Chapter 49

Chapter 49

After that, Xie Licheng led him into the secret passage. At first, Xie Licheng walked in front, Gu Zhangyuan trailing slowly behind him.

The deeper they went, the darker the passage got, and Gu Zhangyuan nearly tripped several times. Plus, there were a few traps along the way, so Xie Licheng stopped and gave him a piggyback ride.

Gu Zhangyuan was pretty worn out himself. He'd been busy all day—after leaving the pocket world, he'd been running all over with Xie Licheng, and now his legs were just about done.

He sprawled on Xie Licheng's back, clutching a flashlight. He used it to light the way for Xie Licheng, who strolled along without a care in the world.

Gu Zhangyuan, lulled by how chill he was, started to feel his eyelids getting heavy on Xie Licheng's back.

But just as he was about to doze off, the unflappable guy's steps hitched, then he suddenly sped up and took off.

Gu Zhangyuan blinked and asked, confused, "What's wrong?"

Xie Licheng whispered, "Shh, don't talk. And don't be scared."

Gu Zhangyuan nodded. One arm looped around Xie Licheng's neck, he aimed the flashlight with the other hand.

Xie Licheng had one hand holding him the whole time. Now, with his free hand, he casually whipped out a dagger.

The dagger twirled lazily between his fingers, ready to strike.

Gu Zhangyuan was confused—they hadn't seen a soul, so who was Xie Licheng planning to stab?

Just as that thought crossed his mind, he spotted a figure up ahead.

By the time he saw them, they'd already spotted him and Xie Licheng. They had lamps with them, and the tunnel was pitch black. Even from a distance, the other side could tell they were there.

The figure belonged to a man in his late thirties.

The guy seemed to be holding something. Before Gu Zhangyuan could squint and make out what it was, Xie Licheng said coolly, "You should close your eyes now."

Gu Zhangyuan went "oh" and squeezed his eyes shut.

He had no idea what happened next. All he knew was that he got bounced around a little on Xie Licheng's back.

He also heard the man say something, but then everything went quiet again.

So quiet that all he could hear was their breathing.

Xie Licheng didn't tell Gu Zhangyuan to open his eyes until they were out of the tunnel.

The first thing Gu Zhangyuan did when he opened his eyes was ask, "What did that man just say?"

He hadn't caught what was said, but he'd heard the guy talk.

Xie Licheng didn't answer. What that guy said wasn't pretty, and what he'd been holding wasn't anything good either.

Gu Zhangyuan was such a scaredy-cat—he'd nearly freaked out just from the mention of killing. Xie Licheng decided to keep what just happened to himself.

Xie Licheng: "Nothing. Just some nobody."

Gu Zhangyuan hummed in acknowledgment and was about to ask Xie Licheng to put him down, but before his feet even hit the ground, something brushed against him.

Gu Zhangyuan yelped and scrambled back onto Xie Licheng's back.

Still carrying Gu Zhangyuan, Xie Licheng glanced down, then stomped hard on the guy's hand.

Two bodies lay at their feet, both bandits. One of them Xie Licheng had seen before.

These guys must have run into Song Qiyue's people, and a nasty fight broke out.

Song Qiyue's side had way more people, and the bandits were outnumbered. Plus, the prefect was already dead. Running into the rebels now? No way they stood a chance.

Gu Zhangyuan asked, "Is there someone on the ground?"

He had a flashlight but was too scared to point it down.

Xie Licheng soothed him, "It's not a person. It's a dead dog."

Gu Zhangyuan knew he was just trying to comfort him. He'd clearly felt a hand.

"Maybe... I should just head back?"

He didn't want to be out here anymore. The outside world was a freaking nightmare.

Xie Licheng was about to nod when Gu Zhangyuan added, "You should come with me too."

Xie Licheng kept walking and teased him, "That scared? You need me to come with you?"

Gu Zhangyuan was about to say yes when they both heard a scream.

Gu Zhangyuan, who'd been scared out of his wits a second ago, perked up when he heard the scream was a woman's. "Someone's screaming! Let's go help!"

Xie Licheng sped up and asked with a grin, "Not scared now?"

"Nope."

His fear didn't matter compared to someone's life.

Besides, he had Xie Licheng to protect him.

Compared to other people, he was way luckier.

Xie Licheng quickly found the screaming woman. Two men were dragging her by the arms, hauling her out.

They treated her like she wasn't even human. When she kept screaming and struggling, they started kicking and cursing at her.

Gu Zhangyuan couldn't stand to watch. He slid off Xie Licheng's back so Xie Licheng could move freely.

Xie Licheng didn't let him down. He casually chucked a dagger at them, slicing off one guy's finger.

The guy let out a bloodcurdling scream and snarled, "Who?! Who the hell stabbed me?!"

