Junior Brother Pays Respect to You: Chapter 19 - The Traitor Wen Lun
Chapter 19: The Traitor Wen Lun
Although the other side spoke in a negotiating tone, everyone’s faces revealed a bloodthirsty excitement—they were clearly eager to charge forward and tear their enemies apart.
As soon as the words fell, the humanoid monsters instantly turned into streaks of black shadows and lunged toward the three people in the center, as if wanting to devour them alive.
Qin Zheng and the others remained vigilant and prepared for defense the moment the enemy launched their attack.
Because Qin Zheng had previously cultivated up to the second tier, he was still able to manage some basic combat. With his current third-tier cultivation, he could provide considerable support.
However, the enemy's numbers were overwhelming, and each one of them appeared to be at least at the third cultivation level. Before long, the three defenders were forced to abandon offense and focus solely on defense.
As the monsters pushed in closer, Qin Su gasped and said, “These monsters are definitely stronger than mid-third tier!”
“Yes, I feel it too. Most of them are above our level,” Qin Ke agreed breathlessly.
Qin Zheng had assumed that his struggle was due to his own lack of cultivation, but hearing their words brought him some reassurance.
The pressure from the enemies grew heavier, and it seemed like they wouldn’t last much longer.
Suddenly, Qin Su, who had been holding the line with them, dashed forward and, using a spell Qin Zheng had never seen before, conjured two invisible walls that forcibly split the encircling monsters into two groups. Then he turned and grabbed Qin Zheng and Qin Ke, yelling, “Run!”
Taking advantage of the temporary barrier holding back the monsters, the three of them sprinted toward the boundary gate at the edge of the forest.
Monsters couldn’t pass through the boundary gate. As long as they got through before being caught, they would be safe.
The three ran with all their might. After escaping the encirclement, Qin Su let go of Qin Ke’s hand, but he still held tightly onto Qin Zheng.
As they ran through the miasma, Qin Zheng noticed that something was wrong with Qin Su.
At first, Qin Su had been pulling him along, but now his movements had slowed, and Qin Zheng found himself dragging him instead.
Soon, he was practically carrying him.
Qin Zheng turned and asked, “What’s wrong?”
“That spell took too much energy… I can’t hold on… pick up the pace.”
Qin Su’s weak voice came into Qin Zheng’s ears.
The thick miasma obscured his view, but from the tone and breathlessness in Qin Su’s voice, Qin Zheng could tell he was close to collapsing.
He immediately bent down, scooped Qin Su into his arms, and kept running.
Fortunately, Qin Su was just a child—light and easy to carry—so their speed didn’t drop much.
Once they broke through the miasma, Qin Zheng looked down and saw Qin Su’s face was completely pale.
Perhaps because he knew they weren’t safe yet, he was forcing himself to stay conscious, keeping his eyes open.
Up ahead was the boundary gate where they had entered earlier.
Qin Ke, unburdened, ran ahead and reached the gate first.
He turned back to look at them. When he saw Qin Su in Qin Zheng’s arms, he opened his mouth as if to say something, but held back, knowing this wasn’t the time for talk.
“Faster!” he said, stepping through the gate and vanishing.
Seeing they were so close to escaping this nightmare, Qin Zheng used his last ounce of strength to speed up.
Just as he was a few steps away from the gate, an arrow shot past him and struck the gate before he could reach it.
The monsters had caught up.
The gate, like a mirror, shattered into pieces.
Qin Zheng reached out to touch it and realized he could no longer pass through—it had been completely destroyed.
He turned around and saw the monsters closing in, his palms already sweating with tension. At this moment, his only hope was his junior brother.
Staring intently ahead, Qin Zheng asked, “What do we do now, junior brother?”
But the monsters were already right in front of him.
Qin Zheng looked down when he didn’t get an answer—and saw that Qin Su had passed out in his arms.
There was no way to escape now.
Qin Zheng couldn’t help but think how disastrous it would be if he died here.
His mind raced, desperately trying to find a sliver of hope, but there was nothing—
No spell he could use at his current level to fight back.
The monsters stepped closer.
“If you won’t listen, don’t blame us for being ruthless. As long as you’re trapped here—alive or dead—I believe Yu Jingchen will come for you.”
As they raised their bows and aimed at him, Qin Zheng knew this time he likely wouldn’t make it out.
Just as he was about to close his eyes and accept his fate, a thick mist began to roll in—looking very much like the miasma from before.
In an instant, everyone was engulfed by the thick miasma, making it impossible to see anything or anyone.
Among the monsters, someone kept shouting, “Wen Lun! It’s you again! You traitor!”
