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墨書 Inktalez
To speak of the sudden situation regarding Lan An, we must delve into his little-known past.
Eighteen years ago, at the foot of Peach Blossom Mountain, there was a village that had been completely ravaged by an Evil Spirit. The leader of this attack was none other than Long Shan, who now possessed Lan An.
In a desperate attempt to protect their two-year-old child, Lan An's parents hurled wooden sticks and stones—useless against the Evil Spirit—at it. These feeble attempts were met with instant retribution as they were consumed by purple flames.
They entrusted young Lan An to a villager named Er Niu, urging him to flee to the foot of the back mountain in search of a man named Xia Dengshan.
Then came a horrifying scream. Lan An's parents, their heads adorned with purple rings, stood up like corpses and emitted chilling cries. The village was strewn with bodies, wildfires raging as if the once orderly box had been turned upside down, its contents scattered everywhere. Yet Long Shan was not satisfied; he had failed to find a suitable test subject.
"A bunch of useless fools! Can't even find a test subject? I might as well take your Evil Thoughts! Hurry up and search! I refuse to believe that in this generation of Peach Blossom Mountain, there isn't a single hero!" Long Shan roared venomously at his subordinates. He was convinced of his judgment; after careful observation, he had determined that one or two children with marks were born in this village! But how could mere mortals vanish without a trace?
Er Niu ran desperately along the winding mountain road, shouting for help. Just when it seemed all hope was lost, a massive boulder blocked his path. All he had left was a butcher's knife that had lost its edge during the slaughtering of cattle and sheep. Trembling, Er Niu raised the knife.
"Damn you! Return my fellow villagers!" He charged at the Evil Spirit without regard for his own safety. The knife clattered to the ground as Er Niu fell before the child he sought to protect.
We know that justice will not be delayed; perhaps it is not as timely as those villagers who have ascended to the heavens would wish.
Fortunately, help arrived before several Evil Spirits. Without hesitation, they dispatched these foes with a single move.
Upon witnessing this display of vitality, Long Shan immediately realized there was a target on the winding mountain road and rushed off with Liu Hen.
The unexpected hero was a recently retired warrior from the Trial Ground, assigned as the head of the Tea Garden. This female warrior had no name; everyone called her Nameless Sister. She was gentle and kind-hearted, beloved by many children.
Though a rock blocked her escape route, Er Niu’s cries did not disturb Lan An’s slumber; he remained wrapped tightly in his bundle. Nameless Sister checked on the child and discovered a crumpled piece of paper with chaotic writing and signs of a budding hero.
This revelation filled her with both surprise and joy, but upon seeing the village below, she sighed deeply. The people she represented should have been fighting forward; no matter how fierce the struggle, they should never reach for innocent children!
Resolving not to dwell on it further, Nameless Sister picked up Xiao Lan An and headed toward the Trial Ground.
Such matters are often ones that most prefer not to touch upon or remember. However, before Nameless Sister could escape far, Long Shan surrounded her with his men. "Well, well! Who would have thought this village has not only seedlings but also good gardeners!" Long Shan exclaimed gleefully. Now he had to protect what was essentially a burden while facing off against both himself and Liu Hen—no matter how strong one might be, escape seemed impossible!
"Nameless, having been away from battle for a long time, was not as vigorous as before, but her tone showed no respect for Long Shan. 'Long Shan, you'd better not interfere with the matters inside the Trial Ground. You should have no intentions regarding this child.'
Long Shan laughed heartily, while Liu Hen had already surrounded Nameless from six directions, yet they had overlooked Abyss behind her. Nameless merely conjured a smoke screen with Vitality; she didn't want to think about whether anyone would come to her aid after she went down. At least for now, with no allies within three to five miles, it was better to find a way to escape than to fight.
So Nameless closed her eyes and immediately hugged Xiao Lan An, bouncing backward without hesitation into the Abyss. Long Shan, who had chased up the cliff, was furious and cursed Liu Hen for not being more alert.
Just like that, the suitable test subject vanished without a trace. Long Shan had no choice but to retreat in disgrace. Perhaps the remnants of ruins, raging fires, and corpses scattered everywhere were the last memories he left for this village.
However, Nameless had made the right gamble. After a violent collision, she used Vitality to protect Lan An from being pierced by a massive spike. Amidst the disorienting tremors, she could faintly hear a voice: 'Over there, quick! Save her!'
Struggling to open her eyes, Nameless saw several figures marked with Trial Ground insignia before everything went black.
When she slowly regained consciousness, Nameless found herself unable to see any colors in this world. She only heard Shu Yuen regretfully informing her that her eyes had been corrupted by Evil Thought and that due to her fall from the cliff, she had missed the chance for treatment. For the next few years, even until she turned to dust, she would never see daylight again!
