Chapter 54

Chapter 54: A Plan

After Nie Qing'e and Lu Qing left, the mountain forest suddenly became quiet.

The group continued to flee for a while and, realizing that Meng Yuniang hadn't followed them, they slowly stopped to rest.

The injured martial artists needed to be bandaged, and Qian Gui, who was already exhausted and gasping for breath, also needed rest. They found a relatively clean and flat area in the forest, took out their medical supplies, and started a small fire.

Although there was the risk of being exposed by the flames, they didn’t have strong liquor to disinfect the blades. They had no choice but to keep the fire small and close together, hoping that the noise wouldn't be noticed by Meng Yuniang.

Mei Yinghan took out a small knife from his chest and heated it in the flames for a while. He then looked up at Bai Zhengliu and said, “Brother Bai, should I go first?”

Bai Zhengliu knew this wasn’t the time for mutual hesitation or wasting time. He didn’t speak but nodded.

Mei Yinghan then used the knife to cut open Bai Zhengliu's bloodied shirt at the arm and waist, further opening the wounds caused by the mountain bandits, trying to squeeze the poisoned blood out as much as possible.

The process was quite painful.

Even Bai Zhengliu, who was already used to injuries, couldn't help but take a sharp breath when the senior brother from Mount Tianshan started to squeeze the blood.

Mei Yinghan glanced at him, seeing that the swordsman’s brows were slightly furrowed. In the flickering firelight, Bai Zhengliu’s handsome face appeared hazy, adding a mysterious charm to him.

Although his hand didn’t stop, Mei Yinghan spoke up at this moment, "We can't just keep running."

Bai Zhengliu’s eyelids twitched, and he also turned his head to look at him.

After all, it was dark, and they were dealing with wounds, a task that required close proximity. The two were very close at this moment, and when one spoke, the other could even feel the breath on their face.

The swordsman knew that the swordsman was genuinely discussing the matter, but also trying to distract him. He collected his thoughts and said, "Naturally. Otherwise, once our wounds worsen, and our food and water run out, we’ll have nowhere to go."

Mei Yinghan whispered, "We need to come up with a plan..."

The swordsman replied, "Mmm."

While the two discussed the matter seriously, the atmosphere wasn’t overly tense, though it was still heavy. On the other side, the situation with the Jun brothers was starkly different.

At first, it was Jun Yang who squeezed out the poison for Jun Tao. At this moment, Jun Tao silently stared at the water pouches and dried food that Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan had brought back earlier.

Cutting open the wound was very painful. Pressing around the wound was even more painful. But none of this compared to the heartache the Jun brothers felt when they realized that Nie Qing'e and Lu Qing hadn't followed them.For those who had been in a sect since they were young, their senior brothers and sisters in the sect were as close as their own blood relatives. Especially when the Jun brothers first arrived at Mount Emei, for a long time, it was their senior sister who guided them in practicing basic martial arts and laid the foundation for their formal training. To them, Nie Qing'e was not only a caring and loving senior sister but also half a teacher.

When their senior sister and Lu Shixiong first met and developed feelings for each other, Jun Yang was the first to notice. Once he was aware, Jun Tao naturally knew as well.

The two of them felt a bit sour, thinking "Our senior sister is finally going to be taken away," but also felt comforted, thinking, "Lu Lang from Wudang is skilled and has good character. He truly makes a rare and good husband." Later, when they saw how their senior sister and Lu Shixiong interacted, and how during the Blood Demon incident, Lu Qing and Nie Qing'e fought side by side and protected each other, the Jun brothers truly accepted him as their brother-in-law. Of course, this didn’t stop them from teasing the groom when their senior sister and Lu Qing got married.

Even Jun Yang, who usually seemed much more stable than his younger brother Jun Tao, took part in the teasing. If asked in more detail, Jun Tao would tell others, "Actually, my elder brother is the mastermind."

Later, their senior sister moved to Wudang. With the vast distance, before parting, the three of them, along with other senior brothers and sisters, sat together, gathering a large table of wine. They all expressed their blessings for Nie Qing'e and said things like, "If Lu Lang ever wrongs you, we, Emei’s daughters, will stand up for you, and we will march on Wudang!" Hearing this, Nie Qing'e didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Jun Yang shook his head at the side, "Now it seems like we don’t trust our senior sister’s judgment."

That night, the sky was clear. Even though it was night, the moonlight illuminated the top of Emei Mountain where all the senior brothers and sisters gathered, making everything bright and clear. As one cup of wine after another was drunk, everyone became drunk. Jun Yang and Jun Tao pulled their senior sister aside, telling her that even after she got married, she couldn’t forget her "family" back home. When there was an opportunity, she must come back to Emei to visit. Furthermore, once she and her husband had children, they were to be their godfathers.

Nie Qing'e listened to her younger brothers' words, both amused and touched. It was like when they were younger, and she would tap them on the forehead, saying, "Naturally. I won't forget you."

And then...

It had been a year since their senior sister and brother-in-law got married. Nie Qing'e had sent someone to deliver a letter back to Sichuan, saying that she would be visiting Emei soon. Upon receiving the news, everyone in the sect was delighted. Their master didn’t say anything, but Jun Yang and Jun Tao saw that the corners of their master’s mouth had been raised the whole time.

