Qian Ye’s heart chilled; it seemed that this group was the elite warriors dispatched by the Nan Gong clan specifically to hunt him down. But he didn’t know why Bai Kongzhao would be with them.
The alliance between the Nan Gong clan and the Bai clan? That was truly a bad omen.
Qian Ye did not dare to linger, not even to clean up the battlefield. He turned and left immediately. After days of hunting, his food and ammunition were almost depleted. His grenades were all used up, and he only had a few solid force bullets left.
Moreover, the battle just now was too loud; a huge fireball could be seen from dozens of kilometers away, which might attract more unwanted attention. For Qian Ye, traveling alone, anyone who came could be an enemy.
He abandoned his plan to head to the Silver Flow Bay. The base there was too rudimentary, with no strong figures, and could not withstand the attack from the Nan Gong clan’s squad. It took him half a day, carefully passing through an area of fierce combat between the dark races and humans, to prepare for a direct return to Blackflow City.
It was his territory, and one of the front-line nodes in the expeditionary army’s bloody battle. Even if Bai Kongzhao and the Nan Gong clan dared not openly attack the city, any small skirmishes would rely on their individual skills.
However, as soon as Qian Ye stepped out of the war zone, he sensed a warning in his True Sight, seeing another interception ahead. His heart sank; if it was just a simple blockade, he could have sneaked past without alerting the guards. But with Bai Kongzhao present, it was a different matter.
After a moment’s hesitation, Qian Ye decided not to take the risk and retreated.
This time, he planned to go east, taking the risk of crossing a vast territory of the dark races, then re-entering human territory. This route would be a long detour, but the advantage was that even if the Nan Gong clan and the Bai clan combined, they wouldn’t be able to set up a blockade line stretching hundreds of kilometers during the blood battle.
Just as Qian Ye started running, he felt a sudden tug in his heart and turned to look to the left. In that direction, a bright signal flare suddenly rose, only tens of meters away from his current position.
This was the signal to summon a siege! Although he couldn’t detect any force reaction from that direction, without much thought, Qian Ye was certain that the signal must have been fired by Bai Kongzhao.
He did not try to escape immediately but stood still, allowing the surrounding footsteps to grow louder and denser.
Finally, a figure flashed in the forest, and a girl emerged from behind a tree, looking at Qian Ye’s direction with some confusion. The first thing she saw was the twin flower gun barrels!
Without hesitation, Qian Ye pulled the trigger, and the girl was instantly covered in blood. She screamed and disappeared into the woods, vanishing.
In his heart, Qian Ye lamented. At this moment, he was like a spent crossbow bolt, unable to merge the twin flowers. However, the Crimson Mandala and the Phantom Manjushage, with their fifth-grade power, were more than enough to deal with an eighth-grade warrior.
Yet, his two merciless shots, one to the head and one to the heart, were still thwarted by Bai Kongzhao’s terrifying combat instincts. She instinctively twisted her body at the sound of the gun, dodging the headshot, while the chest shot hit her shoulder. Though Bai Kongzhao was seriously injured, it was far from what Qian Ye had intended.
Since joining the Red Scorpion and starting his battlefield career, Qian Ye rarely missed. This also indicated that the girl was one of his most fearsome opponents, and she was even one level lower than him.
Bai Kongzhao fled wounded, and Qian Ye did not stay. He boldly charged into the encirclement and broke free.
What followed was a long journey of escape.
Midway, Bai Kongzhao appeared like a ghost several times, only to be driven back by Qian Ye. She was constantly wounded, sometimes even more severely than Qian Ye, yet she displayed an astounding resilience, often dodging his fatal blows at the last second. Her recovery was also remarkable, and she would frequently reappear nearby.
Qian Ye found that beyond a certain distance, even his True Sight had trouble locking onto Bai Kongzhao’s presence. He suddenly recalled the Monroe clan’s Blood Knight, who, at a distance of hundreds of meters, caused Qian Ye to misjudge his level until they engaged in combat.
From this, Qian Ye drew a terrible conclusion: Bai Kongzhao likely had the same power as the Blood Knight, able to lock onto his location and gain some concealment within the Iron Curtain. Thus, he immediately changed his strategy, no longer hiding but maintaining a balance of speed and stamina, and began to run at his limits.
He would use his physical advantages to wear down his pursuers, just as he had done with the vampire viscount in the Westland.
But Bai Kongzhao was like a lone wolf in the wilderness, with both frightening endurance and patience. She stuck close to Qian Ye, often trying to pounce and bite. Although such attempts usually ended with her being killed, she never gave up.
