Chapter 108 (2/2)

Pouring liquor on her ankle had been the last resort. There wasn't anything else she could do to make herself recover faster. It would be unwise for her to insist on walking at the risk of infection.

When she was a test subject to her master, she had endured pain much stronger than the snake bite. However, at the time she never felt the pain as keenly as she did now. Was it because now she had Nan Xun at her side?

No matter how strong-willed she was, in the end, she was a regular human.

Her leg had gone numb. She lay boneless against Nan Xun's back. Nan Xun felt a sense of melancholy in his heart. He could smell the faint fragrance coming from Jun Huang's body, but she was so light it was as if she didn't exist.

They walked. Jun Huang was worried that she might weigh Nan Xun down, but every step he took was steady. He didn't even break a sweat.

At the end of the stone staircase was a steep cliff. Another dead end. Nan Xun gently let Jun Huang down.

Jun Huang looked closely at everything in her view. Finally, she spotted something. She pointed at the distance. ”Look. Isn't that a house?”

Nan Xun and the guards turned to where she was pointing at. There was indeed a house hidden in a bamboo forest. The house itself was made of bamboo as well. A more impatient man would have missed it.

”That's where we have to go,” said Jun Huang.

Nan Xun nodded. ”We'll have to find a way there.” He was cautious as he led Jun Huang down the stairs. She pulled at his sleeve as they made their way back down.

Jun Huang had mentally mapped out the route they should take. She was confident that they would be able to find their way to the bamboo house. After a day of travel, however, she noticed that something was wrong. Her eyebrows drew together.

”What?” Nan Xun stopped beside her and asked worriedly, ”Are you in pain?”

Jun Huang shook her head and pointed at the parasol tree near them. ”We have been here before.”

That got a reaction out of the guards. They looked over at the tree. Only after Jun Huang pointed it out did they realize that they have been going in circles.

Alerted, they paired up and entrust their comrades to watch their backs. They put their hands around the hilt of their swords, ready to draw their weapons should something happen.

Jun Huang didn't think the root of the problem was as simple as a physical threat. She had a theory, but she couldn't be sure if she was right. After a moment of silence, she told Nan Xun, ”Leave a mark here. We'll go in the opposite direction.”

Nan Xun nodded. He drew his sword and made a cut on the parasol tree. Blood-like liquid seeped from the cut. It looked eery in the dim light.

Jun Huang's expression remained impa.s.sive. She dabbed her finger in the liquid and smelled it. The red looked offensive against her pale, almost translucent fingers. Nevertheless, there didn't seem to be anything out of ordinary.

”Let's go,” said Jun Huang. She stepped over the wilted branches on the ground and went in the opposite direction.

After about the time for an incense stick to burn, they were right back at the parasol tree Nan Xun had marked. The guards were flabbergasted. Some felt their hair stand on end. They had witnessed countless deaths, but they had never experienced something this bizarre. One of them asked in a shaky voice, ”What… what is happening? Can it be that there is… there is something of the occult here?”

Jun Huang huffed. ”No, I don't think so. I think we have entered a disorienting formation. This may be Mister Ji Bo's welcoming gift for us.”

Her tone was light, but inside her heart there was a storm. She stared at the parasol tree Nan Xun had cut earlier, trying to find anything out of ordinary. Her instinct told her that this tree was the center of the formation. It must be the key to their escape.

Realization struck her suddenly. She looked up at the top of the tree. There were a number of bird nests there. At first glance, the nests seemed perfectly normal, but if one looked closely, there was a fracture in the illusion.

Normally, bird nests were made of twigs and wilted leaves. These nests, on the other hand, looked like they were an extension of the branches themselves. No parasol tree would naturally grow out a nest. The nests must have been the reason they were trapped.

She looked back at Nan Xun and pointed at the nests on the tree. ”Can you bring the nests down?”

Nan Xun didn't know why she asked him to do so, but he nodded anyway. He drew his sword and leaped onto the top of the tree, using the branches as his stepping stones. A few slashes, and the nests dropped to the ground.

A puff of pungent smoke went up. Everyone covered their noses as the smoke spread through the whole area, making it impossible for them to even see their own hands.