Chapter 109

Chapter 109: Following Close Behind

Yun Xi felt things were heading in the worst possible direction. She grabbed Qin Tong Shuang and said, “Tong Shuang, don’t try again. Daoist Zhou was right.”

Qin Tong Shuang looked discouraged, but with a companion at her side, she wasn’t as frightened. She stopped and turned to Mu Ning Zhu. “Martial Aunt Mu, it looks like we have to go into the city and check.”

Mu Ning Zhu and Zhang Yan didn’t step into the fog again. They had simply waited while Qin Tong Shuang tried. Once they all reached the same conclusion, Mu Ning Zhu said, “Let’s go. We’ll act together with Daoist Zhou.”

As she spoke, she glanced at the red cord on her wrist and said to Yun Xi, “Junior Sister Wei, don’t untie the cord for now. If something sudden happens, we’ll each take care of our own partner.”

“Yes, Senior Sister,” Yun Xi said.

By saying that, Mu Ning Zhu was clearly acknowledging that Yun Xi could shoulder the responsibilities of a Foundation Establishment cultivator. In unknown situations, she—as the senior—had to protect the junior members of the sect. Besides, they were also friends.

Mu Ning Zhu then cupped her hands toward the only person not tied to anyone, Zhou Lang Chen. “Daoist Zhou, your cultivation is the highest among us. We’ll do our best to keep up with you. If we run into danger, I hope we can join forces to fight.”

“Alright,” Zhou Lang Chen agreed without hesitation. He could tell the four of them weren’t the type to drag him down.

The five of them then stepped into the silent Twin Mountain City.

Not long after they entered through the gate, Zuo Die Er and Ming Ya were also teleported to the gate.

“Xiao Ya, what is this?” Zuo Die Er frowned at the plaque that read “Twin Mountain City.” “Didn’t we already leave Twin Mountain City? How did we come back?”

Ming Ya also scanned their surroundings. Soon she noticed the white fog and the unnaturally silent gate area. Only then did she speak. “Die Er, we were probably teleported to another place. It’s just that this looks very much like Twin Mountain City.”

“But there isn’t a single person here.” Zuo Die Er finally realized something was wrong. She unconsciously grabbed Ming Ya. “Do you think Brother Zhou also got teleported here like us?”

Ming Ya was scared too, but she stayed composed. “If Daoist Zhou was also teleported here, then we should hurry and meet up with him. That way, it’ll be less dangerous.”

“Then don’t waste time.” Zuo Die Er pulled Ming Ya along. “Let’s go. Maybe they just left. We might still catch up.”

The two of them rushed into Twin Mountain City.

Time rewound to when Zhou Lang Chen left the inn together with Yun Xi’s group.

Ming Ya had gone downstairs to order a spirit meal. She saw Zhou Lang Chen, his face grave, leaving the inn with four cultivators she didn’t recognize. Her instincts told her something had changed. She immediately went back to their room and interrupted Zuo Die Er’s cultivation.

“Xiao Ya, what happened?” Zuo Die Er sounded annoyed. “Why did you interrupt my cultivation?”

Then she noticed Zhou Lang Chen wasn’t in the room. “Xiao Ya, I told you to keep an eye on Brother Zhou. Why is he gone?”

“Die Er, that’s why I interrupted you,” Ming Ya said. “I went downstairs to order a spirit meal and saw Daoist Zhou leaving the inn with four unfamiliar cultivators.”

“Unfamiliar cultivators?” Zuo Die Er stood up right away. “Where did they go?”

“I don’t know,” Ming Ya said. “That’s why I came to tell you immediately.”

Zuo Die Er shoved the door open as she spoke, muttering, “Xiao Ya, you talk too much. You wasted so much time. I don’t even know if we can still catch Brother Zhou.”

Ming Ya’s eyes flickered, but she didn’t argue. She simply followed behind Zuo Die Er, pointed out the direction Zhou Lang Chen had gone, and hurried after her.

Before long, they saw Zhou Lang Chen and the four cultivators leaving Twin Mountain City through another gate. They immediately chased out after them.

At the gate, the two of them were stopped and questioned as well. Zuo Die Er brushed them off with a couple of careless answers and rushed out, but Zhou Lang Chen was already gone.

“Where is he?” Zuo Die Er felt she hadn’t delayed at all. How had she still lost him?

Ming Ya was confused too. She quickly said, “Die Er, we need to hurry. Daoist Zhou’s sword-flying speed is faster than ours.”

“Okay!” Zuo Die Er sped up a few more steps. They were just about to fly on their swords to chase him when they were teleported in the next instant.

Zuo Die Er and Ming Ya arrived only two quarter-hours later than Zhou Lang Chen. And the Zhou Lang Chen they were thinking about was already searching through the empty Twin Mountain City with Yun Xi’s group.

The layout here was identical, even down to the shop signs, but every shop was empty. They searched all around and still didn’t find a single cultivator.

Zhang Yan lowered his voice. “Is this an imitation Twin Mountain City?”

Qin Tong Shuang frowned. “Then why did whoever is behind this send us to an empty city?”

Zhou Lang Chen said in a deep voice, “We can only know once we find the person behind this.”

Yun Xi looked around, then quietly spread her divine sense. She made a new discovery and immediately said, “There’s nothing here. Why don’t we go to the city center? The City Lord’s Residence is the core of the whole city. Maybe we’ll find something there.”

Her suggestion got everyone’s agreement, and the five of them turned toward the City Lord’s Residence.

And because they changed direction, they ended up running into Zuo Die Er and Ming Ya, who had followed after them.

“Brother Zhou, you really are here!” Zuo Die Er was truly delighted. Even Ming Ya, who usually controlled her expression well, showed a small smile.

Zhou Lang Chen rubbed his temple. “Why are you here?”

Ming Ya immediately stepped forward and explained gently, “Brother Zhou, Senior Sister Zuo noticed you were gone and came out to look for you. Then she saw you leaving the inn with unfamiliar cultivators and not saying anything to us, so she felt something was wrong.”

She continued, “Senior Sister was worried because you’re injured and feared something might happen, so she chased after you. But after we left the city gate and walked a short distance, we seemed to step on a teleportation array, and then we were sent here.”

Mu Ning Zhu’s group didn’t say a word. They were the “unfamiliar cultivators” she had just mentioned—the ones who supposedly put Brother Zhou in danger. They kept quiet and watched the drama.

Zhou Lang Chen couldn’t bring himself to say anything too harsh. The two of them were worried about him, but in his eyes it was completely unnecessary.

One of them was at early Foundation Establishment, and the other was at mid Foundation Establishment. Neither was stronger than him. If something really happened, he didn’t even know who would be saving whom.

In the end, he could only sigh and wave his hand. “Then the two of you follow us. Something is wrong with this Twin Mountain City.”

“Okay,” Zuo Die Er answered quickly.

After that, the two new arrivals exchanged names with Yun Xi’s group. Once Ming Ya learned that the four cultivators were disciples of the Hao Ran Sect, she realized her earlier excuse might offend them. She immediately cupped her hands and apologized. “Please don’t take offense. I didn’t know who you were earlier. Daoist Zhou disappeared so suddenly, so I suspected something. Please forgive us.”

Mu Ning Zhu smiled politely. “Your suspicion was reasonable. If it were me, I would think the same. There’s no need to talk about forgiveness. What matters most is breaking out of this situation together. We can’t be trapped here forever.”

“Daoist Mu is right,” Ming Ya agreed.

As they continued forward in awkward small talk, the jade token hanging at Zhou Lang Chen’s waist suddenly lit up.