Chapter 29: Xing Yan
The grimoire that fell to the ground emitted a bright light.
Duan Li was suddenly struck by an intense chill. His exceptionally keen intuition warned him that something was up. He leisurely stood up and put on his trousers. Then, he wrapped his coat around Feng Yu Lan and, carrying him in his arms, he fled deeper into the woods.
While he temporarily rested at a large tree, he soon couldn’t endure it, and he drew little Ah Lan closer into his embrace, rubbing against him and kissing him. This pa.s.sionate fire just had to be f.u.c.king interrupted halfway through. He felt like an extremely thirsty person who had only taken a sip of water when it was abruptly s.n.a.t.c.hed away from him before he could even indulge in it. And so, Duan Li felt as if claws were ferociously scratching the inside of his heart; he couldn’t bear this itchiness. His saliva flowed as he faced Ah Lan who was in his arms. He then lowered his head and began licking Feng Yu Lan’s eyes and lips.
Feng Yu Lan currently had a splitting headache. He curled up into a ball; there wasn’t a single place on his body that wasn’t in pain. His consciousness wasn’t clear, but he somehow knew that he succeeded with the summoning.
In the case that the host was incapable of executing orders, the being that was summoned would automatically fulfill the first magic summoning rule—to follow and protect the summoner.
After persevering this far, he would soon be able to escape Duan Li’s control; he would obtain his freedom very soon. In a daze, Feng Yu Lan chanted this to himself. However, he was truly suffering in agony. His spiritual power was beyond drained; his brain felt as if it was splitting apart from this headache; and there was an also a sharp stab of pain at his unspeakable lower region. Delirious and wan, Feng Yu Lan had now become so frail. He shrank into Duan Li’s embrace and began to weep.
He seldom cried, but he often laughed.
At this moment, however, there was no other way to vent this pain.
Duan Li immediately found the boy weeping in his arms. He paused, slightly slowing down his pace, and then hid in a narrow cave in the mountain forest. With Feng Yu Lan tucked in his arms, he sat down, leaned against the wall, and hugged him tight. He wanted to say anything to comfort him, yet he didn’t know how to speak for a while.
In the end, he could only stroke Ah Lan’s head.
“I should kill you. That’s the task.” Duan Li said to him. He thought for a second, then extended his claws and grasped Feng Yu Lan’s neck. This human was so fragile. He only needed to squeeze down lightly, and he could easy strangle him to death, allow him to experience a painful death by suffocation in his arms.
But, at this moment, his hand unexpectedly wouldn’t exert any more pressure; he couldn’t do it. He simply watched him cry. Duan Li felt a strange ache well up in his heart. The ache wasn’t at all painful or insufferable; however, it relentlessly hovered above his heart, causing the man to feel an agitating helplessness.
This unfamiliar, inexplicable sensation made Duan Li hesitate. He glanced down at Feng Yu Lan who was still wailing miserably. Feng Yu Lan’s injuries were severe. The former wound at his waist re-opened, and his clothes were stained with red. Duan Li hugged him even tighter and gently patted his back, softly coaxing, “Don’t cry.”
Feng Yu Lan wasn’t fully conscious, but he felt that the one hugging him tight was so warm. And so, he shrank further into the other’s embrace; his entire person resembled a small, shriveled shrimp. As if his life depended on it, he huddled into the pit of Duan Li’s stomach. A peculiar warmth engulfed Duan Li’s heart at Ah Lan’s small action. He wasn’t sure how to describe this feeling; he merely felt as if his hollow chest was filled with something. Thereupon, Duan Li wasn’t the least stingy with his own temperature. He wrapped all clothes around Feng Yu Lan, for he deeply feared the cold would infect him.
At another end, Luo Jian followed the location signal of the tracker only to come across Feng Yu Lan’s cell phone. This mobile phone was all alone amidst the gra.s.s; perhaps it accidentally fell during Duan Li’s chase. A complicated expression flashed in Luo Jian’s eyes; he picked up the cell phone then surveyed the area. Immediately after, 13 pointed at a nearby region and remarked, “There’s a book.”
Sure enough, it turned out to be Feng Yu Lan’s grimoire! A faint blue light glowed on the cover of the book, and the pages of the book began to flip spontaneously. Luo Jian, 13 and 14 had just barely stepped forward. The three dazed individuals were still gaping in awe when, suddenly, a brilliant shine radiated from the grimoire. A figure appeared! Suspended midair, as if tearing open a rift in s.p.a.ce, crossing from another world through a forbidden entrance, coming to reality, arriving to this earth!
When the light dissipated, that dark silhouette gradually became more visible. Luo Jian took one glimpse at it and, soon after, he wore a stupefied expression on his face; his stood in place, completely still. His body was utterly stiff; his heart was filled with incredulity. This person, just how could this person appear here?!
“Who?” This little girl, 14, was extremely sharp. She seemed to have sensed that the atmosphere had been disturbed; her hair stood up, and she swiftly hid behind her older brother 13’s back.
The uninvited guest, who was called upon with those rays of light, gradually touched the ground. His back was turned to Luo Jian, and his movements were very, very slow. Apparently, he had long detected the three people behind him. He deliberately turned around and looked straight at Luo Jian.
Luo Jian was greeted by an all too familiar sight, a pair of cruel and callous blood-red eyes.
“A summoning technique?” Unlike Luo Jian, who was stunned speechless, the girl, 14, was on guard; 13, on the other hand, was completely unfazed. His facial expression couldn’t be seen due to the mask, but there were no fluctuations in his eyes. 13 took a quick glance at the grimoire that was on the floor, and he asked Luo Jian, “Is your friend’s weapon possibly a magic type?”
