Jiang Li watched with amazent as the world's consciousness did its part in ensuring Zhao Ai would run away successfully with Fan Zheng.
The female lead set the fences of a nearby pen on fire which later scared the pigs. The honking noises made by the panicking pigs rang so suddenly and were so loud that the male villagers were frightened. None of them hesitated to vacate their posts.
"Everyone! Subdue the fire! Quick! Take the livestock away!"
Chaos ensued as shouts echoed throughout the night, reverberating with the wind, the crackling fire, and the cries of the pigs and birds.
"So of you! Go fetch water from the well!"
"The others, call the village head!"
Not long after another problem occurred.
In actuality, all animals had great instincts for survival, and the ones being dosticated by the locals were no exceptions. Because they sensed the danger, the pigs began to jump around to flee. The villagers could only stomp their feet and go after the escaping animals.
The other headache was that another fire started. This ti, the one next set on fire by Zhao Ai was not a house occupied by a family, but a barn. This move had been a selfish one on her part as the owner of it was a pudgy guy frequently giving her dirty glances.
But with this, the matter escalated into sothing that truly needed the village head's attention. At least, the aftermath of the incident. Unfortunately, the central region was at least twenty minutes away, around fifteen if one ran without stopping.
Everyone was truly stressed. Even now, the owners of the barn and the pigsty were already making a fuss and crying louder than the poor animals.
In any case, there were temporarily no people paying attention to the exit. Even the nearest one had his back turned on it.
'An opportunity.'
Jiang Li watched as Zhao Ai approached Fan Zheng's group and led them away. The confusion about the sudden developnt must have been great. But like those pigs, their desire for survival kicked in, realizing there would be no one temporarily to stop them from leaving.
"Hurry. Once the other villagers arrived, it would be easier to be spotted on!"
Zhao Ai softly said, her voice almost inaudible because of the shouts from all over the place.
The group took a deep breath then ran forward. Fan Zheng stole the sleeping kid from his sister's back when he saw that she was falling behind them. In the middle of the night, the blazing fire revealed their figures, and one of the n holding pails almost turned his head upon catching sight of a shadow moving around.
"Who started it?"
The appearance of the angry village head caught his attention more and made him forget about the human shade shadow that he saw in his peripheral vision earlier.
"Sir, we didn't see anyone. We're checking the origin of the fire to get so clues," while wiping his sweat, the middle-aged man answered.
Zhao Guo looked around, not knowing what to do for a mont. Then he heard the owner of the barn yelling in a tragic tone, "My grains!!! And the herbs I stored inside!!!"
The village head ca to his senses then sprinted towards the well to help with the firefighting. His thunderous voice echoed, "Everyone, let's first prioritize putting this fire off! Old Zheng, recover whatever you could. Move! Move!"
Inwardly, like the other locals, Zhao Guo determined this was preditated and cursed the perpetrator before taking his ti off to give so people a separate instruction.
A dozen ters away from them, Fan Zheng and his friends were still running. None of them rejoiced at the fact that they had bypassed the patrol and successfully stepped out of that place. None of them dared to stop in fear that so of the villagers would go after them. They also didn't dare pull their phones up from their pockets, relying on the scant illumination from the moon to not lose sight of the others who were running in front of them.
It was apparent that they had no destination in mind, only aiming to get away as far as possible. They had no other thoughts. That pure desire drove them to run recklessly in the woods, huffing when they felt like running out of breath, but standing up quickly whenever they fell.
For minutes they were like this. They couldn't help but recall their tis before reaching the village and subconsciously felt bitter in their hearts.
To be honest, they did not like this situation and there were actually tis when they felt like abandoning the ones on their backs. The urge beca prevalent when they began to hear angry unfamiliar voices from afar that hinted the villagers had finally realized sothing was wrong.
Sowhere in the middle, they heard Zhan Rong cussing. "It must be that Zhao Guo!"
All of them had their good impression of the village head turned bad, with even a hint of fear when they understood how deep that person's scheming and acting were. Despair lood above their heads. The despair turned into blaming. The subject of the latter the small ones slowing them down.
But every ti the thought of leaving the kids behind crossed their minds, they would suddenly feel cold all over, then woke up to rember another sad fact.
They were not only fleeing from the partners of traffickers but completing a quest from a certain damnable ghost!
Putting their conscience aside, even if they made it out safely tonight, soon they would still die from the invisible hands of this ghost. They could not leave the kids for even a second!