If it were anyone else, they would have been dragged down by her relentless attacks, but Qian Ye matched her in patience and resilience, and never showed any sign of fatigue. If it weren’t for the Nan Gong clan’s pursuit, Qian Ye would have turned the tables and hunted her instead.
In this regard, they were surprisingly similar, perhaps their similar experiences in the junkyard had given them a similar resilience.
The chase continued intermittently throughout the afternoon and into the night. Bai Kongzhao still trailed Qian Ye, but the Nan Gong clan’s warriors began to falter, with many dropping out. By the end, only a handful could keep up with Bai Kongzhao, and they looked pale and weak, barely able to fight.
If they had fought directly, Qian Ye would have had no chance. Yet, after hours of continuous running, they were utterly exhausted.
Still, Qian Ye was in no better shape. His injuries piled up, his force dried up, and his movements became increasingly sluggish. He had no time to draw blood energy to replenish his strength. Bai Kongzhao, trailing behind, seemed tireless, appearing like a phantom, ready to deliver a fatal blow at any moment. This was the greatest pressure.
The chase and flight continued, one day passed, then two, and three.
The Nan Gong clan’s pursuers had long since vanished. The strongest among them, an eleventh-grade general, had been killed by Qian Ye’s ambush a day earlier when his force was almost depleted and he couldn’t use half of his abilities.
However, Qian Ye paid a heavy price. The general, in his dying struggle, managed to land two slashes on Qian Ye, and Bai Kongzhao, appearing like a ghost, seized the opportunity to stab him, nearly piercing through his body. Qian Ye, in turn, slashed at the girl, wounding her waist and legs.
Thus, after three days, the chase became a hunt and counter-hunt between Qian Ye and Bai Kongzhao. Their roles constantly switched, and a momentary mistake could turn a hunter into prey.
Qian Ye now regarded Bai Kongzhao as a mortal threat. Whenever he had the chance, he pursued her to strike back. This girl was a sword hanging over his head, and he had no idea when death might come.
Another two days passed in a blink.
Qian Ye, running, finally collapsed. Lying on the ground, he gasped for air, his throat feeling like it was on fire, almost splitting. He tried to grasp Anduia’s mysterious space to get some water and medicine, but a sudden, intense headache made him lose the ability to communicate with the necklace space.
This was within Qian Ye’s expectations. His force and blood energy were almost depleted. Looking around, he saw a small puddle of muddy water nearby. In his desperate state, it was a sweet spring. He crawled over and drank it, quickly draining the puddle.
After drinking, Qian Ye felt a bit of strength return. He moved, leaning against a tree. Every movement sent sharp pain through his body, and he didn’t know how many wounds he had. Several were already infected, but he had no strength to treat them.
Suddenly, the opposite bush parted, and Bai Kongzhao emerged. Her clothes were tattered, hanging from her waist, leaving her upper body bare. Her slender body was covered in wounds, and even white bones were visible.
She could barely stand, but her grip on her knife remained firm, and her eyes glowed with a clear, penetrating light.
Qian Ye, however, remained relaxed, sitting against the tree without standing. He looked at the girl and asked, “Why do you hate me so much?”
Bai Kongzhao paused and said, “As long as you live, I can never feel at ease, always fearing I will die by your hand.”
“Why?” Qian Ye had never expected this answer. He had spared her at least twice.
“Instinct.”
“That’s reason enough,” Qian Ye replied, supporting himself on the tree and slowly standing. He gestured to the girl, saying, “Come, come and kill me.”
It seemed Qian Ye had no more strength to fight, and a single slash would end the long battle and the nightmare that troubled her most. Bai Kongzhao’s grip on her knife tightened, and strands of dark force seeped from her fingers.
Qian Ye looked at her hand, smiled faintly, and said, “So, you still have a hidden card. If you still have dark force to use, why not strike? Come, one slash, that’s all it takes.”
Bai Kongzhao hesitated, her once clear gaze flickering with uncertainty.
They faced each other, a few meters apart, waiting to see who would fall first or reveal a weakness.
The girl still hesitated. In her eyes, Qian Ye was weak, riddled with vulnerabilities, except for his eyes, which retained their shine.
At this moment, Qian Ye’s body was indeed lifeless, with the dawn tide in his blood almost dry. Only a faint glimmer of light indicated that he was not completely drained. In the depths of his heart, dark gold blood energy slowly circulated, rising very slowly, and the wings of his blood energy slowly spread, with a single feather glowing brightly.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage