Chapter 85 Assassination - 3 For this kind of experience of being chased...
Both Yu Jitang and Qi Ying felt quite frustrated by being chased around.
Only Lu Qing seemed happy, her eyes sparkling, reflecting the fine sweat on her forehead. Even though she didn't say anything, Wu Chen could tell she was secretly excited.
The four of them found a cave and hid there temporarily.
Qi Ying collected some clean mountain water from the mountain wall, and Lu Qing took out the two still-warm roasted rabbits.
While Yu Jitang was speechless, he sincerely praised, "Fearless in the face of danger and calm in the face of change, that's exactly what you are, sister."
Lu Qing rewarded him with a rabbit head.
The four of them shared two roasted rabbits to fill their stomachs, and Lu Qing also took out a few clematis seeds that he had brought from the Western Wilderness from his spirit pouch.
Yu Jitang was somewhat annoyed. "If I had known you had this, I wouldn't have hunted those two rabbits. Now those people are watching us."
Wu Chen looked out of the cave entrance and said, "These people are after us. Whether you hunt rabbits or not, we'll still be targeted by them."
"What do we do now?" Qi Ying asked, somewhat worried.
Wu Chen picked up the tree branch from which the roasted rabbit had been placed and used one end to draw a simple map on the ground. "I suspect that the road from here to the temple is full of their spies. If we can't shake them off, we'll be trapped in their encirclement and unable to escape."
"Should we take a detour?" Yu Jitang frowned, looking at the ground. "But which way? It feels like we'll be watched no matter which way we go."
Wu Chen was silent for a while, then said, "Have you considered going back to the Western Wilderness to hide for a while? They can't wait here forever."
“Hey, that’s your father-in-law’s family, not mine.” Yu Jitang’s face darkened. “Besides, I’m worried about the Divine Palace, and my parents… Stop beating around the bush. I know you’re up to something whenever you’re not acting all high and mighty.”
Wu Chen glanced at them one after the other, then drew a curve on the ground with his stick. "If both the land and water routes are blocked, we'll have to go back by a route they don't know."
"An unknown road?" Yu Jitang had a bad feeling.
Wu Chen nodded, tossing aside the branch. "I once read in the journal of a senior member of the Divine Palace that there is a spiritual vein beneath the palace, flowing like a river. He once searched for its source, but it took months to reach its end. And just now, observing this mountain range, although located outside the Western Wilderness, the vegetation is unusually dense, with faint traces of spiritual energy emanating from it. There's most likely a spiritual vein beneath, and it's close to the surface. If we can find the entrance, we should be able to escape from there. But…"
"Just what?" Yu Jitang looked at him with a stern face. When Wu Chen was half-hearted and kept half-hidden, it was usually not a good thing.
"However, all elves, demons, and human cultivators will instinctively gravitate towards spiritual veins. Human cultivators desire to cultivate near spiritual veins, and some spirits and demons will do the same."
"In other words, if we go through the underground spiritual veins, we won't encounter any people, but we'll definitely run into a lot of strange things. Is that what you mean?" Lu Qing asked.
Wu Chen nodded.
Yu Jitang scratched his head. "How about we try walking for a while first? If it doesn't work, we can come out again."
Wu Chen sighed, "I have no way of knowing what I might encounter in the spiritual veins."
"Or maybe we won't bump into anything at all," Lu Qing said with a grin. She thought to herself: I've seen plenty of great monsters in the Western Wilderness, what kind of extraordinary things could these skinny little spiritual veins buried in the mountains attract?
Wu Chen looked at Qi Ying. Before he could ask, Qi Ying spoke up, "My lord, we still have so many disciples on Nukun Peak..." Yu Jitang was worried about his parents, and he was also worried about his fellow disciples on Nukun Peak. He and the lord were not here, and Qi Zhi was not on their side at all. If they did not return in time, who knew what would happen?
Wu Chen nodded, "Alright, let's find the spiritual vein as soon as possible and shake them off..."
Lu Qing quickly spoke up, "Wait, wait, if we just leave like this, wouldn't that be letting these guys off easy? Although we don't know who they are, you've already shown your faces, and they still dare to come after us. They're so disrespectful. I wouldn't allow it even if you agreed."
Yu Jitang, who had been holding back for a long time, immediately clapped his hands and said, "That makes sense!" If they just left like this, what would be the difference between that and fleeing in panic? Apart from Wu Chen, there were very few people who dared to bully him. These people would have to pay a real price.
Outside the cave, there were several hundred cultivators dressed in tight-fitting clothes. Some were searching in the forest, while others were observing from mid-air using magical artifacts. Since there were no civilian houses in the area, they didn't bother to hide their tracks. However, by evening, they still hadn't found any trace of Wu Chen and his group.
Some of the team leaders inevitably gathered together to discuss the matter.
"What should we do? Should we call in more people? No one on the outskirts has noticed anything unusual. They must still be in this mountain range."
"We absolutely cannot let Wu Chen and the others return to the Divine Palace alive. That's an order. If he goes back alive, we won't survive."
“Wu Chen is meticulous, carefree, and difficult to scheme against. Perhaps we should start with Yu Jitang.”
"Alright. These two are inseparable now. If we find one, the other won't be far behind. It's past noon, so we need to hurry. Otherwise, they'll have an easier time escaping at night."
Then someone in the valley shouted, "Yu Shenshi, your father is seriously injured, and your mother and your clan are in our hands. Why don't you come out and talk? Everything can be discussed."
Yu Jitang was so enraged that the veins on his forehead throbbed. He cursed under his breath, "You clowns, do you think I'm an idiot? I'll skin you alive one day."
