74 Cries for help

The hall they were in was a spacious one but it was difficult to see without spirit lights and the dense fog that still hung around them. Yuan Xuelan only knew where they were from vague imprints in his memory. It told him that this used to be one of those halls where they would hold classes.

But that mattered little right now. Three sets of eyes shared a look of dread.

"J-Jipei, oh no. What happened to him? I'm so scared. Did they eat him?" Nan Chang's voice trembled with her entire body. Never in her whole life had she been so terrified. She'd lived her life on the cusps and survived days, weeks even months with only crumbs. She had begged on the streets without shame and sold her body to men with hearts blacker than coal. And Nan Chang had thought herself a woman with a steel-like soul.

But she was terribly wrong! In the narrow winding halls of the Hidden Mist Manor, with their vision saturated with only darkness and fog and armies of the undead around every corner, Nan Chang was so scared that her mind became a blinding white. "I'm so scared. I'm so scared. I'm so scared!" she repeated uncontrollably, knowing well that the very moment she separated from any of the two cultivators, she'd be done for.

While Yuan Xuelan felt sorry for Nan Chang, he was far more concerned about the person that was no longer with them, "Shit!" He resisted the urge to peel Nan Change off him and jump past the barrier in search of his cousin, "Where was the last time you saw him!? Don't tell me, we left him behind in that horde! Fuck!"

Liu Sumeng was the calmest out of the three, but it was only because he wasn't sure if their current situation was any better or worse than before. He would have preferred to have the boy in his sights than out. Alas, he'd be careless.

There was no reason to trust Peng Jipei, especially not when something similar had happened in his previous life under Peng Jipei's hands. But he was a little confused about how this could have happened again. Liu Sumeng had his suspicions on the origins of the fog, the silver bell Peng Jipei had in his hands, and how all those things were tied together. In his previous life, all these events had seemed like separate occurrences that didn't have anything to do with each other.

Zu Village's fog.

Peng Jipei's descent onto the Devil Path.

The Demon King and Yang Sehan and the war.

Now, Liu Sumeng wasn't so sure. There was obviously an important piece to the puzzle that he had missed.

He shot a glance at the straining barrier and turned his attention back to the length of the hall. Being unfamiliar, he couldn't begin to guess the layout of the room or what parts of the manor it might be connected to. "Are there other exits?" He asked, voice calm.

Nan Chang's eyes eagerly veered towards Yuan Xuelan for an answer. The younger cultivator chewed his lips and frowned, glaring back at the corpses that groped away at the barrier. Couldn't he simply cleave through them? It wouldn't be that difficult, with Silei's power. They were just some low-leveled corpses after all. But he still answered, "Yeah. North exit enters a hall which will bring you next to stairs that lead upstairs. Oh wait, do you remember the Red Room? Where Auntie Cao was staying. The hallway will lead us there."

Liu Sumeng nodded, he began to walk deeper into the room and away from the entrance they came in from. Even if he was unfamiliar with the layout, he was intent on finding another entrance.

"Wait!" Yuan Xuelan called, stopping the Ivory Sword Saint in his tracks, "If we go that way, we'll be even farther from Peng-ge! It's really annoying to circle back to where we came from that way. I don't know why that part of the manor isn't connected in a more convenient way but…we have to go back!"

Nan Chang's eyes widened in alarm, but she was still too baffled to speak.

"Xuelan," Liu Sumeng sighed, his brows furrowed. He almost forgot that Yuan Xuelan's loyalty towards Peng Jipei was still strong at this point. But putting aside Peng Jipei's suspicious behavior, how was Yuan Xuelan going to retrace their steps in search of his cousin? "We can't."

"We can't just give up before trying!"

Well, that part wasn't wrong. Liu Sumeng did feel a little sorry so he thought about it some more. But in the end he still decided, "We cannot go back the way we came," he explained, "Silei will attract too much attention."

Nan Chang finally snapped out of her stupor by a but, "Wait a second, Xuelan. Please listen! I'm worried about him too but…w-we can't just go back!" Her eyes were wide and filled with terror, refusing to even glance back at the corpses clawing at the barrier.

Annoyance and impatience were rampant in Yuan Xuelan and he peeled Nan Chang off his arm. But in his heart, he knew that they were right. Still, he was stubborn and like a child said, "I don't mind going alone."

"You will not do that."

Yuan Xuelan crossed his arms and fumed. The curses on his tongue were barely kept in check and he felt like he was sixteen all over again. The situation annoyed him. And not only because of his personal loyalty and affections for his cousin but…Yuan Xuelan couldn't help but think Liu Sumeng was being especially irritating just because he did not like Peng Jipei!

Liu Sumeng saw Yuan Xuelan's anger and chewed his lips, "We can return. But not now. We need to destroy more flags first. It's not safe."

"..." Yuan Xuelan, thought quiet, reluctantly nodded.

But combing through the manor without any guide was not going to be an easy task. At this point, they had little choice but to advance with caution.

Nan Chang, banished from Yuan Xuelan's side, returned to gluing herself to Liu Sumeng. He didn't know from where in the depth of his soul he found the patience to tolerate her, but he did. The more he looked at her, the less he saw of the psychotic Consort Nan. Instead, there was just a scared and terrified girl

Which reminded him of something. Liu Sumeng slowed down his steps, allowing Yuan Xuelan to add some distance ahead. He leaned in towards Nan Chang and asked, "Did you notice anything?"

