Lidu, Haotian Sect

They had been out of Chi City for some time now.

The sun had risen not long ago.

Inside the carriage,

everyone remained silent.

Though they had already put some distance between themselves and Chi City, the tense atmosphere had yet to dissipate.

The women all understood that this was the crucial moment.

Who knew whether the Feng Household's people would come after them?

But after they traveled for a while longer, the carriage came to a stop.

Zhou Haiyan immediately lifted the curtain and looked at everyone inside.

"Time to rest."

"You can get down and grab a bite to eat too."

With that, Zhou Haiyan turned and left.

Qin Yaxin and Zhang Zhi instinctively turned their gazes toward Shen Yuniang.

"Mm, all right. Let's get down and rest for a while. We've already come this far; those people couldn't possibly catch up to us right away."

Hearing that, the two women also breathed a small sigh of relief. The tightly drawn strings in their hearts could finally loosen for a while.

However, Zhang Zhi looked worriedly at Zhang Yao, who was lying there.

"Miss, I'll take care of the Hall Master. You go rest."

Lu Fan, who had been sitting on the floor in the corner, rose to his feet and took the task upon himself.

"Hmph, Zhi'er, did you hear that? Old Lu said he'd take care of Zhang Yao, so let's hurry down."

As she spoke, Shen Yuniang was the first to get off the carriage. Seeing this, the other two women followed her down.

Before getting off, however, Zhang Zhi could not help turning back to glance at Lu Fan. She lowered her head slightly, gave him a small bow, and only then left.

Soon, the carriage compartment fell silent.

Lu Fan lowered his head and looked at the still-unconscious Zhang Yao, a trace of helplessness flashing through his eyes.

There was nothing he could do about Zhang Yao's injuries.

The pill in his possession could not heal injuries at all, much less repair Zhang Yao's damaged meridians.

For now, they could only wait until they reached Lidu and think of another way.

Along the way, he had heard Qin Yaxin explain that Lidu was the capital of Li Prefecture and also the place where martial arts flourished most.

Li Prefecture's greatest sect, the Haotian Sect, was located in Lidu.

It was said that in Lidu, Bright Force practitioners walked the streets everywhere, while Dark Force practitioners were as numerous as dogs.

Transformation Grandmasters there were merely Attendants employed by the major lineages.

Not to mention that the Haotian Sect contained many experts above the Transformation Force Stage.

Once they reached Lidu, he would also need to find a way to break through to Transformation Force.

Just as he was thinking about this, Zhang Yao, who lay there, suddenly twitched a finger and then rasped out a single word.

"Water."

"Hall Master? Water?"

Lu Fan immediately got out of the carriage to find water, while also telling Shen Yuniang and the other two that Zhang Yao had awakened.

Very soon, Shen Yuniang and the other two returned to the carriage with a water flask.

After thinking for a moment, Lu Fan took the pot and went to find Zhou Haiyan.

Inside the carriage compartment,

by the time Shen Yuniang and the other two entered, Zhang Yao had already awakened.

However, upon seeing Shen Yuniang, he instinctively asked,

"Where's Old Lu?"

"Huh? Zhang Yao, what do you mean by that?"

Shen Yuniang's expression darkened instantly. "The first thing you ask after waking up is about that old man?"

"Yuniang?"

Zhang Yao's gaze fell upon Shen Yuniang, and his slightly muddled thoughts gradually cleared.

"Zhi'er is... Mm, Zhi'er?"

Before Zhang Yao could finish speaking, he saw Zhang Zhi step out from behind Shen Yuniang.

"Zhi'er, you're not... Cough, cough..."

Before Zhang Yao could finish, his face sank, and he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Father!"

The water flask fell from Zhang Zhi's hand as she hurried forward to support Zhang Yao.

"No, it's... it's fine."

"I just pulled at my injuries."

Zhang Yao shook his head, then looked at the three women in the carriage before realizing something.

"Yuniang, Zhi'er, and Miss Qin... Mm... Was I saved by someone?"

"Ah, that was it."

