Bang!
Lang Wei was startled.
But the stallions dragging the carriage were more than just startled.
Immediately, the carriage was sent into uncontrollable chaos.
After crashing from wall to wall and smashing his head a fair number of times, the carriage finally came to a stop.
"What in the..." Placing his hand over one of the walls, his other hand rested over his throbbing head, and suppressing his nausea, Lang Wei guided himself to stand up.
Not soon afterward, screams and shouts initiated outside. Lang Wei was immediately alerted and quickly leaped out of the carriage.
The scene that upheld outside made him paralyze in shock.
'Earlier I had established that this world shows deviations on natural laws from my previous world. There is something like 'Living Force' in this world. That made the people a bit different and stronger from Earth. But I couldn't have guessed it would make such a huge difference.'
Lang Wei's eyes dimmed slightly.
'It seems like Lang Sect Leader bastard was purposely kept ignorant. I can't find anything useful in his memories.'
The people who had escorted him were engaged in a fiery battle with the aggressors. When they jumped, they rose high in the air as if they weighed nothing. Their attack speed was astonishing. The force of each strike could put down a tree in seconds.
The fabricated bizarre elements and attacked without having to actually physically touch each other.
Looking at the situation, deep curiosity glimmered in Lang Wei's eyes.
For a moment he forgot where he was.
That was until he felt his respiratory tract burning. Choking up, he coughed out a mouthful of blood.
"White Fog?" He struggled to breathe in and glanced around. "The explosion that I had heard earlier... Was that some sort of Poison Bomb?" Without thinking further, Lang Wei quickly tore off a piece of clothing from his sleeve and tied it over his mouth, covering half of his face with it.
His eyes started watering.
'I have to get out of that Poisoned place as soon as possible.'
At that moment, he heard a feeble voice.
"Young Master!"
Lang Wei's eyes fell on the same maiden's beautiful face. She was coughing badly; her complexion was getting paler; she was on the verge of fainting.
"Young Master-"
"Si Li." Her name emerged in his mind. Glancing at her, strong emotions of affection evoked in his heart.
Lang Wei stood frozen at his spot, hesitant for a few seconds. "Damn it!" He lurched towards her; grabbing her wrist, he plunged into the forest.
.
.
.
Chen Ping and Jiang Chen both had formed their cores long ago. For someone who had already formed his core, the poison would do no more than slow them down for a bit. While others had already fallen to the attacks, both of them continued to fight vigorously.
"So many different elements..." Chen Ping suddenly blurted. "These people are skilled in versatile talents. They... must have been hired by some strong force. I suspect it is Northern Qin. One of us must go back to report this to Sect Leader Nie. I will hold them back."
"I will leave" Jiang Chen quickly exclaimed. After just a couple of strikes, he had realized that these people were far higher in ranks and far more skilled.
Especially the one wearing the black mask with long hair.
Although Jiang Chen was acclaimed for his accomplishments, that was mainly because of his family resources that he had progressed. As for his innate talent, it was mediocre.
"Jiang Chen, your Air root is week. Your weightlessness skill is also not good enough. On the other hand, my secondary root is Air. I can leave fast. This matter is important. Hold them back while I go and fetch he-"
"Fuck off! You just want to push me to my death and leave just like that?!"
"Jiang Chen-"
"Do you think I would fall for your tricks?"
"Jiang Chen, why don't you understand? Informing this to our sect is the most important thing right now. This is bigger than just you and me. If Nothern Qin is involved then I fear whole Southern Liang would be in danger."
"Then why don't you hold them off while I leave, you fucking hypocrite!" In anger, Jiang Chen even launched an attack at Chen Ping and jumped onto a branch.
However, Jiang Chen had just jumped off when a triplet of needles shot out and hit him right at the side of his neck. His body went limp and he fell heavily on the ground.
A couple of seconds later, the man having is face masked landed smoothly by his fallen body. "Too eager to leave?" His cold eyes glimmered with killing intent.
From a distance, looking at this, Chen Ping's eyes widened in shock.
The needles had hit him right at his acupuncture points.
"Jiang Chen get up!"
Chen Ping observed as Jiang Chen's eyes slowly dimmed and life slipped out of them, Chen Ping understood one thing.
He was dead.
'Ordinary poisoned needles can't harm someone who had formed his core to this extent. At most he should have woken up after a couple of minutes. The needles were not only poisoned but infused with spiritual energy. This level of tact... can only mean-" His thought interrupted as he shuddered at the possibility.
When Chen Ping had called out to Jiang Chen, the masked man had shifted his eyes slowly. And now his killing intent pierced him. Strong aura suffocated Chen Ping.
'I must report this to Sect Master!' With a single thought in his mind, he jumped away, aborting his attacks and utilizing the remnant of his 'living force' to speed him up.
After he had disappeared into a distance, one of the younger disciples smoothly landed by the masked man's side.
