But he asked himself if he could be like the man, treating life as worthless.
The rumors were true; the Mechanical Sect was indeed filled with lunatics.
Zhen Juncheng trembled slightly, as if he had already seen his tragic fate.
The man couldn’t help but smile at the sight, "Don’t be nervous, I don’t plan to kill you just yet. So tell me, who tipped you off, making you interested in Ink Sea City thousands of miles away?"
At this point, Zhen Juncheng certainly had no reason to hide anything for Pei Quan’an.
So he spilled everything like beans from a bamboo tube.
Of course.
He focused on how Pei Quan’an had deceived him and how he himself had fallen for it.
After listening, the man nodded.
"So it seems you’ve become an innocent victim of deception?"
"No, that’s not what I meant. I was just momentarily blinded by greed and did something stupid. Please, forgive me this time," Zhen Juncheng said, putting aside any dignity, desperately begging for mercy.
"It’s not hard to beg for your life, but you’ll have to play a game with me," the man said with great interest.
"What game?"
Zhen Juncheng, like a drowning man grasping at the last straw, asked with hope.
"I’ll let you go in a moment and give you the time of one incense stick to escape. If you can escape, then it’s fine. If not, you’ll become a ghost under my arrow," the man said lightly.
Zhen Juncheng’s spirit lifted at the words.
As long as he was released, even just a few seconds would be enough for him to escape.
With this experience, Zhen Juncheng was confident he wouldn’t fall into a trap again like before.
So he nodded enthusiastically like a pecking chicken.
"No problem, I’m willing!"
The man grinned, "Good, you said it, don’t go back on your word."
"Rest assured, I won’t go back on my word," Zhen Juncheng said confidently.
But the next second, the confidence on his face froze.
Because at that moment, the man suddenly pulled out an object from his chest and snapped it onto Zhen Juncheng’s foot with a click.
Then the man took out a small bottle, uncorked it, and poured the liquid onto the strands entwining Zhen Juncheng.
In an instant, the once tough and relentless strands that had Zhen Juncheng in distress melted away swiftly, disappearing.
"Let’s begin, remember, you only have the time of one incense stick," the man said as he stood up and stated calmly.
Zhen Juncheng was taken aback as if waking from a dream and frantically fiddled with the chains on his ankles.
Just now, the man had locked Zhen Juncheng’s legs with a chain that appeared to be no thicker than a thumb but meticulously crafted.
No matter how much strength Zhen Juncheng used, the seemingly delicate chain didn’t budge at all.
The man watched with a cheerful smile, occasionally offering reminders.
"A fifth of the incense stick has burned already!"
"Two-fifths of the incense stick now!"
These reminders sounded like a requiem, making Zhen Juncheng’s already terrified heart even more anxious.
In the end, he even tried using his teeth, but the chain still didn’t move.
Just as Zhen Juncheng was about to go hysterical, the man said coolly, "If I were you, I wouldn’t be stuck on these chains now. I would think of a way to escape instead."
A word woke the dreamer.
Zhen Juncheng suddenly shivered and realized his remaining time was limited.
If he continued to focus on the chains, he indeed might die in vain.
So he gritted his teeth, stood up from the ground, and hopped zombie-like towards the depth of the forest.
He chose this direction because the terrain grew more complicated deeper inside, coupled with the leaves providing cover, effectively preventing an archer’s ambush.
Running on the road would result in death, even if he managed to escape.
After all, no one can outrun a flying crossbow arrow.
Despite his legs being shackled by chains, greatly hindering his movement, Zhen Juncheng used his strong survival instinct to dart quickly into the thick forest.
The branches and leaves scraped over his body, quickly disheveling his clothes and hair.
For Zhen Juncheng, who always cared about his appearance, it was unimaginable.
But given the circumstances, he couldn’t care less about that now.
Zhen Juncheng kept leaping, and in his heart, he had already slain this man countless times.
Don’t let me find an opportunity. If I find one, I must tear you to pieces.
But just at this moment, a crossbow arrow from an unknown source grazed his scalp, nailing into a giant rock in front of him, drilling deeply into it, leaving only the tail feathers trembling slightly outside.
