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墨書 Inktalez
The misty jungle suddenly became eerie, as if even the flow of air was stagnant, slowly weaving through the trees.
Yin Luo glanced around and found nothing unusual. Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the trees, casting dappled shadows on the ground.
Yin Luo called out their names several times, but no one responded. She then drew the dagger she had prepared from her bosom, gripping it tightly in her hand. After determining her direction, she headed toward a broken thicket in front of her.
All along the way, there were signs of breakage until she reached the edge of a small river, where the traces disappeared.
She looked up at the small river before her; the water was clear and flowed downstream at a leisurely pace, the sound of the bubbling water was pleasant to hear. In this entire forest, it seemed that only this place felt somewhat normal, like a piece of the human world.
However, when she raised her gaze and saw a pile of white bones resting on the opposite bank not far away, her expression changed instantly.
It was a heap of bones, bleached by the river water—hand bones, foot bones, skulls—haphazardly piled together. Based on the number of skulls, there were three; how many more there were remained unknown.
Yin Luo's steps halted abruptly. Since there were bones here, it meant that someone had died here or that they had floated down from upstream. However, it was clear that there was nothing here that could cause harm. Therefore, they must have come from upstream!
Curiosity or perhaps a sixth sense told her that Mu Changqing and Mu Li had likely been up there. Without further hesitation, she tucked her dagger back into her bosom and replaced it with several concealed weapons at her fingertips before slowly heading upstream.
The river was blocked by a stretch of swampy land, making it impossible to cross. With nothing around to help her get through, Yin Luo searched for another route.
Just as she turned to head back, suddenly the ground in front of her cracked open, and a board filled with sharp spikes came rushing toward her. Instinctively, she flipped to evade it just in time; immediately after, another board came crashing down from above.
Without hesitation, Yin Luo dodged while sending a concealed weapon flying that severed the rope holding the board. The board fell to the ground with a thud, kicking up a cloud of dust. Covering her mouth and nose with her hand, Yin Luo swiftly drew out a whip from her waist and wrapped it around the severed rope. With a leap, she landed on a nearby tree trunk and looked around at the jungle, saying, "Who is it? Show yourself!"
The sound of rustling clothes broke through the air as two shadowy figures landed on tree trunks nearby. They wore masks and stared at her, saying, "Where did this little beauty come from? Not bad skills; too bad you ran into us—Black and White Rakshasa. What a pity!"
Another one grinned wickedly and said, "Such a beautiful girl must taste delicious. Big brother, remember to save me the tenderest piece when we’re done; I want that little thing."
As soon as he finished speaking, he lunged toward Yin Luo. Without hesitation, she swung her whip at him; he dodged and thrust his sword forward. Yin Luo quickly hooked her whip onto a tree branch and used its momentum to drop down onto the ground some distance away. Without pausing for breath, she hurried deeper into the forest.
The sound of rustling clothes behind her indicated that the two pursuers had caught up.
Yin Luo did not hesitate; she spotted a bush ahead and immediately lowered her body, rolling on the ground while throwing out two hidden weapons that struck both men squarely in the face.
One man reacted quickly and dodged, but the other was not fast enough and was injured in the arm.
"You little girl, you have quite a few tricks up your sleeve! Big brother, leave this to me!" The injured man glared fiercely and drew his long sword, thrusting it directly at Yin Luo.
Although he was physically stronger, Yin Luo matched him in speed and agility. They exchanged blows for about ten rounds. Eventually, unable to contain his impatience, the man suddenly glared at Yin Luo as she used her whip to entangle his sword. He swiftly pulled out another blade, slightly longer than a dagger.
The sword sheath fell to the ground as the cross-shaped knife struck towards her face like a snake.
Yin Luo's gaze sharpened; she ducked just in time, retracting her whip and stepping back while staring at him. "Xiyu People?"
The man was taken aback but quickly glared at her. "I wasn't planning to kill you, but now that you know our identity, you must die! Prepare to pay with your life!"
In an instant, he abandoned his long sword and gripped the cross knife with both hands, launching himself at her like a sharp arrow aimed at her vital points.
Yin Luo's expression darkened; she wrapped her whip around a tree and leaped into the air, landing on his back and delivering a powerful kick before safely touching down on the ground.
