Lost in the Mantis and Oriole Scheme, Night Escape Startling Wild Goose Running Method!

Blood Moon Hanging in the Sky.

Crimson light spilled down, shrouding Qingyang Ancient City in an eerie, unfathomable atmosphere.

The wind scraped across his face like a blunt knife cutting flesh, the pain drilling straight into his heart.

Chu Fan's gaze shifted. Seeing that the fat and thin men had both focused their attention entirely on the Moon Worshipping Sect members, he immediately slipped out of Zhao Hu's old residence without a sound. His feet never stopped as he widened the distance between them.

The eerie bell grew closer and closer.

Its tone was crisp yet chillingly cold, stopping and starting as though it came from beneath the Nine Netherworlds, unlike any sound of the mortal world.

The two servants who had hidden by the gate long ago tensed like bowstrings pulled taut, cocking their heads as they listened intently.

When the White-robed person from the Moon Worshipping Sect led a group of people past the alley ahead, the two servants unexpectedly followed on tiptoe without the slightest hesitation!

"They really are watching the Moon Worshipping Sect!"

Hidden in the darkness, Chu Fan knitted his brows, lost in thought.

The Moon Worshipping Sect acted in secret and with sinister intentions. Ordinary citizens avoided them as if fleeing a plague, while even Jianghu practitioners were unwilling to provoke them lightly. Yet these two servants of the Huang Family had dared to follow behind them—their courage was truly remarkable.

Chu Fan held his breath and trailed far behind.

The White-robed person leading the way behaved rather strangely. He would walk a while, then stop, and whenever he reached a certain place, he would take a circular object from his robe and fiddle with it while lowering his head.

They were too far apart. Even with the eyesight of Eagle Form at Major Accomplishment, enhanced further by Blood Nourishment, Chu Fan could only make out its outline beneath the Blood Moon's red light. He could not see what it actually was.

"Is the Moon Worshipping Sect looking for something too?"

Chu Fan's heart gave a jolt as he suddenly remembered the Demon Suppression Stele at home.

This was the first time he had truly paid attention to the Moon Worshipping Sect.

In the past, whenever he heard the Soul-Snatching Bell, he would hide far away and never bother observing them.

The Moon Worshipping Sect had come to Qingyang Ancient City two years ago.

Calculating the timing, it had been right before his parents passed away.

At that time, the city's residents still knew nothing about them. Many had either been bewitched or coveted the eggs and Wheat Cakes handed out by the Moon Worshipping Sect, and followed them to "worship the moon."

It was also during that period that his seriously ill parents suddenly regained consciousness. They grabbed his hand and repeatedly warned him to stay away from the Moon Worshipping Sect.

Back then, Chu Fan had found it strange—

His parents had been bedridden for years. By then, they often babbled incoherently and never left the house, so how could they have known that the Moon Worshipping Sect existed?

At this moment, those old events that had seemed entirely unrelated appeared to be connected by invisible threads, faintly pointing toward some astonishing truth!

Chu Fan had originally thought he was the oriole waiting after the mantis stalked the cicada.

But he had never expected that he might have long since become the mantis caught in the scheme!

A chill suddenly rose from the depths of his heart and raced through his Limbs and Bones.

Chu Fan's Blood Qi had always been vigorous, and he no longer feared the cold. Yet even he shuddered violently at once!

The bell stopped by the bank of the Qingyang River.

Withered reeds rustled in the wind. The accumulated snow reflected the faint light of the sky, sketching several Black Shadows in a hazy outline.

The White-robed person leading the way suddenly stopped.

The line of people behind him, moving like walking corpses, also froze in an instant, utterly silent.

The two Huang Family servants following behind hurriedly shrank behind the wall of an Earthen House by the riverbank, their eyes wide as they watched everything before them.

The White-robed person calmly paced from the head of the line to its tail.

Then, without warning—

He flipped his wrist, and a silver arc shot from his hand!

It was fast beyond imagination!

"Puchi!"

The slightly plump servant's throat had been precisely pierced by a strangely shaped Curved knife!

A line of blood burst from his neck. He did not even manage a grunt before falling stiffly backward!

There was no questioning, no warning.

The moment he struck, it was a single slash that claimed a life!

To kill someone so casually—it was no different from cutting grass!

The short, thin servant was scared out of his wits. With a strange cry, he turned and jumped into the dark river beside him, splashing up a great sheet of water!

The White-robed person swiftly reached the riverbank and looked down. The river flowed darkly, its surface barely rippling. How could there be any trace of a person?

He slowly turned around and was about to continue forward when he stopped again, turning his head toward the low wall where Chu Fan was hiding.

In that instant, Chu Fan felt an icy, bone-piercing malice wrap around him like a maggot clinging to the bone. The Blood Qi throughout his body nearly froze!

