Daring Escape

Gusts of wind immediately coursed inside the dining hall, fanning the flames to something akin to an inferno. 

And in an instant, the entire hall was burning.

From the ground to the tables to the ceiling.

The servants and entertainers desperately rushed to the door while screaming, knocking against each other and the guards who tried to enter and provide backup.

Meanwhile, the wind had condensed around Lei Mingxing in a swirling barrier.

The blood-red fire Lei Mingxing conjured earlier had also been swept up by the wind, creating a blazing barrier. 

It swelled and condensed along with the winds.

In the sea of flames, this lump of blood red was akin to a pulsing heart.

Suan Bi stared in horror.

He almost couldn't conceive what had just happened. It was simply too absurd.

How could a Qi Condensation cultivator bypass the defensive artifacts he had created? And in but an instant at that!

As Suan Bi struggled to sort his muddled thoughts, the 'heart' changed shape, condensing into a sharp tip and revealing Lei Mingxing standing behind.

Her hair and dress were fluttering wildly behind her, obvious burn marks and cuts littered her hands and arms holding onto the spear, while her face veil barely resisted being blown away, hanging much looser and lower than at the beginning of this banquet. All this revealed her struggle to contain and control the volatile and overwhelming energy of the spear in her hands.

But Lei Mingxing was seemingly unfazed by all this, clenching her teeth as she unblinkingly stared at the spot where Chang Liuyun stood.

She slightly lowered her upper body.

Realizing what she was about to do, Suan Bi finally snapped out of his daze and cried out at the same time Lei Mingxing shot forward.

"They want to escape! Stop them!"

As he spoke, Lei Mingxing quickly bridged the gap between her and Chang Liuyun.

She slowed down only a little bit, just so she would be able to grab Chang Liuyun and drag him outside with her, but even this slight delay turned out to be fatal.

A clear chill went down Lei Mingxing's back.

Staring into Chang Liuyun's wide blue eyes, who had already stretched out his hand for her to grasp, Lei Mingxing could clearly observe the reflection of impending danger behind her.

Two dark-clad figures who had suddenly appeared, their hands raised, towering threateningly behind her.

They weren't even using weapons but Lei Mingxing just knew that if she didn't turn around and block the attack this instant, any hopes of her ever escaping would have been done f0r, if not worse.

But no matter how much she tried to turn her body around, there was no way for her to keep up, so she watched the hands aiming for her back descend almost painfully slowly.

So, instead of trying to prevent the inevitable, Lei Mingxing prepared to toss the spear in her hand to Chang Liuyun, that way at least he would hopefully be able to escape whilst she tried her best to hold off his pursuers.

WHOOOSHH!!

A wind even more ferocious than the one summoned by the spear abruptly surged around Lei Mingxing and Chang Liuyun, blocking the fatal attack.

The wind was so strong that it even halted Lei Mingxing's forward momentum and caused her to spin around, whipping both Chang Liuyun's and her hair into the air.

The one who came to their rescue was none other than Shao Tianyu who was now standing between them and the 'mercenaries'.

He had an apologetic smile on his face looking at the obvious surprise of the two.

"Go on, I'll buy you som-"

He abruptly stopped talking as if surprised by something but Lei Mingxing had already turned around again, creating her own blazing wind before grabbing Chang Liuyun's arm and continuing their escape.

Once again they shot forward, making use of this precious opportunity Shao Tianyu had given them.

Lei Mingxing didn't bother to leave through the crowded entrance, instead aiming for the wall right next to it.

KHrack!

Dust and rubble exploded around them, but there was no time for it to settle.

They didn't slow down in the slightest even when struck by pieces of shattered wood and brick.

Lei Mingxing and Chang Liuyun just rushed through the corridor at neck-breaking speed before Lei Mingxing finally shifted their trajectory so they would shoot out a window into the garden outside.

Kragh!

The wooden window frame shattered just like that and the two were outside, but they still had yet to leave the estate ground.

