Chapter 470: Chase (5k)
Confused? Inside the carriage, Xu Zhenguan's eyes showed some doubt, but he didn't ask any questions.
The death of several rebels who were being interrogated caused an uproar at the entire checkpoint, and the merchants and travelers who were being interrogated along the way screamed and shouted.
Zhao Duan shook the reins and drove the carriage with an expressionless face. Under the awestruck gazes of the "survivors", he passed the checkpoint and continued along the official road.
According to the map, there is a fork in the road ahead. There is more than one road leading to the Huai River, and he must choose one of them.
…
Half a day later.
"Sigh."
The spy chief Ouyang Ye tightened the reins and arrived at the official road entrance. The place was under martial law and a new team of rebel soldiers was waiting there.
The dead bodies were placed side by side on straw mats by the roadside.
"Sir, these soldiers had their throats cut by sharp blades. Judging by the method, it must have been done by a cultivator."
A spy dismounted to check the situation and came back to report:
"According to witnesses, the murder was committed by a man wearing a straw hat while driving a car. He then drove through the checkpoint and escaped."
Wearing a hood that hid his face, Ouyang Ye, with his right hand holding the Miao Dao at his waist, listened to the report with an expressionless face.
Beside him, "Bald Eagle" and "Demon Shi Niang", who were riding horses on his left and right, looked happy.
The latter said, "It seems that the direction we are tracing is correct. The enemy is indeed trying to break out from the south, leaving Jiancheng and heading towards the Huai River."
After leaving the bamboo forest, the team continued to chase, but unfortunately Yao Shi Niang’s magic could not be used too often.
After Zhao Duan set out on the journey, because he was far away from the mountains and wilderness, it was difficult for the bald eagle to obtain his accurate whereabouts from animals and birds.
"This wound should be caused by Zhao Duan's flying knife. I have seen something similar before." Ouyang Ye said.
During the battle at Huting, Zhao Duan killed the archer and left his body at Prince Jing's residence, with traces of a flying knife being left behind.
"Given Zhao Duan's skill, if he had escaped alone, we would have had difficulty capturing him. But he chose to ride in a carriage, which suggests the false emperor was seriously injured and unable to walk. He was inside, and carriages can only travel on official roads... Haha, he was willing to kill people to break through, so he must have thought he could escape before the pursuers arrived..."
Ouyang Ye analyzed calmly, his smile grim:
"So, as long as we continue along this road, any checkpoint where something goes wrong will indicate where they're heading. It'll only take half a day. We'll ride horses and he'll drive. If all goes well, we might be able to catch up with them today."
The spies were cheered up and immediately rode their horses, following the traces of Zhao Duan left behind to chase him.
During the journey, if they encounter a fork in the road, they will split into two groups.
If one group finds that the checkpoint ahead is safe and sound, they will turn back in time and join the other group.
So, the group rode their horses in pursuit, but they didn't catch up until dark.
"Something's not right. It's been so long, I should have seen some trace of him."
Ouyang Ye reined in his horse and stopped, frowning:
"I can't keep chasing you."
He turned and looked at Yao Shi Niang: "I need to determine the other party's position."
The sorceress with a charming figure and seductive eyes pursed her red lips and smiled:
"Sir, are you sure you want to ask now? My technique cannot be used frequently. Once used, you will have to wait for a long time."
Seeing Ouyang Ye staring at her coldly, Yao Shiniang could only sigh, raised her ten fingers with nails of different colors, pointed at the air, muttered something, and made a praying gesture.
A halo of light spread out from between her eyebrows. She carefully dragged her hands into the air, and the space distorted. An almost transparent old "oil lamp" appeared out of thin air.
The oil lamp burned, and the color of the flame kept changing, red, green, orange, yellow...
The color of the candlelight corresponds to the color of the sorceress's nails.
"Djinn!"
Ouyang Ye subconsciously clenched his hand that was holding Miao Dao, and was instinctively wary of the "wild god".
The lamp god summoned by Yao Shi Niang is a wild god without the title of a legitimate god. One can burn lamp oil in exchange for the opportunity to "make a wish".
However, there is an upper limit to the wishes that can be made. If the limit is exceeded, the caster will be forced to become "lamp oil" and burn out his life.
Therefore, Yao Shi Niang would not make a wish like "making the empress appear before me", which would be impossible to achieve even if it would burn her to death.
Only the one with the lowest cost will be chosen, asking about the location's desire.
