Chapter 121 - 6: Waking Up (2)

The three rapidly approaching men stopped short. The leader asked, stunned, "What did you say?

"Old Jit was carrying a One-Star Quantum Pulse Bomb. That thing can even handle an unprepared Tai Chi Stage Mage for a short time."

"I don’t know what happened. All I know is someone grabbed the target and took off. You’d better hurry, or this mission’s going south."

Hearing this, the leader ordered, "Launch the drones to track them. Don’t lose their trail."

Just then, one of the men beside him spoke up. "Captain, if the Celestial Spirit Sect finds out, won’t this cause a diplomatic incident?

"We might not be official anymore, but we’re still semi-affiliated."

The leader replied, "We don’t have time to worry about that. Vulture said one of them was conscious. If it’s an Inner Sect Disciple and they make it back alive, we’re still screwed."

"Let’s deal with the problem in front of us. The person who issued this mission can deal with the fallout later."

"This whole mess was caused by a major error in the intel they provided. It’s only fitting that they clean it up."

At his words, the two teammates behind him each quickly pulled a palm-sized, disc-shaped epaulet from their shoulders.

The discs were pitch-black, about an inch thick, and looked like speaker grilles.

The two men took the discs and tossed them into the air.

Instantly, the discs shot forward, speeding off in the direction Zhang Deming had disappeared.

By the time the three of them reached the scene, Vulture, the sniper, had also caught up from behind.

The medic was the first to step forward. After checking the condition of the two men on the ground, he frowned. "Strange. It looks gruesome, but he didn’t use lethal force at all."

"This doesn’t fit the typical style of a Hongmeng Star Mage. Why?"

Vulture frowned. "Isn’t it obvious? To make us stop and save them, delaying our pursuit!"

The leader also frowned and shook his head. "The culture in the Hongmeng Realm is different from ours. They wouldn’t even think of something like that."

"’Human life is paramount’—that’s a Federation ideal. Here in the wilds, it’s normal for lives to be treated as worthless as weeds. That mindset is deeply ingrained."

"Besides, the divide between Immortals and Mortals here is practically bone-deep. There’s no reason he should have held back!"

"You have to understand, during diplomatic missions, if our government doesn’t send a Mage, they’re met with blatant disdain."

"If you get stung by an ant, would you go to the trouble of trapping it like this, or would you just crush it?"

Vulture heard this and asked, "Then what do you think the reason is, Captain?"

Frowning, the leader shook his head. "I have no idea."

...

Zhang Deming ran and leaped swiftly through the forest.

At the same time, he sensed the condition of Ling’er on his back. Her Spiritual Power was in disarray, disrupted by a strange energy that prevented her circulatory flow from re-establishing itself.

Her unconsciousness wasn’t serious. Her fragile body, lacking the support of Spiritual Power, had simply been knocked out by the strange impact.

After getting a clear sense of her general condition, Zhang Deming quickly sent a bit of his own Spiritual Power into her.

The moment his Spiritual Power entered her body, Zhang Deming felt a jolt.

His Spiritual Power was instantly frozen stiff and dispersed by the chaotic Spiritual Power within her.

Zhang Deming’s brow furrowed slightly. ’Her Spiritual Power already carries the properties of ice. Has she already progressed this far on her path to advancement?’

’In her condition, why is she running around getting into trouble instead of staying safely in the Sect?’

’Just like when she was little. Always such a handful, a real headache!’

Unable to soothe her Spiritual Power, Zhang Deming could only send another bit of it toward her head to stimulate her awake.

"Ngh..."

With a soft murmur, Ling’er groggily opened her eyes.

At first, she was disoriented, then completely baffled.

’Who am I?’

’Where am I?’

’Whose back is this?’

A series of philosophical questions assaulted her still-dazed mind.

After a moment of bewilderment, she came to her senses and instantly grew wary.

"Don’t squirm. I won’t be responsible if you fall off and start crying," Zhang Deming said as he continued to run and leap through the trees.

Ling’er’s tense body instantly relaxed. "What’s going on?" she asked.

"You’re asking me? I should be asking you! You’re halfway to your next stage. Why aren’t you in seclusion at the Sect instead of running around out here?" Zhang Deming retorted.

"It’s because of you that... wait, what business is it of yours anyway?" Ling’er argued.

