Qiu Yunru had completely forgotten about Lei Ruolan. He felt a little bad; wasn't she on the verge of death, losing blood like air from a balloon? But he remembered then that she was the one who had brought that Demon Soul Idol, and he remembered why he'd blocked her from his mind.
There was so much that didn't make sense, and he couldn't possibly process any of it right now! He had to focus on survival and stopping Li Chenyuan from killing anyone else. Thus, it was easier for his brain to forget she was there at all!
Lei Ruolan, for her part, had been barely conscious this whole time.
She was lying on the ground in a pitiful pile, blood spurting from her lips every few minutes. Her eyelids drooped, and her skin was ghostly-pale. It was clear that she didn't have much consciousness left in her.
Upon vaguely hearing Li Chenyuan call out her name, she blinked and spat out another mouthful of blood, making an unintelligible sound. It went something like: "Mnnnghp?"
"There can't be witnesses!" Li Chenyuan hissed. His eyes glowed once more, like an engine revving up.
"Li-shidi!" Qiu Yunru snatched up Li Chenyuan's wrist, pulling him back. "You can't be serious. She's barely conscious. If anything, she's a cause of this situation, bringing in that Demon Soul Idol. If you kill her, then who will there be to explain the situation?!"
Li Chenyuan's eyes flickered. He was filled once more with murderous intent, but he didn't pull away from Qiu Yunru yet, seeming to consider this.
It was true; if Lei Ruolan was dead, who would be there to confirm that she had brought that idol that had released so much demonic qi? An eyewitness account was good, but getting the truth out of Lei Ruolan herself would be much more useful in a court of justice.
Qiu Yunru was thinking even further ahead--if Lei Ruolan was killed, how would they ever get to the bottom of this situation? She had said her father had told her to bring it, and Yan Wenqing had claimed her father was working with Li Guiren. How would they be able to know just exactly what was going on if she couldn't tell them?
Li Chenyuan gritted his teeth, his fingers curling. He held his head again, and a vein popped in his forehead. It seemed the demonic qi was still warring heavily with his mind. "But...witnesses..."
Qiu Yunru frowned. "If you're so concerned about witnesses, am I not also a witness?"
Li Chenyuan blinked at him. Then he looked away, scowling. "That's different."
"Listen, Li-shidi. Let's go and sit down, and I'll tell you more about our past for a while, until someone can come and treat you. Even though the demonic qi cause you to kill some people, it wasn't your own fault, and this shixiong can vouch for you."
Li Chenyuan was beginning to calm down for real now. He stumbled along after Qiu Yunru, allowing himself to be led further into the forest.
Qiu Yunru glanced upward. That barrier in the sky was still present, and strongly so. It glittered ominously.
How strange--if Li Chenyuan was calmed, and he couldn't sense that he was actively using demonic qi, then why was the barrier still up? In the end, there wasn't time to consider it too much--he had to get this kid into an area where tournament officials could subdue and treat him at once.
A sudden whistling sound pierced the air. It was the sound of something flying towards them.
Qiu Yunru whirled around, drawing his sword and pulling Li Chenyuan behind him. At the same time, Li Chenyuan tried to draw his sword and pull Qiu Yunru behind himself.
This awkward motion resulted in them tumbling over one another and falling to the ground in a pile. Qiu Yunru knocked his head into the dirt, and Li Chenyuan fell on top of Qiu Yunru, nearly smashing his face into his.
Before Li Chenyuan could blush profusely and make some comment or other about the beauty of his shixiong, something hit him square in the back, sending him sprawling limply over Qiu Yunru's body. Qiu Yunru let out an oof as this kid's full body weight fell on him, knocking the wind out of his lungs.
Now that Li Chenyuan had fallen over, Qiu Yunru could see what had hit him in the back.
His face drained of color.
It was a small object. Shaped much like that other Demon Soul Idol, this one had four horns rather than two, and a smile with many pointed teeth. It held a long brush, denoting it as a depiction of a Scholar Demon.
Qiu Yunru struggled to push Li Chenyuan off himself, scanning the clearing. Lei Ruolan was lying there still, her eyes closed. Clearly, she had passed out; it couldn't be her who had thrown or shot this Demon Soul Idol.
A flash of cloth in the trees caught his eye.
It was only then that he noticed a figure, high up in a treetop. No--it wasn't only one. He looked around, feeling horror drip down his spine. One, two, three, four--there were half a dozen people up in the trees surrounding them!
Each and everyone one of them was covered head-to-toe in black garments.
Suddenly, a bright blue quest marker flashed before his eyes, causing him to nearly go blind momentarily:
ATTENTION: REQUIRED EXTREME DIFFICULTY QUEST ASSIGNED: "Stop Them!". If failed, will result in tragedy. Please continue to work hard. Good luck!