25. Shanghe County

Everything that had suddenly transpired only made Song Cheng feel as if he were dreaming, the tranquility of life shattered in an instant.

At this moment, he felt as though he were drunk, his head heavy and his feet light, struggling to control his body. The world before his eyes seemed to have been torn apart by a cold, ghastly white giant hand, scenes chaotically dancing everywhere.

With his eyes open, the forest rapidly receded, the villagers' heads appeared normal one moment, and morphed into sinister skulls the next... The skulls grasped him, fleeing toward the outside of the mountain.

With his eyes closed, an ink and white world suddenly burst with an excess of red, a glaring red with the scent of blood, as if a vat of dye had been smashed, splashes of red whirling wildly about. The ocean of ink suddenly surged with waves, turning into angry tides, swirling with strands of blood, crying out in the void, overwhelming heaven and earth.

Song Cheng felt himself to be a fragment of a flat boat amidst the colossal storm and tsunami, bobbing up and down, on the verge of capsizing at any moment. Meanwhile, a chilly, rotten, and utterly cold dreadful presence entered his nostrils, mouth, eyes, and ears from all directions, churning his stomach and bringing him to the brink of extreme nausea.

His only conscious thought made him clench his fingers tightly, holding onto Tong Jia desperately, repeatedly thinking and shouting in his mind, "Can't let go, can't let go, absolutely can't let go!"

His vision began to experience severe "stutters."

The scenery before his eyes was also intensely "distorted."

The sounds he heard became distorted and bizarre.

Something was off about the smell.

His mind stopped.

"Tong Jia!"

"Tong Jia!"

He gripped more tightly, shouting loudly.

It seemed slow... yet fast.

It felt like a long time had passed, yet it seemed to be just a moment.

He felt himself land, lying in a soft swirl of green and yellow, but his hand still tightly gripped another.

Instinctively, he moved closer, clutching the owner of the other hand tightly in his arms.

Then he opened his eyes wide, staring fixedly at the distorted world before him, waiting for it to stabilize...

...

...

After an indiscernible amount of time, Song Cheng heard strange and shrill screams near his ears, and two elongated, twisted shadows stood before him as if discussing something.

He took several deep breaths.

The green and yellow swirls turned into yellow earth and green grass.

The distorted shadows returned to normal.

The discussion sounds changed from piercing screams to human voices.

"Finally, two of them came out."

"Maybe, they know the news."

"The young lady said she wants to ask them personally; let's take them back."

"Wait a bit longer; it's still uncertain whether they can survive."

After a long while...

Song Cheng's vision finally cleared.

Wild mountains and untamed grass, although remote, no longer carried the earlier distortion and cold feeling.

He saw two men in servant robes not far away, both with a power level of "4~6" and an approval rating of 60.

Suddenly turning his head, he saw Young Mrs. Tong sleeping in his arms.

She was alive.

Song Cheng was sure he had never experienced anything so bizarre, not even in his imagination.

The incident had happened too abruptly, without any warning.

Seeing some movement this way, the men from a distance approached cautiously and asked, "Who are you?"

Song Cheng replied with a hoarse voice, "A villager from Tang River Village."

The man said, "I am Gao Yiwen, a guard from the Ruyi Commerce Chamber."

As he spoke, he took out a scroll from his bosom, suddenly unfurled it, revealing the portrait of a beautiful girl, Guan Xi.

"Seen her?" the guard named Gao Yiwen asked.

Song Cheng concentrated for a moment, then nodded.

His Road Guide was gone, the money he had prepared was also gone, his mind a mess, many things still unclear.

He needed connections.

Gao Yiwen asked a few more questions about Guan Xi's characteristics, and Song Cheng answered fluently.

Finally, Gao Yiwen said, "Get on the cart. I don't know what you've been through, but the young lady wants to see you."

"Okay... okay..." Song Cheng nodded his head, gritted his teeth, got up carrying the still unconscious Tong Jia, and walked to the dilapidated carriage not far away.

