The smug smile that had just begun to spread through his eyes had not yet faded when he turned his head. In that instant, his gaze suddenly swept over the group slowly approaching from the foot of the mountain.
The pride on his face froze.
His mouth fell open, and the foxtail grass clenched between his teeth dropped to the ground.
His eyes widened, and he stood there dumbfounded, even his breathing abruptly stopping.
Bone-deep terror instantly swept through every limb and bone.
He sprang to his feet and frantically rubbed his eyes, terrified that he had seen wrong.
Then he hurriedly pushed aside the tangled branches before him and stared fixedly at the group below the mountain.
Xu Five and the others were actually being led here, tightly bound hand and foot.
His heart lurched, and dense sweat beaded across his forehead. Had they kicked an iron plate this time?
He no longer dared linger for even a moment. Using both hands and feet, he leaped down from the tree, his expression panic-stricken. He did not even care about keeping up appearances as he turned and staggered toward Black Wind Stronghold.
At the foot of the mountain, Jiang Lu casually raised her eyes and glanced at the treetop where that man had hidden moments ago. An almost imperceptible smile curled at the corner of her lips.
It seemed they were nearly there.
The mountain road was rugged. He ran all the way, falling hard twice and tumbling through the dirt. His robes were covered in dust, and his palms and knees were scraped raw, yet he felt no pain at all, only scrambling and rolling forward as fast as he could.
At last, he reached the entrance of Black Wind Stronghold. His throat tightened, and as he panted heavily,