Then he saw Xie Licheng—and the drop-dead gorgeous Gu Zhangyuan.

Gu Zhangyuan was so pretty that they completely forgot about Xie Licheng. Both men dropped the woman and made a move for Gu Zhangyuan.

The woman, now free, scrambled toward a big tree nearby.

Halfway there, she looked back at Gu Zhangyuan, worried.

She knew she should run for it.

But... since they'd probably come to save her, she couldn't help but warn them.

"You two be careful. There's a lot of them."

Gu Zhangyuan, hearing this, quickly waved his hand toward her, signaling her to find a safe place to hide.

Gu Zhangyuan said, "Don't be afraid. Once we've dealt with them, we'll take you with us."

Maybe amused by what he said, the man with the missing finger chuckled and said, "Really? You think he can get the two of you out of here all by himself?"

As he said this, he made a point of glancing at Xie Licheng.

And then... there was no "and then."

Because the moment he looked at Xie Licheng, a second dagger in Xie Licheng's hand struck his throat cleanly.

The man's body went limp and he collapsed to the ground.

His companion, seeing this, finally realized they had run into a tough opponent.

He pulled out a crossbow, intending to use a crossbow bolt against Xie Licheng.

But Xie Licheng was faster. He was quick, accurate, and utterly ruthless.

As the other man also fell, Xie Licheng said softly, "Targeting a married man is a very dangerous thing."

They should have used their heads—in such chaotic times, a stunning beauty suddenly appearing, and one who seemed well-cared-for at that, was itself an obvious warning sign.

But they paid no attention, instead keeping their eyes fixed on Gu Zhangyuan. They were bold with lust, but didn't have the luck to survive it.

What Xie Licheng didn't know was that these two weren't just driven by lust—they were specifically tasked with scouting the area for beautiful people for their boss, which was why they got so excited at the sight of such a great beauty.

Seeing how skilled Xie Licheng was, having taken out the two men so cleanly, the woman who had been terrified earlier walked over from her hiding spot.

She was still quite afraid of Xie Licheng, approaching with great caution.

She asked, "Who... who are you two? Can you take me to see the Prefect?"

They were in the very residence where the Prefect had been hiding in Lingzhou city.

Many people had escaped through secret passages, but many also didn't know of them.

This woman was a female entertainer bought by the Prefect, ditched by Secretary Liu because she wasn't important.

Hearing this, Xie Licheng glanced at her. The Prefect had been killed by him, and she was the Prefect's woman—he couldn't bring someone like her into the pocket world.

With that thought, Xie Licheng reached out to Gu Zhangyuan, signaling it was time to go.

Gu Zhangyuan also had a grudge against the Prefect. He wanted to save her, but was afraid she might bring them trouble.

After a moment's hesitation, he picked up a dagger from the ground and handed it to her.

He said, "Head that way. There's a secret passage leading out of the city. The city's in chaos—you should get out of here fast."

She caught his meaning. She said, sounding nervous and flustered, "Do you two have a grudge against the Prefect?"

At first, Gu Zhangyuan had said he'd take her along, but after hearing her ask about the Prefect, his attitude toward her changed.

The woman quickly explained, "I'm an entertainer. I didn't have a good relationship with the Prefect. I only went with him because I didn't have a choice. Can you take me with you? I'm all alone... I can't make it out on my own."

As she spoke, she lifted her skirt to show Gu Zhangyuan her leg.

Her leg was hurt, and her body was covered in cuts and bruises.

In her state, even if she made it through the secret passage, she wouldn't survive alone.

Gu Zhangyuan's heart went soft, and he turned to look at Xie Licheng.

Seeing he really wanted to save her, Xie Licheng signaled for him to take her hand, saying he could bring her in to test it out.

Gu Zhangyuan's face brightened, and he quickly walked over to take the woman's hand.

The woman was confused, but since Gu Zhangyuan was a man, she didn't resist.

And then...

The woman's vision blurred. One moment they were in that big house, and the next, they were somewhere else.

She stared blankly at the strange place, her first instinct being a deep unease.

"Wh-what is this place? Who... who are you?"

Xie Licheng didn't answer. Instead, he asked her name.

She was a bit scared of him, so she answered without thinking, "I don't have a real name. At the brothel, everyone calls me Qing Niang."

Xie Licheng looked up Qing Niang in the population registry and entered her name.

Once she had a name, an ID appeared above her head—one only Xie Licheng could see.

Seeing her green ID, he asked, "I killed the Prefect of Lingzhou. Do you hold a grudge against me?"

Qing Niang quickly shook her head. She'd meant everything she said.

She didn't have any feelings for the Prefect. She'd asked about him earlier because that was his turf, and she'd figured Xie Licheng worked for him.

