“No way!”
“I absolutely cannot stay there any longer. I have to run.”
Wu Yuan quickly made up his mind.
But just as he turned around, another major problem crossed his mind.
If he left just like this, wouldn't he be all alone?
“That won't do either. I have to find a way.”
He hesitated repeatedly. Then, his eyes fell on one of the women he had tossed nearby, and a spark of inspiration struck him. He immediately picked her up, slung her over his shoulder, and quickly fled.
Furthermore, he ran in the exact opposite direction of where Wang Luoshan and the others had gone, clearly wishing to avoid crossing paths with them.
Zuo Lin'an watched until the man was far away before slowly withdrawing his gaze.
“So easily fooled.”
By this time, Wang Luoshan and the others had already made their way down the mountain and successfully found the cave.
“There really is a cave here.”
However, it was pitch black inside, making it impossible to see clearly.
Fortunately, for martial artists, this was not a major obstacle.
Zhou Meng cupped his hands. “Lord Wang, there seemed to be a woman's scream coming from the mountaintop just now. Could that Evil Blade Wu Yuan have made his move on those women, or has a specter appeared?”
Wang Luoshan glanced back up toward the summit, where the faint glow of the bonfire was still visible.
“Ignore it for now. Search the surroundings first to see if there are any specter items. We will deal with Wu Yuan after we return to the summit.”
“Yes, sir!” Zhou Meng replied.
At that moment, Zhou Meng's gaze drifted toward Yao Qianhe and his wife.
Although he was an elder of the Martial Alliance, he was actually a member of the Tianlong Guard, secretly placed in the martial world by Wang Luoshan.
It had taken him nearly twenty years of effort to climb to the position of Martial Alliance elder.
Originally, his identity was a top-secret matter known only to three people: Pacification Commissioner Wang, the Commander, and the Emperor.
He was one of the imperial court's hidden trump cards for controlling the secrets of the martial world.
Logically speaking, his identity should never be revealed to anyone else.
But now...
Evil Blade Wu Yuan was as good as dead. As for those three women... though he felt slightly apologetic, they absolutely could not be allowed to leave this place alive for the sake of the imperial court's grand plan.
That left only Yao Qianhe and his wife, Lin Deshuang.
The Prefect of Anyun Prefecture?
Such a title could be considered significant or trivial depending on the context.
But as long as he died inside the dungeon, who would ever know whether he had fallen to a specter or to a player?
It was laughable that Yao Qianhe actually thought he could cooperate with Lord Wang to clear the dungeon.
The earlier conversation between Yao Qianhe's couple and Zuo Lin'an, as well as their request for Lord Wang to bring them down the mountain, was likely an attempt to help search for specter items in exchange for protection.
Little did they know that in his and Wang Luoshan's eyes, not a single player who entered this dungeon would leave alive—except for the two of them.
Wang Luoshan searched the entire area, not even sparing the inside of the cave, but he only found a few footprints. There was nothing else unusual.
“There are no specter items here.”
Zhou Meng stepped forward. “My Lord, shall we head back to the summit?”
Wang Luoshan nodded. “Of course. Let's go!”
Failing to find any specter items, Yao Qianhe and his wife were deeply disappointed, but this was beyond their control.
Fortunately, Wang Luoshan and Zhou Meng did not abandon them.
The four of them made their way back up to the summit, but as soon as they returned, they noticed something was wrong.
Zhou Meng quickly went to investigate the surroundings before returning to report.
“Lord Wang, Yuan Shan is still where we left him, but of the three women, two have had their limbs broken and are unconscious in two different directions. The third is missing.”
“As for Evil Blade Wu Yuan, he is gone as well. Only the native remains in his original spot.”
Wang Luoshan took a deep breath.
“It seems Wu Yuan has no intention of staying with us. In that case, let him go. But why did he attack those women?”
Yao Qianhe immediately spoke up. “Lord Wang, this official believes that Wu Yuan must have knocked all three women unconscious at first and placed them in three different directions.”
“He probably did this to guard against any specters hiding in the dark.”
“However, some unexpected event must have occurred afterward, forcing him to flee. Yet, because he didn't want to be left alone, he took one of the women with him.”
“The most likely explanation is that a specter came here while we were gone.”
Wang Luoshan frowned. “Do any of you have the 【Perception】 talent?”
The three of them exchanged glances before shaking their heads.
Wang Luoshan felt a bit helpless, but there was nothing he could do.
“Let's go ask that native. He should know what happened.”
With that, the group walked toward the bonfire.
By now, it was almost one o'clock in the morning. Hidden in the distance, Zuo Lin'an's specter body took out his phone to check the time. There were about seven or eight minutes left.
It was time to make a move.
The specter body of Zuo Lin'an stood up and set off to find the escaped Wu Yuan.
Because he had to divide his mind between two bodies, with most of his focus directed toward the specter body, his living body at the bonfire became less responsive. His expressions and reactions grew stiff, lacking their previous vitality.
Wang Luoshan and the others sat on the ground once more.
By this point, they seemed to have lost their patience and cut straight to the chase.
“Little friend An Lin, where is that Wu Yuan from earlier? What did he do, and where did he go?”
Zuo Lin'an nodded somewhat sluggishly, then shook his head.
“After you all left, he suddenly stood up, broke the limbs of those three women, and tossed them in three different directions.”
“Then, for some reason, even though nothing happened, he suddenly fled and took one of the women with him.”
Zuo Lin'an pointed in a certain direction.
“He ran that way. He is probably far away by now.”
Upon hearing this, Wang Luoshan understood.
Yao Qianhe's guess had been correct—or at least, mostly correct. As expected of a civil official, his mind was exceptionally sharp.
It was just that the native in front of them hadn't noticed the specter, whereas Wu Yuan had. That was why Wu Yuan had fled, taking a woman along to avoid being alone and to use as a human shield in a moment of crisis.
Zhou Meng glanced at Wang Luoshan, then turned his gaze back to Zuo Lin'an and pressed, “Did you see anything at all?”
Zuo Lin'an froze, appearing slightly slow to respond. Only after a brief pause did he react.
“See what?”
“Maybe there really was something, but I didn't see it.”
Seeing his indifferent attitude, Zhou Meng did not press further.
It was clear that this native was simply waiting to die. He had completely lost the will to live and harbored no hope of escaping this place.
His interactions with them were half-hearted; he only answered when asked and never initiated a conversation.
What a pity...
If only this native were a bit more outgoing. If he spoke up on his own, he would surely be able to reveal things they hadn't even thought of.
They knew far too little about this place, and sometimes, they didn't even know the right questions to ask.
Wang Luoshan stared in the direction Wu Yuan had fled, his brow furrowed.
He pondered for a long time but ultimately decided against searching for him.
Seeing that they had stopped talking, Yao Qianhe and his wife quietly waited to the side. Thus, a heavy silence fell over the mountaintop once more.
Zuo Lin'an was more than happy with this.
He slowly closed his eyes, appearing as though he were resting, but in reality, the vast majority of his focus had shifted over to his specter body.
Rate on N.U.
