Blessing or trick

None of them had thought it possible to meet their ends here of all places. It had been greed, lust, pride, curiosity and a sense of duty that had fuelled their drive into leaving the village but now that they were in a life and death situation they had come to regret this and all their previous decisions.

It was pretty clear what awaited them all.

Death!

As for what would happen after that, no one knew. Bai Ming silently chanted a prayer to the Heavenly Immortal. In the Records of Salvation, it was said that all things would return to his embrace, but no one knew if this were true or not. Some were sceptical, some found hope in this belief, and chose to follow this belief.

It was said that death was not merely the end but a new beginning. As it was said in the records, divine ascension to his kingdom where all was possible. Even the so-called inconceivable were not as such in "His" sanctuary. Bai Ming had only been taught as such from a young age. In this moment, where all seemed to be lost, he did not think of this master or that enigmatic Dao Gu. The notion he had conceived about Dao Gu sharing some unspeakable relationship to the Heavenly immortal had but all faded.

Others were like him, and others were not. Each person had their own perspective of life and made separate decisions. Others like Zi Yan did not wallow in despair but instead just laughed it off as if they had seen the most spectacular comedy.

Time slowly passed.

The pain they felt slowly became faint. Others surmised that this was true death. At this point in time, Zi Yan's mad laughter had also faded along with the sound of the wind.

...

More time passed.

Seconds turned into minutes.

Bai Ming still kept his eyes closed.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry... sorry..."

"Its really ending like this, I wanted to know who she had been waiting for this entire time. Uncle Zheng is going to have to find another helper to tend to the chickens. Li Mei...eh...am I still thinking?"

Bai Ming seemed to have come to his senses. He had wallowing in his regrets and reminiscing about his life. When he came to it, he opened his eyes and looked at the three in front of him.

Wu Zhengyi, Li Tian, and Chi Huo had their eyes opened already. They could not believe what they saw right now. No more blade edged petals reached their skin or bodies anymore. The two small tornadoes were still there, but their positions had changed, and now they had widened the gap between them. They seemed to have formed a safe path with them as the centre. 

The wind no longer pushed against their bodies, and instead, it softly whistled past them.

Everyone's mind remained blank.

Had their prayers been answered?

Bai Ming did not truly think so. In fact, he had an inkling as to who might have done this, but he still could not believe it.

"Its too soon for you to die here"

Hearing this strange voice again, Bai Ming became sure who had saved them, but he still could not understand why exactly. It did not make sense. At least according to the character this master had shown, it did not seem like this was something that he would do without any reason or any sort of benefits in mind.

Deceiving!

There was no other way to explain it. He looked at the others and still seemed as if they were still confused as to why they were still alive.

Zi Yan's body stepped on the rough pavement, which made his step seem heavy. For someone who had been on the very forefront and had to face the full brunt of the wind and the blade edged petals, it was quite a shock to see him move with such heavy steps.

The others were also alerted by these steps and looked over only to see Zi Yan madly dashing through the passage, which was now safe. At this moment, they all felt like someone had hit their heads with a stone, making them recall that they were still at death's jaws. It was unknown who had followed after first, but every one of them seemed to have felt a strange rush of energy bursting inside of them. They could not think about their wounds and injuries at this moment.

Even though they had gained a burst of energy, this did not improve their vision. Even though they could not see well enough, they could at least see an imprinted red footstep on the pavement. It was quite obvious who had passed through that same path. Without needing any sort of notice or advice, everyone rushed following these footsteps.

In mere moments, they had successfully crossed the courtyard. The instant they reached the other side, some remained standing, and others immediately lied down on the pavement. Cui Rong, who had been following right behind Zi Yan and his two followers, adjusted her breathing and felt that she had missed something but could not be sure of what it was. She clearly recalled that Han Ding and Zou Qiang were badly wounded. Their faces were completely riddled with wounds and blood. This was also the same for Zi Yan.

Just as this thought surfaced on her mind, she immediately turned back to look. There, like a lonely flower, was a figure kneeling on the ground. Standing at the other end, everyone also turned to look at this courtyard fearfully as if they were looking at some sort of creature that could devour them at any moment, but they instantly became tongue tied. They could not believe what they were seeing right now, or rather, in that moment of intense crisis, everyone had seemingly forgotten someone.

Han Ding had been grievously injured even before they walked into this residence. After being bathed by these winds and petals for a moment, he could not muster any strength at all. Zi Yan's eyes widened, and he cursed with a low breath, "Idiot!"

Zou Qiang was equally shocked, too. In that moment, he had completely forgotten about everything. His vision had blurred. Looking over carefully, it seemed Han Ding still had a breath on him, which meant he could still be saved.

The rest also noticed this and even took note of the minute details they had missed before. They could clearly see the weak wind that had blocked their path was still in place and had even reached where the group had originally been standing. It wouldn't be long before it reached Han Ding. Zou Qiang lifted his foot, intending to move back to save his friend but stopped after only taking a single step.

In this very instance, he saw with his own eyes, the two small hurricanes which had blocked their path to move forward seemed to gain momentum without a moments notice. Its strength doubled, and its whistling became even more apparent. The gap that seemed to have been held up by a mysterious force was immediately closed.

Zou Qiang stretched his arm out and opened his mouth in an attempt to reach out to his friend. He could faintly see a seemingly terror stricken mask etched onto Han Ding's face. The will to live was still clear to see.

"No..."

In the next instant, the speed of the wind tripled. The petals roiling about in the wind were now moving at a very terrifying speed.

RUMBLE!!!

Everyone stood still in place. They seemed to be choked as if they had a bone stuck in their throats. This speed was much more terrifying than it had been before.

Han Ding did not even have the chance to scream before he was battered by the wind and the petals. Following that, the speed of the wind quadrupled. Blood spilt everywhere. The wind's speed kept increasing at every moment. It was like a starving beast that had finally laid eyes on its prey. Han Ding did not even have the qualification to well be said to have been minced.

Zou Qiang let out a desperate roar, "NOO..."

He seemed ready to rush in, but he was stopped by everyone. Si Niang, Li Tian wasted no time and held him down. He could only helplessly cry out.

However, the wind did not seem to hear his cry at all. Its speed kept increasing, and the number of petals in its grasp increased as well. It was like a massive grinder. Its scale kept expanding. Han Ding's skin and flesh were grinded into a dense red mist. Even his bones had not been spared at all. They had all but been turned to dust.

GULP!!!

It was at this time that everyone seemed to recall seeing dust roiling about in the passage they had passed before reaching this courtyard. They all came to same the same conclusion. It was highly likely that those dusts were from the bones of the people who had been grinded by this very wind.

Now it was apparent for all to see that if they had remained in it for a second longer, then they would surely be no corpses left afterwards. This would truly be dying without burial ground.

They took heavy gasps and tried to calm their breathing. Each person had suffered various degrees of injuries. It was especially so for the members at the forefront. After expending so much energy, Zou Qiang fainted.