Junior Brother Pays Respect to You: Chapter 20 - Time is Almost Up
Chapter 20: Time is Almost Up
Five days had passed in the blink of an eye, and the woman named Wen Lun never appeared again.
However, just as she said, the barrier stood firm, successfully fending off wave after wave of attacks from the demonic creatures.
They believed that Yu Jingchen would definitely come, so even though they couldn’t harm the two people inside the barrier, they remained outside, waiting.
During those five days, they discussed various strategies to deal with Yu Jingchen.
But Qin Zheng wasn’t interested in any of that. What he cared about was Qin Su, who lay unconscious in his arms.
Qin Su had been unconscious the entire time, showing no signs of waking up. Only his breathing proved he was still alive.
It seemed his condition was worse than mere exhaustion.
Qin Zheng reached down with his free hand to touch his stomach, which was so empty he had lost all sensation. Fortunately, with a third-tier cultivation, one wouldn’t die even without food for ten days or half a month.
Still, this was Qin Zheng’s first time experiencing such prolonged hunger, and it was making him miserable.
Not even in the twenty years since being expelled from his sect had he gone this long without food.
Qin Zheng looked up at the barrier surrounding him and felt something strange.
Maybe he hadn’t noticed before because too little time had passed, but over the past two days, he clearly felt his body growing heavier. It was as if his cultivation was slowly draining away, and his body was returning to the state of a first-tier cultivator.
Qin Zheng was forced to seriously consider this slow depletion of his cultivation.
He had never thought too deeply about the source of his power, assuming it had come from absorbing the spiritual energy of the forbidden area.
However, as he replayed the events of that day in his mind, he began to suspect that this sudden boost in power might have come from the barrier within the forbidden area.
Back then, the thing that surged into his body when he touched the barrier might have been what granted him third-tier power.
Qin Zheng casually glanced around and noticed something strange—the demonic creatures that had been sitting around him were all now standing, looking behind him.
Could it be... Master has come?
Filled with joy, Qin Zheng quickly turned around.
But when he looked, there was no one there.
However, the cracked barrier gate, once riddled with arrow marks, had somehow fully restored itself.
Suddenly, the barrier gate began to ripple like flowing water.
A person slowly stepped out from within it.
“Master!” Qin Zheng called out excitedly.
Following his master, another familiar figure emerged—his senior uncle.
Qing Yuan glanced at Qin Zheng in the distance, then turned coldly to the group of demonic beings.
“No one is allowed to bully my disciple like this!”
The demons stared blankly at the two sudden arrivals before shouting, “Who are you?! Where’s Yu Jingchen?!”
“Heh. You want to see Yu Jingchen? You’re not even qualified.”
The moment his master said this, it was as if he had struck a nerve—they all charged at once.
But Qin Zheng had full confidence in his master's abilities.
Sure enough, before his senior uncle even made a move, his master alone raised a shield that blocked all the incoming attacks.
Then Master looked at Qin Zheng and said, “Let’s go,” clearly not interested in further fighting.
Seeing that it was safe, Qin Zheng withdrew the barrier and slowly stood up, still holding Qin Su.
He had been sitting for so long that he felt dizzy, like he was back to being a first-tier cultivator.
Trying not to lose face in front of his master, he forced himself to take a few steps—but in the end, his vision went black, and he fainted.
***
Qing Yuan and Chi Yan each carried one of the boys and quickly left the forest, leaving behind a group of furious, powerless demons.
Back at the Tianque Sect, Qing Yuan handed the child in his arms to Chi Yan and said, “I need to make a trip to the forbidden area.”
Chi Yan took the boy and asked in confusion, “What’s wrong?”
Qing Yuan frowned. “While I was fighting those demons, I felt their cultivation had increased. I need to check whether there’s something wrong with the seal.”
***
When Qin Zheng woke up, many days had passed.
He lay in bed staring at the ceiling for a long time before confirming he wasn’t dreaming. He quickly jumped out of bed.
How was Qin Su doing?
Qin Zheng rushed out of the room and ran toward the small wooden cabin in the forest.
But he hadn’t gone far before he felt utterly exhausted—just like when he was still at the first tier of cultivation.
A suspicion formed in his heart.
Suddenly, someone turned the corner and crashed into him. Qin Zheng, lost in thought, ran straight into the person’s arms. He said nothing and kept running.
“Senior Brother, are you going to see Junior Brother?”
The person he had collided with was Qin Shuang.
Qin Shuang’s words made Qin Zheng stop and turn around. “How is Qin Su now?”
Qin Shuang shook his head. “I’m not sure. I just wanted to tell you that Junior Brother has been in the stone chamber where Master is in seclusion.”
“I saw you running toward the wooden hut, so I figured I’d save you the trip.”
“He hasn’t come out since the day you returned.”
***
Day by day, time passed.
Every day, Qin Zheng went to check outside the stone chamber, but he never saw anyone come out.
Shortly after he regained consciousness, his senior uncle informed him that his cultivation had returned to the first tier. Oddly, this gave Qin Zheng a sense of relief—it meant that events were returning to their original course.
Tonight marked the end of the one-month period since he had returned.
Yet, there was still no word on Qin Su.
If he didn’t come out today... this whole journey might have been for nothing.
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