Elope

"Brother Luo Quan! Brother Luo Quan, open the door!" Qing Ting desperately banged on the wooden door.

It did not take long before the door opened, and Luo Quan appeared before her eyes.

"Ting'er!" Luo Quan was overjoyed to see her. "I finally get to see you!"

"There's no time, we need to get out of here!" Qing Ting anxiously grabbed Luo Quan by the arm.

"What's going on?" Luo Quan asked before suddenly realising something. "Is this about that Sheng Huoyuan? As expected, they forced you into the marriage, didn't they? How can Village Chief do this to you?!"

"We don't have time to waste, so let's get out of here first. It will be too late once Father finds out that I am gone!" Qing Ting pleaded. "Before he rallies the villagers to look for us, we have to get as far from here as possible. Anything else, I can explain on the way!"

"But where do you want to go?" Luo Quan asked.

They had grown up in Green Seed Village all their lives, and had never left for prolonged periods of time. The furthest Luo Quan had ever gone was when hunting in the mountains to the east, and even then, he had never stayed out for more than a couple of nights.

As for Qing Ting, she had never once spent the night outside Green Seed Village!

"I don't know, but I don't care anymore!" Qing Ting said with desperate tears in her eyes. "I know Father very well. If we continue staying here, there's no doubt that he will force me to marry that guy!"

Luo Quan frowned upon hearing that.

Judging from Qing Weihu's attitude towards him over the past few days, Luo Quan definitely believed that the village chief would do just that.

"Sister Qing Ting!" Ah Qing came out of the house as well after hearing the commotion. "You are all recovered now! Wait, are you crying?"

"It's good to see you, Ah Qing, but this is not the time," Qing Ting quickly wiped the tears off her face before turning back to Luo Quan. "Please!"

Luo Quan bit his lower lips in deep contemplation.

This was a major decision, one that he would not be able to turn back from.

An arranged marriage was something that must not be broken. Getting involved with another person despite being in an arranged marriage was akin to adultery, a crime that was punishable by death in their village!

The moment he chooses to leave with Qing Ting, they would be scorned by the villagers and never be able to return to Green Seed Village. This would mean leaving their parents, their friends, and all of their loved ones, venturing into a world that they knew basically nothing about.

No matter how he looked at it, it was not going to be an easy road ahead.

But to Luo Quan, that was still a thousand times better than staying on in the village just to watch Qing Ting marry another man!

"Mm," Luo Quan nodded in determination. "Let's go!"

Now that he had made up his mind, Luo Quan no longer hesitated.

He rushed into the room to pick up his set of regular hunting equipment before sneaking out of the village with Qing Ting. He did not forget to leave Ah Qing with a message for his parents, though he also instructed her to only pass on the message to them after a few days had passed.

Qing Ting was essentially throwing away her reputation and relationship with her parents by suggesting to leave with him, and Luo Quan was not about to disrespect her sacrifice by prematurely alerting his conservative parents of their escape!

To the east of Green Seed Village was Silent Cloud Mountain, part of a huge mountain range that stretched on for hundreds of miles. It was also overgrown with thick vegetation – a true mountain forest.

Silent Cloud Mountain was also where the villagers usually collected firewood and hunted for food, making it a risky option if they did not want to be spotted during their escape.

Thankfully, the villagers usually remained around the peripheral regions of Silent Cloud Mountain. As long as they could hide deep enough in the mountain, it would be impossible for the villagers to find them.

That was what the young couple was banking on.

As a young male, Luo Quan had also participated in the hunting trips on a regular basis, and was thus rather familiar with the way to the mountain.

However, they were now trying to escape from Green Seed Village. Once the villagers realised what happened, they would definitely give chase, so Luo Quan could not afford to follow the route that the villagers usually took.

Instead, he took a completely unfamiliar path.

Luo Quan led the way as they ventured through the dense vegetation, which he skilfully bashed through with a small axe.

Qing Ting followed closely behind, carefully taking each step so that she would not trip on any protruding branches.

Just like that, the duo slowly ventured deeper and deeper into the mountain. It was not until the sun was about to set that they finally decided to take a break.

For fear of being tracked, they dared not set up a fire. This also meant that hunting was out of the question, and they could only pick fruits for their dinner.

When darkness finally fell, Luo Quan and Qing Ting sat shoulder to shoulder, leaning against a tree as they slowly savoured the fruits.

"Are you cold?" Luo Quan asked in concern.

Even though Qing Ting had repeatedly insisted that she was fine, the chill of the mountain forest at night was not to be underestimated, so Luo Quan could not help but feel worried for her.

After all, she had yet to fully recover from her earlier condition. And even if she had, Qing Ting had never spent the night in the mountains, so she would surely not be used to the rough conditions.

"No, I'm fine," Qing Ting said while snuggling up against Luo Quan's arm.

"Bear with it a little," Luo Quan said while putting his arms over her shoulder. "This suffering is only temporary. Once we reach somewhere safe, things will surely get better."

"Mm, I'm sure it will," Qing Ting replied with a smile.

Luo Quan's heart ached badly even as he saw the beautiful smile. He could obviously feel Qing Ting shivering beside him, yet there was nothing he could do about it.

In the end, it was all because he was too weak.

If he had been stronger...

If he had been more excellent...

Would the village chief still have betrothed Qing Ting to anyone else but him?

But Luo Quan did not have much time to even curse his own lack of strength.

"Luo Quan!"

"Qing Ting!"

The tranquil silence of the mountain forest was rudely broken by the sound of chatter and footsteps. Light from burning torches lit up the forest, while people could be heard constantly yelling their names.

Luo Quan and Qing Ting did not need to be experts to understand what was going on.

