Fleeing for Their Lives

Chen Fei had just been about to speak and wake the people around him when he suddenly saw a ball of red light flare from Qian Jijiang's chest. A wisp of scorched black smoke rose after it, and Qian Jijiang shuddered in pain.

"Hm? No, this isn't right. We came through here just now!"

Clarity returned to Qian Jijiang's eyes. He looked at the scene around them, especially the mountain village in the distance, and his face could not help going pale.

"How do we wake them?"

Chen Fei asked. This Qian Jijiang really did have something up his sleeve. If Chen Fei had not had the Heart Cleansing Art, he would probably have been bewitched by the Weird right now too, unable to wake.

"You're fine?"

Qian Jijiang looked at Chen Fei in surprise, but he had no mind to ask further. Instead, he took an incense stick from his bundle and lit it. Wisps of blue smoke spread through the surroundings. Yan Qing and the other three dazedly came to, then looked at the mountain village in the distance, and all their expressions changed drastically.

"There's a Weird in that mountain village. We need to go, now!"

Seeing that everyone had recovered, Qian Jijiang had no time to explain. He lowered his head and ran forward. The others did not dare delay and followed closely behind him.

Chen Fei followed at the rear, continuously circulating the Heart Cleansing Art. The icy sensation slowly calmed him down. Looking at the smoke that kept closing in from all around, Chen Fei tried hard to see farther into the distance, and the cold sensation slowly surged into his eyes.

"It's working!"

Chen Fei could not help feeling delighted, but his expression changed drastically at once. Though he could see farther now, what appeared in the distance was not another road, but that small mountain village.

Compared with the first time, they were now even closer to that small mountain village. They could even see the houses in the village rather clearly.

The land was flat and open, the houses orderly, with fertile fields, mulberries, and bamboo, paths crisscrossing like a painted paradise beyond the world. In the faint, indistinct haze, they could even see many human figures within it, all facing this way, as if waiting for their arrival.

Chen Fei could not help shivering and shouted, "Stop! We're getting closer to that village!"

Everyone was startled when they heard him. Qian Jijiang thought of how Chen Fei had been the first to wake up just now and believed him somewhat, so he could not help stopping.

"What did you see?" Qian Jijiang asked urgently.

"Houses and fields, and a lot of people standing there, facing us!"

Chen Fei's expression was ugly. At this moment, the Bone-Attached Gangrene was so cold it seemed about to freeze Chen Fei's arm stiff, while the chill in Chen Fei's heart was even worse. If they could not get past this hurdle, he feared they could forget about seeing Xingfen City.

"Old Qian, think of something, quick!"

Chi Defeng turned to look at Qian Jijiang. If anyone could lead everyone out right now, it was probably only the experienced Qian Jijiang.

"Everyone, stay close to me. I'm going to run with everything I've got!"

With a pained expression, Qian Jijiang took half a Red Candle from his bundle. This Red Candle looked no different from those used in ordinary households. Qian Jijiang carefully lit the candlewick.

A ring of red light spread out, enveloping all of them within it.

Perhaps it was an illusion, but under the red light, the chill that had covered their entire bodies just now vanished completely, and a sense of peace filled their hearts.

At the same time, where the red light shone, the surrounding mist actually dispersed on its own, as if it feared this candle's radiance.

"Run!"

Qian Jijiang gave a low shout and shot forward. The others did not dare delay, following closely behind him.

Their group of six all had decent Movement Techniques, so although Qian Jijiang was going all out, everyone still kept close.

The mist ahead scattered and retreated, and that small mountain village finally did not appear again. Everyone's hearts eased slightly. If they saw that village again, they feared they would go mad on the spot.

"No, no, stop! Everyone stop!"

Qian Jijiang suddenly shouted, his face frighteningly pale. Everyone looked at him in confusion, but Chen Fei noticed the Red Candle in Qian Jijiang's hand. In just that brief moment, it had already burned down by more than half.

And even as Chen Fei watched, the Red Candle was still shrinking at a speed visible to the naked eye. At this rate, in another fifteen minutes, the candle would burn out completely.

"What's wrong?" Chi Defeng asked, puzzled.

"The candle's burning too fast. We haven't gotten away from the Weird. Instead, we're even closer to them!"

Holding the candle, Qian Jijiang tested it in four directions. Only toward the southeast did its burning slow.

"This way!"

As Qian Jijiang spoke, he immediately rushed out.

Chen Fei looked around, his heart trembling with cold. The Heart Cleansing Art was decent; it had kept Chen Fei clearheaded. But it seemed that being clearheaded alone was not quite enough.

If they could not get out of this place, then when the time came, they would probably be eaten while wide awake.

Especially now, with that vague, cold gaze behind them, goosebumps rose uncontrollably across Chen Fei's back, as if in the next instant, those Weird would pounce on them.

"The mountain village! That mountain village appeared again."

After they ran for a while, Feng Yu pointed into the distance and suddenly shouted. Everyone turned to look, and sure enough, it was the village they had seen just now.

Round and round they went, and now everyone seemed to have returned to the starting point again. As for the Red Candle in Qian Jijiang's hand, compared with when it had first been lit, less than thirty percent remained.

"A huge loss, a huge loss!"

Qian Jijiang looked at the Red Candle, then glanced at the village in the distance. Gritting his teeth, he pulled another candle from his bundle. Only, unlike the previous Red Candle, this was a pure White Candle.

"This Weird is too strong. Right now, we can only gamble. Otherwise, none of us will leave this place today," Qian Jijiang said in a heavy voice.

"What do we need to do?"

"In a moment, after I light this White Candle, I'll throw it straight out. This White Candle has the opposite effect of the Red Candle. It attracts Weird. So when the time comes, it will be extremely dangerous behind us. Everyone, run as fast as you can."

Qian Jijiang said in a low voice that this was tantamount to staking their lives. But if they did not do it, everyone would probably keep circling around here later, and once the Red Candle burned out, they would all die.

Yan Qing and the others looked at one another, but they did not stop Qian Jijiang, because they had no better way. At this moment, they could only listen to Qian Jijiang's arrangements.

Qian Jijiang lowered his head and lit the White Candle.

An indescribable, unfathomable scent drifted out from the White Candle. Qian Jijiang used all his strength and threw the White Candle toward the rear. The candleflame on the White Candle kept swaying, yet it did not go out.

The next instant, Qian Jijiang, holding the Red Candle, was already running madly forward.

Compared to before, Qian Jijiang's movement technique speed had increased by more than half.

Everyone else was startled by the speed of Qian Jijiang's movement technique. Only Chen Fei followed steadily behind Qian Jijiang, and behind Chen Fei was Chi Defeng.

Yan Qing and Yan Ding gave muffled shouts, stabbing each other's bodies with their Sword Blades. As blood spread through the air, the two of them abruptly vanished, following tightly behind Chi Defeng.

The Old Woman, Feng Yu, tossed a pill into her mouth. Green qi suddenly rose across her face, and as her steps moved, she actually surpassed Yan Qing and Yan Ding in an instant, chasing behind Chi Defeng.

"Jie jie jie..."

A low laugh seemed to drift through the mountain forest. The fog all around grew even denser, but fortunately, the direction in which the fog surged was toward the rear. The fog ahead of them was instead gradually thinning.

Everyone's spirits lifted slightly. That White Candle had indeed taken effect, and that feeling of being watched at every moment had vanished completely.