Chapter 39: Block the Exit, Let’s Go

The scene shifted back to near the exit of the ruins.

Luo Chen sat cross-legged on the ground, slowly exhaling a cloud of stale air.

His breath had already stabilized.

He opened his eyes and looked toward a short distance away—

Luo Yuanshan stood with his back to him, his posture steady.

Like a silent sentinel, he remained motionless, even as occasional strange noises arose.

He merely tilted his head slightly, then returned to his original stance.

“So obedient, really?”

Luo Chen murmured to himself, a trace of suspicion flashing in his eyes.

In truth, ever since he saw Luo Yuanshan, he hadn’t let down his guard for a moment.

Luo Yuanshan’s explanations sounded plausible enough, but something still didn’t sit right with him.

So he deliberately maintained the appearance of being heavily injured.

He first reprimanded Luo Yuanshan, then assigned him the role of protector, and secretly observed every action the man took.

Only, even up to now, Luo Yuanshan hadn’t made any suspicious moves.

This lowered Luo Chen’s suspicion… only slightly.

He still needed to keep watching him.

Just then, a set of hurried footsteps came from the direction of the ruin’s exit.

Luo Chen lifted his eyes.

A gaunt figure staggered toward him, covered in blood, face ghost-white.

“Luo Yan?”

Luo Chen furrowed his brow.

He honestly hadn’t expected this guy to escape from Luo Jiutian’s hands.

Just as he was about to say something, Luo Yuanshan, who had been standing still until now, suddenly dashed forward toward the severely injured Luo Yan.

“Wow, Skinny Ghost, you’re still alive?”

“Eh, eh, eh—what are you trying to do!?”

Luo Yan screamed, but before he could finish, a heavy punch landed squarely in his chest.

Bang!

Luo Yan flew backwards, smashing through a tree before rolling to a stop.

“Cough, cough cough cough!” he spat blood, his face even paler than before.

“Big guy, are you out of your mind?!”

But Luo Yuanshan didn’t wait for him to finish speaking.

He pursued with two more punches, making Luo Yan tumble three full times, looking utterly miserable.

“Stop, stop, stop!”

Luo Chen’s expression changed drastically.

He immediately shouted, “Luo Yuanshan, what the hell are you doing?!”

Luo Yuanshan’s fist was about to strike again, but upon hearing the order, his motion froze.

He retracted his fist, stood up, and obediently turned to look at Luo Chen.

His simple, honest face was full of bewilderment.

“Young Master, didn’t you say yourself—hit whoever approaches?”

Luo Chen: “?”

Luo Yan: “……”

Luo Yan took a deep breath, trying to regulate his breathing, not allowing himself to get flustered.

Stay calm.

Don’t argue.

Even if your teammate is stupid, you still cover for him.

Big body, small brain—never argue with an idiot.

Luo Chen forcibly suppressed the urge to stab Luo Yuanshan through, then turned his gaze toward Luo Yan, speaking coolly:

“Tell me… how did you escape?”

Luo Yan wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, gritted his teeth, and struggled to stand.

“Reporting to Young Master,” he said solemnly, pointing at Luo Yuanshan.

“At that moment, I covered his retreat and had no choice but to burn my essence blood in a desperate fight against Luo Jiutian.”

He retracted his hand and continued, “But within less than ten breaths, I was already at the brink of collapse. Thinking my end was inevitable, and yet—”

“Yet?”

“Luo Jiutian suddenly stepped into thin air, and thud—he fell into a trap.”

“Ah?”

Luo Yan ignored the stunned look on Luo Chen’s face and went on by himself.

“Then, that beast-head phantom suddenly appeared from who knows where, jumped right into the trap, and followed him down.

Seeing this, I dared not linger any longer, and took the opportunity to escape, leaving the stone chamber.”

Luo Chen remained silent after hearing this.

He just quietly stared at Luo Yan.

After a while, he finally spoke:
“Such a bizarre series of events… why should I believe you?”

Luo Yan cupped his hands, his gaze firm.

“Every word I say is the truth. If I lie, I’m willing to accept any punishment.”

Luo Chen didn’t respond.

His gaze stayed fixed on Luo Yan’s face.

Of course, he wouldn’t believe so easily.

But the fact was, for the time being, he couldn’t find any fault in the story.

The exhaustion after burning essence blood…

He himself had just experienced that a short while ago.

It was obvious at a glance and impossible to fake.

And the fact that Luo Jiutian had yet to appear somehow corroborated the trap incident.

As for the beast-head phantom…

It most likely dissipated briefly after his escape, only to re-condense in the chamber and target Luo Jiutian.

Everything seemed logical… yet something still felt off.

Luo Chen frowned, his mental CPU working at high speed.

“Young Master!”

Seeing this, Luo Yuanshan hurriedly spoke up, not giving him time to think too deeply:

“The secret realm is about to close. Let’s seize the last chance to snatch the Essence-Refining Persimmons at the center!”

Luo Chen, who had been deep in thought, was interrupted by that shout, and his expression darkened.

But when he heard Luo Yuanshan’s suggestion, he froze.

“Wait…”

Luo Chen squinted, recalling the sequence of events.

“When we went to look for Li Daming before, the Li family and Xiao family were locked in a stalemate over the Essence-Refining Persimmons.

Later, our Luo family and the Su family stormed in, broke up their fight, and because we were in pursuit of Luo Jiutian, we exited the central area again.”

At this, Luo Yuanshan’s expression suddenly brightened as if enlightened:
“So that means—”

“If the Li and Xiao families are still hot-headed, they might be fighting again by now.”
Luo Chen smirked crookedly.

“If we charge back in, we might just reap the benefits.”

“Brilliant, Young Master!”

Luo Yuanshan immediately gave a thumbs-up, full of admiration.

Luo Chen raised his chin, clearly enjoying the flattery.

Just at that moment, Luo Yan interjected:

“But what if the Li and Xiao families reconciled and split the treasure evenly? Wouldn’t we be running there for nothing?”

Luo Chen’s expression stiffened.

Before he could retort, Luo Yan added another point:

“And… what if Luo Jiutian took the opportunity to make a sneak attack on us?”

Hearing this, Luo Chen’s mouth twitched.

Although the points were reasonable assumptions, the tone in which they were presented irritated him for some reason.

As if someone were deliberately arguing for the sake of arguing.

Luo Chen snorted coldly:

“If they really reconciled, we’d naturally retreat, no point in pointless conflict.
As for Luo Jiutian…”

He glanced at the ruin’s exit behind him.

“He’s still stuck inside the ruins. What’s there to worry about?”

Though he said that, his gaze instinctively swept the surroundings.

His eyes suddenly landed on a huge, solid gray-white rock.

It lay alone a short distance away, its surface texture nearly identical to that of the ruin walls.

An idea struck Luo Chen.

He quickly stepped forward, circled the rock, and glanced at the ruin’s exit again.

A gleam of excitement flashed in his eyes.

Perfect size!

Delighted, he immediately raised his spear.

Spiritual energy swirled to the spear tip as he stabbed forcefully at the rock.

Boom!

The spear struck the stone surface, making it tremble slightly.

But the rock merely shifted forward a little, remaining completely intact, without even a scratch.

Luo Chen smirked faintly.

He turned to Luo Yan and ordered:

“Luo Yan, stay here and recover properly. We’ll set off anytime soon.”

“Yes.”

Luo Yan nodded and sat cross-legged, closing his eyes to adjust his breath.

Then Luo Chen looked at Luo Yuanshan, who was scratching his head nearby.

“Block the exit. Let’s go.”