"Where are the Queen of Yu and the Grand Guardian Zhao Du?" Yao Shi Niang made a pious wish.
The illusory djinn flame burned fiercely, and the oil in the ancient candlestick was quickly consumed. A picture emerged from the flame:
That was Zhao Duan who was driving.
At the same time, the relevant specific location also appeared in Yao Shi Niang's mind in a strange way.
The "Lamp God" slowly disappeared. Yao Shi Niang looked towards the other side of the mountain in astonishment and said in surprise:
"They're on another fork in the road and have already gone a long way!"
"How is that possible?" The bald eagle looked over in surprise.
Ouyang Ye's eyes narrowed, and he suddenly said, "We've fallen into a trap!"
…
…
On the mountain road, the moonlight is very bright tonight, and Zhao Duan drives all night long.
"No one has caught up with us so far. It seems your arrangement worked."
Xu Zhenguan sat in the carriage, lifted the curtain, and looked up at the bright moon and stars in the night sky.
The moonlight shone down, reflecting on her fair and translucent face, like a bright moon falling into the world.
"On the bright side, it could be that the rebels are slow to react," Zhao Duan joked.
Xu Zhenguan sat cross-legged behind him like a little woman, looking up, and said gently:
"No. Since we've sent soldiers to blockade and investigate, they're bound to notice after such a long time. After that, we only need to send soldiers to chase us all the way down, which should be enough to catch up with us."
"But no pursuers have caught up yet. This can only mean that they were deceived by you and chased in another direction."
Xu Zhenguan spoke with a firm tone, with a subtle admiration in his eyes.
Zhao Duan's method was very simple. He would kill people to break through the checkpoint at the beginning. When he arrived at the next fork in the road, he would choose one of the roads first and kill all the rebels who set up the checkpoint to create the illusion of breaking through the checkpoint.
In fact, he turned around and took another road, and used the "Taixu Painting Scroll" to deceive the soldiers at the checkpoint and continued to escape.
"This method is simple, but also very effective. Once the enemy knows we're killing people to break through the checkpoints, they'll inevitably think we're desperate to escape and don't have the ability to bypass the checkpoints...
With this kind of thinking inertia, they continued to chase, and when they found two official roads, one of the checkpoints was killed, and the other was safe and sound.
It’s natural to think that we escaped along the former route…”
"According to the terrain on the map, after the last fork in the road, the next long stretch of road is far from human habitation, and it's almost impossible to have checkpoints along the way..."
"This way, it will take quite a while for the pursuers to react and turn back to catch up with us. This time difference is enough for us to escape quite far."
Zhao Duan whipped the already panting horse and explained calmly.
This scam is not complicated, it can be said to be extremely simple.
But in fact, the simpler the scam, the easier it is to succeed, while overly fancy tricks are difficult to implement.
Xu Zhenguan looked at him quietly with his dark eyes:
"So, that's why you're traveling all night? Without any rest?"
Zhao Duan nodded and said calmly:
“Although I have bought some time, it is not enough.
Therefore, we must seize every moment and flee with all our might. According to my estimation, if we don't rest tonight and the horse doesn't die of exhaustion, we will be able to reach the border of Jiancheng Road by daybreak and break out. However..."
"But what?"
"However, I am worried that once our pursuers realize they have been deceived, they may not choose to take a detour, but instead continue forward and wait for us at the border checkpoints."
Zhao Duan's face was solemn:
"If they can ride horses, especially the best horses in the army, and go at full speed, even if the road is long, it will be long enough to reach the border before dawn."
The speed of the mount is enough to make up for the distance of the journey.
"In that case, I hope we have good luck." Xu Zhenguan was silent for a moment and said softly.
He immediately drew the curtain, sat cross-legged, closed his eyes and continued to breathe.
She wanted to buy into every bit of time to recover from her injuries as quickly as possible so as not to become a burden in her escape.
…
In this way, the king and his minister calmed down. Before they knew it, the morning light was dim and the sky in the east was turning pale.
Zhao Duan, who had been traveling all night, was not tired at all. The presence of the Buddha's Green Lotus greatly made up for his loss of energy.
Only the inferior horse pulling the cart was breathing heavily because it was whipped and had no rest, and two streams of moist steam were spewing out of its nose.
"Your Majesty, the next checkpoint is the Jianchengdao checkpoint!"
Zhao Duan suddenly stopped the carriage and spoke in a serious voice.
