Over nearly a hundred Li across the sea lay the port they were meant to have landed upon. Crushing communication jades one by one, scouring time and time again. All they could see was water. Erlang and Hou Yi's faces had already long darkened with frustration and wariness. Watching the two seniors at work do their hardest to figure a solution to their debacle. Ling Da Chuanli and Jiang Tengyi had managed to stay surprisingly unperturbed. Ling Da Chuanli's excuse? Why fret over something he couldn't solve at this current moment in time? And if Jiang Tengyi's people hadn't used the talismans wrong. Then didn't that mean who ever was involved in diverting their destination was just that much stronger than them, not to mention himself.
When he questioned Jiang Tengyi, the young man mulled only for a few seconds before giving a similar reasoning. "Whoever messed with the teleportation spell is skilled enough to send both pairs to the same destination without harming us. Not only that, I harbor a guess that we aren't the only ones who have been caught in this array. My seniors noticed it before we did, but even they couldn't prevent it from happening." Massaging the corner of his frown, the young man sent Erlang and Hou Yi another complicated look before sighing under his breath. "-We can only assume the person responsible wants something from us, and the array pulled in people who were detected to have practiced cultivation at random."
Hearing his thoughts, Da Chuanli felt it made sense too. The only thing that unsettled them was what the owner of such a large array had in mind for them. In the cultivation realm, you can meet all types of powerful, malicious or magnanimous people. And yet, it was hard to see a person who would trap unwilling cultivators in an impenetrable array as kind. Meanwhile, as they conversed, Erlang was trying her best to not pace in place as even after nearly half a day, Chao Bai hadn't received their transmissions. Throwing out a sound barrier, she voiced her thoughts plainly to the other, "Lady Chao Bai said that if she didn't meet with us within the hour we were to proceed without her. Xiao Yi it's been nearly half a day!"
Anxious for the safety of their young master, even if she could disperse the array. That would require leaving the two young masters and heading into the heart of the array alone! The island was isolated from the outside world entirely, stuck in its own time and space. Not to mention fatigue, even the bone shifting poison couldn't be treated for Hou Yi. Any injury they obtained, it would be not only permanently hindering but fatal!! Without Yilin or Chao Bai, wandering around aimlessly was asking for death in this abnormal space!
Rubbing his fingertips, which were tingling because of the lingering yet never ending echoes of his bones rattling within his body. Try as he might, even trying to layer his body with a protective spell and hardening his skin nearly took his breath away. Still, he tried to remain calm and thought carefully before speaking next to reassure the anxious Erlang. He inhaled deeply, stating logically after considering their options. "By now, Yilin would have been alerted by the Spirit Tassel. Lady Chao Bai too should have realized entering the array from outside without permission is most likely just as difficult, which explains her absence. For now, going in deeper is our only option." Erlang hid her anxiety, peering at their juniors sitting leisurely aside a few feet away with worry.
Should they be glad the two young masters were sensible even in this uneasy situation? Reading her mind, Hou Yi also looked over in time to meet the gazes of Jiang Tengyi and Da Chuanli who nodded at them in acknowledgement. Thinking of the dubious fate of Lady Chao Bai who had been left behind in the chaos, Hou Yi's brows furrow before smoothening over. "...We will do what we can until the lady can return to us." "...En." Acquiescing to his orders, even if she was uneasy, Erlang shut her eyes and circulated her energy. Expanding it to a few meters around their pitiful party of four. Like taking a breath of fresh air for the first time and not realizing there existed such a pure feeling.
The three men's tense bodies relaxed to a certain degree, their complexions less pale. Even if the person above them was mighty, she, Erlang, had not been sent to protect the young master for no reason. Jiang Tengyi, the most familiar with his talented seniors, felt his eyes flicker with admiration once more. Muttering to DaChuanli, whose expression showed slight interest in her ability, "Senior Sister Erlang is considered the most gifted in manipulation of spiritual energy. Though she is not as skilled in the sword as Senior Brother Yilin, her skill in arrays is unmatched because of how in tune her senses are to nature. Able to see through the false and true and dispel most things in her way." No wonder.
