Chapter 98 – Escape (3)
“You little bastard! You actually dared to steal our sect’s treasures!”
Xiao Zaihe got to his feet rather haggardly, as he let out sounds of rage and fury. Again, he ran towards Yun Che and closed the distance between them in the blink of an eye. Yun Che turned his head and threw the second Sky Tremor Bomb using a bit of force from his hands. But this time, rather than crashing into Xiao Zaihe’s face again, it landed on the floor in front of him.
Sure enough, upon seeing the Sky Tremor Bomb that had landed in front of him, Xiao Zaihe blanched and immediately stopped where he was, falling backwards in one fell swoop.
BOOM!!!!
A plume of lava hot smoke struck out from behind; its impact caused Yun Che to stagger and almost fall. The distance between the two temporarily widened again, but this advantage he had gained was merely fleeting. After all, a single Sky Tremor Bomb could only earn him so much time.
The third Sky Tremor Bomb was clutched in his hand. He needed to rush to the city center in the shortest time possible; his only possibility of escape lied in getting into the city.
“You bastard! There are only a total of six Sky Tremor Bombs. Let’s see whether you’ll be able to escape the moment you finish using all those bombs!” Xiao Zaihe was still hot on his heels, but had already been reduced to gnashing his teeth in hatred and frustration. These Sky Tremor Bombs were a fire type weapon created by the Xiao sect’s main branch and was extremely powerful; even if it was a Spirit Profound Realm user who was to face it head on, it would only mean certain death or serious injuries. Sky Tremor Bombs were a weapon for survival that the branch sect’s elder had devoted his entire life to. Yet they had landed in Yun Che’s hands and he was recklessly using it for himself in this way. It was fortunate that the opponent’s profound strength was low; the Sky Tremor Bombs he had thrown out were all easily avoidable. Otherwise, he would have been finished here today.
What Xiao Zaihe had just shouted precisely voiced Yun Che’s fears. There were indeed only six Sky Tremor Bombs, and altogether, these six spheres could give him no more than two minutes of time; it was hardly enough to allow him to rush into the city.
He had to think of other solutions.
As Yun Che held onto the Sky Tremor Bomb, his heart palpitated and his brows furrowing closer with each passing second. Yun Che has already been chased far too many times, and even situations a hundred times more dangerous than this were too numerous to be counted, but amongst those situations, he had escaped mostly with the help of the Sky Poison Pearl’s toxic energy. However, as of today, the Sky Poison Pearl’s had already lost its toxicity; he had also finished using his Star Concealing Grass and forceful struggling was even more out of the question. Therefore, the only thing he could rely on was…
Yun Che breathed in lightly, and began to quickly comb through the Xiao Sect’s treasury for medicinal herbs, searching for those that could be combined to instantaneously achieve an extremely toxic effect.
At this moment, a girl’s elegant silhouette entered his line of vision. The young lady’s clothing was snow white, and even though it was from afar, it left a clear impression of approaching nobility and elegance.
Although the distance between them was too far and Yun Che was unable to see her face, barely a beat passed before a name appeared in Yun Che’s heart… Because in this New Moon City, only one girl had given him this impression.
It’s Lan Xueruo!? Why would she be here? This was obviously a place only those who were heading towards Xiao Sect would cross, unless…
By then, Yun Che had no time to think any further. He quickly dropped the disguise and threw another Sky Tremor Bomb behind him.
With a loud boom, Xiao Zaihe avoided the aftermath of the explosion from several dozens of paces away just in time. Yun Che rushed forward to the young lady he was nearing and shouted: “Senior Sister Xuerou!”
The reason why Lan Xueruo was here was to check with the Xiao Sect if Yun Che was there. A deafening explosion caused her to pause in her tracks and lift her head. A quick glance let her see a wildly running Yun Che bolt towards her.
“Yun Che?” Lan Xueruo murmured as her eyes flashed with pleasant surprise. In any case, he was still alive; this had been the conclusion she’d been hoping to reach in her trip to Xiao Sect today. But immediately afterwards, she noticed Xiao Zaihe pursuing closely behind.
“Little bastard! Let’s see where you can run! See if I won’t break both your legs and cripple all your limbs!” Even though Xiao Zaihe had not been harmed by the Sky Tremor Bombs, having to dodge three of them consecutively had caused him to look worse for wear. Covered from head to toe in soot, even his roars carried hints of anger and thinly-veiled embarrassment.
In an instant, Lan Xueruo understood what had happened. Not having enough time to think any further, she furrowed her eyebrows and called out anxiously: “Junior Brother Yun, come here quickly to where I am!!”
While speaking, she stretched out her right hand. Suddenly, a snow white imprint flashed above the back of her hand: “Little Snow, come out!”
In response to her soft cry, the imprint on the back of her hand burst out with light and was accompanied by a high pitched squawk that seemed to come from the heavens. A Giant Snow Eagle emerged from the white light in front of her.
“A contracted profound beast!?” When seeing the Giant Snow Eagle that had suddenly appeared by Lan Xueruo’s side, Yun Che’s heart was thrown into a state of surprise. Concurrently, his heart also surged with pleasant surprise. His steps somewhat quickened even more as he clenched his teeth and reached towards Lan Xueruo.
Lan Xueruo jumped atop the Giant Snow Eagle’s back and her slender snowy hand took hold of Yun Che’s outstretched palm to finally pull him onto the snow eagle’s back. The Giant Snow Eagle flapped both wings and took to the sky amidst a lengthy bird cry. It charged skywards like lightning, and then became no more than a speck in the sky within the blink of an eye.