She was an entertainer who had no say in her own life.

When rich and powerful men took a fancy to her, even if she only sang and danced and never sold her body, she had to go along with them.

She truly had no affection for the Prefect. He was old, greasy, and smelled bad—she'd never go for a guy like that.

Seeing her ID was still green, Xie Licheng knew she really didn't mean him any harm.

But just because she meant him no harm didn't mean she was safe for Gu Zhangyuan.

He'd have to teach Gu Zhangyuan not to get too close to just anyone. Especially for Gu Zhangyuan, seemingly harmless women and men could sometimes be the most dangerous of all.

After bringing Qing Niang into Peach Blossom Village, Xie Licheng left her with the villagers. He didn't explain much about the place—she could ask the villagers if she had questions.

Xie Licheng had originally planned to send Gu Zhangyuan to the farm and head out alone. But since he wanted to teach Gu Zhangyuan to shoot, he ended up taking him along.

When the two went back out, on the other side of the village, a woman was treating Qing Niang's wounds.

Doctor Chen's family had moved to town, so if Qing Niang wanted to see a doctor, she'd have to wait until the next morning.

Luckily, Qing Niang's injuries weren't too bad, and there was an old man in the village who knew a little medicine.

With everyone's help, Qing Niang's wounds were quickly patched up.

When morning came, they could head to town to see a doctor then.

Qing Niang was deeply grateful, her eyes red as she thanked everyone one by one.

The old man who prepared her medicine was the very one Xie Licheng had rescued from the bandits in the mountains.

He was originally a mountain dweller. Now he had followed everyone to Peach Blossom Village, which happened to be nestled beside a large mountain.

Having a mountain was a good thing—those who lived by the mountain ate from the mountain, and those by the water ate from the water.

Where there were mountains, there were all kinds of herbs and things to eat.

These villagers from the mountains truly loved their new life.

Qing Niang asked, "What is this place exactly? I was still in Lingzhou City a moment ago, and in the blink of an eye, I was suddenly in a village."

The old man smiled and replied, "This is one of our Benefactor's abilities. Everyone here arrived just like you—brought here in the blink of an eye."

"Yeah, that's how we got here too."

Qing Niang: "Then... then your Benefactor—no, our Benefactor—what kind of person is he, really?"

Xiao Rui: "He's an immortal. Our Benefactor is an immortal, a deity who descended to earth to save those who suffer."

Although Xie Licheng repeatedly emphasized that he was no so-called immortal and would one day grow old and die, many of the people here, including the Gu family, believed he was an immortal.

In their eyes, only an immortal could create such a place.

There were mountains and streams, flowers and grass. The prey on the mountains was inexhaustible, and the fish in the water were abundant.

The Benefactor could even create farmland. It was said that the few acres he was currently cultivating could yield crops in just ten days or so.

If that wasn't the work of an immortal, what was?

...

When Xie Licheng and Gu Zhangyuan came out again, they didn't linger long in that mansion.

It was obvious people had already been there. Even if there had been plenty of good things inside, most of them had already been taken.

Xie Licheng took Gu Zhangyuan's hand and led him out a small side door.

This time they didn't turn on any lights, and Gu Zhangyuan stumbled along as Xie Licheng pulled him.

Xie Licheng called him an idiot under his breath, then hoisted him onto his back once more.

Lying against Xie Licheng's back, Gu Zhangyuan muttered back quietly.

"I'm not an idiot. It's pitch black out, and I can't see a thing."

He had no idea how Xie Licheng's eyes could see so well. With the sky this dark outside, how could he still see everything so clearly?

"Husband," Gu Zhangyuan whispered.

A corner of Xie Licheng's mouth curled up. "Hmm?"

"Where are you taking me?"

"To find you someone to practice your shooting."

"Shooting? What kind of gun?"

Hadn't they agreed he wouldn't be taught how to kill people?

Why was he being taken to practice shooting now?

Xie Licheng didn't answer that question right away. Instead, he led him to one of the Gu family's shops.

The Gu family had many shops in Lingzhou City, and they had probably been ransacked by now as well.

He wanted to take Gu Zhangyuan to look around the shops, hoping they might run into Song Qiyue and his men.

The moment Xie Licheng brought Gu Zhangyuan into a shop, Gu Zhangyuan recognized it right away.

He said, "This—this is our family's grain shop."

Xie Licheng was about to explain when his keen ears caught the faint sound of voices coming from the courtyard in the back.

He signaled Gu Zhangyuan to stay quiet, then crept toward the rear courtyard with Gu Zhangyuan on his back.

As they got closer, the voices from the courtyard became clearer.

"Officer, officer, please spare us. Our master has disappeared, so we won't be keeping this shop anyway. Take whatever you want and go, but why must you harass my wife and child?"

