Chapter 574: 573: Luo Xiaolang Takes a Risk (First Update)

Wei Ziming carried Yin Qin over his shoulder.

Yin Qin felt genuinely guilty.

For the first time, he felt utterly useless. In Luo Xiaolang’s world, he was worth nothing.

Everyone was panting exhaustively after walking for about an hour.

“Are they still on our trail?” Wei Ziming asked.

“They are.” Luo Xiaolang replied, “They’re hot on our heels, keeping an equal distance from us like they know exactly where we are!”

At this moment, Ji Baijian suddenly hesitated in his stride.

Everyone turned to look at him.

Ji Baijian said, “There must be a tracking device on one of us.”

Everyone froze in terror.

Yin Qin was then lowered to the ground by Wei Ziming.

Throughout the journey, Yin Qin had tried to walk on his own. But when he reached his limits, Luo Xiaolang and Wei Ziming carried him, though most of the time, he managed to walk by himself!

So when they stopped…

He couldn’t take it anymore and fell to the ground, sitting.

“Everyone, check for any suspicious items on you.” Ji Baijian instructed, quickly adding, “Don’t stop moving, keep walking while you check!”

Yin Qin gritted his teeth and stood up.

In the next moment, he found himself suddenly hoisted up by someone.

“Luo Xiaolang, I can manage…”

“Don’t drag us down anymore!” Luo Xiaolang said, controlling her rapid breaths.

Yin Qin chose to remain silent.

“Can you check if there’s anything suspicious on me?” Luo Xiaolang asked Yin Qin.

She was carrying him, and didn’t have a spare hand to check herself.

So, Yin Qin laid on Luo Xiaolang’s shoulders, searching for anything suspicious on her.

“Look everywhere, don’t miss out on any spot!” Luo Xiaolang ordered.

Yin Qin felt his heart beat faster.

Damn it.

Even in such a situation, he still felt flutters in his heart.

Suppressing his feelings, Yin Qin carefully searched Luo Xiaolang’s body – very thoroughly, per her request.

He found nothing suspicious.

Yin Qin controlled his racing heart and checked himself, but found nothing amiss.

Everyone seemed to come up empty-handed.

Song Zhizhi, laying on Ji Baijian’s back, also searched for any foreign objects on both of them. Among everyone here, she and Ji Baijian were the most suspicious and the likeliest to have been bugged. But a close search yielded nothing.

“Search again!” Ji Baijian insisted.

Song Zhizhi trusted Ji Baijian’s judgment. She started to search again, becoming increasingly impatient by the minute.

Ji Baijian reminded, “It might be something you use regularly, not necessarily something new.”

Song Zhizhi froze, gazing at the blue crystal necklace in her hand.

She looked at it in disbelief.

It was a wedding gift from her younger brother.

Had her brother been plotting against her since then?

Not now, not when he was seduced by power…

Her heart wavered.

Sometimes she truly wondered, why did the heavens send her back? Was it because of a glitch in the universe? Or was there no reason at all?

Her silence made Ji Baijian sense something amiss.

He asked, “Did you find it?”

Song Zhizhi removed the necklace and turned to Ji Baijian, saying, “It might be this.”

Ji Baijian’s eyes flickered.

“It was a wedding gift from my younger brother.” Song Zhizhi said calmly.

Ji Baijian fell into silence for a second.

“I guess I was just deluding myself,” Song Zhizhi said.

She hoped, in her self-deception, that her brother would stand by her side at the end.

That he, being family, would eventually come back to her.

She couldn’t believe that he had been plotting against her for so long.

“Have you found it?” Wei Ziming asked.

Song Zhizhi replied, “I have.”

At that moment, she was sure.

She was sure that her necklace was problematic.

“The necklace?” Wei Ziming asked.

“Yes.” Song Zhizhi nodded.

“Give it to me.” Wei Ziming asked.

“Should we destroy it?” Song Zhizhi asked as she handed it over.

