Chapter 116: Enemy Traces

“You have heard my name, which is your misfortune. You can travel together on the road to Huang Quan, so you won’t be lonely!”

Before the middle-aged man could finish half of his words, Xu Ziyan suddenly pushed the car door open. She jumped down from the vehicle with Xu Mei, Xu Lan, and Xu Meiruo. Her hands were half loose and half clenched, ready to strike.

Just as Ling Xiao was about to move, a delicate jade-like hand gracefully extended from behind him and lightly rested on his shoulder. Ling Xiao immediately halted, his killing intent replaced by tenderness. He turned his head and said softly:

“Rou’er, what’s wrong?”

The woman called “Rou’er” slowly shook her head at Ling Xiao and said quietly:

“Xiao gege, please don’t kill anyone anymore. These people are all innocent!”

“Alright!” Ling Xiao hesitated for a moment, then gently reached out to help the woman get down from the car. He said softly, “Let’s go!”

Rou’er nodded gently and made a soft sound in agreement. Two Flying Swords circled around them, and with a light leap, they stepped onto the swords. They soared away with a whoosh and disappeared in an instant.

“Whew~~”

Everyone present let out a long sigh of relief, and the atmosphere became relaxed once again. Xu Ziyan and the others exchanged glances, all wearing expressions of relief.

“Alright! Alright! Let’s move on!” the people from the trade caravan shouted.

Xu Ziyan, Xu Mei, Xu Lan, and Xu Meiruo returned to the carriage. Xu Lin and the others also turned their horses around, and the entire trade caravan began to move forward again.

After entering the carriage, Xu Ziyan looked at Xu Mei, Xu Lan, and Xu Meiruo and asked softly, “Who is that Ling Xiao? Why did the disciples of the Wu Family recognize him? And why did he want to kill everyone after being recognized?”

“We all know about this, Sister Ziyan, don’t you?” Xu Meiruo asked curiously.

“I don’t know!” Xu Ziyan was very puzzled by the surprise on the faces of the three. She let out a bitter laugh and said:

“I’ve been busy with Cultivation and know almost nothing about what’s happening on the continent.”

“Oh, Sister Ziyan, you’re really too diligent. This matter caused a sensation in the Northern Region. Every woman knows about it!”

“Oh!” Xu Ziyan could only give another bitter smile and thought to herself, “Does not knowing mean I’m not a woman?”

Xu Meiruo, however, didn’t notice Xu Ziyan’s expression and was completely immersed in her own emotions:

“That Ling Xiao is just a rogue cultivator, with no roots or ties. But he is a man of great determination. It’s said he has reached the Foundation Building Stage Fifth Layer. The woman he calls ‘Rou’er’ is Lin Rouer, the daughter of the Sect Leader of the Chiyang Sect, a small sect in our Northern Region.

For some reason, the two fell in love. The Chiyang Sect didn’t reveal any details. Instead, they claimed that Ling Xiao had abducted their daughter and issued a bounty for his capture. They promised an Artifact to anyone who could kill Ling Xiao, and even a bottle of Elixir just for information about their whereabouts. That’s why we all know about this. We even saw their images back then. The Chiyang Sect ordered City Lord Li Wanpeng to gather everyone in the Zhongdu City Plaza to show the images.

But Ling Xiao and Lin Rouer are truly remarkable. For almost a year, they have managed to avoid being caught by the Chiyang Sect. Besides, even if we knew their whereabouts, why would we tell the Chiyang Sect? Just for some Artifact or Elixir? Would we really ruin such a beautiful love story?”

After listening to Xu Meiruo’s account, Xu Ziyan understood why Ling Xiao wanted to kill everyone present after his name was called out—he was afraid of being exposed. And the fact that Lin Rouer could stop him showed that she was a kind-hearted person. Ah! May the two lovers eventually unite! After reflecting on this, Xu Ziyan suddenly thought of a question and asked hesitantly:

“Since the disciples of the Xu Clan could recognize Ling Xiao, why didn’t any of you recognize him?”

“Ling Xiao seemed much older than in the images from a year ago, and Lin Rouer was always inside the carriage, so none of us recognized them,” Xu Mei explained.

Xu Ziyan fell silent. A man, fleeing for a woman’s sake, took such good care of her over the year that she remained as beautiful as a flower, while he had aged so much. It was clear how much he loved and cherished Lin Rouer. She lifted the curtain and looked in the direction where Ling Xiao and Lin Rouer had departed, feeling a sense of longing.

A quarter of an hour later, the trade caravan reached a fork in the road. Xu Ziyan and the others bid farewell to the three trade caravans and took the western branch, heading straight for the Endless Forest to the west. By now, no one had any objections to Xu Ziyan’s decision. After the incident with the Wu Family scouts, everyone knew that the best path forward was the sparsely populated Endless Forest.

