Two figures snooped around the crevices of the place sneakily.
"This place is relatively safer. Even if we were to bump into beasts, we should be able to deal with them given our current strength." Even though Qiu Zhanyu's strength wasn't all that spectacular, he had quite a bit of street smarts to him.
A place such as this would be safer than most other places for sure.
Most of the time, martial artists would not bother to pass by the Manhuang Border, the main reason being that this place was pretty derelict, and did not possess any good items.
"Hais! I wonder what's wrong with Big Bro, man!" Jin Zhengu remarked in worry.
"Don't worry about it. I'm sure Big Bro will be fine. I can still sense his heartbeat. He should just be fighting in some mysterious state of consciousness or something right now." Qiu Zhanyu replied.
Actually, it was indeed as Qiu Zhanyu had guessed.
Deploying the skill of the Triple Lifetime Reincarnation, Lin Fan had entered a mysterious space to slay the consciousness that was left behind by the Boundless Future Buddha Lord.
If he were to carry this consciousness along with him, he would not be able to eat at ease or sleep in peace.
No matter what he did, he would not be able to feel settled at all.
However, the strength of this Boundless Future Buddha Lord was strong indeed. Just this single bit of consciousness that he had left behind on Lin Fan's body had him finding it extremely sticky to deal with. It was extraordinary indeed.
…
In the world outside, tens of days had already passed by.
Following a safe path, Qiu Zhanyu and Jin Zhengu had come straight to this Manhuang Border.
"Watch out! There seems to be some activity up ahead." At this moment, Qiu Zhanyu remarked.
Piggybacking Lin Fan, Qiu Zhanyu snuck around with Jin Zhengu and hid behind a boulder.
"Seems like those people have bumped into the beasts!" Jin Zhengu said.
"There are so many of those beasts. Those people are most probably dead meat!" Qiu Zhanyu replied.
"Should we save them?" Jin Zhengu asked. If this were in the past, they would definitely step in without hesitation given the current situation. However, with the state of affairs they were in right now, it had them thinking twice.
"No! Forget about saving. Let us just leave. Big Bro has entrusted his life to us. We must definitely not let him come to any harm!" Qiu Zhanyu replied.
He did not know when Big Bro was going to wake up. After all, it had been such a long time now.
"Look at the clothes of those people there. The imprint on it looks so familiar!" Jin Zhengu pointed over at the distance while saying.
When Qiu Zhanyu turned over, his face changed slightly.
"How could this be? How could there be people from the Maple Forest City here?" Qiu Zhanyu exclaimed out.
On the back of the clothes worn by these people was imprinted a maple leaf. This was a city that Qiu Zhanyu and Jin Zhengu had once lived in.
They were residents of a village under the city. However, the Ruler of the city had a benevolent heart, and was extremely nice to the commoners as well.
Back when Qiu Zhanyu and Jin Zhengu had yet to obtain their treasure, they had also received the grace from the Ruler.
"I'll go and save them. You stay with Big Bro." Jin Zhengu said. If it were anyone else, he would not have bothered about it. But, now that these people were related to him, Jin Zhengu felt that it would not be right for him to not go and save them.
Qiu Zhanyu pondered for a moment before nodding his head, "Alright! You head over then. But, if things are to get wrong, retreat immediately."
"Understood!" Jin Zhengu nodded his head, then took a stride forth and deployed his mystic skills toward the beasts.
For these royalties of the Maple Forest City who were in the disadvantaged state earlier on, the entire scene took a turn right after the True Immortal state powerful being, Jin Zhengu, entered the fray.
Feng Yanyun was a princess of the Maple Forest City with a pretty decent cultivation state as an Immemorial Ancient state middle level being.
At this moment, when she caught sight of Jin Zhengu who was swimming through the beasts and able to wipe out a huge patch of them with every single punch he threw, she revealed a look of joy.
It didn't take long before those beasts retreated.
Jin Zhengu did not say much as he turned around immediately. He wanted to leave the place with Qiu Zhanyu quickly.
"Please hold up." At this moment, Feng Yanyun finally spoke up. She had a nagging feeling that she shouldn't let someone as such leave just like this.