An annoyed voice cut in, "Our lord taking a liking to your son is already a blessing your family earned over three lifetimes. Hand over the boy now, and we'll let you go."

"No, no, he's just a child, a boy no less. Why—why must you insist on taking a boy?"

Before the shopkeeper could continue, one of the men raised his blade to cut him down.

If it weren't for their Third Chief having taken a liking to the shopkeeper's son, they wouldn't have wasted so much time talking to him.

This guy didn't know what was good for him. It seemed they'd have to show him a thing or two before he realized how scary they could be.

Just as the man was about to swing his blade down, a slender figure suddenly rushed out from the room.

"Stop! You just want me to go with you, don't you? I'll go with you now—just let my parents go!"

The burly man holding the blade shook his head. "No can do. To make sure you don't cause trouble later, your mother has to come with you."

With that, he waved his hand, signaling the men behind him to go into the room and grab them.

The youth's face turned pale at the sight. He had planned to let his parents escape first, then bash his head against the wall to end it all.

After all, his body was weak, and he wasn't meant to live long. That he had survived this long was all thanks to his parents' careful nurturing.

He had no way to repay them for raising him, so this was the only way he could show his gratitude. But... he hadn't expected these people to take the bait, and now they wanted to use his mother to control him.

Just as the youth had given up all hope, a crossbow bolt suddenly struck the burly man who had been speaking. He dropped before he even knew what hit him.

The youth was startled, and his father quickly stepped in front of him.

Seeing that the one who had died was a villain, the youth cautiously poked his head out from behind his father.

He felt that whoever had come wasn't a bad person—otherwise, they wouldn't have gone after that bad guy specifically.

And indeed, that was exactly the case. When he saw who the newcomer was, he couldn't help but shout happily.

"Young Master!"

Hearing this, the youth's father quickly followed his son's gaze and saw Gu Zhangyuan holding a crossbow.

The man quickly called out: "Eldest Young Master, you... why have you come here in person?"

Besides that burly man in the backyard, there were three other sturdy, able-bodied young men. Among them, one was not only strong but also exceptionally tall, looking even taller than Xie Licheng.

Seeing their companion dead, they barely reacted. It seemed the dead man wasn't their leader.

The very tall man looked over at Gu Zhangyuan.

He asked: "Are you the Eldest Young Master of the Gu family?"

Gu Zhangyuan was famous—everyone knew that the Eldest Young Master of the Gu family in Lingzhou was exceptionally handsome.

Now that they saw him with their own eyes, they couldn't help thinking that this Young Master really was gorgeous.

However... what really threw them off was that he'd managed to escape from the Gu family before, so why was he showing up here now?

As they were thinking this, they quickly noticed someone else was standing behind Gu Zhangyuan.

The other person was dressed in dark clothing, standing behind someone as good-looking as Gu Zhangyuan, he was easy to miss.

Gu Zhangyuan ignored those men and instead looked at the young boy and his father.

"Don't be afraid, we've come to rescue you."

He really couldn't understand why they still hadn't fled by now.

Didn't they have time to run? Or did something go wrong?

Hearing this, the young boy quickly reminded: "They are rebels. They like grabbing pretty boys, women, and men too."

Upon hearing the boy's warning, and disliking the way those three men were looking at him, Gu Zhangyuan panicked and ducked behind Xie Licheng.

He hadn't shot that arrow himself—Xie Licheng had guided his hand.

His aim was bad, and he never dared aim at anything lethal.

If he'd fired that crossbow himself, the big guy wouldn't have dropped in one shot.

It wasn't that he didn't get the situation or that he was too soft-hearted—he just really hated killing.

Xie Licheng didn't like how they were eyeing Gu Zhangyuan either. Once Gu Zhangyuan was behind him, he stepped out.

He looked at them and said: "Are you Song Qiyue's men?"

The tall man's sharp eyes flickered at that.

Since they didn't deny it, Xie Licheng knew he'd guessed right.

He motioned for Gu Zhangyuan to stay put, then went for the tall guy.

His speed was swift, and the long blade in his hand seemed to move on its own. When he noticed someone trying to circle around him to grab Gu Zhangyuan, the blade shot out like it had a mind of its own.

The blade went straight through, piercing through the man's back.

With inhuman strength, it slammed the guy into the wall and pinned him there, scaring the boy so bad he stumbled back and yanked his father into the room to hide.

The boy whispered: "Who is that person beside the Eldest Young Master?"

Why's he so scary—even scarier than those rebels?

The boy's father looked confused. He'd dealt with the Young Master plenty of times but had never seen this guy before.

Once the man was dead, Xie Licheng turned to the other two: "If you're gonna fight like men, then fight fair. Stop with the sneaky crap. I already let the three of you jump me—isn't that enough?"