Chapter 20: Chapter 20
Day had already broken.
On the road to Huai’an County, Zhao Jiu and Liu Rouwei galloped through the steadily worsening snow.
The ominous feeling in Zhao Jiu’s heart grew stronger by the moment. When he carefully sensed heaven and earth, he discovered that his connection to them had become increasingly sluggish, as though he had stumbled into a mire of half-dried mud. The momentum he had gathered could not advance even an inch. It was as though heaven and earth had suddenly become strangers to him.
The sensation made Zhao Jiu deeply uncomfortable. Not only had the range of his perception been compressed without limit, but he also felt as though a sharp blade were constantly hanging over his head.
He circulated his True Qi and silently released it outward, shielding himself from the falling snow while probing the road behind them. However, it traveled less than ten li before vanishing without a trace, like a clay ox sinking into the sea.
At this point, even a pig could tell that the problem did not lie with Zhao Jiu himself.
An expert far stronger than him had to be following behind them and suppressing his perception!
At last, he spotted snow-covered rooftops on the horizon. Zhao Jiu’s heart leaped with joy. Just as he prepared to gather his True Qi again, the surrounding Momentum of heaven and earth abruptly changed.”
He released his True Qi as though it cost him nothing, carrying Liu Rouwei into the air as he desperately rushed toward Huai’an County.
The horse let out a pained whinny. Unable to withstand the force of Zhao Jiu’s kick, its four hooves sank into the snow as it cried out in agony.
The wind roared ever louder in Liu Rouwei’s ears. She had no attention to spare for anything else and hurriedly clung to Zhao Jiu. Her face turned crimson, though whether it was from the cold or something else was impossible to tell.
Only after recovering from her shock did she ask, “What happened?”
“Someone is behind us. I cannot defeat him,” Zhao Jiu answered bluntly.
Liu Rouwei asked no further questions. She merely buried her face against Zhao Jiu’s shoulder.
The wind and snow were too fierce, and a Third Rank martial artist moved far too quickly. For someone who had never entered the Martial Dao, the journey was extremely difficult to endure.
Behind them, the Red-Robed Eunuch rose and fell through the air like a great crimson bird. Each bound carried him more than half a li.
His pace grew faster and faster, and his imposing presence surged around him. Every time his feet touched the ground, they blasted a great cloud of snow into the air.
The crimson figure continued accelerating. In what seemed like an instant, he crossed several li, steadily closing the distance between them.
Zhao Jiu glanced back and saw the Red-Robed Eunuch gradually coming into view.
Despite the freezing weather, Zhao Jiu was drenched in cold sweat.
Fast.
He was simply too fast!
Knowing that he could not escape, Zhao Jiu hurled every Hidden Weapon he had behind him. He did not care whether any of them struck their target. He only hoped the little weapons might delay the eunuch for a moment while he quietly gathered his Momentum.
It was time to stake his life.
He would never escape by running alone!
Before any of the Hidden Weapons could reach the Red-Robed Eunuch, his externally released True Qi blasted them away.
“Petty tricks.”
The Red-Robed Eunuch sneered. His True Qi erupted, repelling the snow around him, and he shot toward Zhao Jiu like an arrow released from a bowstring.
With the Red-Robed Eunuch accelerating while Zhao Jiu was forced to slow down, the distance between them shrank dramatically in an instant.
This is bad!
Zhao Jiu drew a sharp breath. His attempt to slow the eunuch had only made matters worse.
He forced himself to accelerate, heedless of how rapidly his True Qi was being depleted. At last, he spotted snow-covered rooftops on the horizon.
Zhao Jiu’s heart leaped with joy. Just as he prepared to gather his True Qi again, the surrounding Momentum of heaven and earth abruptly changed.
For a single instant, his connection to heaven and earth seemed to snap. The mire-like, suffocating sensation intensified, and an immense weight descended upon his shoulders.
The Red-Robed Eunuch’s shrill voice came from behind him.
“Leave the little girl behind, and I will spare your life!”
“Damn it, you wretched eunuch! I was not the one who castrated you, so why are you chasing me so relentlessly?”
Zhao Jiu felt as bitter as though he had swallowed raw goldthread.
He had never even provoked this eunuch. Chasing them for a short distance should have been enough. How much could anyone possibly be paying him to work this hard?
At worst, Zhao Jiu could give him a few eyebrow pencils and tubes of lipstick!
The Red-Robed Eunuch saw that he was drawing ever closer and circulated his True Qi.
“I said, leave the little girl behind, and I will spare your life!” he shouted angrily.
“Do you think I would believe a freak like you?”
Although Zhao Jiu’s words remained defiant, his feet did not dare slow for even a moment.
His True Qi had become sluggish, so he could only use Chasing the Stars and Pursuing the Moon to widen the distance between them. He then released his True Qi externally and borrowed force from empty space, gaining a little more ground.
Zhao Jiu loosened Liu Rouwei’s arms from around him and gripped her waist with both hands.
Under her bewildered gaze, he suddenly drove the Taiqing Yuxu Scripture to its limit and pushed her forward.
“Young Miss Liu, that eunuch’s Cultivation Rank is far above mine. I can hold him back for seven or eight minutes at most. I have done everything within my power. Run as far as you can. If you survive, be sure to come and collect the debt from me personally. Take care!”
Liu Rouwei flew forward and fell into the snow.
She had no time to turn around and say farewell. She hurriedly climbed to her feet and ran, silently wishing Zhao Jiu the same.
