Chapter 538: Pursuing the Fugitive

The eternal lamp in the Stargazing Tower has burned for four hundred years without extinguishing, always bathed in divine grace. Over time, it nurtured a lamp spirit. Bai Ziqi brought the lamp spirit on his fingertip closer to the ground. “It is a natural nemesis of dark, evil energy, intensely hating wickedness.”

The ground immediately ignited with white flames.

The approaching constables quickly jumped away, but the flames had no heat and were not scalding.

Immediately after, the lamp spirit floated unsteadily outward.

Wherever it passed, a small cluster of pale white flames remained on the ground.

“It will track the evil aura,” Bai Ziqi said, leading the way alone. “Let’s go. This aura must be from Cheng Yu.”

Everyone followed the trail of white flames, heading outward, which indeed led towards the back mountain. There was a cliff with a drop of about twenty zhang (nearly seventy meters). It wasn’t tall, but it was very steep, almost at a seventy-degree angle.

All the constables were on horseback, so they certainly couldn’t jump down directly.

He Lingchuan immediately told them, “Go down the mountain the way you came, and follow us as quickly as possible.”

The lamp spirit had already floated halfway down the cliff, not waiting for anyone. Fortunately, the white flames along the way were very conspicuous, allowing the constables to follow the marks once they descended the mountain.

Bai Ziqi and He Lingchuan, however, had no worries about descending.

Their mounts could almost move straight up and down.

The spirit deer was more cautious, but the great-horned rock ram practically bounced all the way down, as if soaring through clouds.

In just three consecutive leaps, it reached the ground, faster than the lamp spirit.

Keep in mind that its landing spots were dark cliff crevices, some of which seemed impossible to step on, yet it bounced with such joyful abandon.

After landing, the rock ram proudly shook its head and then kicked its hooves.

See that? See what practicality looks like!

It could also understand human speech, but it was unwilling to be outshone by the noble and aloof spirit deer.

Bai Ziqi rode his deer to the ground, and the two mounts followed the lamp spirit forward.

There were footprints on the ground, and the white flames landed precisely within them. As it illuminated the path, He Lingchuan noticed something peculiar about the footprints:

“These aren’t hoofprints. They’re not riding horses.” The footprints resembled plum blossoms, widely splayed, with claw marks at the tips. “Hmm, they’re wolf prints.”

He had often associated with rock wolves in the past, so he naturally knew what wolf footprints looked like.

Bai Ziqi immediately said, “Cen Boqing released wolf puppets for riding. No wonder they could escape down the cliff.”

Otherwise, if the two had jumped down the cliff in a hurry, where would they have gotten mounts for transport?

Judging by the direction of the footprints, they were heading towards Yaohu Lake. He Lingchuan immediately said, “If they escape into the lake, we’ll be in trouble.”

Water is the best barrier. The supernatural abilities and divine senses of land creatures are essentially unable to penetrate its obstruction.

Yaohu Lake is also very large, at least over twenty thousand mu (roughly 3,300 acres). If these two entered the water, who knew which patch of waterweed they would emerge from?

Clearly, Cen Boqing’s wolf puppets were also very fast; Bai Ziqi and He Lingchuan had been chasing them for some time and still hadn’t seen the fugitives’ backs.

The low mountain was not far from the lakeshore; they needed to speed up.

Bai Ziqi took out a golden-red jade box, which looked like a duck-egg powder box commonly used by girls. He picked out two pinches of silver powder from it and sprinkled them on their two mounts.

With a ‘whoosh,’ He Lingchuan could feel the great-horned rock ram noticeably accelerate.

It was as if they instantly went from sixty to eighty miles per hour, with a strong feeling of being pushed back.

“Good stuff! What is this?”

Bai Ziqi smiled, “Wind Rush spell, a mere trifle.”

His spell could envelop a mount or person in a clear breeze, propelling them forward. This not only reduced some of their weight but also minimized headwind resistance, making it a very practical skill for travel.

The best part was that there were no side effects for the spell’s target.

