Chapter 137: The Mysterious Person

Shi Ran clenched her fists so tightly her nails almost dug into her flesh. She stared fixedly at the jade bottle in Qian Mian's hand, and finally, with difficulty, she nodded.

"Hurry!" she forced out the two words through clenched teeth.

Qian Mian immediately tilted the jade bottle, and a wisp of nearly translucent smoke curled upward; the strange fragrance instantly grew strong.

Shi Ran immediately felt a slight dizziness; she did not dare delay, instantly focusing her thoughts on her wrist. The Red Silk sensed her urgency and the strange fragrance, instantly becoming active and faintly rising.

"Bind it… restrain it…" Shi Ran desperately chanted in her mind, trying to convey her intent to that vicious foreign object.

The Red Silk hesitated, as if judging. Just as Shi Ran was about to despair, it moved! Several extremely thin red threads extended again, not to attack but, like flexible tentacles, swiftly twined around that wisp of smoke, drawing an invisible cage!

A strange sight occurred: the "Mirage Tower Incense" smoke that should have spread out was actually confined to an extremely small area, as if covered by a transparent lid, rolling and surging yet unable to dissipate! At Shi Ran and Qian Mian's location, the fragrance indeed grew much fainter, only occasionally a thread escaping, bringing a slight dizziness.

"Success!" Qian Mian's eyes flashed with surprise and disbelief; he gave Shi Ran a deep look, "Sis, you really are a treasure."

He said no more, quickly forming hand seals with both hands, guiding the bound Mirage Tower Incense to turn into an extremely thin, distorted-light region that enveloped the two of them.

"Restrain all your breath, follow me, tread lightly!" Qian Mian whispered.

The two moved like they were wrapped in a twisted gauze, cautiously advancing to the side-front.

Not long after, a squad of cultivators in silver-gray uniforms with metal faceguards covering mouth and nose silently passed about twenty zhang to their left. They moved in perfect coordination, eyes sharp as hawks, constantly scanning the surroundings, their compass-like magical devices emitting a faint glow.

They seemed unaware of Shi Ran and Qian Mian right nearby; only the leader paused slightly, looking doubtfully in their direction, the needle on his compass twitching a bit, but ultimately disrupted by the mist and the forest's inherent chaotic energy field, failing to lock on. He frowned, gave a hand signal, and the squad pressed forward, soon vanishing into the thick fog.

Only after the squad's aura had completely faded did Qian Mian relax, snapping his fingers. The Mirage Tower Incense bound by the Red Silk instantly lost cohesion, bursting outward, but was quickly diluted and dispersed by the mist.

The Red Silk also swooshed back to Shi Ran's wrist, seeming somewhat fatigued, its temperature dropping considerably.

Shi Ran was nearly exhausted, her back pressed against a cold tree trunk, gasping heavily, sweat beading her forehead. Two consecutive activations of the Red Silk under extreme conditions were a huge drain on her mind and body.

Qian Mian looked at her, his eyes complex; after a moment he suddenly smiled, "Looks like my employer really found the right person. Sis, this 'trouble,' if used well, is a tremendous asset."

Shi Ran lacked the strength to retort, merely closing her eyes wearily. A weapon? More like a demon that could turn on its master at any moment.

After a brief rest, Qian Mian said, "We can't delay any longer; we must pick up the pace. The appearance of Pure Dust Office personnel shows the blockade outside is stricter than imagined. We must reach the first temporary resting point before dark; there the mist follows a special pattern, making it relatively safe."

He once again led the way, his speed noticeably increased.

Shi Ran forced herself to keep up, but her doubts grew as thick as the surrounding mist. Qian Mian's knowledge of the Mist Forest far exceeded that of ordinary people, his methods uncanny, and he even possessed that obscure Mirage Tower Incense. Who exactly is his employer? Is he really just helping her and her master, or does he have another agenda?

Especially, he seems to have an unusually keen interest—and understanding—of the Red Silk's abilities.

Darkness like thick ink completely soaked the Mist Forest. The night here was not pure black but a more suffocating gloom mixed with eerie green phosphorescence and twisting shadows. The mist seemed to grow more active at night, slowly rolling and writhing as if alive, occasionally condensing into various bizarre fleeting shapes before silently dissipating.