The man was thoroughly enraged now, attacking with lethal intent. Yin Luo had been able to manage him before, but seeing that their strengths were evenly matched, he called for his "big brother" to join in. The two attacked simultaneously with their short knives, clearly their weapon of choice, significantly increasing their power.
Yin Luo retreated repeatedly, struggling to defend herself until one of them slashed her arm, sending a piercing pain through her.
Seeing her injured only fueled their excitement as they continued their relentless assault.
Just as one of the knives was about to strike her vital point, suddenly a stone flew through the air and knocked the knife away. A gust of wind followed as both men were pushed back by the force of a palm strike. Feeling a tightness around their waists, they spun around and found themselves in a safe zone where Mu Changqing stood beside them.
"You’re hurt?" Mu Changqing wore the same black outfit as when he left days ago. Upon seeing Yin Luo's bleeding arm, he immediately tore off a piece of his clothing and wrapped it around her injury before asking, "What are you doing here?"
The two people in front had already been driven away by Mu Li. Yin Luo saw that the two were completely unharmed and said, "You disappeared for two days. He Ren found out that you vanished in this forest, so I brought them in to look for you."
Mu Li glanced around and asked, "What about them?"
Yin Luo lowered her eyelids and replied, "I don't know. After we entered for over an hour, we got separated."
Mu Li and Mu Changqing exchanged glances, surveying the misty jungle. "It seems just like before, Third Brother. We must hurry down the mountain before dark. If we can't get out by nightfall, who knows what might happen outside."
Mu Changqing nodded thoughtfully and looked around. "We've been going in circles in this forest without finding a way out. Let's follow this river. Since it has flowing water, there must be a source nearby. If we follow it, we should be able to find our way out."
Mu Li nodded in agreement. The two decided to act immediately, but Yin Luo suddenly grabbed Mu Changqing's sleeve and said, "The reason this forest is so strange must be because someone is up to no good, Prince. If I'm not mistaken, there should be quite a few Xiyu People hiding in this forest."
Mu Changqing's gaze sharpened as he looked at her. "How do you know that?"
Yin Luo noticed they showed no signs of surprise. "You knew too?"
"That's right. The reason we entered the forest was that we discovered a hiding spot for the Xiyu People. We suspected that the epidemic was related to them. Not knowing the truth and having heard about the strangeness of this forest, we wanted to sneak in and investigate. Unfortunately, after entering, we found that Ghost Valley truly lives up to its name; it's easy to get in but hard to get out. We've already been wandering for two days."
Yin Luo nodded, realizing her guess was correct.
The reason He Ren and the others had all disappeared was likely due to these Xiyu People using this forest to hide their presence without anyone noticing while also gathering intelligence on Fenghua's situation. Their plan was indeed well thought out.
After reaching an agreement, the three set off together.
Upstream from the flowing water was a marshy area. Mu Changqing picked up Yin Luo and effortlessly leaped across.
The three continued along the waterway for about an hour until they reached the foot of a mountain, from which the water flowed down.
"Since there's a mountain, there must be a peak. If we climb to the top, standing up there should make it easy to find our way down."
Mu Li nodded and said, "There's no time to waste, let's act quickly."
Climbing the mountain was a physically demanding task, especially since both men were skilled martial artists. They moved swiftly, light as a swallow.
Yin Luo had an injury on her leg, which took a toll on her stamina. Although she could manage to keep going, the two of them were simply too fast for her to keep up.
Seeing this, Mu Changqing glanced at the mountain peak and then at the sky. They needed to descend before dark, so time was running out!
He immediately walked in front of Yin Luo, crouched down, and said, "Get on."
Yin Luo paused for a moment. Mu Changqing's voice was low as he added, "At your speed, we might not make it down by tomorrow morning."
That was indeed the truth. Yin Luo hesitated for a moment, but Mu Li couldn't help but tease from ahead, "Sister Three, you don't need to worry about Third Brother. His stamina is always good; carrying a light girl like you even up three mountains is no problem."
Yin Luo's face flushed for once, and she finally climbed onto his back without further delay.
Being carried by a man for the first time, his steady and powerful footsteps struck the ground one after another, almost as if they were pounding against her heart.
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