Song Tingting and her group of four crossed Taoyuan Mountain, continuing toward their hiking destination, Yanming Lake.

"Ah, I really miss that cup of tea from the young Daoist!"

"I can still remember the refreshing taste lingering in my mind!"

said Liu Rui, as she walked along.

"The three of you are so young!"

"I also drank that Daoist's tea; it was indeed fragrant and sweet, but he must have added something else to it."

"As for what it was, I don't know yet."

He Ming, who was walking at the front, turned his head back and responded.

"He Ming, don't walk so fast!"

"The terrain here is complicated. If you walk too fast, be careful you don't have an accident!"

Seeing He Ming striding quickly, Zhao Shuo warned with concern.

"Don't worry, I'm a sports ace, what could possibly..."

Before He Ming could finish his sentence, he suddenly slipped.

He instantly lost his balance and rolled down the hillside.

"Damn!"

The other three, shocked by the sight, hurriedly slid down the slope.

Fortunately, though the hill was steep, it wasn't high.

And since He Ming was halfway down the hill, the drop wasn't that significant.

However, the fall left the once handsome and robust He Ming looking disheveled, covered in dirt.

"Were you being chased by dogs? I told you to slow down!"

Zhao Shuo complained but then extended a hand to pull He Ming up from the ground.

"No big deal, just a minor scrape."

He Ming shook his head, trying to clear the dizziness.

"Hey! He Ming, you're bleeding!"

When Song Tingting and the others caught up, they immediately noticed a cut on He Ming's forehead, bleeding slightly.

"Damn, now that you mention it, it really does hurt a bit!"

He Ming instinctively touched his forehead, discovering it was indeed covered in blood.

"Must have been scratched by rocks when I rolled down."

"Luckily, the wound's not deep, should stop bleeding soon."

Zhao Shuo helped examine the injury.

Although it bled a lot, the wound wasn't deep.

He took out a medical kit from his backpack and bandaged He Ming.

"This is bad! This is bad!"

"There are immortals in Shangqing Tao, you spoke disrespectfully to the young Daoist and now you're facing retribution!"

Liu Rui pursed her lips, speaking dramatically.

He Ming snorted upon hearing this, "You really have a wild imagination!"

"I just accidentally slipped; it has nothing to do with the Daoist!"

Zhao Shuo laughed, "Maybe!"

"How about we rest here for a bit before setting off again?"

His suggestion was met with agreement from the other three.

The four had just sat down and hadn't even caught their breath when He Ming suddenly stood.

Pointing to the southeast, he exclaimed excitedly, "Look, there's an air raid shelter over there!"

"Wait here; I'll check if there's anything fun inside."

With that, He Ming stood up and walked toward the air raid shelter.

"This guy's like a rabbit; he has to keep moving or he gets uncomfortable."

Zhao Shuo and the others laughed it off, not paying much attention.

As his friends, the three knew well of He Ming's somewhat hyperactive nature.

Getting him to sit still for long would be harder than anything else.

The three had just taken a sip of water, moistening their dry throats, when they suddenly heard a scream from inside the cave.

"Damn, something happened!"

The three exchanged a glance and immediately got up, running toward the air raid shelter.

"Old He, you okay?"

Zhao Shuo was at the front, shouting into the air raid shelter.

Before he had gone far, he stopped in his tracks.

Not far ahead, He Ming lay on the ground, his head covered in blood, his life uncertain.

"Old He... Old He..."

Zhao Shuo hurriedly went forward to check on him.

But just then, Liu Rui screamed from behind, "Zhao Shuo, someone's to your left, get out of the way!"

Upon hearing the shout, Zhao Shuo turned around urgently.

A black figure flashed before his eyes suddenly.

Before he could see the figure clearly, he heard the sound of air being cut through.

Panic-stricken, he quickly retreated to dodge.

But the opponent was wielding a steel pipe.

Even though he reacted, it still landed squarely on his shoulder.

"Ouch!"

Under the heavy blow, Zhao Shuo couldn't help but cry out in pain.

The black figure then came forward, swinging the pipe and landing a blow on his head.

Blood sprayed instantly, blurring his vision.

A sudden dizziness overwhelmed him as he collapsed to the ground, his vision fading to black as he lost consciousness.

...

Muffled sobbing filled his ears.

Drifting between confusion and pain, He Ming gradually regained consciousness.

The sharp pain at the back of his head made him gasp.

The pain also brought some clarity to his vision.

"Damn! This really hurts!"

"What happened to me? How did I end up lying here?"

"I remember earlier, I entered an air raid shelter, didn't I?"

"How did I suddenly end up injured?"

"Wait… I think I was attacked…"

He Ming's memory slowly began to return.

After a while, he finally remembered everything that had happened.

He had entered the air raid shelter and was about to explore when he suddenly felt someone watching him from behind.

However, before he could turn around, he felt extreme pain at the back of his head, blacking out instantly.

As for what happened next, he had no idea.

"You're awake?"

At that moment, a figure appeared before He Ming.

"It's you?"

He Ming looked up and saw it was the young Daoist they had encountered earlier at the Seeking Immortality Temple.

"It's good you can recognize me; you should be fine."

Lu Heng nodded slightly, seeing He Ming recognized him.

Being able to recognize faces was a good sign.

"Where… where am I?"

He Ming looked around, finding himself lying in the shade of a tree.

Not far away, Song Tingting and Liu Rui were huddled together, sobbing quietly.

"What… what happened?"

He Ming asked hoarsely.

"It's a bit complicated..."

Lu Heng spoke in a serious tone, "You left a small backpack at the temple earlier; I came running to catch up."

"When I got here, I suddenly heard screams from inside the abandoned shelter, so I went in to check."

"I found someone attacking you guys and quickly grabbed a stone to scare him off."

"Who would have thought he'd be unlucky enough to get hit in the head by my throw and faint instantly..."

"Thank… thank you!"

Even though He Ming wasn't fond of Daoists or monks,

he still expressed his gratitude to his savior.

"Where's my friend Zhao Shuo?"

He asked another question.

"He's not in good shape, got hit on the head with the iron bar."

"But don't worry, I've already called the police, they've dispatched a helicopter..."

Lu Heng replied truthfully.

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