Chapter 144: Whale Search

Breathing.

Chen Ji’s pursuers were left far, far behind him. Between the vast heavens and earth, it was as if only the sound of his own breathing remained.

A mountain wind suddenly howled past. In the forest, the last dry leaves on the bare branches fluttered down one by one.

As Chen Ji ran, he couldn’t help but glance to the side. He saw the sky filled with dancing gray dry leaves flying towards his face, then being rolled by the wind and brushing past his shoulders, like night rain in the Jianghu, or like certain people and certain events.

He couldn’t help but reach out to grab a dry leaf, but in his peripheral vision, another sharp black crossbow bolt shot from behind him, flying against the wind, breaking through the falling leaves and coming towards Chen Ji.

Chen Ji tilted his head slightly, letting the crossbow bolt nail itself into a tree trunk in front of him, emitting a thud. Its tail feather vibrated incessantly.

He turned his head to look and saw that about ten zhang away, a black-clothed person was solemnly following with a repeating crossbow in their hand, moving at extreme speed.

On the forehead of the black-clothed person, someone had written the two seal script characters ‘Yan Sheng’ in cinnabar.

The black-clothed person’s eyes were crimson like blood. They looked like a person, yet their spirit was like a ghost.

Chen Ji remembered the yellow paper talisman drawn by the fisherman on the black-awning boat earlier, and the Yan Sheng characters now. They were different but served the same purpose. He hadn't expected the other side could actually draw talismans on people's bodies.

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

It was a whistle arrow.

Once a whistle arrow was fired, it would emit a sharp shriek sound, attracting others.

This black-clothed person must have colleagues nearby.

Chen Ji, running downhill, advanced instead of retreating. He dragged his knife up the mountain slope. The black-clothed person also didn't avoid or yield, continuing to advance.

The two grew closer and closer, like two wild beasts running madly at the same time. Their footsteps stirred up the fallen leaves on the ground, sending them scattering.

The black-clothed person didn’t have time to load the whistle arrow. They simply held the whistle arrow in their mouth, then raised their repeating crossbow and pulled the trigger at Chen Ji.

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

Chen Ji’s long knife, which he was dragging, suddenly lifted.

Time seemed to slow down.

The sharp knife edge chopped directly through the middle of the arrow, striking sparks with the iron arrowhead. Following the grain of the arrow shaft, the blade cut through, splitting the arrow into two.

The black-clothed person’s face didn’t change. They continued to advance, constantly pulling the trigger, wanting to fire all five arrows in the mechanism at once.

Swing knife.

Swing knife.

Swing knife.

Chen Ji’s long knife collided with the arrows in the air, turning into clusters of brilliant sparks.

Just as the black-clothed person pulled the trigger for the fifth time, the mechanism jammed unexpectedly. He lowered his head to check the crossbow. When he raised his head again, he suddenly saw Chen Ji, who had already burst through the air and scattered the dry leaves, arriving in front of him with his knife drawn.

The young man’s hair was stirred by the mountain wind, and the hem of his clothes fluttered up and down.

One glance could see a thousand li; the killing intent was already decided.

Chen Ji lifted his knife diagonally upwards, the blade pointing towards his waist. One hand on the knife turned into two hands.

The black-clothed person discarded the repeating crossbow, drew out their waist knife, and chopped down, but their knife broke with a clang as soon as it touched Chen Ji’s knife.

This one knife cut from the black-clothed person’s left lower abdomen to the front of their right chest. A streak of fresh blood was brought out by the blade, splashing onto a tree trunk nearby.

The black-clothed person’s body stopped. The whistle arrow they held in their mouth fell.

They looked down blankly at their wound: "Good knife technique, better than mine... ."

Chen Ji panted heavily and retreated, planning to quickly leave the battlefield.

The black-clothed person slowly knelt on the ground, their pale face looking up at Chen Ji: "You want to help the Shizi and the County Princess lead away the pursuers, right? But Mister Feng is smarter than you. He has already sent people into the military town to search and capture them."

