Flying Horse Embroidery, Nighttime Killing Intent

Paper can't always contain fire. What happened last night began to spread rapidly throughout the city.

Numerous rumors about an Evil Path Corpse Driver sprang up.

News of people attacked after leaving the city also came from those who had narrowly escaped back.

As a result, the entire Linyuan City was filled with panic.

The County Yamen was surrounded multiple times, leading to chaotic scenes.

City Guard Captain Tian Youji had to personally appear and, after a round of assurances and outbursts, the anxious and uneasy citizens gradually quieted down and reluctantly returned home.

However, after many saw Blood and lost their lives, they became very effective. No one dared to gamble with their lives and leave the city anymore, no longer disbelieving the supernatural.

Staying in the city meant staying alive, and perhaps waiting for the experts from the Demon Suppressing Division to arrive for rescue.

Leaving the city, however, meant a high probability of losing one's life.

Linyuan City seemed to have become a besieged city, trapped under the shadow of the Evil Path Corpse Driver and the Heaven and Earth Incense Cult.

Chu Ge spent the entire day in the secret chamber, working on crafting Embroidered Flying Horse Boots.

At the same time, he used some newly collected materials to create several Thousand-Mile Eye Kites.

Later, while taking a break to relieve himself, he placed several Thousand-Mile Eye Kites at various convenient, downwind locations within the city. He infused them with Exotic Power, turning them into observation points, ready for any eventuality.

As he walked through the streets and alleys, he sensed a sense of impending crisis from the anxiety displayed by the city's residents.

At this moment, there was no need to probe Tian Youji and Hu Xuezhi.

These two were undoubtedly on high alert, but they might not know much about the situation.

Conversely, he, because the 'Auspicious Ruyi' hanging in his residence was constantly fluttering to warn him and the Exotic Power stored within was being depleted, knew better than anyone that disaster was approaching.

He had little time left to prepare.

He still had to leave Linyuan City and walk further on the path of Martial Arts. He did not want to be trapped in this small county town.

Time passed until late into the night.

Chu Ge finally succeeded in crafting a pair of Embroidered Flying Horse Boots using gold thread embroidery.

Meanwhile, inside the Dragon Bell, the Wine Exotic's wine pot had finally finished its refinement, displaying the results within the Dragon Bell.

"One drop of fine wine from the Twelve Exotics: Wine Exotic: Description: (One drop of fine wine personally brewed by Lu Zongzhao of the Twelve Exotics: Wine Exotic. For Lu Zongzhao of the Wine Exotic, this is a mildly intoxicating fine wine, but for the vast majority of people, it is the essence of wine, and a potent poison.

If a non-Force Condensation Realm expert drinks it by mistake, they will surely die. Even a Force Condensation Realm expert may fall into a coma if they drink it by mistake.

This wine is a supreme yang substance. If a non-living Malevolent Spirit drinks it by mistake, it will be affected by the alcohol's Exotic Power, depending on the situation.

Non-living spiritual entities are largely immune, only suffering partial Exotic Power damage.

Consuming five wisps of Exotic Power allows for perfect control in infusing this drop of fine wine into a sealed container)."

"Hiss."

After reading the information about the fine wine refined by the Wine Exotic's wine pot, Chu Ge took a deep breath and thought, Amazing.

This drop of fine wine was a big consumer of Exotic Power, but compared to its effects, this cost was completely worth it.

"Today is truly a double celebration. I didn't have bad luck this time."

Chu Ge looked at the Embroidered Flying Horse Boots in his hand, a hint of joy on his face, feeling that his busy half-day was worth it.

The embroidered pattern on these boots was based on the Flying Horse Diagram from the Five Mao Mountain Marvelous Skill, which he had embroidered a few days ago.

On the heel of the boots, there was a pair of wings.

If he could successfully infuse them with Exotic Power, the boots would possess special effects, allowing for a significant increase in speed just by wearing them.

In fact, the embroidered pattern required more Exotic Power to be infused. Ordinary gold and silver threads, and other materials, could no longer serve as a medium to carry it.

As for materials more suitable than gold and silver threads.

After reviewing many books, Chu Ge guessed that perhaps only those at the Force Condensation Realm or above could access rare spiritual materials taken from exotic beasts or Malevolent Spirits.

But he couldn't obtain such materials for the time being. He could only use gold and silver threads as a substitute for now.

At this moment, as he slowly infused a wisp of Exotic Power into the boots, the flying horse outlined with gold and silver threads on the boots faintly glowed.

When the second wisp of Exotic Power was infused, the silver threads on the boots suddenly turned red, as if they were about to melt and break.

"This is bad!"

Chu Ge frowned and immediately stopped infusing Exotic Power.

A moment later, Chu Ge looked at the slightly distorted flying horse embroidery in his hand. The flying horse seemed to have swollen into a flying pig.

It was as if the embroidery on the boot surface was about to collapse at any moment.

However, he could still clearly sense the fluctuations of Exotic Power infused within the flying horse embroidery.

This proved that the pair of boots had not completely failed and might still possess some special effects.

It's just that their effectiveness and usage count were likely to be unsatisfactory.

"I got happy too early. I can't call it a double celebration; it's more like extreme joy leading to sorrow."

"Sigh! I'll wear them for now."

I have to wear the boots I bought, even if I have to cry doing it.

Chu Ge didn't mind. He slipped on the Flying Pig Boots and checked the Beast Power Paper Talisman stuck to his back again.

Afterward, he selected a sealed medicinal bottle he usually used for storing poisons and carefully transferred a drop of wine, wrapped in five strands of Exotic Power, from the Dragon Bell into it.

The wine, enveloped by the Exotic Power, strangely emitted no aroma and didn't dissipate.

It was like a drop of highly dense mercury, sloshing around in the medicinal bottle.