“Xiaolang.” Wei Ziming called to Luo Xiaolang who was shouldering Yin Qin.

Luo Xiaolang echoed a response.

It was clear that she was struggling.

“Are we still being closely pursued?”

“Yes.”

“How far are they?”

“No more than 50 meters.”

“At this moment, the best solution would be for someone to take this necklace and head in the opposite direction.” Wei Ziming said resolutely, “That’s the only way to shake them off.”

“But won’t that person be in grave danger?” Song Zhizhi disagreed, “We could simply throw the necklace away.”

“If we discard it, they’ll immediately notice.” Ji Baijian agreed with Wei Ziming’s plan. To genuinely elude their pursuers, at least for a while, someone had to act as bait.

“I’ll go.” Wei Ziming decided resolutely.

“No!” Song Zhizhi yelled.

She knew how dangerous the task was.

If he used himself as bait and was captured, he’d surely be killed.

“This is the best way.” Wei Ziming was determined, prepared to depart at once.

“Master.” Luo Xiaolang called out. She was visibly gasping for breath as she lowered Yin Qin.

Yin Qin suppressed his pain and steadied himself.

“Give it to me.” Luo Xiaolang said firmly.

“No.” Wei Ziming declined.

“Give it to me!” Luo Xiaolang insisted, “I know my way around the forest better than anyone here, I’m better at running away.”

“Xiaolang…”

“Master, give it to me.” Luo Xiaolang stood her ground.

“Xiaolang, I sent you away from Wulin Temple not for you to throw your life away.”

“I followed you from Wulin Temple to protect my Song Zhizhi. That’s all there is to it. They’re about to catch up with us, give me the necklace, and I’ll lure them away. After, I’ll discard it and return safely.” Luo Xiaolang declared firmly.

“Xiaolang…” Wei Ziming hesitated.

Without a doubt, Luo Xiaolang was the ideal candidate.

She was indeed better equipped to survive in the wild compared to any of them.

Not wasting any more words, Luo Xiaolang snatched the necklace from Wei Ziming’s hands and bolted off in the opposite direction.

Yin Qin had actually tried to pull Luo Xiaolang back.

However, all he ended up holding in his hand was a wisp of air.

He watched helplessly as Luo Xiaolang went off without a second thought.

This woman, this woman…

Yin Qin’s eyes were brimming with tears.

He was truly afraid that Luo Xiaolang’s retreating figure would be the last image he would ever see of her.

“Take cover,” Ji Baijian ordered immediately.

They all heard it; the sound of approaching footsteps.

With Song Zhizhi on his back, Ji Baijian quickly retreated behind a massive stone.

Wei Ziming, dragging Yin Qin with him, sought shelter behind a large tree.

The pursuers, perhaps wary of stirring up a hornet’s nest, didn’t use any lights, but they seemed to navigate flawlessly in the pitch black, unerringly moving in a certain direction at a high speed.

No sooner had they hidden than a group of people sped past them, not stopping for a moment.

They were following in the direction Luo Xiaolang had escaped.

Song Zhizhi watched them go.

There was no room for doubt.

It was all about that string of bracelets.

Her brother actually wanted them killed!

The irony was palpable.

She felt that all her actions tonight were simply inviting disgrace upon herself!

After the majority of their pursuers had left, Ji Baijian didn’t let them rest for long.

“We need to leave quickly and try to meet up with Jun Mingyu,” Ji Baijian directed.

“What about Luo Xiaolang…” Yin Qin asked them.

No one answered him.

“Are we just going to abandon her?” Yin Qin muttered.

“Xiaolang is more capable than you think. You should worry about yourself right now, worry about whether you can make it out of here,” Wei Ziming said coldly.

Yin Qin suppressed his emotions.

He felt a terrible ache in his heart.

He was truly fearful that he might never see Xiaolang again.

“Let’s go,” ordered Ji Baijian.

Sometimes, there were too many things to concern oneself with.

