There were still two days until the Five Mountains Alliance Meeting.
In the small forest, Wang Hai rushed desperately.
His breathing grew more labored, and his internal energy was already depleted, making it difficult to maintain even the most basic circulation.
His clothes were soaked with blood, clinging damply to his body.
Some of it was the enemy's, but most of it was his own.
He had been fleeing for two days.
The Thick Earth Banner Master of the Ming Cult, Zhou Mingxu, cultivated the Ming Cult's ultimate lightness skill, 'Flying Willow Catkin Smoke Skill,' which was as light as flying catkins and as graceful as thin smoke.
It was beyond Wang Hai's ability.
Moreover, he truly lived up to his reputation as the Ming Cult's chief spy; he had no pretense of being a master, and everything he carried was poisoned.
Wang Hai had been caught by him several times, and the number of his wounds and the poisons he had absorbed grew steadily.
Last night, he found an opportunity to ambush Zhou Mingxu, and both of them suffered serious injuries.
Zhou Mingxu then retreated, and Wang Hai seized the opportunity to use his internal energy to neutralize the poison in his body.
Fortunately, Wang Hai's internal cultivation foundation was laid by Li Miao; though not profound, it was extremely pure.
He spent the entire night, and managed to completely neutralize the poison.
However, the damage to his body's meridians during that time was difficult to recover from.
One could say that he was now so weak that any third-rate master could easily kill him.
When Wang Hai set out to flee again, he discovered that he had fallen into an encirclement.
Zhou Mingxu had not given up; realizing that Wang Hai was a cunning and tough opponent, he no longer personally intervened.
Instead, he trailed far behind Wang Hai, no longer pressing forward.
When Wang Hai became too weak to move and had to stop to recover his breath, Zhou Mingxu would send Ming Cult disciples to wear him down, slowly draining Wang Hai's internal energy.
Judging from Zhou Mingxu's attitude that night, watching Wang Hai torture his subordinates and even betting with their lives, he clearly did not value the lives of the Ming Cult disciples.
Therefore, Wang Hai also gave up the idea of taking hostages; he could only kill anyone who came.
Now, he was caught again.
Wang Hai took a few steps forward, then suddenly coughed, his posture faltering.
He leaned against a nearby tree trunk to keep from falling.
He looked as if his injuries were too much to bear, and he was on the verge of death.
In an instant, a person flashed out from behind that tree, their long saber striking down towards Wang Hai's head!
Pfft.
Clatter, clatter—
The long saber in that person's hand lost its force and softly struck Wang Hai's forehead, leaving a one-inch long wound.
Wang Hai pulled his hand out of the person's chest, shook off the bits of flesh on his hand, wiped away the blood from his forehead wound that flowed into his eyes, picked up the long saber, and struggled to run forward.
The village he was investigating could not be considered a hiding place for a single Ming Cult spy.
In this town, there was a branch of the Ming Cult.
Now, in the mountains, no matter how much he ran, he could not escape the encirclement of the Ming Cult disciples.
His only hope was the main road.
Wang Hai wasn't planning to lead trouble to others; he thought that since the Ming Cult was ultimately a thorn in the government's side, they would have to show some restraint.
If Wang Hai stopped whenever he saw someone, Zhou Mingxu would naturally kill him and the others together.
But if he fled along the main road, with travelers coming and going and many eyes, the Ming Cult would at least have to choose a deserted stretch of road to make their move.
This should buy him some time.
Wang Hai understood the effect of the love gu and knew Xiao Si well, knowing what she would do.
Their relationship was not a youthful impulse but built on mutual understanding.
Wang Hai knew that no matter how worried Xiao Si was about him, she would not lose her rationality because of it.
Wang Hai believed Xiao Si would make the right choice.
As long as he could hold out until Li Miao arrived, he would survive.
The main road was ahead.
The faint sound of human voices could be heard.
Wang Hai forced a breath, rushed out of the jungle, and stepped onto the solid main road.