But Chu Ge knew that if he withdrew even one strand of Exotic Power, the wine would be released very quickly, and its aroma alone could be fatal.

He carefully attached the medicinal bottle to one of his Shadow Puppets and then hung the Shadow Puppet on his cloak.

When necessary, he could pull out his cloak, and the Shadow Puppet would instantly transform into an exact replica of himself, lunging at the enemy.

Even if the medicinal bottle exploded and the wine splashed out, since the Shadow Puppet was a fake, it wouldn't be affected by the wine poison at all.

Having done all this, Chu Ge glanced at the time displayed on the water clock.

He realized it was already past midnight, deep into the hour of the Ox, and it was already the next day.

He felt no fatigue; instead, he was invigorated.

He immediately left the Secret Chamber fully armed. He saw the "Auspicious Ruyi" wind chimes hanging under the eaves of the courtyard swaying and making a "hua hua" sound, indicating a significant drain of Exotic Power.

"The wind chimes are warning so intensely, the storm is coming! Tonight, many people will likely be sleepless!"

Chu Ge took out a scorched yellow paper from his bosom and frowned deeply.

He summoned a servant and ordered the household cook to prepare a hearty late-night meal to replenish his strength and, at the same time, consume the Exotic Power within the Dragon Bell, beginning his daily Martial Arts training.

Now, he possessed the strength of the Fourth Realm: Blood Change, and the Beast Power Paper Talisman could temporarily boost his power by eighty percent.

With the Crimson Scale Claws talent to enhance his combat power and the Shadow Puppets to confuse and launch surprise attacks with the wine poison.

He felt confident that even if he encountered two Martial Masters of the same realm, he could retreat unharmed.

Although that Evil Path Corpse Driver was powerful, since he ultimately failed to kill Lin Hongtu of the Demon Suppressing Division, it proved he wasn't yet at the Force Condensation Realm.

Therefore, even if the worst-case scenario unfolded, he had a good chance of escaping.

At this very moment, the yamen was brightly lit.

At the city's docks, streets, and surrounding city walls, guards and yamen runners patrolled with torches in the dead of night.

These lights, unlike most of the dimly lit residential areas within the city, seemed to provide a sense of security to the citizens.

This sense of security also seemed to have a deterrent effect.

At least, there were no more Flying Head Zombie attacks at the docks or outside the city tonight, no prolonged, shrill screams piercing the night sky.

However, this unusual peace and quiet made Tian Youji and Hu Xuezhi, who had been sleepless in the yamen all night, feel a deep sense of unease, as if they were about to be swallowed by boundless darkness.

"Old Hu, I told you to leave before, but you wouldn't. Now, you probably can't leave. I have a premonition that tonight is not right."

In the courtyard of the yamen, Tian Youji took a sip of strong tea and sighed, gazing at the deep night sky in the distance.

Hu Xuezhi, sitting beside him, chuckled and cursed, shaking his head. "You told me to leave before, wasn't that like asking me to walk into a trap? You wanted to see how long it would take for that Flying Head Zombie to kill me, right? If we're going to die, we'll die together in the city!"

Tian Youji let out a wry laugh. "Always talking about death. Perhaps we'll be lucky and survive, and they'll be the ones who die?"

"That would only happen if a top expert from the Demon Suppressing Division's ranking list arrived. Otherwise… hehehe. Even if the two of us combined, we might only barely hold our own against Lord Lin, let alone someone stronger."

"A top expert from the Demon Suppressing Division's ranking list." Tian Youji's eyes dimmed slightly.

The Kestrel might have only just arrived at the Demon Suppressing Division tonight. By the time they sent someone over, it would likely be too late.

Hour of the Tiger.

The cold moonlight cast a wide, dazzling beam on the surface of the Xue Men River, shimmering and dancing on the water.

"Hua—" In the icy river water, dark heads gradually emerged like drowned spirits, their eyes filled with ferocity and greed, all fixed on the docks shrouded in darkness in the distance.

With a gesture, the numerous dark heads submerged back into the water, disappearing with swirling eddies on the surface.

In this freezing weather, those who dared to swim across the water were naturally strong and robust individuals with vigorous Qi and Blood, let alone those who had to lurk underwater for an extended period.

Besides the water, several eerie, dark figures also streaked across the sky, heading straight for Linyuan City to attack.

"Huala—"

The figures, like water ghosts, quickly emerged from the Xue Men River, rapidly coming ashore. They moved high and low, evading the patrolling city constables and guards, heading straight for the wealthy residential area.

Immediately after, a second group of people burst out of the water, only to run into patrolling yamen runners and guards. Swords clashed, and the sounds of fighting, accompanied by the piercing shriek of a signal flare, shot up into the sky.

"Pa—"

In the deep night sky, a blood-red firework suddenly burst open, shocking and signaling an emergency.

"Old Hu! They've really come!"

In the yamen, Tian Youji's expression turned solemn. He immediately got up, grabbed the saber on his desk, and led his men out of the city.

"They've really come."

Inside the Chu Family residence, Chu Ge, a tall and sturdy figure, sat at the table, tearing off a piece of chicken leg and chewing it slowly. He refined the Exotic Power in his body into Qi and Blood, his clear eyes reflecting the blood-red fireworks in the night sky outside.

"Whoosh—"

The Auspicious Ruyi hanging on the eaves suddenly burst into flames without fire, its Exotic Power completely depleted, turning to ash and falling from the eaves.

Chu Ge shot to his feet, walked out of the house, and ordered all the servants to hide in the home's cellar.

Then, he put on the Porter Mask and left his own house, quickly arriving at a large tree nearby where he had placed the first kite during the day.

Now, he was a fully armed porter, able to advance or retreat...

(An additional thousand words today, let's push for monthly votes)