The Old Man's Friend

This time, the crows arrived far too early, so early that no one could guess what might happen next.

According to Li Dongze, the Tribunal of Taboos only activates this rapid response mechanism when a master of A-level or higher rank dies.

Even B-Class isn't worth the crows making such a fuss about.

Qing Chen sighed inwardly; he had a pretty good idea of who would be the victim of this danger.

Countdown: 65:00:00.

Less than three days until the return.

7 o'clock in the morning.

Everyone in the camp had packed up their tents and belongings early on. The arrival of the Tribunal of Taboos had cast a shadow over everyone's hearts.

The old man was about to get into his own SUV when he noticed that Qing Chen was unusually somber today.

Qing Chen thought for a moment and said, "Why don't you take the Freemasons' car? You've always wanted to tell stories to the female students, so I won't stop you today."

The old man was extremely intelligent. He had spent his whole life trying to figure out what others were thinking, so how could he not know what Qing Chen was thinking?

He asked with a smile, "You guessed that this danger might be aimed at us?"

"Yes," Qing Chen nodded...

"So, you want to move me to the Freemasons' car so that I won't lose my life if our own SUV gets attacked?" the old man said.

Qing Chen hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded. "Even if someone comes to kill you, it will be impossible to confirm which car you are in for a while. The Spade people will find a way to escort you away. We will meet at Forbidden Zone No. 002 then."

"And what about you?" the old man asked.

"Hu Xiaoniu, Li Ke, and I will drive at full speed. As long as they can't stop me before I enter Forbidden Zone No. 002, no matter how many people chase after me, they will all die," Qing Chen said confidently.

Forbidden Zone No. 002 is the knight's own territory.

But the old man was also very clear that what he feared was that the other party might not give Qing Chen the opportunity to enter the Forbidden Zone No. 002.

The old man chuckled and said, "If anyone knows I'm still alive and tries to kidnap me to change some of Yun Shou's decisions, then they must be very powerful. If I get on the students' bus, I'll be in big trouble for them."

Qing Chen thought for a moment, "I will lure them away."

The old man smiled and got into his SUV: "You've arranged everything, making it sound like you're some kind of heroic hero. I'm an old man about to be buried, and it's nice to be touched by you, but these arrangements are a bit of an underestimation of me."

As he spoke, the old man added, "Don't worry, I said I wouldn't die when I reached Forbidden Zone No. 002, and I definitely won't die."

The old man, who had held power in the Li family for decades, no longer spoke as kindly as he used to.

It was as if the fate of the world had to yield to his decisions.

Qing Chen looked at the thin, hunched old man with a puzzled expression. So this was the true appearance of the Head of the Li Clan.

Qing Chen didn't answer, "Perhaps they weren't coming for us, or perhaps the crows misjudged the situation?"

However, at this very moment...

They saw that March had arrived at their SUV at some point and calmly climbed into the back seat.

The remaining twelve crows, six of whom climbed directly onto the top of the off-road vehicle and secured themselves to the luggage rack with red ropes from their sleeves to prevent themselves from being shaken off during the bumpy ride.

Six others clung to the side bumper of the off-road vehicle.

The crows remained calm, as if they had done something completely ordinary.

At one point, Qing Chen even had the feeling of seeing an Indian taking a train.

He was shocked. "Yesterday I asked you if you knew where the danger was coming from, and you said you didn't! If you said you didn't know, couldn't you at least pretend it was true? What's the point of you all climbing onto our vehicle? And by doing this, aren't you clearly telling the enemy that the old man is in this vehicle?"

These crows clearly knew that danger was coming for them!

In March, after thinking for a moment, he waved to the crows outside, signaling them to leave.

The crows all jumped out of Qing Chen's SUV and then got into the Freemasons' car without any hesitation, acting as if they were strangers.

At this moment, Qing Chen turned to look at the Freemasons. The students, seeing what the Tribunal of Taboos was doing, realized something.

The students were whispering among themselves.

Yang Yang thought for a moment and walked over to Qing Chen, saying, "Your vehicles will follow behind us, so we can help you if there's any danger."

Guo Huzhan hesitated, but ultimately said nothing.

The old man smiled and said to Qing Chen, "Let's go, let's proceed according to our plan."

The convoy set off, with Qing Chen and his team's off-road vehicle staying at the very back.

On the way, Qing Chen looked back at March, who was sitting in the third row. She still looked very calm.

"Does the Tribunal of Taboos the ability to judge who will be affected by the danger?" Qing Chen asked curiously.

March replied, "The Tribunal of Taboos doesn't have such precise precognitive abilities. Before I came, I was a bit puzzled as to why such a high-intensity battle would break out in this wilderness. Logically speaking, the Federation Group Army should all be concentrated in the north at this time, and there shouldn't be a battle of this level here. Until I saw Mr. Li Xiurui in the camp."

March continued, "I'm afraid the whole world didn't expect Mr. Li Xiurui to fake his death and leave, but as long as Mr. Li Xiurui is there, I won't be surprised even if a high-level battle breaks out."

"Is it an A-level battle?" Qing Chen asked.

In March, he answered honestly, "Yes."

