Breathing.

The soldiers pursuing Chen Ji were left far behind him. In the vast expanse of heaven and earth, it seemed only his own breathing remained.

Suddenly, a mountain wind howled past, and the last leaves on the dead branches in the forest detached one by one.

As he ran, Chen Ji couldn’t help but glance sideways. He saw a sky full of grey withered leaves flying towards him, then carried by the wind to brush past him, like night rain in the jianghu, or like certain people and events.

He felt an urge to reach out and catch a withered leaf, but in his peripheral vision, a sharp black crossbow bolt shot from behind him, flying against the wind, shattering leaves as it sped towards Chen Ji.

Chen Ji tilted his head slightly, allowing the bolt to embed itself in a tree trunk ahead with a thud, its fletching buzzing continuously.

He looked back to see a black-clad figure, about ten zhang away, tailing him with a repeating crossbow, moving at an incredibly fast pace.

On the black-clad figure’s forehead, the two ancient seal characters for ‘Yan Sheng’ were written in cinnabar.

The black-clad figure’s open eyes were blood-red, resembling a human in form but a ghost in spirit.

Chen Ji recalled the yellow paper talisman the fisherman had drawn on his covered boat earlier; it was remarkably similar to these ‘Yan Sheng’ characters, and he hadn’t expected them to be able to draw talismans on people.

Seeing Chen Ji dodge his sneak attack, the black-clad figure immediately took out a strange-looking, hollowed-out arrow from his waist pouch, intending to load it into the repeating crossbow mechanism.

A Whistling Arrow.

Once shot, a Whistling Arrow would emit a piercing shriek, attracting others.

This black-clad figure must have colleagues nearby.

Instead of retreating, Chen Ji, who was downhill, advanced, dragging his saber up the slope. The black-clad figure also pressed forward without evasion.

The two drew closer, charging like two wild beasts, their footsteps scattering accumulated leaves across the ground.

The black-clad figure didn’t have time to load the Whistling Arrow. Instead, he simply held it in his mouth, then raised his repeating crossbow and pulled the trigger on Chen Ji.

With a bang, the crossbow string vibrated, and an arrow shot out.

Chen Ji’s trailing long saber suddenly swept upwards.

Time seemed to slow down.

The sharp blade precisely cleaved through the center of the arrow, the blade and iron arrowhead striking dazzling sparks. Then, following the wooden grain of the arrow shaft, it cut cleanly, splitting the arrow in two.

The black-clad figure’s expression remained unchanged. As he advanced, he continuously pulled the trigger, intending to fire all five arrows from the mechanism in one go.

He swung the saber.

He swung the saber.

He swung the saber.

Chen Ji’s long saber clashed with arrow after arrow in the air, creating bursts of brilliant sparks.

Just as the black-clad figure pulled the trigger for the fifth time, the cocked mechanism unexpectedly jammed. He lowered his head to check the crossbow, and when he looked up again, he was startled to see Chen Ji, having shattered the scattered withered leaves in the air, right in front of him, saber in tow.

The youth’s hair was swept by the mountain wind, and his robes fluttered up and down.

With a glance that spanned a thousand li, his killing intent was resolute and unwavering.

Chen Ji swept his saber diagonally upwards. As the blade reached his waist, his one-handed grip transitioned to two hands.

The black-clad figure discarded his repeating crossbow, drew his waist saber, and chopped downwards, but his saber broke on contact with Chen Ji’s.

The saber cut through the black-clad figure’s lower left abdomen, and the blade was withdrawn from his upper right chest, a streak of blood carried out by the edge, splashing onto a nearby tree trunk.

The black-clad figure’s body stiffened, and the Whistling Arrow held in his mouth dropped.

He stared blankly down at his wound: “Excellent saber technique, better than mine….”

Chen Ji gasped for breath as he retreated, intending to quickly disengage from the battle.

