"Duan Rong, are you afraid?"
Yin Cong suddenly raised his head, the flickering candlelight dancing across his face.
His gaze fixed on Duan Rong, like a drowning man desperately seeking something to hold onto.
Duan Rong also looked at Yin Cong.
In the dim glow of the candle flame, Yin Cong’s pale face and fearful eyes sent a chill through Duan Rong’s heart.
In that moment of trance, he felt as if he had been transported into a horror movie from a past life...
In that horror movie, in the end, everyone died, except for the Demon King, who continued to roam the world in search of the next batch of prey...
And in it, there was someone whose expression was exactly the same as Yin Cong’s now.
Duan Rong understood what Yin Cong meant.
He sensed danger and wanted to form an alliance with him for warmth.
But Duan Rong really didn’t want to bring him along.
Because stupidity is incurable.
Duan Rong sighed, his eyelids drooping slightly as if to ease the awkward atmosphere, before raising his head again and saying to Yin Cong, "Yin Cong, don’t do anything, that’s your only chance to survive. You can’t beat them. Understand?"
Duan Rong felt that as long as Yin Cong didn’t make any foolish moves to provoke Pan Yong and Chen Hu, he should be safe for the time being.
Because, in Pan Yong and Chen Hu’s eyes, he was the lowest risk factor.
"Do nothing?" Yin Cong’s eyes flickered, pondering the meaning behind Duan Rong’s words.
"Yes," Duan Rong said. "As long as you don’t pose a threat to them, they won’t move against you for now."
"But, what if..."
Yin Cong seemed to want to say something else, but Duan Rong interrupted him directly.
"There’s no ’what if’! Even if there is, do you really think you can change anything?"
Duan Rong’s piercing eyes locked on Yin Cong.
Yin Cong’s spirit was immediately deflated. "Perhaps you’re right."
"You should rest early. I’m heading back now." Yin Cong got up and walked out of the cave.
Duan Rong watched Yin Cong’s retreating back, his gaze calm.
He knew Yin Cong had come to discuss a strategy with him. But Duan Rong only told him to do nothing, leaving Yin Cong surely disappointed.
However, Duan Rong himself was like a clay Buddha crossing the river—barely able to save himself. He couldn’t possibly carry Yin Cong, this ticking time bomb.
Yin Cong might unknowingly do something that would push Pan Yong and Chen Hu to target him.
Because the biggest flaw of a fool is not their foolishness, but that they always believe they are clever.
If he had the capacity, perhaps he would lend a hand. But right now, he was struggling to survive himself; where could he find the strength to care for this person?
Earlier, when Yin Cong asked if Duan Rong was scared, Duan Rong hadn’t answered.
Now that Yin Cong had left, Duan Rong knew deep down that his heart was indeed filled with fear, and everything around him felt dark and oppressive.
Unconsciously, a strong desire to escape had already risen within him.
He had to find a way to leave this place.
Shang Xiangyu was an extremely dangerous individual.
Duan Rong’s eyes grew serious, and he was confident in his assessment.
If necessary, he could even leave the Taiyi Sect... assume a new identity, and start anew...
But the Taiyi Sect had strict rules, and once inside the mountain, one could not leave freely.
Registered Disciples were managed by the Lower Courtyard, and to leave the mountain, they needed a permit from the Lower Courtyard; otherwise, they couldn’t even get past the mountain gate.
Duan Rong’s eyes flickered; this was not something to rush, but to tackle one step at a time.
Suddenly, he furrowed his brows, quickly gathered the bedding from the stone bed and some items from inside the cave, and swept them all into his arms. Striding out of the cave, he stood by the cliff, and forcefully threw the items he had gathered down into the abyss.
After a few crisp clanging sounds, it was a bamboo tube for drinking water, striking against the cliff walls. Big and small items had already sunk into the swirling white fog below.
Duan Rong returned to the cave and laid the beast skin blanket he had obtained from the Lower Courtyard onto the stone bed. Then he blew out the candle and sat cross-legged on the stone bed.
Within just a few breaths, Duan Rong had already calmed his mind, sinking into cultivation.
Cultivation, increasing one’s strength, was the fundamental basis for everything. It was also the strongest support for survival. As they say, "the unchanging supports the extraordinary." Without the "unchanging," all so-called surprising tricks and strategies were nothing but illusions.
Duan Rong cultivated diligently through the night and only lay down to sleep for two hours when dawn arrived.
After waking up, he washed up simply before heading to the Medicine Pavilion.
As Duan Rong walked along the edge of the cliff, he paused slightly when he passed by the Iron Chain near the Stone Workshop and Weapon Workshop.
In fact, he felt very oppressed inside and really wanted to talk to Xiao Yu and Ximen Kankan.
But after a bit of thought, Duan Rong decided against it.
He didn’t want to involve Xiao Yu and Ximen Kankan in the matters concerning Shang Xiangyu, and he didn’t think they could be of much help either.
In terms of Realm, neither of them had entered the True Qi Realm yet.
Moreover, like himself, they had only recently joined and were still quite clueless about many things.
At least he had been to the Medicine Pavilion, visited the Guanglu Institute, and received a Star Disc.
Those two had been confined in the Stone Workshop and Weapon Workshop, and they might not have even received a Star Disc yet. He recalled Yin Cong complaining that it was over a month before Pan Yong took him to get the Star Disc.
The situation might be the same for Xiao Yu and Ximen Kankan.
Duan Rong reached the Medicine Pavilion, pored over the accounts in that cramped room for two hours, and then left.
After five days...
Having worked for another two hours, Duan Rong was about to leave when Xia Honghua suddenly grabbed him at the curved counter.