Seeing this, Li Ban dropped any thought of holding back.
He blocked the attacker's blade, sliding his own weapon down the steel to deflect the force. Following up with a Mental Piercing, he left the enemy frozen in place.
Taking advantage of the assassin's blank mind, Li Ban swung his blade upward and slit his throat.
Only when a geyser of blood sprayed from his neck did the assassin realize what had happened.
He stared at Li Ban in disbelief, unable to understand how a mere 2nd Tier prison guard could be so powerful.
Nor could he understand how this prison guard possessed mental abilities.
This was completely different from the information provided by the Lu Family!
But he could only collapse, his mind full of unanswered questions.
He died with his eyes wide open.
He patted down the corpse, digging out a coin pouch and anything else valuable and easy to carry.
While looting the body, Li Ban kept a third of his attention locked on Shi Ming in case more assassins appeared.
Spoils in hand, he returned to the mule cart.
The previously spooked mule had already calmed down and was happily munching on wild grass.
Shi Ming seemed entirely unconcerned with his own safety; instead, his focus was completely on Li Ban.
"Brother Li, you're this strong?" His exaggerated expression made it look like he was about to burst into applause.
Seeing Li Ban's strange expression, Shi Ming scratched his head. "He died on his own. It really had nothing to do with me."
Li Ban nodded impassively, leaving it ambiguous whether he believed him or not.
He walked over to the assassin who had accidentally died by an axe. With a slight pull, he yanked the weapon from the corpse's neck, immediately kicking the body away to avoid the resulting spray of blood.
Just then, the system issued a prompt.
Even though its true identity had been exposed, it still tirelessly maintained its facade as a Mission Assistance System.
[Mortal-grade creation-type element detected: "Throwing Axe".]
This axe was actually an element!
That made the situation even less likely to be a coincidence.
Shi Ming was likely playing the fool to hide his true strength.
Or perhaps he was a protagonist straight out of a novel, blessed with an Undying Halo—anyone who tried to harm him would simply drop dead!
Li Ban weighed the Throwing Axe in his hand, then walked back to the mule cart and held it out. "Do you want this?"
Shi Ming shook his head vehemently. "I don't know how to use it. What would I do with it? Chop wood?"
Li Ban nodded and tucked the axe away. "Did the people the Lu Family sent to kill you die like this too?"
Shi Ming nodded, a troubled expression crossing his face. "Yes. But I really don't know why it happens."
Li Ban stowed the loose copper coins and assorted trinkets he had stripped from the two assassins, then sat back on the driver's seat. "Good. Then I won't have to go out of my way to protect you."
With that, he flicked the reins, urging the mule back onto the road.
Shi Ming's eyes went wide, looking even more shocked than when the assassins had been trying to kill him.
He poked his head out of the carriage and leaned close to Li Ban. "Brother Li, you... you just believe me?"
"Why shouldn't I? I saw it with my own eyes. You didn't do a thing, and that man died all on his own."
And dropped gear, to boot.
Li Ban added silently.
"But... but no one else believes me! They interrogated me, studied me, and even tried to burn me alive."
"Someone dared to burn you? Let me guess, he spontaneously combusted?" Li Ban asked, amused.
"It wasn't spontaneous combustion. His torch snapped and fell on him. He didn't burn to death, but he suffered severe burns," Shi Ming replied in absolute earnestness.
"Tsk, tsk," Li Ban clicked his tongue.
He had figured that since he possessed the ability to travel between different worlds, he had no reason to be jealous of a mere Undying Halo.
But the more he thought about it, the more jealous he felt!
The mountain roads were treacherous, but fortunately, no second wave of assassins appeared. Otherwise, their journey would have been delayed even further.
After two days of navigating the rugged paths, Li Ban and Shi Ming finally arrived at a small town.
The town was tiny, boasting only a single, rundown inn.
That evening, Li Ban booked a superior room.