Qin Zheng widened his eyes and looked around in confusion.
Suddenly, a person appeared right in front of him.
Although the miasma was so dense that even the ground couldn’t be seen, Qin Zheng realized he could clearly see the person in front of him—as well as Qin Su in his arms.
It was as if the space he was in had been forcibly separated from the fog.
After thinking for a moment, he figured this must be the doing of the person before him.
Qin Zheng recognized that this was the cloaked woman they had encountered earlier when they first entered the center of the forest.
He suspected that this person was likely helping him, and that the “Wen Lun” the monsters had been yelling about might very well be this woman.
Qin Zheng asked in confusion, “Why are you helping me?”
The woman chuckled softly. “I’m not helping you. I just want to make a deal with you.”
Qin Zheng held Qin Su tighter in his arms and stubbornly said, “Why would I make a deal with you?”
Wen Lun said slowly, “Although I don’t know why you carry Yu Jingchen’s aura, I know for certain that you’re not his disciple. Back when Yu Jingchen sealed the demon realm’s passage, he must have exhausted all his strength. There’s no way he could have recovered this quickly, let alone taken on disciples.”
“If you want to survive, you’ll have to accept my condition. Otherwise, I’ll disperse this miasma—and you’ll be dead the next second.”
Before she even finished speaking, Qin Zheng blurted out, “I agree! Just tell me what it is!”
Wen Lun was stunned. She had expected to have to threaten him a few more times to persuade him. She hadn’t expected him to surrender the moment death was mentioned.
She looked Qin Zheng up and down. “Listen carefully. I want you to take care of a child named Wei Gu when you meet him in the future.”
“Huh?” Qin Zheng quickly asked, “How old is he?”
For Qin Zheng, who hated dealing with kids, this was the most crucial detail—though even if he knew the age, he would have agreed under these circumstances.
Wen Lun hadn’t expected him to ask that and paused a moment before saying, “Around seventeen, I think.”
There was a faint warmth in her voice—but it vanished almost immediately.
“But don’t worry. You probably won’t meet him for several decades.”
Qin Zheng couldn’t help asking, “Seventeen? That’s older than me by a year. Are you sure he’ll even need my help?”
“And even if I’m still alive in a few decades, are you sure he will be?”
Wen Lun glared at him. “Wei Gu is no ordinary person—he’s still a child.”
Qin Zheng quickly nodded. “Alright, alright—I agree. Now save me, please!”
Taking advantage of Qin Zheng’s moment of distraction, Wen Lun pressed her fingers to his forehead and said, “I know you’re not the type to honor a promise, so I’ve marked you with a magical imprint. If you ever try to break this promise, you’ll feel intense guilt that will force you to keep it.”
Qin Zheng touched his forehead, which felt completely normal, and muttered, “Isn’t that a bit harsh?”
Wen Lun replied coldly, “No.”
“…Fine.” Qin Zheng gave in—after all, who knew if he’d ever really meet this person anyway.
“The imprint is done. Can you save me now?” he asked.
Wen Lun nodded, stepped closer, and pressed her fingers to Qin Zheng’s temple.
Qin Zheng suddenly found knowledge of a barrier spell flooding into his mind—it must have been transmitted by this woman.
A moment later, Wen Lun withdrew her hand and said, “I have to maintain all the barriers, so I can’t fully assist you. Use the method I just taught you to set up a barrier around yourself. You’ll support most of it with your own energy, and I’ll give you a tenth of the power.”
“This barrier can hold for ten days. Your companion has already exited—he should inform your master of your situation. Ten days is enough time for them to repair the gate to this realm. Your master should come for you by then.”
Qin Zheng had expected to be given some quick way out of here—not just instructions to wait in place. He felt like he’d been partially scammed and yelled, “You can’t be serious! What about my junior brother?!”
Wen Lun glanced coldly at the boy in Qin Zheng’s arms and replied, “He won’t die.” Then she urged, “Hurry and activate the barrier—I have to go.”
Seeing that she wasn’t willing to offer further help, Qin Zheng had no choice but to follow her instructions and create the barrier, enclosing both himself and Qin Su within it.
The moment he activated the barrier, the surrounding miasma vanished completely—as if it had never been there.
As soon as the fog lifted, the nearby monsters, seeing the two still sitting there, immediately aimed their arrows at them.
But the arrows all dropped harmlessly to the ground before they could touch the barrier.
Realizing they were finally safe, Qin Zheng looked down at his unconscious junior brother and muttered, “Looks like I protected you this time. When you wake up, I’m definitely going to demand a reward!”
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