Qian Mian's so-called "temporary resting point" was a huge hollow half-buried underground in a rotting tree. The interior was unexpectedly spacious, yet reeked of strong decayed wood and a sweetish fungal odor. The walls were coated with a thick layer of moss emitting a faint blue light, the sole illumination, casting the two faces in wavering light and shadow like ghosts.

The tree hollow's entrance was set up by Qian Mian with a few strange beast bones carved with runes into a simple concealment formation, which could somewhat block aura and sound, but inside one could still clearly hear the eerie noises from the mist outside—louder and more rampant than by day: the scraping of dragging heavy objects, the grating gnawing that sets teeth on edge, and a low, rhythmic throbbing like a giant heart beating.

Shi Ran leaned against the cold wall of the hollow, exhaustion washing over her like a tide, yet she dared not truly sleep. The Red Silk on her wrist was eerily quiet; its former activity and warmth had faded completely, turning icy cold, like a dead thin snake coiled there—this abnormal calm only made her more uneasy.

Qian Mian sat opposite, posture still relaxed, slowly wiping his pale, slender fingers with a piece of silk as if wiping away some unseen filth. His all-seeing eyes, under the blue moss light, seemed even deeper and unfathomable.

"Sis, you seem to have many questions?" Qian Mian suddenly spoke, his voice unusually clear in the cramped space, carrying a faint echo.

Shi Ran did not answer immediately, merely gazing at him in silence.

Qian Mian gave a light chuckle, unbothered, and continued, "No problem, we have plenty of time. At least, before we reach the next 'node,' we can… relax a bit. Of course, assuming you don't mind the occasional 'night sounds' coming in." As his words fell, a piercing, horrific shriek rang out from outside, then cut off abruptly, leaving only a bone‑chilling chewing noise.

Shi Ran's stomach clenched. She forced herself to calm, her voice hoarse from weakness and tension: "Your employer—who exactly is he?"

"A… mysterious person." Qian Mian answered without evasion, lifting his gaze to rest on Shi Ran's wrist—though her sleeve covered it, his sight seemed to pierce the fabric—"More precisely, it's a mysterious person who is very interested in you, and in this 'little thing' on you."

Indeed! Shi Ran's heart sank. "Does he want this Red Silk?"

"Want it? Maybe. But it's more likely he wants to 'study' it." Qian Mian tilted his head, as if admiring something interesting, "After all, such a peculiar, powerful, and growth‑capable symbiont is extremely rare. Moreover, it seems to have fused… some other qualities." His words carried deep meaning.

"Symbiont?" Shi Ran caught the unfamiliar term.

"Well, a fairly fitting name. It attaches to you, feeding on your spiritual power and emotions, while also feeding you strength and protecting your life. Weal and woe shared. Of course, as it stands now, its 'appetite' and 'temperament' seem hardly small." Qian Mian explained in a tone as flat as discussing the weather, yet it made Shi Ran feel a chill run through her.

She recalled the Red Silk devouring resentful spirits, whipping the strange snake, binding the Mirage Tower Incense—each episode of wild ecstasy and blood‑thirsty desire trying to drag her consciousness into the abyss.

"What… exactly is it? Where does it come from?" Shi Ran's voice trembled.

"That involves some ancient, even deliberately forgotten secrets." Qian Mian set down the silk, crossing his hands on his knees, "I don't know much, but as far as I know, the Red Silk is a gu poison, a restraint, and also a source of vitality."

"Vitality?" Shi Ran grew even more confused.

"The vitality that unlocks a certain truth and crosses the world of life and death." Qian Mian's eyes grew deep, "My employer believes only by fully understanding it can we prevent worse things from happening. So, you see, our goals temporarily align. I'll take you to meet my employer; you'll get the method to save your master, and my employer… will obtain the research sample and information he wants."

This explanation sounded plausible, yet Shi Ran's doubts did not lessen in the slightest. Qian Mian was too mysterious, and the employer's aim was certainly not merely "research." Moreover, she had a strong intuition that Qian Mian's own knowledge and interest in the Red Silk were no less than those of his mysterious employer.

