Yu Liang didn’t stick around once Xiao Fei’s pain started fading. He went around the wreck, pulling the other handyman disciples out from under broken planks and helping the ones who were still too shaken to stand. Most of them were the same guys who’d traveled with Ling Tao’s group back in the city. Though beaten up and bruised now, but at least they were breathing.
When he’d gotten everyone into a rough circle, he looked at Wei Feng.
"Stay here. I’m gonna check what’s going on up ahead."
He didn’t wait for an answer. He jumped onto a half broken cabinet sticking out of the deck, climbed higher, and dropped down outside the ship.
Not far away, a young man in silver robes stood with his hands behind his back. The patterns on the robes shifted slightly in the light — clear mark of an inner disciple. Yu Liang recognised him instantly.
Senior Brother Luo.
Facing him was a woman dressed in red and black, long sleeves hanging down, her expression unreadable and there was a kind of quiet pressure around her that made the air feel heavier.
Yu Liang narrowed his eyes.
’What the hell is going on here?’
Before he could think more, their figures blurred and both of them vanished, leaving behind a dust of air. A second later they were already deep in the forest, exchanging blows so fast he could barely follow. Light and shadow exploded between the trees until they completely disappeared from sight.
Yu Liang stood there for a moment, just staring.
’So that’s what real cultivators look like when they fight...’
The speed, the strength and the decisiveness in every strike — it made his own strength feel tiny. But instead of discouraging him, it only made something burn harder in his chest.
’I have to get there. No matter how long it takes.’
He turned his head toward the other side of the forest. Flashes of red, blue, and gold kept exploding between the trees. Spiritual lights crashed into each other, shaking branches and sending leaves flying.
Through the mess he spotted Ling Tao, Fei Min, and a few others from their sect fighting against the group that had come with the woman in black.
’Not just her then. Her whole group.’
Then his attention was torn by the screaming which started from the wreck.
Yu Liang’s heart jumped. He turned and ran back.
When he arrived, The handyman disciples were all huddled together on the deck, faces white, pointing shakily towards the edge of the forest. Shadows were moving closer — a lot of them, and they weren’t in any hurry.
"W-Who are they? Why are they coming toward us?"
"Are they the ones who attacked the ship? We’re going to die!"
"I just joined the sect... I don’t want to die here!"
"Someone call the elders! We can’t fight them!"
"They’re coming this way! What do we do?!"
One disciple stammered, his voice breaking, "T-there’s a whole group coming this way... we’re finished!"
Another clutched at his head, eyes wide filled with fear. "Why here? Why us? We’ll be crushed before we can even run!"
"I don’t want to die in this forest... I haven’t even started cultivating properly yet..."
"We’re just handymen. They won’t even look at us as people..."
"They’re going to cut us down just for being in the way!"
"No one’s coming to save us... we’re finished..."
Their voices kept overlapping with pure panic.
Yu Liang pushed through the broken planks until he found Wei Feng and Xiao Fei crouched in a corner. Wei Feng was gripping a broken board so hard his knuckles had gone white. Xiao Fei’s shoulders were shaking.
Wei Feng took a slow breath and looked at Yu Liang.
"If it comes down to it... we fight. We may not be strong enough to win, but we’re not going to sit around waiting for death. Better to die on our feet than get cut down while crawling."
Xiao Fei swallowed hard. Sweat ran down the side of his face, but he still lifted his head a little.
"I-I don’t want to go out like this either. If they’re coming for us... then we... we fight back."
Both of them were looking at him, waiting for his response.
Yu Liang glanced at the trembling disciples, then toward the figures steadily approaching through the trees. Even after his recent breakthrough, there were simply too many of them.
He kept his voice low.
"We run, Find cover and stay low. If anyone gets in our way..." His eyes turned cold. "... we kill them. No hesitation."
Xiao Fei’s mouth opened. "But the others—"
Wei Feng put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head. Xiao Fei shut his mouth, his face pale as a shiver ran through him. Yu Liang’s words finally sank in, and for the first time, the harsh reality of the cultivation world truly hit him.
The three of them slipped out of the corner without another word, moved through the broken frame of the ship, and dropped down to the forest floor.
They hadn’t even gone far when two men stepped out from between the trees and blocked the path.
One was tall with a long scar running from his eyebrow down to his cheek. The other was shorter and thinner, lazily spinning a dagger between his fingers. Both of them were smiling like they’d been waiting for this.
Yu Liang stopped immediately and raised a hand. Wei Feng and Xiao Fei froze behind him.
The two strangers kept walking closer, leaves crunching under their feet.
Wei Feng’s fists clenched. Xiao Fei’s breathing got faster as he stared at the dagger.
Yu Liang’s face stayed calm, but his jaw was tightened.
They hadn’t even left the wreck’s shadow yet, and already trouble had found them.
None of them had expected this. They had barely survived the crash, and now another problem had appeared before they could even catch their breath. Wei Feng silently cursed their luck. Of all the places they could have chosen an escape route, it had to be somewhere where enemies were waiting.