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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter: The Tenacious Pursuers
Ji Zichen and Lin Chuyu raced down the Twin Cliffs, heading south. Fire Lion and Big Tiger were riding a single horse, which struggled to keep up, lagging behind Lifeng. Ji Zichen could hear the sound of hooves growing closer behind them. Turning slightly, he couldn't help but praise Lifeng's horse, saying, "What a fine steed."
Lin Chuyu was also anxious, glancing back at the pursuers. Ji Zichen urged, "We’re about to be caught up. Don’t stop!"
Lin Chuyu's heart raced. "I... I understand."
Initially, Ji Zichen and Lin Chuyu rode side by side, but now Kiko slowed his horse slightly, positioning it behind Lin Chuyu. He intended to act as a barrier to protect her. Glancing back at Lifeng, he thought, "They are very patient, not in a hurry at all. Are they waiting for our horse to tire before making their move?"
As Big Tiger galloped alongside Fire Lion, he asked, "Big Brother, what should we do now?"
Fire Lion kept his eyes on Ji Zichen's back with a wary expression. "Our horses from the Western Desert may be fast, but they will tire eventually. Their endurance is better than ours; we need to catch them quickly."
Big Tiger replied nonchalantly, "That’s easy! I’ll just throw my War Hammer. Even if I can’t hit them, I can take out their horse."
Fire Lion didn’t want to risk Lin Chuyu’s life. He cautioned, "Don’t be reckless. If something goes wrong, it could kill Second Sister. If that happens, this trip will have been for nothing."
Big Tiger, who had been eyeing Lin Chuyu's beauty, finally understood Fire Lion's concern. "Right, right! We can't let Second Sister get hurt. It would be terrible if such a pretty girl broke her leg."
Their conversation reached Lifeng’s ears, but since he was leading the charge on horseback, he couldn’t turn back to speak. With a sly grin, he raised two fingers toward Big Tiger and Fire Lion behind him, signaling them to encircle.
Big Tiger understood Lifeng’s intention and said to Fire Lion, "Big Brother, you’ll have to work a bit harder now."
After pondering for a moment, Fire Lion replied, "It seems we have no choice. Remember, I only have three minutes."
With that said, Fire Lion suddenly leaped off his horse. As soon as he dismounted, Big Tiger’s horse picked up speed; he struck its flank with his whip, causing the horse to surge forward in pain. When Ji Zichen first saw Fire Lion jump off the horse, he thought Fire Lion had lost his mind—who would jump off a galloping steed? It seemed like a death wish.
But Fire Lion was not reckless; no one valued their life more than he did. An extraordinary event occurred at that moment: when Fire Lion landed on the ground, he didn’t fall or injure himself; instead, he stabilized himself and matched the speed of the horse. This didn’t surprise Ji Zichen too much since he knew that with enough skill in lightness techniques, one could run swiftly for a short distance.
However, this was only sustainable for a brief time. Although Fire Lion was indeed formidable, he was not a lion; after running for some time now without showing signs of fatigue or breathlessness was unexpected for Ji Zichen.
Ji Zichen was astonished. "How is he doing this?"
Ji Zichen glanced down at the Fire Lion's feet and noticed he was wearing a pair of Red Boots, adorned with fluffy lion fur. It suddenly dawned on Kiko, "Could those boots be magical artifacts?"
It had to be that way. Although Kiko had never seen boots as magical artifacts, it explained why the Fire Lion's face showed no signs of exhaustion despite his frantic running.
Just as Kiko's gaze shifted away from the Red Boots, Big Tiger rode up beside him, laughing maniacally. "Kid, I am Big Tiger of the Western Desert Gang!"
Kiko turned to him with a sidelong glance. "Did I ask for your name?"
Big Tiger arrogantly replied, "I just wanted you to know who it is that’s going to crush you!"
The War Hammer swung toward Kiko with a fierce wind. Kiko dodged to the side; although he avoided the blow, the gust from the hammer nearly knocked him off his horse.
Lin Chuyu screamed from ahead, "Brother Ji!"
Kiko quickly regained his balance, and Lin Chuyu finally breathed a sigh of relief. Kiko coldly mocked Big Tiger, "You can't win against me with brute force."
Big Tiger laughed boisterously. "You haven't seen real brute strength yet!"
The War Hammer struck again, but this time Big Tiger aimed not at Kiko but at his mount. Seeing Kiko's quick reflexes on horseback and knowing that attacking him while he was moving would likely be futile, Big Tiger decided that targeting the horse was a better strategy. No matter how agile Kiko was, he couldn't make his horse dodge as quickly as he could.
The War Hammer hit the horse's hindquarters, causing its muscles to convulse. The horse knelt on its two hind legs and then collapsed to the ground with a mournful whinny. Before hitting the ground himself, Kiko rolled several times, ending up in a somewhat disheveled state but otherwise unharmed.
Big Tiger halted his horse abruptly and laughed heartily. "How does it feel to eat dirt?"
Kiko felt utterly humiliated; his anger surged within him, but he did not let it show on his face. The Fire Lion had stopped several paces away from him, leaving only the Fire Lion and Big Tiger in front of him. Suddenly, he realized, "There's still one more!"
Kiko looked toward Lin Chuyu and saw that she had already stopped her horse nearby, watching without approaching. Lifeng had appeared behind Lin Chuyu's horse and leaped forward, elbowing her throat and dragging her down.
Lifeng held a pair of scissors against Lin Chuyu's finger and lifted it to inspect closely. He smiled and said, "Beautiful lady, your nails are indeed lovely. Someone like you must have a beautiful death as well."
Big Tiger shouted anxiously, "Second brother, if you hurt her, I won't let this go!"
Lifeng chuckled lightly. "Don't worry; I will make sure to trim her nails nicely so she can look beautiful when she marries you."
Seeing Lin Chuyu being restrained by Lifeng left Kiko momentarily at a loss for what to do.
Lifeng's expression changed as he saw Ji Zichen. He smiled lightly and said, "Hey, Fugitive, I like beautiful things, whether it's a rotting wound or a fountain of blood. But I have a principle: you must be worried that I would use her to threaten you, right?"
Ji Zichen fell into a moment of silence, then let out a cold laugh. "Aren't you going to?"
Lifeng suddenly released Lin Chuyu, appearing quite sincere. "Of course not. I despise those who are easily coerced. I never resort to underhanded methods to kill."
With a swift movement, Lifeng lunged at Ji Zichen like a spear. "I want to cut your throat; when your blood bursts forth, it will surely be a sight to behold."
Seeing that his methods were somewhat impressive, Ji Zichen couldn't help but commend him. "In that case, bring it on! I won't let you die easily!"
Big Tiger raised his War Hammer and was about to step in for a two-on-one fight when Lifeng spoke up. "Don't interfere; I'll handle him alone."
Big Tiger looked at Fire Lion. "Brother, look at how Second Brother is about to make a fool of himself again!"
Fire Lion replied succinctly, "Let them have their match; otherwise, we'll have slaves suffering when we return."
Big Tiger rested the War Hammer on his shoulder and said, "Third Brother, I'll give you half a cup of tea's worth of time. If you can't win by then, I'll step in."
Lifeng chuckled softly. "It won't take that long; I'll settle this in three moves!"
"First move: Water Nail!" The Severing Wind Blade flicked toward Ji Zichen.
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