Chapter Forty: The Burrowing Mouse

Seeing that Li Xingyu did not immediately refuse, Chen Jingrou became even more enthusiastic, urging him to join them and suggesting they could visit the Carefree Sect together, listing all sorts of supposed benefits if he went. Her senior brother listened to her wild promises and exaggerated boasts; he wanted to stop her, but upon noticing Li Xingyu’s calm demeanor, he realized that Li Xingyu clearly didn’t believe a word she said and saw right through her little tricks. Thus, he refrained from interfering or exposing her. Remembering how troublesome and formidable this junior sister could be, he felt even less inclined to say anything. Besides, having Li Xingyu accompany them would make their journey safer. Though confident in his own abilities, he still felt uneasy knowing Li Xingyu might be from the mysterious Fengwu Group. From what he’d learned from his junior sister and the myriad sect, Li Xingyu was at least mid-innate level. Moreover, since he’d stayed at the myriad sect for nearly thirty days without incident, the sect likely believed his identity posed no threat.

Li Xingyu suddenly found Chen Jingrou’s urging reminiscent of his girlfriend’s early days, persuading him to travel together or begging him to take her along. This realization struck him with a wave of nostalgia, almost mistaking Chen Jingrou for his girlfriend, followed by a pang of heartache. Perhaps because of this, Li Xingyu finally decided to join them, as he had no pressing matters and his original plan was to travel across the Celestial Empire and even the planet Nast.

Perhaps it was Li Xingyu’s presence, or perhaps the Fengwu Group had already accomplished their goal and no longer needed to eliminate Chen Jingrou and her companions after meeting sect members. As a result, they encountered no danger while leaving the myriad sect’s territory and soon entered a remote, uninhabited mountain forest. Although they had been safe up to this point, upon entering the woods, their vigilance increased, for besides threats from the Fengwu Group, other dangers might lurk here.

Earlier, Li Xingyu had tentatively probed Chen Jingrou about what the Carefree Sect had obtained that attracted the Fengwu Group’s attention, leading to abduction and coercion. Chen Jingrou was clearly sensitive to this topic, instantly alert, prompting Li Xingyu to change the subject and never mention it again. With the more experienced Carefree Sect disciple present, he was even less inclined to pursue such information, nor did he inquire about how the Fengwu Group had ultimately succeeded. Thus, Li Xingyu spoke little along the way, leaving Chen Jingrou to chatter about her martial world experiences, guided occasionally by his questions. She spoke extensively about matters within the martial world, which her senior brother didn’t deem too secretive and so did not interrupt. Yet his gaze grew curious, wondering if this expert was unfamiliar with the martial world. Then he considered that perhaps Li Xingyu wasn’t from the Celestial Empire and simply didn’t know its martial affairs. Since Chen Jingrou knew little about lands beyond the empire, their conversation never touched on such topics, making it hard for him to determine Li Xingyu’s nationality.

As they walked, Li Xingyu suddenly halted, seeming to notice something. The others stopped as well, watching him. "There’s fighting ahead," he said after carefully listening. "From the sounds, it seems one person is fleeing, pursued by four others." He confirmed the disturbance and continued, "Let’s hide behind that giant boulder. Those people are all quite skilled."

Chen Jingrou’s senior brother quickly lay down, pressed his ear to the ground, listened intently, then stood and instructed the Carefree Sect disciples, "Do as Mister Li says—everyone, move quickly." Though his senses weren’t as keen as Li Xingyu’s, his experience and the sounds transmitted through the earth allowed him to reach the same conclusion.

Soon, everyone gathered behind the crescent-shaped boulder, which perfectly blocked the view of approaching travelers. Unless they looked carefully, it would be difficult to spot anyone hidden behind it. Everyone held their breath—even the usually restless Chen Jingrou fell silent, showing she understood the basics of caution, despite her lack of worldly experience.

Peering around the edge of the boulder, they saw five people approaching. The person in front carried a black bundle on his back, shaped like a rectangular box. He had several wounds bleeding profusely, and his flight had left him no time to bandage them; blood stained most of his body. When he reached the vicinity of the boulder, he seemed unable to run further—either from blood loss or exhaustion—so he stopped, leaning against another rock. The move revealed his experience, for with so many pursuers, he sought to avoid being attacked from both sides.

He hurriedly swallowed a pill and hastily bandaged a deep wound on his left shoulder; meanwhile, the four pursuers caught up. Seeing that he made no further attempt to escape, they didn’t attack immediately but spread out, half-surrounding him and blocking any routes for flight. As they focused their attention on him and, given the remoteness of the area, didn’t expect anyone else to be nearby, they failed to notice Li Xingyu’s group hiding behind the boulder.

With the escape routes secured, the leader of the four black-clad men stepped forward and spoke: "Burrowing Rat, our master agreed you would steal that item from the Carefree Sect and deliver it to the designated location within ten days, after which you’d receive the promised reward. Yet after obtaining it, you didn’t go to the agreed place; instead, you hid with the item and even tried to leave the Celestial Empire. When we found you, you killed seven of our men and fled. Do you have anything to say for yourself? If you hand over the item and come with me to see our master, perhaps he will consider sparing your life."

Hearing the leader call the man "Burrowing Rat," everyone behind the boulder, except Li Xingyu and Chen Jingrou, was startled. Upon hearing that he had stolen something from the Carefree Sect and failed to hand it over, instead trying to escape with it, they realized the bundle on his back likely contained the stolen item.

After listening to the black-clad man’s words, Chen Jingrou’s senior brother felt a surge of excitement followed by nervousness. He knew that when his master discovered the theft, careful examination of the traces led him to suspect the infamous Burrowing Rat. In a fury, he dispatched many disciples and his fellow senior brothers to search for him. Now, knowing the thief’s identity and that he indeed stole from the Carefree Sect, it was certain the item in the bundle was the missing treasure. This realization thrilled him, but seeing the four black-clad men surrounding the thief made him anxious. Three of them were roughly equal in rank but weaker in skill; with his own disciples, he might manage them. The trouble was the leader, whose abilities were unclear but likely surpassed his own—perhaps even reaching the innate realm.

"Ha! Ridiculous," the Burrowing Rat retorted. "Do you think I don’t know? If I handed this item to your master, would he let me live? Would he allow someone who knows he possesses this thing—especially the one who delivered it—to walk free? Don’t take me for a fool. Had I known what he wanted stolen, I’d never have accepted the job."

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