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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 19: Escape from the Camp
The night was bleak, filled with the sound of chirping insects.
Moonlight streamed through the side window, casting a glow on Ji Zichen's hand. He had regained some energy and was trying to figure out how to get out to see Xia Zhou. However, escaping was a problem since Chen Er and Chen Si were right outside the door. In the dead of night, they would not give him a chance to leave. Xia Zhou had come for him, and if he didn't find a way to meet Xia Zhou, he would miss his opportunity.
How could he know what plans Xia Zhou had? Ji Zichen felt anxious but found himself at a loss. He paced back and forth inside the tent, realizing that if he forced his way out, he might end up as a bloody corpse.
While Ji Zichen was walking around the tent, he suddenly heard Xia Zhou's voice. "Hey, how are you? I saw you today; are you hurt?"
Upon hearing Xia Zhou's voice, Ji Zichen immediately felt overjoyed. "You escaped?"
He quickly searched for Xia Zhou's figure within the tent but found no one there. "Where are you?" he asked in confusion.
Xia Zhou chuckled bitterly. "Me? Of course, I'm in a cage."
From Xia Zhou's tone, it seemed that he wasn't distressed; instead, he appeared somewhat excited. Ji Zichen had never seen such enthusiasm from a captive before. "In a cage? Then how are you talking to me?"
Xia Zhou replied, "That's why I came here. You have Kai Zhou Shen's ring; we can use Spiritual Awareness to communicate."
Ji Zichen was taken aback. "Communicate through Spiritual Awareness?"
Xia Zhou laughed lightly. "Yes, but we can't be too far apart; I can only come in here."
Ji Zichen sighed in relief. "What’s your plan?"
Xia Zhou said, "Someone will come to rescue us soon. How is your body holding up?"
Ji Zichen gritted his teeth and replied, "I'm fine, but my Demon-Slaying Sword is missing."
"Do you know where it is?" Xia Zhou asked.
Ji Zichen had already considered this. "I guess it's mostly in Ling Xuan's tent."
"Ling Xuan?" Xia Zhou replied. "Is that the woman you're talking about?"
Even though Xia Zhou was not in front of Ji Zichen, Kiko nodded. "Yes, her name is Ling Xuan. But how did you know I was here?"
Xia Zhou chuckled lightly. "Of course, I learned it from the Serpent Bat Dragon. It told me you were here, and I knew you'd run into some trouble."
It was not surprising for Ji Zichen that Xia Zhou could communicate with the Serpent Bat Dragon, as Xia Zhou could use his perception to connect with it. Kiko believed that if he interacted more with the Serpent Bat Dragon, he could do the same.
Kiko felt grateful that Xia Zhou had risked himself to save him. "You've really gone through a lot for me."
Xia Zhou smiled faintly. "Gone through a lot? What have I suffered? If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have tasted the experience of being a captive."
Kiko thought to himself, "Has Xia Zhou lost his mind?" He stared in disbelief. "You enjoy being a captive?"
Xia Zhou frowned from the other side. "To be honest, aside from the smell, this cage isn't too bad. You know, I envy you and Lin Chuyu for experiencing so much. Although what you did was perilous, those memories are worth cherishing for a lifetime."
"Cherish? If you die, who will remember you?" Kiko chuckled.
Xia Zhou smiled lightly. "At least it won't be a wasted life."
Kiko couldn't help but smile wryly again. "So you've come to experience life?"
At that moment, Xia Zhou said, "Alright, enough of this. The person who came to rescue us is here."
As soon as Xia Zhou finished speaking, Ji Zichen no longer heard his voice. Sitting by the edge of the bed, Kiko waited for a signal.
Although he didn't know what kind of signal would come, Ji Zichen perked up his ears to listen for any movement, waiting patiently.
After a while, a sudden alarm rang out from the camp, and Kiko immediately became alert. The alarm grew increasingly urgent, indicating that something serious was happening outside. He could hear shouts and screams mixed in with the chaos.
Kiko twitched his nose; he could smell burnt odors wafting in through the main entrance. The scent grew stronger, and now he could see faint flickers of firelight in the distance through the side window and front door without having to step outside.
"There's a fire!" someone shouted near Kiko's tent. "There's a fire!"
He heard footsteps approaching quickly, and Kiko immediately jumped onto his bed, closed his eyes, and pretended to be asleep. At the same time, he forced his rapid breathing to become slow and steady.
"He's still here," Chen Er said as he peeked inside the tent. Kiko maintained his act of deep slumber.
With his eyes shut, Kiko felt as if his hearing had sharpened; he could catch more frantic shouts coming from outside.
"The fire is spreading!"
"Quick, get water to put it out!"
Someone outside was issuing commands in response to the situation.
Kiko took a deep breath and quickly jumped off the bed. He stared intently at the exit, eager to rush out. Although things were chaotic outside, it didn’t mean that no one was guarding him at that moment.
Xia Zhou's voice came again. "Are you ready? I'll tell you how to find me."
Kiko replied, "Where are you? I'm coming to find you right now."
Xia Zhou said, "Wait a moment; there are people outside your door."
Kiko asked in surprise, "Can you see what's happening outside my door?"
Xia Zhou smiled lightly, "Of course, the Serpent Bat Dragon is keeping an eye on things for me."
Ji Zichen's heart leaped with joy; this was just like the bond with Kai Zhou Shen's ring, allowing him to see the surroundings through the eyes of the possessing creature. Kiko attempted to sense the location of the Serpent Bat Dragon, but he felt nothing. He guessed that perhaps the Serpent Bat Dragon was flying too high, beyond his range of perception.
