Stealing the Pen: Kirin's Primordial Lotus

"Run!"

By the time Wu Xie realized what was happening and tried to leave the stone platform, it was too late. The platform began to collapse in large sections. Wang Pangzi and Uncle Xu, who were near the edge of the platform, quickly realized what was happening after hearing Wu Xie's shouts and pulled the confused bodyguards back.

In the end, it was too late; the group of people fell from a point just a step away from safety.

The three bodyguards, worthy of being the top trainees cultivated by the Zhang and Hua families, quickly threw grappling hooks from their lower backs. The ropes spun rapidly, pulling the bodyguards and their respective protectors along with them. With a "bang," the ropes were pulled to the bottom.

The immense impact, combined with the weight of the two men, caused the bodyguard's arm to dislocate instantly.

Fortunately, they weren't far from the ground, and Wu Xie and the others, protected by the bodyguards, quickly jumped down from their arms.

The bodyguard's dislocated arm and the three pale faces lay in the empty field where rubble kept falling.

"Stay close to the rock wall to avoid being hit by falling rocks." Uncle Xu reacted quickly after landing, pulling Brother Chen close to the rock wall.

Following Uncle Xu's example, Wu Xie and Fatty Wang, along with their bodyguards, stayed close to the stone wall.

When the falling pebbles stopped, Uncle Xu looked at the three men's pale faces and said, "Bear with it. The conditions here are bad, and we don't have any painkillers for you."

Uncle Xu grabbed Brother Chen's dislocated arm, gave it a sharp tug and a slap, and heard a crisp click. "Wu Xie, see if you can find something lightweight and long nearby to fix Old Chen's arm in place."

Old Chen used his other, uninjured hand to support his newly healed arm. His already pale face was now even paler than someone who had been dead for days.

Wu Xie and Fatty Wang looked at the ground full of gravel and found a few dry branches with great difficulty, but the components to use for fixing them were not so easy to find, so they could only ask Fatty Wang to contribute one of his undergarments.

"Uncle Chen, we don't have any resources right now, so please don't mind!"

Wu Xie used the tree branches he found to wrap up Old Chen's dislocated but now restored arm, and then used strips of cloth torn from Wang Pangzi's white shirt to bind it up.

“We’ve survived even worse conditions than this. Things are much better now than they were back then. What’s there to mind? Survival is the most important thing.” Uncle Chen waved his good hand.

Uncle Xu had already quickly restored the dislocated arms of the other two as well.

"Mr. Xu!"

"Mr. Xu!"

"Mr. Xu!"

Can you hear me?

At this moment, Wu Xie and the others heard a repeated voice above their heads; it was the voice of Cheng Ye and Yang Shu.

"You all stay where you are and don't move. Mr. Cheng and I will find a way to go down and meet up with you!" Yang Shu's voice echoed in the open space.

"Be careful!" Uncle Xu gestured for Fatty Wang to reply to them.

Cheng Ye and Yang Shu were at a loss, seeing that there was nowhere to go down. After all, they had already come this far, and the people below were not fools. If they did not go down, the altar could not be activated, and the inability to activate the altar meant that their plan had failed.

They all understood what the failure of the plan meant, and they each had their own compelling reasons.

“Uncle Yang, there’s nowhere to go down around here. We used to just throw people down from there.” Cheng Ye looked at the completely broken stone platform and the edge where there was nowhere to step.

"Then secure the rope and we'll slide down." Yang Shu took out a bundle of rope from his backpack. The rope was thicker than a baby's arm, but its length was very limited.

"Uncle Yang, this rope isn't enough for us to get to the bottom." Cheng Ye looked at the rope in Yang Shu's hand and roughly gestured.

"What's there to be afraid of? I brought a few extra bundles. Tie them together, and they'll be long enough for us to reach the bottom. And judging from the sound they made when they went down, the height is just right, not too deep and not too shallow."

Yang Shu secured one end of the rope to a rock, carried it and the rope on his back, and after setting up his equipment, began to climb down.

Cheng Ye stood on top, ready to provide support at any time.

Wu Xie and the others stayed at the bottom, listening to the faint sounds coming from above. "Uncle Xu, they're coming down."

Butler Xu gathered everyone together and said softly, "Don't make any rash moves in a while. After those two come down, follow my instructions."

Everyone nodded in agreement. The three bodyguards, due to their injuries, could only rest in a corner for the time being. Wu Xie and Fatty Wang, on the other hand, used whatever materials they had on hand to make a handy weapon in case of an attack later.

Butler Xu glanced at Wu Xie as he watched the rope descend vertically and the person slowly appear before him.

Wu Xie immediately understood what Uncle Xu meant and quickly went forward to wait by the rope. "Uncle Yang, please slow down! This place is really not easy to step on."

Yang Shu's heart skipped a beat when he saw Wu Xie crouching by the rope, but he still forced himself to remain calm and slowly descended.

As Yang Shu stepped onto the ground, his hand holding the rope unconsciously swayed it. Cheng Ye, who was still in mid-air, felt the irregular swaying of the rope below and knew that this was Yang Shu's signal to him.

Cheng Ye took out a packet of white powder from his backpack and sprinkled it down until he was sure the powder was all used up before continuing to let it slide down.

The three bodyguards, whose dislocated joints had been reset and who were on high alert during the fall, dismissed the dust as just drowsiness.

