Gao Hu and others, having just blown out the lights, were about to lie down for a peaceful sleep when they heard a commotion coming from outside. As military men who were alone in a foreign land, their vigilance was extremely high, and they couldn't sleep without being on guard. Upon hearing the shouting from outside, they immediately sprang up, with Gao Hu loudly asking: "Has our presence been leaked?"
If they really leaked their identities, although they were all masters in the military, they would still be outnumbered. The village was not short of brave and powerful people, at least Lu Peng, who they saw, was a rare master.
The crowd didn't light up the lamps, but quickly rolled down from the bed, drilled into the corner of the house, opened the window lattice, and looked out. They saw that outside was brightly lit, with over a hundred people holding torches, shuttling back and forth. It seemed they weren't heading in this direction, but rather as if something had happened in the village. However, from a distance, there were no large flames, clearly not a flood.
One of them turned back and said in a low voice, "It seems it's none of our business, Commander?"
Gao Hu nodded solemnly and said in a deep voice: "Time is not waiting for me, fire the signal arrow, gather our brothers outside the mountain, take action!"
One of them hesitated and said: "We've lost our way, they probably can't find us for a while..."
Gao Hu's voice was stern: "Then send two people out to welcome!" His face revealed an extremely ferocious expression, "Even if we mistakenly kill a thousand, we absolutely cannot let one go. As long as there is a glimmer of hope, we must seize it." He coldly said: "This time, if we fail to catch that little girl, including me, all three thousand brothers will be beheaded and sent back!"
As the leader, he gave orders and laws followed, no one dared to make a sound. A short and stout imperial guard took out a long bamboo tube from his bosom and threw it towards the sky. The whistling arrow's sound shook the air, and a dazzling firework streaked across the mid-air, lingering for a long time. Gao Hu said: "Rush out, take advantage of the chaos to find people! Wu Ya, Xiao Qi, you two, follow the original path, go outside the mountain to meet them. The creek is shallow, no need to drive a floating bridge, horse hooves can jump over it!"
The two people called by him took orders and flew away. Gao Hu led the crowd, quietly and silently into the crowd.
He wasn't aimless, after arriving at Taoyuan Village, he had already investigated and found that during this period of time, only three groups of refugees came to surrender, all living in the east of the village, not hard to find. They took advantage of the chaos to sneak into the crowd and head towards the east of the village.
Mo Zi Chen had just rushed out of the thatched cottage when she saw the Taoist priest descending from the sky. His body was as swift as lightning, flying rapidly in mid-air without needing to borrow any force. His speed was more than ten times faster than hers. At this moment, Mo Zi Chen couldn't help but feel a sense of despair wash over her. After bidding farewell to her parents, that feeling of fear once again enveloped her heart. Was this place going to be her final resting place?
The Taoist's body drew a beautiful arc in the air, his large hand reaching out to grab her, Mo Zi Chen knew she couldn't dodge, closed her eyes and waited for death.
However, the Taoist seemed to not want her life. His hand hovered in mid-air as several red threads fell from his fingertips and flew towards Mozhen's head, laughing: "I said, why was my seal broken? It turns out it was a virgin body with a spiritual root. Taking you as a furnace tripod is perfect! Come with Master Dao!"
Mo Zi Chen had originally given up all hope, but his words ignited the innate stubbornness in her bones. She was able to escape from the imperial city alone and travel thousands of miles; this life was something she had snatched back from the heavens, so how could she easily return it today?
She clutched the brocade box tightly in her arms and angrily said, "You're dreaming!" Seeing a large hand reaching down from above, her wrist flipped over, and a dagger as bright as autumn water appeared in her palm, slashing upwards.
This dagger is called "Clear Sky", it was her father's most beloved short blade, and he gave it to her as a birthday gift when she was 14 years old. Its sharpness can cut through hair and iron like mud, making it a formidable good blade.
The Taoist priest seemed completely unbothered and let out a cold laugh: "You're overestimating yourself!"
His large hand hovered in mid-air, a few red threads flew down, and with just a light pluck, Mo Zi Chen felt his wrist ache, the dagger involuntarily slipping from his grasp and flying out, as if all the strength in his body had been drained away.
All masters in the mortal world are completely powerless in front of these people with immortal techniques.
In Mo Zi Chen's heart, a deep sense of powerlessness arose for the first time.
At this time, the big hand had mercilessly grabbed her neck. Obviously, the Taoist was furious that she dared to resist.
But she didn't close her eyes, instead she stared back at him with a strong gaze, her bright autumn-water-like eyes reflecting the Taoist's ferocious face.
Those five fingers were about to grab her chest, when Mo Zi Chen suddenly felt a faint heat emanating from her chest, as if something was bursting open. Suddenly, without warning, an incredibly bright white light shot out from her chest and rebounded back.
This light was incredibly intense, Mo Zi Chen unconsciously closed his eyes, and only felt a burning pain in his eyes, as if they had been scalded.
She immediately heard the Taoist priest exclaim "Ah", and his voice, a mix of surprise and anger, reached her ears: "Who is it that has taken action? How can this small place attract several fellow practitioners?"
At this time, behind Mozi Chen's back, a shout of killing had already come, with more than 100 people holding torches and rushing over. The leader was Ren Gengxin. They rushed from another fork in the village road, just in time to block the Taoist priest.
The Taoist snorted: "Forget it, I'll let you off the hook for today. I've got my eye on you, little girl!" As soon as he finished speaking, Mo Ziyu only heard a rustling sound, and the enormous pressure in front of her seemed to dissipate along with it.
She endured the pain, opened her eyes, and her vision was still a bit blurry. She only saw the Taoist priest flying forward quickly. Her own chest felt hot and painful, as if she had been injured by something.
At this time she couldn't care less, seeing Ren Gengxin leading a group of people to welcome the Taoist priest, she turned her head and ran in another direction.
The village was in a state of utter chaos, with incessant cries of killing, people rushing to and fro, some houses had their doors tightly closed, not even lighting lamps, while the bolder ones would sneak out to take a peek.
Mo Zi Chen had lived here for two months and was very familiar with the few small roads. She walked through the door, wanting to follow another desolate road and escape into the mountains.
At this moment, several figures suddenly rushed forward from in front of him. Both sides were caught off guard and immediately faced each other head-on.
Those were two heavily armored men, both holding weapons in their hands. Mo Zi Chen still had a veil covering her face at this time, but when she saw the other's appearance, she involuntarily cried out: "Gao Hu?"
The arrivals were Gao Hu and one of his subordinates, the remaining six people divided into three routes to go to the gathering points of the three refugees. He walked alone and returned without success, just about to meet with his companions, but unexpectedly Mo Zi Chen did not live with those three teams, but met here.
Although she was veiled and her face could not be seen clearly, Gao Hu heard the voice and blurted out: "Princess Zi Chen?"
