Dangerous Strangers

The dark figure mercilessly brushed the leaves covering Chang Liuyun and Suan Bian aside, exposing the two.

Chang Liuyun was about to jump up and launch an attack directly into the stranger's face, hoping that it would earn them enough time to flee, even though a successful escape was very unlikely with their speed. When suddenly an intense pressure exploded around Chang Liuyun, abruptly nailing him to the ground as he coughed up a mouthful of blood.

It felt like Chang Liuyun's organs were being crushed inside his body, even the air inside his lungs was pushed out, leaving him breathlessly choking.

Fear washed over Chang Liuyun.

A familiar panic clawed at Chang Liuyun's mind as he struggled to expand his lungs.

Out of the corner of his eye, Chang Liuyun saw Suan Bian also pressed to the ground with Lei Mingxing sprawled squarely over him. Although he couldn't see her face as it was covered by her messy hair, there was no way the pressure didn't affect her in some way.

Worse even, in this unconscious, injured state, she had no way of defending herself and was practically taking the full brunt of the attack.

He had to stop it somehow!

Chang Liuyun slightly turned his head with difficulty, raising his face that had already begun to turn red from the lack of air. His Adam's apple visibly bobbed at the alternating clenching and unclenching of his vocal cords as he forced out his voice with the very limited air he had left.

"St-o,p, hhat, do, ou, wa-ant?"

A few unbearablely long seconds passed, in which Change Liuyun's face beneath the mask gradually turned from red to purple and the panic in his heart grew.

Until finally, the pressure vanished.

Immediately, Chang Liuyun and Suan Bian greedily sucked air into their painful lungs while coughing wildly.

In the meantime, the dark figure that had initially discovered them leisurely walked over to their companion as if they hadn't almost just crushed 2, no, 3 people to death.

With physiological tears in his eyes, Chang Liuyun watched as the two concealed strangers consulted with each other, unable to hear what they were saying due to his heaving and coughing.

Their exchange was brief before the slightly smaller of the two, the same one that had revealed and crushed Chang Liuyun's group, stepped in front of them again while the other dismounted the horse-like beast.

Instinctively, a sense of anxiety rose inside Chang Liuyun, he tensed his muscles and subconsciously glanced around for an escape route.

The voice of the slightly smaller person sounded above him.

"You aren't evil cultivators, are you?"

Even before Chang Liuyun could answer this sudden question, Suan Bian was already shaking his head as if his life depended on it, not a hint of the previously proud young master left.

"No!"

The figure leaned back a bit, casually resting their hand on their hip as they sighed, almost disappointedly?

Soon, they continued talking.

"In that case, we apologize for our brutish behavior, encountering evil cultivators is just much too common in these parts."

"Are you citizens of Dark Spirit Town?", the other figure cut in after coming to a halt next to their companion.

Once again, Suan Bian enthusiastically answered on the entire group's behalf, not sparing the possibility of telling unknown strangers your true identity to be a bad idea even a single thought in his haste.

"Yes, yes! My father is Suan Bi, the owner of Somber Spirit Pharmacy and Bending Rock Forge, you should know him. Please help me, he will reward you handsomely if you do so!"

Chang Liuyun stared at Suan Bian, mortified and feeling the urge to slab someone at Suan Bian's stupidity.

If they were unlucky, what he had said just now was akin to signing their own death sentence. On the flip side, the extremely lucky outcome was them being used as hostages against Suan Bian's father to extort money!

But when you were as strong as the duo before them seemed to be, power obtained through money was laughable.

He had seen these types a lot during his travels with Huo Dong.

Along with their strength, their aloofness, or rather ruthlessness, grew as well and they spent money like flowing money. It quite simply had no more value in their eyes, only personal strength mattered anymore, if through connections or cultivation.

And Chang Liuyun found dealing with them especially dangerous.

"Is that so?", the smaller person glanced at his companion, only after receiving a curt nod did he continue speaking.

"In that case, we would be more than happy to help you."

The figure whistled sharply, prompting the horse-beasts behind them to sink to the ground for easier mounting.

Suan Bian was almost too stunned to move, but only almost, as he practically jumped up from the ground to get on one of the beast after a short moment of delay. He could barely contain a small relieved laughter at how quickly and easily the two accepted his offer, finally something going right today.

Meanwhile Chang Liuyun had the exact opposite reaction. There was not a hint of relief in him, only paranoia and slight confusion.

Why did they agree?

What did they actually want?

Now that he thought about it, why had the two been tailing them?

You don't tail evil cultivators just for fun.

Suddenly, Chang Liuyun became hyper-aware of the figures' eyes on him. It felt incredibly unnerving and creepy, but Chang Liuyun surpressed his feelings as best as he could. His hand trembled slightly as he clumsily got up from the ground.

Under the watchful eyes of the two strangers Chang Liuyun limped to the beasts.

It was like they wanted to make sure that Chang Liuyun got on the beast and didn't try to escape, disconcerning Chang Liuyun even further.

With his back hunched, Chang Liuyun mounted the beast next to Suan Bian's before the figures joined them and spurned the beasts to start gallopping.

Hopefully in the direction of Dark Spirit Town...

Small theater:

Suan Bian: Our Saviours!

Chang Liuyun: *playing 4D Chess to figure out the other's true intentions*