All they could do now was get out of there first.

Try to find a place where the cell phone signal worked and send out a message.

Ji Baijian continued carrying Song Zhizhi on his back.

Wei Ziming tried to take Yin Qin on his shoulders.

Yin Qin refused to be carried by Wei Ziming, instead limping along behind them.

Despite Xiaolang’s efforts to lead everyone astray, they dared not let their guard down. They truly didn’t know how vast this forest was, and under the veil of complete darkness, they had no idea how long it would take to escape.

An hour later.

Suddenly, gunshots rang out in the forest.

A sharp pang shot through Song Zhizhi’s chest.

The gunshots were far off, but there was no mistaking it – someone was firing a gun.

She clutched at Ji Baijian’s clothes, “Xiaolang…”

Tears welled in Song Zhizhi’s eyes.

She really didn’t know what she would do if something had happened to Luo Xiaolang.

She was only 20 years old. Her child was only one year old.

No.

Song Zhizhi clutched at Ji Baijian’s clothes, crying her eyes out.

“Nothing will happen; nothing will happen to her! I believe Xiaolang can take care of herself!” Wei Ziming attempted to comfort Song Zhizhi, as if trying to reassure himself as well.

Those gunshots, that incessant noise, what exactly had happened?

Wei Ziming said, “We need to keep moving, Yin Qin…”

Where was Yin Qin?!

Wei Ziming turned around, planning to carry Yin Qin and continue.

No matter what, the person Xiaolang didn’t want to abandon, he would take good care of.

But at that moment…

There was no one behind him anymore.

Wei Ziming and Song Zhizhi, who were walking upfront, stood startled in their tracks.

Ji Baijian turned around sharply, “Yin Qin!”

The sharpness in his voice was palpable.

But there was no response, no one was behind them anymore.

Ji Baijian’s face fell.

Wei Ziming said, “This Yin Qin, picking this time to lag behind! Really!”

He was visibly annoyed.

“I’ll go find him!”

“He didn’t lag behind, he went to find Luo Xiaolang,” Ji Baijian said confidently.

“That idiot!” Wei Ziming couldn’t hide his frustration, “He doesn’t even realize his own abilities. His going would only add to Luo Xiaolang’s burden.”

“I’ll go find him.” Ji Baijian put down Song Zhizhi.

“I’ll go!” Wei Ziming said, “You take Zhizhi and go ahead. I’ll go.”

“Brother Ziming!” Song Zhizhi called out to him.

She was heartbroken.

Her compassionate nature, she didn’t know how many lives it would endanger.

If only she hadn’t asked Ji Baijian to save her brother today, if only she had killed Leng Wanqing and Jun Mingfeng at the Commander Mansion, none of this would have happened.

None of these people would have been plunged into a situation of mortal danger.

If anything were to happen to any of them, she really didn’t know how she would face them or how she would be able to make amends.

“Ji Baijian,” Wei Ziming addressed him solemnly, “please, take care of Song Zhizhi.”

Ji Baijian’s throat tightened.

He said, “Ziming, thank you.”

Wei Ziming managed a smile at Ji Baijian.

He said, “It’s time I paid back my debt.”

The debt Wei Ziming referred to was from their last time at Jinghe. Ji Baijian had saved his life at Song Zhizhi’s plea, and since then, his life had belonged to Song Zhizhi.

“I don’t want you to repay me with your life,” Ji Baijian enunciated each word carefully.

“I’ll come back alive,” Wei Ziming said with conviction, “I’m Song Zhizhi’s only family in this world. I intend to see her happy for the rest of her life.”

Song Zhizhi, standing by their side, was already crying too hard to speak a word.

How had she merited such friendships, to meet Ji Baijian, to meet Wei Ziming!

She watched as Wei Ziming took one deep look at them, then turned around and just walked away.

Song Zhizhi bit her lip.

She tried her best to look calm.

Ji Baijian lifted her up again.

Without wasting a moment, they took off in another direction.