Not long after they left, the Wu Family caught up with the three trade caravans. Upon hearing that their family’s scouts had been killed by Ling Xiao and Lin Rouer, they had no choice but to swallow their anger. How could they possibly deal with someone at the Foundation Building Stage Fifth Layer? They hurried back to report the incident. It was because they were so startled upon hearing about Ling Xiao that they forgot to ask if anyone had seen ten people resembling Xu Ziyan and her group. This allowed Xu Ziyan and the others to escape another crisis.

Xu Ziyan opened the carriage window and called Xu Lin and the others over. She asked softly, “Who is familiar with the roads around here?”

“I am!” Xu Tianhai spoke up. “Before I returned to the clan, my father had left the clan due to insufficient Cultivation Level and became a merchant. After my mother passed away, he took me with him and we traveled almost all over the Northern Region.”

After catching his breath, Xu Tianhai continued, “We should continue heading west until we reach Tiemu City. After passing through Tiemu City, about ten li further, there’s a fork in the road going west. We follow that branch for about a hundred li, and we’ll reach Xiangyang Town. There’s a large river there called the Chang River. We can board a boat at the ferry there, then go downstream and disembark at Xichui Town. From there, it’s less than a hundred li to the Endless Forest.”

Everyone’s eyes were fixed on Xu Tianhai. They were all very surprised to hear about his background and his clear analysis of the route.

Without any hesitation, Xu Ziyan immediately nodded and said, “Good, we’ll follow Senior Brother Tianhai’s route. Senior Brother Tianhai, please lead the way with your carriage.”

“Alright!” Xu Tianhai agreed and drove his carriage to the front. The others followed behind Xu Tianhai, quickly pressing forward.

After two hours of dusty travel, they quickly ate a little something and continued on toward Tiemu City. Xu Ziyan lifted the curtain and asked Xu Tianhai:

“Senior Brother Tianhai, how much longer until we reach Tiemu City?”

“If we don’t take any breaks, we can reach Tiemu City before dark,” Xu Tianhai said as he drove the carriage.

“Can everyone hold up?” Xu Ziyan called out to the group.

“No problem!” everyone shouted in the strong wind.

“Then let’s keep going!”

Xu Ziyan’s eyes vigilantly scanned the surroundings as she extended her Spiritual Power from her Foundation Building Stage outward. But she knew her Cultivation Level was not high, so her Spiritual Power was limited. If there were experts with higher Cultivation Levels who were skilled at hiding their tracks and auras, she wouldn’t be able to detect where they were hiding.

※※※

Chiyang Sect.

In the Main Hall, Sect Leader Lin Zeyan sat in his seat. He suddenly looked up and saw a sword ray shooting toward him. He reached out and grabbed the small sword. After checking the message on the Flying Sword, he muttered coldly:

“Ling Xiao has appeared near Bowang City.” Then he shouted toward the outside of the hall, “Someone!”

A disciple entered the hall, knelt at the front, and said, “What are your orders, Sect Leader?”

“Send a message to the Second Elder and the Fifth Elder. Tell them to come to the Main Hall immediately!”

Soon, two middle-aged men entered the hall—one at the Foundation Building Stage Sixth Layer and the other at the Foundation Building Stage Eighth Layer. They bowed to Lin Zeyan and said:

“Sect Leader, why have you called us here?”

“Junior Brother Mo, Junior Brother Jing, Ling Xiao has appeared near Bowang City. You two must go there immediately and capture Ling Xiao and that rebellious daughter of mine. Also, I’ve heard that the Xu Clan of Zhongdu City in the Mortal World is facing the danger of extermination. They’ve hidden their clan’s treasure map with ten young disciples who fled Zhongdu City. If you get the chance, you might as well bring that treasure back.”

“Yes, Sect Leader!” Mo Ran chuckled and said, “Although it’s just a large clan in the Mortal World, even a mosquito is still meat! Hehehe…”

“Hahaha…” The three of them laughed together.

※※※

Western Suburbs of Bowang City.

“Yang Bu, what do you make of this?”

Under the night sky, a middle-aged man with flowing black hair stood quietly in the air. Just by his demeanor, he appeared to be at least middle-aged, but if you looked at his face, you couldn’t tell his exact age. You could only see a face covered with sword scars, each mark deeply etched like carvings in wood. His eyelids drooped as if the nerves had been severed by a sword, squeezing his eyes into slits. At first glance, he looked like a weak, severely injured person, but his voice boomed like a great bell, exuding overwhelming pressure.

“It’s strange! So many factions, including many small sects, have joined the search, yet they’ve lost all trace of the ten disciples from the Xu Clan! When did the Xu Clan’s disciples become so skilled? Senior Brother Yang Long, what should we do now?” Yang Bu frowned deeply.

“Have any of the clan’s disciples sent messages—”

Yang Long’s expression suddenly tightened as he turned to stare intently to the side. Yang Bu also turned. Suddenly, a hundred meters away, a sword ray cut through the darkness like a bolt of lightning, straight toward Yang Long…