The Scum Is A ***

"I… am fine." Cheng Sheng gasped as he held Fei Yin's arm holding him. His back is soaked in sweat, as well as his forehead has beads of sweat that trickled on the side of his face. "I just forced my way on using the talisman. I was unfamiliar with it, so…" He explained.

They finally understood. Things are urgent, and every second, the participants might die. They have no way to find the demon acting as the leader while under the control of the culprit. Cheng Sheng used the fastest and the most practical, yet also very dangerous, way.

"Thank you." Zheng Fu Gong spoke with a hoarse voice. He can't look at Cheng Sheng because he feels guilty.

Cheng Sheng's face is still pale. "It is fine… no one can do this, nor can I force anyone – " he said when his voice abruptly stopped because Fei Yin held him tight in his embrace. He sharply inhaled in pain, but he can't complain because he knows how Fei Yin feels.

He might have lost his life there earlier.

"I won't die." Cheng Sheng whispered as he buried his face on Fei Yin's chest. His head and chest hurt after he controlled the talisman. "I won't let myself die, because my life is yours." He told Fei Yin before he closed his eyes tiredly.

"You-shimei!" Fei Yin shouted and felt his heart was seized when he saw that Cheng Sheng has lost consciousness.

"Ah Sheng!" Chen Han cried as his face paled in horror.

"Xiao Sheng/Cheng-shidi/Cheng-shixiong/junior Cheng!" the others cried in shock.

You Rou's hands trembled and her eyes reddened, but she forced herself to calm down as she checked Cheng Sheng's condition. Excluding Cheng Sheng, only she has the best skills as a doctor. "Cheng-shixiong… Cheng-shixiong just fell unconscious due to exhaustion!" she said as she sighed in relief.

The others also sighed in relief. "That was frightening!" they exclaimed, clutching their chests, as they breathed deeply to calm themselves. They really thought that something bad happened earlier.

You Rou didn't dare to be careless as she continued to check Cheng Sheng's condition. "Good… fortunately, due to his qi being chaotic since his cultivation method is restructuring his body, it prevented the talisman on attacking him, who is unfamiliar, earlier, as a retaliation." She explained.

"'retaliation'?" they asked.

"I know this." Li Tian spoke. His face is serious. "This is the basic of the basics of the alchemy. If someone unfamiliar with the talismans uses a talisman, then the talisman would retaliate against them. In short, what that talisman is used for, it will backfire to that person who is trying to use it but is unfamiliar with the method." He explained. "Am I right?" he looked at Lei Ling, Jing Kang, Guo Cheng and Xiao Le.

"That's right." Guo Cheng nodded.

"This is scary!" Tang Teng exclaimed. "I knew that alchemy is really dangerous!" he said.

Ling Xi sighed, since his nephew is also a mage.

"Of course, you can protect yourself against the retaliation of the talismans." Jing Kang said.

"'protect'?" they asked.

"En." Lei Ling nodded. "You won't be affected by the retaliation of the talisman if you are stronger than it." He told them.

They were surprised. "There is such a thing?!" they exclaimed.

Guo Cheng scoffed. "Of course, it is not that simple." He said. "To suppress the talisman, you have to use more qi. And to guard yourself, you also have to use more qi." He explained. "And the stronger the talisman, and the more unfamiliarity you have with it, of course…" he looked at them. "You need to use more qi." He told them.

Their mouths fell open in shock. Then, they looked at Cheng Sheng with awe in their eyes.

"Da shixiong. Don't give him qi!" You Rou immediately said when she saw that Fei Yin was about to give Cheng Sheng qi after they heard what Guo Cheng said. "Cheng-shixiong is already fine. His chaotic qi managed to deflect that talisman's attack!" she explained. "If you give him qi now while his body is replenishing qi, his qi would be more chaotic!" she told him, panicking.

As expected, Fei Yin froze. "Sheng…" he called as he hugged Cheng Sheng in his arms tighter.

You Rou sighed in relief when she saw that Fei Yin stopped. The others were about to breathe a sigh of relief, thinking that the matter is over, when they saw that Ho Ting is marching towards them, followed by Ho Yue who is sighing behind him.

