Chapter 363: The Ship—Master Dao Is Waiting for Us!

A long howl suddenly rang out from the black-robed man atop the cliff, rolling across the mountains and valleys. The giant flying bird beside him gave a startled croak.

Before long, the people searching upstream and downstream along the torrent surfaced one after another and flew back toward him. The men on the flying birds also descended from above. All fifteen gathered in one place.

The black-robed man who had given the signal asked, "Did you find them?"

One man replied, "The terrain here is complicated. The water has eroded countless hollows and caves below. Searching them all is troublesome."

"I miscalculated," the black-robed man said.

He regretted knocking the two of them down there. No one came to a place like this without reason, and none of them knew the terrain. Had he known what it was like below, he would never have struck them off the cliff. Now he had only created trouble for himself.

Seeing everyone shake their heads to indicate they had found nothing, the black-robed man said, "Those two aren't the priority. Niu Youdao is. If all of us waste our time here over two people, then we've truly fallen for Niu Youdao's trick. The coast isn't far. If we keep delaying, he'll vanish without a trace."

Someone asked, "Those two may know where Niu Youdao is. Are we just letting them go?"

"Leave one team here to continue searching. Everyone else concentrates on finding Niu Youdao. We can't all be tied down here."

The reasoning was sound, and no one objected. One team stayed behind while the other four mounted their flying birds and swiftly departed.

The remaining three watched their companions disappear into the night sky, then divided the work. Two flew off to resume searching from where they had stopped earlier, while the third rode the flying bird overhead and searched from above.

They had no idea that Duan Hu's hiding place was not far beneath them. In their minds, however, the area below had already been searched. They saw no reason to search it again. Inside the cave, Duan Hu was frantic.

Black Peony had taken that expert's palm strike head-on. Her injuries were far too severe. Meridians had been severed in countless places throughout her body, and her internal organs had also suffered terrible damage.

Under Duan Hu's emergency treatment, Black Peony finally woke from unconsciousness, only to cough up several mouthfuls of blood.

Duan Hu took out wound medicine and put it into her mouth. He used spiritual power to help her swallow, then again to help her refine the medicine.

But Black Peony's injuries were simply too grave. Ordinary wound medicine had almost no effect. What she needed now was a life-preserving spirit pill.

"This won't do, Eldest Sister. Your injuries can't be left any longer." Duan Hu reached out to lift her.

Black Peony let out a muffled groan of pain and shook her head with difficulty. "No. They must still be outside searching for us. We can't go out now."

"But your injuries really can't wait any longer!" Duan Hu was so anxious he was close to tears.

Black Peony said weakly, "Those people are too strong. If we go out, we won't be able to escape. Once we fall into their hands, we'll cause Master Dao enormous trouble."

Duan Hu said, "You're Master Dao's woman. Master Dao will understand. He wouldn't want anything to happen to you either. If something happens to you, how am I supposed to answer to him?"

"Master Dao's woman..." Black Peony murmured, then smiled. So everyone had misunderstood after all. Yet to her, it was a beautiful misunderstanding. "Duan Hu, listen to me. The people outside are very likely from Xiaoyue Pavilion. A force like this also fits Xiaoyue Pavilion. They have always placed great importance on secrecy. Once we fall into their hands, they won't leave us alive. Neither of us will survive. Hoping for mercy from them would only be deceiving ourselves, and we'd cause Master Dao enormous trouble besides. You've heard what methods Xiaoyue Pavilion has for making people talk. If we wait out the search, at least one of us may still live. As long as Master Dao remains safe, Wu Sanliang and Lei Zongkang will still have a future. Duan Hu, you've done very well. You managed to slip away right under their noses. You've already done everything you could..."

Dawn came.

The ship was still drifting across the sea. Niu Youdao stood motionless at the rail, his sword planted before him, staring toward the coastline.

Even Guan Fangyi, who usually never let a chance to needle someone pass, had fallen silent. She understood that the longer this dragged on, the more likely it was that the two who had gone ashore had met with danger. If she still couldn't control her tongue at a time like this, she would only be inviting trouble.

Gongsun Bu kept glancing toward the coast, then back at Niu Youdao's upright figure. He was still travel-stained, without even having had time to wash away the dust of the journey.

Gongsun Bu looked up at the sky and hesitated several times, but in the end he never voiced the question of whether they should sail now that dawn had arrived.

Lu Lijun leaned against the cabin doorway with his arms folded, silently watching the scene as though lost in thought.

Only when the rising sun broke over the horizon and spilled endless golden light across the sea did Gongsun Bu finally step behind Niu Youdao. "Master Dao, it's daylight. Should we leave first, as Black Peony said?"

Niu Youdao's face was expressionless. He said in a low voice, "Wait."

To him, there were only two possibilities for Black Peony and Duan Hu: either nothing had happened to them, or they had met with danger.

For them still not to have returned by now likewise left only two possibilities: either they were in danger, or they had gone to the place Shen Qiu was heading and were waiting there for everyone to rendezvous. If it was the latter, waiting a while longer here made no difference.

