The True Lord has arrived

Chapter 5 People

Zhou Yan and Li Zhiwei shouted, quickly attracting the attention of all the little demons in the village. It was the middle of the night, and before they could figure out the specific situation, they saw the house that was burning fiercely for some unknown reason.

Then, with a jolt, I immediately snapped back to reality.

"How did it get on fire?!"

"I do not know."

The hierarchy among the yokai is very strict. If this small house catches fire, even a powerful yokai like the monastery master wouldn't bother with it, but they would still hold someone accountable later. The lesser yokai hurriedly sprang into action, busy putting out the fire.

In the midst of the chaos, it became even more difficult to distinguish friend from foe, and the monsters ran back and forth.

Zhou Yan then led Li Zhiwei outside naturally. Li Zhiwei had no idea this would happen. She watched as Zhou Yan, the arsonist, talked anxiously, uneasy, and fearfully with the approaching monsters, completely oblivious to what he had done.

"Let's go outside and find more guys to put out the fire!"

After saying that, Zhou Yan and Li Zhiwei hurriedly walked forward.

The two walked about a shoulder's width apart.

This place marks the entrance to the passageway. Zhou Yan finally breathed a sigh of relief. As he walked forward, something suddenly occurred to him, and he casually asked:

"Why didn't you shout for me to save you when that hungry ghost grabbed you?"

Li Zhiwei had large eyes. After thinking for a moment, she replied:
"Because if I shout, you'll definitely be exposed."

"If you're capable, you'll save me without me having to ask; if you don't want to save me, asking will only upset you."

"If you were just captured like me, it must have been very difficult for you to escape. Calling you out would only expose you and harm you."

"So I stopped shouting."

Zhou Yan thought the girl spoke very logically.

He asked with a smile, "Aren't you afraid?"

Li Zhiwei glanced at him, then whispered:
"I was scared, but when I saw you back then, I was scared too."

Yes, they were afraid, terrified, but under this naturally occurring fear, they did one courageous thing after another. The bravery under the shadow of fear is somewhat surprising.

Zhou Yan paused for a moment, patted his leg, and sighed:
"I'm scared. My legs are still a little weak."

Li Zhiwei asked seriously, "We don't know what's going on outside. It could be a butcher shop or a 'ghost market.' There's still some danger. Do you know what to do after we get out?"

Zhou Yan said, "Let's take it one step at a time. It's better than being turned into meatballs here."

He originally wanted to say, "When a person dies, the bird flies to the sky; if they don't die, they live for ten thousand years."

We've already chopped down so many monsters, it's not a loss.

But it doesn't feel very elegant.

"Oh."

Li Zhiwei lowered her head and thought for a while before taking the initiative to say, "I have a way to send a message for help, but I don't know if it will work. If it does, and we can get there in time, someone should come to us."

Zhou Yan asked, "Are you confident?"

Li Zhiwei said, "I actually used it once before I was captured. If they are indeed here, they should already be in this area. Now, if we can find a way to use it again, we can tell them our location."

"At least, there is no other choice."

Zhou Yan said, "Okay."

From the girl's demeanor and composure, he had already guessed that she was not from an ordinary background. If reinforcements came, they could first escape their predicament, and secondly, they could naturally reintegrate into human society. His spirits eased somewhat.

The two walked side by side. Li Zhiwei took out something resembling a talisman from a hidden pocket inside her sleeve and dripped a drop of blood onto it.

At that moment, Zhou Yan even held his breath slightly.

………………

Amidst the green mountains, a middle-aged man dressed in golden Heavenly King armor and wielding a long-handled battle sword looked at the Bagua jade plate at his waist with a slightly stern expression.

"found it."

He moved with the speed and grace of a soaring dragon.

On the other side of the cliff, a man wearing dark mountain-patterned armor remained silent, gripping the horizontal sword at his waist, where a faint glow emanated from the bronze token.

"Someone has died."

They moved in different directions.

………………

The talisman in Li Zhiwei's hand glowed faintly.

Then, two faint lights lit up on the talisman one after the other.

A slight smile appeared on Li Zhiwei's face.

She was still young, her face painted black, but her smile had a certain charm, and from the sense of security in that smile, one could glimpse the intense fear hidden beneath her outward composure.

"Someone!"

“There are two people… they responded to me in a special way, and they are not too far away anymore. It is safe for us to go out.”

She closed her eyes, her chest heaving.

Then she made up her mind and stuffed the talisman into Zhou Yan's hand.

