Instead of running down the path into the mountain, Guan Shuheng led everyone to climb the mountain instead.
With Lei Tianyou on his back, he circled nearly halfway around the mountain until he arrived at the precipice of the mountain behind the Pavilion of Wind and Thunder. Then, he climbed onto his flying sword and fled.
The Wind and Thunder Mountain and Mount Mei were a part of the northern mountainous range. There were numerous mountains with sheer cliffs and precipitous rock faces here. Unless one knew his way around this place, it would be hard for him to find the exit. The Pavilion of Wind and Thunder was established in the depths of this range of mountains. They exited the Pavilion via the rear mountain. When they flew less than a kilometer away, they arrived at three forks in the mountain entrances of varying sizes.
Guan Shuheng, who carried Lei Tianyou on his back, chose one of the entrances without the slightest hesitation and took them through seven to eight turns in the path. Only then did he quietly sigh in relief. The female disciples behind him also began to relax.
Slowing down his flying pace just a little, Guan Shuheng approached Ye Que and flashed a faint smile somewhat bashfully. “Thank you for saving us, Mister. On behalf of the Pavilion of Wind and Thunder, you have our thanks.”
“Today, you saved all of us. In particular, you saved our Eldest Senior Brother. We have no way of returning the favor, but if you ever need me, please do tell me.” With Lei Tianyou on his back and his feet on a flying sword, it wasn’t convenient for Guan Shuheng to bow to Ye Que. His tone was very sincere, however.
Ye Que waved his hand and said nothing.
Saving them had been an impromptu idea anyway.
Moreover, they had become the targets of the devils. It was his responsibility to save them. There was also Ye Yunhai’s involvement, too. Thinking of the current Ye Yunhai gave Ye Que a headache. He was nevertheless his half-brother. To think that he would enter the Devil’s Practice!
Ye Que sighed, feeling somewhat melancholic. His resurrection seemed to have changed many lives.
Who would have thought that the Young Master of the General’s Manor in Luoyang would enter the Devil’s Practice?
Or that the Young Master of the General’s Manor would harm the Ye Army?
If Ye Zhengru was still alive to see what was happening, he would surely die from anger. The reputation and valiant soldiers that he had worked hard to build for half his lifetime were ruined by his son’s own hands.
“Forgive my presumptuousness, but which sect are you from, Mister? What’s your master’s name? That’ll help me find you and repay your favor in the future,” Guan Shuheng said earnestly. His words sounded very sincere and one couldn’t pick any bone from it. However, if one listened closely, it was obvious that this youngster was harboring suspicions about Ye Que’s identity.
All of them were traumatized from being fooled.
The Elder of their Criminal Law Hall had become a traitor who allowed enemies to invade their sect. Their typically harmless Junior Sister had her body stolen by a devil and turned into a murderer. Even their Pavilion Lord was killed. How could this group of inexperienced youngsters not be on guard?
Even though Ye Que stopped the group of pursuers at the most critical time, it didn’t mean anything.
If they pondered over it, it was suspicious that an outsider like Ye Que would be at the Pavilion of Wind and Thunder at a time like that. What was his purpose in coming? Moreover, he even used the art of evasion to hide near the side hall!
How suspicious.
His solicitous actions might be lined with malicious intentions.
Even if he was their savior, they must get to the bottom of this matter.
Even though they had gotten out of the Pavilion of Wind and Thunder, they didn’t want to fall for a trap again. They couldn’t handle any mental and physical shock anymore.
“What sect?”
Ye Que was a little stunned after hearing this question. Then, he replied, “Qingqiu Sword Sect.”
“I’m from the Qingqiu Sword Sect and my master is the Intoxicated Immortal.”
“Then why would you appear in the Pavilion of Wind and Thunder?” Guan Shuheng continued his questioning, but he seemed to have relaxed a little. The Qingqiu Sword Sect was, after all, one of the top orthodox sects and a true famous and upright sect. It was nevertheless quite trustworthy.
After gathering his thoughts, Ye Que said, “We’re here to investigate the tragedy of the city of You Prefecture. Several hundred thousand people had perished. We suspect that it was a plot by the devils. Under Mount Mei, I met a devil who called himself a mowing man and learned what’s going on. Moreover, I found out traces of the Devil Race entrenched deep within the Pavilion of Wind and Thunder.”
“The devil we met under Mount Mei occupied the body of your Elder Lei Sihai. Considering the harm that the devils could bring, we rushed over to the Mountain of Wind and Thunder and chanced upon your conflict.”
Ye Que was honest and told them everything without holding back. It wasn’t anything that should be concealed, after all. The more cultivators learned of the invasion of the Devil Race and entered the resistance, the better their chances of victory.
In the past ten million years, the appearance of demonic traces had always ended in a complete bloodbath.
If they didn’t want to see a catastrophe happen, they must snip the devils’ invasion at the bud. They must not allow the invasion to develop.
However, judging from the current situation, the Devil Race had already planted its seeds all over the Nine Prefectures, or You Prefecture at least. Devils existed in both the grassland palace and the capital Luoyang. Otherwise, 200,000 soldiers of the Ye Army and 150,000 mounted soldiers from the grassland wouldn’t have battled so frantically. The Pavilion of Wind and Thunder, deep in the northern mountain range of You Prefecture, wouldn’t be nearly wiped out either, leaving only ten more young escapees.
