Chapter 2

Hearing a loud scream, a large wild boar leaped out from the bushes, its body still stained with fresh blood.

Without a second thought, Tang Ning immediately pulled Liu Ruhan and ran backward. An injured wild boar would become extremely aggressive and frenzied, and if it caught someone, it would not stop until the person was dead.

The wild boar let out an angry roar and chased after the two. They ran in front, with the wild boar chasing from behind. Tang Ning kept changing directions.

When being chased by a fierce beast, it's crucial not to run in a straight line, as that would make it easy to be caught. This was something Tang's father had told him before.

Tang Ning pulled Liu Ruhan left and right, but how could the speed of two children compare to that of a wild beast? The distance between them grew shorter and shorter. In a panic, he couldn't even tell which direction he was going.

Just as the wild boar was about to catch up, Tang Ning suddenly felt a strong force from behind. Before he could figure out what was happening, he fell down.

It turned out that while running, Liu Ruhan had accidentally slipped and tumbled down the hill. She was mute and couldn't make a sound.

Tang Ning, who was holding her hand, was naturally pulled down with her. The two rolled down the hill, and in the chaos, Tang Ning tightly hugged her. They rolled faster and farther, and soon lost consciousness.

Blood flowed from his head, sliding down his face and onto the jade pendant hanging around his neck. The jade pendant emitted a green light, enveloping both of their bodies.

...

"Why isn't it time for dinner yet, and the child hasn't come back! Husband, could something have happened?" Tang's mother was full of worry.

Tang's father frowned, smoking a pipe: "It shouldn't... cough, cough... This isn't the first time the child has gone up the mountain. He goes every day. What could happen? Maybe he picked a lot of delicious fruits and forgot the time. Let's wait a bit longer. If he still doesn't come back, I'll go look for him."

"Youshan, Youshan." Liu's father's anxious voice came from outside the door. He had already reached Tang's parents: "Has Xiaoning come back?"

"No, what about Ruru?" Tang's father's frown deepened.

"Yes! I just asked everyone, and someone saw the two children go up the mountain. They haven't come back yet. What if something happened?" Liu's father paced back and forth, looking helpless.

"Let's go up the mountain and look for them now." Tang's father couldn't sit still and immediately stood up.

Tang Ning opened his eyes groggily and saw Liu Ruhan wiping her tears, her face a mix of worry, fear, and confusion, truly pitiful.

"Ruru." Tang Ning called out, sitting up.

Seeing him awake, Liu Ruhan's eyes brightened. She stopped crying and gestured with her hands, trying to communicate.

The sun had already set, and Tang Ning felt something wet on his face. He wiped it and found blood.

But he didn't feel any pain. He looked at his body and found no injuries. How could this be? They had fallen from such a high place and yet were not hurt?

Liu Ruhan also had no injuries.

Where were they? This place was unfamiliar. The surroundings were full of towering trees. Tang Ning stood up and pulled Liu Ruhan's hand: "Let's find a way back. The sun has set, and it will be dark soon."

They wandered through the forest but couldn't find their way back. The sky grew darker, and night fell. Tang Ning felt hungry, wanting to go home but couldn't see the path.

He was very afraid and worried, wondering how his parents were. They must be frantic with worry.

"Ruru's stomach growled. Tang Ning held her hand: "We won't go back today. We can't see anything now. Let's find a place to spend the night."

Under the moonlight, they came to a large rock and leaned against it. Liu Ruhan leaned on him, sniffing and wiping her tears. Tang Ning was also very scared, not knowing what would happen next. The wind rustled the leaves, adding to the eerie atmosphere.

Tang Ning hugged her: "Stop crying. My parents will definitely come looking for us. They might find us soon."

Liu Ruhan lay in his arms, her nose still twitching. The two small bodies hugged each other and soon fell into a deep sleep.

On the other side, the mountain was lit up with torches, and people were shouting their names.

Tang's father and Liu's father searched for an hour in the evening but found no trace of the children.

After confirming that something had happened to the children, Liu's father went down the mountain to inform the village chief, Uncle Li. Uncle Li immediately organized a group of people to search the mountain.

He also sent people to notify all the villagers to prepare torches and search the mountain at night.

"Xiaoning, Xiaoning." Tang's mother held a torch and shouted with all her might.

"Xiaoning, Ruru, Xiaoning, Ruru." The mountain echoed with shouts.