"Master Fu, should we follow him?"
"No." Fu Chen answered, pulling down the mask that had been covering his face the whole time. "Grand Master said we should let at least one of them go."
Another disciple approached quickly. He cupped his hands, bowed in greeting and reported. "Master Fu, Lang Sect carriage is empty. Lang Wei must have fled."
Fu Chen glanced in the direction of the decrepit carriage. "He is just a kid. He could not have gone far. Search in the circumference of ten miles."
Following his words, the younger disciples dispersed at once.
.
.
.
Holding Si Li's wrist and dragging her all the way, Lang Wei continued running aimlessly through the thick forests.
His objective was simple:- to get away from the fight scene.
'If I am lucky, they would forget about us and let us be'
'But I was the main menu in the dinner this time. Their objective must have been to kill me all along... or if I dare get optimistic, abduct me'
'But that is unlikely. Why would they want to abduct a useless bastard.'
'Death it is then, waiting for me with its arms stretched in warm welcome. I can't run from those boulders forever.'
At a distance, he spotted a cave. "Come here." He quickly tugged Si Li and guided inside. They both stood with their backs against the cave's wall making as low noise as possible.
After regaining their breaths, Si Li was the first one to whisper.
"Young Master Lang, stay quiet and do not worry. Do not cry. I will get us out of here"
Lang Wei: "..."
'I am not crying! Those are the tears from that gas! Can't you see that kid? And just who in the hell is getting who out of here you little kid? I am the older one! I am the one who is supposed to say those words, not you!'
Lang Wei was about to object when he discovered a problem with his logic. 'Oh right, I am ten years olf right now and she is probably twelve?'
"Young Master Lang, earlier when you came back for me, I-I-"
"Shh." Lang Wei quickly put a finger over her lips to quieten her up. Her voice had been a bit louder.
'Those damn boulders might also have super hearing abilities. Who knows!'
Lang Wei silently glanced at the maiden's face and wondered why he had gone out of his way to save her.
He wasn't the type of person who would risk his life for strangers.
Observing her features, he noticed she was frail, possibly malnourished with a pale and delicate face. With her beautiful features, it was almost difficult to believe that she was a servant. From his memories, Lang Wei could tell that previous Lang Wei had developed a strong reliance on this maiden.
In the household of Sect Leader Lang, he was a bastard. So naturally, he wasn't treated well, both by servants and the family members. Among all, Si Li was the only one who was kind to him.
The previous Lang Wei was, after all, a child of ten years who needed emotional support at his age.
Let it be friends or family, Si Li was the only one Lang Wei had.
'That was why the emotional tug I had felt at that time was so strong; so strong that it overcame my logical reasoning.'
Looking at Si Li's face, strong turbulent emotions emerged within him. He sighed.
'What a bother. I will have to look after her from now on.'
"Si Li, let me ask you something. That last meal we had at the Lang manor. Was it prepared by you?" He whispered.
Si Li blinked, confused as if wondering why was her weak-hearted Young Master so calm in such a situation.
However, she was wise and caught on the cue. She didn't talk loud again, instead whispered. "Yes, Young Master. It is always me who prepared your meal." After some hesitancy, she added. "Why do you ask something like this all of sudden?"
"Was there anyone else who assisted you? Or could it by any chance, some other servant visited the kitchen while you were cooking?"
"Yang Mi had paid me a visit. At that time while I was cooking your meal, she had brought some accessories for the journey and asked me to place them in the carriage in advance."
"Who is this Yang Mi again?"
"Yang Mi is Madame Xiao's personal maid."
'Madame Xiao' A beautiful yet ruthless face emerged in Lang Wei's memories.
Madame Xiao was his father's current wife. The original Lang Wei was extremely scared of her. Not even daring as much to raise his head in her presence. That woman used to abuse him frequently under the pretense of 'discipline'. Under her tyranny, Lang Wei had turned out to be a passive and insecure child.
'This must be the reason behind the lack of knowledge of the original Lang Wei. Madame Xiao had restricted his means of learning. Even after reaching ten, he wasn't allowed a single literary teacher. He wasn't allowed to access the Sect's private library. Studying any cultivation technique was out of the question. Sure enough, Madame Xiao wouldn't tolerate Lang Wei being capable enough to be able to stand up against her son.'
"So you left my meal unguarded for some time while Yang Mi was in our quarters?" Lang Wei mused.
"Yes, Young Master."
'I can't say with a hundred percent assurance but Madame Xiao is the biggest suspect. But isn't sending me to Northern Qin already equivalent to sending me to my death? Why she had to resort to extreme measures.'
"Si Li this place won't be safe for long. We must-" Lang Wei halted in mid-sentence when he felt something drip on his neck.
Si Li's gaze shifted upwards Lang Wei's head and her eyes widened in shock.