A Soul Oath? Evan Yang muttered inwardly, surprised that Lana Situ had sworn such a vow. He felt there was no need to hide any longer, so he asked her, "Years ago at the Rising Sun Sect, you saved someone. Do you remember?"
Years ago? The Rising Sun Sect? Lana Situ searched her memories and finally recalled a certain day—she had indeed visited the Rising Sun Sect, sent there to observe their new disciples. She happened to witness Leon Wong from the Wong Clan bullying a boy with no spiritual roots.
Thinking of that boy, then connecting him to Evan Yang—and remembering Evan killed Leon Wong, causing the Wong Clan to send people searching for him every day.
Seeing Lana Situ gradually piecing it together, Evan Yang pointed at himself with a smile. "That boy was me!"
"What?" Lana Situ's expression now was even more exaggerated than when Evan Yang had saved her.
"What, you don't believe me?" Evan Yang touched his nose and smiled.
"It's really hard for me to believe." Lana Situ shook her head.
"You'll believe it sooner or later. But please keep this secret for me—I don't want the Wong Clan thinking about me every day." Evan Yang chuckled.
"Whether it's true or not, I won't betray you."
"Let's go." Now that Evan Yang had revealed his identity, it felt like venting a secret he'd held in his heart for years—he felt much more at ease.
Lana Situ looked at Evan Yang's back, feeling a strange mix of thoughts she couldn't express. She could only follow him helplessly, still pondering his identity—a boy with no spiritual roots, who not only defeated Leon Wong of the Wong Clan, but now also possessed this cultivation and powerful alchemy skills. Clearly, the 'little beggar' before her was far from ordinary.
Given Evan Yang's identity, no one would ever imagine that a boy with no spiritual roots could now reach the mid Foundation-Building stage and also possess such strong alchemy skills.
Just as Lana was about to ask again, Evan Yang suddenly stopped, his eyes solemnly fixed ahead.
"What's wrong?" Lana Situ stepped forward, noticing Evan Yang's expression was off.
Evan Yang, who had just felt so relieved, now stared ahead with a grave look. "What's that over there?"
Lana Situ had been so focused on Evan Yang's identity that she hadn't looked ahead. When he pointed it out, she turned and saw it, her expression mirroring his seriousness.
What stood before them was an ancient fortress. The river had reached it and formed a moat around the structure.
"What should we do?" Lana Situ gradually started to look to Evan Yang for guidance.
Evan Yang didn't know what to do either. This space felt strange, so he decided they should keep moving and see if they could find anyone else.
"You decide—I'll follow you." Lana Situ glanced around at the silent surroundings. Aside from the fortress before them, there was nothing else in sight.
Evan Yang glanced at Lana Situ's expression, then at the fortress ahead, and nodded. "Let's go. We'll take a look inside."
With heavy hearts, the two slowly made their way toward the fortress.
When they reached the base of the fortress, both could sense the strange aura it gave off, as if it had been slumbering for ages.
At the front of the fortress, a sky bridge hung suspended over the river. Evan Yang stopped and said, "Once we're inside, be careful."
Having seen the strange insects before, Lana Situ was naturally cautious about a fortress suddenly appearing in this space. She nodded deeply, and with Evan Yang leading the way, the two crossed the bridge and stepped into the fortress.
Inside, the fortress was sealed off, with only faint light filtering in through a few windows. Using the dim light, Evan Yang carefully led the way forward.
The fortress was vast, and Evan Yang and Lana Situ felt as if they could never reach its end, weaving through its corridors until finally Evan stopped.
"What's wrong?" Lana Situ, feeling the eerie silence and seeing Evan Yang's sudden alarm, asked in surprise.
Evan Yang glanced around and said, "I'm afraid we're lost."
"This fortress is very strange. Should we go back the way we came?" Lana Situ also felt the fortress was unsettling.
"There's not much we can do about being lost. I'll see if my friend can help." Evan Yang planned to let Jade Rabbit, with its sensitive nose, lend a hand.
His words startled Lana Situ. "What? You have a friend? Where?" She wondered if Evan Yang had lost his mind—after all, it had just been the two of them this whole time.
Seeing her misunderstanding, Evan Yang pulled Jade Rabbit out of his pocket with a smile. "It's this little one."
"You scared me!" Lana Situ said, a bit exasperated. She looked at the fluffy, adorable Jade Rabbit and reached out to pet it. "What kind of rabbit is this?"
"This is my friend. I don't actually know what kind of rabbit it is—you can just call it Jade Rabbit." Ever since Evan Yang met Jade Rabbit, he hadn't figured out its breed, so he couldn't say for sure.
"Jade Rabbit?" Lana Situ echoed, surprised and curious.
Jade Rabbit felt uncomfortable being touched by a stranger and quickly shrank back into Evan Yang's hands. "Big brother, why did you take me out?"
"We're lost, so I hoped you could help us find a way out." Evan Yang said helplessly.
This statement startled Lana Situ again. "Who are you talking to?"
"To it. Can't you hear it talking?" Evan Yang asked, surprised.
