Chapter Translation — Escape Through the Forest
The chapter begins deep inside a dense forest.
Two people are running desperately through the woods. One of them is a young man, while the other is a young woman. Both of them look exhausted, and their breathing is becoming heavier with every step.
As they continue running, the young man says,
"Listen, I know there's a village somewhere ahead. If we can reach it, we might be able to settle there and escape from them."
The girl looks exhausted and replies,
"But they're chasing us! And I don't think I can run much farther. I'm already exhausted…"
"Just try a little longer!" the young man says urgently. "Otherwise, we're definitely going to die!"
The girl grits her teeth.
"I really can't run anymore…"
Both of them continue running while breathing heavily. Their bodies are already reaching their limits.
The young man realizes that simply continuing toward the village may not work. He quickly decides that they need to find somewhere inside the forest to hide.
He grabs the girl's hand.
"Come on!"
He suddenly starts running at full speed again, desperately searching for a large tree, a thick bush, or some other place where they could hide.
However, no matter how far he runs, he cannot find a safe place.
Behind him, the girl is becoming weaker and weaker. She is almost losing consciousness from exhaustion.
Then, suddenly—
Thud!
The girl collapses onto the ground.
The young man immediately turns around.
"Get up! Hurry! If we stay here, they'll catch us and kill us!"
The girl shakes her head weakly.
"I… I can't do it anymore…"
Seeing her condition, the young man doesn't hesitate.
He bends down, picks her up in his arms, and continues running.
Because he is now carrying the girl, his speed becomes much slower. Even so, he refuses to stop.
He continues running through the forest with everything he has.
But after some time, even his strength reaches its limit.
His legs finally give out.
Bang!
The young man collapses onto the ground.
As he lies there, completely exhausted, a desperate thought appears in his mind.
It's over… We aren't going to make it.
Meanwhile, not far behind them, seven assassins are rapidly making their way through the forest.
One of them says,
"We have to catch that boy and girl quickly!"
"They know too much. We absolutely cannot let them escape!"
The seven assassins continue moving at high speed.
At that moment, the young man suddenly notices several people approaching from ahead.
His heart immediately sinks.
The assassins… They caught up with us!
However, something unexpected happens.
These people aren't the assassins at all.
They are a group of young cultivators who had entered the forest to hunt some beasts.
Among them is Ling Sai, the younger brother of the main character.
Ling Sai and his friends notice the exhausted boy and girl lying on the ground.
The moment Ling Sai sees their condition, he immediately moves forward to help them.
His friends follow him.
The young man initially becomes even more frightened because he thinks the assassins have arrived.
But after looking at them carefully, he realizes that these people aren't the ones chasing them.
For the first time in a long while, he feels a little relieved.
Ling Sai approaches him and asks,
"Brother, what happened? How did you end up in such a terrible condition?"
The young man immediately warns him,
"Don't ask questions! Just run! You people should leave too, or you'll get dragged into this!"
Ling Sai looks confused.
"What kind of trouble are you talking about? Tell me properly, brother."
"There's no time to explain! They're coming!"
Seeing how exhausted the young man is, Ling Sai decides to help him first.
He takes a bottle of water from his bag.
He gently raises the young man's head with his left hand and uses his right hand to hold the bottle, helping him drink.
After a few minutes, the young man's condition improves slightly.
The first thing he says is,
"Thank you…"
Then he finally explains everything to Ling Sai.
"Some assassins are chasing us. They're after us because we know something important. I don't want you people to get involved because of us. If they catch up, you'll also be in danger."
Ling Sai calmly replies,
"Don't worry, brother. I'm actually quite strong. I'm already at the second stage of Qi Refining."
He then gestures toward his friends.
"And my friends are all at the first stage of Qi Refining."
Instead of feeling reassured, however, the young man becomes even more worried.
"You should run immediately! You people can't defeat them!"
Ling Sai looks surprised.
The young man continues,
"My companion and I are both at the fourth stage of Qi Refining, yet even we can't defeat them. That's why we've been running for our lives!"
Ling Sai and his friends are stunned.
For them, reaching the fourth stage of Qi Refining is already an extremely high level.
If two fourth-stage cultivators were forced to flee from their enemies, then those assassins must be terrifyingly powerful.
Ling Sai asks,
"If you two are already at the fourth stage, then how strong are those assassins?"
The young man answers seriously,
"They should be close to the fifth stage of Qi Refining. And there are seven of them in total."
Ling Sai and his friends become completely shocked.
Seven cultivators close to the fifth stage of Qi Refining could potentially wipe out an entire village if they joined forces.
The young man urgently says,
"That's why I'm telling you to run! You can't fight them. If they follow us, your entire village could be destroyed!"
Ling Sai takes a deep breath.
"Don't worry, brother."
He then says,
"I have an idea. Come with us to Lu Village."
The young man immediately looks alarmed.
"Are you crazy? If those assassins follow us, they'll destroy your entire village too!"
Ling Sai confidently replies,
"No, nothing like that will happen. Don't worry. Just come with us to Lu Village."
The young man becomes silent for a moment.
"Lu Village…?"
He begins thinking.
Wait… Lu Village has a cultivator at the sixth stage of Qi Refining, doesn't it?
Ling Sai nods.
"Yes. That sixth-stage cultivator is my father."
The young man becomes surprised.
"Oh, really? I've never met him before, but I've heard his name."
However, he still looks worried.
"Even so, there are seven of them…"
Ling Sai confidently interrupts him.
"Don't worry! My uncle is also in the village. He's a fifth-stage Qi Refining cultivator."
Hearing this, the young man becomes slightly calmer.
But Ling Sai isn't finished.
"And even if that's still not enough…"
He pauses for a moment before adding,
"I also have an older brother."
The young man looks at him curiously.
"Your brother?"
Ling Sai nods.
"He's even stronger than my father and my uncle."
The young man is stunned.
Someone even stronger than a sixth-stage Qi Refining cultivator?
After hearing this, the young man finally realizes that Lu Village might actually be their safest option.
He takes a deep breath and nods.
"Alright… I'll trust you. We'll go with you to Lu Village."
Ling Sai smiles.
"Good. Then let's go. We don't have much time."
The group immediately prepares to leave the forest, unaware that the seven assassins are still rapidly closing in on them.