Volume 8: The Bug House Chapter 5: Era
After regaining consciousness, Lin Shunan leaned forward and tried to grab the box, but was directly blown away by a strong force.
In mid-air, Lin Shunan saw a wooden sword coming through the air.
The dead branches on the ground quickly grew up, trying to block the wooden sword.
A dark light floats on the blade.
After a series of crackling sounds, the dead branches shattered, but the wooden sword continued to stab towards the box at the same speed.
Ren Qingning turned around, drew his sword, and swung it in the direction of the wooden sword.
Just before falling to the ground, Lin Shunan saw swords clashing with each other. He closed his eyes and tried his best to curl up his limbs, but the expected pain did not come.
He heard a soothing male voice: "It's okay, Dr. Lin."
Then he felt his feet touch solid ground.
He opened his tightly closed eyes and recognized Jiang You.
He was a little dazed.
"You, you guys are here..." He started to speak incoherently, "How did you get here?"
Jiang You loosened his grip on his collar and said, "After something like this, the Special Operations Division will of course be dispatched."
"Is that so..." Lin Shunan stood up straight. He opened his mouth and was about to say something, but he heard Jiang You say:
"Look at the section chiefs fighting. It's really fun to watch."
So he followed Jiang You's gaze and looked forward.
——
Ren Qingning saw Lin Shunan disappear in mid-air out of the corner of his eye. He frowned and was about to make a move when the wooden sword turned half a circle and attacked .
Her slender and powerful fingers grasped the hilt of the knife, her colorful skirt swayed, and her murderous intent was revealed.
Ren Qingning dodged Tang Butian's attack while asking, "How did you get here? Besides you, who else was there? Zhang Xianren? Or... who came out of seclusion?"
Tang Butian’s sword style is more dense.
The blade flickered in darkness.
Ren Qingning observed Tang Butian's expression, "Is it that Jiang You?"
Tang Butian still didn't answer.
All her mind was immersed in the battle.
Ren Qingning snorted.
The ground shook.
The dead branches grew wildly upwards, connecting into a patch and trapping Tang Butian and Ren Qingning.
At the beginning, one could still vaguely see the afterimages of the two fighting. As the dead branches became more and more tangled, it was impossible to detect the situation inside.
——
Seeing this, Lin Shunan asked Jiang You: "How is it now?"
Jiang You pushed up his glasses and looked carefully into the ball made of dead branches. He said, "It's still going on."
Lin Shunan couldn't help but ask again: "Chief Tang can win, right?"
"It's hard to say," Jiang You calculated one by one, "Master Ren, for example. He has practiced for decades longer than the section chief. He probably has also understood some of the inheritance in the box. This world is also under his control, so he has an absolute home advantage."
"Well, then..." Lin Shunan gritted his teeth, "Then do you want to go help her? I, I'm fine. He asked me to open the box, and now I'm useless..."
"I'm also a civilian." Jiang You glanced at Lin Shunan, then pointed at himself, "Have you ever seen a combatant look like this?"
"Ah? What should we do then?" Lin Shunan became even more anxious.
Crackling.
Crackling.
Lin Shunan turned his head.
The sound of dead branches breaking came from the ball.
Then, the broken dead branches spread out layer by layer.
Amidst the debris in the sky, Tang Butian and Ren Qingning stood in mid-air, confronting each other.
The sleeve of Tang Butian's right hand was broken, and blood gushed out from the wound so deep that the bone was visible, flowing through the gaps between his fingers onto the blade of the wooden sword.
Ren Qingning did not try his best.
She traded her injury for an opportunity, but could only barely escape the cage of dead branches.
But he had reservations.
I am worried about... Jiang You, who has never shown up...
Ren Qingning spoke, and his words confirmed her guess. He said, "Tang Butian, I don't want to be your enemy. Maybe soon, you will understand what I did."
Um, where is the figure?
Tang Butian lowered her eyes.
Ren Qingning thought she was persuaded, so he continued to persuade her: "Your talent and understanding are the best of this generation. I don't want to kill you. If you take Lin Shunan back, it won't be a wasted trip..."
She saw her shadow and the shadow of the box reflected in the black river, and ripples appeared on the water.
She thought about Jiang You’s words.
It's a projection.
Everything here is an illusory projection.
Ren Qingning realized something was wrong and stopped persuading her. He threatened, "Tang Butian, if you insist on making things difficult for me..."
The quaint characters on the wooden sword lit up.
The dense sword moves were directed towards Ren Qingning again.
Ren Qingning snorted lightly, and all the debris in the sky suddenly flew towards Tang Butian.
Tang Butian turned around when he was one meter away from Ren Qingning, and rushed down to the Black River. The sword light before wove a net, blocking all the debris of the dead branches.
Ren Qingning waved his finger, and a figure floated out from the river and went towards Tang Butian.
——
"We won." Jiang You said.
Lin Shunan watched the battle outside the bubble with bated breath. When he heard Jiang You's words, he didn't react for a moment. It was only after a few seconds that he realized what Jiang You said.
He asked uncertainly, "Did you win?"
The illusory figure crawled on Tang Butian's body, and the tip of the knife pierced the surface of the river. The river water suddenly rose several feet high and drowned her.
Ren Qingning fell from mid-air, turned around, looked at the position of Jiang You and Lin Shunan, and then walked towards them step by step.
Lin Shunan subconsciously took a step back, Jiang You held him back, and then asked: "Master Ren, have you been to that small world recently?"
"I've been there before we set out..." Lin Shunan suddenly realized something, "This place is because of him. Yes, he only found out that he had taken the box back from the mountain after he came back from the desert..."
"He went to the desert?" Jiang You asked.
"Yes."
"He really doesn't have enough understanding." Jiang You concluded.
Lin Shunan looked at Ren Qingning who was standing one meter in front of them and said, "He, he found us..."
Ren Qingning spoke up, "Jiang You, now that you're here, why are you still hiding?"
Lin Shunan turned his head to look at Jiang You.
The bubbles slowly dissipated.
After seeing Jiang You, Ren Qingning was obviously relieved and said, "It's really you."
Jiang You did not respond, but just looked quietly at the surging river.
Ren Qingning said: "You are also waiting for the change of heaven, right? Otherwise, with your identity, why would you disguise yourself as a human and hide in the Special Operations Department?"
"Don't talk nonsense. Special Operations Department is a stable job. If I had entered it a month or two earlier, I wouldn't have been rejected during the blind date."
Jiang You took a step forward and blocked Lin Shunan behind him. He said, "Brother Ren, now is the era of humans."
“Times change.”
Jiang You said calmly, "I earned it myself, Master Ren. I managed to survive in an era when demons and ghosts were rampant. Why do you think that the changes in the way of heaven will favor gods and demons instead of humans?"
"What do you mean?" Ren Qingning was a little confused.
"We humans are very capable. Everyone has practiced how to deal with the end of the world, such as climate change, virus infection, demon god's arrival, aliens, bang bang bang..." Jiang You counted slowly, "You can go to Qidian and look through the library. They are not a big deal."
