Chapter 20: Full Team Rescue

Jing Wuji stopped as he reached the place where members of the Black Church were supposed to meet.

He had sensed someone inside this cave.

Emerging from the shadows, the four people behind him were about to ask what was going on. But when they saw Jing Wuji place a finger to his lips, they immediately realized the seriousness of the situation and fell silent.

After carefully sensing the area and confirming there was only one person inside, Jing Wuji quietly slipped back into the shadows and sneaked in.

A Black Church member stood at the entrance of a tunnel, glancing at his wristwatch from time to time, clearly growing impatient.

"Why isn't he back yet?" the man muttered, frowning.

"You won't be seeing him again," Jing Wuji's voice whispered in his ear.

In the next instant, the back of the Black Church member's neck suddenly felt cold. His vision spun rapidly, and he saw a headless body collapsing, blood gushing from the neck. Behind the corpse stood a hooded figure.

The sight gave him an eerie sense of familiarity. In a flash, he understood—it was his own body!

Everything went black as his consciousness faded completely.

That voice and that scene were the last things he heard and saw.

…

After taking down the Black Church member, Jing Wuji returned to bring the others into the cave for a brief rest.

The four of them looked at the corpse with expressions flickering between fear, hatred, and an indescribable mix of emotions.

Jing Wuji took a water flask and gulped it down, both to quench his thirst and to cool down.

He could no longer feel the pain in his shoulders—it had dulled into numbness, something he had gotten used to.

The four had not even noticed the injuries on Jing Wuji. The relief of escaping death and the joy of avenging their hatred overwhelmed everything else, making them laugh and cry at once.

After resting for less than five minutes, Jing Wuji picked up the chain again and slipped into the shadows to continue the journey. The chain in his hand felt increasingly heavy.

After walking for about an hour, Jing Wuji stopped just before the final stretch to the surface. The tunnel here had been dug by the Giant-Eyed Blood Rats and was nearly vertical, making it impossible for him to pull four people up by himself.

Left with no choice, Jing Wuji carried one person at a time, submerging most of his body into the shadows to transport them upward.

When he first reached the surface, he found that Lin Yun'er and her sister were still there.

Not sure what they were up to, he decided to finish bringing the others up first.

Jing Wuji placed the person on the ground and quickly dove back into the cave.

Lin Yun'er's sister had just opened her mouth to speak when she saw him vanish again and had no choice but to wait.

"What you said was true—he did come to save you," Lin Yun'er's sister, Lin Yuxin, said with deep guilt. "I almost attacked him without knowing the situation. If you hadn't stopped me, who knows what would've happened."

"Just give him a proper apology," Lin Yun'er replied, now in a good mood.

After clearing up the misunderstanding and hearing Lin Yun'er explain everything earlier, Lin Yuxin finally understood the full story and felt even more grateful toward this hunter named "Qi."

The two waited for about half an hour. During that time, "Qi" came up twice. Based on what Lin Yun'er told her, Lin Yuxin figured this next time would be the last.

Sure enough, when Jing Wuji brought the last person up, he didn't return underground again.

Lin Yuxin pulled her sister forward and sincerely thanked Jing Wuji. "Thank you for saving my sister. I'm sorry for attacking you without understanding the situation. I hope you can forgive me."

She bowed deeply.

Jing Wuji glanced at her and replied, "It was nothing," before picking up his "fifty thousand yuan" from the ground, showing no intention of acknowledging her further.

"If you're going to apologize… ahem, at least do it properly. I don't even know how to apologize and still have the nerve to call it sincere. No sincerity at all."

After inwardly grumbling for a bit, Jing Wuji finally spoke up, "Lend me your phone—I need to call the City Demon Hunting Unit."

He didn't want to use his phone, as that might expose his identity. Looks like he'd have to buy another one later.

"O-oh, okay," Lin Yuxin stammered. She hadn't expected the usually indifferent "Qi" to speak to her suddenly. Flustered, she quickly handed over her phone.

After dialing the City Demon Hunting Unit, Jing Wuji reported the discovery of the Giant-Eyed Blood Rats in this area but didn't mention anything about the Black Church.

Once the call was over, Jing Wuji silently waited at the spot for the Demon Hunting Unit to arrive.

Meanwhile, Lin Yuxin and Lin Yun'er observed the hunter named Qi and suddenly noticed he was seriously injured.

The two exchanged glances before Lin Yuxin stepped forward and asked, "You're badly hurt… do you need some treatment?"

"You're a healing-type mage?" Jing Wuji asked in return.

"No, but I have a special salve that promotes wound healing," Lin Yuxin said helplessly. How could she be a healing-type mage? That type usually only appears during high-tier awakenings or with the help of special catalysts. Naturally awakened healing mages were incredibly rare.

After a moment's thought, Jing Wuji figured it was better to get treated sooner rather than later—also a way to avoid the risk of exposing himself at a hospital.

He took off his hood, removing the outer coat along with it, revealing the injuries on both shoulders.

Lin Yuxin instinctively covered her mouth to stop herself from gasping. The wounds on his shoulders were deep, with blood and flesh mixed—and even a hint of white was showing. Bone!

"How could it be this serious?" Lin Yuxin, despite being a mid-tier mage who had seen her share of battles, had never seen injuries this severe.

"The chains wore them down. Stop fussing," Jing Wuji replied casually, urging her to hurry up. If this didn't work out, he was prepared to go to a hospital anyway.

"I'll rinse the wounds first with water magic to prevent infection," Lin Yuxin said, not applying the salve right away. Instead, she used a low-tier water spell—Water Control: Dissolution—and, with delicate control, directed a stream of water to flush the clotted blood from Jing Wuji's wounds.

The pain, which he had grown used to, suddenly intensified again. Jing Wuji winced, the corners of his mouth twitching slightly, but he didn't utter a single sound. This surprised Lin Yuxin.

She had thought that someone with injuries this bad would cry out during the cleaning process. She hadn't expected him to stay completely silent—his pain tolerance was incredibly high.

Yes, Lin Yuxin had already noticed that Jing Wuji was quite young. Even though the metal mask covered the lower half of his face, the youthful features that remained exposed betrayed his age.

The dirty blood and rust particles were flushed from the wounds on his shoulders, reducing the risk of tetanus.

Although in this magical world, tetanus could easily be cured by a healing mage, Jing Wuji had no intention of experiencing that kind of suffering in the first place.

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