Dust billowed over the dirt road along the border of Azure Wolf Mountain. Carrying the barely breathing Shiheng on his back, Huohe walked steadily but dared not pause for even a moment. Beside him, Xifaman kept a vigilant watch on their surroundings the entire way. Intent only on leaving this troubled place as quickly as possible, the two hurried toward Feng Lai City.
Partway there, Huohe suddenly frowned and fixed his gaze a short distance ahead-a slender yet stubborn figure was also carrying someone on her back, staggering toward them in disheveled clothes. As she drew closer, her bedraggled figure gradually became clearer.
When the two sides approached each other, Huohe recognized the newcomer's face, and surprise flashed in his eyes. At the same moment, she spotted Huohe and Hillman. Her expression, which had been tense to the extreme, instantly relaxed, and much of the panic and fear in her eyes faded.
"Brother Huohe!" Nalan Ruoshui stopped, gasping for breath. Her younger sister, Nalan Xue, lay on her back, her face pale. She had clearly suffered a fright and minor injuries as well. Her dress was covered in tears and bloodstains, and her hair was disheveled, leaving her looking utterly bedraggled.
"Nalan Ruoshui? What are you doing here?" Huohe lowered Shiheng from his back and had Xifaman carefully support him, then stepped forward and asked in a grave voice. The situation before him was far too suspicious. Shiheng had inexplicably appeared at the border with severe injuries, and now even the Nalan sisters, natives of the Feng Lai Kingdom, were fleeing in such a sorry state. Everything about it was strange.
Nalan Ruoshui suppressed her terror. With no time for a detailed account, she spoke rapidly. "Black-clad men from the Feng Lai Kingdom were hunting us down! We don't know why. A band of masked fighters suddenly broke into the Prefecture and ruthlessly killed everyone they saw. It looked as though they wanted to capture my sister and me alive. The Prefecture's guards fought desperately to hold them off, and only then did we manage to escape. We fled blindly the whole way and ended up here."
Huohe's expression instantly darkened at her words, and the doubts in his mind surged. As a soldier in the army, Shiheng should never have appeared in the wilderness along the Feng Lai Kingdom's border even if he was injured, much less so grievously wounded. The Nalan sisters were daughters of an established family in the Feng Lai Kingdom. Although they had offended more powerful nobles, no one should have dared to carry out a massacre in Feng Lai City, the headquarters of the Radiant Church. That they had been attacked in their own residence clearly meant some earth-shattering upheaval had occurred within Feng Lai City. The city's current situation was now unknown.
Meticulous in his thinking, Huohe instantly weighed the advantages and risks. Without the slightest hesitation, he made his decision. "We absolutely cannot go to Feng Lai City. The situation is unclear, and rushing there would only be walking into a trap! We'll change course and return to Wu Mountain Town first! It's remote and secluded, so it won't attract attention for now. We can settle the badly injured Shiheng there and let the Nalan sisters lie low for a while. Once we've figured out the situation, we'll decide what to do."
Xifaman and Nalan Ruoshui both nodded in agreement. Huohe's decision was a sound one. Wu Mountain Town was remote, far from the power struggles of the kingdom and the Church, and was undoubtedly the safest place to go for now. They wasted no more time. Xifaman took Shiheng onto his back, while Huohe volunteered to carry Nalan Xue. The group changed direction and hurried toward Wu Mountain Town, proceeding cautiously the entire way. They avoided every main road and took only woodland paths, fearful of meeting with another mishap.
Half an hour after Huohe's group left, a patrol from the Feng Lai Kingdom followed the trail left by the pursuit of the Nalan sisters and happened to reach that very spot, running straight into the five members of the Shadow Alliance who had been lying in wait along the path while searching for Shiheng.
The Shadow Alliance's Eighth-level Warrior was already seething with violence after losing Shiheng's trail. When he saw the Feng Lai Kingdom's men appear, he assumed they had ruined his plans. He immediately stopped holding back and attacked first. The Feng Lai patrol likewise mistook them for accomplices of those who had rescued the Nalan sisters and immediately raised their weapons to meet the attack. In an instant, the two sides were locked in a deadly battle.
The pressure of the Eighth-level Warrior's battle qi swept in all directions. The four Seventh-Level Warriors coordinated seamlessly, every move vicious. Although the Feng Lai patrol had the advantage in numbers, they were outmatched in top-level fighting strength. The commotion grew louder, and surges of energy shot into the sky, soon alerting the Radiant Church's main temple stationed nearby.
The Radiant Church had long controlled the situation in the Feng Lai Kingdom. Upon detecting a battle between high-level warriors at the border, it immediately dispatched a Church deacon to lead several priests of light and temple warriors to the scene. The Radiant Church's forces were formidable, and all those who joined the fighting were skilled practitioners of Light Battle Qi. Once they entered the battlefield, the situation instantly reversed.
The five members of the Shadow Alliance were no match for the combined encirclement of the Feng Lai patrol and the Church's forces. After a brief, fierce battle, all four Seventh-Level Warriors were slain. Their leader, the Eighth-level Warrior, was gravely wounded by Light Battle Qi. Drenched in blood, he used the last of his strength to break through the encirclement and fled in panic under cover of the dense forest. In the end, he alone escaped, badly wounded.
While clearing the battlefield, the members of the Radiant Church discovered the distinctive insignia on the Shadow Alliance members. Immediately realizing that this matter was not simple, they sent someone to relay the news to their headquarters in Feng Lai City. A struggle centered on the level 8 magic crystal mine was already quietly stirring within the Feng Lai Kingdom.
By then, Huohe and his companions had long since reached Wu Mountain Town safely and returned to the Basik Family's old residence, temporarily escaping the conflict.
Before you continue