This shot immediately shattered all of Zhen Juncheng’s inner grievances and dissatisfaction.
His face turned pale as he looked back.
He saw the man standing on a large tree not far away, holding a mechanical crossbow, smiling at him.
"Sorry, I missed!"
Zhen Juncheng turned and ran.
But in his panic, he forgot his feet were chained, stumbling and falling flat on his face.
Before he could turn over, another crossbow arrow flew through the air, shooting directly into the back of his head, exiting through his mouth, pinning him deeply into the ground.
Despite such grievous injuries, due to the powerful life force from the meridian opening, Zhen Juncheng astonishingly did not die immediately, his limbs twitching incessantly as if ready to get up anytime, a terrifying sight in the deep night forest.
The man, however, was unfazed, leaping down from the tree, walking to Zhen Juncheng’s side, stepping on his neck, and slowly withdrawing the arrow.
Poof!
Blood and brain matter mixed together, forming a ghastly purple, gushed out from the wound at the back of the head.
Only at this moment did Zhen Juncheng stop twitching, completely lifeless.
The man wiped the arrowhead with Zhen Juncheng’s clothes, then crouched down to unchain and reclaim the lock.
Not done yet, adhering to the principle of not wasting, the man looted Zhen Juncheng clean, not even sparing the jade hairpin used to tie his hair.
After stripping him bare, the man put all his spoils into his bag, then sighed at Zhen Juncheng’s corpse on the ground.
"Even the elders of Wanghai Tower are so greedy and despicable. It seems their sect’s conduct is indeed poor."
"No wonder Jiang Shengwu is no good either; the upper beam is not straight, the lower beam is crooked, which is normal."
After saying this, the man turned around and returned to the empty camp, looting again before finally leaving.
It was only when dawn broke that the lucky survivors dared to return to the camp.
By the time they discovered Zhen Juncheng’s corpse, it was already noon.
Seeing Zhen Juncheng dead, these people panicked.
After all, they had accompanied Zhen Juncheng out this time, their purpose a secret not to be divulged.
Now that Zhen Juncheng was dead, if the tower master Jiang Shengwu found out, they would not be able to handle the consequences.
Thinking of this, these people exchanged glances and then very tacitly dispersed, with no one mentioning reporting back to Wanghai Tower.
After all, the Beyond the World is vast enough that hiding in a secluded place might keep Wanghai Tower from finding them, no matter how powerful they are.
With this thought, these survivors scattered like birds and beasts.
Leaving only Zhen Juncheng’s body in the forest, which soon disappeared under the gnawing of wild beasts.
And when Zhen Juncheng’s body had already become food for beasts, Pei Quan’an and the Nangong Brothers in Ink Sea City were still waiting anxiously for his arrival.
That day, the Nangong Brothers sought out Pei Quan’an, asking, with faces like thunderclouds.
"What’s going on? Didn’t you say they would come in five days at most? It’s been eight days now, and there’s not even a shadow. Is your word reliable?"
Pei Quan’an was also full of doubts, "It shouldn’t be. Just a few days ago, I received a carrier pigeon message from the sect, which clearly stated that Elder Zhen personally led the team and had already descended the mountain."
"At the beginning, you gave us this spiel, and now you’re still saying it. Do you think you can fool us brothers?" Nangong Buliang asked menacingly.
Previously, out of respect for Pei Quan’an’s status, they treated him very respectfully.
But now that things had changed, they had no mind to maintain that facade anymore.
Pei Quan’an was also internally anxious.
He had no idea what could have happened.
Nangong Buliang, seeing this, became even angrier, about to explode, but his brother Nangong Henliang stopped him.
"Brother, hold on."
Then he looked at Pei Quan’an.
"Are you sure they really set off?"
"Of course, I’m sure!"
"Then there are only two possibilities. One is that the Elder Zhen you mentioned never came and is completely deceiving you."
"That’s impossible!" Pei Quan’an declared emphatically.
"The other is that something happened to Elder Zhen on his way here."