"Old Chen, how are you feeling now?" Butler Xu turned around and saw the three of them sitting together with their eyes closed and breathing evenly. He assumed they were just too tired and had fallen asleep.

Soon, Butler Xu noticed something was wrong. There seemed to be a faint fishy smell in the air. "Wu Xie, Fatty, hurry..." Before Butler Xu could finish speaking, his body went limp and he collapsed to the ground.

Wu Xie and Fatty Wang turned around and saw Butler Xu lying on the ground. Just as Wu Xie was about to go forward, he felt his legs go weak and he also fell to the ground.

"You..." Wu Xie looked at the poplar tree that was still standing there, but before he could finish speaking, his head lolled to the side and he fainted.

"How come you haven't fallen down yet?" Yang Shu looked at Fatty Wang, who was still standing there, and went forward to check on him with some curiosity.

“Your medicine doesn’t work for me. I’ve spent a lot of time in that godforsaken place, so how could I not have received training on these drugs?” Fatty Wang looked at Cheng Ye, who had landed, and the poplar tree in front of him.

"Ha!" Yang Shu burst out laughing. "This is really hilarious!"

Yang Shu clapped his hands and laughed so hard he bent over. "Does your brother know that you were also one of those who plotted against him?"

"Of course he knows, and I'm the one who told him." Fatty Wang approached Yang Shu and Cheng Ye step by step. "Do you really think the person who made you do these things is some kind of good person?"

Fatty Wang stroked his chin thoughtfully and said, "Let me guess how they got you to agree."

Fatty Wang pointed at the poplar tree and said, "They promised that as long as you bring us here, they will make proper arrangements for your relatives and ensure that they can enjoy wealth and honor for the rest of their lives."

Fatty Wang pointed at Cheng Ye again, "Did they promise you they would resurrect your puppet woman?"

When Yang Shu and Cheng Ye saw the man accurately recite the conditions those people had agreed to, they felt the hairs on the back of their necks stand on end. "You...you...how did you know that?!"

"This is one of their usual tricks. You don't really think they'll let your family enjoy a life of luxury for the rest of their lives, do you? You don't really think they can bring a dead person back to life, do you?"

Fatty Wang looked at them mockingly and continued, "If they really had a way to resurrect the dead, why would they need elixirs of immortality?"

"You're talking nonsense!" Yang Shu already knew what Fatty Wang meant. After glancing at Cheng Ye, the two of them pulled out the big white dog legs from their backs and slashed at Fatty Wang.

Although Fatty Wang had received some drug training, he was still different from Yang Shu and Cheng Ye, who had taken the antidote. Moreover, although Fatty Wang was skilled, he couldn't fight two people at once, and soon multiple bloody marks appeared on his body.

"Cheng Ye, you hold him off, I'll go take care of the others." After withdrawing from the battle, Yang Shu walked towards the unconscious Wu Xie and the others.

Yang Shu first walked over to the three bodyguards, dragged them to the altar, and cut open their arteries with a knife, letting their blood fill the altar little by little.

Wang Pangzi watched as Yang Shu turned back and walked towards Wu Xie. "Get out of my way!" With his fearless spirit, Wang Pangzi traded his injuries for injuries, severely injuring Cheng Ye, and then dragged his wounded body towards Yang Shu.

The moment Yang Shu turned around, he felt a chill in his abdomen. Looking down, he saw Cheng Ye's big white dog leg.

"No one can harm Wu Xie under my nose. We promised each other that we would stay together!"

After Wang Pangzi poked the poplar tree, he could no longer hold on and knelt down. He slowly crawled to Wu Xie's side, dragging his bloodied body along the way.

Fatty Wang raised his hand and used his last bit of strength to wake Wu Xie.

When Wu Xie woke up and looked at Fatty Wang, tears instantly streamed down his face. He hugged Fatty Wang tightly, crying, "Fatty, Fatty! You, you, don't scare me! You're all I have left! You're all I have! You're all I have!"

Fatty Wang's hand trembled slightly, as if he wanted to gently pat Wu Xie's cheek, but when he saw the bloodstains on his hands, he hesitated. He didn't want the dirty blood to tarnish Wu Xie's clean, pale face.

Wu Xie... Wu Xie... Don't be afraid... I'm just... just a little tired... really so tired! Maybe... I have to go first... I miss Yun Cai so much... Wang Pangzi's voice was broken and intermittent, filled with undisguised exhaustion and sorrow.

His pupils gradually dilated, and his once clear and bright eyes slowly lost their luster, becoming cloudy and dull. However, despite this, a faint smile remained on his face, as if he had seen something beautiful.

Wu Xie... I see the clouds... She's over there... waiting for me there... I'm going to find her! Fatty Wang stretched out a blood-stained hand, pointing tremblingly into the distance, a relieved smile on his lips.

With a heart full of anguish, Wu Xie looked in the direction Wang Pangzi was pointing, and saw that it was the special moment that Cheng Ye had mentioned earlier—when the sun would shine golden light through the cracks in the grotto.

Wu Xie slowly raised his head, gazing upwards. Sure enough, beams of dazzling light pierced the darkness, like warm rays of hope, shining directly upon them. Wu Xie's tears had long since dried, leaving only endless sorrow and despair in his heart.