It wasn't just Hu Xuan. In the shower of sparks, Cheng Shi's body had also acquired nurous burn wounds.
Neither of them was an illusion.
So who was Cheng Shi? And who was this woman?
Hu Wei's brow was locked tight, his gaze sharp as lightning. He swept his eyes over the two, then recalled the flash of light he'd seen from within the prison. His expression imdiately grew complicated.
Because he'd already guessed this stunning beauty's identity.
"Hu Xuan!"
Hu Xuan shot Hu Wei a frigid glance, said nothing, and turned to sprint toward the next stillborn infant.
According to the script Cheng Shi had written for her, her role was to help him rescue people— everyone except Zhen Yi and Yu Mu.
Beyond that, she didn't need to interact with anyone. She didn't even have a single line!
Seeing Hu Xuan leave with cold indifference, Hu Wei turned to the Cheng Shi before him. But his eyes held no gratitude— only gravity and suspicion.
Not that anyone could bla him. With Zhen Yi in the mix, nobody dared trust anyone.
But Cheng Shi had prepared for far too long. He had more than enough ways to make the other believe. Yet strangely, he did nothing— not even a single word of explanation. He simply turned ashen-faced and followed after Hu Xuan.
Seeing this, Hu Wei's expression hardened. After a quick scan of his surroundings, he decisively chose to follow.
But Cheng Shi didn't acknowledge him. He was panting heavily, constantly glancing at the ground below. His deeply furrowed brow didn't look like an act at all— it genuinely seed as though sothing lurked in the shadows around them.
Before long, Cheng Shi's stamina was visibly flagging. Even Hu Xuan ahead of them had slowed.
When Cheng Shi saw Hu Xuan stagger, he didn't hesitate. Gritting his teeth, he cast a Spirit Spell on her. Hu Xuan steadied herself, looked back at him with a firm nod, and pressed on.
Only after seeing that Spirit Spell take effect did Hu Wei's expression soften slightly. At the sa ti, wariness faded from his eyes, replaced by sothing awkward.
He felt his own condition was still decent, yet he couldn't fathom how these two had ended up in such sorry shape. So he quickened his pace, catching Cheng Shi by the arm and asking in a complicated tone:
"Cheng Shi, what is..."
A flash of anger crossed Cheng Shi's eyes. Honestly, getting hacked at by the very person you'd co to rescue would make anyone furious. But Cheng Shi's performance was richer than re anger— he wove helplessness and frustration into it.
That blend of emotions all but scread at Hu Wei: 'I know why you attacked . I know why you don't trust . But I'm still angry, because I'm a victim too!'
'A victim of that Master of Trickery and this [Birth] crisis!'
Hu Wei was exceptionally skilled at reading people. His insight had always lived up to the title of Grand Marshal. And being good at reading people ant being good at reading their eyes. He sensed Cheng Shi's anger and understood the complexity in his peripheral glances. His expression grew even more awkward, because the person before him was clearly no illusion or impostor— it was unmistakably Cheng Shi himself.
But given how decisively he'd swung that blade, and how icily Cheng Shi and Hu Xuan were treating him, he couldn't think of a suitable way to break the ice in this bizarre "team" dynamic while the situation remained unclear.
Just as Hu Wei was growing anxious, Cheng Shi "relented."
Perhaps because he still needed the Grand Marshal's strength, or perhaps because he couldn't bla a fellow victim, Cheng Shi gasped out an explanation between breaths as they ran:
"Zhen Yi dragged us into Go Lis's lair. To escape, I blew the whistle and summoned Hu Xuan...
"Go Lis detected our escape and launched a relentless hunt. We had no choice but to double back... and find another way out!
"Hu Xuan took heavy injuries shielding us from her. Run... before the Go Lis we knocked back catches up!"
Go Lis? Lair? Hunt?
In any other scenario, Hu Wei would've turned this information over in his head three tis, because far too many critical details were missing. But caught up in the montum of Cheng Shi and Hu Xuan's actions, swept along in this headlong flight, he rely ran through it once with a furrowed brow and roughly pieced together what had happened.
It seed his little brother hadn't originally intended to rescue him— he'd only thought of it after failing to escape and deciding to double back for reinforcents.
'Good. Very good. He truly is Cheng Shi!'
Once he'd grasped the situation, Hu Wei picked up speed. He moved like the wind, scooping up Cheng Shi and charging forward at full tilt.
How fast a front-line warrior could sprint at full power needed no elaboration. The Grand Marshal grabbed Cheng Shi in one hand, caught up to Hu Xuan in two strides, snatched her up in the other, and barreled madly toward the next stillborn infant.
As he ran, his gaze repeatedly swept the Void below. Sure enough, he saw countless shadow-tentacles creeping upward.
Hu Wei's eyes narrowed. He still had breath to spare and asked in a low voice:
"What is Go Lis?"
'Huh?'
'Bro, you don't know?'
Cheng Shi was stunned. He was about to answer when Hu Xuan spoke first, her voice weak:
"My Lord's Envoy. The whip of divine punishnt against blasphers. I released a burst of [Birth] aura to cow it, but it'll only hold for a short ti. It'll be back soon."
Envoy!
Nothing else needed to be said. That single word alone told Hu Wei this was undoubtedly a life-or-death situation!
But he'd also caught sothing else in Hu Xuan's words: this [Birth] follower called the Eternal Sun actually had the strength to face an Envoy head-on!
Though she was covered in blood, though she was badly wounded, the fact that she'd confronted an Envoy and walked away in one piece proved everything.
She was a powerhouse.
And she was seriously injured!
Furthermore, she had most likely killed one of his brothers.
At that thought, Hu Wei's gaze sharpened!
But even after a long mont, he made no hostile move. If anything, his legs pumped faster.
He had no intention of revenge. Indeed— Hu Wei had never once considered revenge!
That earlier slash had been a probe born from not yet recognizing Hu Xuan. It was not retribution for a fallen brother.
In the Grand Marshal's philosophy, if soone learned certain truths about him through mutual connections, his first instinct was never to silence them. Instead, he'd evaluate the person— to see whether they qualified to beco one of his own!
A marshal leading troops never feared betrayal or death. What he feared was having no soldiers to command!
And right now, he clearly felt Hu Xuan had what it took to be one of his people.
So the right move was to protect Hu Xuan— not to strike while she was vulnerable.
He did harbor one question, though: the whistle had sounded so close, yet sohow, the distance between them had been stretched impossibly far.
But he kept the question to himself, guessing it was likely the work of the Go Lis that Hu Xuan had driven back montarily.
The creature was probably trying to prevent the players from escaping.
"..."
Cheng Shi, of course, had no idea his good brother's internal monologue was this elaborate. All he knew was that Hu Xuan's improvisation just now had been brilliant. She seed to have gleaned so understanding of the Grand Marshal through the Fisherman's death, and that single line had been crafted to move Hu Wei.
The acceleration was proof enough: Hu Wei was now running at absolute full speed.
Before long, the three arrived at the second prison. The shadows in the Void below were drawing closer by the second.
Spotting the curled fetal shell, Hu Wei swung his sword at it. But under Go Lis's genuine power, his slash didn't even leave a scratch.
"..." Hu Wei's expression stiffened. He looked at Cheng Shi.
Cheng Shi was over the moon internally but didn't dare show a mont's hesitation. He stumbled forward with a pale face and tore the fetal mbrane apart with bare hands.
The player inside felt consciousness returning. Before even erging, a voice drifted out:
"This place is—"
Before the sentence could finish, Hu Wei reached in, hauled the trapped Mo Li out, and clamped a hand over the mouth that had just opened!
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