CHAPTER 5: HIDDEN INTENTIONS

“Are you planning to run away?”

Chen Ze stared at Yang Hong, his expression filled with disbelief.

Before Yang Hong could answer, Li San started wiping his tears, his voice trembling with fear.

“I can’t take it anymore! I can’t stay in this cursed place for another minute. People die every day, and it might be our turn next. We should run while they’re not watching!”

“Chen Ze, we’ve already decided. Are you coming with us? It’s safer to have more people on the road,” Yang Hong said earnestly, his gaze sincere.

Chen Ze fell silent, thinking for a while before shaking his head. “I’m not going. You two go ahead.”

“Why not? Haven’t you been missing home all these days? Don’t you want to go back?” Yang Hong asked in surprise.

He had thought he had been kind enough to Chen Ze these past few days. Could it be that Chen Ze was still wary of him?

Chen Ze explained, “The immortal warned us not to leave this area. If we do, we’ll be executed. I don’t want to die.”

“I see. That makes sense,” Yang Hong said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

But Li San wasn’t happy with this. He grabbed Chen Ze by the collar, shouting angrily, “Chen Ze, what do you mean? You don’t want to go, but you want to stay behind and warn us? Damn it, why hesitate? If someone escapes before us, it’ll be even harder for us to get away!”

“You go ahead. I won’t report you. If you don’t trust me, there’s nothing I can do,” Chen Ze said, forcefully prying Li San’s hand off and pushing him away. His gaze was steady, not flinching in the slightest.

Chen Ze had been weak and sickly as a child, but after ten days of cultivation, his strength had increased significantly. He might still be weaker than Yang Hong and Li San, but he wasn’t the fragile person he used to be.

“Hey, what are you doing? Let go of him and talk this out. No need to escalate things,” Yang Hong stepped forward, separating the two and smoothing things over. “Chen Ze, he’s got a short temper. Don’t take it personally.”

Chen Ze shook his head and said nothing.

Yang Hong smiled, “Chen Ze, we’re asking you to come with us for your own good. I know you don’t like taking risks, and I’m not trying to force you. But you have to understand, if someone leaks this, it’s over for all of us. So, you should come with us.”

Seeing Chen Ze remain silent, Yang Hong’s eyes slowly darkened.

Chen Ze met his gaze and knew this wasn’t going to end well. He nodded, “Fine, I’ll go with you.”

Yang Hong laughed heartily, patting Chen Ze on the shoulder. “That’s a good brother! Now we’ve got each other’s backs. It’s still early. Let’s get ready and leave once it’s dark.”

Chen Ze sat down on the floor mat, leaning against the wall with Hu Zi. He tightly gripped Hu Zi’s wrist and shook his head slightly, signaling Hu Zi not to speak.

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The sunlight slowly moved across the wall as it filtered through the window, briefly brushing over Chen Ze’s face before fading away.

When night finally fell, the door creaked open. The four of them sneaked out, moving cautiously and quietly, occasionally glancing around to make sure no one was watching.

Once they reached the area where they had practiced earlier, they all stopped at the same time, nervously eyeing the red line in front of them.

One step beyond it, and they would be crossing into forbidden territory.

Suddenly, Chen Ze spun around, grabbed Hu Zi’s hand, and ran. After covering a few dozen steps, he stopped and shielded Hu Zi behind him, staring at Yang Hong.

“I won’t escape. If you don’t trust me, I’ll stay here and watch you leave. I promise I won’t report you. But if you insist on dragging us along, I’ll shout. Everyone will know what you’re planning. It’s up to you.”

Yang Hong snorted, cracking his knuckles, and walked toward Chen Ze. Seeing Chen Ze retreating, keeping his distance, he sneered.

“If we go back now, what are you going to do about it?”

Chen Ze replied calmly, “I’ll shout. It’s the middle of the night. You won’t be able to explain yourself.”

Yang Hong’s brow furrowed, and Li San looked equally stunned. They suddenly realized that the situation wasn’t unfolding as they had expected.

“Boss, what should we do?” Li San asked.

Yang Hong grunted, “Forget about them. We need to run as quickly as possible.”

“You little brat, just wait!” Li San shot a furious glare at Chen Ze before running off.

Chen Ze noticed that Yang Hong wasn’t moving and his gaze turned strange. He thought to himself, “As I expected.”

Li San had run a few steps when he realized Yang Hong wasn’t following. He turned around, confused.

“Boss, why aren’t you—”

Before he could finish, a flash of cold light streaked through the air, and Li San’s voice was abruptly cut off. A thin red line appeared across his neck, and his head was instantly severed. Blood poured out of the stump as his body fell backward.

Li San’s head rolled a few times before coming to a stop, his wide-eyed expression filled with confusion and disbelief. His gaze was locked on Yang Hong.Yang Hong’s face drained of color, and he quickly turned away, avoiding Li San’s lifeless eyes. His body trembled with fear.

Qin Shan had appeared out of nowhere, floating in mid-air before slowly descending. He held a sharp bronze sword, his cold gaze fixed on them.

“You haven’t crossed the boundary, but being out here at night still requires an explanation.”

It was only then that the group realized the cold flash had come from Qin Shan’s sword. Its speed had been so fast that they hadn’t even seen it coming.

They all shuddered in unison, realizing that if that cold light had hit their necks, they too would have lost their heads.

Chen Ze quickly bowed respectfully. “My lord, Li San tried to escape. I didn’t know how to find you, so I followed him to stop him.”

“Is this true?” Qin Shan turned his gaze to Yang Hong.

“Yes, my lord. It’s true. We didn’t stop him in time, and now we’ve caused you trouble,” Yang Hong replied, slightly startled. When his eyes met Chen Ze’s, he immediately decided to follow his lead.

Though he didn’t understand why Chen Ze hadn’t reported him, it was clear that now wasn’t the time to question him.

“Hm, commendable loyalty,” Qin Shan said, nodding in approval. He casually waved his hand, and a triangular talisman floated before them. “From now on, if anyone else tries to escape, use this talisman to call me.”

“Thank you, my lord!” Both men respectfully took the talisman, bowing deeply. As they lowered their heads, they exchanged a quick glance.

“Forget about what happened tonight. Go back,” Qin Shan said as he turned to leave. Then, he flashed them a knowing smile. “Your lives don’t belong to you. Anyone who causes death through personal conflict must pay with their own life. That’s the rule.”

“Yes, my lord!” Chen Ze grabbed Hu Zi’s hand and quickly turned to leave. Yang Hong hesitated for a moment before following them out.

Back in the room, Chen Ze pulled Hu Zi to the mat and sat him down.

“Hu Zi, no matter what happens next, don’t get involved, okay?”

“Okay.” Hu Zi nodded repeatedly.

Soon after, Yang Hong stepped over the threshold and stood by the door, glaring at Chen Ze. With a loud bang, he slammed the door shut and clenched his fists. He charged at Chen Ze and landed a heavy punch, knocking him to the ground.

“Chen Ze, damn you! You tricked me!”