He might not know much else, but at least he knew one thing. Since the culprits dared to launch an attack, they must have had some confidence in succeeding.
In any case, in a place and situation like this, he himself had completely lost any sense of direction. In contrast, this Brother Shiheng remained calm in the face of change and composed in danger. He clearly had the ability to make decisions and showed decisive skill in avoiding risks.
He believed that Yu Qing running like this must have a purpose. It had to be to seek a way out of danger. He definitely would not be running to his death.
Moreover, he had seen Yu Qing’s agility when climbing the tree earlier. The man was hiding his true strength!
At a time like this, whoever showed the qualities of a leader worth following, he would follow without hesitation. To survive, he had no other choice.
After swiftly moving through the undulating mountain forest for a while, Yu Qing looked back and saw that Xu Fei was still following. He felt a little speechless. He really had someone who was not afraid to die.
It was not that he lacked the ability to shake Xu Fei off. The environment limited him. Along the way he had been using the Observation Character Technique to avoid potential dangers, stopping and starting, turning left and right. This gave Xu Fei, who was chasing with full effort, a chance to keep up. Otherwise, in such foggy conditions, Xu Fei would have had no way to follow him.
From his judgements along the route, it seemed that the forces of both sides were concentrated at the battle site on the official road. There did not appear to be much happening here, so Yu Qing simply ignored Xu Fei and continued moving through the forest.
He believed Xu Fei would stop on his own. Given Xu Fei’s physique, trained only in external martial arts and without knowledge of breathing and energy circulation methods, he could not run far in the depths of this mountain forest. Once his stamina ran out, he would naturally stop.
He had not run much farther when he himself stopped first. He halted beside a corpse whose face was completely unrecognisable. Next to the corpse lay an Ink Shadow Bow. The dead man was clearly a great archer.
The Ink Shadow Bow was a valuable item, far exceeding the worth of that bit of spiritual rice. If he really could not find the spiritual rice, getting hold of such a thing would still be quite a good deal.
Yu Qing muttered to himself for a moment, looked left and right, and seeing Xu Fei approaching, he no longer worried about being seen. He quickly unfastened the Ink Shadow Bow and the quiver, slung them on his back, and took them away.
The fire was growing bigger. Hei Yunxiao, who had been standing on a high point directing operations, jumped down from the treetop.
Because three giant eagles had successively snatched three carriages as their harvest and delivered them to him, he jumped down to check. He discovered that what they had grabbed were either luggage carriages or empty ones. Not a single person was inside.
No need for a close look to understand what had happened. Those feathered beasts were not intelligent. Their minds were poor. They saw a carriage and simply treated it as a target to grab.
Hei Yunxiao was furious at the sight and cursed, “A bunch of stupid birds!”
At the same time, he secretly felt worried. Why had they grabbed three useless carriages, yet not a single one of the real fine steel cages?
He had already vaguely sensed something. He turned his head and said, “Notify the brothers hidden in the rear mountain to prepare. Get ready to receive and cover the retreat!”
He had deliberately kept a few men unexposed, as a precaution in case the Rat Granny and the other two turned against him later, allowing him a way to escape.
By now, he already faintly foresaw that the chance of success was slim. Before the outcome was even clear, he was already preparing to run.
“Yes!” One subordinate accepted the order and left. Another remained standing by with hands clasped.
The fire grew fiercer, the heat intensified, and the mist was driven away faster and faster.
A figure descended from the sky and landed on a large tree, right beside Jiang Shan, the bald man in white. It was Gao Yuan.
Jiang Shan immediately asked upon seeing him, “Why have all your eagle slaves withdrawn?”
Gao Yuan’s face was full of anger. “If they do not withdraw, are they looking for death? Those fine steel cages are not small, and with the number of people locked inside, they are too heavy. My eagle slaves could not lift them at all. Because of that, more than thirty were killed. That pair of vile people did not figure out the situation at all. They had no certainty of success and were using our brothers’ lives as a test!”
“Damn it!” Jiang Shan spat in rage and waved his hand. “Withdraw. Forget about them.”
Gao Yuan handed him a piece of paper. “Withdrawing is the only option now. Prepare to flee for your life!”
“What is this?” Jiang Shan took it and looked.
Gao Yuan said, “News from my side. Something has happened to Lady Qixia. The chief commander of Sinan Prefecture personally took action and killed Lady Qixia!”
“The ‘Earth Mother’ directly killed the lady? This happened two days ago…” Jiang Shan murmured as he read the message, his face full of shock. He seemed unable to believe that the chief commander of Sinan Prefecture could be so ruthless and unreasonable.
Gao Yuan sighed. “Yes, it happened two days ago. We learned of it too late. Even if the news had arrived half an hour earlier, we would not have suffered such heavy losses. Let us go. There is no meaning left. Even if we succeed now, there is no place to claim the reward.”
“Still thinking about claiming a reward? Your eagle slaves, this mist, and these countless rats. Sinan Prefecture only needs to investigate a little to know who was involved!” Jiang Shan gnashed his teeth in grief, his face twisted with ferocity. He clenched his fists tightly. “How many of my Mist Hidden clansmen were burned to death in this great fire? If we are leaving, we must first find that vile couple and vent this anger!”
With a flash, he darted away. Gao Yuan also flashed after him.
The two moved swiftly through the forest, one in front and one behind, feet barely touching the ground. They leapt from branch to branch, darting like swallows among the trees.
The two, heading straight for their target, soon arrived. Both landed on the ground, right in front of Hei Yunxiao.
