Lost ran without stopping as if his life depended on it. it was dark and the atmosphere was heavy and strange and the more he sank into the darkness the more his heart beat faster. He had tried to contact Sysy without a response and it freaked him out. He didn't even see himself anymore and the hope of fleeing this place seemed impossible. He didn't know how long he had been running but strangely he wasn't tired or hungry. He didn't feel the cold or the heat. He was just locked in a deep void and nothing else.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Kana and Elder Shu watched the village doctor examine Lost who had fallen into a deep sleep without warning but the diagnosis did not seem to be good considering the doctor's lost gaze.
" - Elder Shu, I'm sorry but this situation is beyond my ability, he just seems asleep. "
- Just asleep ? Are you saying that my disciple is asleep of his own free will ?"
Kana was giving him an annoyed look, mistaking him for a skillless idiot. Something had to happen without anyone realizing it. Elder Shu shook his head at the Alchemist's demeanor and looked back on his adopted grandson.
" - How is Ziha ? She was shocked and devastated. After all this happened in front of her.
- I gave her a high grade serenity pill that I had left in my storeroom. She's with the little one right now.
- She is the only witness. I admit having some suspicion about her. Lost intended to tell her about his departure. "
Kana thought about Ziha's reaction and was sure she was innocent. The livid face and obvious panic of the young girl couldn't be wrong. Kana had met a lot of people and could by experience recognize the guilt on a person. The person could still pretend to be innocent but the look did not deceive. That was why she was sure Ziha would never have acted cowardly. She cared too much for the boy to hurt him even in anger.
" - Elder Kana, I may be wrong but I don't see anyone else who could react in this way against Lost. Maybe she wants to prevent him from leaving."
Kana pushed the doctor who was left standing next to Lost's bed out of the room and pulled a small ceramic bottle from her sleeve. She took a pill of it and forced her disciple to swallow it. At first nothing happened then a kind of black smoke escaped from Lost's body. Elder Shu stepped back, feeling the urge to kill of this substance.
"- Kana old fool what have you done ?"
The old man's panic and worry was understandable so she ignored the insult and this time took a pure white pill and once again forced Lost to swallow it.
"- This pill will weaken this black presence for a little while."
No sooner said than done, They saw a white aura mixed with black and returned to the body of the sleeping man.
"- What just happened Elder Kana? Why is this thing in him?
- I fear that an evil cultivator is circulating in our village. He left his mark on Lost without him realizing it. This person must be powerful Elder Shu. The black pill was to amplify negative spiritual energies and the white pill was to eliminate impurities. Seeing that the negative waves have not disappeared, the demonic cultivator must at least be at the level of semi-immortality. If he attacks the village we will all be lost."
Kana was relieved to have kept her Ying and Yang pills aside. Without them, she could not have ascertained her doubts.
" - How did an evil cultivator get in here ? Each of us are in the grip of the seal. It's impossible to enter the village without being seen."
Elder Shu thought about Kana's question. She was telling the truth. It was impossible to be here without being seen. The front door mechanism could not activate when a person with bad intentions showed up. If a person had the intention to attack or the desire to destroy the village, the mechanism would smell demonic air and remain blocked. It was the renowned blacksmith of the Yoon family who had found this technique and they had never had a problem thanks to him. The technique came from an ancient clan now destroyed by the old Clan Wars and the last survivor had made sure to destroy all the scrolls relating to his clan so no one could know how to deactivate the entry. Even they didn't know it.
" - Kana let's meet the heads of families at the Halle. May everyone be there without exception. If only one person is absent, he will be considered a traitor."
Kana nodded and stroked her disciple's cheek one last time. They made their way to the Hall ordering Xiang'er to get everyone together. The young servant understood in their attitudes that the hour was serious and hurried to carry out the orders.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Lost had sat down, giving up any idea of fleeing. It was impossible for the moment to get out of this place. He tried to meditate by circulating his spiritual energy through his meridians. He could apparently cultivate. So he spent his time doing it waiting for a rift in this darkness. He sensed he was going to have a breakthrought soon. His Dantian was full of energy and he felt his core transform. He did not have time to expand on the subject because he saw a small light emerging in front of him. He stood up suddenly with all his might, his eyes brimming with hope, and walked over to her. He was almost there when he felt something wrapped around his waist tightening. He struggled to free himself but the more he tried the more the thing gripped him.
" - Do not leave."
Lost stopped moving, paralyzed with fear. He didn't like being so close to someone. He had chills.
"- Let go of me ! Why did you lock me up here ? Who are you ?"
Lost begins to struggle again but he pushed the presence to pin him to the ground. The thing held his wrists above his head so that he stopped moving. Lost tried to make out what was above him but it was too dark. He could feel, however, that human-shaped hands were holding him to the ground. He does not know who he had annoyed to the point of wanting to lock him up without giving him the choice to refuse. He felt the person come closer and closer and his breathing hitched in fear. Was he going to torture him or kill him. These thoughts never left him until he felt his lips brush against something warm. Lost widened his eyes and struggled harder. He had come across a pervert for the first time in his life. He had never kissed anyone before and especially not by an unknown entity.
" - I'll tell you a second time, don't go. If you leave, I won't answer for anything."