Xu Zhenguan, who was sitting cross-legged in meditation, opened her beautiful eyes and leaned out of the carriage. She saw that it was already dawn. A ray of sunlight from the east broke through the morning mist, illuminating the official road in front of her and the mountains and forests on both sides.
The carriage was parked on a high slope, and the checkpoint ahead of the road could be vaguely seen.
"Is there anything unusual?" Xu Zhenguan asked worriedly.
Zhao Duan raised his head, pointed at the top of his head, and said:
"Yes. We might be being targeted."
The empress looked up, and her beautiful eyes reflected a dozen flying birds circling in the sky.
The birds were flying very high, circling above them. If they didn't look up and look carefully, they wouldn't be able to notice them at all.
"These birds have been following us since a while ago. Our carriage is moving forward, and they are circling and following us."
Zhao Duan said in a deep voice. Due to the continuous journey for several days, a layer of blue stubble grew on his face, making him look a little haggard.
However, his eyes under the straw hat were frighteningly bright, like a knife that had been polished for a long time.
"What are you going to do?" The empress retracted her gaze and looked at him.
Zhao Duan grinned and said:
"If there really is something strange, I'm afraid there's a master at the checkpoint blocking the road ahead, but I'm not sure how powerful he is.
To be on the safe side, please allow me to go alone to test the waters. If there are no formidable enemies, I will kill them and return to take you out of the country."
The Empress stared at him intently: "What if there is a strong enemy?"
Zhao Duan looked at her calmly and smiled:
"Then I will have no choice but to kill as many of the guards as possible, then lure the enemy into the forest as far away as possible, giving Your Majesty the opportunity to escape."
Xu Zhenguan was slightly moved and subconsciously reached out to grab his arm: "It will be very dangerous!"
Zhao Duan smiled and said:
"Your Majesty said last time, if you encounter danger, it is better for one person to escape than for both to be captured. However, if only one person can escape, I hope that person is Your Majesty."
As he spoke, he took out a map from his pocket, quickly drew a circle at a certain place, and said:
"If the worst comes to the worst, I will rendezvous with Your Majesty here after shaking off the pursuers. If I do not appear before noon, Your Majesty will proceed north on your own."
"You..." Xu Zhenguan's lips were dry and he felt a little nervous for no reason.
When she was a girl, she secretly hid in the palace and read storybooks. In the stories, if someone said such words, they would often be separated forever.
However, given her current injuries, when facing the enemy, being with Zhao Duan would be a huge burden.
Separating him and allowing him to act alone will reduce constraints and greatly increase his chances of survival.
"Okay, we can't delay any longer. The other party will realize something is wrong after a while." Zhao Duan smiled, turned his wrist, and the Golden Crow Flying Knife in his sleeve whizzed out.
Amidst the sharp sound of breaking through the air, a golden thread rose from the ground and in the blink of an eye, it killed all the birds circling in the sky.
…
The level ahead.
It was already daybreak, and dozens of rebel soldiers were standing ready at the checkpoint.
If you look closely, you will find that their eyes occasionally glance towards the side of the checkpoint, and see a group of murderous and intimidating spies wearing strange soft armor and black robes.
Ouyang Ye, holding Miao Dao, stood in the crowd, waiting quietly.
Next to him, the middle-aged sorcerer "Bald Eagle" with white hair and bone whistles hanging from his waist was holding a red bone flute.
The sorceress, with her curvy figure and seductive demeanor, crossed her arms, lifted the two heavy and obstructive lumps of flesh on her chest, and squinted her eyes at the empty official road ahead.
At this hour, normal business travelers would not appear at all.
However, they knew that the person they were waiting for had arrived behind the hillside.
"He's found us!"
Suddenly, the bald eagle's expression changed slightly, and the other spies also saw that the group of birds circling high in the sky fell from the sky in an orderly manner like a group of ants.
Then, a horse-drawn carriage approached rapidly on the official road. The driver, wearing a straw hat, whipped the horse fiercely, lashing out the last bit of his strength.
The carriage quickly approached the checkpoint with barricades. Zhao Duan, who was driving, suddenly stood up and flicked his wrist!
The Golden Crow Flying Knife, carrying the power of a top-grade warrior of the Divine Chapter, flew into the checkpoint like lightning and easily took off the heads of a dozen ordinary rebels.
Then, when he attacked the spy team, he was knocked away by a slender Miao knife that was suddenly unsheathed with a "ding" sound!
