Walking back to Wenxiu in slow steps, he looked up at the sky filled with stars and fell quiet. He didn't like this feeling.
"I wonder where those two escaped to?" he thought out loud, standing outside the inn and looking around. It was silent, with not a noise in the night. Shaking his head, he was not afraid of them.
He entered the inn and immediately noticed the state of the place. The ground floor was relatively fine, but when he reached the second floor using the stairs, the wood creaked and broke, making him jump to the side.
Holes and sharp scars covered the walls, giving the place the appearance of a worn out ruin. It was funny how less than an hour ago, the conditions of this place had been relatively clean and well-maintained.
"It sure is faster to destroy than to build," he remembered the phrase from Earth and wholeheartedly agreed with it. He headed towards the room where Wenxiu was sitting, naked, with a bored expression, glaring at her.
Since he wasn't in a rush, he paid attention to the flags before bending down and storing them one by one.
Finding a withering flower, he felt a sense of sadness. Its properties had been used up, rendering it like a normal plant.
"This is farewell, my 'friend,'" he said a bit emotionally. He then threw the flower outside, allowing it to land in the mud, returning it to the earth to rest.
"Now then, Mei Wenxiu, place your life in my hands. I will try to remove the first limitation. If it works, it works," he said lightly as he arrived beside the bed, inspecting her.
"If it does not work, well, you already know," he added with a glare that conveyed the consequences.
"I know. You can start," she said, looking at the headless corpse of Len in the distance. She nodded with a serious face, placing her life in his hands. He was surprised at her straightforward attitude.
"Good," Fang Hao replied. After confirming she had no hidden weapons, he brought his face closer to her necklace and examined it closely, tracing his hand over the design.
"Like what you see and feel?" Wenxiu spoke in a small voice, her cheeks blushing slightly. Fang Hao frowned as he noticed his other hand touching something soft and round, using it to find balance.
"Don't joke around; it's the wrong time, Wenxiu," he said irritably. She simply breathed in with a hidden smile.
Fang Hao discovered that the necklace was split into two halves, with one half suppressing and constraining the information on certain topics that could be discussed, while the other prevented the wearer from leaving the area and removing it.
He guessed that an item was hidden within the village, making it the center of this area's effect.
"The second limitation is too complex; I don't know how to remove it with those two overlays. But I can try with the first one; it will be like defusing a bomb," he explained to her. She looked at him with a confused expression.
"Defusing a bomb, what do you mean?" Wenxiu asked.
Fang Hao's eye twitched, and he tried to simplify his explanation. "Think of it like this: it has 30 small formation lines, and all I have to do is remove more than half of them to break it."
"So, it's that easy?" Mei Wenxiu's eyes widened in surprise. They had experimented with new members before trying to find a way to get them off, but they got warned. This was the first time she had heard of such a straightforward approach.
"No, it's not easy. I will have to use my instinct as I don't know the formation. It's powered by the material of the necklace itself," Fang Hao added, making her eyes wide.
"Instinct?" she muttered, looking at his face.
"Any other choice?"She asked with hope, and Fang Hao shook his head. The meaning was clear.
"I see. Give me some time, please," she requested, lightly touching his hand and moving it away from her before closing her eyes.
Fang Hao wanted to tell her she didn't have a choice, but he realized that it would be easier for her to cooperate than to resist. So, he gave her some space as she delved into deep thought.
After 10 minutes of thinking, she had spoken her last words to herself and whispered to him softly, "My real name is Mei Wenxiu. I didn't lie. I really did enjoy the time we spent together. Do it," with a resolute gaze fixed on him.
Feeling her sincere gaze, he got up and decided to speak, recognizing that it might be her last moments. "I also enjoyed my time talking with you. You don't know this, but you felt like the very first 'normal' person for me since..." He stopped there and sighed, unwilling to reveal this secret to anyone.
"Mei Wenxiu, since we are being honest, my name is not Jun; it's Fang Hao," he confessed, locking eyes with her once more, feeling a weight on his heart.
She smiled in response. "I knew you lied, but I didn't mind. Fang Hao suits you better," she laughed, and he nodded.
"But... I also didn't lie to you, apart from my name. I just avoided some details, including that I have a good chance to remove it," he explained. Upon hearing this, she didn't reply, only gazing at his face.
"Fang Hao, it's a nice name," she remarked as he reached for the necklace once more. He began to remove the lines in an order he felt was right, his forehead starting to bead with sweat as he erased them one by one. Mei Wenxiu didn't feel scared anymore; she knew she was not alone.
'The face is cute,' she thought to herself.
Fang Hao's breathing grew a bit rough as calculations swirled in his head, relying on his instinct to remove the lines. His talent was in full play here.
Then, a soft 'Ding' sound echoed as the necklace trembled lightly, causing them both to freeze. They released a small breath of relief as nothing occurred. "Is it done?" Wenxiu asked anxiously.
"I think there's nothing more I can do," Fang Hao said uncertainly, sitting to the side. Mei Wenxiu smiled and began to speak the things she had wanted to say for a long time, causing him to freeze.
Standing up, she yelled with every ounce of her voice, her words echoing into the darkness like an unleashed beast. "My name is Mei Wenxiu! I am a prisoner from outside the 'outer ring' of the three sect-controlled area! I was a princess of the mortal kingdom 'Silverdell'!! My father was the king and had many wives, but he was not evil; in fact, he could be hailed as a good man!" Tears started to pour as her eyes blurred with emotion.
"But because the sect of that zone could not accept anyone not under their control, they attacked us, framing us for betrayal! Those bastards! I wish I had the talent to cultivate! I wish I could exterminate them!"
"Worst of all?! My BROTHER , Mei Jinhai, my real brother, fell to his knees and begged for forgiveness, becoming their puppet! THE DOG! The dogs! Karma will come to bite them, I swear it! So-called 'Grand' Immortals!" She screamed, her voice seething with rage and anguish, tears flowing freely.
"My sisters, brothers, all died or were sold off as slaves. I hate them! I wish nothing more than their extermination, yet I am helpless. I got sold off as a girl for pleasure, but a random middle-aged man showed up and bought us," she continued with a voice filled with shame and rage, pouring out her emotions with each word.
''The next thing I knew, he gave us a choice. If we could kill 5 people who arrived here at this 'Village,' we could be granted freedom and even join as servants. You, Fang Hao, are the 4th person," she confessed, her voice heavy with the weight of her past.
Fang Hao simply watched as she released her pent-up anger and pain, saying nothing.
It was his first time encountering the concept of 'Mortal Kingdoms'.