Lost didn't have time to react as his lips were assaulted again. He tried to turn his head but nothing helped. When the kiss was about to turn into a real kiss, a blue light dazzled the place making the darkness disappear. The person holding him groaned in pain and disappeared before Lost could find out who he was. Lost thanked Heaven for the luck he had just received and stood up feeling the atmosphere become soothing and warm. He wanted at all costs to return to the real world in order to be sure that the pervert could no longer reach him. He couldn't help but touch his lips thinking about that kiss before blushing completely taken aback by the past events. He couldn't deny that he didn't feel any disgust at it. He felt ashamed that he could let the man molest him. His mind was in turmoil and his body was shaking. He really had to improve his mentality skill ASAP to avoid this kind of situation.
He had no idea that outside of his subconscious Hong Xue currently in Ziha's arms was spitting blood from being forced out.
" Lost ..... Lost ! "
The young man left his thoughts at the hearing of this voice which he had missed so much. He tried to open the screen with his thoughts as before and he was relieved when he appeared before his eyes.
" Sysy! You hear me ?"
The excitement of their reunion hid the real reason for his blushes and Sysy didn't realize a thing. He checked the boy's health level despite his immortal status. Anything could happen in this world, it was better to check it out than to regret it later. Sysy had panicked when the young man had collapsed suddenly. The system had waited for the white pill to weaken the black thing slightly before taking action.
" Yes I hear you idiot !!"
Lost, happy with their reunion, did not take offense. He used to be dealt with by Sysy. He knew the system was fond of him and will always be there for him.
" Lost are you okay ? You've been asleep for two days now."
- What ?! Two days ! I feel like I've been here for more than that. I don't know who it was but he didn't want to let me go. "
Sysy analyzed the place but could not detect any more presence except that of Lost.
" Partner, we'll talk about it later let's get out of here first. The situation is tense in the village. Let's take advantage of it to flee."
Lost felt that the problem was not simple but to flee without saying goodbye to his almost family repelled him. Ziha would never forgive him but what scared him would be that everyone would be disappointed with him.
" Lost believe me. It's better to go in silence. I was going to tell you later, but there's a demonic cultivator lurking near us. It will be more difficult to leave with the rules of Kong De. Do you remember the rules that Shifu taught you?"
Lost stroked the back of his neck in embarrassment, searching in his memory for the hundred rules that the old kana had rehashed for him. It was impossible for him to admit out loud that he was sleeping during the recitations. Knowing the mechanism of the front door, Lost hadn't bothered to listen that day. He had slept upright, Hong Xue on his knees. He hadn't had the presence of mind to seek further information. If he had been careful he would have understood that his sleep had not come unaided. The little rascal had used his bond and the very short distance with Lost to put him to sleep.
Sysy had an urge to strangle Lost for his stupidity again but he swallowed his anger as he didn't have time for it.
" Open your ears wide this time! Rule number ten : in the event of an invasion or an external danger, all the inhabitants of KongDe must meet in the Hall of the main residence without any exceptions. No one is allowed to leave the village for an indefinite time as long as the danger has not yet passed. "
Sysy finishes quoting the most important one, waiting for Lost to digest the information. He could see that the young man wanted to do things correctly and leave with peace of mind, but unfortunately that was not allowed to him. The Demonic Cultivator seemed to resent Lost for no reason. Purple Eyes had transmigrated into this world too recently to had time to attract such a powerful enemy. Could it have something to do with the entity they saw in his statute when he arrived ? God only knows but several key points in this world seemed to have changed.
Lost breathed every second annoyed by all the problems that piled up around him. He looked up into what seemed to be the sky and held back the tears of frustration that threatened to fall. They were going to hate him for this betrayal but if Sysy pushed him to leave it was because the danger was difficult to handle. He may be immortal, but he hadn't had enough privacy to improve his battle skills. A simple explosion would have reunited all the villagers even in the woods of KongDe.
" But Sysy ..... Won't they be in danger too ? If I go now like a coward and they get hurt or killed I would feel guilty all my life. They are like my family. I promised Hong Xué's father to take him to safety. I always keep my promises."
Sysy had expected this response. He knew his partner on everything but if he had to force this young man to leave, he wouldn't think twice before he do it.
" Let's get out of there and talk afterwards. Being unconscious right now could be dangerous for you."
Lost agreed and closed his eyes close to stepping out into that place.
" Mental strength skill activated ! Lost, Imagine destroying the cage that surrounds you and wanting to return to your body. Remember to only think about this and nothing else or you will find yourself stuck in your own illusions."
The young man followed his advice and cleared his mind. He imagined the walls crumbling around him and his mind soaring to his body. He didn't feel anything at first then he felt his soul was absorbed before regaining consciousness in his body. He opened his eyes to come face to face with Ziha. The young girl was about to kiss him before getting caught by him but the embarrassment did not take place. He had finally regained consciousness and it finally warmed Ziha's heart. She had the impression of being at the bottom of an icy lake while waiting for the sleeping handsome man to wake up. She had been afraid to see him die without being able to do anything. She knew he wanted to get out of here. She had dreaded the moment of separation but after the loss consciousness of Lost, she had reflected and accepted his choice. She would rather see him leave in good health than see him die in his grief.
" - Gege, do you remember the promise I made to you that night ?"
Lost sat on the bed, staring at her. He forgot about Ziha's attempt to take advantage of his lips and nodded for her to continue.
" - I will keep this promise for the rest of my life. You have already kept your promise to Master Yoon since we arrived in the village. You repeated every evening the words that Master wanted to say to his son in the form of a nursery rhyme. I know this song by heart now. Gege, if you have to go, I won't hold you back."