Chapter 279: Escape

In the darkness, Li Xuan, carrying the little girl, walked quickly through the alley. Every time he covered a stretch of road, he had to stop and listen to the sounds of shouting, killing, and horse hooves nearby, carefully distinguishing the safe direction.

Standing in the dim alley, he breathed roughly while scanning the rooftops everywhere, trying to find Chen Ji's traces.

Having been besieged for three days, Li Xuan had only been able to drink thin, clear porridge. Today, he had been fighting from noon until late at night. Even a person made of iron would find it hard to bear.

Li Xuan glanced at the elm tree beside him and couldn't help but peel off a piece of dry, astringent bark from the trunk, imagining it was a piece of dried beef and stuffing it into his mouth to chew!

The bark was exceptionally bitter and astringent. No matter how hard he chewed, the bark was difficult to break down!

The refugees behind him saw his disheveled state and cautiously said, "Official master, elm bark must be ground into flour before you can eat it! How many days have you not eaten?"

Li Xuan forcibly swallowed the unbroken bark, casually explaining, "I'm not hungry, I just never ate it before and wanted to taste it!"

The little girl on his back suddenly brought her hand to his mouth: "Grandpa, eat this!"

"You..."

Li Xuan was startled and lowered his head to see the little girl holding two shriveled jujubes in her hand!

The little girl said in a low voice, "My mother gave them to me and told me to secretly eat one when I was truly starving!"

Li Xuan stuffed another mouthful of elm bark into his mouth, smiling, "You keep them to eat!"

The little girl, however, insisted on putting the jujubes into his mouth: "I still have two!"

Li Xuan chewed the jujubes in his mouth, silently looking up at the narrow night sky above the alley, lost in thought.

A refugee tentatively said, "Official master, what about that colleague of yours? Where did he go? If he could be with us, we don't mean anything else, it's just that you look too tired!"

Li Xuan's gaze swept over the empty rooftops nearby again. After a long time, he said, "He should still have important matters to attend to!"

At this moment, a team of Tian Ce Army iron cavalry howled as they passed by, dragging a captured enemy soldier alive to his death by tying an iron chain to his ankle!

The crowd in the small alley covered their mouths in fear, shrinking back lest they be discovered by the Tian Ce Army outside!

After the Tian Ce Army left, Li Xuan moved on, continuing north, trying to rendezvous with his Yu Lin Army colleagues!

Above a wine shop pavilion, a Tian Ce Army divine archer leaned in the shadow of the second-floor eaves, silently rubbing the hard bow in his hand. His eyes, like those of a hawk or falcon, overlooked his colleagues searching house by house!

The divine archer's ear suddenly twitched, as if he heard a faint cough!

He straightened his back, standing upright!

His right hand reached into his arrow quiver and silently drew out a whistling arrow!

The next moment, Li Xuan led the refugees out of the alley, intending to cross Bao Si Street!

The Tian Ce Army divine archer drew his bow like thunder and set an arrow. With a bang, the sturdy and flexible bowstring produced a terrifying sound!

The whistling arrow let out a sharp sound, shooting straight towards the space behind Li Xuan, intending to pierce both Li Xuan and the little girl behind him with one arrow!

Suddenly, an iron bow arrow shot out from the darkness, striking and breaking the whistling arrow that had just left the string in mid-air. The sharp sound abruptly stopped.

The Tian Ce Army divine archer's heart was startled. He suddenly drew another whistling arrow from his quiver and, without looking, subconsciously drew his bow and set an arrow, shooting it towards the direction the arrow had come from.

Just as he released the bowstring, an iron bow arrow had already arrived before his face!

The iron bow arrow struck and broke the whistling arrow and then passed through his throat, nailing him to the wall behind him!

The arrow fletching, stained with blood, trembled continuously!

Li Xuan turned his head to look at the pavilion and saw Chen Ji lightly float over the railing and pull away the divine archer's arrow quiver!

Chen Ji silently pointed a finger towards the north from the pavilion!

Li Xuan immediately understood and, carrying the little girl, fled towards the north!

At the same time, the nearby Tian Ce Army heard two whistling arrows and stopped their horses, preparing to follow new guidance. But this time the sound of the whistling arrows was too short, and for a moment they didn't know what had happened or where to shoot!

The Tian Ce Army iron cavalry looked at each other. Before they could speak, a whistling arrow flew from west to east. Only then did they spur their horses to chase after it!

Upon reaching the location where the arrow had fallen, a Tian Ce Army iron cavalry frowned, looking at the arrow nailed to the wall and then at the empty street surface around him: "Why did the divine archer lead us here? There's nothing here!"

An armored soldier wearing a black pheasant-tail helmet said in a cold voice, "Someone killed the divine archer and seized his bow."

After speaking, he pulled the reins tight, turned his horse's head, held his horse spear upside down, and rushed towards the place where the whistling arrow had initially sounded.

Li Xuan and his group had not run far before they heard the sound of iron hooves, getting closer and closer, more and more urgent.

Bad! The Tian Ce Army reacted too quickly and had already seen through Chen Ji's trick!

Once the Tian Ce Army iron cavalry arrived, the refugees beside him would undoubtedly die.

He suddenly turned his head to look at Chen Ji on the pavilion and saw that the other man was also extremely solemn!

He saw Chen Ji hesitate for a long time before finally drawing a whistling arrow from his quiver and shooting it into the sky!

Li Xuan was suddenly startled and then watched with wide eyes as Chen Ji leaped down from the high platform, stepped onto the rooftops, and ran in the opposite direction from him. Following that, another whistling arrow shot into the sky, guiding the Tian Ce Army!

