Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 186: The Scholar with a Folding Fan
In the moment of falling, Ji Zichen felt as if his head was being tightly pressed by someone. His hands touched the soft sand, making him realize he had likely landed on a sand pile.
Struggling to stand upright, Ji Zichen soon realized they had fallen into a camp. If he had landed in the camp, he would surely have been captured by the soldiers. Surviving the fall without being captured was a stroke of luck for him.
Ji Zichen shook his painful shoulder, feeling that he had only sustained superficial injuries rather than any fractures. Had he not landed on the sand pile, he would have certainly suffered more severe injuries. He vigorously shook his head to clear his mind.
Uncertain of his surroundings, Ji Zichen could only hear footsteps nearby. Instinctively, he crouched down as the loud footsteps approached, accompanied by curses from the soldiers who were searching for the fallen individuals. However, Xia Zhou was not near him.
Ji Zichen had landed beside a sand dune, with a forest nearby. Night had fully descended, and he hoped that the darkness would conceal him from those searching.
The soldiers were heading into the forest, and Ji Zichen thought, "Xia Zhou might have fallen into the woods." He could only gamble on luck with these soldiers, hoping to find Xia Zhou before they did. He entered the forest as well and suddenly heard a noise to his left—like dry branches being stepped on. Ji Zichen froze in place, fearing that he might step on something and be discovered.
As the noise faded into the distance, Ji Zichen let out a quiet sigh of relief. Just as he turned around, he was startled to find someone standing behind him. This person was exceptionally tall and strong, wearing a mask that resembled a spider-shaped helmet.
The armor this person wore looked like a spider’s limbs, black in color but seemingly made not of bronze or metal; it appeared as if they had draped themselves in the carcass of a large spider.
In one hand, this figure held a torch that illuminated their masked face and armor, making them appear even more terrifying. In the other hand was a long spear adorned with spider motifs.
Everything happened so suddenly; Ji Zichen's encounter with this person occurred in an instant. The figure raised their spear towards Ji Zichen and shouted loudly as they lunged forward in challenge.
Ji Zichen reacted quickly; drawing his Demon-Slaying Sword, he parried the thrusting spear with one hand while turning to stab at this person's abdomen with his sword.
The man fell to the ground with a loud thud. Ji Zichen, seeing that the enemy was defeated, let out a sigh of relief. He easily pierced the man's abdomen, realizing that the armor he wore was not made of bronze or any similar metal as he had expected. Although the armor looked terrifying, Ji Zichen now understood it was merely for show.
The man was tall, and his fall echoed like an alarm, causing commotion in the nearby woods. It seemed that someone was quickly approaching Ji Zichen's direction.
To make matters worse, sounds were coming from behind him as well; there were people converging on his location from both sides.
Ji Zichen estimated the number of incoming soldiers. While he was not afraid of them, he knew he did not possess the ability to take them all down in a short amount of time. If the noise attracted more soldiers from further away, even with the power of the Five Elements Pearl, he would not be able to handle a large group from the camp.
Ji Zichen did not want to use the Five Elements Pearl because its method of defeating enemies was too conspicuous. Not wanting to fight, he could only think of ways to escape. But where could he run? These soldiers were more familiar with the terrain of the surrounding forest than he was. If luck was against him, he might end up running into another encirclement.
Now, whether to flee or not seemed futile; given the current situation, he would undoubtedly be surrounded. Ji Zichen broke into a cold sweat, but if he recklessly ran deeper into the woods, he might get lost.
He looked up at the night sky through the gaps in the trees, hoping Xia Zhou would appear riding the Serpent Bat Dragon from above. However, Ji Zichen knew that this was impossible; Xia Zhou's situation might be even worse than his own. With no reinforcements coming to save him, Ji Zichen could only rely on himself.
Ji Zichen quickly scanned the distant trees and then focused on the approaching footsteps. The flickering shadows around him seemed to multiply, and the sounds of encirclement grew louder.
He thought that rather than fleeing aimlessly, it might be better to try and scare them off. Ji Zichen picked up a long spear shaped like a spider from the ground and deliberately threw it into an area with more soldiers. The spear landed right in front of one soldier's heel, startling him.
This soldier immediately ordered others to halt. His eyes widened as he stared into the dark forest, where they had expected their prey to flee. Instead of panicking and running away, it seemed that their opponent was bold enough to throw a spear as a warning. Clearly, they were not afraid of them at all.
At that moment, it felt as if the tables had turned; it was as if Ji Zichen was now the one pursuing them.