After pushing Liu Rouwei away, Zhao Jiu landed on a withered branch. He turned to face the pursuing Red-Robed Eunuch and silently gathered his Momentum.
It was not that Zhao Jiu had never considered abandoning Liu Rouwei.
He simply could not predict what the old eunuch would do. Who knew whether the man would kill him afterward to silence him?
Moreover, Liu Rouwei’s background was clearly anything but simple. If another expert like the Red-Robed Eunuch came after him, he would undoubtedly die.
Those who placed wagers on both sides rarely met good ends.
By holding the old eunuch back for seven or eight minutes, Zhao Jiu would have fulfilled his duty. Whether Liu Rouwei lived or died afterward, no one could blame him.
With that thought, Zhao Jiu drew his Tang Saber from his Storage Space, preparing to test himself against the old eunuch.
When he saw Zhao Jiu stop, the Red-Robed Eunuch chuckled and abruptly accelerated. In almost an instant, he appeared ten paces away.
“The little brat is quite the devoted lover.”
Who is not devoted to money?
Zhao Jiu complained inwardly, but he replied with perfect respect, “I am merely trying to survive.”
The Red-Robed Eunuch burst into laughter.
“You are nothing like that old bald donkey Baoshu. I thought you would try to place wagers on both sides, but it seems I was mistaken…” His eyes gleamed with amusement. “I rather admire you. Bring that girl back to me, and I will make an exception and take you as my adopted son. What do you say?”
Zhao Jiu’s gaze turned cold. He united his mind and spirit, gripped his saber, and continued gathering his Momentum.
“Come, then.” The Red-Robed Eunuch extended both hands and spoke indifferently. “I shall amuse myself by toying with a little rabbit.”
Zhao Jiu was not foolish enough to charge forward recklessly.
The difference between their Cultivation Ranks was far too great. Risking one’s life was not the same as throwing it away.
He stared motionlessly at the Red-Robed Eunuch.
In Zhao Jiu’s eyes, the faintly smiling eunuch appeared to be covered in openings. However, that was only because Zhao Jiu’s Cultivation Rank was too low to understand the depths of the man before him.
An ordinary person might look at a tiger and see openings all over its body, but should he attempt a sliding tackle against it?
Was he trying to stuff the tiger to death with his own body?
For a moment, Zhao Jiu could neither move nor remain still. The two appeared to be locked in a tense stalemate.
The Red-Robed Eunuch had no such concerns.said leisurely
Since Zhao Jiu refused to move, he moved first.
He stamped his foot, soared into the air, and rushed in Liu Rouwei’s direction.
Zhao Jiu did not dare hesitate. His gaze hardened.
He knew there was a tiger on the mountain, yet he had no choice but to advance toward it!
“Questioning the Heavens!”
Zhao Jiu swung his saber with all his strength.
His True Qi transformed into countless streaks of Saber Radiance. They merged into one, carrying the Saber Momentum he had hastily gathered as they surged toward the Red-Robed Eunuch.
The Saber Radiance forced the Red-Robed Eunuch to stop. He forcibly halted his forward momentum and retreated three steps.
A grave expression appeared on his face.
He had not expected a mere Third Rank martial artist to possess such powerful True Qi and Saber Momentum.
However, the Red-Robed Eunuch’s Cultivation Rank was far above Zhao Jiu’s.
He circulated his True Qi, drawing in the overwhelming momentum of heaven and earth, and thrust out a palm.
Countless illusory palm prints immediately appeared in the air. One followed another, engulfing the Saber Radiance until it vanished without a trace.
Zhao Jiu had already expected that Questioning the Heavens would not injure him.
His True Qi surged and transformed into flowers that filled the sky.
It was Thousand Flowers, Myriad Blooms.
Illusory blossoms spread through the air, scattering the falling snow as they drifted toward the Red-Robed Eunuch one after another.
In an instant, the sky became a magnificent sea of flowers, each blossom competing with the others in beauty. They pressed against one another in overlapping layers, every flower distinct, like a painting of a hundred flowers in full bloom.
The Red-Robed Eunuch was astonished.
The Tang Sect Mystical Art was a secret that had not appeared in the Jianghu for countless years. He had never expected to witness it now in the hands of a mere boy.
It was truly remarkable.
The Red-Robed Eunuch did not dare delay. He condensed his True Qi.
“Vanquishing the Invaders!”
His True Qi formed an enormous palm, while his Momentum merged into it and made the image increasingly solid.
He thrust the palm forward.
The flowers in the air seemed to encounter a mountain descending upon them. One after another, they shattered and scattered.
The deadly poison hidden within the blossoms was annihilated beneath the massive palm.
The palm did not lose its momentum after destroying the flowers. It struck Zhao Jiu directly.
Zhao Jiu grunted, spraying a mist of blood as he was sent flying backward. He smashed through several large trees before finally crashing into the snow.
Zhao Jiu spat out another mouthful of blood and hurriedly swallowed a White Jade Flesh-Regeneration Pill.
“Senior, what rank are you?” Zhao Jiu asked after catching his breath, panting heavily. “Why must you make things difficult for the two of us?”
“I am at the First Rank. What of it?” the Red-Robed Eunuch replied coldly. “And what can you do if I insist on making things difficult for you?”
Zhao Jiu’s constant attempts to delay him had already begun to wear away his patience.
When Zhao Jiu heard his answer, he drew a sharp breath.
“A First Rank? Then this really is my problem!”