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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 15 Blackstone Village
Ji Zichen and the others exited the Vermilion Bird Territory, not through the Rainbow Gate, but through an exit led by Xia Zhou. This exit was located in a Mountain Valley, surrounded by blooming flowers. The exit itself was a crack beside a lake in the Mountain Valley, and it was just past noon, with wisps of white mist rising from the lake's surface.
The lake was not large; Ji Zichen estimated it to be about ten zhang in diameter. Next to the lake stood a long stone wall, which was covered with moss at its base, likely due to years of moisture. The three of them were on the opposite shore facing the stone wall, where many bushes provided ample shade. The crack was behind them, and after they emerged, Xia Zhou closed it off.
Xia Zhou then asked, "Why didn't you let me bring the Serpent Bat Dragon out?"
Ji Zichen shot him a glance. "That Serpent Bat Dragon is so big; do you want to scare everyone else to death?"
Xia Zhou chuckled. "I just thought that with the Serpent Bat Dragon around, we could reach any place quickly."
Lin Chuyu smiled at Xia Zhou. "Brother Xia, didn’t you want to come out and experience things? Flying around won’t give you much of an experience."
Xia Zhou replied lightly, "I know nothing about the outside world; I’ll just follow you guys."
Lin Chuyu sighed. "I wonder if we will ever see Uncle Jiang and the others again."
Xia Zhou responded, "We won’t be able to see them unless they finish their studies and come out. However, we can still communicate with them, but that requires using Divination Leaves."
Lin Chuyu asked curiously, "Divination Leaves?"
Xia Zhou explained briefly, "It's just a leaf." He took out three leaves from his pocket and said, "This is what Divination Leaf looks like."
Ji Zichen took one leaf and examined it closely. It resembled a golden leaf but was green instead. Its shape was like that of a tree leaf but felt heavier than a regular leaf; it was unclear what it was made of.
Ji Zichen remarked, "I've never seen such a magical item before."
He returned the Divination Leaf to Xia Zhou, who put it back in his pocket. "Actually, this isn’t really a magical item; it's just used by communicators for messaging. If you see anyone with such a leaf, then they are a communicator."
"Just these three pieces? That's so few. What will we do when they're gone?" Lin Chuyu said.
Xia Zhou chuckled, "It's quite simple to make more. Do you want to learn? I can teach you."
Lin Chuyu's eyes lit up. "Can I really learn?"
Ji Zichen glanced at Lin Chuyu and said, "What use is learning this? Do you have that much to say to Uncle Jiang? Let's just leave this place for now."
Lin Chuyu pouted, "Who said I wanted to talk to Uncle Jiang? Zhang Tang saw the Vermilion Bird incident..."
Ji Zichen interrupted, "What Vermilion Bird? If there was one, we would have seen it by now. Besides, we're already out; let's not dwell on things in Zhuque Chenjing."
The three of them made their way out. After two hours, in another part of the forest, Ji Zichen heard some footsteps approaching. Looking around at the terrain, Kiko noticed a large boulder on a hill ahead. She leaped onto the boulder to get a better view and saw numerous figures densely packed in the forest ahead.
Seeing their attire, Kiko exclaimed, "It's Ling Xuan and the others! How did we run into them again?"
How could they all be in the same forest? Perhaps their exit was nearby, but that was no longer important. Ma Tongwei must be monitoring their movements from within and would know where they entered and exited. As long as he knew their location, Ma Tongwei would surely close off that entrance.
Standing atop the boulder, Ji Zichen noticed that many soldiers from Western King City had spotted her. They were heading in the same direction. She signaled for Lin Chuyu and Xia Zhou to come forward.
Xia Zhou also saw the soldiers from Western King City and gasped, "It's them!"
Eventually, Ji Zichen's trio came into view of Ling Xuan. Riding a fine steed at the front, Ling Xuan led the way. Not far from him were several horse-drawn carts with injured soldiers; some were asleep while others sat atop them, looking exhausted. There were about seven or eight carts with over twenty soldiers resting on them.
These soldiers had been injured during Ma Tongwei's raid on their camp; everyone was aware of that. When they saw Ji Zichen and her companions appear, each soldier tightened their grip on their weapons, ready for battle.
However, Ji Zichen showed no signs of hostility. Ling Xuan gestured for his soldiers to halt and looked at Ji Zichen with a smile but said nothing. Although they had been adversaries in Zhuque Chenjing, now that they were outside, there was no longer any conflict of interest between them. Ling Xuan tilted his head slightly and smiled at Ji Zichen.
As Ji Zichen approached closer, Ling Xuan smiled and said, "What are you doing here? Is this a reunion of sorts? But seeing you again so soon feels a bit too quick."
Ji Zichen did not respond immediately, for Ji Zichen noticed a soldier on the carriage, his entire head wrapped in bandages, leaving only one eye exposed. Ji Zichen understood all too well why this soldier looked this way; there was a streak of blood at the corner of his eye, just inches away from spreading to his eyelid.
Suddenly, Ji Zichen felt a pang of sympathy for the soldier, while also feeling fortunate for him. If the soldier had been just a bit less lucky, he might have lost that eye as well.
Ji Zichen could offer no compensation to the soldier and would not do so, for the soldier had chosen this path and must bear the pain that came with it.
