The foreboding night didn't inform the two clueless souls that it was going to kidnap one of their own people. After searching and repeatedly calling for him, they were quite sure the attacker and Shi Lihua went into one direction.
Down the hole.
"Let's go after them," Wu Huan said even though his face couldn't mask his nervousness.
Luo Yang hopped into the hole right away but it was quite deep so he grunted from his recent shoulder's pain. "Someone must have just dug it. The debris already reached my ankle."
"But it stopped where we previously stood. It can't be prepared beforehand." Wu Huan had also hopped in to see the hole, his fingers feeling the dirt wall.
"So that thing watching us is capable of digging so fast, it managed to even snatch Hua'er away. I thought this is a group of bandits. Not devils or cultivators."
The hole was as tall as their chests so they had to bend down while running at the same time to track down the original location. It took a short wide before they saw the moonlight shining through.
It was a very dark alley but Wu Huan recognized it right away.
The Qi family's inn.
Chilled ran through his spine, "This is Lord Qi's inn. Did something happen to him as well?"
"Relax. If it does, the guards wouldn't have been so peaceful." Luo Yang silently sneaked his head out of the ally and he could see some patrolling guards and disciples at the entrance. "It's not just Lord Qi in there anyway. The sect leaders are resting here too. You know what that means," he spoke as he walked back.
"New kid?"
Wu Huan had his back displayed to him. He didn't respond to his call but when he was about to shake him, Wu Huan raised his hand to stop. "I'm trying to figure out where Shixiong is."
The other's brows rose in surprise. "What? You can do that? You can trace people's whereabouts?"
Of course, Wu Huan would never tell him about the sword tassel. He would be seen like creep even if he tried to explain. Right now, what important was finding Shi Lihua.
"How is it?"
He frowned, "He keeps moving, so it's hard to pinpoint. But, he's getting further and further away from us... at a very fast speed."
"Can you pinpoint a particular direction?"
It took a while to Wu Huan's response. And, he ran off the alley before summoning his sword and flew off right away, "I think they are leaving the city," he yelled, his ponytail swaying behind him.
-
The moon was the first thing Shi Lihua saw when he finally gained consciousness. He realized quickly that he was carried over someone's shoulders as he noticed the tail of red a cloak and a flying sword.
[I can't move.]
"W-who..." his voice trailed off into the winter snow despite all his energy summoned. He subtlety remembered having a sword by his neck when something from the ground suddenly exploded before he lost consciousness from sudden suffocation.
The grip on his legs tighten but the person didn't bother to utter a word. They flew off to another short distance before he couldn't fight the sleepiness anymore and lost consciousness again.
"Have you moved them all? The two pests are coming after us."
"How are we supposed to move them so fast without notice? Seriously, that guy just goes off doing whatever he wants."
"Don't talk so loud, you dummy. If he hears, we can kiss our heads goodbye."
"Why does it matter? That bastard is going to get us annihilated by the young master if we get discovered while moving."
"Rather than complaining, move your ass already. Why are you even here anyway? He assigned me to watch over him. Not you."
"Tsk. I just want if the rumor is true. After all, I have never seen him in person."
"Well, he's the total opposite, isn't he?"
Shi Lihua felt a sudden stabbing pain in his head so he woke up inhaling sharply unaware of the two strangers gossiping about him. When his phoenix eyes found them, they seemed to be frozen in fear.
"You...where am I?" He turned to look down at the red spirit cords constraining his body. "Who the hell are you?"
"H-hey," one of them who quickly recovered shoved the other to the direction of the door. "Go call second young master. Quick!" When the other left, he timidly came closer but, a part of him flinched when Shi Lihua glared.
Even though the place wasn't lighted up with a lamp, Shi Lihua could see half of the interior thanks to the light from the opened door. It incredibly looked familiar. "Are you..." He grunted. "...the bandits?"
"..." The guy didn't answer. Maybe he was just too scared.
It was confusing. The guy didn't look like the bandits he had in mind when Uncle Tao described how vicious they were. Moreover, he had thought secretly that the attackers from the bamboo forest were those people. But looking at the guy in front of him, he only seemed like a mere citizen dressed in plain clothes and flinching in fear whenever he would move.
Figuring that asking wouldn't help, he looked around the place carefully again. He could see a little bit of the hilt of his sword from the light in the middle of the room, probably thrown carelessly after dropping him here.
Then again, the place was quite familiar. But he couldn't put his finger on it. He had to blame it on staying at too many places in this past weeks traveling.
Suddenly, multiple footsteps approached their rooms. His eyes gazed up from the four pairs of legs. It was the guy from before and another new one who must have been summoned.
"Shi Lihua," the new person spoke. He wore a red cloak and hid behind a red plain mask. It sounded like a young man speaking. "Hahahahaha, it's great. It's definitely great."
[The aura of this person...he was the one stalking us back then!]
"So you're the boss?" Shi Lihua glared. "What happened to the other two? Did you hurt them?" There was no way he could forget the two idiots. There was a high possibility that they were tied up in different places just like he was. Wu Huan must have been panicking right now or worst, not even conscious. Luo Yang, well, he was probably running his mouth off to annoy them.
The new person started circling around his captive, chuckling to himself. The two who must have been his lackeys found it as their cue to leave.
"..." Shi Lihua suppressed the urge to fly kick the creep despite being bound. There was no way he could have allowed anyone to survey him like that under normal circumstances, much less a lunatic.
"Exquisite. Yes, that face. Keep making that face. It hits the spot."
"You killed...the Qi family, didn't you?" His voice was dark and he was glaring at the entrance.
"...hahahaha...even your voice...exquisite." The lunatic suddenly stopped after laughing. Then he crouched down in front of Shi Lihua. "Yes, that's right. I annihilated them. Cut off their necks and throw them in the fire one by one. Exquisite, right?"
Blood rushed to his neck, and if it hadn't been the cords keeping him from moving, he would have punched the guy so hard he wouldn't be able to turn his neck.
"I did all that except for one." The guy paused upon seeing the face of shock that he expected. "That's right. The girl that saved you."
"You!!"
"I was watching," he said and chuckled like it was a funny confession. Circling him again, the lunatic continued in a voice that innocent, "I was so touched, Shi Lihua. So, I cut off her limps one by one and let her watch it burn in the fire. First, it was her fingers. Then her arms. Next." He sneaked a glance at Shi Lihua, grinning when he saw the tears. "Aww, don't cry. It doesn't suit that face. You've only met that prostitute for a day. I know her for years but it was still fun cutting her up. The bitch didn't even-"
Swoosh
It was Tian Jian. Shi Lihua had summoned it out of its scabbard. The red spirit cord was cut.
"Here's my advice. When you kidnap a cultivator, hold on to their swords. Don't just throw their swords around. Otherwise," his dark pupils trembled as he slowly stood up, Tian Jian tightly in his hand.
"You're stuck in this situation."