If they had met with danger, he believed that if Xiaoyue Pavilion had truly captured them, they would not be in a hurry to kill them. They would first interrogate them about his whereabouts. Rumor had it there was no mouth Xiaoyue Pavilion's Spirit-Torment Pill could not pry open.

Once Xiaoyue Pavilion forced the truth out of them, they would inevitably bring the two along to verify it.

As long as he was still here, there was room to maneuver with Xiaoyue Pavilion. He had cards in hand with which to bargain, and there was still a chance to save them.

If he was gone, if he simply fled without caring whether the two lived or died, then Black Peony and Duan Hu would truly be in danger. Once their value as leverage diminished, the other side might simply kill them.

If Black Peony and Duan Hu had really fallen into Xiaoyue Pavilion's hands, then at present he was the only one who might be able to save them.

Yet no one knew what the situation actually was. That uncertainty was precisely what made the waiting so difficult. Only once he knew what had happened could he decide where to strike...

Twenty-one people descended from the sky and landed along the coast. They stood in a single line, each wrapped in a black cloak, while seven giant flying birds circled overhead beneath the bright sun.

Before long, another three flying birds arrived. Nine more people descended and joined the line, bringing the number of birds circling overhead to ten.

"Did you find anything?"

"No!"

"He's obviously planning to escape by sea. It's already this late. With so little distance to cover, he could have crawled into the sea by now. There's no way he's still on land."

"How are we supposed to search an endless sea? Given who we are, we can't exactly stop every ship passing through and inspect it. Without a destination to work from, this handful of people could fly ourselves to death wandering aimlessly over the ocean and still accomplish nothing. Besides, he might not even be aboard a ship."

"Even if he is, it won't help. You think that little thief isn't constantly on guard? The moment we showed ourselves, before we could even get close enough to spot him, he'd probably dive straight into the sea."

"Forget it. There's no point searching any longer. If we keep making this much noise, we'll alert the other powers. Send word back and report the situation."

"We came all this way and mobilized this many people, only to end up with this?"

"We arrived too late! I don't know what the higher-ups were doing. They waited until he was almost at the coast before telling us to rush over and help intercept him."

"And then there was that ranch that burned. It drew all the manpower in this region over there, yet word leaked in advance. Fine, everyone was concentrated there, but all they managed to do was alert the snake by striking the grass and scare him off. The rear was left completely empty. He could run however he pleased, without even anyone there to block him. What the hell are the higher-ups doing?"

"There must have been a reason. There's no point talking about it now. Let's go."

The ten giant flying birds swooped down. The thirty people sprang into the air, mounted them, and swiftly flew away...

To say that each day felt like a year still fell short of describing Duan Hu's state of mind. Every minute, every moment, was endless torment.

Black Peony lay grievously wounded beside him. Duan Hu could only watch helplessly as the life ebbed from her little by little. Remembering all the years they had spent together, he, a grown man, wept again and again in the darkness until he lost count of how many times.

Black Peony had told him to wait. They could not leave until the enemy was gone, and the longer they waited, the better. Otherwise he would not only fail to save her, but both of them would die. The hand gripping the corner of his clothes seemed to loosen. Duan Hu reached over and felt her fingers. Sure enough, all five had gone limp.

"Eldest Sister!" he called nervously.

Black Peony did not respond. Duan Hu checked her at once and found that she had lost consciousness again.

He gritted his teeth. He could not care about anything else now. Risking everything, he shot away, dove into the water, felt his way out of the cave, and submerged himself in the raging current.

Only after surfacing in a corner of the river channel did he confirm that it was already broad daylight.

He looked around and saw no movement. He swiftly climbed the cliff, first raising his head cautiously over the edge to inspect the surroundings, then finally stood atop it and swept his gaze across the mountains beneath the high sun.

There was no trace of the people who had been searching for them. He had no idea when they had left.

Duan Hu stamped his feet in frustration. He should have come out to check much earlier. He hated himself for not knowing how much of Black Peony's remaining life he had wasted. He turned and jumped straight back off the cliff. Before long, he brought Black Peony out of the water.

After climbing to the mountaintop, he carried her on his back. Both of Black Peony's arms were broken in multiple places and hung limply at her sides. Then Duan Hu panicked all over again. Only after bringing her outside did he realize he had no idea where to go. The ship had been supposed to depart at daybreak. What hour was it now?

Go to the place where Shen Qiu was supposed to rendezvous with them? That was completely unrealistic. Black Peony could never hold on long enough to reach it.

Where could he go now? Across this boundless grassland, where could he possibly find somewhere capable of saving Black Peony? Perhaps the sunlight stirred her. Black Peony's eyes opened slightly.

After a moment, she seemed to sense what Duan Hu was thinking and whispered weakly, "The ship—Master Dao is waiting for us!"

Duan Hu had no idea how she could be so certain that Master Dao was still waiting. But he had nowhere else to turn. With only the faintest thread of hope left, he could do nothing but trust her. Carrying her on his back, he sped toward the coast as fast as he could.

All along the way, blood kept spilling from Black Peony's nose and mouth, running down across Duan Hu's shoulder...

[End of Chapter 363]