Chapter 1347: He's Just a Burden. Kill Him and Be Done with It

Forget luggage. They did not even have time to concern themselves with the hunter on the mountain and the others connected to them. Those people could only be abandoned as expendable pieces.

Beside the schoolhouse, a peach tree grew near an irrigation channel. Houses surrounded the spot, screening it from the mountains on every side. When this hiding place had first been chosen, details like these had already been taken into account.

Zhuge Chi dragged Hai Wuji straight into the water. After glancing around, he suddenly shoved Hai Wuji flat beneath the channel and dropped down with him.

Using magic to part the water, Zhuge Chi carried Hai Wuji with one hand and shot along like a swimming fish, using the banks of the channel as cover.

The irrigation channel soon curved into a small stream outside the village, where the water became deeper. Zhuge Chi took Hai Wuji underwater and continued downstream, remaining highly vigilant the entire way.

Fortunately, the warning had come in time. Misty Pavilion had been trying to avoid alerting the snake by striking the grass and had not yet imposed a large-scale blockade. For the moment, they were only maintaining cautious surveillance.

Once Zhuge Chi and Hai Wuji left the small stream behind, they had effectively moved well away from the village.

They followed the current into a larger river outside and silently disappeared downstream...

Back in the village, the villagers had no idea that two people were already gone. The peddler and the schoolteacher had never been especially close to the villagers, so no one paid much attention.

The husband and wife who repaired pots and pans did not rush to leave either. They even stayed long enough to eat a meal.

Only after finishing all the repair work in the village did they feed the donkey, pack their belongings, and set off again.

They left exactly as they had arrived, except that they now carried a few dozen more copper coins. The woman even counted the coins in her palm as they walked.

Along the mountain road leading away, hidden pairs of eyes watched the couple the entire way.

After leaving the mountains and reaching the official road, husband and wife continued leading the donkey on foot.

Before long, they saw a roadside pavilion. An old man sat inside with two buckets beside him.

When he saw travelers approaching, he called, "Water for sale! Water for sale! Sweet mountain spring water to quench your thirst!"

The husband gave the old man the slightest nod.

The old man understood at once. The matter had been handled successfully.

He rose as though going over to solicit customers, but what came from his mouth was something else entirely. "Keep walking. Don't stop. Disappearing suddenly on dry land would be too conspicuous. Once you reach a dock, switch to water. Take a boat away so no one can trace where you went afterward."

The husband asked, "How do we make contact?"

The old man answered quickly, "One of the boats is ours. They'll approach you themselves."

The exchange lasted only a few sentences before the two sides passed each other.

The couple waved to show they did not want any water and continued onward without stopping.

Unable to make the sale, the old man returned to the pavilion looking disappointed.

He was none other than Wang Zun, Sha Rulai's trusted subordinate. After carefully disguising himself, he had personally come here to oversee the operation.

He waited a while. When no other travelers appeared on the road, he shouldered his two buckets and left, still calling out his wares whenever he encountered anyone along the way.

Later, two riders approached and stopped him to buy water.

As the transaction took place, the old man asked under his breath, "Did you memorize all the villagers in that village?"

One man replied quietly, "Brother, has your head filled with water? How are we supposed to memorize them? We can only remember the names. We only saw the roster, and even that was a copy Misty Pavilion secretly obtained. No one dared alarm anyone familiar with the villagers. A centipede may be dead, but it does not stiffen at once. If people can hide in a place like this, they probably made arrangements of their own. We saw the list, but we don't know the villagers themselves at all."

After speaking, he accepted the drinking gourd from his companion.

The old man said, "There should still be signs that tell you whether someone belongs to the village. Keep your eyes open. Outsiders may intervene soon. If you discover anyone entering or leaving who isn't from the village, find a way to force them to reveal their identity without alerting the snake by striking the grass."

"Understood," the two answered softly.

One of them then tossed the old man a silver coin and waved grandly to show he could keep the change.