It wasn't out of extravagance. In a town this small, only the superior rooms were actually habitable. Plus, it wasn't expensive—it cost roughly the same as a low-grade room in Qingcheng County.
With few other guests staying at the inn, Li Ban had his pick and chose the most spacious room available.
He let Shi Ming take the bed while he rested on the couch by the window.
"Perhaps you should take the bed, Brother Li."
Shi Ming knew Li Ban was keeping an eye on him, which was why they were sharing a room.
However, he hadn't expected Li Ban to give up the large, comfortable bed for him.
He lived an uninhibited lifestyle, but he had never really tasted true hardship.
The past two days on the mountain roads had left his back aching and his legs throbbing.
He was genuinely grateful for the chance to sleep in a bed.
"The journey from Yu Province to Yanzhou will take months. You'd better cherish the nights you actually have an inn to sleep in."
Li Ban's real reasoning was that if Shi Ming fell ill, his Undying Halo might just transfer the sickness onto Li Ban instead.
That would be completely unjust.
Deeply grateful, Shi Ming didn't refuse again.
He was thoroughly exhausted. After taking a bath behind the folding screen, he crawled into bed and fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.
Since he was sprawled on his stomach with his head turned to the side, his snores were rather loud.
Seeing that Shi Ming was asleep, Li Ban released Silver Kingfisher, letting it perch on the edge of the bed to keep watch.
After washing up himself, Li Ban lay back on the couch, folding his hands behind his head and leisurely crossing his legs.
The assassins from the past two days had clearly been gunning for Shi Ming; they were likely bounty hunters hired by the Lu Family.
If there was a first wave, there would likely be a second and a third.
After all, not everyone believed in the existence of the Undying Halo.
If someone tried to assassinate Shi Ming, Li Ban would happily step in to loot their corpses.
He could probably rely on Shi Ming to provide a steady stream of waste elements throughout the journey.
And if Shi Ming's halo suddenly failed, Li Ban could intervene to help.
Shi Ming was his stepping stone into the Myriad Ancient Pagoda in the Unreturning Place. If Li Ban wanted to grow rapidly without drawing unwanted attention, the Myriad Ancient Pagoda was the perfect location.
With Silver Kingfisher on guard, Li Ban closed his eyes and began to rest.
Slowly, drowsiness crept in.
But just before falling asleep, his thoughts drifted to the Shadow World, which he hadn't visited in a few days.
'Should I go take a look?'
The last time he was in the Shadow World, he had encountered locals.
They had clearly been trying to pry open the Experimental Capsule.
Paralyzed and unsettled by the situation, Li Ban had immediately returned to the Wizard World the moment he figured out how.
He still didn't know whose body he was inhabiting, where exactly he had ended up, or why he had been sent there in the first place.
However, his method of entering the Shadow World was completely different from how he accessed the Ring World.
He wasn't restricted by anyone.
He could come and go exactly as he pleased.
Since his consciousness could detach from the Laboratory and exist independently in the Wizard World, his Shadow World body shouldn't pose any threat to his actual life.
Of course, just to be safe, it was best not to die in the Shadow World. The moment he sensed a lethal threat, he would return immediately.
'If the people outside the Experimental Capsule managed to open the hatch, that body in the Shadow World might already be dead. Or it might still be alive.'
'If the body is dead, will the Wizard Embryo Fragment drag me into another world? Maybe I'll be placed into a new body within the Shadow World, or maybe I'll lose access to it entirely.'
Li Ban analyzed the reasons behind his transmigration to other worlds.
'If the body is still alive... well, if it's survived this long, it probably won't be killed the second I return. I can go take a look. Yeah. If there's any danger, I'll just come back immediately.'
'I didn't dare ask Du An why the General's neural platform could connect to the Wizard World. Sigh. He probably wouldn't have told me anyway.'
After a brief hesitation, Li Ban decided to take a look at the Shadow World.
A brand-new world meant more resources and opportunities.
Closing his eyes, he began to absorb spiritual rhinoceros.