The carriage was also loaded with firewood, and only a small edge was available for sitting.

He positioned Tong Jia to lie as flat as possible, her head resting on his knees.

Two guards were present, one driving the carriage, another following and watching them.

The carriage began to move quickly, dust lifting with the hubs, and in the soft moonlight, the distant foggy old village was receding...

'We've left the village.'

'Miss Nanhui couldn't follow.'

Song Cheng glanced down, only to see that a large piece of his robe had been torn off.

'What exactly happened?'

He rubbed his forehead.

After pondering for a long while, he roughly figured out the sequence of events.

Behind Tang River Village, there existed a forbidden place called "Extreme Joy World."

That forbidden place had never "reawakened," but with the arrival of spring and the moistening of the thawed soil, it awakened.

He was swept into it, and at the seamless moment of transition, their understanding was twisted, directly involving them in the "reappearance" of the master of "Extreme Joy World."

When had he begun to be swept into it then?

And why had he not been able to see the blood-red forbidden warning?

Perhaps, his understanding had been distorted?

Or perhaps, from the moment he first smelled that rotten stench, he had already become a bird in a cage?

...

Fortunately, "Extreme Joy World" was located next to Tang River Village.

Yune from Tang River Village sensed his danger and came to "save the scene."

The way to "save the scene" was also through "reappearance."

Using the "reappearance" of Tang River Village to invade the "reappearance" of "Extreme Joy World."

The moment Yune's resentfulness peaked was at The place where those dishonest lovers were punished.

Although this moment was slightly disrupted by his inclusion, it still froze in that scene.

Thus, the dead Village Chief and the villagers quickly moved to the Extreme Joy World next to them and snatched Song Cheng and the others.

It was just unknown whether there would be conflicts among the prohibitions.

Would Yune... be targeted by Extreme Joy World?

At that time, Song Cheng desperately pulled along Young Mrs. Tong.

Thus, Young Mrs. Tong also escaped with him.

Nan Hui was holding on to his robe, but the fabric ultimately was fragile, tearing midway... Nan Hui's whereabouts were then unknown.

Perhaps she didn't escape from Extreme Joy World, or perhaps... she fell back to Tang River Village.

...

At that moment, Song Cheng looked over his tattered and mud-stained clothes. On his knee, Young Mrs. Tong slowly opened her eyes, her bewildered eyes staring at him.

After a long while, her eyes finally regained clarity.

Young Mrs. Tong didn't say anything, but tightly embraced Song Cheng.

Song Cheng also closed his eyes and hugged her tightly.

Men do not easily shed tears, but at this moment, he couldn't stop them from flowing.

'I was wrong, I was wrong!'

'I almost lost you!'

'So close!'

He should have taken the risk and led everyone on a longer route to the county town, then perhaps there would have been hope!

He should not have hesitated for a moment, should not have hoped for the slightest chance.

Tears slid down Song Cheng's cheeks.

Madam Tong held him tight, gently stroking his back, softly saying, 'It's alright now, it's alright...'

Nearby, the guard named Gao Yiwen coughed softly twice.

Song Cheng and Tong Jia then slightly separated.

No matter how heavy the past experiences, the road ahead must still be continued, and thus one must care more and cherish the people by one's side.

Gao Yiwen also breathed a sigh of relief, originally he was still on guard against these two, but listening to the conversation, observing their demeanor, they seemed to be just an ordinary young couple from Tang River Village.

No special powers, just lucky to have escaped.

After a while, Song Cheng wiped away his tears and asked, 'Brother Gao, could one open a medical clinic in the county town?'

Gao Yiwen said, 'Why? Know medical skills, do you?'

Song Cheng said, 'My wife does, she used to run a medical clinic in the village.'

Gao Yiwen said, 'If she really has skills, that's considered talent. There are certainly opportunities, not to mention elsewhere, just at my Ruyi Commerce Chamber. But whether you can catch the eye of the young miss depends on whether you and your wife can seize the opportunity.'