Chapter 1953: Chapter 1798: The Original (2)
Afterimage.
It was just an afterimage.
"How is that possible?"
Qian Lei’s face changed drastically. Just now, Song Yun’s speed had already reached a hundred meters per step, but when he dodged that strike just now, he was even faster.
You had to know, only early SSS-level could reach one hundred meters per step, and mid SSS-level was three hundred meters per step.
That instant burst of speed from Song Yun just now—although Qian Lei didn’t know exactly how fast it was, he had a feeling it should have reached mid SSS-level.
This was too terrifying!
Song Yun’s speed was comparable to mid SSS-level. This discovery immediately intimidated Qian Lei.
His heart lurched, and he didn’t dare fight Song Yun anymore. He put his scythe away and ran.
But just as he took one step, Song Yun appeared behind him.
When it came to speed, he was far too inferior.
The Throat Sealing Sword slashed down.
Swish.
Qian Lei’s right arm was cleanly severed, blood spraying out, the pain forcing a muffled groan from him.
He was battle-hardened and tough by nature. He didn’t spare a glance at the arm that had fallen to the ground; without turning his head, he continued to run forward.
"If you keep running, I’ll kill you."
Song Yun appeared in front of Qian Lei, blocking his path. The Throat Sealing Sword in his hand was pointed at Qian Lei, bright red blood dripping from the tip of the blade.
A shudder ran through Qian Lei’s heart, and he stopped in his tracks.
He looked at Song Yun and asked unwillingly, "Why? Why is your speed so fast? You’re clearly only mid SS-level, so why is your speed comparable to mid SSS-level?"
"Because I’m handsome."
Song Yun shamelessly tossed out the line, then pointed toward the camp and said, "Let’s go, back to camp."
Qian Lei gritted his teeth, tapped a few acupoints at his right shoulder with his left hand to staunch the bleeding, then walked toward the camp.
The situation was stronger than the man. He couldn’t beat Song Yun and could only obey.
Song Yun followed behind Qian Lei, escorting him.
He began to mull things over. During the fight just now, at the start he hadn’t gone all out.
Even so, his speed had already been extremely fast.
But he hadn’t expected Qian Lei to be able to track his movements; that had genuinely surprised him.
At the critical moment, he had fully unleashed the power of Phantom Step, doing three hundred meters in a single step and dodging Qian Lei’s attack.
Otherwise, he really might have been caught off guard.
He had originally thought that with Phantom Step, others wouldn’t be able to see his movements clearly, but he hadn’t expected an exception like Qian Lei.
This did serve as a wake-up call for him. In the past, he had assumed other people’s eyesight couldn’t keep up with his actions.
But now it seemed that wasn’t necessarily the case.
From what Qian Lei said just now, he had cultivated his eyes, which was why his vision surpassed that of ordinary people.
In that case, there were definitely others who had also cultivated their eyes.
"Looks like I’ll have to be more careful in the future. Still, if my speed reaches the extreme, even if others can see me, they still won’t be able to keep up. As long as I cultivate Phantom Step to its peak, there will be no enemies left for me in this world."
That was what Song Yun thought.
By this time, he and Qian Lei had already walked back to the camp.
He swept his gaze across and saw that everyone from the Shen Family had been killed by Dongfang Yun.
Including that woman Yang Na who had entered his tent; there was a bloody hole in her chest as well.
Although Song Yun had long known Dongfang Yun wasn’t someone to mess with, her decisiveness in killing still surprised him a little.
As if seeing through Song Yun’s thoughts, Dongfang Yun took the initiative to explain, "Since they wanted to kill me, naturally I wouldn’t let them live. And keeping Qian Lei alive for questioning is enough."
"I’m not accusing you of being cruel. Besides, these people deserved to die."
Song Yun chuckled, then changed the subject and asked, "But why were you so decisive in killing them, while yesterday, when facing those few rich brats, you didn’t kill anyone?"
Dongfang Yun said, "If it’s not a life-and-death situation, a Hermit must not casually kill mundane people."
Hearing this, Song Yun finally remembered that agreement of the Hermit Realm, which he had momentarily forgotten just now.
After answering, Dongfang Yun looked at Song Yun with a face full of suspicion and asked, "You’re not from the Hermit Realm?"
"No."
Song Yun shook his head.
Dongfang Yun frowned slightly, an expression of surprise flashing across her face. "You’re not a Hermit, and yet you’re this young and already this powerful. That’s really rare."