Ouyang Ye, the "thief soldier" who was once exiled to Lingnan, laughed grimly:
"How brave! Shoot!"
The spies behind him broke out in cold sweats as they unanimously took out their military crossbows from under their robes, aimed at the carriage, and pulled the trigger.
“Whoosh!”
“Whoosh!”
“Whoosh!”
Fine iron crossbow arrows as thick as fingers whizzed out, each arrowhead shining with a blue-green light, and imbued with a deadly poison that could penetrate the skin and seal the throat.
Zhao Duan's pupils suddenly shrank, and he suddenly turned over and crashed into the carriage. At the same time, the flying knife that was knocked away whistled and returned to the carriage.
The inferior horse, which was running at full speed, had no time to stop. It let out a wail as several arrows pierced its flesh. Its two front legs bent and it fell to its knees!
At this moment, the poor horse, which was on the verge of exhaustion due to non-stop running, was surprised and died of exhaustion on the spot!
Under the action of inertia, the carriage fell sideways and stopped in front of the checkpoint's chevaux de frise, raising a cloud of dust!
At the same time, the back of the collapsed carriage broke with a "bang". Zhao Duan, carrying a figure wearing a blood-stained dragon robe on his back, ran towards the forest on one side like lightning.
"Chase!" Ouyang Ye's eyes lit up and he sheathed his Miao Dao.
"The prince has decreed that whoever kills the false emperor will be rewarded with a thousand households as a marquis! Whoever kills Zhao Duan will be made an earl and rewarded with a thousand gold coins!"
"kill!!!"
The spies were so excited that they immediately put away their crossbows and rushed into the woods with their knives in hand, abandoning their horses and running like arrows from a bow!
Ouyang Ye, Bald Eagle and Yao Shi Niang also rushed into the forest at the first moment to chase after the fleeing Zhao Duan and the empress.
In the blink of an eye, the checkpoint was empty. After a long while, it was confirmed that there was no ambush and the spies had gone far away.
Xu Zhenguan, dressed as a man and holding a small bag, walked out of the forest on the other side. Biting his lip, he looked worriedly in the direction where Zhao Duan left. He gritted his teeth and quickly fled out of the checkpoint.
"You must come back alive..."
…
…
Although there were few extremely powerful masters among the pursuers from the palace, there were indeed quite a few divine and mortal warriors.
The leader Ouyang Ye was an extremely skilled swordsman and very talented, otherwise Prince Jing would not have gone to great lengths to rescue him from exile.
The bald eagle is proficient in the art of controlling wild beasts, and stepping into the mountains and forests to fight is like stepping into his home turf.
As for the beautiful demon Shi Niang, who looks seductive and acts like she is trying to seduce men with every move, in addition to mastering the technique of making wishes as the "God of the Lamp", she is also a martial arts master and a warrior who has practiced magic, and her lightness skills are particularly extraordinary.
Together with the elite spies of the palace equipped with magical weapons, this team can easily kill ordinary people in the mortal realm.
It should not be difficult to hunt down Zhao Duan who is carrying a burden.
However, after entering the forest, Ouyang Ye realized that he had underestimated this pretty boy.
He bent down from time to time to check for clues on the ground. At first, it was relatively easy to find Zhao Duan's hurried running and the footprints left behind, and it was not difficult to chase them. But not long after, the footprints became increasingly "sparse" and the frequency of their appearance decreased greatly.
It can be seen that Zhao Duan is no longer running on the forest ground, but stepping on tree trunks and rocks to gain leverage and climb around in the steep terrain.
The two sides were chasing and fleeing, but instead of getting closer, the distance between them gradually widened.
"Zhao's Qinggong is so amazing? The intelligence didn't report it. It seems he has made great progress in the martial arts hall in the past few months."
Ouyang Ye's face was gloomy, and he said after losing his footprints again.
The "Bald Eagle" with messy white hair squatted down, picked up some moist soil with his hands and put it to his nose to sniff it. Then he clapped his hands, grabbed the scarlet bone flute in his hand, and said with a sinister smile:
"Since the prince has offered a reward, why don't we each rely on our own abilities to see who can succeed first?
This Zhao's whereabouts are erratic. If we gather together and chase him in the wrong direction, we will lose the trace of the false emperor and it will be difficult to explain to the prince."
Divide the troops to pursue?
Ouyang Ye glanced at him and said with a smile, "Okay."
…
Typos will be corrected first
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
