Chapter 475: Mingzhu Bay

Five giants, each rushing toward a different direction.

Although the space was vast and there were many directions, those five giants were too large; each one occupied a patch of space, looking as if they intended to fill every direction.

"Run—"

Ling Baoyu made the decision almost without a second thought.

After testing them many times, Ling Baoyu already knew that these giants did not rely on sight or hearing to capture enemies; the only thing that mattered was not to get close to them, yet they were impossible to deal with, so she could not afford to hide her figure or the sound of her footsteps, and she shouted: "Aqin, grab onto me—"

There was only running, running far away from it!

Aqin had previously been swearing that she wanted to fight the giants, but when the monster closed in, she was the first to panic; her body leaned toward the fire element and was not on the same dimensional level as physical matter, so she actually could not touch the White Fox Sword Image, and previously the White Fox had needed to turn itself ethereal; at this moment, she forgot this point and threw herself directly at the White Fox, only to pass right through it.

Fortunately, she always carried a Mirror with her; she took it out in a flurry, her body shrank, and she turned into a reflection, retreating into the Mirror.

The White Fox held the Lamp in its mouth, carried the Mirror on its back, and sprinted forward.

The Mirror was facing backward, and with Aqin hiding inside, she could directly observe the situation behind them and report back:

"There's a big one chasing us, it's okay, it's okay, it's not coming for us, the direction is off..."

"Oh no, oh no! It corrected its course, it's coming this way! It might have discovered us!"

"It's coming, it's coming!"

"Ling Gugu, can you go any faster?"

She was screaming and shouting, and Ling Baoyu felt her heart tremble from the noise; she said irritably: "You girl, be quiet! It won't be too late to yell when it's right behind my backside! Or why don't you carry me instead?"

Unexpectedly, Aqin said: "Alright, I'll carry you. How about we go to Mingzhu Bay outside the Zhugong? The water surface there is like a mirror, and once we get there, it will be my domain. Once we hit the water, we can reach the opposite shore in a flash, land directly at Haiqiao City, or turn back and split into seventy or eighty to fight it one-on-one."

Mingzhu Bay was located between Zibeique and the Zhugong; it was the largest body of water in Baiyujing, with a large lake in the middle and water systems extending in all directions, one of which flowed toward Haiqiao City, marking the edge of Baiyujing. This river bay was not woven from Cloud Silk; rather, the Cloud Silk was first woven into the lake bottom and riverbed, and then the water system was formed by storing rain and snow from the sky, making it the largest "external object" in Baiyujing. Moreover, the Shadow did not penetrate deep underwater, and the black Qi on that lake surface was thinner than elsewhere.

Aqin thought of Mingzhu Bay and felt she was very clever: she could maneuver freely in the middle of the Mirror, and once they entered the water, it wouldn't matter if the giant were ten times larger; at the very least, they could protect themselves. She stated this method and waited excitedly for Ling Baoyu's reply.

Ling Baoyu, however, was unexpectedly silent; she did not answer, only burying her head and running forward.

Aqin thought she hadn't heard clearly and said again: "Gugu, Mingzhu Bay can..."

Ling Baoyu suddenly said: "Aqin, you stayed hidden in Qianqiu Tower that day, didn't you? You don't know what happened outside?"

Aqin said: "What happened..."

Then she realized; it must have been about the day of the destruction.

Ling Baoyu said in a flat voice: "I don't want to go to Mingzhu Bay. Do you know that we fought until the very last moment at Mingzhu Bay? Our remaining companions fought bloodily there, and in the end..."

"Ah—"

A miserable scream came from the depths of the Shadow.

Ling Baoyu's scalp went numb instantly—this scream was actually a human voice!

Giants would not make human sounds.

The sound did not seem far away; it was also within the Yutang area.

Besides herself and Aqin, there was actually someone else in Yutang, and they had let out such a tragic, earth-shattering scream.

Was it Tang Zhao?

Although it didn't sound like him at all, Ling Baoyu was somewhat flustered, fearing that one-in-a-million chance; she looked back and saw a pitch-black mass in the distance, unable to distinguish it for a moment, and said: "Aqin, what happened over there?"

Aqin's perspective was fixed backward, so she could see more clearly; she said in a panic: "Over there... the giant in another direction seems to have grabbed a person and then ate him! I can't see clearly who it is, could it be Brother Tang? Could it be anyone else besides him?"

This reminded Ling Baoyu that there really were other people in this city! Not to mention Black Widow, weren't Meng Huazhou and the other two going their own way, wandering alone in Baiyujing, and still missing?

Could it be that they had stumbled into Yutang and happened to be caught by a giant?

That would be fine; as long as it wasn't Tang Zhao.

Although she couldn't tell which one of them had let out that scream, she wouldn't feel heartache if any of those three died; it would be best if it were Meng Huazhou.

Ling Baoyu made up her mind, turned her head, and slammed on the brakes—

In front was a large Hall, and at the entrance of the Hall, there was actually black smoke too!

It was as if the Hall itself had turned into a giant, exhaling the Shadow.

The black smoke grew thicker, and in no time at all, another identical giant crawled out from the Hall, hovering in front like a mountain.

"The road... is blocked!"

At the same time, to the side, and to the side of that, one by one, ugly, mountain-like giants emerged from the palaces in Yutang; in an instant, the palace complex turned into a forest of giants.

