Chapter 1288: 恩還是仇？

Chapter 1288: Favor or Feud?

The two of them had taken out most of the “men” they encountered along the way. Jin Yuanxun turned back to look at the endless corridor, realizing that just smashing the doors of these "work areas" would take up the entire night.

What about the upcoming "mian shi qu"? Did they have enough time to pull off this seemingly absurd plan?

"Ge, do we really have no backup?" Jin Yuanxun stared into the depths of the corridor and asked.

"What's with all the nonsense?" Chen Junnan said. "This plan just popped into my head, so how could I have any backup?"

"But..."

Jin Yuanxun had a strange feeling about the far end of the corridor. In the distance, it seemed like there were shadowy figures moving around, though he couldn't make them out clearly.

Were they "can yu zhe" trying to escape?

"Xiao Jin, what are you looking at?"

"Ge, I have really good eyesight." Jin Yuanxun pointed toward the distance. "It looks like there's someone over there..."

Chen Junnan followed Jin Yuanxun's finger and spotted two unsteady figures far away. They didn't seem to be running; instead, they appeared to be lingering in place.

"Xiao Jin, that's why I knew I had to bring you on board the moment I saw you from afar," Chen Junnan said with a sly grin. "This 'train' goes straight from north to south, and your abilities make everything so accessible. If you think there's something off over there, you can just go check it out yourself."

"Huh?"

"You don't get my struggles," Chen Junnan said. "This place might look like a straight path, but I have to walk every single step myself—it's exhausting. That's why your appearance is a godsend; you can deliver messages for me and scout ahead. Otherwise, why would I say I'm foolishly lucky?"

"Alright, ge, stop complaining. I'll go check it out," Jin Yuanxun said, shaking his head in resignation.

The next second, he vanished from the spot and reappeared in the distance. Chen Junnan narrowed his eyes to get a better look, and the situation seemed odd.

Jin Yuanxun suddenly appeared next to the two figures, startling not only them but also himself. He stumbled back several steps, nearly falling, before the others helped him up. The three of them exchanged some words.

A minute or two later, Jin Yuanxun nodded from afar, then stepped back and disappeared, reappearing beside Chen Junnan.

"So, what's the deal?" Chen Junnan asked. "Are those people willing to join us? We're on a tight schedule here—we need to smash the 'men' quickly and go find Lao Qi."

"Ge..." Jin Yuanxun looked a bit troubled. He forced a bitter smile and said, "Let me tell you something, ge, but don't get scared..."

Chen Junnan's face changed at once. "What kind of talk is that? I'm already getting scared just hearing you say it..."

"Well... it's just..." Jin Yuanxun shook his head. "I ran into two women just now. One of them, after hearing your name, told that bastard to stay put while she comes over to talk to you in person. She seems really pissed off..."

"Okay, that checks out," Chen Junnan said, scratching his head. "I knew there weren't many people who could make me inexplicably nervous like this."

"What do you say, ge?" Jin Yuanxun pulled at his arm. "Did you kill someone from their group before? Or maybe you should run—I can hold them off for you."

"Hold them off my ass..." Chen Junnan sighed deeply. "You're making it sound like a big demon lord is coming... I never killed her; I just saved her at an inconvenient time. Who knew that saving her would turn into a grudge?"

Footsteps approached from afar as the two figures hurried toward them.

"Xiao Jin, you said there are two women, right? Who's the other one?" Chen Junnan asked, staring into the distance.

"It's a 'shengxiao'," Jin Yuanxun replied. "One is Niu Jie. I nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw her—I thought I was done for right there."

"Niu...?" Chen Junnan frowned, pondering for a moment. "No way... This pair is too weird. What are they doing here?"

"They were planning to destroy the 'men'."

"Huh?!"

In a few minutes, the two figures arrived in front of Chen Junnan. They were Qin Dingdong and a Di Niu.

"Bastard..." Qin Dingdong said. "How did you end up here too?"

"Hold on, Dong Jie," Chen Junnan waved his hand. "Your use of 'too' is confusing me..."

"Is your task also to destroy the 'men'?" Qin Dingdong asked again. "How come I never heard you mention it...?"

"Task...?" Chen Junnan was speechless. "Is that your task?"

Qin Dingdong paused. "You..."

She stepped forward, grabbed Chen Junnan's arm, and pulled him aside, whispering, "Are you telling me you stumbled into this place by accident without even knowing about the 'task'?!"

"I really don't have any task..." Chen Junnan said. "I was just wandering around, looking for something to do. But I can't beat the 'shengxiao,' and I can't save the 'can yu zhe,' so after thinking it over, destroying the 'men' seemed like a clever move..."

"You..." Qin Dingdong was stunned for a moment, then said to Chen Junnan, "Bastard... Are you lying to me? Are you trying to die in my place on purpose again?"

"Huh?" Chen Junnan was at a loss for words. "No... I'm innocent here, Dong Jie. This time, it's really just a coincidence—we crossed paths. Don't overthink it."

"So, you're admitting that you deliberately died for me last time?" Qin Dingdong gritted her teeth and said. "Chen Junnan, you bastard..."

"No... Wait a minute, let's just talk. Why are you cornering me like this?"

"You acted all noble back then, saying 'you won't die,' and then you took the hit for me and vanished... " Qin Dingdong grew more furious as she spoke. "I thought you'd become a 'yuan zhu min' or just disappeared entirely. I felt guilty for seven whole years! When I saw your smirking face show up again, I was ready to explode. Did you ever think about how your grand gestures affect other people's lives?!"

"Oh..." Chen Junnan took the full brunt of Qin Dingdong's scolding without a word of protest. "Dong Jie... let's not dwell on that right now..."

"I don't want to talk about it either! But you're at it again, throwing your life away!" Qin Dingdong said. "When are you going to fix this bad habit?"

"Throwing my life away?" Chen Junnan chuckled bitterly. "Come on... I'm just vandalizing some property. That's not a death sentence, is it?"

"You're smart one minute and dumb the next..." Qin Dingdong said with a hint of anger. "For Qing Long and that other one, killing a 'shengxiao' isn't even a big crime, since they can keep making more. But if someone dares to destroy these 'men,' it's like cutting off their rule entirely—they'd never let that slide..."

"So what?" Chen Junnan shot back. "As long as this rebellion succeeds, we're in the clear, right?"