“Probably. He’s a mage.” Luo Jian was in a complex mood. He stared intently at the Stalker before him; the Stalker also gazed just as intently at Luo Jian. Those deep crimson eyes were filled with strange emotions. The Stalker took a step forward, striding towards Luo Jian. 13 and 14 promptly hopped into action and raised their weapons. They sized the Stalker up, mulling over and a.n.a.lyzing the other’s style of attack.
But the Stalker didn’t take any further actions. He frowned. Seemingly broken-hearted at having to part from him, he gazed at Luo Jian; he wore an expression that appeared all but reluctant. He turned on his heels and picked up the grimoire lying on the ground. Then, he instantly bounded away, jumping directly onto a large tree trunk and advancing along the branches towards the southeast direction.
Luo Jian hesitated for a moment, then he took out his short knife and declared, “Keep up!” Upon saying this, he chased the Stalker, speedily running after his figure. 13 and 14 merely glanced at each other, then obligatorily followed after him.
Both the Stalker and Luo Jian rapidly drew nearer to Duan Li. Of course, Duan Li was not someone who was easily bullied. He immediately perceived a formidable presence rushing towards him. He shot a glance at Feng Yu Lan who was still in his embrace. Sobbing endlessly had worn Feng Yu Lan out, and he eventually fell asleep. He curled up into a ball and slept quite soundly. Duan Li tore off a section of his clothing to bind his wound that had split open once again. Feng Yu Lan got used to this excruciating pain, and he didn’t wake up; he just scrunched up his pale and feeble face.
“You really caused me a lot of trouble.” Duan Li poked Feng Yu Lan’s small face. He sensed that powerful presence was gradually approaching. But he wasn’t in the least bit afraid; contrarily, he was rather excited. Ever since he was given this rubbish ‘pursue all survivors’ mission by the chambers, his ident.i.ty immediately defaulted to the ‘Chambers Executioner’, and he ended up having an NPC-like role in this escaping the chambers game; that was to say, he was no longer a carefree player. Now, he was always constrained by the chambers. Hunting these rookies day after day was truly tasteless ah! It wasn’t easy to come across a well-matched opponent; naturally, he was exhilarated!
Adrenalized, Duan Li prepared at once. He placed little Ah Lan into a hole in the tree, concealing him. Like a thief who just finished burglarizing a jewellery store, he carefully hid his priceless treasure. He then fished out a small, pale-green seed from his pocket and buried it in the soil near the tree hole.
Within seconds, a small seedling magically sprouted from the soil and grew at an unimaginable rate before one’s eyes, growing longer and reaching higher until it finally became a gigantic vine, rapidly winding around the tree Feng Yu Lan was hiding in, tightly coiling around the tree and, incidentally, covering Ah Lan who remained in the tree hole.
After hiding what he needed to, Duan Li clapped his hands. Swaggering with the tang dao in his hand, he drew a formation around himself. He then struck down on the ground, embedding his knife deep into the crack on the stone, and narrowed his eyes, quietly awaiting the battle’s arrival.
Meanwhile, holding Feng Yu Lan’s grimoire in hand, the Stalker slowly stepped out of the woods and walked over to stand before Duan Li.
At this point, twisted cruelty and absolute iciness stood at pinnacle of a showdown.
He looked the Stalker up and down and suddenly laughed mockingly as if he had just witnessed something particularly amusing. He then said, “To think it’s you.”
Luo Jian, who caught up with him from behind, stumbled upon the scene and heard these words; a shocking conjecture popped into his mind. Could it be that this Duan Li actually knew this Stalker?
The Stalker didn’t say a word. His crimson eyes stared at Duan Li with unprecedented vigilance.
“It’s truly a pity that you’ve become such a picture now.” Gripping the tang dao, Duan Li stood in place, imposing and motionless. He seemed to have sighed regretfully, and yet he curled his lips in ridicule and derided, “What should I say to you, how’s it going? Former captain—Xing Yan.”
His name’s Xing Yan. Luo Jian stood behind the Stalker; he briefly became absent-minded because of this sentence. He finally heard the Stalker’s name from another’s mouth; nevertheless, Luo Jian couldn’t understand why he was feeling a bit conflicted. He took another step forward and shouted to Duan Li, “What about Ah Lan? Where’d you take him?”
Duan Li licked his lips and replied, “He’s dead.”
Luo Jian furrowed his brows, “Impossible.”
“Nothing is impossible.” Duan Li spread out his palms and smiled.
“It’s absolutely impossible. If the summoner dies, then all creatures summoned will automatically return to their original s.p.a.ce.” At this moment, 13 suddenly arrived and stood beside Luo Jian. He pointed to the Stalker, “So long as this guy is still here, your friend isn’t dead.”
“You seem to know quite a lot.” Grinning, Duan Li glanced at 13. “But you didn’t know? Even if the summoner dies, summoned creatures can also remain in this s.p.a.ce through forceful means, given that they’re exceptionally powerful.”
“Not to mention…” Duan Li fixed his eyes on the Stalker, then sneered. “This guy’s my former captain. Well, now, he’s just a Stalker who’s been stripped of his emotions and will, but he’s, nevertheless, an incomparable and formidable Stalker.”
“You don’t have to lie to me.” Luo Jian opened his mouth and interrupted Duan Li before he could continue. He frowned, “Ah Lan gave me a small spell. As long as he’s met with any accidents, I can immediately feel it. Although I can’t locate his exact position, I do know he’s nearby.”
Duan Li grudgingly shook his head; he no longer refuted him. However, his voice was frosty. “Well, why are you so strongly attached to him? Friends…do they not only betray each other in the end?”