The black-clad figure slowly knelt on the ground, his face ashen, looking up at Chen Ji: “You want to draw away the pursuers for the prince and princess, right? But Mister Feng is smarter than you; he’s already sent people to search the military town.”

Chen Ji’s pupils constricted, and his retreating steps slowly halted.

Is he trying to trick me?

No, that’s not right.

The opponent has no reason to trick him now; even if he extracted the truth, he wouldn’t live to report it.

The opponent hopes to use the prince and princess to tie him down, preventing him from escaping safely and ultimately forcing him to return to the military town to save them.

Kneeling on the ground, the black-clad figure coughed up blood and said with a smile, “I’ve delivered Mister Feng’s message. What you decide is up to you.”

With that, the black-clad figure crashed to the ground.

The instant the black-clad figure fell, a crossbow bolt suddenly shot out from behind a tree trunk about ten paces away.

Chen Ji instinctively swung his saber to parry.

Clang!

This time, the crossbow bolt wasn’t split in two; instead, the long saber in his hand snapped.

The crossbow bolt was deflected, grazing Chen Ji’s side and leaving a bloody scratch.

Chen Ji, holding his broken saber, retreated down the mountain.

A few breaths later, he turned and began to flee recklessly.

As he descended, Chen Ji looked at the broken saber in his hand; only three inches of the blade remained above the guard, making it inferior even to a dagger.

This saber, taken from a soldier, was ultimately poorly made and unfit for such a heavy task.

Should he return to the military town?

He could not return.

This was Chen Ji’s most rational judgment.

That Mister Feng was unfathomable; if he returned, he would certainly face certain death.

Besides, he had already done everything he could.

If the prince and princess still couldn’t escape, then all he could do was avenge them later, not go back to his death.

Returning now would be pointless.

“Yes, it’s pointless. No normal person would go back.”

Chen Ji muttered to himself, as if trying to confirm something.

He fled frantically down the mountain, covering several meters with each stride.

Leaving the pursuing black-clad figures far behind.

But then, Chen Ji suddenly stopped.

Inertia carried him several zhang down the slope, kicking up a shower of accumulated leaves before he finally halted.

He stood still, looking up at the moonlit sky, his expression flickering with uncertainty.

The mountain wind surged like a tide, whipping his hair and making his robes flap loudly as they streamed behind him.

The next moment, Chen Ji stood on the mountainside, surveying the surrounding terrain, his mind racing as he calculated every step he needed to take.

Chen Ji slowly closed his eyes, reined in the internal heat, and let the icy current from his dantian spread throughout his body.

He, imbued with dark fortune, descended from the firmament, landing upon the ground.

Before Xuanyuan could say anything, he had already picked up his Whale Saber and ran towards the rugged mountain path: “Fenghuai, come, I’m in a hurry.”

Xuanyuan quipped, “Another friend to save?”

Chen Ji did not answer.

Through the mountain forest, Chen Ji sprinted, carrying his gleaming Whale Saber.

Fenghuai wandered through the mountains, observing Chen Ji’s movements from the flank while seeking an opportunity for an ambush.

“Wait!”

Fenghuai’s voice stopped short as he watched Chen Ji. He realized that this time Chen Ji wasn’t hiding his movements as before, nor was he trying to avoid being surrounded. He was merely dragging his man-length Whale Saber, charging directly towards Feng Lie, the giant axeman, down the mountain.

The gleaming saber light was like a falling meteor, continuously descending, descending, descending through the mountains…

Mountain Lord—a tiger!

Fenghuai’s heart jolted with alarm.

This time, Chen Ji intended to defeat them one by one at the fastest possible speed, giving them no chance for an ambush or encirclement.

Fenghuai urgently shouted, “Feng Lie, run!”

The burly Feng Lie picked up his giant ax and was about to run, but Chen Ji suddenly had a flash of inspiration and roared, “Fenwu, victory ten thousand times!”

Xuanyuan was startled.

Fenghuai was startled: “Teacher!”