"No wonder you arrived so early," Qing Chen said. "But aren't the Tribunal of Taboos usually just observing from afar? Why are you traveling with us this time?"

March stated frankly, "That's because the battleground is quite far from here, and it would be very tiring for the little crows to walk there."

Qing Chen was stunned.

So you brought your people and drove all night to the campsite just so you could hitch a ride today?!

This answer is so unexpected!

The convoy traveled from dawn until dusk.

The evening clouds spread across the horizon, deep red like blood.

However, just as the sun was about to set below the horizon...

At a three-way intersection.

The old man suddenly said to Hu Xiaoniu, "Turn left, let's take another dirt road."

Hu Xiaoniu glanced at Qing Chen.

Qing Chen hesitated for two seconds before saying, "Turn left."

At this moment, the Freemasons' convoy had already driven onto the main road on the right, and Qing Chen and his group parted ways with them here.

A long convoy of vehicles, along with a lone SUV, drove off in different directions, one on the left and one on the right.

The Freemasons looked out of the car window.

Until the rapidly descending night, their vision was obstructed by the trees.

Suddenly, March, sitting in the back, said, "Do you remember I was still sitting in the car, while my little crows were in another convoy?"

The old man laughed and said, "You chose to get on this bus yourself, what does it have to do with us?"

March fell silent, seemingly with no intention of leaving the car, displaying a sense of resignation and acceptance of her fate.

The old man looked at Qing Chen and smiled, "I'm sorry, it was my presumption that led me to arrange to meet an old friend of thirty years up ahead to say goodbye, which has caused trouble for everyone."

Qing Chen glanced at the old man. "Actually, you knew he would reveal your whereabouts, didn't you?"

The old man thought for a moment and said, "Not long after we met, I suspected that the other party might have been sent by the Kamishiro Family to get close to me."

"You already guessed he's from the Age of Gods, yet you're still willing to be friends with him," Qing Chen asked, puzzled. "And knowing he'd reveal your whereabouts, why did you still choose to meet with him?"

Qing Chen didn't quite understand what these important figures were thinking.

Friends, enemies, identities intertwined, incredibly complex.

The old man continued, "We laid our cards on the table twenty years ago. He admitted to being a member of the Kamishiro family, and I was responsible for occasionally giving him some information to deal with his superiors. Isn't that interesting? Even enemies can become friends? Humans are complex creatures. This isn't a black-and-white world. In fact, I never imagined that one day I would become friends with a member of the Kamishiro Family."

The old man thought for a moment and said, "Although he is a member of the Divine Era, he has never truly betrayed me in his entire life. Moreover, this time it was I who asked him to reveal my whereabouts to the Kamishiro Family."

"Why did you ask him to reveal your whereabouts this time?" Qing Chen asked.

The old man smiled but didn't say anything.

Just then, in the darkness ahead of the dirt road, stood a solitary figure.

The other person was dressed in samurai attire, wearing wooden clogs, and had his hair tied up in a bun at the back of his head.

Qing Chen's heart skipped a beat. They've arrived!

As expected, it was the Kamishiro Family waiting here.

"Don't worry," the old man said, "We'll go around him."

Qing Chen was taken aback. "You mean you can just go around it?"

In an instant, a red light suddenly burst forth from the woods in the night.

That was another figure, like a shooting star, rushing towards the samurai of the Kamishiro Family with unparalleled momentum.

It is Li Yunjing.

The middle-aged man who had protected the old man for twenty years did indeed follow.

The old man said, "Didn't you ask me why I revealed my itinerary? It's because Li Yunjing hasn't had a chance to make a move since he advanced to A-level. He wants to kill Kamishiro Tongshan before leaving the Li family. Kamishiro Tongshan has been living a secluded life all these years, focusing on breaking through to the demigod realm, so he's hard to find. I've been fishing all my life, so before I leave, I'll be the bait for the Li family one last time. If he doesn't die, Yun Shou's future will not be peaceful."

Qing Chen sighed inwardly. He roughly understood why the old man was unwilling to prolong his life. Given his temperament, even if he lived for another twenty years, he would still be unable to resist working for the Li family for another twenty years.

Before his death, this old man was trying to find a way to kill the cultivators in the Kamishiro Family who had the potential to break through to demigod status.

The old man smiled and said, "Consider it giving my last bit of energy. Anyway, this is how my life is going to end. A good beginning, a good end. It's just that it's been a bit hard on you."

But then they saw Li Yunjing clash with Kamishiro Tongshan, and the wind and waves they stirred up when they fought were like a tornado.

The withered leaves and branches were collided and shattered by an invisible force, and then swept into the sky.

The battles between A-rank beings seem capable of turning the galaxy upside down!

This kind of battle is not something ordinary people can get involved in.

Qing Chen turned around and saw that March had already opened the trunk and left the car.

He said to Hu Xiaoniu, "Turn right. We've come to the wilderness for only one thing: to reach Forbidden Zone No. 002."

As soon as he finished speaking, more than a dozen off-road vehicles rushed out of the woods, following Qing Chen and his group.

Thank you to Gaochang Kaige SSS, Wang Buzheng, Wen Zaifou'er, Su Zheng, and Xiong Da for becoming new contributors to this book. You are all very generous, and I wish you all hot pot every day!