How would Nulang dare to defy
"Absolutely certain!" Wen Feichen replied with strained patience. "Right now, if you chase after them, any single one of you could capture her. Bring her back to Young Master Long, and there'll be no shortage of rewards."
"Fine. Then we chase!" A flicker of crazed malice passed through Nulang's eyes. He'd been swallowing his anger ever since they arrived — suffering one humiliation after another at the hands of the
His rage couldn't be directed at Wen Feichen, so it naturally shifted to
Xia Ningshang was already beyond fighting. As for a mere Yang Kai — why would they even spare him a thought?
Once the Wind and Rain Tower cultivators vanished into the eerie, yin-choked valley, Wen Feichen turned to the Blood Battle Gang disciples. "You go too. Make absolutely sure that woman doesn't escape. There's definitely a powerful backer behind her — if word gets out, our Gang will be in massive trouble!"
"Yes, sir!" The handful of Blood Battle Gang disciples, though equally drained, had no choice but to force themselves into pursuit. The stakes were too high.
In moments, only
Long Hui's tone softened slightly as he asked, "Hall Master Wen, what exactly happened?"
Wen Feichen let out a bitter laugh. "I don't know what kind of technique that woman used, but it crushed my strength all the way down to the third level of Qi Movement Realm. Those three chains that pierced into me locked up my Yuan Qi circulation and my dantian."
"Such a technique exists?" Long Hui's face went pale with shock.
Wen Feichen nodded. "If it did this to me, the others must be in even worse shape — right now they can't even exert thirty percent of their power."
"Then what do we do?" Long Hui's face showed open anxiety.
"Don't worry!" Wen Feichen shook his head. "I wasn't lying to those Wind and Rain Tower pawns just now. That woman burned through enormous reserves to maintain that defensive artifact for so long, and there's not a drop of Yuan Qi left in her body. On top of that, she took a full strike from my palm — she's got no choice but to surrender. Once we find them, what's yours, Young Master Long, will still be yours."
Only then did Long Hui exhale in relief. His eyes darted about, and he said, "Just now Long Hui was blinded by rage and spoke a bit too harshly. I hope Hall Master Wen won't take it to heart. Once this is done, I'll make sure to tell Grandfather all about your hard work on this matter."
"Young Master Long is too kind — we're all on the same side," Wen Feichen said with a satisfied smile. "But for now, I'd ask Young Master Long to stand guard while I see if I can dispel these yin chains inside my body."
"Of course!"
Throughout their entire conversation, they never once mentioned Yang Kai. In their eyes, Xia Ningshang was the only real obstacle. Yang Kai? He was nothing! Now that Xia Ningshang had lost every last shred of her Yuan Qi, she was like a hedgehog with all its quills plucked out — anyone could take her down.
At that very moment, Yang Kai had already carried Xia Ningshang to the valley's edge, squeezing into a narrow crevice in the rock face barely wide enough for a single person, roughly ten zhang long.
He tucked Xia Ningshang inside and positioned himself to block the entrance. A bush grew just in front of the crevice, perfectly concealing the opening.
Their bodies pressed together, practically melding into one.
"Don't speak — someone's coming!" Yang Kai whispered, one arm wrapped around Xia Ningshang.
She nodded faintly, her face deathly pale, and held her breath.
Moments later, Nulang and his group flashed past in front of them, their footsteps gradually fading. The two groups were separated by only a dozen zhang, but the night was dark, the wind was fierce, and the valley was thick with yin energy — which allowed Yang Kai and Xia Ningshang to remain perfectly hidden.
After Nulang and the others had gone far enough, Xia Ningshang finally couldn't hold back. She spat out a mouthful of blood, and the silk veil over her face instantly bloomed with crimson. Wen Feichen's palm strike had, after all, left its mark.
"Are you alright?" Yang Kai asked, tension threading through his voice.