The man's strength was unfathomable like an ancient well with an unknown depth. It pressed on them step by step, bit by bit until they had nowhere to retreat. They could only succumb to this force and submit unwillingly.
However, no matter how unwilling they were the result was already set in stone. In front of such a domineering strength, they had no choice but could only kneel and bow.
" Plop!..."
One after one all four guards fell to the ground kneeling as blood trickled down the corner of their lips, at last, unable to resist the force that churned the inside of their bodies they spat out a mouthful of blood.
" Pfft..."
" Pfft..."
"....."
Trembling as they barely supported themselves on their weak hands and knees from collapsing completely on the ground in a miserable state they heard the devil's call once again.
" Tell me what did you see?"
The man didn't elaborate more but the four of them understood exactly what he was asking.
So that was the reason.....
So, that was why he pressed them...
So, from the beginning the man's main target was them.
He knew that they wouldn't be willing to show themselves so easily unless their young lady was in a dire state. And even if he were to directly go after they wouldn't possibly reveal anything to him. After all the stronger the cultivator was the more stubborn and prideful he would be. After being beaten badly by the man they would be very reluctant to reveal anything that easily.
Hence, instead of wasting his precious time fighting with them, he went straight for their young lady to lure them out to question.
With their young lady as the threat, he could make them do anything let alone answer some questions.
He didn't even bother finding them and instead directly chose the easy method.
He must have known long ago and perhaps from the beginning that they had been secretly following them and guarding their masters in the dark. They had been monitoring every move surrounding the camp and there was nothing that could escape their eyes.
Hence, he naturally found them to inquire.
Realising that they were tricked the way the guards looked at Wei changed again and again.
At first, they had thought the young man had quite impressive strength at his age and they even got curious about his origin. However, after the incident at Lan Quan, their impression of him dimmed a bit because the way he demonstrated his strength recklessly gave them the impression that the man was someone who had only brawn and no brains. He was also very ostentatious.
However, only now they had only realized they had got it all wrong.
What ostentatious?...
The man was simply scaring them.
This person was not at reckless as he seemed and far stronger than they had guessed previously.
This man not only had unimaginable strength but was also very smart and rational.
The leader of the guard gasped as he tried to inhale a few deep breaths. He believed that if they refused to answer his question they definitely wouldn't end well. And not only them but even their lady would be implicated along with them.
However, he couldn't help asking, " Why...are you only questioning us?.... Why don't you ask him?" He pointed at the man crouching in one corner inside the tent.
After all, he was the one who caused the sudden commotion.
Wei didn't even glance inside the inside and his response was curt and flat, " No."
The guards gave him a deep look. Indeed this man was too strong. He had been quite far away but he could still keep his eye on him here. His mental strength was very impressive which could allow him to expand his consciousness so widely.
Now he was just asking them for confirmation.
He swallowed the rustic taste in his mouth before opening his mouth to speak, " We...we didn't see anything but...we only saw him disappear."
They didn't see anything but only saw him disappear?
What sort of answer was that?!
Wei narrowed his eyes dangerously.
Other people might find their answer ridiculous but Wei didn't. He believed them. Because ever since Jiang Ying Yue's sudden disappearance at Lan Quan he had formed a habit of keeping a close eye on her. Even if the girl was sleeping he would probe her aura every few seconds.
And that was also the reason why he found out about it as soon as she disappeared.
" What?! only saw him disappear? What does that mean?!" Regaining her sense Tian Lan asked immediately.
" Yes, my lady, we only saw him sitting there by the fire, he....didn't do anything but he disappeared just cough..cough." The guard couldn't finish he coughed badly.
Wei Mo, who was quietly standing behind Wei had a face full of question marks. He heard everything and understood everything yet he also didn't understand anything.
Who were these people and what was his master doing here with them?...
His mind whirled and raced back and forth until he heard his esteemed master order him, " Wei Mo, look after those three people, especially that one." He pointed at Jiang Ying Mei. With that, he retracted his aura and turned to leave, his long feet taking wide strides before long his back disappeared into the darkness.
Wei Mo blinked his eyes before hurriedly responding to him from behind, " Yes, my lord."
The people behind him felt that a heavy mountain was lifted from them as they couldn't help slumping on the ground lifeless for a short while.
****
Jiang Ying Yue blinked hard unwilling to believe the situation she had landed into without any prior notice.
Just a moment ago she was sitting by the warm fire in their camp and the next moment.....Damn it!!
The first things that enveloped her were infinite darkness and chill followed by a heavy stench of blood.
