian Youming's eyes darted around. To the right of the party, two figures swiftly flashed into view, leaping and swooping like rising hares and falling falcons. One of them held an odd stance with his feet, his insteps arched like chicken claws, kicking off branches and stomping the ground as he flapped his arms and flipped through midair. The other hung and swung by ape-like arms from the branches, climbing and clambering through the trees as smoothly as if on flat ground. He looked strikingly similar to the earlier Bai Yuan, yet his movements were even more agile and sinister, closing in with tremendous speed.
More people had arrived.
With Lian Youming's martial arts gradually maturing, his horizons had naturally widened. Just by observing the duo's techniques, he could tell they were adept fighters of the Xingyi Sect.
However, they did not strike immediately, seemingly observing the situation.
Lian Youming's eyes darted, and he hurriedly called out, "Brothers! I'm an old friend of Brother Xue Hen! These three are trying to harm me, please lend a hand!"
He would have been fine if he hadn't spoken, but the moment the words left his mouth, a gloomy, piercing, raspy voice detonated in the woods like a thunderclap: "Xue Hen? What is your connection to that beast?!"
The other man snarled with venom, "Why waste words? Since they're cut from the same cloth, slaughter him first!"
Lian Youming's eyelids twitched violently. He knew Xue Hen was a traitor to the Xingyi Sect, but he hadn't expected the man to draw such boundless hatred! Sensing the two surges of murderous intent, he hastily quickened his pace.
Yet with things turning out this way, how could the three White Lotus Sect members chasing him just sit back and watch?
"Xingyi Sect dogs? Who gave you the right to meddle? Get the hell out of here!"
The two Xingyi Sect men were instantly enraged.
"What kind of trash are you?"
"This granddaddy is one of the Thirty-Six Heavenly Venerables of the White Lotus Sect!"
"This granddaddy is an inheritor of the Twelve Great True Forms of the Xingyi Sect!"
After both sides barked their affiliations, they fell into a tense silence.
Both sides were ruthless characters.
Lian Youming looked back and poured another bucket of oil on the fire: "They're heading for the Kwantung Army underground fortress! They want to dig up the treasure inside and take the aged medicine that can prolong life!"
The figure leaping like a monkey cursed furiously, "Damn it! Scum like you who can't even stand the light of day dare covet those things? You ought to weigh your own damn worth first!"
The White Lotus Sect pursuers were not to be outdone. A woman's voice snapped back, "Why can't we covet them? What did you two run all the way here for, then? Catching rats on the mountain? Aren't you here for the exact same things? Who the hell are you playing innocent with, pretending to be virtuous in front of this lady?!"
Tensions flared between both sides, blades drawn and bows bent, on the verge of erupting into a clash. Just then, Lian Youming, who had already sprinted a distance away, turned his head and bellowed at the top of his lungs:
"Quit your dogshit barking! You're both a bunch of brainless fools!"
Chapter 42