"The villagers are here!" Luo Quan quickly stood up. "We have to keep going!"

"Okay! Argh-!" Qing Ting tried to stand up as well, but she instantly felt a pain in her leg.

She had been seated in the cold for too long. The moment she tried to move, she suddenly felt a bad muscle cramp in her leg.

"Are you okay?" Luo Quan asked in concern.

"Y-Yes! Let's go!" Qing Ting said while enduring the pain.

"Follow me!" Luo Quan grabbed her hand and hurried off.

Qing Ting could only grit her teeth as she limped after Luo Quan.

However, Qing Ting was ultimately just a frail girl. Even though her mind was willing, her body failed to endure. No matter how hard she tried, her speed was simply too slow.

In the end, they were still discovered.

"Over there!" someone shouted while waving the burning torch in his hand.

"Shit!" Luo Quan cursed.

Luo Quan kept his axe and decisively picked Qing Ting up and carried her on his back. After which, he charged straight through the thick vines of the forests, using his body as a tool to forcibly forge a path for themselves!

If any ordinary person tried to do this, he would end up shredded by the thorns in the thick vines. These thorns were sharp and durable, and could easily cut through anyone's skin.

Luo Quan only dared to do so because he had a way to deal with it.

At his will, world origin energy from the surroundings gathered upon him, strengthening his body to a point where he became impervious to even knives and spears.

With the protection from the world origin energy, Luo Quan was like an iron chariot as he ran straight through the thick vines, bulldozing down everything in his way!

This was a technique passed down to him by a passing cultivator in the past, and he finally managed to obtain such a level of proficiency in it after years of practice.

The practice had been long and painful, but it was well worth it.

Without that, he would never have been able to exhibit the strength of a cultivator in such a manner!

Of course, it was not entirely without any downsides, either.

This technique drained Luo Quan's energy extremely quickly, and he could only use it for no more than a few minutes at once.

If not because the villagers were about to catch up, Luo Quan would definitely not want to use it here and tire himself out.

Unfortunately for Luo Quan, he was not the only one who possessed the means of a cultivator.

Among their pursuers were not only villagers from Green Seed Village, but also the group of cultivators under Sheng Huoyuan!

After hearing that Qing Ting had escaped with another man, Sheng Huoyuan was absolutely furious. He immediately gathered his followers and joined the villagers in pursuit of the young couple.

It was not too difficult to find them either.

With strength in numbers, everything was made easier. The villagers and cultivators had spread out and searched through the mountain forest, and it did not take long for them to find traces of a new path being bashed through the dense vegetation.

Following that lead, they quickly converged upon the young couple's position.

And now that they had caught sight of the young couple, the mighty cultivators could finally show off their full capabilities!

Swoosh-! Swoosh-! Swoosh-!

The cultivators dashed forward at an incredible speed.

Some of them directly followed the path that Luo Quan had created, while others leapt up into the trees with a single jump to obtain a higher vantage point. It was as though their bodies were as light as feathers, allowing them to go wherever they wanted with absolute ease.

Unlike Luo Quan, who did not even have a proper master, the cultivators in Sheng Huoyuan's group had undergone a systematic and rigorous training regime for a long period of time. The means at their disposal were far greater than what Luo Quan possessed!

In just a few moments, the pursuing cultivators had already caught up to the young couple.

"Stop right there!" one of them leapt off a treetop to land in front of Luo Quan, blocking him from running any further.

"Tch!" Luo Quan gritted his teeth in frustration.

But instead of stopping as he was told, he accelerated instead!

Luo Quan knew just as well that he could not compare to the group of cultivators under Sheng Huoyuan, especially when it was just him against many.

If he were to stop here and let all of their pursuers catch up, that would essentially mark the end of their escape.

Since that was the case, he might as well risk it all against this one foe in front of him!

World origin energy converged onto his body as Luo Quan executed his technique to the limit, strengthening his body beyond the limits of what he had ever achieved in the past.

Seeing that Luo Quan was accelerating towards him instead of stopping, the cultivator in front of him merely sneered in response. "Overestimating yourself!"

With a quick tap of his feet, the cultivator leapt up a good few metres, then stamped down towards the approaching Luo Quan.

Luo Quan continued forward, not avoiding the attack. Or rather, he was unable to avoid it.

The cultivator was simply too fast!

Pah-!

When the kick connected against Luo Quan's chest, he was immediately sent flying into a nearby tree.

Before he collided against the tree, Luo Quan instinctively threw Qing Ting down from his back so that she would not end up cushioning the impact.

"Argh!" Luo Quan groaned as he spat out a mouthful of blood, his body falling weakly to the ground after colliding against the tree.

"Brother Luo Quan!" Qing Ting crawled over in worry despite her own injuries.

Being thrown by Luo Quan in such a rough manner, Qing Ting had slammed against the rough forest ground as well. Now, the muscle cramp in her leg was the least of her concerns. There were cuts all over her body, and the back of her head was hurting like crazy.

Even so, she forced herself to make her way towards Luo Quan, who was still struggling to get up from under the sturdy tree that he had collided with.

"Ting'er..." Luo Quan finally managed to sit up, and Qing Ting threw herself into his arms.

"Brother Luo Quan, you are bleeding!" Qing Ting wept as she wiped away the blood that was streaming out from the corner of his lips.

"This is nothing," Luo Quan shook his head with a resigned smile before turning his eyes towards the front.

At this point, most of the cultivators had already caught up.

"Hmph!" Sheng Huoyuan stepped forward and looked at the young couple in disdain. "Did you really think that you would be able to get away? If it is something that belongs to me, nobody will be able to take it away. For those who try, only death awaits!"