Encounter

"They've had someone go missing?"

Qian Hai had quietly woken up when he heard the commotion.

"Hard to say if it's real or fake—might be them probing our strength."

Qin Yang shook his head slightly.

"Mm, most of these Jianghu wandering swordsmen have crooked intentions. Out here in the wilderness, it's only natural for them to get ideas when they see wealth."

Qian Hai nodded.

"Let them be. As long as they don't cross me."

Qin Yang was unconcerned.

"Exactly. If they mess with you, they're the unlucky ones."

Even Li Baling, that kid, had woken up.

"I thought you were sleeping soundly. How come you're awake?"

Qin Yang was a bit surprised.

"Wilderness out here. Gotta stay on guard."

"That much, I get."

Li Baling chuckled.

"Nothing serious. Go back to sleep."

Qin Yang said softly.

Just as the two were about to settle down again.

More noise came from ahead.

Qin Yang looked over and saw two figures emerge from the dark thicket.

"Hey, have any of you seen one of our companions?"

The Unkempt Beard Wandering Swordsman asked with a Cupped Fist.

"What are you—mmph—"

Li Baling started to speak, but Qian Hai clamped a hand over his mouth.

"Haven't seen anyone."

Qin Yang narrowed his eyes.

"Probably not around here. We'll search elsewhere."

The Wandering Swordsman nodded and headed off with his companion.

Once they disappeared.

Qian Hai let Li Baling speak.

"Qin Yang. Weren't those two guys just here before?"

"How'd they come back so fast, asking the same question?"

Li Baling's expression was uneasy.

"Didn't you notice?"

"When the moonlight fell on those two just now."

"They had no shadows."

Qin Yang said indifferently.

Li Baling felt a chill run through him and forced a smile: "Qin Yang, it's the middle of the night—don't scare me."

He really hadn't caught that detail and didn't know if it was true.

"I saw it too."

"Neither of them had shadows."

Qian Hai said flatly.

Li Baling's scalp went numb.

A person without a shadow—was that even a person?

"What's there to fear? You don't still think that nightmare you had was just an illness, do you?"

Qin Yang smiled.

"What do you mean? Was I really haunted by some evil that time?"

Li Baling had suspected it many times.

But every time he asked his father, Li Tong, the man was always vague.

"Of course. I was the one who dealt with it for you."

Qin Yang briefly recounted what had happened at Huaxiang Tower.

Only then did Li Baling understand the cause of his nightmare.

"Damn. Looks like I'll have to cut back on those brothel tunes from now on."

After learning the truth, Li Baling was clearly shaken.

"Young master, what do we do now?"

Qian Hai said softly.

"Let's leave this forest."

"If it comes to it, I'll just send them off myself."

Qin Yang said indifferently.

He woke Xiao Huan, who was fast asleep in the carriage.

The girl knew nothing of what had happened, and when she heard Qin Yang say they were leaving, she simply nodded obediently, without asking a single question.

Qian Hai led the horse forward, while Qin Yang kept an eye on their surroundings.

Li Baling didn't dare climb back onto the carriage, feeling it was safer to stay close to Qin Yang.

He held a crude torch in his hand, pushing back some of the darkness ahead.

Li Baling felt the Dense Forest growing stranger by the minute, filled with all sorts of odd, elusive sounds that made him restless and tense.

He feared a dark shadow might leap out from anywhere.

Qin Yang noticed this but said nothing.

This kind of fear had to be overcome on one's own; no amount of talking would help.

About the time it takes an incense stick to burn.

"Young master, look."

Qian Hai suddenly frowned.

Ahead, in an Open Space, firelight flickered.

"Let's go check it out."

Qin Yang whispered.

As they drew closer.

Li Baling's face instantly turned pale.

It was a campsite with a campfire.

The flames were still blazing.

But on the ground lay two bloody corpses.

One of them was the Wandering Swordsman with the bamboo hat and Unkempt Beard.

The

"The bodies are stiff. They've been dead for a while." Qian Hai's expression was grim.

If they'd been dead that long, then who were the two Wandering Swordsmen they'd encountered earlier?

"No. The direction is wrong."

"Based on the path we took, this campsite shouldn't be here."

Qin Yang said indifferently.

"Right, we were clearly walking in the opposite direction."

"Did we take a wrong turn?"

Li Baling asked in shock.

"Impossible. The direction should be correct."

Qian Hai said gravely.

"If the direction is right, then it's the forest that's wrong."

Qin Yang said softly.

His words made Qian Hai and Li Baling exchange bewildered glances.

"Let's walk a bit further."

"If it doesn't work, we'll wait until dawn."

Qin Yang said firmly.

Xiao Huan was about to poke her head out to see what was happening, but Qin Yang stopped her, telling her to stay put inside the carriage.

The group continued walking through the gloomy Dense Forest.

Whoosh~

Qin Yang's ears twitched slightly, catching the faint rustle of leaves.

"Who's there?!"

He barked out.

"Don't be afraid."

"We mean no harm."

Four figures emerged from the shadowy dense forest.

But when both sides saw each other's faces clearly, they were stunned!

"Yu Cheng, Old Li!!!" Qian Hai couldn't believe it.

These men were none other than the guards who had been following Qin Dongsheng.

"Young master, Uncle Qian?!!!"

Yu Cheng and the others looked equally shocked.

They never expected to run into Qin Yang's group here.

"What are you doing here?"

Qin Yang asked in a low voice.

"It's a long story."

"We've been trapped in these woods for months."

"This forest is bizarre—once a living person walks in, it's nearly impossible to walk out."

Yu Cheng sighed.

"Is that so. Then where's my father?"

Qin Yang pressed on.

"The Family Head, he—" Yu Cheng started to speak.

"I'm here."

A stern-faced middle-aged man slowly stepped out from within the woods.

"Family Head?"

"Uncle Qin?"

Qian Hai and Li Baling each let out exclamations of surprise.

Only Qin Yang furrowed his brow slightly.

"You all go back first. I need to speak with Qin Yang alone."

Qin Dongsheng looked at Yu Cheng and the others.

Yu Cheng and his men hesitated for a moment, then nodded and turned to leave.

"Why did you come here too?"

Qin Dongsheng gazed at Qin Yang, frowning slightly.

"To find you."

"You've been missing for almost half a year."

Qin Yang smiled.

"I'm sorry. I didn't want this."

Qin Dongsheng let out a soft sigh.

"Family Head, while you've been away, the young master has changed a lot."

"You probably wouldn't guess that he's already a Qi Gathering Martial Artist now."

Qian Hai couldn't help but say.

"Qi Gathering Martial Artist?"

"These past months without me—you must have had a hard time."

Qin Dongsheng's face lit up with joy, but it was tinged with guilt.

He could hardly imagine the pressure Qin Yang had endured holding up the Qin Manor alone.

"It wasn't hard."

"I was just too weak before."

Qin Yang said this on behalf of the original body.

"It's not too late, not too late. In just half a year, you've surpassed more than a decade of my training."

"You were born for martial arts. Maybe my disappearance was a good thing for you."

"Let's go. I'll lead you out of here first."

Qin Dongsheng seemed to be in a hurry.