Chen Ji’s pupils contracted. His retreating footsteps slowly stopped.

Bluffing?

No.

The other side had no reason to bluff at this time, and even if they bluffed, there would be no life left to report back the truth.

The other side hoped to use the Shizi and the County Princess to restrain him, making him unable to calmly escape, and ultimately forcing him to return to the military town to save them.

The black-clothed person knelt on the ground, coughing up blood as they smiled and said: "Mister Feng’s words, I have delivered. How you decide is your business."

After speaking, the black-clothed person fell to the ground with a thud.

Just as the black-clothed person fell to the ground, a crossbow bolt suddenly flew out from behind a tree trunk more than ten steps away.

Chen Ji subconsciously swung his knife to block.

With a clang.

This time, the crossbow bolt was not split into two. Instead, the long knife in his hand broke with a resonant snap.

The crossbow bolt went in a slanted direction, brushing past Chen Ji’s waist and leaving a streak of blood.

Chen Ji held the broken knife and retreated down the mountain.

After a few breaths, he turned around and began to escape regardless of everything.

On the way down the mountain, Chen Ji looked at the broken knife in his hand. He saw that only three inches of the blade remained above the guard, making it even shorter than a dagger.

This knife, seized from a military man, was ultimately crudely made and could not withstand heavy use.

Return to the military town or not?

Cannot return.

This was Chen Ji’s most rational judgment.

That Mister Feng was profound and mysterious. If he returned, he would surely face ten deaths and no life.

Moreover, he had already done everything he should do.

If the Shizi and the County Princess still could not escape, then all he could do was avenge them later, not return to court death.

Returning this time would be completely meaningless.

"Right, completely meaningless. But as long as they are normal people, none of them will return."

Chen Ji seemed to be confirming something, muttering to himself.

He ran crazily down the mountain, taking several meters with each stride.

He left the pursuing black-clothed people far, far behind.

But, Chen Ji suddenly stood still.

Inertia made him slide down the mountain slope for several zhang, stirring up the fallen leaves everywhere before finally stopping.

He stood in place and looked up at the moonlit sky, his face flickering between light and dark.

The mountain wind surged like a tide, blowing his hair. With the hem of his clothes floating backward, it made a whooshing sound.

The next moment, Chen Ji stood at the mountainside, looking around at the terrain. His mind raced urgently, calculating everything he wanted to do.

Chen Ji slowly closed his eyes, gathered up the furnace fire in his body, and let the ice flow from his Dantian spread throughout his body.

He brought ill fortune down from the azure sky above, letting it fall upon the green mountains.

Before Xuanyuan could even speak, he had already hoisted his Whale Knife and ran towards the rugged mountain path: "Feng Huai, come, I’m in a hurry."

Xuanyuan teased: "Saving friends again?"

Chen Ji didn’t answer.

In the mountain forest, Chen Ji ran madly with the bright Whale Knife.

Feng Huai wandered among the mountains, observing Chen Ji’s movements from the flank while seeking an opportunity to ambush and kill.

"Wait!"

Feng Huai was suddenly startled by Chen Ji’s voice. He discovered that this time, Chen Ji was fundamentally different from before, not hiding his tracks, nor trying to avoid being surrounded and killed. He was just dragging the person-long Whale Knife, heading straight for the giant axe warrior Feng Lie below the mountain.

The bright knife light was like a meteor, continuously falling, falling, falling... down the mountain.

Mountain lord, also a tiger!

Feng Huai’s heart was shocked.

This time, Chen Ji wanted to use the fastest speed to break them one by one, giving them no opportunity to ambush and surround him.

Feng Huai urgently shouted: "Feng Lie, run!"

The burly Feng Lie carried his giant axe and was just about to turn and run, but Chen Ji suddenly roared with inspiration: "Fen Wu, Wan Sheng."

Xuanyuan was startled.

Feng Huai was startled: "Teacher!"

In the middle...