"Ha. Not your business, you say? So I guess it’d be fine if I just drop you here and hand you over to those people behind us?" Zhang Deming shot back.

"Go ahead and drop me. It’s not like I’m holding on to you," Ling’er said, a bit defiantly.

Zhang Deming’s brow twitched. ’This little chubby girl isn’t so cute anymore. That old monster has clearly spoiled her rotten. How infuriating!’

’One day, I’ll make that old monster understand there’s a price to pay for ruining my little chubby girl.’

Zhang Deming fell silent, and Ling’er, having made her point, didn’t press the issue.

Suddenly, Zhang Deming’s brow furrowed, and he and Ling’er looked up at the sky at almost the exact same moment.

"It’s a tracking Magical Artifact from the Outer Realm. They’re on to us," Ling’er said grimly.

Zhang Deming nodded. "Mm. It seems they won’t give up until they get what they want."

Immediately, the weapon-laden Vines surrounding him rapidly contracted, pressing close against his body.

"Watch your head and try not to get scratched. In this situation, I can’t waste Spiritual Power keeping a Shield active," Zhang Deming said, then leaped down from the treetops.

He began to sprint through the undergrowth on the forest floor.

The surrounding Vines formed a rough guard around Zhang Deming and Ling’er.

But because they were in a dense, uninhabited forest, the undergrowth was thick and tangled.

The branches and thorns only offered partial protection. As he sprinted forward, bloody scratches quickly appeared all over Zhang Deming’s body.

Zhang Deming seemed oblivious to the pain, continuing his mad dash while focusing only on protecting his face and the person on his back.

Blood trickled from his wounds, staining his clothes. The person on his back stared, momentarily stunned.

After a long moment, Ling’er said, "Just leave me behind. At this rate, neither of us might get away."

Zhang Deming didn’t say a word, just kept running.

"Besides," she continued, "we don’t even know each other that well. We’ve only met a few times, haven’t we?"

"Didn’t you say you hate idealists and do-gooders the most?" Ling’er said.

"Shut up," Zhang Deming snapped as he ran.

"Let me down. My Spiritual Power won’t stabilize for at least five hours, and you used up a lot of energy in that fight."

"If you keep carrying me while running this hard, you won’t be able to last that long."

"Panx Juan’er, you’d better shut the hell up! It’s been ten years since I last disciplined you, are you really trying to raise the roof?!"

Zhang Deming said it outright, no longer playing the charade where they both knew the truth but refused to say it.

Ling’er—or rather, Panx Juan’er—froze. After a long pause, she said, "I don’t know what you’re talking about."

"Oh, really? Then what about that little white snake in the medicine garden? What were you raising it for?"

"Waiting for it to become a spirit and come back to repay your kindness?"

"After all the stories I told you, why didn’t you just plant a gourd vine instead?" Zhang Deming said lightly.

Panx Juan’er didn’t answer. Zhang Deming paused, then asked in disbelief, "You didn’t actually plant a gourd vine in the Inner Sect, did you?"

"I planted that for my senior sisters to use in Artifact Refining!" Panx Juan’er immediately retorted.

Zhang Deming: "..."

’Looks like this little chubby girl has been running wild these past few years. How else could she get away with messing around like this?’

’It’s a good thing we separated when she was only eight, before I ran out of stories to tell. Otherwise, she might have tried to reenact Nezha fighting the sea, flaying dragons and pulling out their tendons.’

’If not, who knows what kind of trouble she would’ve gotten into.’

"I don’t know what game you’re trying to play right now, but you know what my Talent is like."

"So if you don’t want to acknowledge me, I’m fine with that."

"I know you were behind that incident at the Outer Sect’s Qingyou Pool."

"I was even thinking that being kept by you would actually be pretty nice."

"What kind of nonsense are you spouting..."

"So, play however you want. As long as you don’t cross my line, I don’t care. You want to be coy, you want to be ambiguous, you want to play house—I’ll play along with all of it."

"But there are some things you’d better not say, unless you’ve truly decided you don’t want me anymore."

"I think you figured out what kind of person I am long before you turned eight."

"Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been utterly helpless against you ever since you were six."

Zhang Deming said all this while still running, blood seeping from the numerous wounds on his body.

Panx Juan’er watched the figure in front of her, listening to his emotionless words, and for a moment, she was completely captivated.