Fear, an unprecedented sense of fear gripped her heart and her stomach churned.
This darkness and coldness were so eerie and suffocating that it felt like treading in hell. With every passing second it felt like an eternity.
Jiang Ying Yue wanted to blurt out all sorts of profanities she had heard in her life.
However, the coldness that was slowly seeping into her bones making her numb didn't allow it. She only felt unbearable cold and darkness and her mind gradually turned blank. She sat there shrunk into a ball shivering waiting for this eternity to end.
" Ding!"
" 'Survival Of The Fittest' according to this requirement the very first task of the Brahma system has been launched for the host..." A mechanical voice rang out of nowhere.
"..."
"???"
" W..what...?" Regaining a bit of sense Jiang Ying Yue parted her lips which turned purple from cold to speak. Her teeth were chattering nonstop, and she could even imagine air freezing into frost no sooner she let out her breath.
If that was the case then she couldn't help herself from believing that tonight she was going to be dead for sure.
There was an unbearable dead silence for a long while making her assume the voice she had heard earlier was an illusion.
Jiang Ying Yue sat there waiting patiently for death to approach her. Despite her miserable state, her face which could have brought down countries remained expressionless.
Her vivid face which always held a faint smile now resembled a surface of a frozen lake.
There was no resistance, no struggle and no unwillingness as if all her longing for living had long been exhausted.
All this while her walk through this untrodden path of the living world was merely going through motion. It didn't matter where this path ended and what outcome it brought her as she long lost all sense of belonging.
At this moment despite the unbearable cold her pale expressionless face remained enchanting.
However, the frost that was starting to gather around her shut eyes and brows added a sense of desolation and loneliness.
She was just like a forbidden beauty destined to live and die in endless and bitter desolation.
After a long silence, Jiang Ying Yue tried to lift her heavy eyelids finally finding these last moments of waiting a bit agonizing.
Perhaps as people said death was easy, far easier than living. And the thing that people feared most about death was this 'dying', the last moments before one's consciousness ceased to exist, the last painful and tormenting moments when all the memories and regrets of the past came gushing out like a broken dam until you stop breathing.
This was what 'dying'. Facing all your unfulfilled wishes and regrets of the past there only remained helplessness.
" Are going you to give up just like that?" said the same mechanical voice with a tone sounding more human.
One after another second passed yet there was no response.
" You shouldn't be like that. A strong soul like you shouldn't be like that!" The mechanical voice suddenly turned stern as if enraged, " You were born to achieve great things and not to wallow in your 'past' and 'regrets'."
As soon as these two words were mentioned Jiang Ying Yue abruptly opened her eyes, the look on her was unprecedentedly chilling as if a layer of frost were covering them.
In the past no matter how annoyed and enraged she was her eyes always maintained a hint of aloofness. As if nothing in this world was really worth her paying attention to, whether it was a joy or rage it would pass and end with the passing moment.
She had always maintained a sense of detachment from this world, unwilling to get too close.
It was shocking to see those pair of beautiful eyes emitting such a never seen cold glint.
" What...do you want?!"
" I want you to let go and forgive and forget everything."
" Forgive and...forget...everything?..Heh!" Jiang Ying Yue sneered coldly, " You want me to forgive those monsters?!"
" No, I want you to forgive yourself."
There was a brief pause before Jiang Ying Yue's fierce eyes trembled.
" You have already avenged 'them'. Now it's time for you to forgive yourself and forget all your resentments. They won't do you any good. Let go of your resentments and regrets. It's time for you to move on. Remember you are no longer Sia anymore, you are Jiang Ying Yue."
Every word pierced through her heart bringing back all the memories that she had locked in the deepest part of her heart.
" Jiang Ying Yue, wake up from your delusion. They are long gone!"
'Gone?....'
' Yes...they are long gone!'
Jiang Ying Yue couldn't bear this unbearable heart-wrenching pain that she had been suppressing all this while.
With a painful look, she shut her eyes as a drop of tear slid down the corner and froze into beautiful frost crystal.
Yes, it was all her delusion...
However.....
How could she let it go just like that?!
How could she forget her resentment?!
Even after killing those monsters with her own hands, she couldn't let go of this resentment.
And...should she just let go of it just because some advised her to?
" As expected you are rebellious. it's in your bone." The mechanical voice sounded both annoyed and amused.
" So what if I'm rebellious?!" Jiang Ying Yue said with her eyes closed, however, from her voice one could easily she was enraged, " They are my parents! And you have no right to dictate to me.
" Whoever and whatever you are just scram and leave me alone!!"