He saw Zhao Ying.
"It's you!"
Zhao Ying was originally walking with her head down, but when she heard footsteps from the nearby jungle, fearing they were bandits, her hand was already on her sword hilt, ready.
She saw Wang Hai, covered in blood, burst out of the woods, and upon closer inspection, she immediately recognized him.
Zhao Ying was currently leading a few trusted followers, leaving the Tiger Might Escort Agency, intending to go to North Zhili to seek refuge with relatives.
The events on Mount Tai Sect had caused a huge stir; Liu Baiyun had executed Li Miao's plan very well.
Now, all the martial artists in Jinan Prefecture knew the news that the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) were going to take action against the Mount Tai Sect.
And Zhao Ying had originally placed her hope for revenge on Zuo Lishan, so she naturally inquired about the news in detail.
Upon inquiring, she learned that the Mount Hua Sect had already allied with the government.
Zhao Ying originally wanted to go to the Mount Tai Sect to ask Zuo Lishan for a clear explanation.
But when she reached the foot of the mountain, she hesitated.
At present, she had no siblings, and her widowed mother still depended on her for livelihood.
Going there would be extremely dangerous, and she could not take the risk.
So she returned to the Tiger Might Escort Agency, thinking that since the Mount Tai Sect was no longer reliable, she would have to find another way.
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But when she returned, she found that the Tiger Might Escort Agency was already a shadow of its former self.
Zhao Ying herself had lost most of her martial arts skills, making it difficult to command respect.
Compared to the Mount Tai Sect, and compared to Zuo Lishan, she was still too green.
When this deal was made, whether Zuo Lishan kept his promise or not, the Tiger Might Escort Agency had already ceased to be connected to the Zhao family.
Fortunately, the Mount Tai Sect's steward still somewhat considered their reputation in the martial arts world and gave Zhao Ying a sum of money.
Zhao Ying was disheartened at this time, knowing that with her martial arts, she couldn't protect this money.
So she took a few trusted followers and first went to North Zhili to seek refuge with relatives.
After settling everything, she would return to bring her mother over.
Unexpectedly, she encountered Wang Hai, who was fleeing for his life, here.
Zhao Ying drew her sword: "Where is Mei Qinghe!?"
Wang Hai glanced at her, ignored her, and only left a sentence: "Run quickly."
Then he ran forward without looking back.
Zhao Ying had witnessed Wang Hai's martial arts that day and knew that her swordsmanship was useless and she couldn't stop him.
So she watched Wang Hai leave with her own eyes.
Just as she was feeling secretly indignant, several Ming Cult disciples darted out of the jungle with a "swish, swish, swish."
Zhou Mingxu followed closely behind them, emerged, and looked at Zhao Ying and the others.
"Keep pursuing."
With that, he casually threw a handful of fine needles at Zhao Ying and the others.
It was truly just a casual act, not even a calculated move, as if he had simply grabbed a handful of leaves.
Anyway, they were martial artists with sabers and swords, so killing them was no big deal.
However, Zhao Ying and the others were all shot down to the ground, twitching constantly.
Then, the Ming Cult members continued to pursue Wang Hai in the direction he had fled.
A short while later, the people on the ground foamed at the mouth, their limbs slowly stopped moving, and they lost all signs of life.
Only Zhao Ying, although her swordsmanship was ruined, her internal cultivation realm remained, and she slowly recovered with great effort.
She glanced at the corpses on the ground, struggled to crawl over, and checked for breath.
After checking the breath and pulse of all her trusted followers, tears streamed down her face.
A moment later, Zhao Ying struggled to pull herself up, leaning on her sword.
She dragged the bodies of her trusted followers to the woods by the roadside, cut some branches and leaves to cover them, then Zhao Ying turned and staggered away.
"Father... everything you taught me... was wrong... all wrong..."
"What justice, what righteousness... it's all nonsense..."
"This martial arts world, in the end, is about the strong preying on the weak."
