250 Untitled (1/2)

Meng Fuyao smiled in return. ”You too.”

The trio wandered around as the sky was quickly darkening. No one knew where they were. Technically, given the speed of the three people, no matter how precarious the road was, after such a long walk, they should have already gotten out of the Lingzhu Mountain. However, right now, it felt as though they were still circling around the same place.

Meng Fuyao collapsed onto the ground in dismay. ”Let's not walk anymore. Perhaps, if we stay here, we might be able to avoid some of the dangers,” she whined.

”No.” Shadow Blade pulled her up. ”We must get out of here before Fog comes. Right now, she has merely set a formation, but when she is free to take action, it will be over for us in this disadvantageous environment.”

”How's her martial arts?” asked Meng Fuyao. ”Just based on her whimsical and erratic formation, it is enough for her to stand above the rest. Coupled with her skilled martial arts, who else would be able to compete against her? Why is she only the eighth out of the ten strongest?”

”Her natural talent is inadequate,” explained Shadow Blade. ”Apparently Fog is also from Xuanyuan, and her parents were blood-related siblings… a taboo topic; barely anyone knows of it.” He carefully listened to the sounds of the wind. ”We seem to have walked to somewhere near a river.”

Meng Fuyao sniffed the faint scent of water and heard indistinctive yells as weapons clashed against another. ”A battle?” Meng Fuyao asked questioningly.

But Xuanyuan Min seemed to be focused on something else. ”Ning Dai river? We reached the corners of the hunting grounds?”

The two had their attention on different things, but neither was wrong. Just as the last word was muttered, a ray of silver light flashed past. One could vaguely make up the shape of a person. His moves were swift, and as he advanced, he stirred up the surrounding mist. The mist graciously moved aside, creating a path as though a sharp blade had neatly cut it into half. Suddenly, a figure appeared amidst the fog.

Black hair and robe. Sleeves embroidered with fiery red flames. A stance ready to attack. A swift figure that contained no frivolous, extra actions, yet ever so imposing.

Meng Fuyao cried in surprise, ”Zhan Beiye!”

But Zhan Beiye continued his move as though he didn't hear her, the sword heading straight for her. With a murderous aura, the blade was now right in front of her face. Meng Fuyao could feel beads of cold sweat forming on her forehead, stumbling backward, shocked.

”Be careful!”

The one that yelled was Shadow Blade. He stood there, not moving an inch, but one of his hands had already wrapped around Meng Fuyao's arms, holding onto her.

Meng Fuyao quickly stood up and accidentally kicked a pebble. She could vaguely hear the pebble rolling down the grassy slope and then falling into something - probably a cave. What followed was a series of strange sounds. She couldn't figure out what was in the cave, but her instincts were screaming at her, telling her it wasn't anything good.

Meng Fuyao was still badly shaken. She glanced over and realized that the mist had recovered and Zhan Beiye had disappeared.

Blankly, she sputtered out a question: ”Illusion?”

”No, it's a reflection,” said Shadow Blade. ”He should be somewhere nearby, and that attack was probably for his enemy but was reflected in front of you by the mist.”

”How intriguing,” mumbled Meng Fuyao.

Suddenly, the wind picked up its speed and looking around, one could see a group of large, grey birds dispersing the mist as they flew low around the forest. With long and sharp beaks, they pecked the moment they bent down.

”Even you have come to bully me!” yelled Meng Fuyao, angry and amused at the same time. She turned, and all of a sudden, Destiny Rebellion was already in her hands. A ray of black light attacked the birds. Droplets of blood accompanied by soft, grey feathers filled the surroundings as it descended elegantly from the sky. The birds shrieked in fear, attempting to avoid death in a chaotic manner. But Destiny Rebellion was persistent in its pursuit, and wherever it passed, the new bird carcasses would appear on the ground.

Xuanyuan Min stared at the dagger, surprised. It was the first time he had seen Meng Fuyao taking action. He stared blankly at Destiny Rebellion, then, at Meng Fuyao in deep thought. Meng Fuyao didn't seem to realize the oddity as she proudly recalled Destiny Rebellion. Suddenly, the expression on her face changed.

The birds had all fallen, but Destiny Rebellion had disappeared!

Then, she heard someone yelling for her.

That voice belonged to Zhan Beiye. Meng Fuyao responded to his call; she knew that they were all, oddly, interconnected, and that dagger of hers not only reflected but even made its way there. The unlucky emperor from Dahan had no calm and collected Shadow Blade and suddenly saw Meng Fuyao… this dagger… wouldn't take his life, would it?

Worried, Meng Fuyao wanted to rush over to find him, but Shadow Blade stopped her. ”The formation is changing too quickly. We can't move forward anymore, nor can we touch anything. Ignore all illusions, calm down, and wait.”

Grudgingly, Meng Fuyao kicked a bird carcass. As she kicked, the mist dispersed, and suddenly, a figure entered her version. It was a pretty face, and she dressed in a colorful outfit. She was lying down on her stomach at the bottom of the ”mountain of rocks” as she struggled to climb upwards. What was behind her was a dark, unfathomable abyss.

Meng Fuyao cried, ”Zhu Zhu!” and reached out to pull her up. But as she reached her hand out, there was no one there, and instead, a slimy thing wrapped itself around Meng Fuyao's wrist.

Meng Fuyao immediately smashed her hand onto the floor.

With a ”kacha,” the snake made its escapade, but it was too late for Meng Fuyao. She could feel her wrist go numb, and upon a closer look, there were two pinhole-sized holes on her wrist.

”God damn!”

Meng Fuyao muttered harshly under her breath. Next, to her, Shadow Blade's expression changed into a worried one. He grabbed her hand over and swiftly tore off a piece of his sleeve, tying it around the elbow to stop the poison from moving up. Without a word, he bent down to suck out the poison.

”I've got medicine!” exclaimed Meng Fuyao.