Seeking Truth with a Sword-Chapter 583 - 525: Fellow Villager

"Gun," an ancient term here, in this world, simply meant the long spear, a traditional weapon.

The phrase "firing a gun" had never appeared before.

Li Ang felt a chill surge through his body; an indescribable sensation flooded his mind, clogging his throat and rendering him speechless.

"Don’t worry, you heard right. It’s ’firing a gun,’ not ’starting an opera piece,’" Lu Yunan said with a whistle, her tone light. "Royal Jade Dew wine?"

"..."

Li Ang was silent for a long moment before his voice came out rough, "One hundred and eighty a cup?"

"That’s the one."

Lu Yunan clapped her hands and smiled. "Let me introduce myself.

"I’m the Director of the Scenic Area and Surrounding Public Security Comprehensive Management Leadership Group of the 5A Tourist Attraction Development Zone in Shendongxi Scenic Area, Badong County, Handong Province. My name is Lu Yunan.

"You can call me Xiao Lu or Xiao Nan.

"AKA, your fellow transmigrator."

"...Huh?"

It took Li Ang a moment to process either the ridiculously long title or the acronym ’AKA,’ which he had never heard anyone utter.

"Stop gaping. I’ve got a fracture," Lu Yunan grimaced. "Come give me a hand."

"Oh."

Li Ang walked over, supporting himself against the wall, and reached out in the dim light.

"Where are you touching?"

Lu Yunan raised an eyebrow, took Li Ang’s hand from her chest, and placed it on her thigh. "Wait, what’s wrong with your eyes?"

"I’m not sure. I probably hit my head on the cliff when I fell."

Li Ang carefully felt Lu Yunan’s right leg, making a diagnosis. "Lucky. It’s a simple closed fracture, easy to set. Just bear with it for a moment."

Without waiting for Lu Yunan to react, Li Ang pressed down on her thigh and, with a moderate twist—

"UGH!"

Lu Yunan clenched her teeth, arching her body backward. She panted for a while before finally catching her breath.

HUFF, HUFF.

Wiping the cold sweat from her forehead, she managed a painful smile. "Had I known, I would have passed out first to lessen the pain."

"If you’d passed out, I wouldn’t have found you."

Li Ang asked, "Do you have anything on you that can be used as a splint for the fracture?"

"Let me check."

Supporting herself with her palm, Lu Yunan sat up a bit and rummaged through her belongings and her Brocade Bag.

Dry rations, needle and thread, a compass, various nations’ flying money, Flint, a small saw-toothed knife, and several talismans—these talismans, in the Spiritual Energy-devoid Li Yuan, were no different from waste paper.

"There’s not even a single tree around..."

Lu Yunan surveyed the surroundings, describing the nearby scenery to Li Ang, whose vision was impaired.

The valley bottom where they were was spacious and rugged, flanked by cliffs sloping at nearly ninety degrees.

The gray cliff rock surfaces were home to some glowing fungi.

These fungi, plush and soft, dotted with dew-covered fuzz, continuously emitted a blue-white light.

A light mist permeated the surrounding area, not significantly affecting visibility.

However, about ten meters above their heads, the mist grew thick, eventually obscuring the view completely.

"Since ancient times, even counting figures from mythology, barely more than a handful of people have emerged from the depths of Li Yuan."

Lu Yunan smiled. "The situation is not in our favor, you know."

"..."

Li Ang didn’t know why Lu Yunan could still remain calm and optimistic, so he just said, "Let’s go look for the parachute first. It has ropes and a frame that we can use to secure your leg."

After speaking, he crouched in front of Lu Yunan, gesturing for her to let him carry her.

"Hmm?"

Lu Yunan raised an eyebrow in surprise. "As the saying goes, ’When fellow countrymen meet, a shot in the back is sweet.’ You’re going to princess-carry me? Aren’t you afraid I’ll harm you?"

"Yeah, scared to death."

Li Ang pursed his lips. "If you wanted to harm me, there would’ve been no need to use the Nearby Worm to alert Galuo to meet me, and no need to stay and help on the surface just now. Come on up."

Upon hearing this, Lu Yunan wrapped her arms around Li Ang’s neck, allowing him to take her into his arms.

Stranded in Li Yuan, Li Ang was unable to summon Mo Si, but fortunately, the Mo Si parts originally within his body had not withered or faded.

His physical strength was still greater than that of an average person.

"Don’t move around."

Li Ang held Lu Yunan securely and had her act as a guide, pointing the way.

Lu Yunan looked around. "Let’s stick to the wall and go left. We’re only injured from the fall, not dead, which means the parachute couldn’t have drifted too far. We’ll walk a hundred or two hundred meters. If we don’t find it, we’ll retrace our steps."

"Okay."

Li Ang nodded and, guided by Lu Yunan, felt his way forward along the rugged valley bottom.

The terrain was uneven, scattered with many rocks, and their progress was slow.

"There’s a steep, upward-slanting slope formed by rocks about three meters ahead. It’s not easy to navigate. I suggest we go around it from the left. Be careful of the loose stones on the ground; they’re slippery."

Lu Yunan continuously gave similar instructions, and Li Ang shuffled his feet, carefully navigating one obstacle after another.

As time passed, the pain in his body gradually subsided, but his confusion grew stronger.

He had always felt alone. No one else knew about the Otherworld he came from, and no one understood his troubles and sorrows. Even Chai Chai, who lived alongside him and was an inseparable part of his life, couldn’t understand the things Li Ang occasionally muttered to himself—from "All men are born equal," "Workers of the world, unite!" and "A single spark can start a prairie fire," to "Do you think you’re a pro player?" "All evil will be brought to justice," and "This one is even more heavyweight." If he hadn’t already risen to a high position, he might have been suspected of being a madman and locked away.

"What are you thinking about?"

Lu Yunan asked with a light laugh. "Wondering why I didn’t tell you my identity sooner?"

Li Ang was silent for a moment, then nodded.

"Um... the reasons are quite complicated."

Lu Yunan tilted her head. "I knew about you far earlier than you knew about me.

"From the moment I heard that a new anti-malaria method had appeared in Chang’an City, and that its proposer had also created new inventions like soap, degreasing cotton, and other such things, I knew you were a transmigrator like me.

"But at the time, I had no reason to show up—you had already been admitted to the Academic Palace, and I wasn’t sure how revealing my identity would affect me."

Li Ang nodded. If it were him, knowing there was a fellow transmigrator, he might also have stayed hidden at first, secretly observing the other person. "Then your appearance in Suzhou later..."

"After observing for a while, I believed you were a good person. And I also felt the same loneliness you did, so I decided to lend a hand."

Lu Yunan continued, "However, I had my kinsfolk from Northern Black Mountain to take care of, and you were already entangled with Zhao Ming at that time. For their sake, I still didn’t reveal my identity to you."

Li Ang thought for a moment. "Wait, according to Ghost Shovel, aren’t you a member of Zhao Ming?"

"Yeah, I was recruited into Zhao Ming by Suo Luo about six or seven years ago, but I was never a core member. That’s a different matter."

Lu Yunan explained, "Besides, there’s another reason that’s not really a reason—I was somewhat jealous of you."

Li Ang hadn’t expected Lu Yunan to say that and paused. "Uh?"

"Don’t ’uh’ now. The parachute is right ahead."

She suddenly dropped her smile and said in a lowered voice, "Get down quickly, and be quiet."

Li Ang instinctively held her and crouched down behind a rock, whispering, "What’s wrong?"

Lu Yunan pursed her lips tightly and whispered back, "Ghost Shovel’s body... it’s still moving."