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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 19: Toxic Barrier Forest
Ji Zichen tore off a rabbit leg and handed it to Lin Chuyu. As Lin Chuyu caught a whiff of the meat, her stomach growled; she had raised a rabbit before, but even when hungry, she couldn't bring herself to eat. "I don't eat rabbit meat."
Seeing her refusal, Ji Zichen deliberately chewed the rabbit leg loudly to entice her. "If you don’t eat, you’ll go hungry. Who knows when we’ll be able to get out of here?"
Lin Chuyu could endure hunger, but she couldn't suppress her curiosity. "Why did you change your mind?"
Ji Zichen crunched down on the rabbit bone. "Change my mind about what?"
"You’re not just a messenger for Divine Dawn. Why have you decided to look for this ruin now?" Lin Chuyu asked.
Ji Zichen replied, "There are two reasons for my change of heart. The first is for you. Besides Shaoyuan, you’re the first person who has genuinely worried about my safety. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have shown up in Sand Cave to save me. So, I want to help you find the ruins and make it public, allowing you to escape becoming a target for those with ulterior motives. The second reason is also for you; I know nothing about this place, and sending you back to the city isn’t an option. I can’t just stand by and watch you marry the Western King."
Lin Chuyu didn’t seem satisfied with these answers. "There must be a third reason."
Ji Zichen suddenly smiled. "A third reason?"
Lin Chuyu felt she could read Ji Zichen ’s thoughts. "You also want to find Divine Tears to cure your eye condition."
Ji Zichen grinned widely. "You guessed wrong on that one. My eye condition is due to taking the Three Transformation Cultivation Pill. It makes me immune to all poisons; simply put, if a monster tries to eat me, it will die faster than I do because my blood is toxic to them."
Lin Chuyu was taken aback for the first time in front of someone. "If there are side effects like that, why did you take it?"
Ji Zichen replied brightly, "My master insisted I take it because it protects me. I often accompany my master into ruins where Ruins Monsters lurk, and at that time, I had no means of self-defense. I had no choice; you don’t understand—when I was younger, monsters were rampant, and the world wasn’t as peaceful as it is now. Back then, The Divine Alliance Under the Covenant hadn’t formed yet, so no one could stand against the monsters."
"After many generations of leadership, more and more people have joined The Divine Alliance Under the Covenant, leading to more powerful artifacts being discovered. Monsters have become much less of a threat now."
Lin Chuyu sighed softly after hearing this. "I never left the city before I turned ten. I’ve heard that in the past, leaving required dozens of people armed and traveling together; now you only need to buy an artifact and can go out with just a few people or even alone. I remember my father saying that it was your Divine Alliance Under the Covenant that saved this world."
Ji Zichen smiled bitterly. "It used to be different, but now things have changed. I often traveled with my master back then, and everyone respected the members of The Divine Alliance Under the Covenant. There was admiration in everyone's eyes. As The Divine Alliance Under the Covenant grew stronger, Monsters became fewer. Now, in people's eyes, we from The Divine Alliance Under the Covenant have become merchants selling magical artifacts, no different from the Merchant Alliance that peddles goods everywhere."
Lin Chuyu spoke sincerely, "You didn't have the ability to protect yourself before, but now you can. I think you should heal your eye condition."
Ji Zichen replied slowly, "It's too early for that. I'll wait until I can truly find the ruins."
Lin Chuyu thought for a moment and decided to share a secret about the Vermilion Bird Pearl with Ji Zichen. "Brother Ji, if you help me find the ruins, I won't hide it from you. The Vermilion Bird Pearl has a little-known secret."
Ji Zichen's curiosity was piqued. "What secret?"
Lin Chuyu articulated carefully, "It can see into people's hearts."
Ji Zichen was taken aback. "See into people's hearts?"
Lin Chuyu gazed ahead dreamily and continued, "Yes, it's as if it can sense danger. But I can't control it; only when the Vermilion Bird's Eye opens can I sense or see into someone's heart. When the villagers in Tuxia Village were trying to rob you, it didn't open up. Perhaps to it, the villagers posed no threat to me. However, it did open once in Sand Cave."
Ji Zichen recalled the piercing gaze he had seen at that time and felt a jolt in his heart. "The gaze I saw—could it have been the eye of the Vermilion Bird?"
Suppressing his unease, Ji Zichen asked, "In Sand Cave, it opened when you were helping me up, right?"
Lin Chuyu was surprised. "You... you saw it too?"
Ji Zichen shot her a glance. "I did see it, but what does that mean? I was blind at that time; did it think a blind person would pose a threat to you?"
Lin Chuyu also found it puzzling. "Yes, I can't figure it out either."
As Ji Zichen thought back to Sand Cave, he couldn't help but remember the moment they had fallen together. His expression drifted off into memories of that day. Lin Chuyu noticed his distant gaze and her lips moved slightly as if she were recalling something intimate.
Seeing him like this reminded Lin Chuyu of their embrace on the ground in Sand Cave. Her face flushed as she scolded him playfully, "Are you thinking about something strange? Don't even think about it!"
Ji Zichen snapped back to reality at the sound, awkwardly scratching the back of his head and giving a silly smile. "I... I wasn't thinking about anything."
The last rays of sunlight finally disappeared below the western horizon, casting a dimness over Banyan Grove that enveloped the two of them in a mysterious atmosphere.
As Ji Zichen's laughter faded, his eyes suddenly sharpened with alertness. "Why is there so much fog here?"
Lin Chuyu had not noticed it earlier, but upon Ji Zichen's reminder, she realized they were shrouded in mist. She gasped, "There wasn't any fog just now."
The thick fog obscured their vision, making it difficult to see anything beyond a few feet. From deep within the mist came a woman's voice crying for help. "Help me! Is anyone there?"
Ji Zichen and Lin Chuyu exchanged glances upon hearing the cry for help. Since someone was in distress, they felt compelled to investigate. They followed the sound and soon spotted a woman hanging upside down from a tree. Her face was covered with a black cloth, but her bright eyes shone through. The woman was suspended about five feet off the ground.
Ji Zichen did not rush to rescue her. Although her face was concealed, her attire was not that of a night wanderer; instead, she wore a long robe embroidered with plum blossoms. With caution, Ji Zichen asked, "Who are you?"
The woman, clearly anxious, quickly replied, "My name is Ah Jiao. I'm a villager from Toxic Barrier Forest. I've been caught in a trap—please help me down!"
Ji Zichen paused for a moment before turning to Lin Chuyu and asking, "Have you heard of a Toxic Barrier Forest outside Jiaoshu City?"
Lin Chuyu shook her head. "I haven't heard of it, but we should help her down; it's too uncomfortable to be hanging like that."
After hesitating for a moment, Ji Zichen finally nodded. After all, she was just a woman, and if something went wrong, he was confident he could handle it.
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