Ji Zichen moved closer to the edge of the forest but remained hidden in its shadows. The soldiers across from him could see a dark silhouette but could not make out his features; they could only see the glow emanating from the Five Elements Pearl.
"Fall back!" Ji Zichen shouted with all his might, his voice sounding stern despite his inner prayer that his nervousness wouldn't betray him.
For a moment, these soldiers were intimidated by Ji Zichen's presence; they neither advanced nor retreated.
Seeing them frozen in place, Ji Zichen shouted again, "If you don't retreat, you will die!"
A soldier seemed unfazed by Ji Zichen's imposing presence. He stepped forward and shouted, "If you have the guts, come out and fight! What’s with all this theatrics?"
Ji Zichen had initially hesitated to use the Five Elements Pearl, but now he realized that without it, he couldn't intimidate his opponent. The Fire Pearl dimmed slightly, and a fire dragon surged forth, engulfing the soldier in flames. The soldier writhed in agony, desperately trying to escape, but within moments, he collapsed with a final scream.
"Fall back!" Ji Zichen shouted, striving to keep his voice low and menacing. "Do you want to end up like him?" Though he didn't truly wish to resort to such measures, the situation left him no choice.
Suddenly, an arrow flew from the ranks of soldiers opposite him. Ji Zichen conjured a Wind Barrier that deflected the arrow back, striking down another soldier. Although this arrow did not kill the instigator, it was enough to create an impression.
Panic spread among the surrounding soldiers; they began to retreat step by step. Ji Zichen calculated that if he shouted again, they would likely flee entirely, giving him ample time to find help.
He had already decided to head south because earlier, soldiers had surged toward him from the North Side. Their destination must be where Xia Zhou was located. He knew that pursuers were still behind him; as long as he could scare off these soldiers, he would have a plan for dealing with the pursuers.
Everything seemed to be going according to Ji Zichen's plan until a mocking laugh echoed in his ears. The sinister laughter froze his blood as the soldiers parted to make way for a staggering figure.
The newcomer was a thin young man with large ears. While the soldiers wore armor resembling spiders, this man was dressed in scholarly robes and held a folding fan—he looked like a scholar.
However, his face had an unsettling greenish hue, and his eyes sparkled with malevolence.
" Ji Zichen, so it's you!" the young man suddenly recognized him. Ji Zichen was taken aback; he did not know this young man at all.
Although Ji Zichen was unsure how the young man had identified him, since he had been recognized, there was no point in hiding in the shadows any longer. He stepped forward and fixed his gaze on the young man. "You know me?"
The young man chuckled mischievously. "I didn’t expect your memory to be so poor. Ever since we parted ways at the Cornerstone Secret Passage, I've missed you dearly."
Ji Zichen's heart jolted! "It's you! You're that Ghost Guardian!"
The young man grinned slyly. "I’m surprised you still remember me; I’m truly honored."
Ji Zichen realized at that moment that the other person knew him, but he did not recognize the young man before him. This young man had long been manipulated by that woman; he was nothing more than a walking corpse.
If that woman was nearby, it would be troublesome. Ji Zichen scanned the surroundings, searching for the best escape route.
The young man took a step closer to Ji Zichen, waving a folding fan in his hand. Suddenly, the two soldiers on his right ignited in green flames. Everything happened so abruptly that everyone present, including Ji Zichen, was stunned.
The young man looked expressionless at the soldiers engulfed in green fire and said, "What do you think? Did you see that? You are not the only one who can use flames in this world."
Ji Zichen's heart raced with shock. "What a vicious tactic!"
The two soldiers gradually turned to ash. Ji Zichen gritted his teeth and demanded, "Why did you kill your own men?"
The young man's face appeared relaxed and pleased as he smiled at the remaining panicked soldiers. "Because they deserved to die. The Western King's subordinates should not be such cowards. They almost let you trick them into giving you a chance to escape. Shouldn't they die for that?"
Ji Zichen felt a chill run down his spine at such cruelty. The remaining soldiers shrank back a step in fear, but they dared not flee completely; they could only hope to distance themselves from the young man as much as possible.
The young man was satisfied with the soldiers' fear of him. He smiled and said, " Ji Zichen, we can consider ourselves friends now. Can you tell me how you got here and what your purpose is?"
Ji Zichen replied simply, "My purpose is the same as yours."
The young man chuckled lightly. "Is that so? Then what are we doing here?"
Just as Ji Zichen was about to respond, a Serpent Bat Dragon descended from above. Xia Zhou shouted, "Get on!"
Comment 0 Comment Count