Unlike the charging talent inherent to Wind-Boring Beasts, which allowed for short bursts of charge, it placed a significant strain on one’s physical strength.

“I see them!”

The faint light between heaven and earth illuminated two rapidly moving figures ahead.

The two fugitives were indeed riding large wolves.

These so-called puppet wolves were a size smaller than He Lingchuan’s rock wolves. They had large frames but were gaunt, though easily capable of carrying a person. Their eyes glowed faintly, and their fur was dry and dull.

Strictly speaking, these were wolf corpses driven by dead souls, merely treated so their bodies wouldn’t decay.

The distance between pursuers and pursued was now only thirty zhang.

Bai Ziqi took a deep breath and shouted, “Cen Boqing, stop! I am a Du Yun Envoy of Lingxu City!”

Cen Boqing, hearing the shout, turned back and was immediately shocked to see Bai Ziqi.

The special envoy from Lingxu City had arrived, and was with He Lingchuan!

That was a Du Yun Envoy, an attendant of the gods! Anyone involved with Lingxu City knew their identity, their methods, and what they represented!

In that instant, Cen Boqing was so terrified that his body stiffened.

It was an uncontrollable, subconscious reaction; even the puppet wolves beneath them slowed their pace.

Cheng Yu beside him was greatly alarmed. “Hey, do you want to die?”

The lake was just ahead; they were about to make their escape, yet the pursuers behind them were getting closer and closer. How could he not be anxious?

Bai Ziqi’s shout came again, full of majesty: “Stop now, or face severe and harsh punishment!”

Unexpectedly, it was better that he hadn’t spoken; as soon as he shouted, Cen Boqing shivered, and his mind suddenly cleared.

From the moment Commander Lu shouted and led his troops to attack the Cen manor, he knew that Uncle Wu had confessed.

But as long as Uncle Wu died accidentally, Crown Prince Yue might not truly be able to convict him based on a single testimony. So, he found a way to escape.

To his surprise, the special envoy from Lingxu City had already arrived, and it seemed very likely that they had already interrogated Uncle Wu.

Then he was finished. He couldn’t retract his confession or escape his guilt.

Even if he was captured and brought back, he wouldn’t escape death. Cen Boqing yelled, “Mr. Cheng, act now!”

Actually, he didn’t need to give the order; Cheng Yu on the other side had already made his move.

He didn’t care about any Du Yun Envoy; anyone who hindered his escape was an enemy.

The spellcaster forcefully hurled a palm-sized cloth doll into the air. Only when it was over six zhang (roughly twenty meters) off the ground did it transform into a towering blue-turbaned strongman, accelerating as it fell!

He Lingchuan and Bai Ziqi’s mounts, accelerated by the Wind Rush spell, covered the thirty zhang distance in an instant, arriving directly beneath the blue-turbaned strongman’s feet.

He Lingchuan watched as the creature’s massive foot descended towards his head. He slapped the rock ram’s long horns: “Charge!”

The ram had been with him for some time and wasn’t foolish enough to think he wanted to ram the blue-turbaned strongman. Hearing the command, it immediately activated the bell hanging around its neck.

Bai Ziqi saw the man and mount transform into a blur, instantly covering a distance of fifteen zhang (roughly fifty meters) ahead!

This was the wondrous use of the bell General Ling had given the rock ram, allowing it to temporarily borrow the talent of a Wind-Boring Beast.

Immediately after, the blue-turbaned strongman crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust and shaking the earth so violently that it was hard to stand.

It seemed its weight was no less than He Lingchuan’s Golden-Armored Bronze General.

But He Lingchuan was already behind it, continuing to pursue the two fugitives.

The spirit deer didn’t possess this talent. Bai Ziqi lightly patted its head, and the large deer sprang forward with its four hooves, seemingly not touching the ground, yet it effortlessly moved two zhang (roughly seven meters) to the side, its movements exceptionally graceful.

How could such a bulky, slow-moving opponent possibly trap the spirit deer?

Without Bai Ziqi even needing to command, the spirit deer was about to swerve around it and continue the chase.

