"What is that thing?"
"Here."
Jing Minghe looked down at the stick that Chi Hao had thrust into his hand. It was a stick picked up from somewhere, wrapped in red cloth. Tied to the red cloth was... a talisman?
"Where did you get this?" Jing Minghe exclaimed, his voice almost cracking.
"Save people first."
Chi Hao's actions had surprised him more than once, so Jing Minghe didn't question him further. Instead, he gripped the stick wrapped with red cloth and yellow talisman and charged forward with Chi Hao to rescue the others.
The flickering white figures were too numerous to count. They simply fought one whenever they saw one.
Surprisingly, the stick Chi Hao gave him was quite effective. Each strike dispersed one of the figures. Jing Minghe fought with increasing vigor, as if he could handle as many as came.
Cheng Jun, Guo Wei, and the others, who had been fleeing for their lives from these white figures, watched from the side, utterly dumbfounded. Although their first instance wasn't with Jing Minghe and Chi Hao, anyone with eyes could see these two were no ordinary individuals. They just hadn't expected them to be this astonishingly powerful.
As the white figures grew more numerous, it was impossible for Jing Minghe and Chi Hao alone, no matter how fast their hands moved, to prevent any from slipping through.
Cheng Jun, Yue Yang, and the others, who had been taking a breather and watching the spectacle, were attacked by the white figures that had bypassed Jing Minghe and Chi Hao. They scrambled to dodge the onslaught.
They had no way to deal with these white figures and could only flee.
"Don't run around!"
Jing Minghe shouted. Yue Yang was the first to react, dodging a white figure and turning to run towards Jing Minghe.
Cheng Jun and Guo Wei, who had been scattering in different directions, saw Yue Yang's actions and quickly understood. They too ran towards Jing Minghe and Chi Hao.
While fleeing, Cheng Jun accidentally tripped over something. A white figure caught up and entangled one of his arms. In panic, he reached out with his other hand, grasping randomly. Precisely, he grabbed Jia Qi, who was passing by.
Jia Qi hadn't expected Cheng Jun to suddenly grab him, and he had grabbed him so accurately. Caught completely off guard, they both tumbled to the ground.
After finally pushing Cheng Jun off him, one of his legs was entangled by the pursuing white figure.
He had already lost half an arm to a white figure and was extremely weak from blood loss, only managing to stay conscious by sheer will to survive.
However, by stumbling near Cheng Jun during his escape, he had been suddenly grabbed. His first thought was that Cheng Jun wanted to use him as a shield.
He remembered in the first instance, he had kindly gone to help He Duo and Chen Yi, only to be betrayed by them and nearly lose his life.
He had never expected help in this life-and-death game, but he absolutely wouldn't be used as a pawn again and again.
"Ah!"
With a loud cry, Jia Qi channeled his anger into strength and kicked away the white figure entangled around his leg. Although his leg was torn to the bone, he seemed oblivious to the pain and somehow managed to stand up.
Seeing the white figure he had kicked away charging back, Jia Qi took two steps to Cheng Jun, who was still struggling with a white figure. Seizing the moment, he shoved Cheng Jun in front of the charging white figure and roared hatefully, "Damn it, you tried to betray me! Go to hell!"
Cheng Jun hadn't expected that his accidental pull on Jia Qi would result in such retaliation. Disregarding whether he would be torn apart by the white figure, he turned and lunged at Jia Qi.
Jing Minghe, enjoying the fight, casually swept his gaze and spotted Cheng Jun and Jia Qi.
"What the hell! What's going on with those two?"
Distracted for two or three seconds, Jing Minghe didn't notice a white figure approaching from the side. Chi Hao turned and kicked Jing Minghe in the waist, sending him flying. The stick in his hand swept past Jing Minghe's flank, accurately dispersing the white figure.
"No distractions!"
Jing Minghe detected a hint of annoyance in Chi Hao's tone. Was Chi Hao worried about him? A smile bloomed in his heart, and he didn't bother with Chi Hao's earlier kick. He replied cheerfully, "Got it. There are too many of these things. How long do we have to fight? Let's retreat."
"We can't go back," Yue Yang said, finally reaching Jing Minghe. "We can't go back. We've tried countless times. No matter which direction we go, we can't find the archway we came through."
"Can't find it?" Jing Minghe swung his stick, dispersing a white figure. "How did you guys end up together? When Jia Qi and you came in, you were going in the opposite direction, right?"
"It was the opposite direction, but we met him not long after we started walking."
"Oh?"
Jing Minghe yanked Yue Yang behind him and shattered a charging white figure.
On the other side, Guo Wei finally broke free from a white figure and also made his way to Jing Minghe and Chi Hao.
Time passed indistinctly, and just as Jing Minghe felt he was about to collapse from exhaustion, the white figures finally stopped appearing.
Jing Minghe leaned on his stick, barely able to stand. "My god, this little master is exhausted."
After speaking, he habitually looked at Chi Hao. Chi Hao had already walked over. Jing Minghe, worried that his stick wouldn't support his weight, directly placed his hand on Chi Hao's shoulder. He found Chi Hao's breathing steady, not even a hint of exertion.
He couldn't help but grumble inwardly, this guy really wasn't normal.
As if hearing Jing Minghe's thoughts, Chi Hao chuckled, "You lack exercise."
Jing Minghe, who hadn't been defeated by the white figures, was almost startled into falling by Chi Hao's chuckle.
"My heavens, you have emotions other than cold indifference! Truly a god."
"I am not your god."
"Hahaha..."
Compared to Jing Minghe and Chi Hao, Yue Yang and Guo Wei, who had spent their time dodging, were panting heavily. Hearing the banter between the other two, they felt an immense sense of melancholy.
Jing Minghe, having rested enough, finally remembered to check on Jia Qi and Cheng Jun.
There was no sound from the two of them anymore. Although he had expected the outcome, seeing it with his own eyes still made Jing Minghe gasp.
The two lay together, a bloody mess, completely unrecognizable.
"Uh, what happened to these two?" Jing Minghe averted his gaze and muttered to himself, "I think I saw them fighting each other just now."
"Find a way to leave."
Chi Hao spoke, then surveyed the surroundings and walked towards the direction where the white figures had come from.
Jing Minghe didn't ask why he chose that direction and followed him.
Yue Yang and Guo Wei looked confused at the direction the two were heading, but they had no way out and could only follow Jing Minghe and Chi Hao. Suzhou Novel Network
On the way, Jing Minghe asked Yue Yang and the others about their situation. The story turned out to be surprisingly simple.
They entered the archway, split up, met each other not long after, got lost, and were chased by white figures.
"Yumi and Shen Yue were sent out continuously?" Yue Yang looked incredulous. "How could that happen?"