She jumped, her twisted nerves shot unwarranted fear into her veins. She stared up at him helplessly for a two moments before answering, "N-notice…?

Liu Sumeng nodded, "About Peng Jipei."

Her shaking did not stop and he felt her little arms clutch around him tighter. Yuan Xuelan's figure was already swallowed up by the fog but Liu Sumeng was confident that he'd be able to find him later.

"N-no? I…don't think so…but," Nan Chang pressed a finger against her lip. She was, in fact, thinking hard about this, "Actually when I fell, I think I saw him moving out of the hall…"

"Moving out?"

"Like, I saw a pair of feet moving away. He might have gone into a room. But…why didn't he say anything?"

Liu Sumeng's suspicions deepened. "I see," he said and decided that it was time to catch back up with Yuan Xuelan.

But Nan Chang was the one that held him back this time. "Wait," her voice dropped into a whisper to match his earlier tone.

"...?"

"Could it be that Jipei…?" There was no anger or rage on her features, simply alarm. Unlike Yuan Xuelan, she was not moved by the thought of betrayal and did not bat a lash at casting aside her personal sentiments upon the revelations. "Come to think of it, isn't it weird that he discovered us first? I can't imagine him running off willingly without a word unless…"

"Say no more." Liu Sumeng said softly. Nan Chang's gaze veered towards Yuan Xuelan's direction in understanding.

But it was then, the fog suddenly lifted a little, and the spiritual light hover over their heads was able to penetrate the atmosphere much better.

"What the heck are you two doing?" Yuan Xuelan hissed, glaring at them pointedly and snapping the flag in his hand in two. Nan Chang pressing up against Liu Sumeng was bad enough but the way he leaning ever so slightly toward her was much more aggravating to Yuan Xuelan! So much so he could feel himself seeing red. "Can't you focus on the task!?"

"Don't worry, Xuelan!" Nan Chang chirped, seeming to have regained some of the spirits that she had lost earlier to fright, "We are focused, aren't we, Liu-gege?"

Liu-gege! Yuan Xuelan wanted to throw his hands up in exasperation, just what even were these two doing behind his back!? Instead, he stomped up to Nan Chang, and as before grabbed her off of the Ivory Sword Saint, "What did I say earlier!"

Nan Chang pouted at him, "You didn't want me! Of course, if you treat Nan Chang cruelly I'm going to find a better man."

This girl…! "Who said-!? Argh! If you need to cling to someone just cling to me okay?" He even took the initiative and pulled her closer by the waist.

"Hmph, what if I don't want you anymore? What if I think the Ivory Sword Saint is better than you?"

"You can't just hang off of him! He's not…not that kind of person, okay?"

Liu Sumeng, the gall of him, said, "It's fine." Yuan Xuelan felt his jaw drop to the ground.

Nan Chang squeaked happily and Yuan Xuelan had to tighten his hold on her before she wiggled back towards the Ivory Sword Saint, "See? He doesn't mind!"

Yuan Xuelan was losing his mind, "What did I say about staying focused!?"

And as if fate was responding to his words, the fog around them alleviated even further, snapping Yuan Xuelan's mind back to the matter at hand, "That must have been Peng-ge!"

On queue, there was a piercing cry for help and a chorus of groans. It wasn't that far away from them! With the fog thinned out, the direction of sound could also be made out. "We have to go!" Yuan Xuelan was quick to rush off.

Nan Chang, before being pulled away by an alarmed Yuan Xuelan looked over her shoulder and gave Liu Sumeng a wink, letting him know that she hadn't forgotten their earlier conversation.

This woman…

Liu Sumeng's heart shivered. But this devious aspect about her that he once despised in his previous life was currently working to his favor. Maybe if he kept being kind to her, she wouldn't grow to become such a despicable person. Maybe he would grow to like her as well.

The thought twisted his gut so he set it aside to chase after Yuan Xuelan.

There was still that problem concerning one Peng Jipei.

The sounds came from the direction of the Red Room. It wasn't very difficult to locate with all the corpses shuffling in that direction. The fog, though present, was thin enough that their surroundings were clear and even Liu Sumeng, who was unfamiliar with the manor, could dash across the halls without the worry of bumping into things.

They cleaved their way through the undead. Now that visibility was better, Nan Chang pulled out a set of long, silver needles from her dress and shot them towards the fiends from afar. Her aim was pinpoint and each needle pierced the skull right in the center between dead eyes. Now that she could fend for herself again, her fear wasn't nearly as debilitating as it was before.

With the three cultivators in tiptop condition, the corpses were easy to fend off. They saw a group groping the wide red door and it was easy to guess what was on the other side with Peng Jipei's voice occasionally shouting, "Help!" Upon hearing his cousin's voice so close and vivid, Yuan Xuelan was inspired with renewed determination.

They made quick work of the corpses, with Mingshui arcing beautifully, and Silei thundering with power. Nan Chang made herself useful as well, shooting down any stranglers that the men did not obliterate. When the coast was clear, Yuan Xuelan reached for the door but Liu Sumeng grabbed his shoulder to stop him, "Wait."

"What? What now?" Yuan Xuelan fumed.

"It could be a trap."

Yuan Xuelan was still in an agitated state. He ran out of patience, threw away the hand at his shoulder, and snarled, "That's my cousin in there! Sumeng, I won't stand for all these unfound accusations any longer.

Liu Sumeng froze, his eyes blown wide. What should he say? "…Sorry."

"Yes. You should be," Yuan Xuelan said cruelly before opening the door.