"Big brother, I'm talking to you—of course she can't hear me." Jade Rabbit gave Evan Yang a curious look, while Lana Situ shook her head in astonishment, clearly unable to hear anything.
Faced with this oddity, Evan Yang realized the truth and reluctantly explained the secret of his communication with Jade Rabbit to Lana Situ. After several explanations, Lana finally understood that this rabbit was no ordinary creature.
After making sure Lana understood, Evan Yang refocused and asked gravely, "So, what did you find?"
"I detected several living beings nearby," Jade Rabbit replied after twitching its nose.
"Living beings? Don't tell me they're more of those monsters." Evan Yang felt uneasy at the thought, but Jade Rabbit answered, "No, their aura is just like yours—they're cultivators."
"Could there be other cultivators here too?" Evan Yang exclaimed in surprise.
The ancient fortress felt increasingly strange. Guided by Jade Rabbit, Evan Yang told Lana Situ to stay close, and the two of them, with Jade Rabbit, made their way toward the cultivators. They stopped at the base of a spiral staircase, and Evan Yang asked, "Are they up there?"
"Yes," Jade Rabbit replied.
By now, Lana Situ had grown used to Evan Yang's odd conversations. Though she had no idea what kind of rabbit Jade Rabbit was, she could only watch as Evan and the rabbit spoke to each other.
After Jade Rabbit confirmed, Evan Yang looked at the staircase leading upward, then turned to Lana Situ and gave her some instructions. The two of them slowly began to ascend.
The staircase was so tall that Evan Yang and Lana Situ lost track of how many steps they'd climbed before they finally heard some faint, intermittent voices.
"This ancient fortress is truly bizarre," Lana Situ remarked, feeling as if she were climbing to the heavens—the higher she went, the stranger it felt.
Evan Yang glanced at Lana Situ and replied, "We'd better be careful when we get there."
Lana Situ knew Evan Yang meant well, so she calmed herself and quietly followed him toward the source of the voices.
When Evan Yang stopped, they had reached a platform where several cultivators were dividing up some items—specifically, spirit tools and magical treasures.
The sudden appearance of Evan Yang and Lana Situ drew strange looks from the cultivators. One young man—an old acquaintance—stood up and smiled. "You two are here as well?"
"Warren Wong?" Evan Yang was shocked, and so was Lana Situ. Both wondered if Evan really was the one who killed a member of the Wong Clan—if so, there would surely be a fight between them one day.
Warren Wong didn't realize the 'little beggar' was actually Evan Yang. Back at the alliance base, he and his companion had already clashed with Evan. Here in this space, Warren Wong was considered the strongest and didn't take Evan seriously. Evan, however, knew that if it came to a fight, Warren Wong wouldn't be his match. The two glared at each other.
Finally, Lana Situ broke the stalemate and asked, "Why are you all here?"
Warren Wong withdrew his aura and smiled. "Lana, why are you with someone like him?"
"That's none of your business. You still haven't answered my question!" Lana Situ snapped, refusing to give Warren Wong any face. Furious, Warren could only curse inwardly, but he answered, "We arrived at this fortress as soon as we entered. After searching for a while, we found some spirit tools, so we divided them among ourselves."
"Just you few here?" Lana Situ glanced around, the dim and oppressive atmosphere weighing heavily on her.
"Yes. Why don't you join us?" Warren Wong pointed to his group, confident in their strength compared to Evan Yang, whom he still saw as a 'little beggar.' But Lana Situ replied, "No, you do your thing. I'll stick with the little beggar."
Evan Yang glanced at them but said nothing, heading toward a wall at the edge of the platform. Lana Situ followed closely. Their actions and words only fueled Warren Wong's jealousy.
Warren Wong, furious, shouted, "Little beggar, I challenge you!"
"No time." Evan Yang ignored him and continued toward the wall, having noticed some paintings there.
"You!" Warren Wong couldn't stand the insult and grabbed a newly acquired spirit sword, ready to strike at Evan Yang. But Lana Situ shot him a glare. "Warren Wong, he's my friend. If you want to make trouble for him, you'll have to get past me first!"
Warren Wong knew Lana Situ's strength—if she supported Evan Yang, he'd have to face both of them. He felt resentful and jealous, thinking, "Why? Why would you choose a beggar to oppose me?"
Seeing Warren Wong's twisted expression, Evan Yang and Lana Situ ignored him and headed toward the wall Evan had noticed.
"Damn it, I'll find a chance to get rid of you, little beggar. Then we'll see if Lana Situ still wants to fight me!" Warren Wong thought to himself. He wasn't about to give up the chance to search for treasures in this space, so he stepped forward to follow Evan Yang and Lana Situ.
Evan Yang noticed Warren Wong's actions and stayed alert to guard against a sneak attack. Lana Situ was also prepared to defend against Warren at any moment.
While keeping an eye on Warren Wong, Evan Yang examined the wall. It held a painting—actually, a map—similar in function to the mysterious parchment he'd seen before, but much larger. Evan saw a river running through a fortress, matching their current location. He could even spot all the places they'd just passed on the map.
Lana Situ noticed the map as well.
"Could this be a map of the entire space?" Lana Situ asked, surprised.