Jin Zhengu turned his head around and looked at Feng Yanyun, "I wonder if there's anything else, princess?"
Feng Yanyun was startled before revealing out a smile, "You know that I'm a princess?"
"I am also someone of the Maple Forest City. Therefore, it's only natural that I know of the attire of the royalty from the Maple Forest City." Jin Zhengu replied.
"Oh! So, you are one of our Maple Forest City's people? Then, why are you in such a rush to leave? You have just saved me along with everyone present here. You should return with us to the Maple Forest City so that I can thank you for this lifesaving favor properly." Feng Yanyun continued.
Jin Zhengu had something that mattered more to him right now, "I thank you for your intentions, princess. However, I have something important to attend to."
Feng Yanyun smiled with a reply. She had noticed that Jin Zhengu's sight had been fixated on the direction ahead of him for some time now. She then asked hurriedly, "Do you have companions there? Could they also be from the Maple Forest City?"
Feng Yanyun was a woman who looked exceptionally beautiful. Every single move and action she made brought with it a mesmerizing charm. For someone such as Jin Zhengu who had never once tasted the flavors of a woman, he naturally got a little shy in the face of it. Eventually, he nodded his head in reply.
"Yes." Jin Zhengu nodded his head. But, he did not want to linger any further, so he said, "Farewell, princess."
"Hold on!" How could Feng Yanyun let such a powerful being go just like that? She naturally had to try her best and retain him, "Please hold up! How about bringing me along to take a look? Furthermore, if there are any issues, I can render my assistance as well."
Eventually, Jin Zhengu could only bring the princess over to the side of Qiu Zhanyu.
When Qiu Zhanyu caught sight of Feng Yanyun, he put up his guard in his heart.
Even though this was the princess of the Maple Forest City, he had an incredibly huge responsibility right now. His Big Bro was still on his back at this moment. He must not let his guard down at all cost.
"What's wrong with him?" Feng Yanyun asked.
For a moment or so, Qiu Zhanyu and Jin Zhengu truly did not know how to reply. Eventually, they could only say, "Our Big Bro has been injured. We're taking him away from this place."
"How about following us back to the Maple Forest City? It will be safer along the way with us as well. Once we reach the Imperial City, I will definitely find the best doctors to try and give him treatment." Feng Yanyun suggested.
Qiu Zhanyu and Jin Zhengu exchanged glances with one another before going into a hushed discussion.
They felt that this was truly going to be the safer option. If they reached the Maple Forest City, they shouldn't be meeting any outsiders. At the same time, with the protection of the Imperial City, they would definitely feel more at ease.
"We'll have to trouble the princess then." Eventually, Qiu Zhanyu nodded his head in agreement.
Feng Yanyun glanced at the person behind Qiu Zhanyu's back as her eyes shone with a curious expression. By the looks of him on the surface, he did not seem like he was injured. However, his aura was extremely unstable. It was existent at times and totally invisible at others. This was strange.
On the carriage…
Qiu Zhanyu and Jin Zhengu guarded by the side of Lin Fan. No matter what they did, they would always ensure that there was one person beside him at least.
"Big Bro, when are you going to wake up?" When Qiu Zhanyu looked at Lin Fan, he could not help but mumble out to himself.
On another carriage…
"Princess, the background of those two is unknown. There's no need to rope them in, is there?" An elderly man asked.
Feng Yanyun's expression was grim right now as she lowered her head slightly, "Right now, the Maple Forest City is faced with problems internally as well as externally. If I can pull in two powerful beings, it would be extremely beneficial for the Maple Forest City as well."
"This time around, our negotiations for peace were rejected. I'm afraid things are only going to get more troublesome from now on." The elderly man said.
"Let's just do the best we can." Feng Yanyun sighed out, evidently fatigued. She then asked, "Can you tell what's wrong with the man they are carrying along?"
The elderly man shook his head, "No. He just seems like a living dead man. His aura is detectable at times, and non-existent at others. He seems to have taken a huge blow."
"However, both of them are sticking by his side loyally. Their natures should be pretty decent."
Feng Yanyun chuckled out, "I'm a good judge of character. They are both people of the Maple Forest City. I'm sure they will help us tide through this trial."
"I hope that's the case as well." The elderly man replied.