At dusk, red sunset light spilled from the western horizon as two women and a man slipped furtively out of the grove. After looking around, they mounted their horses and rode briskly away.
Luo Ning and Pei Xiangjun followed behind, while Ye Jingtang rode at the front with a black cloth masking his face, holding Niao Niao, who was half-dead with exhaustion after flying for a full day and night.
As Ye Jingtang had expected, the badly wounded Guan Yujia, with nowhere left to turn, had run more than two hundred li through the mountains in a straight line during the day, reaching the wilderness a hundred-odd li from Jianyang City. That was probably where Prince Wu was hiding.
The three of them could cut across the mountains, but even if they reached the place after that long journey, it would be difficult to capture the prince single-handedly. Next, they would have to use Government forces to encircle and eradicate them, while he took advantage of the confusion to find a chance to capture Zhang Jinglin or locate the Snow Lake Flower formula.
After yesterday's uproar at Iron River Manor, many martial artists unafraid of death had come to watch the excitement around Wuming Mountain. All along the way, scraps of idle chatter could still be heard:
"Ye Silang knocked Guan Yujia flat with one move?"
"Why would I lie to you? I was nearby at the time and saw it with my own eyes. Ye Silang was badly poisoned and couldn't escape, but he turned and punched Guan Yujia more than a dozen zhang away, stunning the whole crowd chasing him. I didn't dare watch the rest..."
"Then wouldn't Ye Silang at full strength be able to fight the Fist Champion with one hand?"
"I reckon he could take