Da Chuanli sent his friend a subtle look. Was he unworried because he knew how powerful his own seniors were? Truly, compared to others who sent their juniors off with a few swords and protective talismans, the Zenith Star sect really doted on JiangTengyi. Smartly keeping his mouth shut, Da Chuanli habitually went to harass Chi as his most current way of avoiding saying something which could potentially offend the other person. Only, for his brow to twitch, and his fingers feeling nothing upon his wrist. Erlang shivered and snapped her eyes back open with alarm, staring in Da Chuanli's direction. Yet, in that brief second of ominous turbulence, the young man's outer exterior went back to flawless calm.
Even as they all prepared to enter the forest behind them and leave the beach behind. Erlang still couldn't shake off the strange feeling the smiling young man standing beside their young master had given off earlier. Every few minutes, her mind would wander, keeping a wary eye on the person. Even if her mind was constantly telling her nothing could possibly be wrong with someone their Sect Master had approved of. Maybe, she saw wrong? When entering the forest, even if they wanted to be wary, no one really expected such eerie silence and peace. It was Hou Yi and Erlang who noticed it first, their expression showing even more caution. Everything, from insects to birds, they couldn't hear even a single flap of the wings.
Raising a hand to a nearby tree, Erlang inspects the seemingly common wampi tree seriously. Hou Yi and the rest didn't rush her, waiting for her to finish. She came back wearing a strange expression and quietly reporting her discovery as if afraid someone would overhear their conversation. "Xiao Yi, the leaves and fruits are all untouched, not even a single trace of native insects or animals feasting on them." Hou Yi, having already deduced that this wouldn't be a normal island as it was enveloped in such a strange and powerful array, didn't feel happiness in having it confirmed. If the array wasn't odd, then an island free of pest and animals yet carrying such thriving greenery was already strange on its own.
"Let's hurry." Taking the front, Hou Yi's stride picked up further, without worrying if the two young men could keep up. It was Erlang who took the back, her whole aura exuding vigilance of their surroundings. This type of invisible enemy who hadn't even reared their head yet was beyond Da Chuanli and Jiang Tengyi's level, that much was clear. Reaching a strange hedge, Hou Yi first raised a hand for the three to stay far back, cautiously entering first. Pushing pass the branches, his shoulder tense, and even without seeing his face. Erlang and Jiang Tengyi hurried to pull him back. "Senior brother Hou Yi!" "Xiao Yi!!" "*puft!" Like a sputtering creek, Hou Yi knelt as his body fought back the poison eating away at his body at an accelerating rate.
Black blood spilling from his palm which faultily tried to stop the flood from both nose and mouth, choking the two holding him up at his sides. "Senior Brother Hou!!" Never having seen his powerful senior in such a state before, Jiang Tengyi finally showed the expression of losing his composure out of fear. What happened?! He only took a look! What could have harmed him to this extent without touching him?! Erlang dug through her bag and quickly fed him a detox pill, with tears gathering in the rim of her eyes she dared not let fall. Grasping her hand, Hou Yi made a firm decision in a delirious state of agony, "Er-lang-*gasp-! Release.."
Without him having to finish his words Erlang hurriedly retracted her barrier, letting Hou Yi finally gasped a breath of air undeterred by the next pang of biting pain. It was only when he somewhat stabilized and stopped puking black blood did Erlang's shakily take his pale face into her embrace tightly. Her eyes and nose red, fingers trembling, wiping his face with her still racing heart nearly bursting from her chest. She didn't speak, but meeting her gaze, Hou Yi still squeezed her hand quietly before he stood with their combined effort. Even when wiping blood from his face, the man stood as tall as he could, paler than before. Looking like a mess, voice hoarse, he never forgot his duty.
"I didn't get to see much, just a simple thatched hut." Hou Yi hesitated as he recalls the normal yet gloomy scene he had managed to peek at, even if for a second. His inner thoughts filled with hundreds of scenarios, but not a single one prepared him for this. "And, statues of large serpents."