Escape

As if struck by thunder and lightning, Jiang Shuo stood rooted to the spot, dumbfounded like a piece of lumber.

Jiang Shuo had always thought Mo Xuanwu was prone to exaggeration and self-aggrandizement. Only now, after reality had slapped him hard in the face, did he realize how narrow his own view of the world had been.

With Mo Xuanwu's strength, this Water Prison could never have held him. Just as he'd said, what trapped him was his own heart.

The scene moments ago had made Mo Xuanwu seem like a celestial deity descended to earth, all-powerful, wild and domineering. The strength he'd displayed had even surpassed Jiang Shuo's ability to comprehend. He'd never imagined that martial arts could reach such a terrifying level.

"Senior Mo, I-I've always wondered... how did your legs get broken?" Jiang Shuo had grown even more curious about Mo Xuanwu's past.

"Though my martial arts let me stand proud above the Martial World, there are things even I cannot do." Mo Xuanwu's words carried an implication, but he didn't elaborate. He waved a hand. "All right, you should go. Just remember: the Jianghu is treacherous, far more complicated than you can imagine. Be cautious at every turn."

Seeing that Mo Xuanwu didn't want to say more, Jiang Shuo stopped asking.

Jiang Shuo had learned the Meridian Swallowing Divine Skill from Mo Xuanwu, and Mo Xuanwu had even turned white-haired overnight for his sake. He must have paid dearly for it. Jiang Shuo knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Mo Xuanwu three times, each bow landing with a thud, before leaving.

He jumped onto the iron cage and climbed along the chain connecting it to the wall until he reached the top of the stone door, then leaped down. As he fell in front of the door, Jiang Shuo reached out with both hands and caught hold of a groove barely half an inch deep. The tremendous impact nearly wrenched his shoulders out of their sockets. He exhaled a breath of stale air and carefully climbed up. The stone door was extremely heavy, and its small surface made it difficult to get a grip. Jiang Shuo could only brace his legs against either side and push with the strength of his arms.

With a clack, the stone door shifted slightly, making a faint sound. Jiang Shuo, drenched in sweat, was overjoyed. He kept at it, summoning every last ounce of strength, and finally pushed the door open far enough to reveal a gap a person could squeeze through.

Sect Master Taishu Sheng of the Mad Saber Sect was likely waiting outside. Jiang Shuo cautiously squeezed through and looked in both directions. Seeing no enemies, he turned back to say goodbye to Mo Xuanwu.

But Mo Xuanwu had his back to him and didn't react at all, as though Jiang Shuo had never been there.

Jiang Shuo's heart stirred. That saved him the pain of a tearful farewell.

He bowed toward Mo Xuanwu's back, then firmly closed the stone door again, so no one would discover that Mo Xuanwu had broken his chains and make trouble for him.

His first priority was naturally to look for Chen Han. Though he couldn't rescue him, at least he could make sure he was safe.

Following the route he remembered, Jiang Shuo carefully made his way to Chen Han's cell. But when he peered inside, it was completely empty. Only a pile of straw, clearly laid out by someone, remained.

"Huh? What happened? Could I have remembered it wrong?" Jiang Shuo passed through several more corridors, only to discover, to his surprise, that not only Chen Han but all the other prisoners had vanished as well.

The vast prison was silent and dark. It seemed Jiang Shuo was the only person left.

"The Mad Saber Sect wouldn't go to all this trouble just to kill Chen Han. Otherwise, they wouldn't have captured him and locked him up in this Forbidden Ground. But where have they moved everyone?" Jiang Shuo furrowed his brow, sinking into deep confusion. Before he realized it, he had returned to Chen Han's cell. As his gaze swept over the floor, he suddenly noticed what seemed to be a few words beneath the straw.

Jiang Shuo immediately pushed open the door and went inside. He brushed the straw aside, and sure enough, there were several words underneath, scratched into the stone with a chain.

"The one who captured me wasn't Taishu Sheng." The simple words were written in a wild, hurried scrawl, and the last character was unfinished. It was clear that Chen Han had been in a desperate hurry.

"When I left, Chen Han didn't even know Taishu Sheng. If he left a message like this, doesn't that mean Taishu Sheng was the one who took him away? Someone else had captured him in that kiln outside the city. Was that person one of Taishu Sheng's men, or someone else?" Jiang Shuo thought it over carefully, but couldn't uncover any more useful information. He searched the cell, brushing aside all the straw, but found no other clues.

"Forget it. I should get out first. I've been missing for seven whole days. Who knows what things are like outside now?" Jiang Shuo retraced his steps. He didn't encounter Taishu Sheng along the way, which seemed to confirm his guess: Taishu Sheng had been responsible for taking Chen Han and the others away. They were no longer in the Forbidden Ground—or perhaps not even inside the sect.

Jiang Shuo went all the way to the woodshed and turned the mechanism, returning the bookshelf to its original position.

After leaving the courtyard, Jiang Shuo hid behind a tree and poked his head out to look toward the foot of the mountain.

At the entrance to the Back Mountain, he saw a dense sea of heads. They were all disciples of the Mad Saber Sect, and there had to be at least fifty of them. Chen Xian, at their head, held a saber and patrolled back and forth, on full alert. It seemed the previous assault on the Forbidden Ground had caused a major stir, prompting the Mad Saber Sect to strengthen its defenses.

Though he'd mastered the Meridian Swallowing Divine Skill, Jiang Shuo didn't think he was truly invincible. If he charged out under these circumstances, his enemies would chop him into mincemeat in no time.