369 The Rescue (2/2)
To most people, the easiest solution would be to kill him when he was powerless to react. However, Shangguan Ru could not bring herself to do it. Her disgust for killing had far exceeded her fear of being killed by the old man.
The other option most people would choose would be to leave him here to his own fate. She had heard from Maid Lotus that Old Man Mu practiced the Seven Rotation Skill and was most afraid of sunlight. She did not even have to lift a finger and his kung fu would be removed on its own. If that happened, he would never be able to harm anyone in this world again.
She had already packed her belongings up and led her horse away for a few dozen steps before realizing that she was unexpectedly unable to leave with peace of mind. She did not understand why.
Old Man Mu was like a discarded newborn baby now.
She turned back and threw out a few items from her sack which were of no use to her at the moment. She then picked him up and stuffed him into the sack.
”It's a mistake,” a voice said to Shangguan Ru. ”Old Man Mu is not someone who knows how to repay kindness. Once he has regained his power, the very first thing he does could very possibly be to rip out your heart.”
Shangguan Ru knew that she was making a big mistake but still kept the old man in her sack.
During the noon hour, she experienced another episodic abdominal attack and had to sit down, but it was not as painful the other day, when she had felt like dying. After the attack, she even had the mood to consume some dry rations. She did not care even if they were possibly poisoned as well.
Since arriving at this place, she had not seen any flora or fauna around. She was sure that she would starve to death once she finished her supply of dry rations. ”No matter how skilled Old Man Mu was, he could not possibly defeat hunger in the end.” This thought calmed her down significantly, but then she felt that it was comedic. She did not know if she was saving or killing the old man.
Compared to her, Old Man Mu was much more clear-headed about the entire matter.
”Young lady, don't keep sitting and admiring the scenery. If you don't continue walking, we'll both die here.”
Old Man Mu's weak voice came out from the sack.
”It doesn't matter where one dies, it's still dying. It's alright here anyway,” Shangguan Ru replied. She was still hugging her knees to her chest, unafraid of death.
Old Man Mu was silent for a while. When he resumed speaking, his tone had turned extremely angry. ”Fool, you wish to die, but I don't. Don't try to practice Zen at such a young age. If everyone is as unafraid to die like you, what pleasure would there be in killing?”
”Leave yourself then. I didn't want to bring you along anyway, and I don't wish to see you start killing once you've recovered.”
Old Man Mu changed his tone again. ”Young lady, I can hear from your words that you are no ordinary person. Who knows, maybe you'll be able to attain enlightenment and become a bodhisattva some day. However, you should go all the way if you intend to save somebody. It's broad daylight now, how do you expect me to walk by myself?”
Shangguan Ru was not in a hurry to go anywhere, however. ”How did you escape from... the Dragon King?” she asked.
”Hehe, I have many excellent moves up my sleeve. I miscalculated once and decided to play along with you young people. After I had my share of fun, I used the Bone Shrinking Skill and easily escaped, leaving a fake 'double' behind.”
Shangguan Ru did not believe him as he was already extremely small in size. ”So that's what happened. Then, you should use one of your incredible skills and escape on your own.”
Old Man Mu knew he had over exaggerated, so much so that even he himself found his own words hard to believe. ”To be honest, I didn't know what happened either. Someone cut the rope binding me and I managed to escape with the help of the slack.”
Shangguan Ru felt a little pity for Slave Huan. He always seemed to be knee deep in countless conspiracies and plots and would probably never be able to extricate himself.
She was deep in thought and neither spoke nor got up to start moving again. Old Man Mu got a little anxious. ”Young lady, don't say later that I didn't remind you. That woman, Maid Lotus, is now searching around for me and will discover our tracks sooner or later. She isn't as soft hearted as you. After killing me, I bet she'll kill you as well.”
”Why would she kill me?” Shangguan Ru shook her head, unconvinced.
”Of course it would be because she wants to get rid of the source of her problems and eliminate any future threat. Once you're dead, the Dragon King will not think of you again and will belong exclusively to her.”
Shangguan Ru did not wish to be discussing about Slave Huan with anybody else at this point in time but could not stop herself from rebutting. ”The person he misses is not me. He only wishes to be able to kill me one day to take revenge for his family and the giant rocs.”
”Silly girl. You've been fooled by the Dragon King's tricks,” Old Man Mu replied. He sounded extremely sincere and earnest, as if he was speaking to his granddaughter. ”Don't be fooled by his act of calling himself 'Dragon King'. In reality, he's just an immature kid who lacks any technique to handle the woman he loves but can't be together with. He thinks that his act of pushing you away can fool everyone, but let me tell you, the person who appears the coldest is usually the most romantic. I can see it clearly, even Maid Lotus...”
”Enough,” said Shangguan Ru. She had expended a lot of effort to compose her thoughts but was now confused again. She got up and continued leading her horse on, rebutting Old Man Mu's words with one reason after another.
As long as Shangguan Ru kept moving, Old Man Mu was happy to keep quiet. He hid in the sack, conserving his energy.
As night came, he became more energetic. Even though he had not regained his power yet, it did not stop him from taking a look around their resting spot. He was constantly moving throughout the entire night and woke Shangguan Ru, who was sleeping in the tent, up before the sun was up. ”You are extremely careless to leave so many traces behind. Even if Maid Lotus were blind, she would catch up with us within two to three days. Let's quickly get moving!”
Shangguan Ru did not believe in the least that Maid Lotus would want to kill her. As such, she turned away from the old man and covered her ears, continuing to sleep till it was dawn.
Her abdominal pain grew weaker with each attack, and she finally realized that she was not given a deadly poison. She was in no hurry, and no matter how hard Old Man Mu urged her on, she continued to stroll on foot, leading her horse by its reins.
For the second half of the day, Old Man Mu unusually remained silent, seemingly having passed out again. It was either that or he was coming up with some plot again.
In reality, he was thinking of something else. No matter how fast Shangguan Ru moved, she could not possibly shake the killer chasing after them. The reason Maid Lotus had not caught up was that she had to search for their tracks in the vast wilderness, but it would not take her too long. Also, he needed more than a month to regain his power.
Escape was not a solution to his problem.
That night, Old Man Mu presented his well-thought-out plan to Shangguan Ru. ”Young lady, you're in luck. I've decided to go against my master's teachings and break tradition by taking you as my disciple. Come, kowtow to me now.”