Those giants were so tall that each one standing there seemed to touch the sky, and each step they took on the ground seemed capable of crushing a giant pit. If such a group of giant creatures stood on the earth, every move would trigger vibrations in the ground, and it would surely sound like thunder. But in such a dark night, everything was very quiet; they seemed to be in another world, not interacting with reality, with only the massive Shadow pressing down on everything in the world.

These scenes were like a thriller with the mute button pressed—bizarre, deathly silent, and no less terrifying.

Being in the midst of it, although she hadn't been caught by any giant yet, she felt as if she were surrounded by a massive net, with roads in all directions sealed off, unable to fly away; Ling Baoyu couldn't help but feel suffocated.

Is this a dead end?

Although her experience was not as deep as her peers, she was a true Sword Hero; at this moment, she was surprisingly calm and said: "Aqin, I have a plan."

Aqin had also been panicking, and upon hearing this, she was overjoyed: "As expected of Gugu, you still have a plan at a time like this! Tell me, tell me!"

Ling Baoyu said: "Between the two of us, you don't attract attention, while I am very conspicuous. My concealment techniques cannot deceive them; no matter how careful I am, it is hard to survive. It would be better if you hide here, and I will go and lure them away..."

The more Aqin heard, the more wrong it sounded, and she finally couldn't help but shout: "Gugu?! I thought you had some brilliant strategy? Just this? You are a Sword Hero, I am a Sword Guest; with a great enemy before us, we should be fighting side by side, so why are you only thinking of sacrificing one to save the other? Why do I need you to save me? If I only wanted to survive, wouldn't it be better to stay in Qianqiu Tower? Why did I come to Yutang with you? One reason was to see if there was any way to save Baiyujing. But that wasn't the most important thing; I knew the hope was slim, and I was already prepared not to return. The reason I had to come is because it was so hard to reunite with Gugu, and I never want to be separated again! I want to fight side by side with Gugu!"

Her voice turned sorrowful, flowing with emotions as fine as falling rain: "Now Gugu wants me to leave alone? What would I go back for? To be a shadow in the Mirror day after day, to patrol the Qianqiu Tower floor by floor, guarding such a cold, tall tower? Haven't I lived through enough of those days? It's been over a hundred years! If I hadn't turned into a reflection, a whole lifetime would have passed! I don't like lonely days. Even if we are in mortal danger today, I want to follow Gugu. At the very last moment, I don't want to be all alone!"

She spoke with sincerity, and Ling Baoyu felt her heart heave; she forcibly suppressed her agitation and laughed: "Yo, you're brave now? Not like when you were screaming in terror just a moment ago?"

If this place were only a temporary difficulty and Aqin still had a bright future and the prime of her life ahead, Ling Baoyu would certainly not allow her to be so willful and would insist on finding a way to send her out. But Aqin was right; outside there was only endless darkness and long, lonely years, and with Aqin in this state, leaving Baiyujing alone meant she couldn't even live in the Human World, so why force her to leave?

Then let's stay together.

Of course, staying didn't mean waiting for death; Aqin's decision actually gave Ling Baoyu more to think about and plan for. Although she didn't fear death, she couldn't just sit and wait for it; at the very least, she had to fight until the last moment.

This time she truly had a plan, and she said: "Let's go, let's first enter the Embrace Jade Pavilion, then go to Wenxin Hall."

Aqin was startled and said: "Go into the Hall? Ah, that's right! Now that the giants in those halls have all come out to look for us, the original Halls have become the darkest place under the lamp; it's the safest time! We can hide inside and maneuver. As expected of Gugu, this is a good idea!"

Ling Baoyu then said calmly: "We can still hide for a long time by weaving through them. But since it has come to this, just as you said, there is no point in living a base existence; it is better to fight."

When she mentioned fighting, she did not raise her voice, but there was a clanging, metallic sound in her tone.

Aqin looked at her and also calmed down a lot; her courage was actually not as great as Ling Baoyu's, but with Ling Baoyu as her support, she was not panicked in the slightest.

"I said entering the hall was not to hide, but to obtain the Ruyi Thread of the palace. This is what we decided to take from the very beginning; once we have it, we will have a weapon for offense. After we get it, we will prioritize breaking out. Then we will lure them out to Mingzhu Bay."

Aqin asked in surprise: "Mingzhu Bay? Didn't Auntie say she didn't want to go there?"

Ling Baoyu said: "I didn't want to go because there are bad memories there. But if one truly holds the determination to fight a desperate battle, even to the point of risking life and death until the very last moment, then going there is most appropriate. Just as we did before."

As she spoke, her gaze pierced through layers of thick fog, and it was as if she also pierced through time, seeing that day, by the side of that bay.

Aqin was suddenly somewhat awestruck and asked: "What exactly happened at Mingzhu Bay?"

Ling Baoyu answered very calmly: "It was nothing much. That day we fought while retreating, retreating until we were before Mingzhu Bay. We only needed to take one more step to be out of Baiyujing. The palace originally told us all to leave, but we were unwilling to abandon our homeland and go. In the end, everyone chose their own Shelter to serve as their own coffin, and together we sank into Mingzhu Bay."

Aqin was dumbfounded, staring straight at the white fox, and said: "Then you... you..."

Ling Baoyu smiled slightly: "Yes, I should still be sinking in the lake water right now."