At that moment, Xia Zhou said, "I will have the Serpent Bat Dragon fly outside your tent to distract the guards. You need to slip out through the side window quickly."
"I understand," Kiko replied.
Suddenly, Kiko heard the sound of the Serpent Bat Dragon's wings, descending from above and getting closer. Outside, Chen Er suddenly shouted, "There’s a Demon Beast!"
The soldiers outside erupted in chaos and shouts. Kiko could hear something crashing outside, likely caused by the Serpent Bat Dragon knocking something over or colliding with a soldier.
"Now's the time!" Xia Zhou declared.
Without hesitation, Kiko climbed out through the side window. When Chen Er saw that the Serpent Bat Dragon was only feigning an attack, he felt a chill run down his spine. "This is bad!"
Chen Er rushed back into the tent, only to find that Kiko was nowhere to be seen.
Kiko had escaped into the chaos outside. Everything was in disarray; tents in the distance were nearly engulfed in flames, and horses were panicking and running wildly within the camp.
The more chaotic it became, the better for him; in such a frenzied environment, his chances of being noticed diminished. The soldiers hurriedly tried to extinguish fires in the distance and completely overlooked Kiko, who was not far from them.
Following Xia Zhou's instructions, Kiko searched for him. Xia Zhou was locked in an iron cage at the back of the camp. His clothes looked wrinkled and dirty. When Xia Zhou saw Kiko approach the cage, he chuckled lightly, "Hurry and open the cage; all my guards have gone to fight fires. But I suspect someone will soon figure out what's happening."
The cage had a large lock, and without any internal power at his disposal, Kiko couldn't force it open. He sighed, "If only I had the Demon-Slaying Sword right now."
Kiko asked Xia Zhou, "Do you still have your Eight Desolation Needles?"
"I used them all up," Xia Zhou replied. "I haven't returned to Watchtower to restock. If I had Eight Desolation Needles, I wouldn't need you here to rescue me."
"This is really a life-or-death situation," Ji Zichen said. "Wait here, I'll go get my sword."
Xia Zhou immediately replied, "Wait, the Five Elements Pearl! Pour some water on the lock."
Ji Zichen cursed himself inwardly, thinking, "How could I forget the Five Elements Pearl?"
But Ji Zichen said, "My water can't unlock it either."
Xia Zhou insisted, "Just pour it. I have a way to get out."
Ji Zichen's water droplets dimmed as they splashed onto the lock, which was soon covered in beads of water, as if it had been drenched in rain. Just as Ji Zichen wet the lock, he noticed the outer layer of the lock gradually becoming frosted with ice flowers, until it was completely encased in ice.
Ji Zichen then exclaimed, "What a great idea!" Although he didn't know how Xia Zhou managed to do that, now was not the time to ask questions.
Finally successful, Ji Zichen found a stone and smashed the lock open, freeing the cage door.
As Ji Zichen and Xia Zhou ran toward the back of the mountain, Ji Zichen suddenly said, "Wait, my sword..."
Xia Zhou grabbed Ji Zichen and said, "What sword? We need to leave now!"
Ji Zichen stopped being stubborn and followed Xia Zhou to the back of the mountain. The back was a sheer cliff that towered high above; no matter how skilled one was in lightness techniques, it was impossible to ascend. At that moment, a Serpent Bat Dragon descended. The two of them climbed onto the Serpent Bat Dragon, which then flew up toward the cliff.
Atop the cliff was a forest. The Serpent Bat Dragon stopped at the edge of the trees. Ji Zichen and Xia Zhou stood on the cliff and looked down to see Noda's camp engulfed by flames.
Xia Zhou let out a sigh of relief. "We made it out; that wasn't easy." But then Xia Zhou smiled, seemingly exhilarated by their experience.
Ji Zichen fixed his gaze on Ling Xuan's tent. He was certain that his Demon-Slaying Sword was inside, but while he could see the tent, the sword was not in his possession.
Regardless of everything else, it was good to be out. Ji Zichen asked, "What's going on with that fire?"
"What's going on? It's obviously the work of Uncle Jiang," Xia Zhou laughed.
Ji Zichen was taken aback. "Did those professionals come too? They wouldn't..."
"Don't worry," Xia Zhou reassured Ji Zichen. "There are only a few of them, and their purpose is just to set fire, not to fight those soldiers to the death. They should have left the camp by now."
Ji Zichen gazed toward the camp. There were no sounds of weapons clashing coming from below, confirming Xia Zhou's words. Uncle Jiang and the others had indeed left.
After resting for a moment on the cliff, Xia Zhou said, "Alright, we've rested enough. Let's go."
This was certainly not a good place to linger. Although Ji Zichen was reluctant to part with the Demon-Slaying Sword, it wasn't something fragile like a vase; there would be ways to retrieve it later.
The two mounted the Serpent Bat Dragon, which spread its wings and soared high into the sky, carrying them away from the camp. The Serpent Bat Dragon brought them to another cliff where Uncle Jiang and three professionals were already standing.
The three of them appeared somewhat tense but showed no signs of injury. Upon seeing Xia Zhou and Ji Zichen, Uncle Jiang smiled and said, "It's good that you made it out."
Ji Zichen stepped forward to thank them, and Uncle Jiang replied with a grin, "Here, this should be your thing."
Ji Zichen's heart leaped with joy. "The Demon-Slaying Sword! How did you...!"
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