Song Yun pointed at Qian Lei. "Let’s stop chatting and ask Qian Lei first."
Dongfang Yun nodded, looked toward Qian Lei, and asked calmly, "What are you people of the Shen Family stationed here for?"
Qian Lei shuddered and said in a deep voice, "If I answer your questions, will you let me go?"
"You don’t have the right to choose. If you don’t answer, I’ll kill you right now."
Dongfang Yun’s tone was very calm, but Qian Lei could feel a trace of killing intent.
He glanced at Song Yun standing to the side with a faint smile on his face, and his heart thumped even harder.
He let out a long sigh and answered helplessly, "We’re stationed here to wait for the people searching for Taoyuan to show up."
So it really was like this.
Song Yun and Dongfang Yun both had their eyes light up. They’d already had this suspicion before, and now it was confirmed.
Dongfang Yun continued to ask, "There are rumors that the Shen Family obtained half a map. Is that true?"
Qian Lei said, "We did have it, but it was lost. And when we got the map back then, to cover it up, no one in the clan had time to fully copy it down. They only remembered this critical fork in the road, so the clan sent us to guard here."
Dongfang Yun said coldly, "This is an important junction, a place one must pass through to reach Taoyuan. You’re stationed here, so if anyone is searching for Taoyuan, they’re bound to pass this way. Looks like you planned to ambush, kill, and snatch the map."
Qian Lei stayed silent, which was tacit admission.
Dongfang Yun said, "Taoyuan is the wealth of the entire Huaxia Hermit World. If it can be found, it will definitely bring great opportunity. The Shen Family secretly ambushing and murdering people here for their own selfish gain is truly hateful."
Qian Lei argued, "If another clan got the map, I’m afraid they’d do the same thing."
"That’s not necessarily true. Although the Hermit Realm is full of conflict, at least when it comes to searching for Taoyuan, the major powers share the same goal."
Dongfang Yun gave a cold snort, then continued, "Has the half map the Shen Family lost been found now?"
"No." Qian Lei shook his head and said, "The clan has been searching. I recently received word that we should be able to find the map within half a year."
After he finished, Qian Lei looked at Dongfang Yun suspiciously, thinking, You’ve come all the way here; isn’t the map on you?
Just as Qian Lei was thinking this, Dongfang Yun turned her head toward Song Yun and asked bluntly, "Is the half map the Shen Family once obtained in your hands?"
Since Dongfang Yun and the Shen Family weren’t on the same side, Song Yun relaxed.
What’s more, he suspected that the one in Dongfang Yun’s hand was the other half of the map.
In that case, the two of them could combine their maps into a whole and find the entrance to Taoyuan.
He nodded to Dongfang Yun. "Yes, I do have half a map on me. I think the one in your hand should be the other half, right?"
"That’s right."
Dongfang Yun nodded, a trace of delight flashing in her eyes.
Clearly, she was also very pleased to learn that Song Yun had the other half of the map.
The two of them were very tacit in understanding. Ignoring Qian Lei’s presence, they both took out the maps on them.
Dongfang Yun’s was an old piece of sheepskin, but the map and handwriting on it were very clear.
And this handwriting, Song Yun recognized. It was exactly the same as the one in the manual; it was definitely Yin Xi’s Manual’s handwriting.
"Yours is the original!"
Looking at Dongfang Yun’s map, Song Yun felt an inexplicable sense of closeness.
"Yours is the original."
Hearing this, Dongfang Yun asked doubtfully, "How do you know it’s the original?"
Song Yun didn’t want to reveal anything about Yin Xi’s Manual. He placed his own printed map before Dongfang Yun and smiled. "Compare yours with my half map. Isn’t yours the original?"
Looking at the printed map in Song Yun’s hand, Dongfang Yun couldn’t help but frown. "Is this thing even real?"
"Of course it’s real."
Song Yun explained the Shen Family’s method of hiding the map. Dongfang Yun didn’t really understand computers—things like code, compiling, encryption keys... It all left her completely confused.
When Song Yun finished speaking, she looked at Qian Lei and asked, "Is that true?"
Qian Lei nodded. "I once heard my father-in-law mention it. That’s indeed the case."
Dongfang Yun sighed. "This really is quite a coincidence. If you weren’t a computer expert, I’m afraid that even if someone else got that Token, they’d never think the Shen Family would hide a map that way."
Comments