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墨書 Inktalez
Upon reaching the city, the gates were already closed. Xunuo did not use the city gate; instead, he leaped up to a section of the city wall.
Jiang Tiesuo and the others stared in astonishment, looking up at Xunuo on the wall. Ignoring them, Xunuo shook out a long rope from his sleeve and let it dangle down.
It was only then that Jiang Tiesuo snapped back to reality, noticing Jing Lide already climbing up the rope with both hands. He cursed inwardly, thinking, "What a coward."
With a strong pull from above, Xunuo flung Jing Lide onto the wall. He caught him and lowered the rope again. One by one, he helped everyone up and then lowered them down on the other side. After that, Xunuo jumped down from the wall and sprinted off toward the northwest.
The others hurriedly followed behind, their minds filled with uncertainty. Only Jing Lide, an old hand at this, pondered for a moment before realizing Xunuo's intentions and felt reassured enough to keep running.
Xunuo dared not slow down; he maintained a speed comparable to that of galloping horses as he led the way.
In just a short while, they had created some distance. Jiang Tiesuo struggled to keep up behind Xunuo, panting heavily but managing to stay close. Nangong Changjian and Chaykov had fallen back by over ten zhang, while Jing Lide lagged another twenty zhang behind.
Seeing this situation was unsustainable—if they continued like this, they would surely lose some members—Xunuo decided to reduce his speed to match what Jing Lide could handle and continued running northwest.
Gradually, Qingyang City fell out of Xunuo's Divine Sense range. Eventually, he noticed that two Robe Men were still busy at the escort agency, showing no signs of further action and unaware that his group had already escaped.
In truth, when Xunuo first released his Divine Sense and detected that the enemy had placed hidden sentries for surveillance, he became suspicious. With such profound skills, they only needed to release their Divine Sense; it was likely that all of Qingyang City was under their watchful gaze. There was no need for them to deploy inconspicuous spies.
Later on, as his Divine Sense remained locked onto those two Robe Men, they remained completely oblivious. This further confirmed one of Xunuo's suspicions: these two men either could not project their Divine Sense outward or their range was limited.
If these two Robe Men truly could not project their Divine Sense outward, Xunuo himself found it hard to believe. It was merely one possibility among many.
Thus, it seemed more plausible that their Divine Sense simply did not reach far enough. This led to Xunuo's strategy: exiting the city from the south and making a detour northwest was also meant to confuse the enemy. He could not trust that those Managers would risk their lives to keep secrets under threat of death.
Logically speaking, they should have fled southward toward Wuhua Mountain.
If the enemy's Divine Sense were stronger than Xunuo's or reached farther—perhaps even comparable—he would have definitely made a beeline for Wuhua Mountain. At most, he would notify everyone to scatter and leave their fates to chance. He would not drag along any burdens if it came down to desperation.
But it seemed that the opponent's Divine Sense was far inferior to his own, so Xunuo was determined to protect these few people. Although heading south would bring them closer to the Wuhua Sect and thus be somewhat safer, since the enemy was cunning, they likely had contingencies in place, and there could be ambushes along the way.
In Xunuo's mind, heading north towards the Nanyue Sect would actually be the safest route, as it was the direction where their forces were weakest in trying to intercept them.
Unfortunately, the person he had injured also intended to go north. Xunuo dared not compete in speed with a formidable opponent, so he opted for a secondary route, running northwest first, then west after leaving the danger zone. Finally, they would head south to shake off any threats and make a large detour back to Wuhua Mountain.
Xunuo and his companions ran at full speed for two hours. Suddenly, they saw fireworks rising from the direction of Qingyang City, bursting with a loud bang and releasing brilliant red light. Jing Lide hurriedly caught up with Xunuo and said, "That's an emergency summons from Nanyue Sect. Our departure from the city has likely been exposed."
Jiang Tiesuo's expression changed. "We should find somewhere to hide."
Xunuo did not slow his pace at all. "Just follow me closely; don't fall behind."
All along the way, Xunuo kept his Divine Sense fully activated, aware of every rustle in the grass or breeze. He ran without any hesitation.
After less than half an hour of running, Xunuo suddenly slowed down ahead. He waved his hand, leading everyone off the main road. They climbed over a hill and signaled for a few people to sit down and rest on the other side. The others were fine, but Jing Lide was already exhausted. Seeing an opportunity to rest, he lay back on the hillside and gasped for breath.
Jiang Tiesuo said, "Master Lu, it's windy here; we should rest down below."
