Seeing that guy catch up so quickly, Zhou You found the situation rather troublesome.
A man who had mastered earth-element Daoist arts... In the previous script, he would have been a renowned expert in the martial world. Especially that move of shaping Wu Earth into form—against someone with little defensive ability, it was practically an instant kill.
However.
Zhou You was not without advantages.
First, the Heavenly Dragon Bloodline protected his body, giving him a certain degree of resistance to this kind of attack.
Second...
For some reason, even now, that guy still believed he was an utterly ordinary mortal.
And that was precisely the point Zhou You could exploit most easily!
Listening to the sound of mud sliding ever closer, Zhou You slowly closed his eyes. When he opened them again, his breathing had already steadied.
Then he abruptly retreated.
Charles was still laughing outside.
"Tell me honestly—are you the Lin Family's heir? Don't worry, I'm not stupid enough to threaten you. If you are, I'll only take you to meet the Duke. The Four Great Families may fight each other to the death, but they rarely go for the kill when it comes to heirs. Even if the Duke sees you, he'll generally treat you with courtesy."
Zhou You acted as though he had heard nothing and continued running toward the inner side of the fields.
Yet Charles's voice clung to him like a festering parasite, refusing to leave him alone.
"If you're not, you can prove it too. Don't worry, a few drops of blood will do. And although I'd personally love to give you a proper beating, missions always come first for me. Once I find out you're not, I'll definitely prioritize chasing that fleeing troupe... and you can take the chance to slip away..."
...This