Chapter 10 Failed Escape

Deming ran all night, and his feet were sore. He saw tiny blood stains on the white boots, but he couldn't stop now. If he stops now, the boss will find him and lock him up. He is free, and he wants to be that way. After walking for another hour, the burning pain under his feet was unbearable, he slowed down and walked to a tree. He sat down under a tree, took off his boots, and undid his feet. He heard similar footsteps behind him. He quickly stood up and faced a masked man in black.

Hu Dingxiang walked to Deming and sneered, "Do you think you can escape?

Deming slowly retreated from Hu Dingxiang, begging, "Please, let me go?"

Hu Dingxiang said, "Do you miss that mute hunter?"

Deming shook his head, "No. Let me go."

Hu Dingxiang said, "You come back with me. He told me he missed you very much. He wanted to see you again."

Deming continued to retreat from Hu Dingxiang, "No. What did I do to you? Why did you imprison me? I didn't see your face, let me go." Deming began to run away.

Hu Dingxiang sent two daggers to Deming. Deming tripped over a rock and fell when the two daggers passed him. Hu Dingxiang stabbed Deming's left calf with a third dagger.

A female voice suddenly said, "You evil man."

Suddenly, Deming was lifted into the air, a huge black ant appeared, with one leg rushing towards Hu Dingxiang. Hu Dingxiang flipped backward and slid farther away. Deming is on top of the ant. The giant ant stabs her two sharp front legs at Hu Dingxiang from left and right. Hu Dingxiang could only hold back further and further. Knowing that he couldn't beat the fairy ant, Hu Dingxiang sent four daggers at the giant ant and escaped. The giant ant screech at Hu Dingxiang.

Then the giant ants got smaller and smaller until Deming fell to the ground. Deming pinched himself several times.

The female voice, "Silly brother, don't pinch yourself. You are not dreaming."

Deming looked around and he saw no one. He asked, "Where are you then?"

A little black ant crawled to the ground from his robe and what appeared in front of Deming was a beautiful woman in black.

Deming asked confusedly, "You are?"

The woman in black, "I'm Weici. An ant fairy."

Deming was taken aback, because he had never heard of ant fairy before. He asked, "What do you want?"

Weici, "You saved me. I'm returning a favor."

Deming, "I don't remember saving you."

Weici crawled closer to him, "Last night by the river. You helped me from drowning."

Deming murmured, "The drowning ant?"

Weici smiled and said, "It's me. Savior, can you walk?" She frowned. "I don't know how to deal with the wound."

Deming said, "Don't call me savior. My name is Deming."

Weici smiled, "Brother Deming. Let me help you up."

Weici helped Deming limped back to the tree where he had been sitting.

Deming looked at Weici and said, "We need to leave here. I don't want to stay here. I don't want the boss to find me and lock me up."

Weici held Deming's hands, "Brother Deming, as long as I am here, no one will hurt you or lock you up."

Deming lips trembled, "I'm afraid to go back to the dark dungeon. I need to leave. Someone once told me that there is a city in the clouds where a goddess lives, and she will welcome me with open arms. I need to go there."

Weici, "Brother Deming, you are injured. Let's find a way to stop the bleeding. I'll help you find that city." She looked around and wanted to see if there was any way to help deal with Deming's wound. "Hunters." She changed back to a small black ant and crawled into Deming's sleeve.

Tam Liang shouted, "He is there!" He pointed to Deming.

Tam Qiu waved and called, "Brother Deming." She rushed towards him. She was taken aback when she saw the dagger penetrated deep into Deming's calf. "What happened?"

Deming said, " Bandits"

Tam Qiu, "Bandits?" She turned to Tam Liang. "Bing brother sent the signal to senior brother and Ah Kun."

Deming looked at Tam Qiu and asked sadly, "Sister Ah Qiu, why are you so nice to me?"

Tam Qiu smiled at Deming and said, "We are taught to be kind to others. We live by our principles."

Deming asked, "What principles?"

Tam Qiu smiled at Deming and said, "The Guozhao principles. We are Guozhao Hunters."

