Chapter 68 Departure

Feeling the turbulent Zhen Qi inside his body had calmed somewhat, Lin Xing didn't rush to complete his breathing regulation. Getting out of there was the top priority. So, he slowly opened his eyes.

Suddenly, Lin Xing was shocked by the scene before him—people were everywhere! In a flash of alarm, he immediately sprang to his feet.

"Young Master Lin—Brother Lin Xing—are you alright?" Sister Ye and Xiao Bao both asked with concern. Only upon hearing their voices did Lin Xing realize these were the people imprisoned inside. For a moment there, he'd thought they were enemies. Lin Xing gave an awkward smile and said, "I'm fine. What's going on?" Feeling embarrassed under so many gazes, he asked.

"But what about your injuries?" Sister Ye pointed at the still-bleeding wounds on his body and asked with concern.

"It's nothing serious, just superficial wounds. By the way, what are you all doing here?" Seeing they hadn't answered, Lin Xing couldn't help but ask again.

"We... it's nothing," Sister Ye smiled and continued, "We saw you sitting here motionless, and we didn't know what was happening. But we didn't dare wake you, so we just stayed here watching over you."

In truth, Sister Ye was worried something might happen to Lin Xing, which was why she stayed by his side. Although this didn't serve any practical purpose, Lin Xing still felt a bit grateful—after all, it was a gesture of care.

"Thank you all," Lin Xing said sincerely, looking at them. "By the way, Xiao Bao, where's your sister?" Lin Xing suddenly remembered Xiao Bao's sister, Rose, and noticed she wasn't among the crowd. Had something happened? Oh no, he actually hadn't thought of this earlier.

Before Xiao Bao could answer, a voice came from behind, "Benefactor, were you looking for me?"

Lin Xing turned his head and couldn't help but feel his eyes light up! A veritable beauty came cheerfully running over. Gone was Rose's previous disheveled appearance, replaced by a fresh and beautiful woman! She had slightly tidied her attire and changed into clean clothes. Even though it was a man's garment, it couldn't conceal her lovely features!

Rose jogged over and asked Lin Xing, "Benefactor, were you looking for me?" After speaking, she gazed at Lin Xing with a fervent yet restrained look in her eyes.

"Miss Rose," Lin Xing greeted her, "why don't you call me Young Master Lin, just like Sister Ye? 'Benefactor' is a title I can't accept."

Truth be told, Lin Xing wasn't used to nor liked such a form of address. The fact was, aside from some children, he was the youngest here. All these women were older than him. Being called "Benefactor" by women older than him felt very awkward!

Hearing Lin Xing say this, Rose's face clearly lit up with joy, and the happiness in her eyes was unmistakable.

"In that case, I'll call you Young Master Lin, and you don't have to call me Miss Rose either. Just call me Rose," Rose said straightforwardly, staring intently at Lin Xing.

Lin Xing was taken aback for a moment. Calling her by her first name? That was something only very familiar people did. But now...

Seeing Lin Xing hesitate, Rose's joyful expression dimmed. "Young Master Lin, you can call Sister Ye 'sister,' but you still call me Miss Rose?" Her tone was utterly disappointed. She lowered her head, tears welling up in her eyes, clearly on the verge of crying.

Lin Xing was baffled. What was so strange about this form of address? It was just a title, after all. They were merely passing acquaintances. They might even forget each other by tomorrow.

Lin Xing hesitated for a moment, looking at Rose's unhappy face, which seemed about to burst into tears. He couldn't help but feel exasperated. What in the world was this all about?

"Since that's the case, and you're all older than me, I'll just call you sisters," Lin Xing said. He still couldn't bring himself to call Rose by her first name. Besides, he felt something was off about Rose today.

Seeing Lin Xing concede, Rose couldn't help but feel a secret delight in her heart. Although it wasn't exactly what she had hoped for, it was still a step closer.

Lin Xing didn't want to dwell on this topic any longer. They needed to leave this place as soon as possible. If the people who had gone out returned, it would be trouble!

"We must leave this place as soon as possible. How is everyone now?" Lin Xing turned to ask Sister Ye.

"Everyone who could be here is here. Just earlier, more than a dozen died," Sister Ye said, her voice tinged with sorrow as she lowered her head.

"That was their tragic fate," Lin Xing also felt a sense of tragedy for those people. "Alright, let's get ready to leave."

Before leaving, there were still some things to do. Lin Xing called over a few people who looked relatively healthy and strong to help deal with the corpses. Since digging graves wasn't feasible, Lin Xing simply piled the bodies into a room, found some cooking oil, and set them on fire.

Lin Xing even went into some secret rooms of the Divine Wind Sect and scooped up all their wealth into his spatial ring! The Divine Wind Sect's assets were quite substantial, including quite a few valuable items!

As they left, Lin Xing set several fires to burn down the base. Although he wanted to completely destroy the base, Lin Xing wasn't a mage. If he were, a few forbidden spells would have done the job. But for now, he could only cause as much damage as possible.

Crawling out of the cave entrance, Lin Xing took a deep breath of fresh air. He had been inside for over a day and night, and during that time, he had almost gotten himself killed there! Now, he felt as if he had narrowly escaped death and was finally free.

Looking at the greenery before him and then back at the cave entrance they had just crawled out of, the women finally believed they had truly escaped.

"I'm out! I'm finally out of that hellhole!" one woman exclaimed excitedly, her voice trembling with emotion. "I'm finally out..." Overwhelmed, she collapsed to the ground and burst into loud sobs.

Lin Xing knew these were tears of joy and relief.

For a moment, everyone wept with happiness, even the seemingly strong Sister Ye had tears in her eyes.

Lin Xing felt a headache coming on, but he didn't stop them. He let them vent their emotions—it would do them good.

Once they had vented enough, Lin Xing led the group as they made their difficult way down the mountain!