"Follow ! This way!"
Who knows where Zhao Ai got a laser toy, but she used that to signal where Fan Zheng's group should go. The girl was rarely outside the village but since she had lived her entire life there, she still had so degree of familiarity on routes used by her fellow people when going to the city. She was doing her best to recognize the landmarks and secret signs even though the darkness of the night was giving her a hard ti.
"Sh*tty forest! Everywhere looks the sa. All trees!" Complained a voice not from the group.
Zhao Ai and the male lead's side grew more nervous and tense. The sweet village girl anxiousness reminded them, "They're getting nearer. We need to hurry up! Follow closely!"
Fan Zheng did not imdiately recognize the voice, probably because their brains were kind of blank from those malicious voices. Also, the one who just spoke was female. There were no won amongst the guardsn so they didn't give it much thought, assuming it was one of the ladies within their bunch.
They did as told.
With their visions partially impaired, they could only trust in their other senses and rely on their eyes for so subtle details like the silhouettes of their companions.
Luckily, Zhao Ai was devoted to her role and was truly on their side now.
The youths were lucky too to have not encountered any ghost or beast along the way, which ant their only enemies were their own stamina and the ones chasing after them.
Also, the ghost they feared and hated, Jiang Li, was silently working hard to contribute. From the mont they stepped foot into the woods, he started warding off the insects, snakes, and other nocturnal creatures that could have impeded their escape.
Minutes later, because it was confird no astral beings could co to that part of the forest, Jiang Li frowned. No assistance from ghosts ant less distraction for the pursuers. It was bad news.
The group had not even traveled two kiloters from the village. It would just be a matter of ti before so of the hunters caught up.
Reflecting it was partly his fault for forcing them to carry the children with them, Jiang Li used his remaining spiritual power to direct the fierce animals and snakes towards the pursuers. Shrieks reverberated shortly, giving him so feeling of satisfaction. Complaints and warnings about the bees and mosquitoes then rang from the hunters.
Only after hearing that did Jiang Li return to the necklace, feeling drowsy and weak as a result of expending almost everything earned from the previous day. Taking a few days of rest would be inevitable for him.
Before he fell asleep, he called the system and instructed it how to settle the last task he had issued.
"Hey, once they get out, leave them a note about regaining their freedom. Do a good job with the rewarding this ti. And no need to thank for giving you a chance to be a good system."
The system only laughed awkwardly at his sardonically aningful remark. "Okay, host."
However, even though it secretly thought Jiang Li had read too much stuff from the previous worlds due to boredom and beca crazy again, it still did as he said. It was the system's way of making up for its previous disappearance.
Ti passed.
Jiang Li was completely asleep now. The frigid temperature in the woods gradually took its toll on the youths. Thankfully, they had already lost the villagers going after them.
The group rested below a low cliff, panting for breath while pulling out clothes from their backpacks that they used as blankets to combat the cold. They did not forget to drape so over the kids as well.
"We rest for ten minutes and then move again. I don't believe those people would stop searching for us just like that," said Zhan Rong.
The rest slowly nodded. None raised a protest since their senses were still warning them of danger. The ladies were feeling it the most, reminded of the dead eyes of the wonfolk in the village.
"Let's pray they don't find us soon, and for these little ones to continue sleeping," replied Guo Hanying with a bitter smile.
Fan Zheng placed a forefinger on his lips and softly let out a 'hush'. Everyone lowered their heads and did not make any more noise.
"8 minutes and 35 seconds," said Zhan Rong.
Zhan Rong then briefly closed her eyes and hugged herself for a bit of warmth. Like the others, uneasiness was eating at her heart. But because sobody had to be the calm and wise one, she had to always control her voice and expressions. Or perhaps, it would be more accurate to say, she had to hide her true feelings from her friends.
Why did it have to be her though, you ask? She felt sorry for herself but Fan Zheng was a bit lacking in IQ while An Ming, the eldest, completely lacked maturity.
Feeling resigned to her fate, Zhan Rong took a deep breath.
But then, when she opened her eyes, it happened to be in the direction of a girl with a petite built and clothes unfamiliar to her. The face too was not visible due to the shadow cast by a nearby tree.
She froze. Then slowly swept her gaze around to count the people in the place.
Pupils slowly dilating, Zhan Rong roared to the girl, "Who the hell are you!?"
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