Lu Qing comforted him, "It must be fake news. If it were me, I would never reveal such a trump card so early."
Wu Chen patted him on the shoulder, "Elder Yu has already taken precautions, it's impossible for them to succeed."
Yu Jitang snorted, "These bastards want to scheme against my father? They'll have to wait until the rivers flow backward."
Qi Ying, unusually, didn't argue with him and comforted him with a saying, "Good people are always blessed by heaven."
Yu Jitang simply blocked his hearing and pretended not to hear it.
By evening, the warriors in their tight-fitting armor were hoarse from shouting. Suddenly, crossbow bolts shot out from the forest, pointing the pursuers in the direction of Wu Chen and his men.
Just as someone was about to give chase, a team leader stopped them, saying, "Haven't you run around in circles enough? Look carefully before you speak."
Sure enough, a few more crossbow bolts were fired shortly afterward, but they were aimed in different directions. The leader narrowed his eyes and pointed, "That direction." It was a line drawn from the starting points of the crossbow bolts. Even if Wu Chen and his group weren't there now, they would inevitably have passed through that area. They could at least find some clues.
The warriors in their tight-fitting clothes gave chase. Sure enough, there were some faint fluctuations of spiritual energy ahead. The leader was overjoyed, but then loudly reminded the others, "Beware of poison."
Those who were poisoned by Lu Qing this morning are still paralyzed and unable to move, with no antidote. Though alive, they are practically crippled. Such methods terrify everyone. Many warriors had already taken antidotes as a precaution and had several experts skilled in poison lead the way as they pursued them.
Apart from a trace of residual spiritual energy, there was almost no sign of anyone having passed through along the way. These warriors in tight-fitting clothes moved forward quickly, fully alert, until they stopped at the edge of a pool of water.
"Could they be hiding underwater?"
"Could the water have been poisoned?"
"You guys, be careful, go down and scout it out."
Several warriors jumped in, and soon emerged from the water unharmed. "This is a deep mountain pool. The water comes from the mountain, but the bottom is all stone walls, with no passage."
The team leader looked around but found no trace. With darkness approaching, he felt anxious and annoyed. "Alright, you can rest for a while."
The warriors in their tight-fitting clothes gathered around the pool. Some gathered branches, preparing to light a campfire so their companions who had gone into the water could dry their clothes. The poison experts carefully checked everything to make sure there were no problems before letting everyone light the fire.
But a short while later, someone cried out in alarm, "Oh no, my spiritual power is out of control!"
The team leader was shocked. Sure enough, he couldn't use his spiritual power. He was so angry that he almost vomited blood. He shouted at the poison experts, "What's going on?"
Those men also fell for the trick. Their bodies swayed and they collapsed to the ground, unable to answer his question.
The team leader knew things were going badly, but he didn't even have the strength to move a finger. His body slowly slumped down, his face pressed against the ground, and he could only see a patch of ground in front of him out of the corner of one eye.
A moment later, a woman approached. Judging from the style of her boots, she was clearly a woman. The woman chuckled and removed the spirit pouches from everyone. When she noticed that he had an unusually large number of items, she thanked him.
The team leader was so angry he vomited blood. But soon another person came over and severed his meridians with a single sword strike. Before he lost consciousness, he heard Yu Jitang's voice, "You should be glad that I collected the debts quickly and didn't charge you interest."
Yu Jitang and his group left quickly.
Meanwhile, there were quite a few of the warriors' accomplices nearby. Seeing the fire but no movement, they came to investigate. But when they arrived, they only saw a pot of boiling water hanging on the campfire, and people lying around it scattered about. There was no sign of Wu Chen and his group.
Someone went to check, but even holding their breath couldn't stop them; they collapsed. Those who weren't hit were terrified and could only signal for help.
More and more people from other areas were drawn to this place, but they could not make any progress and were at a loss.
Wu Chen and his men, who were lying in ambush in the distance, watched as these people fell one by one, and the people on the outside were terrified and unable to advance or retreat, yet helpless. They couldn't help but feel a sense of relief.
Yu Jitang felt extremely pleased and quietly asked Lu Qing, "How did you do that?"
Lu Qing chuckled, "The flowers, plants, and dew in this dense forest are all medicinal. I mixed a kind of medicine into the pool water, which is not poisonous. But whether they use it to dry clothes, boil water, or drink it directly, it will become a poison that dissipates spiritual energy when mixed with the oil from the burning branches. Even if they don't breathe, it will take effect as soon as it touches their skin. They'll suffer."
Qi Ying frowned slightly as he looked at Lu Qing. The female disciples of the Divine Palace were always extremely careful in their actions, fearing any misstep that might invite criticism. He had never encountered a woman like Lu Qing before. Could this be the true nature of the Spirit Fruit? He glanced at Wu Chen, but unexpectedly saw a smile in his master's eyes.
"Alright, we should go now." Wu Chen looked at a place in the mountains where the fog was slightly thicker. "Let them stay here and enjoy themselves. I can't wait to meet the mastermind behind this. Such a grand welcome back is something we should express our gratitude for."
Lu Qing chuckled, "Don't worry, I've already given you a rough idea. Those guys had a lot of poison in their spirit pouches, the kind Yu Jitang used. The effects were crude, really not presentable. So I processed a lot of it for them and threw a lot of it into the mountains..."
Before she could finish speaking, a scream came from afar.
Yu Jitang and Qi Ying both shuddered, staring at her, unsure of what to say.
Wu Chen patted her head. "Well done. Keep some of these, you might need them later."
"Don't worry," Lu Qing blinked, "there's plenty."
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Author's note: I'm experiencing some writer's block.
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