It was only then that Ji Zichen turned their gaze to Ling Xuan. There was no hostility in Ji Zichen's demeanor now; Ji Zichen smiled and replied, "I didn't expect to see you so soon either."
Ling Xuan glanced at Xia Zhou before finally locking eyes with Lin Chuyu. At that moment, Ling Xuan said, "Now I believe Divine Dawn is not in Zhuque Chenjing."
Ji Zichen asked, "Why do you believe that now?"
Ling Xuan smiled slightly and replied, "If the ruins were inside, we wouldn't be meeting here."
Ji Zichen chuckled and said, "That's true. I suppose you won't give up on the ruins."
Ling Xuan replied with a charming smile, "If you're not giving up, why should I?"
Ji Zichen sighed with a wry smile, "It seems we'll be seeing each other again in the future."
"Who knows what will happen later? Shall we go together?" Ling Xuan invited Ji Zichen to join them. Ji Zichen glanced back at Xia Zhou and Lin Chuyu. Lin Chuyu seemed to harbor some dislike for Ling Xuan and said, "Brother Ji, let them go first. We don't need to accompany them."
Xia Zhou interjected, "Lin Chuyu, don't be afraid. They can't eat us; there's no need to avoid them."
Ling Xuan teased lightly, "Exactly! I can't eat you; what are you afraid of?"
Lin Chuyu was about to speak when Ji Zichen signaled her not to.
Ji Zichen said, "We don't know if there are any Demon Beasts in this forest. It's best for us to leave before it gets dark."
With that, Lin Chuyu stopped insisting. Ling Xuan signaled the soldiers to bring over three horses and said, "These three horses are a gift for you, as a token of gratitude for saving our lives."
Ji Zichen didn't hesitate and gestured for the two of them to mount the horses. The group moved forward together, riding at a leisurely pace. Ling Xuan remarked, "To be honest, if Lin Chuyu had married into Western King City back then, we wouldn't have had to resort to arms. You haven't been to Western King City, but I've been to Corner Lodge, and Western King City is much better than Corner Lodge."
Lin Chuyu could no longer remember anything about the Western King. She frowned and glared at Ling Xuan, saying, "What nonsense are you talking about? Who wants to marry the Western King?"
It was hard to tell if Lin Chuyu had lost her memory or not. Ling Xuan assumed she still harbored resentment and smiled without responding.
Ji Zichen interjected, "That matter is in the past; what's the point of bringing it up now? Look at her; she no longer has the Vermilion Bird Pearl. It holds no value for you anymore."
Ling Xuan glanced at Lin Chuyu's neck and indeed saw that she no longer possessed the Vermilion Bird Pearl.
Ji Zichen changed the subject and asked Xia Zhou, "This forest seems endless; how much farther do we have to go?"
Just as Xia Zhou was about to respond, Ling Xuan answered for him. "This is Blackstone Forest. The 'Black Stone' doesn't refer to a black rock but rather a person's name. There used to be a Blackstone Village here, and the village chief was named Black Stone." Ling Xuan shrugged and continued, "However, that village was taken over by the time we arrived. The forest is vast; it's best if you spend the night with us at Blackstone Village."
This was not good news. Ji Zichen frowned and said, "You're saying we can't get out before dark?"
Xia Zhou replied, "Yes, that's why I wanted to let Serpent Bat Dragon out."
Ji Zichen sighed with a wry smile, "If only I had known earlier; we could have just exited through Rainbow Gate."
Ling Xuan perked up with curiosity. "Rainbow Gate? What is this Rainbow Gate?"
Ji Zichen smiled at Ling Xuan. "Want to know? Go find out yourself."
Ling Xuan knew that Ji Zichen wouldn't tell her anything, and she didn't press further. The group traveled in silence for about an hour until they arrived at Blackstone Village.
Blackstone Village was located at the highest point within the forest. Ling Xuan didn't enter immediately but signaled for the soldiers to go in first. The soldiers carried the injured inside, while the others followed slowly behind.
Seeing that Ji Zichen and her companions had stopped their horses, Ling Xuan chuckled, "What's wrong? It's not like there's a den of dragons and tigers inside. Why are you afraid to go in? Do you really want to spend the night outside?"
In the wilderness, with the cold wind and heavy dew, staying outside was indeed not a good choice. Xia Zhou immediately felt a sense of vigilance rise within him and asked Ling Xuan in a low voice, "What will you do with this village tomorrow?"
"Do with it?" At first, Ling Xuan didn't quite understand Xia Zhou's meaning, but after a moment, she grasped what he was implying.
Ling Xuan smiled slightly. "Are you worried that we might take this village as a base and look for opportunities to enter Zhuque Chenjing?"
Xia Zhou glared at Ling Xuan. "If this village were repaired, it could become a good base."
Ling Xuan nodded, seemingly agreeing with Xia Zhou's reasoning. "Before we enter Zhuque Chenjing, we did have that thought. But don't worry, I keep my word and won't go back on it. Tomorrow morning, I will have someone burn this village down. That should put your mind at ease."
Xia Zhou snorted coldly. "You better keep your word. If you pull any tricks, you've seen our methods. If you go in, it won't be so easy for you to come out."
With that, Xia Zhou urged his horse into the village. "We're going in; I want to supervise them to ensure this village is completely burned down tomorrow."
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