This news struck Nameless like a bolt from the blue at just 39 years old. Her hand rested on Shu Yuen's as if expressing something in another way. Then she pointed at the child in their arms, indicating that she wanted to adopt this child.
At that time, Ziyuan, still known as Liangyi Hero, placed Xiao Lan An into Nameless's embrace. Nameless did not dwell on her fatal injuries but smiled contentedly while holding the child. At least in her final days of seeing light, she could do one last thing for the Trial Ground or in any capacity she could manage. It was enough that she too had once been a child marked like Xiao Lan An.
Yet no one expected that Nameless would use Dust Returning to One on this child in front of everyone. This was a spell that sealed memories; it seemed that Nameless selfishly helped this child forever bury this incident.
From then on, Xiao Lan An grew up in Nameless's Tea Garden and became the current Lan An.
However, although she still appeared as Lan An on the outside, her core underwent a fundamental change: her gaze now mixed determination with confusion but was filled with the cunning of a schemer.
Having completed possession, Long Shan controlled this unique body and signaled his remaining Liu Hen and Evil Spirits nearby to follow his orders.
The Evil Spirits quickly understood Long Shan's intentions; they sensed Meng Jiang and others approaching and prepared to stage a play to return Lan An to them.
Before long, an Evil Spirit appeared before Meng Jiang and his companions with Lan An bound.
'What useless fools! They can't even withstand a few struggles; we wasted our efforts capturing him,' scoffed the Evil Spirit disdainfully. Yet it showed no intention of continuing the fight; instead, it struck Lan An on the neck to knock him unconscious and tossed him back.
Then it viciously declared that they had returned the person; since they didn't want any commotion, they would withdraw peacefully without causing further trouble.
Meng Jiang momentarily did not understand why the Evil Spirit was cooperating so well with their work while his two students seemed ready for a showdown against these Evil Spirits.
'What's wrong, hero? We didn't wish to resort to violence; I hope you understand your situation,' said the Evil Spirit without fear of their combat readiness.
Because they had prepared more hostages.
As the Evil Spirit raised its hand, about ten civilians were dragged here, all showing fear on their faces amidst cries from women and children.
'You came here for them, right? Now we return both your people and these humans. You complete your mission and we will withdraw; how does that sound?'"
The several Evil Spirits behind them also released the shackles of the townsfolk, signaling them to walk towards Meng Jiang and the others.
Meng Jiang understood that the enemy's willingness to let them go so easily meant they had set a trap. There was no benefit in fighting here.
"Alright!"
This one word startled the two students, and the Evil Spirits praised Meng Jiang for being straightforward. The group of Evil Spirits did not intend to linger and voluntarily stepped back behind their leader.
It wasn't until Meng Jiang confirmed that the Evil Spirits had retreated thirty miles away from Peach Blossom Mountain that he returned to the Trial Ground with his two puzzled students.
"Teacher Meng Jiang, why didn’t we take this opportunity to deal with them and let them go instead?" Yumeng questioned, still confused by Meng Jiang's earlier hesitation.
"What do you know? We came here to rescue people. Since we've confirmed that the Evil Spirits have left, and you checked the surrounding Evil Thought reactions, we’ve verified there’s no problem. It’s best to return now," Meng Jiang replied briefly, but it did not alleviate Yumeng's doubts.
However, orders had to be executed. They hurried back to the Trial Ground before dark, preparing to report to Qianwen.
Seeing that Lan An was unharmed, Qianwen stepped forward proactively.
"It’s good that you’re back. We still need to prepare for the Convention training and strive to achieve some results for your teacher."
Qianwen spoke in a calm tone, naturally extending a hand while casting a wary glance at the still-shaken Lan An.
Noticing Lan An's lack of response, Meng Jiang promptly patted his shoulder. "Why aren’t you—"
Before he could finish, Qianwen interrupted him.
Lan An finally snapped back to reality. "Thank you for your concern, Commander. I will definitely work hard to achieve good results for Teacher Meng Jiang."
Though it was still Lan An's voice, it only earned a smile from Qianwen. "It's not enough just to say it. If you want what you haven't achieved before, you must take action. This is what my teacher taught me, and I hope you can do the same."
In just the time it took for their handshake, Qianwen's gaze grew more curious but quickly calmed down as she politely offered them tea.
Meng Jiang also reflected on his oversight and explained his work negligence. Qianwen did not pursue this matter further but instructed them to prepare immediately.
After they left, Qianwen called Ziyuan over and issued her first order to monitor Lan An.
Ziyuan was taken aback; since everyone had safely returned to the Trial Ground, there was no need for another security check unless there were special issues. But this order...
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