"Elder Ho." Sun Yu called. "What's wrong?" he asked as his expression turned solemn.

Ho Yue didn't speak. He looked at Ho Ting who is frowning. Everyone looked at him.

Ho Ting pursed his lips. "That Qi Lan…" he said. "He is a foreign person!" he told them. "He is the son of the leader of the enemies!" he added.

A long silence passed before everyone finally managed to react. "WHAT?!?!" they exclaimed, shocked.

…

Inside the special space, Wen Yan noticed that Wen Wen was silent. He looked at his younger brother, missing to see that Fei Yinzi also looked at Wen Wen.

Tang Li sighed. "Should we continue waiting here?" he asked, pulling Wen Yan's and Fei Yinzi's attention.

They turned to him. "Let's wait until after lunch to see if Zhu Xi has some news." Wen Yan answered. "We can't move for now, since we can't leave Qi Lan here." He said.

"Okay." Li Yan nodded. He still feels tired due to what happened earlier.

"'wait until after lunch'… then, I will look for some pheasants to cook!" Tang Li, who is always full of energy, excitedly said. "Who wants to go with me?" he asked as he turned.

"Me – " He Shun answered and was about to stand when he felt someone grabbed his hand and pulled him back down. "Ah!" he exclaimed and he was forced to sit on the ground.

The others turned when they heard his voice. Then, they saw that Qi Lan was already awake. "Qi Lan!" they cried, feeling happy.

"Sorry… I still can't move…" Qi Lan said and coughed.

He Shun woke up from his daze and he immediately took out his water to have Qi Lan drink it.

"We have a patient, so we can cook fish congee." Tang Li said, his mind obviously shifted to food.

Li Yan nodded in agreement. "I still have the energy to catch fish. Let's have some fish later, then." He said.

"I will help catch fish!" Wen Wen said and followed Tang Li and Li Yan.

"I will help, too, lay some traps." Cui Xiao said.

"Then, we will go find some elevated areas to see if Zhu Xi sent us a message." Wen Yan said. Fei Yinzi followed behind him.

This left He Shun and Qi Lan behind. He Shun sighed, feeling that he is really lucky to meet kind people. But, the one who is most kind to him is – he thought and turned to look at Qi Lan, only to see that Qi Lan is looking at him.

He Shun's heart skipped a beat. "Q – Qi Lan-ge… is something the matter? Do you feel dizzy?" he nervously asked. "Or, do you feel hungry? I still have some meat buns and snacks left on me." He told him as he opened his qiankun bag, avoiding Qi Lan's gaze.

He really feels guilty because Qi Lan is always saving him. And earlier, that was the most dangerous since the demon's claw almost clawed Qi Lan's neck, leading to his death. He Shun knows that his life isn't worth for Qi Lan to save. He is undeserving of Qi Lan's grace.

Yet, this man always saved him, time and time again. And that makes him feel guiltier. That is why, even if he saw Qi Lan's heated gaze on him, he didn't dare think of anything else. Even if Qi Lan is holding him tight, not letting him leave him for even a step or an inch away from him while being unconscious, He Shun didn't flatter himself thinking that Qi Lan, maybe, likes him.

He doesn't deserve Qi Lan, nor is he worthy for Qi Lan. Thinking this, his heart felt like it was pierced by a knife. But, he suppressed his heartache and sadness since he knows that this is the truth. He is unworthy.

"What… are you thinking?" Qi Lan asked in between his breaths. He also broke a bone in his rib earlier, but he doesn't want to alarm them.

Fortunately, neither Cui Xiao's nor Fei Yinzi's medical skills are comparable to Cheng Sheng's. So, the two didn't notice that he has broken a bone in his rib.

"Nothing." He Shun answered and cleared his throat when his voice broke. He forced back his tears that are threatening to fall.

"Are you angry?" Qi Lan asked in a low voice.

He Shun blinked. "What?" he said as he looked at Qi Lan. He thinks he misheard him. Why would he be angry? He thought. Instead, he feels grateful of him!

"Because I like you.." Qi Lan answered.