The old man immediately bowed and scraped in gratitude, watching as the two mounted and rode away.

After that, he continued down the road with his buckets...

Qingshui Ridge lived up to its name, with clear waters and beautiful mountains.

Zhuge Chi dragged Hai Wuji out from the depths of the forest and landed on the ridge. Below, beside a stream, a lone man sat fishing. There was no one else in sight.

With no other choice, Zhuge Chi walked toward him.

When he reached the man's side, he asked, "Who are you?"

The fisherman remained silent.

Zhuge Chi looked around again. There truly was no one else.

Hai Wuji kept looking left and right, his heart tense and uneasy. They were fleeing for their lives now.

Neither man dared contact their own people again. They knew nothing about the situation outside and had no idea what they were about to face.

Suddenly, the fisherman flicked his rod.

The fishing line swept sideways toward the two men.

The force hidden in that whistle through the air startled Zhuge Chi.

He reacted instantly, seizing the line that was slicing toward Hai Wuji with one hand while pulling Hai Wuji behind him with the other.

The fisherman and Zhuge Chi remained locked in a contest through the taut fishing line.

Zhuge Chi was secretly alarmed by the other's cultivation. The man's cultivation might not necessarily be higher than his own, but there was no possibility that power of this level belonged to anyone below the Nascent Soul Realm.

Yet judging from the fisherman's back, the man did not seem openly hostile.

Zhuge Chi asked again in a deep voice, "Who are you?"

The fisherman suddenly withdrew his spiritual power from the line.

Snap!

The fishing line broke.

Only then did he slowly rise.

Zhuge Chi's gaze suddenly lifted.

Around a bend in the waterway ahead, a bamboo raft had appeared. Two people stood on it as it drifted slowly downstream.

As the raft passed the ridge, both figures stepped lightly across the rippling surface of the water and came ashore.

They were none other than Niu Youdao and Yun Ji, both disguised.

Niu Youdao had come personally.

He wanted to inspect the situation and confirm matters with his own eyes. Some things simply could not be handled carelessly, and he would never have felt at ease without making the trip himself.

Niu Youdao looked toward the fisherman.

The fisherman gave a slight nod and finally spoke. "Judging from his cultivation, there should be no mistake."

Niu Youdao swept his gaze over the two wary newcomers and chuckled. "No need to be nervous. We're on the same side." Then he pointed at them in turn. "Zhuge Chi. Hai Wuji."

Zhuge Chi's face remained cold. "Who exactly are you people?"

Niu Youdao's gaze lingered especially long on Hai Wuji, and the smile in his eyes deepened.

Good. It was good that this man had come too.

As long as Hai Wuji was present, Zhuge Chi was meat on the chopping block and far less likely to slip out of control. Excellent.

As for who Niu Youdao himself was, naturally he would not say. Hai Wuji in particular made that impossible. Niu Youdao had played his own part in reducing Hai Wuji to a man without a country or home. For now, it was not appropriate to let the former emperor know his identity.

Niu Youdao smiled. "Who I am isn't important. What matters is that I'm unquestionably someone who opposes the Nine Saints. Before you've truly joined us, before we can truly trust you, how could I possibly reveal my identity?"

Zhuge Chi said, "If you don't trust us, why seek us out?"

"We didn't seek both of you. We sought you. He has nothing to do with it." Niu Youdao pointed at Hai Wuji and flicked his hand aside. "He can stand off to the side. We're interested only in your cultivation, because we have a group of people whose cultivation is as high as yours. You've just experienced one of them yourself. If you don't believe me, you can test it again."

He lifted a hand in invitation.

Yun Ji immediately stepped forward.

An immense aura suddenly erupted from her body and bore straight down on Zhuge Chi.

Another Nascent Soul cultivator?

As a Nascent Soul cultivator himself, Zhuge Chi naturally possessed some ability to sense and distinguish such things.

A whole group of Nascent Soul cultivators?

Zhuge Chi was secretly shocked.