They traveled on their flying swords for about two hours. Ye Que was fine, but young disciples of the Pavilion of Wind and Thunder were only in the Psychic Realm. Their True Energy was running out and their Spiritual Sea was experiencing deficiency.
Guan Shuheng clenched his teeth and flew another 1.5 kilometers before finding a rather quiet valley to land.
Lei Tianyou’s face was now as pale as snow and his breathing was weak and haggard. The sweat flowed down from his forehead like rain. The wound on his abdomen had drenched half of his body in blood. The blackish-red blood stains dyed both their clothes.
“We can’t keep going like this. Eldest Senior Brother needs a physician as soon as possible. That dagger must be coated with poison!” one of the female disciples said, looking anxious.
“We should focus on running. The more we tarry, the more danger Eldest Senior Brother is in. Everyone knows that he needs a physician now, but where do we find someone like that? Ordinary physicians have no way of healing the poison that the Devil’s Practice followers use!” another female disciple replied. Her words sounded quite reasonable.
“We can check if there are any orthodox sects nearby and see if they’ll lend us a hand. We should at least save Eldest Senior Brother first.”
“That won’t do. Nowhere is safe in the entire Northern You Prefecture. Who knows if there are spies from the Devil Race in those orthodox sects? It wasn’t easy for us to escape. We can’t send ourselves back into the lion’s den and walk right into their trap.”
Guan Shuheng looked depressed as he listened to the discussions ringing in his ears. He was the youngest disciple here. Even though he was as anxious as they were and was filled with vigor, he didn’t know where to direct his enthusiasm. If they somehow managed to flee You Prefecture, where should they go next?
“I wish Eldest Senior Brother is conscious now. He’ll definitely know what to do.” Guan Shuheng lowered his head and gently wiped the sweat on Lei Tianyou’s forehead. Tears brimmed in his eyes.
He was upset because of his incompetence and helplessness.
Ye Que and Red Bean stayed out of their discussions completely. It was an impromptu decision to save these young disciples of the Pavilion of Wind and Thunder anyway. Following them all the way here was simply a matter of completing their responsibility.
They were all cultivators with their own plans. Ye Que wouldn’t forcefully plan out their future for them.
He had neither the intention nor the capability.
Three women were enough to form a play.
Never mind that they had more than ten here.
The sound of their discussion became louder and louder. It was to the point that hints of anger could be heard. A frowning Ye Que was about to calm them down when he abruptly looked up to the sky. His eyes narrowed.
He saw a mass of black dots, like flying swords shattering the sky, in the distance flying in their direction and landing inside the valley.
To think Ye Yunhai actually caught up to them!
Ye Yunhai had just landed when he lunged with his sword. The black sword was like a sharp blade born to cut through the air. It summoned a twenty-feet high gale of sand that directly slammed into Ye Que’s group.
Like a frightened rabbit, the female disciples who were arguing just moments ago scattered and ran more than a hundred meters away. Back in the Pavilion of Wind and Thunder, they had forced their hotbloodedness. Their willingness to pay any price to escape was a matter of defending the Pavilion’s honor.
But things like courage were things that fizzled out quite quickly. By the time they ran all the way here, they had already worn out most of their courage.
The only one who didn’t run was Guan Shuheng, who had Lei Tianyou to protect. Ye Que and Red Bean stayed as well.
Ye Que raised his hand and threw a ball of Divine Energy, casting a barrier that kept the sand out. He stood upright without a change in expression.
Seeing Ye Que’s calm and emotionless expression, Ye Yunhai mumbled to himself, “What a pest. Why would I meet this eyesore here?”
He slowly approached Ye Que before stopping about ten meters away from him. He swung his black sword twice and said, “Why do I see you everywhere I go? Did you come here to pick a fight? Or are you the bane of my life? Why are you always ruining my plans? I see you everywhere back in Luoyang. Even now that I’m in You Prefecture, I still can’t escape you.”
Ye Que looked at Ye Yunhai in faint surprise. “You’re still so uneducated!”
He then gave Ye Yunhai a despising look.
It was just one glance, but it was enough to give rise to the fire of fury in Ye Yunhai. Moreover, he acted like a mouse whose tail was stepped on. He instantly exploded. “Who are you calling uneducated?!”
“You’re the uneducated one!”
“Just a vile spawn, an illegitimate child! You dare mention education to me?”
“Do you even know what education is?”
Ye Que’s expression darkened after hearing Ye Yunhai’s curses. Being even-tempered didn’t mean that he had no anger. Moreover, Ye Yunhai was jabbing at his weakness with every word. He was too well-versed in angering Ye Que.
“What about you?” Ye Que stared icily at Ye Yunhai. “How did Ye Zhengru die? Why did you dare not allow me to open the coffin and conduct the autopsy? Were you afraid I’d see something I shouldn’t?!”
“And the battlefield of the city of You Prefecture. Where did all 200,000 soldiers of the Ye Army go? Was that how you, the Young Master of the Ye family and the spiritual leader of the Ye Army, led them? By personally killing all 200,000 of them? Don’t you get nightmares when you sleep at night?”
Ye Que saw that Ye Yunhai wanted to speak, but refused to give him the chance. “Save your explanation. It’s as clear as day. Are you going to say you have a reason for this? Ridiculous! Incredibly so! Don’t tell me your reason is entering the Devil’s Practice and learning their cultivation methods!”
“You dare call yourself the Young Master of the General’s Manor? You dare call yourself a part of the Ye family? You have brought shame to the entire Ye family!”