He listened as Chen Ji used one whistling arrow after another to lead the Tian Ce Army farther and farther away, a mix of emotions swirling in his heart!

Breathe!

Even breathing was key to maintaining balance. Chen Ji heard the Tian Ce Army iron cavalry getting closer and closer behind him. He drew an arrow from the quiver at his waist, his footsteps not stopping, his head not turning, and pulled the bowstring full, shooting an arrow behind him!

The bowstring vibrated, and the whistling arrow, wrapped in a sharp whistle, pierced a Tian Ce Army armored soldier, bringing him down from his horse!

Chen Ji drew another arrow and shot it, and another Tian Di Army armored soldier fell from his warhorse, his armor making a rumbling sound as it hit the ground!

One arrow, one life. But the iron cavalry surrounding and blocking him not only didn't decrease but became more numerous. Just as Chen Ji shot out another arrow, an arrow shot out from a hidden place, catching him off guard for a moment and launching a sneak attack!

In the darkness elsewhere, another divine archer, dozens of steps away, released a cold arrow. One, two, three, three iron bow arrows continuously locked onto Chen Ji's path!

The divine archers hiding in the dark quietly watched as the arrows got closer and closer to Chen Ji, but Chen Ji still showed no intention of avoiding the arrows!

Just when they thought Chen Ji would undoubtedly die, they saw the arrows near Chen Ji actually explode into a sky full of wood chips in the air, struck into pieces by an invisible sharp weapon!

The eyes of the two divine archers narrowed slightly. Neither saw clearly what had happened!

Chen Ji coldly looked towards one of them, set an arrow with his backhand, and counterattacked. The divine archer hiding in the dark saw his face change dramatically as he pulled the bowstring full and leaped to the side to hide!

With a thud, the divine archer landed in mid-air, his heart pounding, and turned his head to look at where he had just been. There, an iron bow arrow was trembling constantly!

If he had been slightly slower, he would probably have been nailed to the wall!

An iron bow arrow, with overwhelming force, nailed him to the wall, throwing him heavily against it!

Two arrows. It only took two arrows to kill one divine archer!

Another divine archer saw his colleague's death and shuddered inwardly, quietly retreating into the darkness. Towards the direction Chen Ji had fled, he casually shot out three whistling arrows!

This was not a person they could kill; they had to call for more people.

While escaping, Chen Ji felt as if the surrounding Tian Ce Army was closing in from all directions, like a pot of thin porridge gradually thickening into a thick one, getting thicker and thicker!

Fortunately, the black sword seed could break cold arrows under the cover of night, otherwise he would have been shot into a sieve long ago!

The big fire in Gu Yuan City had already spread to this area. Rolling thick smoke billowed out from house after house. The vast "fire line" was like a twisted red rope, dividing the huge Gu Yuan City in two!

Chen Ji escaped alongside the big fire while thinking about where he should escape to next!

The Tian Ce Army iron cavalry's encirclement was getting tighter and tighter. Chen Ji escaped while shooting and killing the surrounding Tian Ce Army!

Suddenly, a team of Tian Ce Army appeared from the front, seemingly having waited here long ago, waiting for him to fall into a trap!

Chen Ji reached out to touch his arrow quiver, but it was empty!

He subconsciously lowered his head to look. All the arrows had already been shot!

He raised his head again to look at the several Tian Ce Army iron cavalry coming towards him. There was no way to avoid them!

Thirty steps, twenty steps! Ten steps!

Chen Ji threw away the hard bow in his hand and pulled out the whale knife tied to his back.

Just at this moment, a human shadow flashed out from a small alley beside him. Several sword flowers flashed, actually disrupting the Tian Ce Army formation in an instant!

Li Xuan shouted, "Quick, go!"

Chen Ji said in a deep voice, "How did you get here?"

Li Xuan quickly explained, "Just now a branch of armored infantry, I don't know where they came from, rushed out within the city and are now fighting the Tian Ce Army in a chaotic battle. I've already sent the people to a safe place!"

Chen Ji glanced behind him. Behind him was a surging wave of Tian Ce Army iron cavalry. He glanced ahead. In front of him was also a surging wave of galloping iron cavalry!

Only to the left was a surging big fire!

Chen Ji gritted his teeth, covered his mouth and nose, and actually pulled Li Xuan with him, drilling into the rolling thick smoke to the south!

The next moment, the Tian Ce Army iron cavalry, attacking from the east, west, and north, gathered like a black tide but found nothing.

For a while, the sound of horse hooves on the street was chaotic. All the Tian Ce Army pulled their reins tight, avoiding collisions between their warhorses and colleagues.

A divine archer climbed onto the roof of a wine shop, silently looking at the rolling thick smoke!

This area of fire and thick smoke was about twenty steps wide, appearing like a deep abyss, cutting through the middle of Gu Yuan City!

Die in the sea of fire?

Just when he thought Chen Ji and Li Xuan had been buried in the sea of fire, he saw two human shadows leap out from the rolling thick smoke, coughing as they fled south.

The divine archer's heart sank. He drew a whistling arrow and shot it south!

A Tian Ce Army armored soldier wearing black feathers frowned. He thought of the other person who had led him and over a hundred others on such a large circle and immediately said angrily, "Chase!"

After speaking, he covered his warhorse's eyes with a black cloth, clamped his legs fiercely on the horse's belly, and urged the warhorse to leap up and cross into the sea of fire!