"Why are you so familiar with the Mist Forest?" Shi Ran changed the question, "And that Mirage Tower Incense… what exactly are you?"

Qian Mian's smile deepened, tinged with playful mischief: "Sis, you sure have a lot of questions. I'm just a hired guide who does jobs for money. As for knowing this place… everyone has their own little secrets and backdoors, right? Just like you, sis, you also have some things you don't want to tell others." His gaze swept meaningfully over her wrist.

Shi Ran was speechless. She knew she likely couldn't get more definite information about him from Qian Mian.

The conversation fell into silence. The eerie sounds from outside the hollow seemed farther away, yet the omnipresent feeling of being watched grew stronger. The blue moss flickered intermittently.

Suddenly, the icy Red Silk on Shi Ran's wrist twitched without warning! Extremely faint, like the first weak beat after a heart stops.

Almost simultaneously, Qian Mian bolted upright, his eyes instantly sharpening like blades, gazing toward a certain direction outside the hollow.

"What's wrong?" Shi Ran immediately went on alert, suppressing her fear of the Red Silk's anomaly.

Qian Mian did not answer right away, instead listening intently; his overly pale face first showed an extremely grave expression, even… a hint of disbelief.

"Not right…" he muttered under his breath, "This frequency… this feeling… how could it appear here?"

"What is it then?" Shi Ran pressed, her sense of foreboding growing heavier. The Red Silk on her wrist twitched again, this time more clearly, even bringing a faint but sharp sting, as if something far away was summoning and resonating with it.

Qian Mian slowly turned his head to look at Shi Ran; his eyes became extremely complex, mixing surprise, scrutiny, and even a barely perceptible… fervor?

"Sis," his voice dropped to a whisper, as if afraid to disturb something, "just now… did you feel anything special? Especially… coming from your 'little treasure'?"

Shi Ran's heart jolted—he could actually sense such a minute anomaly in the Red Silk? She forced composure: "No. It's very quiet."

Qian Mian stared at her for a few seconds, then laughed—a smile devoid of warmth: "Really? Maybe I just felt wrong." But he obviously didn't believe it.

He rose, walked to the hollow's entrance, and peered through the gaps in the bone formation; the mist roiled, deep and unfathomable.

"Looks like our itinerary needs a slight change." Qian Mian turned his back to her, his voice returning to its usual lazy tone but with a hint of barely noticeable tension, "Originally the plan was to head straight to the next safe node, but now I've found what might be a closer, more interesting 'marker'."

"What do you mean?" Shi Ran also rose to her feet, alarm bells ringing in her mind.

"It means we might not need to take such a detour." Qian Mian turned around, his face bearing an unsettling excited smile, "Certain 'existences' in this forest seem to have been stirred—or rather, attracted awake. Their movement patterns happen to point out a shortcut for us. Of course, the risk will be greater as well."

He again turned his gaze to Shiran's wrist: "Your red thread seems to have a sense of the direction of that 'shortcut'..."

This was not a question, but a near-certain probe.

Shiran's heart pounded wildly. Change the route? Because of the red thread's anomaly? This is too eerie! What exactly has Qianmian sensed? Is this really a coincidence, or did he plan it all along? Is that so-called "shortcut" a path to life, or the entrance to another trap?

She felt like a pawn, manipulated by an invisible hand, step by step toward the unknown abyss. And the icy, throbbing red thread on her wrist was both her reliance and possibly the curse that would drive her to destruction.

"I refuse." Shiran said firmly, "Follow the original plan."

Qianmian sighed, spread his hands: "I'm afraid not, sis. On the original route, we just passed a squad of elite patrols from the Pure Dust Office; turning back now would be walking straight into a net. And from our current position, heading to that 'shortcut' entrance is actually the quickest way to escape their search range."

He stepped closer, his voice leaving no room for doubt: "We have no choice. Either we wait here until dawn and get discovered by the Pure Dust Office, or we follow me and gamble on that 'shortcut'. Believe me, my interest in keeping you alive to see your employer is greater than you imagine."