Zhang Yao remembered. Before losing consciousness, he had wanted to check who was fighting Li Xiao in the martial hall, but the moment he stood up, his severe injuries had made him pass out.

Thus, even in the end, he had not known who saved him.

And the person who had saved him had even rescued his wife and daughter.

"It was Senior Chen."

Shen Yuniang sighed and explained.

At that moment, Qin Yaxin added,

"Old Chen also went to the Qin Household and saved me."

"Also, it was Old Chen who arranged for Miss Zhou to send us out of the city this time."

After hearing this, Zhang Yao clenched his fists, his face filled with gratitude.

"This time, the debt of gratitude I owe Mr. Chen Liu may be impossible to repay in my entire lifetime."

This time, he had accomplished nothing. If not for that old man, Chen Liu, lending them a hand, his entire family might have died because of it.

"Yes. We owe Senior Chen... far too much."

Shen Yuniang murmured, a strange light flickering in her eyes.

After the carriage fell silent for a moment, Zhang Yao seemed to remember something and abruptly raised his head.

"Then where's Old Lu? You and Zhi'er got out, so you didn't leave Old Lu behind in Chi City, did you?"

Zhang Yao looked at Shen Yuniang with extreme anxiety and asked.

"Zhang Yao, look at you. Is that old man really worth worrying about like this?"

Shen Yuniang glared at him in displeasure.

"What do you know? Old Lu saved my life. I've already agreed that I would..."

Zhang Yao spoke too urgently, pulling at his injuries again. All color drained from his face.

At that moment, the carriage curtain was lifted, and someone entered from outside.

"Hall Master, you're awake?"

"Old Lu!"

"Hall Master, this is the meat soup I just cooked. You're injured right now, so drink some and build up your strength."

As Lu Fan spoke, he brought the freshly made meat soup before Zhang Yao.

Looking at the bowl of meat soup offered to him, Zhang Yao's eyes reddened slightly. After taking it, he drank greedily.

"Hiss... As expected, Old Lu, your cooking is still the best. This soup smells so good."

Zhang Yao quickly finished the large bowl of meat soup, and the color in his face visibly improved.

Shen Yuniang, standing nearby, rolled her eyes at Zhang Yao in confusion.

"Is that really necessary? It's just a bowl of meat soup. You drink it all the time."

Zhang Yao ignored her words. Instead, he looked deeply at Lu Fan and said gratefully,

"Old Lu, thank you so much."

"No, Hall Master. It's what I should do."

Lu Fan smiled and shook his head.

"Enough. Blackstone Martial Hall is gone. Don't call me Hall Master anymore."

Zhang Yao waved his hand.

"You're still the Hall Master."

Lu Fan replied stubbornly.

At that moment, seeing that Zhang Yao's complexion had improved somewhat, Qin Yaxin immediately spoke.

"Uncle Zhang, I told Aunt Shen and the others before that I actually have an older brother in Lidu. Though the chances are slim, we can try seeking refuge with him first. After all, that would still be better than starting from nothing."

"Uncle Zhang, what do you think?"

Facing Qin Yaxin's proposal, Zhang Yao said with some concern, "Of course I want to agree to such a proposal, but... Miss Qin, I'm seriously injured right now. My strength may not even be at the Early Dark Force level. I'm afraid I won't be able to help much at all."

"That's fine. As long as Uncle Zhang agrees. Besides, Uncle Zhang, you're only injured. Once you recover, perhaps you can use this chance to break through to the Transformation Force Stage."

Faced with Qin Yaxin's overly optimistic thoughts, Zhang Yao gave a bitter smile but did not refuse.

For a time, the atmosphere inside the carriage was warm and harmonious.

Lu Fan quietly left the carriage from the corner, and the smile on his face gradually faded.

Because he knew the crisis might not truly be over.

The Feng Household might send people to hunt them down, perhaps even Transformation Force experts stronger than Li Xiao.

Therefore, once the caravan had traveled a little farther, he planned to return to Chi City.

First, to investigate the Feng Household's movements. Second, if pursuers came, he would deal with them himself.