The Wusheng Sect's response could not be said to be slow.
But everything has its process and order.
The southern gate guards first shot the mine slaves, confirmed the identity of Wei Guan and the others, then checked the mine slaves' identities and numbers, and only then could determine if anyone had escaped and who the escapees were.
By the time the southern gate commander Zhao Bo figured all this out,
he sent people in pursuit on one hand,
and reported the situation to the Sect Leader Wuu Guangquan on the other.
At this moment,
Chen Jichuan had already taken Chen Shaohu, dashed past the Qingshi Road, changed their direction, and plunged into the dense woods of Centipede Mountain.
The ones sent to pursue them were all ordinary soldiers of the Wusheng Army. These men did not practice martial arts, their strength incomparable to the Black Armored Army or the Heavenly Wave Army. Having witnessed the tragic deaths of Wei Guan and the others, they dared not truly give chase.
They only put on a show to fool their superiors, making a pretense of effort.
A rare few who were reckless enough to seek merit by risking their lives were, after all, not skilled detectives. Lacking tracking abilities, they could only grope blindly in their efforts.
Under such circumstances,
Chen Jichuan and Chen Shaohu were like wild geese returning to the azure sky, like tigers entering the forest—
Long confined in a cage, they finally returned to nature!
...
"Fourth Brother."
"Are we—"
"Have we escaped?"
Chen Shaohu clung to Fourth Brother's back, gripping a knife in one hand. From the tension and exhilaration of escaping the Black Prison and fleeing Wusheng City, to the joy of diving into Centipede Mountain, he had moved through worry, daze, and confusion.
At this moment,
his heart was so overwhelmed that even he could not grasp what he felt.
There wasn't the boundless elation he had imagined.
Instead, from the depth of his heart, he only felt—
Unreal.
All this longing, this anxiety over so much time, and they had truly escaped just like that?!
"Of course we've escaped."
Chen Jichuan answered without hesitation.
He ran with all his might, his heart bursting with inexhaustible joy, feeling as though his body held endless energy. He could carry Chen Shaohu for ten days and nights without tiring.
Six years in the Black Prison.
The torment endured within was hard to put into words.
But compared to those years, the two-plus months since obtaining the Dao Fruit had been the real ordeal—
He knew that with enough time, he could achieve something. Yet he was trapped in the Black Prison, his life out of his hands. Every day was fraught with anxiety and trepidation.
This kind of agony.
This kind of torment.
Finally, it was swept away entirely.
How could Chen Jichuan not be overjoyed?
"Fourth Brother."
Chen Shaohu could feel Fourth Brother's happiness. From his position on Chen Jichuan's back, he could faintly see the grin stretching across his face—a carefree and radiant smile.
Just like back then.
When Fourth Brother acquired the Golden Finger, when he awakened his abnormal skill, it was the same smile that lit his face.
Gradually, Chen Shaohu also became infected by the joy.
Carried on Fourth Brother's back, swaying with each step, he alternated between looking up at the sky and down at the earth, shifting his gaze to flowers, thorns, trees, and mountain birds...
To all the beautiful sights absent in the Black Prison.
He didn't know when,
but a grin spread to his face as well, and a chuckling sound bubbled from his throat. The sound startled Chen Shaohu himself, who found it unpleasant to hear, but he couldn't stop it.
Until his laughter burst forth.
Finally, he felt joy welling from the bottom of his heart.
Thick.
Inescapable.
...
"I remember running beneath that sunset; that was my lost youth."
Chen Jichuan carried Chen Shaohu, running through Centipede Mountain, dashing past thorns and leaping over ravines. No matter how rugged or steep the terrain, nothing could halt him or stand in his way.
The setting sun.
Cast their shadows long across the ground.
"The taste of freedom!"
Chen Jichuan had never run so freely before.
Even when in the Great Yann World,
his worries about reality, his concerns about his situation, had always weighed on his heart, never allowing him true release.
Now.
Since they had escaped the Black Prison and Wusheng City at midday,
for the first time, Chen Jichuan's heart felt unrestrained.
He carried Chen Shaohu and plunged into the mountains.
At first, Chen Jichuan didn't even recognize where they were.
Not until they had crossed two mountain ridges and seen a grove of fir trees did he suddenly remember—
Years ago, their family had been marched from the Yongfeng County town to somewhere near Centipede Mountain. And as they walked, they had arrived at the Black Prison.
Now as he thought about it,
the entrance to the Black Prison was in Centipede Mountain. Their escape this time had also led them back to Centipede Mountain.
"The Black Prison stretches for at least a thousand miles in every direction."
"Though it sees no sunlight, it cannot possibly be entirely below Centipede Mountain. And that city gate—"
Chen Jichuan recalled.
He speculated that the 'Black Prison' was likely an otherworldly space, akin to a paradise or celestial grotto, with its entrance simply located in Centipede Mountain.
With this realization,
Chen Jichuan also grew more uncertain about the outside world, about the current state of Great Chu and its transformations: "Six years."
Six whole years cut off from the world.
The snippets he had heard were incomplete, and much more was still unknown.
It left Chen Jichuan feeling both apprehensive and expectant.
...
In Centipede Mountain,
now aware of their position,
Chen Jichuan was no longer aimless.
"The Wusheng Sect holds the counties of Lipu, Yongfeng, and Muhua. From Centipede Mountain westward is Muhua County, and southward is Lipu County. Neither can be our destination. Further west are Lingui and Quanyi counties, territories of the Golden Sun Sect. The Wusheng and Golden Sun Sects are allied, so we cannot go there either."
That leaves
only the northern counties of Jianling and Liding.
The latter had likely been taken by the Wusheng Sect already, so Chen Jichuan wouldn't take the risk.
The former, Jianling County, was said to be under fierce attack from the Golden Sun Sect. However, due to delays in communication, Wei Guan and the others couldn't provide detailed information.
This meant Chen Jichuan hadn't overheard much about it either.
"Amidst the chaos of war,"
"Old Fifth and I can journey through Centipede Mountain to Jianling County, and from there head further north to Yangshuo County."
Yangshuo County was the domain of the Lishui Gang.
Logically,
the enmity between the Lishui Gang and Chen Jichuan, Chen Shaohu surpassed even that with the Wusheng Sect. One had to consider that the Lishui Gang were the ones who initially controlled Yongfeng and the Black Prison. In other words, it was the Lishui Gang who had slaughtered Chen Jichuan's father, brothers, uncles, and cousins—his entire family.