A crisis of life and death was unexpectedly, avoided. The flying speed of the snow eagle was extremely fast; the wind whistled past his ears and the cold air that poured into his chest prolonged his suffocation all the more. It was only when the snow eagle’s flight had stabilized that he was able to adapt to the situation. After heaving a long sigh, he opened his eyes to then see Lan Xueruo, who sat in front of him, stare at him with a faint smile.
It was only then that Yun Che remembered he was still wearing a very unflattering robe, yet his facial expression didn’t change in the slightest. Instead, he happily laughed: “Senior Sister, did you suddenly discover that no matter how crude the clothes are, it would have a certain flair to it as long as I’m the one wearing it?”
Lan Xueruo was slightly startled, but laughed along in spite of herself. Her laughing expression was as radiant as a hundred blooming flowers: “It is indeed Junior Brother Yun after all; to not forget how to praise himself even after almost losing his life.”
“Yes. I did almost lose my life just a moment ago.” Yun Che rubbed his forehead, and felt some measure of lingering fear. If it hadn’t been for Lan Xueruo’s sudden appearance, his chances of escape were abysmally low. The area in front of Xiao Sect had been far too vast, and the sense of futility he felt during his escape had driven him close to tears.
“Speaking of which, Senior Sister, why have you come to this place? Do you have something to do in Xiao Sect?” Yun Che asked.
“Mn.” Lan Xueruo lightly nodded as her gem-like eyes roved over Yun Che several times. After ensuring that he wasn’t hurt anywhere, her facial expression finally relaxed and her gaze became even more gentle: “After you’d suddenly disappeared three days ago, Yuanba and I have been combing through the entire city to no avail. Then I thought that you may have been quietly kidnapped by Xiao Sect, which is why I came looking for you.”
Yun Che stiffened momentarily. His heart surged with an indescribable emotion as he was left lost for words. After quite a while, he spoke as quietly as possible: “This division of Xiao Sect is the largest in New Moon City. For a girl like you to come alone, did you not consider how dangerous that would be… You’ve only known me for just a few days, why must you be so nice to me?”
Lan Xueruo smiled and softly replied: “I’ve told you this before, it’s because I’m your senior sister.”
Yun Che: “…..”
Previously, Lan Xueruo had promised that her family member would safely send him into Blue Wind Imperial City within ten days to avoid the impending troubles Xiao Sect would undoubtedly bring upon him. Since then, he had always suspected. After having been through so much, he definitely would not believe that someone would be so nice to a person she was unfamiliar with, for no rhyme or reason. Even to the point where taking such a huge risk may place herself in great danger or even jeopardize her life. Now, Lan Xueruo had come to the Xiao Sect all alone to find him, and even extricated him from the immense danger he was in… This solidified the only possibility that Yun Che held in his heart.
The Senior Sister Xueruo before his eyes… must have fallen in love with him at first sight! And was infatuated once again!
Apart from this reason, he was completely unable of thinking up other reason as to why a girl would help a penniless, powerless, unskilled guy she had happened to meet with no family background to such a large extent.
“Junior Brother Yun, have you really been kidnapped by the Xiao Sect these past few days? How did you escape?” After passing a glance at Yun Che’s clothes, Lan Xueruo smiled with her beautiful eyes: “It can’t be that…. you disguised as a servant and snuck out after deceiving them?”
“This… Close enough. But I, for one, was not kidnapped by Xiao Sect. I came in of my own accord.” Yun Che laughed smugly, but did not offer any further explanation. Instead, he turned the conversation around and asked: “Senior, you actually have a contracted Profound Beast? And it even seemed to be one of an extremely high level.”
Seeing that Yun Che obviously did not want to mention what had happened during these past few days in Xiao Sect, Lan Xueruo dropped the matter and followed the flow of conversation: “Its name is Little Snow, and it’s a True Profound Giant Snow Eagle. My master and I nurtured it ourselves, and it became my contracted profound beast upon reaching maturity. Although Little Snow may appear to be very large and heavy, its aerial skills are quite formidable and it can fly extremely fast…. Oh right, Junior Brother Yun, where are you heading to next?”
Yun Che fell silent, and then slowly answered: “I’ve given Xiao Sect a “huge present”. At the moment, they must searching through the entire city to find me, so I definitely can’t return to New Moon Profound Palace, or any place within New Moon City. I am not sure where to go to next either…. Aside from New Moon City, anywhere else is fine…”
Right at this moment, Yun Che suddenly felt an abnormality in the wind beside his ear. Due to his unusually keen intuition, he subconsciously turned around. With just one look, he saw a black speck rapidly close in on them from just a few kilometers away.
“What’s that!”
Merely a few moments had passed between his realization and his outburst, but within the span of this short duration, the black speck in his line of vision had already become a vague black silhouette. It was clear just how frightening quick it was. Lan Xueruo immediately turned around. Her eyes locked on its target, and she subsequently let out a cry of alarm “It’s the Fierce Storm Hawk, the highest level profound beast that the Xiao Sect had raised!”
“Wha~t!” Yun Che frowned immediately.
“Why are they mobilizing even their Fierce Storm Hawk just to chase after you…. And it’s actually so fast!” A look of panic marred Lan Xueruo’s snowy complexion, because she was completely aware that the Fierce Storm Hawk’s speed was not inferior in any way to that of her Giant Snow Eagle’s; in fact, its stamina far surpassed that of her profound beast’s.
However, she would not have asked this if she had known what Yun Che had done in Xiao Sect.
“Faster, Little Snow!!”
At her call, the Giant Snow Eagle beneath her gave a mighty flap of its wings and suddenly accelerated as its long white profile swept towards the north. But the dark silhouette behind it showed no signs of slowing down as it chased closely behind.