He had thought his own breakthrough into the Nascent Soul Realm was already an extraordinary exception. How had an entire group suddenly appeared?

Surely the Nine Saints themselves had not come to welcome him. That was impossible.

The world truly did hide dragons and crouching tigers.

A whole group of Nascent Soul cultivators?

Hai Wuji's eyes flickered repeatedly as well.

He seemed to have glimpsed hope.

Seeing that look in Hai Wuji's eyes, Niu Youdao smiled faintly.

He liked seeing exactly that sort of hope appear in Hai Wuji.

Still uncertain and alarmed, Zhuge Chi repeated, "Who exactly are you people?"

Niu Youdao said, "If you want to understand us, join us. You can probably guess some of the reason we sought you out. You hide from the Nine Saints because you fear them. So do we. The Nine Saints have cultivated for so many years that none of us knows how high their strength has truly reached. We haven't fought them directly, so we don't dare act rashly. All we can do is accumulate strength in silence and wait for the right opportunity. Only by people like us joining together do we gain any possibility of contending with them. Alone, you certainly aren't a match for the Nine Saints. That means you would have to spend your entire life hiding. The Nine Saints found you because they were monitoring your informants. You can no longer contact the outside world. If you don't come with us, where can you go while dragging around a burden like him? Are you still expecting your subordinates to arrange some perfectly safe hiding place for you? You have no idea which of your people the Nine Saints are already watching. Who would you even dare contact? Once the Nine Saints discover that you've vanished, they'll turn Heaven and Earth upside down searching for you. With such a conspicuous burden beside you, nowhere you hide will be safe. And besides, you already know we exist. If you refuse, we won't let either of you leave alive."

Zhuge Chi's face tightened.

He had never imagined he would run into a group like this.

He had no idea how deep their strength went, but there were at least two Nascent Soul cultivators standing before him now.

He looked back at Hai Wuji.

By himself, Zhuge Chi might not have the confidence to protect him.

After a short silence, he suddenly asked Hai Wuji, "Your Majesty, what do you think?"

Hai Wuji answered without hesitation, "Good. We'll join you!"

He understood his own heart clearly.

Before, he had simply been unwilling to accept defeat.

Now, however, he had genuinely seen hope of restoring his state.

Unexpectedly, Niu Youdao waved a hand. "Hai Wuji, you've misunderstood. I already said you can stand off to the side. I already said you're nothing but a burden. Why would we bring you along? You're not a damn bit of use, and you'd only give us one more burden to carry."

Then he lifted his chin toward Zhuge Chi. "What do you need him for? He's just a burden. Kill him and be done with it."

Embarrassment crossed Hai Wuji's face, but his heart tightened sharply.

He stared at Zhuge Chi's reaction, terrified that Zhuge Chi might abandon him.

The situation could not have been clearer.

Hai Wuji had learned something he was never supposed to know. If Zhuge Chi abandoned him now, it would mean death.

Zhuge Chi once again moved in front of Hai Wuji, shielding him behind his body. He said heavily, "No! If you want me to join you, fine, but he comes with me. Settling one person somewhere or settling two makes little difference. Surely you don't lack food and necessities for one extra man. If you refuse, and any of you dare touch so much as one hair on his head, I'll fight you to the death!"

He would protect Hai Wuji even at the cost of his own life.

Niu Youdao smiled.

He was very satisfied with that answer.

Then he threw back his head and laughed. "Zhuge Chi, I was joking. Don't take it seriously. If you were truly cold-blooded and without loyalty or righteousness, we wouldn't dare accept you."

Hearing that, Hai Wuji let out a heavy breath of relief.

The scare had nearly frightened the life out of him.

Zhuge Chi relaxed slightly as well.

Niu Youdao turned to the fisherman. "Take them there. Be careful on the way."

The fisherman immediately shook the finger bell on his hand.

Before long, a flying mount burst from the mountains and swept toward them.

[End of Chapter 1347]