Unexpectedly, the blue-turbaned strongman suddenly disintegrated, transforming into a massive swarm of tiny, dark creatures.

Calling them ‘tiny’ was relative to the blue-turbaned strongman itself. In fact, each of these creatures was the size of a goose egg, resembling a beetle, but with a mighty build. Their black carapaces shone brightly, and their upper mandibles, resembling both deer antlers and sharp shears, were half an inch long and covered in fine teeth!

He Lingchuan glanced back and was startled.

Aren’t those stag beetles?

With a pair of pincers on their heads, they flaunted their might at anyone. Even the naughtiest child in Blackwater City wouldn’t dare provoke these creatures—anyone whose fingers were nipped until they bled twice would learn their lesson.

The problem was that the stag beetles in Blackwater City were only peanut-sized, while these were upgraded, supersized versions. Their sharp mandibles could snip off a toe with a ‘crunch!’

Looking around, there were at least over twenty thousand of them.

What was worse, their hard exoskeletons feared neither blades, spears, water, nor fire, and they even ignored protective aura.

It turned out the blue-turbaned strongman’s appearance was just a disguise. The cloth doll was actually an insect nest. Normally, the stag beetle swarm, under the control of the insect king, assumed a human form, capable of running and jumping, only revealing their true nature at critical moments.

For Bai Ziqi, this was worse than poking a hornet’s nest; the stag beetle swarm swarmed towards their prey with a whoosh, overwhelming everything.

He Lingchuan’s scalp tingled. He casually threw out a packet of medicine and accelerated to pursue the fugitives ahead.

That type of medicine packet was formulated by Liu Tiao to repel insects and ants, and its efficacy was remarkable. He Lingchuan had also prepared a few bags according to the prescription in reality, so he wouldn’t get bitten when traveling through desolate areas.

The medicine packet landed, precisely releasing a burst of yellow mist within the swarm.

After that, he paid it no further mind.

A distinguished Du Yun Envoy would, of course, have the ability to protect himself, right?

No need for him to worry too much.

The lakeshore was faintly visible ahead, but after three consecutive charges by the rock ram, the distance between him and his quarry had shortened to within twenty zhang.

He Lingchuan aimed at the large wolf Cen Boqing was riding, and his Floating Life Blade struck directly.

The puppet wolf was very nimble and dodged with a swift movement.

Of course, the Floating Life Blade made a sharp turn, flying far away and seemingly vanishing without a trace.

Cen Boqing was in a state of panic, constantly looking back to observe Bai Ziqi’s movements. As a result, the Floating Life Blade circled around from the side, slyly attacking from his blind spot.

The wolf mount suddenly limped, losing its balance instantly and falling face-first into the dirt.

The Floating Life Blade had severed one of its hind legs.

Only Cheng Yu was still desperately fleeing.

His face was as pale as gold leaf; he didn’t know if his injuries had recurred. At this moment, he glanced back at He Lingchuan and suddenly let out a low shout: “Sink!”

The ground beneath the great-horned rock ram’s feet suddenly collapsed, turning into a muddy swamp.

Looking at Cheng Yu again, the butt of his short staff remained in contact with the ground, silently transforming the entire path the wolf mount had crossed into mud pits.

A spellcaster was also a sorcerer; at crucial moments, as long as they used the right supernatural ability, even the simplest spell could save a life.

No matter how much the rock ram could bound, its hooves still needed a point of support. Now, it was stuck in the mud and couldn’t get out. Helplessly, He Lingchuan leaped from the ram’s back and moved with agility to pursue.

But Cheng Yu was only five zhang (roughly seventeen meters) from the lakeshore, and at the same time, he reached into his robe, clearly having another trick up his sleeve.

Then two zhang, one zhang…

Just as he was about to leap into the lake, a large white fireball, at least three zhang (roughly ten meters) in diameter, suddenly crashed down directly in front of him.

As soon as it hit the ground, it erupted with an intense white light.

In the sudden burst of bright light in the dark night, a normal person’s first reaction would be to turn their head away to avoid being blinded.