Liu Bao Ru was indeed not on the run right now. Instead, she was looking for traces of the pursuit that should have happened in this corridor a while ago.
After separating from Zhi Guan, she had gone to strip one of the disciples they had taken care of earlier and exchanged her bright red robe for one from the demonic faction. This way, she’d stand out a lot less and could move through the underground palace more easily.
Not having to look over her shoulder thrice every minute, she backtracked to a place closer to the main hall and then started to look for traces of Mu Qing. Just as expected, she found blood on the ground and the signs of attacks here and there. The former should be from Mu Qing’s injuries while the latter was likely the result of Lu Wei’s pursuit. Either way, she was on the right path.
Liu Bao Ru carefully distinguished every hint as to where the two could have gone, slowing down in the process. During the chase, Mu Qing must have been able to widen the distance between him and Lu Wei, allowing him to either get rid of a few traces or just move more carefully so he didn’t leave as many. This was good in so far that he might have managed to escape further down the line but … it also made it difficult for her to find either of the two men.
She narrowed her eyes as she thought of the possibility of not finding the right array. Of course, she didn’t need to find it. Zhi Guan had wanted her to escape and it would be alright to do that. But … she didn’t feel comfortable thinking of that.
He had given her the opportunity to get away but they were part of the same sect and she couldn’t just leave him behind. Finding Mu Qing and teaming up again was the only way to gain a slight advantage, the only way to maybe have a chance to save Zhi Guan and Yun Bei Fen. How could she give up easily?
Liu Bao Ru continued to look for further traces and finally ended up in front of an array. Searching the surroundings, this was the last trace she could find so … this should be where Mu Qing left from?
She stared at the faint lines on the ground and hesitated. This was a place of the demonic faction and everything was potentially dangerous. She also didn’t have all the information. There was a certain chance that Mu Qing had managed to lose Lu Wei for a while and managed to get ahead far enough to create fake traces. If that was the case, this array … could lead anywhere and might not necessarily allow her to meet Mu Qing. The thing was just that she didn’t know how else to find him either.
Liu Bao Ru stood on the spot and pursed her lips, not sure what to do. She couldn’t wait forever. In fact, she should hurry. Zhi Guan’s situation certainly wasn’t getting any better. If she didn’t act now, she might miss the right moment.
She sighed faintly and used her spiritual sense to swipe her surroundings, trying to find out if she could perceive anything else. As a result … she found that several people were running in this direction, one of them quite a bit ahead of the group following behind. Raising her head, she stared down the corridor. That … should be Zhi Guan, right? Yes, most likely, he had managed to get out of the predicament and was now on the run. In that case …
Liu Bao Ru stepped on the array but didn’t imbue her spiritual energy just yet. If that really was Zhi Guan, then she should grab him and take him along. No matter where exactly they came out, it should be better than being chased by a group of demonic practitioners here in the underground palace. After all, any other place should at least give them new options to maneuver. Maybe they could use that to lose their pursuers or even fight them in a better situation. They’d have to see.
After a moment, a person indeed turned into the corridor. He was carrying someone on their shoulder, a person wearing a white robe like they did at the Teng Yong Sect. Obviously, there was no doubt who this was. “Senior martial brother Zhi!” Liu Bao Ru waved but her heart started to race.
If they wanted to use the array, they needed to stand still for a moment. Even if it was only for the blink of an eye, they’d be a prime target at that moment. Zhi Guan was also holding Yun Bei Fen so his ability to protect himself was lower than usual. She’d be the one who had to make up for that but there were ten demon practitioners, weren’t there? If all of them attacked at just the right time … she wouldn’t be able to conjure a shield strong enough for that. Not with the level of everyone involved.
Zhi Guan raised his head and nodded. He had expected to see her here so hearing her call out was not a surprise. He simply rushed ahead as fast as he could, his gaze taking in the array beneath her feet. Sure enough, there had been a reason she had been moving so slowly for the past few minutes. He wasn’t sure if she was aware of where this array led though. Well, whatever the case, they currently had no other choice.
He turned halfway around when he heard the steps from behind reaching the corner and struck out with the Gale Blade once again. Of course, the same trick didn’t work every time and what this blade did apart from cutting was simply conjuring up a strong gale. Apart from slightly hindering them or pushing them back if he was lucky, it couldn’t do anything. Well, getting just a second of headway was enough. The array was right in front of him, after all.
He rushed ahead, finally putting away the sword, and stretched out his hand. As soon as he touched Liu Bao Ru … they could get out of here.
