Though Chu Hang was still groggy from his hangover, he had sobered up considerably by now. He could not run as fast as usual, but he was hardly slow.
Yet no matter how hard Chu Hang ran, he could never close the distance to Yi Shuyuan ahead. Seeing the gap threatening to widen, he could only push himself harder.
By now, Chu Hang knew perfectly well that Mr. Yi was doing this deliberately.
Mr. Yi was no ordinary man. If he failed to catch up, who knew when he would ever see him again!
Yang Bencai and the others had merely watched at first, but suddenly realized that Chu Hang was chasing Yi Shuyuan farther and farther toward the main road.
"Huh? Brother Chu?" "Brother Chu-"
"They're getting farther away!" "Come on, let's follow and have a look!"
The remaining four jogged after them, but they were even slower, and the distance between them and Chu Hang kept growing. Soon, they could only make out his back far ahead, let alone Yi Shuyuan.
After running for half the time it took to drink a cup of tea, the four, Yang Bencai included, could bear it no longer and sat down nearby to rest.
"Hah, I can't run anymore!" "How is Brother Chu running so fast?"
"I'm done, I'm done. Let's rest a while."
"Oof, I need to lie down."
Harbor City and the prefectural city still looked close at hand, but they had actually traveled some distance from them, and daylight had fully broken.
Local villagers passed by on their way to the city markets, carrying loads on shoulder poles or in their hands, pushing carts or driving horses. They cast curious looks at the scholars, none of whom had a scrap of scholarly refinement left about them.
But while