"How is that possible!"

His heart surged like a stormy sea. He had hidden so far away, yet he had still been detected!

At this moment of life or death, Chu Fan dared not hesitate for even a fraction of a second...

The Blood Qi within his body surged with a thunderous roar, driving his speed to its absolute limit. His figure became an arrow loosed from the bow as he fled for his life into the depths of the tangled alleys!

Run!

Run!

At that moment, only this one thought remained in his mind.

The cold wind stabbed like needles as it poured fiercely into his lungs, bringing tearing pain.

Although he heard no sound of Pursuers behind him, he did not dare slow his steps in the slightest.

Fortunately, he knew the alleyways here extremely well. In addition, his strength was now vastly different from before. After seven twists and eight turns, his own courtyard appeared before his eyes in no time.

His figure shot forward. He vaulted into the courtyard and slipped inside the house.

With his back against the icy wall, Chu Fan's chest heaved violently as he desperately suppressed his harsh breathing.

His gaze quickly swept across the position of the Hexagram Formation inside the house—

If the White-robed person really pursued him here, then he might have no choice but to use that formation to escape into the Stone Cave containing the Demon Suppression Stele.

This Moon Worshipping Sect...

How could it be so terrifying?

Just as he was still shaken, a line of tiny words abruptly appeared in his mind.

[Running Technique Experience +2]

[Skill: Running Technique (Entry) Progress (2/100)]

Chu Fan froze.

He had never experienced anything unusual while walking in the past.

That desperate sprint for his life had unexpectedly triggered this Running Technique?

Thinking back, after coming to this world, he had jogged short distances before, but he had never run so desperately.

Who would have thought...

His fear had yet to settle, but a trace of understanding and wild joy quietly sprouted in Chu Fan's heart.

Before he had even steadied his breathing, an extremely faint rustling sound suddenly came from outside the courtyard wall, mixed with murmured conversation kept very low.

Chu Fan focused his senses. Realizing that the terrifying White-robed person had not followed him, he felt slightly relieved.

He held his breath, placed the long blade wrapped in cloth beside the bed, then gently pushed open the window. Like a fallen leaf, he slipped outside and pressed himself against the wall to listen.

"Idiot! Be careful! You nearly made your grandpa fall!"

"Bah! Just wait. I'll smash this lousy window to pieces with one brick and see whether that kid from the Chu Family still dares to act tough!"

They were ruffians sent by Huang Shouliang!

Chu Fan instantly understood—this

They intended to take advantage of the Dark night with high winds to smash the window and intimidate him into selling his house!

A trace of icy ruthlessness flashed through Chu Fan's eyes, and killing intent suddenly surged!

He drove off fiercely with both feet. His figure was like a ferocious tiger breaking free of its cage as he suddenly vaulted over the courtyard wall!

Outside the wall, a ruffian was standing on his accomplice's shoulders. One hand clutched the wall while the other gripped a brick, poised to throw it.

When a figure suddenly leaped over the wall from inside, both men froze.

Chu Fan said nothing. Closing in, he used Tiger Form. His tiger claw clamped around the neck of the man below like lightning, then twisted with force!

"Kachaa!"

A crisp crack rang out. The ruffian's eyes bulged, and before he could utter a word, his neck had already been twisted around!

The ruffian standing on his shoulders immediately lost his support and fell.

Chu Fan's left hand shot out in one smooth motion. Repeating the same method, he precisely seized the other man by the neck and exerted force again!

"Kachaa!"

In the blink of an eye, both ruffians had died on the spot!

Once armed with a lethal weapon, killing intent arose of its own accord!

Looking at the bodies rapidly turning cold beneath his feet, Chu Fan wondered whether he should throw the two corpses into the foulwater ditch to erase the traces.

But then he remembered the servant's corpse by the river, slain by the Moon Worshipping Sect. A bolder thought flashed through his mind like a spark of lightning.

He bent down, seized both corpses by their belts, and lifted them at the same time. After taking a deep breath, he once again merged into the night and sprinted toward the bank of the Qingyang River.

Since breaking through Blood Nourishment, his strength had increased greatly. Carrying a grown man in each hand, he still moved as swiftly as a galloping horse!

The riverbank was deathly still. Only the withered reeds trembled and rustled in the Cold wind.

The Huang Family servant's corpse still lay stiffly where it had fallen. Fresh Blood had soaked into the snow, congealing into a shocking patch of dark red.

The river was pitch-black, and there was no sign of the short, thin servant.

Chu Fan threw the two ruffians' corpses beside the servant's body.

"Let this blood debt be charged to the Moon Worshipping Sect as well."

Suddenly...

A splash sounded not far upstream.