Deming looked down at Tam Qiu and he saw the same silver bell tassel that look exactly like the one he has. Deming hesitated, but decided to ask, "Sister Ah Qiu."

Tam Qiu looked up, "Yes?"

Deming asked, "Do you live in a city in the cloud with a goddess?"

Tam Qiu smiled lightly and said, "Silly, there is no such city in the cloud."

Deming, "So there is no city in the cloud?"

Tam Qiu shook her head. She wrapped Deming's feet again and asked, "Who told you?"

Deming smiled and said, "I met a man a long time ago, and he said that there is a city in the clouds."

Tam Qiu said, "City in the cloud are only in fairytale that was told to children."

Deming always knew that the city in the cloud was too good to be true, but he still hopes for such a city. Now he knew that such a city only existed in children's fairy tales, which hurt him deeply. Since Tam Qiu confirmed that there is no such city, it means that both the boss and the man are lying to him. There is no such city in the cloud, there is no goddess who will welcome him with open arms. He foolishly believed both of them. He wants to know if he has done anything that offends the boss, or the man, why would they have lied to him. He thought why he would be stupid to believe in such lies, or that he had always been stupid since the beginning, which is why he ended up being locked up alone. He now realized that the outside world was not cupcakes and rainbows as he had imagined.

Tam Qiu saw tears dripping from Deming's face. She tried to cheer him up, "There may be no city in the cloud with a goddess, but where we live is called Cloud City. Our Shimu loves us very much. When our master punishes us, she will help us. In the spring, the peach blossoms are in full bloom. The entire mountain will smell fresh with blossoms aroma." She smiled at him.

Deming wiped his tears, "Thank you for cheering me on."

Tam Qiu, "You are as old as my brothers, but cry like a child."

Deming, "I'm used to tears. We are old friends."

Guozhao Zhiqiang saw Deming and Tam Qiu talk casually under a tree as she tended his wound. He stared at Deming intently.

Tam Kun, "Senior brother, you have been staring at brother Deming for a long time."

Guozhao Zhiqiang, "Ah Kun, do you remember that we met a person who looked so much like him in Tam village?"

Tam Kun, "huh, oh... I remember. The red-haired guy. The one that made second master almost killed you because you blocked the icicle from hitting him. The second young master of Snow Sector." Guozhao Zhiqiang stared at Tam Kun coldly. He clears his throat. "Sorry, yes I remember him."

Guozhao Zhiqiang, "He looks so much like that person."

Tam Kun, "People look alike. Especially family members such as twins or cousins. Look at Weisheng and Weimin, they are exactly the same. Even if they look exactly the same, we can still distinguish them apart by their personalities. The character does not change just because two people look alike."

Guozhao Zhiqiang, "So."

Tam Kun, "In other words, Deming and Hu Dingxiang are twins or relatives." He thought for a while. "But... I don't look like Ah Liang. We are first cousin." He stretched his head. "I'm sure they are twins just like Weimin and Weisheng."

Tam Qiu walked to up to Guozhao Zhiqiang and Tam Kun, "Senior brother, I don't think we should leave Brother Deming alone."

Guozhao Zhiqiang, "Why?"

Tam Qiu, "He told me that he was spotted by bandits. I checked his calf carefully and concluded that the incision was to prevent him from running. Bandits do not study the human nervous system."

Tam Kun, "You mean someone is going to kill Deming?"

Tam Qiu, "This is just my suspicion."

Guozhao Zhiqiang, "Let's be careful, I will guard first, Ah Kun and Ah Liang will then guard."

Tam Kun, "I will notify Ah Liang."

Guozhao Zhiqiang walked to where Deming was sitting and handed him a fish. Deming took the fish and ate it happily. Guozhao Zhiqiang took a close look at Deming and found that Deming chewed his food exactly like the person who ate with him nine years ago. He knew that it could not be because the person who ate with him was Hu Dingxiang, not Deming.

Weici slowly crawled out of Deming's sleeve. She quickly dived into the dirt to avoid the hunter and disappeared.