Standing up, I looked at Wu Gege, who was still unable to move.
"Since you broke your promise, don't blame me."
Opening the door, the sky outside was pitch black, devoid of any stars. I couldn't see a thing.
Patting myself down, I remembered that Wu Gege had taken everything from me.
With that thought, I turned back into the room to get my backpack, which contained some essential gear.
Using the candlelight, I saw my small backpack hanging by the bed. Opening it, I found that not only was it light, but even the rooster's blood for dealing with Yin entities was gone.
Glancing at the still trembling Wu Gege, I sneered, "Goodbye, and I hope we never meet again. You're a lunatic." With that, I opened my flashlight and headed for the door. As I took a step, a glint of light caught my eye.
"Huh?"
I casually shone the flashlight over. The thumb-sized seal, illuminated by the beam, emitted a faint green halo, appearing like a luminous pearl.
I slapped my forehead. How could I forget this?
I was so focused on leaving that I forgot about the seal.
This seal was a treasured possession of the Fifth Prince, carried with him at all times. Though I didn't know its full capabilities, its ability to suppress my human aura was enough.
I brushed off the dust and casually placed it in my bag before turning to leave the room.
The flashlight's beam was not strong, only illuminating about five to six meters. But the sky here was not just dark; it seemed to absorb light. The flashlight, which normally could reach five to six meters, could only illuminate about two meters.
"It's fine if it's closer, as long as I can get out."
When I saw the bamboo forest pavilion ahead, my heart leaped with joy. This was where I had met Wu Gege. As long as I could find the covered bridge near the pavilion, I could leave this place.
Seeing the covered bridge so close, I almost cried. If I saw Old Ghost again, I would kill him. He said I could leave after helping him with one task, but now I was almost killed by the deranged Wu Gege.
As I stepped onto the covered bridge, the structure seemed to sink. It felt as if I had stepped on cotton. Fearing I would fall into the water, I quickly stepped back and shone my flashlight, but found nothing unusual.
"Strange, why did it feel like I stepped on something alive just now?"
Looking at the still wooden bridge, I stomped on it again, but didn't feel the same sensation. I hopped a couple of times, and it didn't sway. I reassured myself that I was probably just too tense.
Stepping onto the covered bridge again, I walked forward briskly, fearing that Wu Gege might wake up and chase after me.
After walking for about half an hour, I suddenly stopped.
"Strange, why haven't I gotten out yet?"
When I came, I was running, but not too fast. It took me less than five minutes to cross the covered bridge. Yet, now I had walked for nearly half an hour and still hadn't reached the end.
"Could it be another ghost wall?"
With this thought, I gathered my Xuan Yang Qi into my eyes, forming Yin Eyes. The entire space was filled with Yin energy, but the intersections were different. Some paths had more Yin energy, while others had less. Without a doubt, I had to choose the path with less Yin energy.
With the help of Yin Eyes, and by specifically choosing the paths with the least Yin energy, I managed to exit the covered bridge in less than ten minutes.
Before I could celebrate my success, I heard voices not far away.
"Someone?"
Fearing that the Yin spirits who had followed me here were coming to claim my life, I turned off my flashlight and slowly crept towards the sound.
"That kid is dead once he goes inside. Why did General Zuo order us to guard here?" a hoarse voice asked.
"You ask me, who am I supposed to ask?" another voice replied lazily, punctuating its speech with two yawns.
"If you ask me, our watching here is redundant. Anyone who goes in dies. Besides, that kid is alive. It's a miracle if he comes out alive. Watching here is just a waste of time," the hoarse voice said again.
"If you have the guts, go tell General Zuo..." the lazy voice clearly didn't want to deal with him. After another yawn, it said, "You watch for a while, I'm going to sleep. Wake me if anything happens."
As soon as the words fell, a snoring sound followed.
"You sleepyhead, you..."
Listening to their bickering, I inwardly cursed my luck.
It seemed Old Ghost had already been dealt with by the General named Zuo Quan. Whether he was dead or not was unknown. This was the only way out of the prince's mansion, and it was guarded by Zuo Quan's men. Was I going to be trapped here?
I felt a surge of anxiety. I was caught between a tiger in front and a "berserk Gege" behind. This was a clear sign that I was about to be killed.
Judging by their conversation, they didn't seem very intelligent. Using a diversion tactic should work to lure them away.
With this idea, I took out the rooster's blood from my bag. It was rich in Yang energy. If I threw it, it would surely trick them into leaving. I could then slip away and pretend to be a patrol guard.
Yin spirits might appear like living people, but their intelligence was inversely proportional to their age. It wasn't about who was older, but who had higher cultivation and thus higher intelligence.
These two Yin spirits in front of me looked like children of about seven or eight years old. Tricking them should be easy.
I chose the most advantageous direction and threw the rooster's blood. The bag of rooster's blood hit something with a "pop."
Then I heard their enraged shouts, "Found it! It's here."
Seeing that I had lured them away, I chuckled inwardly. They were truly foolish enough to be drawn away by such a simple trick.
Then I started to run at a small pace. I remembered that after passing this row of rooms and turning a corner, I would reach the main gate of the prince's mansion. Once I was outside the gate, and with the prince's seal on me to suppress my human aura, leaving this place would be a piece of cake.
Before I had run a few steps, I felt a chill on my nose and mouth. A slightly familiar scent filled my nostrils. The cold touch completely covered my mouth, preventing me from making a sound.
I inwardly cursed my bad luck. I had smelled this scent on Wu Gege since I was little. Thinking she had come to settle the score, I instinctively struggled.
Before I could move, Wu Gege's voice sounded in my ear.
"Don't make a sound, or you won't know how you died."
As soon as she spoke, she dragged me several meters back. Then I saw several glowing arrows shoot towards the spot where I had just been.
Immediately, two figures appeared. Looking at the arrows on the ground, one of them cursed.
"Damn it, it was just a rat. What bad luck."
Using the torch in his hand, he pulled out the arrows from the ground. A rat, the size of a domestic cat, was impaled on one of them.
"Alright, hurry up and clean up. They found that kid over there, though I don't know if it's true, and we're not primarily guarding against him anyway."
"I don't want to do this lousy job for another day."
"You think I want to..."
As the two cursed and walked away with their torches, the darkness returned.
Without the light, in the complete darkness, I became nervous.
Because behind me was a presence more terrifying than the two Yin spirits I had just encountered – Wu Gege.
Perhaps sensing my thoughts, Wu Gege spoke, "If you want to die, I won't stop you. If you want to know why, you can follow me."
As soon as she finished speaking, she released her hand from my mouth, and the sound of her footsteps faded into the distance.
I felt like I was caught between a rock and a hard place. Walking out would likely mean a swift and certain death. Walking back, although also potentially leading to death, meant that Wu Gege, for the second time, had spared my life. Perhaps there was still a sliver of hope.
With this thought, I quickly turned on my flashlight and followed her.