Like a Ray in My Night (Part 4)

693 A Little More Time To Escape

Mu Qing was familiar enough with the underground palace. His Master might have kept him from knowing the most important details of his plan because he didn't trust him but he'd never keep useless people around. Since he had pulled him to his side, he would make use of him in some way. Thanks to that, he now didn't have any trouble navigating the winding corridors of the building.

Taking a few turns and rushing up a flight of stairs before making his way through another maze of hallways, Mu Qing finally rushed into a corridor that stretched far into the darkness. He knew that it basically led from one side of the building to the other.

It was a bad spot to be chased in because there was nowhere to hide either but he had pulled further away from Lu Wei since he had a destination in mind while the other disciple could only follow blindly. If not for the blood he was losing on the way which left traces everywhere, he might have managed to lose him already.

The most important part was that there were several arrays hidden in this corridor and the ones branching off to the sides. If he made it there with enough of a lead, he could be out of the underground palace. Even more importantly: If he made it to a destination like the cave further in the northwest, he could rush to yet another array and completely lose Lu Wei. Then, he could actually save his own life.

Mu Qing thought of the person who was still waiting to reunite with him and sped up once again. He knew he couldn't keep running this fast for much longer. Thankfully, a nascent soul stage cultivator wasn't that easy to kill so he still lived but as he lost more and more blood and kept moving fast, he used up his limited physical energy.

He still had some pills to heal himself but ... right now really wasn't the moment to search for any of them. He first had to lose Lu Wei before he could try. Especially so because he didn't know if Song Yu Zheng and Wen Xiang would join the hunt for him soon. He might have injured the latter but Mu Qing would never assume that he had wounded him gravely. That attack had been aimed well in that it was close enough to his heart to scare Song Yu Zheng.

That guy was the type who wanted their demonic faction to stick closer together but still trusted nobody because he knew others weren't the same. The only two people of their generation he'd let get close were Wen Xiang and Lu Wei. He trusted those two with his life and he would never take theirs lightly either. Seeing Wen Xiang being injured that way, he would prioritize saving his friend over killing the traitor. He just was that kind of person. But when he realized that Wen Xiang wasn't in mortal danger ... that previous fear would turn into fury and he'd put all of that restless energy into paying the person back.

Mu Qing couldn't let him catch up or he'd really be done for. Song Yu Zheng wasn't an easy opponent in the first place. Having to fight him while he was in that state of mind when he was hell-bent on getting revenge for such a slight was asking for another beating.

He finally reached the turn he had been looking for and glanced over his shoulder. He could hear Lu Wei following behind but he had pulled far enough ahead that he could only vaguely see his shadow. He should have just entered the long corridor and was now looking for his traces again. Thankfully, he had been running close to the wall so some of the blood that had made its way to the ground might seem like he had entered any of the corridors branching off to the side which would give him a few additional moments while Lu Wei figured things out.

Mu Qing didn't dare to slow down at all. He rushed to the array he wanted to use as fast as he could while minimizing the sounds he made. Maybe by now, it wasn't as important anymore though. The explosion before had indeed caused the other disciples to swarm out. They should be looking for the cause and the perpetrator all over now, causing more sounds from all directions which might interfere with Lu Wei's ability to tell where he was. His being able to escape his pursuit for so long was likely due to this.

As soon as he reached the array, Mu Qing leaped forward and imbued the needed spiritual energy. The additional drain made him tremble but he gritted his teeth and rushed out as soon as he found himself in the cave system. He needed to reach the next array as fast as he could. Only in this way could he make it out of this predicament.

The caverns were less easy to traverse for him. The ground was uneven and so were the walls. On the bright side, this also meant that any blood he lost wouldn't be as obvious so if Lu Wei managed to follow, he'd have to waste more time searching for him.

Mu Qing smiled to himself and ducked out of the cave he had been in, rounding a wall into one of the other ones. The spirit-gathering array below had been deactivated by the disciples of the Teng Yong Sect but thankfully, the ones at the surface were still alright. He made his way to the one he had thought about, the one which would bring him closer to the side of the border region facing the righteous faction.

Finally reaching the array, he stopped. If Lu Wei followed him ... he didn't want to pull others into this. Especially not at this point in time. No, if he left, it would be better to lure Lu Wei somewhere where they wouldn't disturb anyone else. And honestly, he might know exactly the right place for that.

Thinking of this, Mu Qing finally went to find another array, hoping that Lu Wei would indeed follow him there. Anyway, he should have enough time to use a pill to heal himself. Then, he'd have the energy to face the other person. Maybe he'd even get extremely lucky and have the time to prepare something else to greet him.