The moon hung on the branches, and several figures suddenly appeared in the wheat field.

"Let's move!" the leader said calmly, waving his hand. The group immediately scattered.

"Ahh!" A woman behind them let out a sharp scream, startling everyone.

"Xiu Ying, what...?" Tang's mother turned around, but before she could finish, a skull head attached to her neck.

"Crack." A crisp sound, and half of Tang's mother's neck was bitten off. Her body fell straight down.

"Ahh! Ahh!"

"What is it? Ahh!"

Screams and roars mixed with the cries of children echoed through the village.

A man in the wheat field had a mocking expression: "I don't know why the master sent us. A few young men could have done it. Really."

A blood-red crow silently attached to Tang Ning and pecked him.

As the sharp teeth just broke the skin, the jade pendant on his neck emitted a green light.

The crow, as if startled, flew away.

The screams, roars, and cries gradually subsided, and the small village returned to silence.

"Uncle, we've searched everywhere, but we couldn't find them."

"I knew it was a waste of time. How could the relics of Elder Yulu be on these mortals?"

"Stop complaining. This is information the master spent a lot of effort to gather. The people here might be descendants of Elder Yulu."

"Even if they are, it's been so many years. What relics could there be? The master is always jumping to conclusions. If it were such a good thing, why didn't he come himself?"

"If the master knew you were saying this behind his back, he would make you suffer. Let's go back, brother."

The leader nodded and was about to speak when his eyes suddenly focused, and he flashed into the air.

A giant sword, several dozen feet long, descended from the sky, cutting through the air toward the man.

With a "Peng," a pair of white bones appeared above the man's head, blocking the giant sword. The immense force pressed him down from the air.

Before the others could react, their bodies turned into ice pillars.

A thick layer of ice formed around them, several dozen feet in diameter.

Two of them, as their legs were frozen, leaped into the air.

A woman in white appeared on the ice, raising her left hand and extending her index and middle fingers. The bodies of those turned into ice pillars immediately shattered and scattered.

In the air, the man with a skull on his head, holding the giant sword, was pressed to the ground.

As soon as his feet touched the ground, a thick layer of ice formed and spread around him.

"Ha," the man shouted, and the skull's eyes flashed red, melting the ice.

He struggled to push the giant sword away and leaped into the air.

A man in green appeared beside the woman in white.

"The Blood Bone Sect! How dare you commit evil in the territory of the Qianyi Sect." The man in green frowned.

"Hmph," the man in the air coldly snorted and transformed into a flock of blood crows, flying in all directions.

Seeing him leave, the other two changed their expressions and fled in different directions.

The woman in white formed a hexagonal ice crystal in the air, freezing one of the men.

"Crack, crack," the ice crystal slowly cracked, and a blood mist emerged, re-forming into the man's shape.

His face was deathly pale. Before he could recover, a three-foot-long red sword pierced through his chest.

The man endured the pain, formed a hand seal, and a burst of blood shot out. He transformed into a blood light and fled.

The man in green frowned: "These people from the demonic sect have truly bizarre techniques. They can still escape like this, but with my fatal blow, they won't survive long."

"Shouldn't we chase them?"

"No, their cultivation is not inferior to ours. If they choose to flee, there might be someone waiting for them ahead, trying to lure us."

"Why would they come here just to slaughter a group of mortals?"

"This is a bit strange. Let's report back to the sect and check if there are any survivors to ask for information."

The woman in white nodded, and the two transformed into light and disappeared. After a while, they returned to the wheat field.

The man in green shook his head: "There are no survivors within ten miles. Let's go. This mission has a tight schedule."

...

On a misty mountain top, a man sat with his legs crossed, saying nonchalantly: "What bad luck! We actually ran into people from the Qianyi Sect."

"They were probably just passing by. Otherwise, they wouldn't have let us escape so easily."

"Yes, but Brother Tie, with your power, why did we run?"

"You ran too, didn't you?" The man surnamed Tie looked at him meaningfully: "With your strength, there was no need to run."

The man laughed: "How can I compare to Brother Tie? I just hope Brother Xi can escape. I saw him being trapped by the Qianyi Sect."

As they spoke, a figure fell from the air to the mountain top, clutching his chest, covered in blood, and in great pain: "Brother, save... save me."

The man surnamed Tie walked up to him: "Your injuries are too severe. As fellow disciples, I will end your suffering."