So, as soon as they had exited the corridor, Lei Mingxing tightened her grip and tensed her muscles just so she could barely direct the spear tip upwards and push even more of her Qi inside the Spirit Core, causing the energy within to burst out, which catapulted them high into the air.

Suspended in the air, she hurriedly scanned her surroundings.

Several small lights lined the main street of Dark Spirit Town at night and the moment Lei Mingxing caught a glimpse of them in the darkness, she gathered the last of her energy to aim for the small lights, not wasting even a single second.

Traveling at neck-breaking speed like this, Lei Mingxing and Chang Liuyun soon reached the street and with it the stone-hard ground.

And they weren't slowing down.

Realizing this, Chang Liuyun hurriedly stretched out his arm and threw a small ball of flames in front of them.

Thankfully, Lei Mingxing's Qi reserves had been mostly used up at this point so she couldn't continue fueling the artifact with energy, which meant that with the help of Chang Liuyun's 'attack' the last gusts of wind propelling them forward dispersed. Slowing them down just enough not to receive any injuries more serious than several bruises and abrasions.

Not that it really mattered to them.

Because the moment they hit the ground and came to a halt, Chang Liuyun directly jumped up and began running as fast as he could, paying no mind to his or Lei Mingxing's injuries while dragging her behind him this time.

Taking the lead, Chang Liuyun was practically running for the both of them as Lei Mingxing stumbled behind him, spear still in hand.

He led them through the winding back alleys, avoiding the main street that, although much less crowded than during the day, was still littered with guards.

Countless times they stumbled, almost falling to the ground but every time they were able to continue fleeing, countless times Lei Mingxing threatened to slow down and every time Chang Liuyun just held onto her even tighter.

The alleys felt almost unbearably long and with every corner they turned, the fear that he had accidentally led them down the wrong path grew inside Chang Liuyun.

This fear kept rising until they finally reached their destination, the alley behind Unbending Branch Forge.

He ran up to the back entrance, yanked open the door and threw himself along with Lei Mingxing inside before whirling around and securely locking the door with the several arrays and artifacts on it.

Only then did he slip down the door and allow relief to wash over him as he gasped for air.

Lei Mingxing wasn't any better off, lying sprawled on the floor with her eyes closed in utter exhaustion, panting just as loudly. The occasional coughing fit shook her body to the point of almost throwing up, but she resisted the urge.

They both lay there for who knows how long, unmoving, entirely focused on catching their breaths.

Chang Liuyun was the first one to recover enough to check on Lei Mingxing.

The latter was, quite frankly, a mess of countless burns, cuts and bruises, that would have seriously worried Chang Liuyun if he had seen them on anyone else.

But after spending the last few weeks with Lei Mingxing, he knew that this was pretty much nothing to her. He was almost certain that the only thing that could really pose a threat was a severed limb or a truly fatal injury.

After making sure that Lei Mingxing was mostly fine, Chang Liuyun for the first time realized that he had sustained some injuries as well during their escape.

Many areas of his body were pounding painfully and felt hot, there were also several prickling sensations coming from his hands, elbows and knees but the worst pain by far was the now searing burns on his exposed left arm after the blood-red flames surrounding the spear and them had burnt off his sleeve.

He had almost forgotten how painful burns were, after being able to freely control fire for as long as he could remember, burns were exceptionally rare.

Regardless, they had to tend to their injuries if they didn't want them to swell too much or become worse.

Chang Liuyun slowly got up from the ground, careful not to touch or strain his aching knees too much, he waddled over to Lei Mingxing.

He slowly knelt down next to Lei Mingxing with a hiss and gently straddled her into his arms to carry her upstairs to their room.

He would need to tend to both their wounds as his companion was clearly not yet in any condition to move on her own, she didn't even really react to Chang Liuyun picking her up. 

Just as he was about to take a step, the front door of the forge crashed open.

Small theater:

Chang Liuyun, accusingly: How come every time we go out together we brush shoulders with death?

Lei Mingxing: Not my fault, I just want to quietly gain strength as well.

Both turn to look at Author.

Author:...

Author: No pain, no gain?