Xunuo replied softly, "It's not for resting; someone is coming."
Jiang Tiesuo quickly asked, "Is there an ambush?"
Xunuo shook his head without speaking and pointed to his ear. Jiang Tiesuo and the others quickly focused and listened intently.
Sure enough, they heard the sound of hooves approaching from afar before moving towards Qingyang City.
Jiang Tiesuo sincerely remarked, "Master Lu has great hearing."
Xunuo thought to himself: this has nothing to do with hearing.
He chose not to reveal it.
Once the group had moved far away, they continued to race northwest. Along the way, they encountered two more groups heading towards Qingyang City, but Xunuo had already spotted them in advance and managed to avoid detection.
As dawn approached, Xunuo found a Mountain Valley nestled between two mountains, a fertile area about thirty zhang wide. A thin mist enveloped the valley, giving it an unfathomable appearance. Upon reaching the cliff's edge, Xunuo called out, "Jump down," and leaped into the mist.
The remaining few exchanged glances before Nangong Changjian took the lead and jumped down.
As he fell, Nangong Changjian realized with dismay that the depth exceeded his ability to control a safe landing. The valley below was shrouded in fog, obscuring his view. He struggled to maintain his balance, arms spread wide in hopes of grabbing onto something. Suddenly, he felt his collar snagged by something, leaving him suspended in mid-air.
In a panic, Nangong Changjian reached back and grabbed a hand. At that moment, Xunuo's voice came through: "Let go of my hand."
Relieved, Nangong Changjian released his grip. Looking up, he saw Xunuo clinging to the treetop, only two or three zhang above the ground. Xunuo then let go and lowered Nangong Changjian safely down.
Next, Jiang Tiesuo and Chaykov jumped down one after another. After a brief wait, they heard Cliff toss down a stone.
Jiang Tiesuo shouted angrily, "You worthless coward! We're all down here, and you throw a rock for what?"
Only then did Jing Lide jump down. Once on the ground, he kept apologizing and explaining himself.
Xunuo waved his hand and said, "Let's rest here for today; we'll travel again when it gets dark."
Exhausted from their journey, everyone forgot their hunger and quickly found dry spots to lie down and sleep.
It wasn't until the sun had dipped low that Jiang Tiesuo was the first to wake up.
The mist in Mountain Valley had long dissipated, and the sunset's glow filtered through the dense trees, casting dappled light upon them. A rich aroma wafted into his nose.
Following the scent, Jiang Tiesuo saw Xunuo sitting with his back to him under a tree. In front of him lay a blanket with several opened oil paper packages revealing some braised beef and marinated chicken. Xunuo held a chicken leg in one hand while pouring wine into his mouth with the other.
Jiang Tiesuo rolled over and got up to join him for a meal. As he ate, he mumbled his thanks. Xunuo smiled and passed him the wine jar.
After taking a couple of swigs, Jiang Tiesuo remarked, "Thanks to having Shishu along this time; otherwise, things could have turned out badly."
Xunuo shook his head and said, "If I hadn't come, perhaps we wouldn't have these troubles."
Jiang Tiesuo pondered for a moment and asked, "Are these matters all aimed at you, Shishu?"
Xunuo nodded and replied, "It's indeed directed at me, but they overestimate my abilities by sending such skilled opponents. They might be on par with Hall Master Tian."
Jiang Tiesuo chuckled, "In that case, it allows us to escape; your methods are indeed superior, Shishu."
Xunuo shot him a glare and said, "Don't flatter me. Right now, our lives are not in our own hands. Just revealing a hint of our whereabouts could lead us to our doom. If we encounter one of those Robe Men, it could spell disaster for us all. Only by returning to Wuhua Mountain can we find a way out. We must remain extremely cautious on the road ahead."
Jiang Tiesuo nodded in agreement. As they spoke, Nangong Changjian and Chaykov woke up and hurried over to eat.
Jing Lide was the last to wake up; he had been roused by hunger. Upon opening his eyes, he saw the four of them gathered around eating and drinking. With a mournful expression, he approached them, saying, "You all are bullying an old man like me."
Chaykov and Nangong Changjian found it difficult to retort.
However, Jiang Tiesuo didn't care and bluntly said, "You ungrateful fellow! I didn't wake you up so you could sleep a little longer; it's not like we're short on food because of you."
After they finished eating, they chatted for a while. Seeing that it was still light outside, they each took some time to rest and regain their strength.
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