It was clearly a great piece of news, but after that, their senior sister and brother-in-law never showed up. Two months passed, and finally, Jun Yang and Jun Tao couldn’t hold back anymore and decided to go out to search for them. They never expected to run into Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan, and from them, they learned of a strange event. Even more unexpectedly, their senior sister and brother-in-law had become entangled in something similar.

Well then. Even if they were involved, didn’t they still have a chance to escape from the "Tan Family" together? Like Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan, hadn’t they already escaped from the "Chang Residence" early on and gained a lot of experience?

The Jun brothers had always thought so. However, now...

Just like Nie Qing'e had said, when they discovered that the water pouch was heavy and the food hadn’t been touched, the Jun brothers understood everything.

They were both heartbroken and resentful. Not only did they hate the Tan family, who killed their senior sister and brother-in-law, but they also hated their own blindness. Yes, hadn’t they heard the middle-aged woman from the Tan family say that their senior sister and brother-in-law arrived more than a month ago? After such a long time, how could they have had any chance to survive in the Tan family? They had died here, and yet they were foolish enough to remain oblivious.

They had always thought that once they left the Tan family and returned to Emei, they could sit down and talk properly with their sect. Never did they expect that tonight’s few words would be the last conversation they ever had with their senior sister and brother-in-law.

With these thoughts, the last bit of poison in Jun Yang's wound was squeezed out. The two brothers hadn’t cried out in pain once. They simply applied medicine and silently bandaged the wounds. Naturally, some poison remained inside their bodies, but that was something they couldn’t deal with right now.

Their hearts felt hollow and lost, and they were confused.

To block Meng Yuniang’s pursuit, their senior sister and brother-in-law had to leave. The two brothers couldn’t even imagine what would await Nie Qing'e and Lu Qing for defying the master of this place. They only silently asked themselves, "What can we do for them, when our senior sister and brother-in-law are willing to die a second time for us?"At this moment, a voice came from the side: "Two great heroes, what are you drawing?"

The Jun brothers’ attention was drawn over.

They saw Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan, who had picked up wooden sticks and were drawing something on the ground. It appeared to be an elongated shape, with many winding lines inside.

As the lines accumulated, Qian Gui noticed something: "This... this seems like a talisman?"

Bai Zhengliu hummed in acknowledgment. "Do you remember, back when we were at the Chang residence, we tore off a talisman that was suppressing Liu Niangzi in the well?"

Everyone's pupils contracted in unison.

Then, Qian Gui exclaimed in surprise: "Suppressing—so does that mean we have a way to deal with that female ghost?"

Bai Zhengliu, however, shook his head and said: "It's just an idea. But it will be quite difficult. We lack the proper materials for drawing the talisman. That’s not even the most pressing issue—the main problem is that I only glanced at the talisman a few times. I’m not sure if it’s really like this."

He continued, "Furthermore, Old Master Chang is a treacherous and malicious old ghost. The talismans he uses are probably already harmful to the balance of heaven and earth."

Bang, bang, bang. Three issues hit hard, and Qian Gui, along with the Jun brothers, who had just been a little uplifted, began to slump again.

Not long after, Mei Yinghan, who had been reminiscing with Bai Zhengliu about the talisman’s contents, spoke up: "Although difficult, it’s not entirely impossible. We've considered it. What matters on the talisman is not just the shape, but also the materials used to draw it. If we can recall most of the details from the talisman, we might be able to draw one..."

He glanced at everyone's wounds.

Bai Zhengliu then asked, "Junior brothers Jun, do you remember the trick I showed you earlier?"

Qian Gui was confused, but Jun Yang and Jun Tao’s eyes lit up, and they said in unison: "Blood!"

Qian Gui shivered upon hearing this.

Bai Zhengliu nodded and sighed. "This is our last resort."

The Jun brothers looked down at their wounds. When they looked up again, they were quite generous and said, "The wounds are already bleeding, so it would be a waste not to use it. Brother Bai, don’t be polite. Take as much as you need!"

Bai Zhengliu didn’t respond to this, but in his heart, he thought, "We’re not even sure about this ourselves, so we can't use your blood just yet."

Mei Yinghan had the same thought. After hearing the Jun brothers' statement, he didn’t say "good" or "bad," but instead changed the subject: "As for 'harmful to the balance of heaven and earth'... now that we’ve come this far, we can’t worry about such things."Everyone nodded in unison.

The forest was still quiet, but compared to the earlier silence, their hearts were filled with a little more hope.

The group watched as Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan discussed for a long time, finally coming up with a fairly certain method for drawing the talisman. They then tore off a piece of clean cloth, dipped it in their blood, and drew the characters on it.

After completing everything, the group felt heavy in their hearts and began to ponder: "Will this thing really work? … Forget it, if Meng Yuniang comes again, having something in hand is better than nothing."

The latter part of this was spoken by Qian Gui. His original intention was to encourage Bai and Mei, who seemed to still have some dissatisfaction, as they furrowed their brows. However, as soon as he finished speaking, a noise suddenly came from the forest.

Qian Gui couldn’t help but slap himself mentally—what a jinx!

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