Lan Tian raised his head and looked for a moment. Suddenly, a sense of depletion overcame him, and cracks began to appear on his skin.
“Master!” Jialuo, knowing his body was currently unstable, rushed to his side and channeled magic power into him to maintain the integrity of his form. The cracks indeed ceased, leaving behind only faint traces. As Jialuo channeled his power, he glanced at Yu Shengyan. “Master, I will take you away from here.”
Yu Shengyan had been dazed for a few seconds; he was startled by the words of this sudden stranger. “Wait, who are you?”
Yu Shengyan instinctively hugged Lan Tian tighter, pulling him into his arms and resting the First Senior Brother’s head on his shoulder. Seeing that Jialuo was channeling magic power to save him, he did not take any further action. Lan Tian could feel Yu Shengyan’s body temperature directly, and could even hear his breathing; he had never been this intimate with anyone before. His face turned crimson instantly—fortunately, it was already covered in blood and grime, so the blush wasn’t very noticeable. Yet, he felt quite awkward… and did not dare to move a muscle.
Yu Shengyan, however, assumed he was too severely injured to move and felt a sense of relief holding him. Yu Shengyan felt that although his First Senior Brother’s body was somewhat cold, it was strangely soft, and holding him felt surprisingly comfortable…
Jialuo looked at his Master with a strange expression. He could feel that his Master had begun to recover… but why was he still sitting motionlessly in that person’s arms?
Off to the side, the hemorrhaging Fan Ren finally succumbed to his injuries and fainted. Simultaneously, the phantom of the elder above him gradually faded away.
Jialuo did not respond to Yu Shengyan. After finishing the transfer of magic, he simply grabbed Lan Tian’s wrist with a cold, stubborn demeanor and stated, “I am taking my Master back.”
The patterned squirrel on his shoulder looked at Yu Shengyan and, feeling frightened, scurried back into Jialuo’s clothing. Jialuo was slightly stunned by the fuzzy creature darting around in his clothes, but he quickly returned to his icy composure.
Yu Shengyan tried to shake off the hand gripping Lan Tian’s wrist, but before he could touch Jialuo’s hand, he was repelled by a surge of power that left his thumb-crotch area numb. Yu Shengyan was secretly shocked—this person’s power was immense… he stood no chance against him.
“I don’t know who your ‘Master’ is; he is my First Senior Brother.” Yu Shengyan knew his own limits; he couldn’t fight him head-on now, so he had to converse and stall for time.
Jialuo did not let go, his face remaining as cold and expressionless as ever. “He is not your First Senior Brother. He is my Master.” Jialuo spoke slowly, his grip tightening.
Lan Tian: “Little Mengmeng, what’s going on? Where did this person come from?” Little Mengmeng: “My Lord, please be a bit more attentive! He is your personal puppet!” Lan Tian: ” Lan Tian: “Wait, I remember you once assigned me a mission to find a puppet.” Little Mengmeng: “That’s right! O(∩∩)O”
Yu Shengyan felt Jialuo’s grip increasing in strength. He frowned and took a step back, guarding Lan Tian. With one arm still holding him, he reached with his other hand for the knife he had used to sever Fan Ren’s arm—it was still dripping with blood. “The First Senior Brother is the First Senior Brother, no matter what he has become!” Yu Shengyan said with a hint of anger, refusing to allow any disagreement.
Lan Tian: “Then which mission should I prioritize now…” Little Mengmeng: “That’s up to you, My Lord!”
Lan Tian had played dead for so long that he felt like getting active. He thought it over. Little Mengmeng had said this mission required an add-on task to be completed first. But with his current status, it was hard to keep farming trust… Moreover, the puppet was here at the academy. Even if Min Yue didn’t care, such a huge commotion would surely be noticed by others. If he were exposed, he would certainly be in danger…
Do I really have to choose one or the other? Lan Tian was speechless… couldn’t the plot just keep them separated?
Lan Tian groaned. Yu Shengyan immediately noticed and asked anxiously, “First Senior Brother, how do you feel?” Before Lan Tian could speak, Jialuo also called out, “Master.”
Lan Tian had no choice but to swallow his words and slowly stand up. The two of them stared at him as if they wanted to bore holes through him. Lan Tian glanced at Jialuo and found he looked devoid of spirit, his eyes filled with bottomless darkness. Truly a puppet, Lan Tian mused. He then looked at Yu Shengyan and saw that his eyes were also slightly red. Ah… which one should I choose…
Wait, I can just take them both!
Yu Shengyan had severed Fan Ren’s arm; he would certainly be held accountable if others found out. It would be better… to take him away. This way, others would assume this was all his doing, and even if Fan Ren or the thin youth spoke up later, there would be no one there to confront him. At the very least, it wouldn’t put Yu Shengyan in a disastrous position.
With that thought, Lan Tian grabbed Yu Shengyan’s arm. Yu Shengyan froze, looking at Lan Tian’s hand, his heart racing with excitement. The First Senior Brother still has his memories!
But he hadn’t been happy for long before Lan Tian yanked his body. Yu Shengyan, caught off guard, stumbled. Suddenly, he felt a numbness in his neck. He immediately became alert and tried to steady himself, but he couldn’t fight off the intense wave of dizziness. He looked at Lan Tian with slight confusion, and then everything went black as he fainted to the ground.
Lan Tian caught his limp body.
“Master?” Jialuo didn’t understand what his Master was doing…
Lan Tian hoisted Yu Shengyan onto his shoulder. He took a look at the chaotic scene in the cave and was just about to tell the thin youth to call for help when he realized the boy had fainted long ago. He couldn’t contact Min Yue, nor did he know the situation outside, but he felt it would be best to leave quickly…
They’ll be rescued once others find them, Lan Tian thought. He said to Jialuo, “Let’s go.”
Jialuo didn’t ask further, gave a slight nod, and simply replied, “Yes.” He took the lead, running toward the cave entrance, with Lan Tian following closely behind.
“Thinking of running away?!”
A booming voice filled with power erupted from outside the cave. Lan Tian looked out and saw that the entrance was already surrounded, layer upon layer, by immortals. At the very front stood Min Yue, his expression calm, but…
As soon as Lan Tian reached the entrance, his system suddenly received a signal, as if it had finally reconnected. The Main Plot Boss’s messages displayed: 99 Unread Messages…
I can receive them now? The Boss sent that many messages?
Suddenly, a new message popped up.
Main Plot Boss: “What happened?” Lan Tian: “It’s a long story; we’ll talk later. How do I get out of here?” Main Plot Boss: “Alright, simple. Use me as a hostage! I’ll go with you…” Lan Tian: “You’re coming too?” Main Plot Boss: “I have to farm protagonist value too!
“Everyone, fortunately, the Flower Fairy’s Book of Heavenly Dao alerted us, allowing us to detect the Demon Lord so early. Now that we have caught him, let us all work together to destroy him!” shouted a Taoist immortal in white robes standing at the front. A chorus of agreement rose from the crowd.
“Agreed!”
“Wait!” Min Yue raised his arm, sweeping it forcefully through the air.