25. Shanghe County

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All of a sudden, everything felt like a dream to Song Cheng, as if the tranquility of his life was shattered in an instant.

At this moment, he felt as if he were drunk, his head heavy and legs light, unable to control his body. The world before his eyes seemed to be torn apart by a giant, cold, and pale hand, with chaotic images swirling wildly around him.

When he opened his eyes, he saw the forest retreating quickly, the villagers' heads sometimes normal, sometimes turning into sinister skulls... The skulls grasped him, fleeing the mountain as if escaping for their lives.

When he closed his eyes, in the ink-painted world of black and white, suddenly there appeared countless threads of red, glaring red, bloody red, as if a dye vat of blood had been smashed, spilling strands of red that danced wildly in this world. The ink-painted ocean began to swell, turning into a stormy tide, rolling with blood, howling into the void, engulfing the land.

Song Cheng felt like a frail boat in this vast ocean, tossed up and down among thunder and tsunamis, threatened to capsize at any moment. Meanwhile, a cold and putrid, utterly lifeless aura seeped into his nostrils, mouth, eyes, and ears from all around, making him so nauseated he wanted to retch.

The only consciousness he had left urged him to clench his fingers, gripping onto Tong Jia tightly, over and over his heart roared: "Don't let go, don't let go, mustn't let go!"

His vision began to lag severely.

The scenery before his eyes became severely distorted.

The sounds he heard became distorted and bizarre.

The air felt off.

His mind came to a halt.

"Tong Jia!"

"Tong Jia!"

He gripped his hand tightly and shouted.

Time seemed to slow... yet fast.

It felt like a long time had passed, yet it was just a brief moment.

He felt himself hit the ground, lying in a soft whirl of green and yellow, but his hand still held onto another hand tightly.

Instinctively, he leaned over, embracing the owner of the other hand in his arms.

Then he widened his eyes, staring at the twisted world before him, waiting for it to restore...

...

...

After an unknown length of time, an eerie, piercing scream reached his ears, as two elongated, twisted shadows stood before him as if discussing something.

He took several deep breaths.

The green and yellow whirl became dry earth and green grass.

The twisted shadows returned to normal.

The discussion turned from a screech to human voices.

"Finally, two came out."

"Perhaps, they know something."

"The Young Lady said she wants to ask them in person, let's take them back."

"Wait a bit longer, we don't even know if they'll survive."

For a long time...

The scene before Song Cheng's eyes finally cleared.

The desolate, wild mountains and grasslands were remote but no longer carried the distortion and coldness from before.

He saw two men in guard uniforms standing not far away, both with a strength level of "4~6," and a favorability score of 60.

He abruptly turned his head, seeing Young Mrs. Tong asleep in his embrace.

Alive.

Song Cheng assured himself that he had never experienced such a bizarre incident, nor had he ever imagined it.

The event unfolded too abruptly, without any signs.

The men in the distance noticed movement here and cautiously approached, asking, "Who are you?"

Song Cheng replied in a hoarse voice, "A villager from Tang River Village."

The man said, "I am Gao Yiwen, a guard from the Ruyi Commerce Chamber."

As he spoke, he took a scroll from his chest and suddenly unfurled it, revealing the portrait of a pretty girl, precisely Guan Xi.

"Have you seen her?" the guard named Gao Yiwen asked.

Song Cheng focused and looked intently, then nodded.

His Road Guide was gone, the money he had prepared was gone too, his mind was a muddle, with many things still unclear.

He needed connections.

Gao Yiwen then asked a few questions about Guan Xi's small facial features; Song Cheng answered fluently.

Only then did Gao Yiwen say, "Get on the carriage. I don't know what you've been through, but the Young Lady wants to see you both."

"Alright... alright..." Song Cheng nodded, then gritted his teeth to stand, carrying the still-unconscious Tong Jia in his arms, and boarded the dilapidated carriage not far away.

The back of the carriage was loaded with firewood, and there was only a small spot on the edge where they could sit.

He laid Tong Jia as flat as possible, her head resting on his knees.

One of the two guards drove the carriage; the other watched them from behind.

The carriage soon started moving, dust rising with the wheels, under the gentle moonlight, while the foggy old village in the distance was gradually left behind...

'Out of the village.'

'Miss Nanhui didn't manage to follow.'

Song Cheng glanced down, noticing that a large section of his hem was torn away.

'What on earth happened?'

Rubbing his forehead, he pondered for a long time and finally pieced together a rough sequence of events.

Behind Tang River Village, there was a forbidden land called the "Extreme Joy World."

That forbidden land had never "awakened," but with the coming of spring and the thawing of the cold earth, it did wake up.

He was swept into it, and in the seamless transition, their cognition was distorted, directly involved in the "reappearance" of the "Extreme Joy World's" owner.

So when was he first drawn in?

And why hadn't he seen the blood-red forbidden warning?

Perhaps, his perception was twisted?

Or maybe he had already become a caged bird back when he first heard the sickening stench?

...

Fortunately, the Extreme Joy World was right next to Tang River Village.

Yune from Tang River Village sensed his danger and came for the "rescue."

The method of "rescue" was also a "reappearance."

By "Tang River Village's reappearance" invading the "Extreme Joy World's reappearance."

Yune's most resentful moment was The place where those dishonest lovers were punished.

Though this moment was slightly disrupted by his involvement, it still froze on that scene.

Thus, the deceased Village Chief and the villagers quickly reached the neighboring Extreme Joy World, snatching Song Cheng and the others over.

It's just uncertain if there would be conflicts between the taboos.

Could Yune... be targeted by the Extreme Joy World?

Back then, Song Cheng clung desperately to Young Mrs. Tong.

Because of that, Young Mrs. Tong also escaped along.

Nanhui held onto his hem, but the fabric was ultimately fragile and was torn halfway... Nanhui was unsure where she ended up.

Perhaps she never escaped from the Extreme Joy World, or maybe... she fell back into Tang River Village.

...

At that moment, Song Cheng glanced over his tattered and muddy clothes. Kneeling against him, Young Mrs. Tong slowly opened her eyes, her bewildered gaze fixed on him.

After a long time, her eyes finally regained clarity.

Young Mrs. Tong said nothing, hugging Song Cheng tightly.

Song Cheng also embraced her with closed eyes.

A man not easily moved to tears, but now he could not stop them from falling.

"I was wrong, I was wrong!"

"I almost lost you!"

"So close!"

He should have risked it, taking everyone on a long detour to the county; that way, there might have been hope!

He should not have hesitated even slightly, nor harbored any luck.

Tears slid down Song Cheng's cheeks.

Madam Tong held him tight, gently stroking his back, softly saying, "It's okay now, it's okay now..."

Beside them, the guard named Gao Yiwen coughed lightly.

Song Cheng and Tong Jia finally parted slightly.

No matter how much they had gone through, the road ahead still had to be walked, and because of this, they cherished and valued the people around them even more.

Gao Yiwen also let out a slight sigh of relief. Initially, he was wary of these two, but from their conversation and actions, they seemed to be an ordinary young couple from Tang River Village.

No special powers, just lucky to have escaped.

After a while, Song Cheng wiped away his tears and asked, "Brother Gao, is it possible to open a medical clinic in the county town?"

Gao Yiwen replied, "Why? Do you know how to do medicine?"

Song Cheng said, "My wife knows, she used to run a clinic in the village."

Gao Yiwen said, "If that's truly the case, she'd be considered talented. There naturally are opportunities, not to mention elsewhere, but Ruyi Commerce Chamber certainly has them. But whether or not you can catch the Young Lady's eye depends on how you two seize the opportunity."

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