Hei Yunxiao had been speaking quietly with one subordinate, making low arrangements for the retreat. Suddenly seeing the two arrive, he said in surprise, “Why have the two brothers left the front lines and come back?”
The two suddenly running back together caught him off guard and left him unprepared.
He had already prepared to leave first, planning to circle around to support his wife and then flee far away. Who would have thought these two would appear? Now it was awkward to leave.
Gao Yuan spoke first and stunned him. “Brother Hei, something has happened to your wife.”
Hei Yunxiao’s heart trembled. He stepped forward two paces and asked urgently, “What happened?”
Gao Yuan said gravely, “Your wife was killed by Jin Huahai!”
Hei Yunxiao was greatly shocked. His expression changed dramatically.
In the instant his mind was shaken, Gao Yuan’s claw burst forth. A sharp, mutated claw shadow struck suddenly and hit his chest, splashing blood. Five claws locked tightly onto his sternum.
Caught off guard by the sudden attack, Hei Yunxiao was furious. From the corner of his eye he did not see it, but he already sensed the vicious smile on Jiang Shan’s face nearby.
His reaction was quick. The moment he was hit, before Jiang Shan could act and before Gao Yuan could press the attack, he suddenly leapt up and kicked out with both feet, forcing Gao Yuan to withdraw.
Gao Yuan had not expected him to ignore his locked sternum and choose a desperate counterattack without hesitation.
Gao Yuan would not risk his life with him, but having landed a blow, he would not let the other off easily. The five claws he withdrew twisted with a crack, forcibly breaking one of Hei Yunxiao’s ribs. His other hand blocked one of Hei Yunxiao’s kicks, using the force to fly back. In his hand he held a clump of flesh and blood.
Jiang Shan suddenly opened his mouth wide. His jaws split open to half the size of his face in a bloody maw. He spat a blast of white mist at the rising figure.
Because Gao Yuan’s twist on his rib slowed his ascent, the swift mist, like a whip, instantly engulfed him.
A heavy thud like a muffled drum came from within the mist. The white fog scattered. Hei Yunxiao’s body flew sideways.
A long, blood-red tongue flashed back from the churning white mist and retracted into Jiang Shan’s mouth. His jaws snapped shut. The tip of his tongue licked the blood staining his lips. He sneered coldly. Using the white mist for cover, he too had succeeded in a sneak attack.
Facing the panicked subordinate of Hei Yunxiao who wanted to flee, Jiang Shan retracted his limbs. His body became like a cannonball shot out. He let the man’s palms strike his spherical form. Boom! The man was directly blasted away.
The man flew like a meteor and crashed into a tree, leaving a large dent in the trunk before spitting blood and falling to the ground, apparently unconscious or dead.
Jiang Shan paid no attention to whether he lived or died. His main target was not that man. He shot forward again, pouncing toward Hei Yunxiao.
Hei Yunxiao, who had spun and landed, spread both arms wide. The fallen leaves on the ground suddenly whirled around him like a tornado. His claws erupted with swirling killing aura. His eyes instantly turned a startling gold-green.
Blood dripped from his chest. Besides the wound Gao Yuan had torn open, another bloody gash had appeared on his chest. The cloth covering his chest and abdomen was gone, revealing slabs of muscle.
Yet the two who had succeeded in successive sneak attacks still refused to let him go. They clearly intended to strike while he was weakened and take his life.
Gao Yuan soared through the air toward him. Jiang Shan shot forward low along the ground. The two attacked together, one from above and one from below.
Inside the hollow of a nearby large tree, Yu Qing and Xu Fei were so shocked that they did not dare breathe loudly.
The tree hollow was fairly spacious. The two squeezed inside without feeling too cramped. It could probably hide five or six people. There was just a strong foul stench, probably from some animal’s former nest.
Yu Qing had not expected Xu Fei to have the stamina to follow him all the way here. The strange thing was that Xu Fei himself did not feel very tired. Yu Qing later realised it was the effect of that meal of spiritual rice. Xu Fei had eaten the most, and the spiritual energy stored in his body could replenish his stamina in time.
The two had groped their way to the area near the snatched carriages but did not dare approach. Hei Yunxiao was right beside the carriages. They could not gauge his true strength and did not dare act rashly, so they quietly hid in this tree hollow.
Who would have thought that before they could even clearly see what Hei Yunxiao looked like, two strange men suddenly appeared and launched a sneak attack.
From the noise of the fight, even Xu Fei could tell that the three people fighting were clearly all Xuan-level experts.
The two had hoped to hide in the tree hollow and wait it out. Who knew the three fighters would move wherever they pleased? In the blink of an eye, the fight had shifted right near this tree hollow. If they were caught in the crossfire and discovered, it would truly be the end for them.
With the soldiers’ uniforms they wore, plus Yu Qing carrying the great archer’s bow and quiver, if they were found, there would probably be no need for explanations.
Yu Qing was baffled. How had they started infighting? This was completely beyond his expectations.
He knew very well that these three were true Xuan-level experts, far beyond the three snake demons they had killed in the county town. Any one of them could easily slaughter him.
What if they were discovered? He could not help but anxiously think of a way to escape.
While the two were nervously peeking through cracks in the bark, something suddenly whistled through the air above.
It was a strange-looking cane, dark red, resembling a giant bamboo worm with its limbs retracted, carved so realistically it looked alive.
With a swish, the cane blocked Gao Yuan’s aerial pounce, then swiftly stabbed into the ground to intercept Jiang Shan charging low along the surface.