The next morning, the three of them got up, ate a rather lavish breakfast, and then set off.
Over the next two days, there were no even slightly larger market towns along the road, so they received no more hospitality. That was understandable. The host entertaining them did not want them to know who he was, so he could not send people to receive them personally and could only rely on local inns or restaurants. If there were not even any moderately sized market towns, there was nothing he could do.
What Zhang Xiaohua could not understand was this: what was going on with the Righteous Path Alliance?
The Auspicious Three Treasures had been killed, Qiu Xidao had been killed, and the Ma family had been massacred. News like that must have long since spread throughout the jianghu. Qin Shiyue had smashed the Righteous Path Alliance's face to pieces—why did they not think of winning back their dignity? If the Righteous Path Alliance could send out an even stronger opponent to kill Qin Shiyue, or even merely wound him, could he not fish in troubled waters as well?
Ever since he had successfully practiced the Art of Earth Evasion at the Four Seas Inn that night, the fire of escape in his heart had been rekindled. But the Art of Earth Evasion had no fewer than nine incantations, and he had only just learned one. Yet that first one alone had drained every last thread of true qi from his body. He had no idea whether the remaining ones would also require so much true qi. If so, he would have to cultivate nine times his current amount of true qi before he could use them properly. But if he waited until he had cultivated enough true qi, he would