The cosmic Star River materialized in his mind's eye.
With practiced ease, Li Ban located the half black-and-white pearl that belonged to him.
'System, take me to the Shadow World.'
Since the Wizard Embryo Fragment never corrected him, he just kept referring to it as the system.
A split second later, his vision plunged into darkness.
He slowly opened his eyes, only to find that it was still pitch black.
First, Li Ban confirmed that he had successfully left the Wizard World.
He tried to move, but found he could still only control a few fingers.
'I still can't move. But with this familiar sensation, I can basically confirm it's the same body from my last visit to the Shadow World.'
Li Ban shifted his gaze left and right, surveying his surroundings.
He seemed to be in a cave. There was no direct lighting, but a faint glow from one side allowed him to barely make out his immediate surroundings.
Beneath him lay a bed of icy moss and dirt.
Lying on it was cold, damp, and thoroughly uncomfortable.
'Was the Experimental Capsule stolen and my body dumped in this cave?'
Since he didn't see anyone around or sense any immediate danger, Li Ban decided to stay a little longer.
Ideally, he wanted to get this body moving first and go outside to investigate.
'If only I had a neural control device right now,' Li Ban thought, beginning to miss the Laboratory's technology.
With that tech, as long as his mind was clear, he could force his body to move and work the stiffness out of his limbs.
Unfortunately, he was entirely on his own now.
Recalling the rehabilitation exercises Chen Dong had taught him, Li Ban began attempting small movements, fighting to regain control over his body.
Just as he was trying, he suddenly noticed the ambient light growing stronger as a flickering torchlight approached.
'Someone is coming.'
Li Ban instantly stopped moving and closed his eyes, feigning unconsciousness.
The sound of footsteps drew closer.
They were relatively light, but unsteady.
The torchlight penetrated his eyelids, washing his vision in a hazy red glow.
Someone must have thrust a torch near his face to get a better look.
Li Ban heard a hoarse female voice nearby. "He hasn't woken up, but he's not dead either."
A short distance away, another, more exhausted woman's voice replied.
"Nana, we're relocating tomorrow. Rather than leaving him here, we might as well kill him and burn the body. It's better than letting the scum from Trash City take him apart and sell his parts."
The woman named Nana fell silent for a moment before suddenly reaching out to touch Li Ban's chest.
"I just can't bear to part with him—such a perfectly intact native body. Ah She, if he wakes up before tomorrow morning... I want to bring him with us."
Ah She let out a heavy sigh, then turned away. "If you're willing to give up half your rations for him... do as you please."
The second set of footsteps faded away, but the torchlight remained fixed on Li Ban's face. The heat was comforting, warding off the cave's dampness.
Nana reached out again, her fingers tracing his nose and cheeks.
The skin of her fingertips was rough and heavily callused, much like the hard-labor slaves back in the Wizard World.
"What a handsome man. Please wake up. I really don't want to burn you."
Li Ban was completely taken aback.
During his last visit, he hadn't been able to understand a single word of this world's language.
Yet now, he understood them perfectly.
He could tell they were speaking the exact same language as before—it certainly wasn't the language of the Wizard World or the Ring World.
Had the system translated it for him?
The system gave no response.
The system hadn't translated anything last time, but it was doing so now. Li Ban suspected that even after he had left the Shadow World, the system had kept its focus here and cracked the local language.
Which meant Li Ban was currently in a stage where he could understand them, but couldn't speak the language himself.
Sensing Nana getting up to leave, Li Ban hastily fluttered his eyelids and let out a soft groan.
"Ah!" Li Ban's subtle movements successfully caught Nana's attention. She let out a cry of pleasant surprise and spun back around.
As the torchlight drew close once more, Li Ban shifted his eyes beneath his lids.
"Ah She!" Nana quickly darted away, calling out for her companion.
Her voice echoed throughout the cavern.
"He's awake! He's awake! Hurry and notify the Priest!"