Ling, after making his decision, started running towards the location of the Demon Heart. He had never been there before, but according to information, the place used to be the abode of the Ming tribe leaders when the Ming tribe still shared Weixen with the other five tribes. It was actually named Demon Heart after the leader of the Ming tribe was said to have colluded with demons. In recent years, he had not only invested his time in walking out and studying humans, but also in reading and amassing information.
"I don't think he will follow me up there. If I decide to run a few more streets, I might actually collapse. But if I head in there, he might have to wait at least to confirm I didn't rush out immediately after rushing in. That might give Auntie Er Xi a bit of time to find out what is happening," Ling said to himself, his mind already fully made up as he dashed in.
Seeing Ling dash into the Demon Heart district, Su Ming actually followed suit, much to the amazement of Ling, who thought he had won. Ling, who was already in the Demon Heart district and wasn't trying to go deeper, could only grit his teeth and decide to find a corner to hide. He was afraid of even coming in here but only made his decision since there were fewer options.
After a few minutes, Ling peeked out from the corner where he was hiding to check if Su Ming had left. Instead, he got the shock of his life: the road that he had just followed into the Demon Heart district was no longer there, and the buildings he had marked with his eyes while rushing in seemed to have vanished into thin air. He couldn't see them anymore.
"Maybe rushing in here wasn't the best option," Ling felt an invisible pressure, and for once, he believed he had made a mistake. "Does that mean the leader of the Ming really made a contract with demons?" Ling asked himself. Another reason why he had even entered the district was because he remembered his dad always telling him not to believe anyone who said the Ming tribe colluded with devils. He had bet on that and thought maybe it was all false and the district was not that dangerous. But now, already confirming that things were weird here, Ling took steps to find his way out. He was no longer worried about Su Ming spotting him.
Su Ming, on his own side, was chasing Ling when he saw him disappear from his sight. He thought Ling had taken a turn to a corner, but then noticed not only had Ling seemed to have disappeared, but also all the buildings. Seeing this, Su Ming immediately had a bad feeling as he guessed where he could be. On Ling's case, he knew it was the Demon Heart district, but Su Ming was unaware due to the night and the long blind chase. He would have stopped if he had known earlier. Su Ming immediately tried to rush out; to him, he hadn't gone in too far and might make it out.
Ling walked for a long time but noticed he didn't seem to be making it out. He wasn't stupid; he knew he should have made it out by now with the distance he had walked. "Well, at least he rushed in with me," Ling said, trying to comfort himself.
Er Xi woke up in the morning to see Ling's door opened. Walking in, she could see the window opened too with no one in. "Where has the young master gone to this early morning without locking his window?" Er Xi said. She wasn't that worried because Ling used to sometimes go out early in the morning.
"Yan hasn't returned to me too. Don't tell me those two have gotten that close," Er Xi thought to herself as she felt a bit happy. Returning downstairs, she gave out some orders to the servants so as to open business before walking back upstairs.
Meanwhile, back at the Demon Heart district, Ling couldn't believe it was already morning and he was yet to make it out. He had not seen Su Ming no matter how he walked, and just like before, he was yet to see a building too. "I will surely die here if it continues like this," Ling said to himself.
By mid-afternoon, Er Xi noticed Ling wasn't back yet. In the evening, Er Xi checked again and noticed Ling still hadn't returned. By now, she wasn't thinking Ling was having a good time but worried.
"The inn is closing early today," Er Xi came downstairs to announce. She had decided to deploy workers to go look for Ling.
Soon enough, people were out on the street in search of Ling. Er Xi had ordered them to be discreet. Two days soon passed without Ling being found. Soon it was three, then four. Er Xi was already looking lifeless with not seeing Ling. The inn hadn't been working either.
Waking up on the fifth day, Er Xi, whose hair was roughed up from not taking care of it and had black eyes, walked out of the room. She hadn't slept much. "Er Xi," she heard a voice as she turned to see Lin Dong. "Dong'er," Er Xi called as she tried to brighten up a bit. Lin Dong had left Lan Inn to move to a branch some years back. "How did it happen?" Lin Dong asked. He and Er Xi had spent the most time with Ling.
Hearing him, Er Xi burst into tears. "I was too careless. I stopped looking after him," Er Xi cried as Lin Dong stepped forward, hugging her to console her.
"I think nothing will happen to the young master. He is wise. I have already sent a message to Fang Ya and Chen Ge. Maybe their cultivators have a way to find people. I've heard cultivators have heaven-defying abilities."
Hearing him, Er Xi immediately seemed to regain hope. "Really? Let's go meet them then," Er Xi said.
"According to them, you can't meet cultivators easily. We have to wait," Lin Dong said. "Why wait? The more we do, the more chances of something bad happening to the young master," Er Xi said.
"I also think so, but then we have to wait. It's not like we are cultivators to know the cultivators' way. Let's wait a few more days. We have already stayed this long," Lin Dong said. He really had a great impression from Ling, but it's not like he knew of something else to do.
Back in the Demon Heart district, Ling was lifelessly lying in a corner. Hunger and thirst had gotten to him. Five days with no food or water, he was only surviving on sheer will to live. "My poor, pitiful life," Ling thought to himself as he forced a smile.