Zhou Yan was stunned: "This is..." Li Zhiwei took out another talisman and dripped her own blood on it as well. She whispered, "I still have this talisman, but I don't know what the situation is outside. If it's dangerous, we'll split up and run away. If you have this talisman, you can still be found."

Zhou Yan was overjoyed, grabbed the talisman, raised his hand and rubbed Li Zhiwei's head, saying:
"You're quite capable, little girl."

Li Zhiwei said, "Judging from your appearance, you're not much older than me, but you speak with such maturity."

Zhou Yan touched his face before he came to his senses.

After inexplicably arriving in this world from the mountain, he seemed to have shrunk considerably. He didn't know how old he looked now. He gripped the talisman tightly and said, "That's about enough. Let's take advantage of the chaos and start feeling our way out."

Li Zhiwei nodded, then suddenly remembered something. She followed closely behind Zhou Yan, took something from her second hidden pocket, and slipped it into Zhou Yan's hand, whispering:

"My name is Li Zhiwei, Zhi as in 'knowing' and Wei as in 'the heart of the Way'."

"The subtlety of the Dao Heart?"

"The Dao heart is subtle." Li Zhiwei smiled gently.

“My family taught me that I must remember kindness. I have nothing to give you, but this jade thumb ring was given to me by my mother. Please accept it.”

Everyone she had met before would politely accept her thanks.

But I won't take her things.

The young man before them, with his somewhat rough and chivalrous air, accepted it without a second thought, casually putting it in his pocket after grabbing it.

"it is good!"

Li Zhiwei was stunned for a moment.

Eh? ? ?
Eh?!
I almost forgot to follow along.

Zhou Yan stopped and turned around, puzzled, "Let's go, what's wrong?"

He understood and smiled, "Reluctant to part with something?"

Li Zhiwei raised her head slightly, then lowered it again, paused, and said firmly in a low voice:
"no!"

They had been walking and talking in hushed tones.

Because of this inexplicable fire, the demons were in chaos. Even the monsters at the entrance panicked and rushed to help with buckets of water. The two were overjoyed and hurriedly ran outside.

We've reached the edge of the woods; the exit is just ahead.

You can go out now.

Zhou Yan's consciousness activated the jade book within his mind. Ahead, the jade book detected no aura that could be suppressed, meaning there was no demonic energy. Zhou Yan felt relieved; it seemed that the demons in the vicinity had all been attracted away by the fire.

Zhou Yan grabbed Li Zhiwei, who was hesitant and worried about the situation outside, and strode forward.

After walking a dozen or so steps, or in the time it takes to take twenty or thirty breaths, I glanced around and saw a familiar face.

They were acquaintances, but we'd only met once.

When he was captured by Zhao the Butcher, one of the people who were also tied up seemed to still be alive. He was bound here with straw ropes, his face ashen. The monsters that were supposed to guard him were all lured away by the big fire that Zhou Yan set.

This place is safe.

Upon seeing others in similar plight, Zhou Yan decided to lend a helping hand within his means.

We're already at the entrance.

After leaving this place, everyone went their separate ways.

That person saw them too—it was only natural, as there was only one straight path leading outside, making it impossible for anyone to avoid seeing them.

Then, this numb person saw Zhou Yan's face.

It seemed that there were very few people who could kick the butcher in the face while being sold, which left a deep impression on him, and he recognized him immediately.

Then, just like Li Zhiwei at that time, his eyes widened suddenly.

Zhou Yan gestured for him to be quiet, but the man's expression twisted for a moment, then he paused, opened his mouth, and let out a sharp, shrill sound, a mixture of fawning and anger:

"Someone escaped!!!"

"Someone's trying to escape!!"

His face was deathly pale, but his eyes were bloodshot with fear and excitement. He stared blankly at Zhou Yan, his breathing became rapid and heavy, and his expression was distorted.

We are all in hell, we will all perish together!
How could you run away?!
How dare you run away?!

I'm going to pull you down, pull you down!
We'll die together, we'll die together. If I catch you, I can live. I'll step on your corpse, eat your corpse, and I can live, I can live!

The man hadn't considered the possibility of the other person coming to his rescue. His eyes were red, and he screamed loudly in a sharp, angry, and resentful yet humble and ingratiating tone—

"Someone's there, no—"

"Sheep! Not people, sheep!!"

"A sheep is trying to escape!!!"

Zhou Yan looked ahead.

There was no demonic aura seen in the jade book.

But here, in front.

Are there really no monsters?

(End of this chapter)