[Bonus] Escape from the dungeon

"What is taking her so long?" fretted Zhèngyi, who was staying near lord Tānlán's villa.

It was the mansion of lord Xianzhu, but every citizen in Jarifa knew that in his master's absence, Tānlán spread out in his villa to rule over the city like a king.

It didn't take the young Spiritformer long, because he and Toras had the courage to create their lair right in the park, and thus right in the lion's den, so to speak.

But now Zhèngyi waited for the signal Kiyu had promised him and, leaning back against a tree, tapped the ground again and again with the front half of one of his feet.

To him, it felt like time was standing still. Being underground near the mansion had been one thing, but standing here above ground waiting.... that just didn't suit him. All this waiting made him nervous. What would he do if guards discovered him? Would he be able to lie his way out of the situation?

He directed his gaze toward the marketplace, waiting for the signal. However, something entered his vision that made him doubt his mental state. A large object flew into the air just before it fell down again. It was some distance from the marketplace, but if he wasn't mistaken, it was part of the fountain.

However, whatever it was, it produced a loud crash as it hit the ground, causing hysterical screams among the townspeople who were running away from the marketplace.

'Ahahaha. What a madwoman!' Zhèngyi thought to himself when he saw what Kiyu had done. He had to pull himself together not to burst out laughing.

The fear among the inhabitants had taken over, and they scattered in all directions.

Now that chaos had broken out, he kept a close eye on the villa and saw the great number of guards that were being sent out.

'Now they have to take care of Kiyu and a mass panic!' it popped into his head when he realized what her signal had caused. 'This is perfect! That will keep many busy.'

For Zhèngyi, this was the beginning of his operation. He payed attention to every spot of the mentions in order to find a loophole in the guards' defense. Entrances of the mansion were still no option for him, since guards still protected them.

'But that's not a problem,' he grinned.

As if taking a stroll through the park, Zhèngyi walked towards the building and strode straight through the massive stone wall of the building!

'No wall can ever stop me' he told himself with conviction in his mind. His spirit forming abilities allowed him to pass through material things and even plants as if they had no solid body. Only with living beings, his strength failed. Why plants were an exception was still unclear to him, but he had come to terms with it.

He could even use it to dodge attacks from weapons or other forces like fire, but that was an active use of his power, not a passive one. So if he wasn't aware of the attack, people still could hit him.

But this mission was an escape action with distraction. Last night he had used the quiet to scout the mansion and explore the way to the dungeon. A simple thing, but this time he would have to see how to get out with one more person. For as much confidence as he had in his abilities, he could not extend them to other living beings.

The way to the dungeon itself turned out to be easy. He could hear how information about the commotion in the marketplace was making the rounds, and the guards were telling each other everything through loud shouts.

Tānlán had ordered the guards not to let the suspects escape until the Spiritformer could take care of them.

'That means he's on his way to her!'

On the one hand, Zhèngyi breathed a sigh of relief about this, for it meant that he would not have to deal with the Spiritformer. But on the other hand, it meant trouble for Kiyu.

'I hope you can handle it.' He had to use the time she bought him.

He had reached the dungeon, which was not guarded because of the commotion. Who would guard a dungeon from which no one could break out anyway, when all hell was breaking loose in the city? However, it was also so that the guard, who had the supervision of the dungeon keys, had taken them with him.

So Zhèngyi had to improvise when he found Kiyu's sister.

'Red hair, cut short,' he thought to himself and kept a lookout for her. Since there were no guards in the dungeon, he had taken the risk of lighting a candle and carrying it with him.

The sight of the dungeons had been anything but bearable for Zhèngyi. Quite a few prisoners sat in the dungeon cells, and often he could not tell whether the prisoners were still alive or already dead. But either way, without the keys, he could not help them.

It would be difficult enough to take care of the lock of Laki's prison. So, as much as the thought pained him, he couldn't worry about every other cell.

He had by now looked through half the cells with the help of his candle, when it seemed he had found Laki.

'Red hair, cut short! That must be Laki!' He was in high spirit when he found Laki.

"Laki," he whispered to confirm his guess, "Laki, can you hear me?"

However, there was no response from the strange girl, who hanged there by chains to the back wall of the cell.

"Laki," he whispered a little louder now and saw the girl's head stir.

"K... Kiyu?" she replied in a weak voice. She had understood almost instantly that the person in front of her was not her sister. "Who are you?" she asked Zhèngyi.

"I'm a friend of your sister," he replied in a whisper and set about picking the lock of her dungeon cell.

"Where..." she started, but had to cough in mid-sentence. "Where's Kiyu?"

"She's distracting the guards so I can get you out of here," Zhèngyi answered her, and couldn't help smiling when he heard the click of the lock.

"One lock picked, two to go!" he thought to himself, looking at the shackles around Laki's wrist. But he just smiled at these, knowing that these, too, would be easy to undo.

"Don't worry, we're almost there." he assured her and set to work on the first wrist cuff, which opened after only a few seconds.

"Do you think you'll be able to walk?" he asked her in advance, just in case, while he was about to undo the second shackle. A short click later, he opened this one, too, and Laki almost fell to the ground before he caught her.

"We have to get out of here," he insisted with urgency. "Your sister is fighting off what feels like every guard in town right now, so I can get you out of here in peace."

He put her left arm around his shoulder and supported her as they walked toward the cell's exit.

"Ow," Laki groaned out as she fell over. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

But Zhèngyi only whispered back. "Never mind, but please try to be quiet. Some guards have stayed behind."

He then fell silent and led Laki up the stairs to the exit from the dungeons. The way was long and arduous, but he had already expected that.

He had assumed that Kiyu's sister must be as stubborn as he thought Kiyu was, and would therefore never give in to Tānlán's wishes.

As a result, the punishment, which Tānlán gave her, weakened her, and she had to be supported on her way back.

'Somehow I must get us around the guards on the run,' he thought to himself, trying to work out a plan of escape.

Only now did Zhèngyi realize that the plan they had come up with had some errors. But that took the problems that lay before him.

Not only did he have to smuggle a weakened person out of a still guarded villa, no, there was also a problem with Kiyu.

They hadn't even talked about how he should inform Kiyu that he had freed Laki with success. After all, the goal was not for Kiyu to defeat all the guards and the Spiritformer. She was just supposed to stall everyone until he could free Laki.

'Whereas, knowing her, she would continue until there was no opponent left standing' Before it came to that, he had to have devised a plan for that as well to prevent it.

"Wait here," he whispered to Laki, leaning her against the wall after they left the dungeon.

Without wasting time, he had made his way through the walls thanks to his abilities and took advantage of it to spy out all the corridors that lay ahead of them. This way, maybe he could avoid being discovered by guards.

If he didn't make a mistake, they might even make it to the exit! And two surprised guards.... he would manage somehow.