Chapter 351: The Pursuers

Chapter 351: The Pursuers

Wang Daozhong had come to hunt down Zhao Changhe.

Like Yingshuang, ever since Wang Daozhong took on the task of leading the pursuit of Zhao Changhe, he had been blocked inexplicably by the Vermilion Bird and beaten up, causing him to lose Zhao Changhe’s trail, and from then on, he was always one step behind.

He learned Zhao Changhe had reached the capital, but by the time he got there, Zhao had already left. He learned Zhao Changhe had arrived at Yanmen Pass, but by the time he arrived, Zhao had already crossed the frontier. Once beyond the border, there was no hope of finding anyone.

Watching helplessly, under his own command of the pursuit, Zhao Changhe had racked up a series of earth-shaking exploits on the Chaos Rankings, and his face burned with shame.

In truth, he was overthinking it. At the time, Zhao Changhe had never even considered the value of slapping his face.

Later, Zhao inexplicably went to Beimang, and then inexplicably vanished along with the entire bandit stronghold. When he next received news of Zhao Changhe, it was from the Chaos Book, which stated that Xia Chichi had shone like the sun over Kunlun and ascended the Human Rankings, with Zhao Changhe making a cameo as a supporting character.

Thank heavens for the Chaos Book! It was truly a guiding light!

Wang Daozhong had no time to curse the Four Symbols Sect for allying with him yet colluding with Zhao Changhe... Not to mention the distance from Beimang to Kunlun—how far was that?

Wang Daozhong had no choice. It was too far to bring a large force, so he had to ride alone, galloping all the way. After rushing as fast as he could, he finally arrived, only to feel that the entire city was putting on an act for him.

Forget finding Zhao Changhe; he couldn’t even get by himself. The most awkward part was that Wang Daozhong didn’t even know if he should still be Wang Daozhong.

If he was Wang Daozhong, Yan Que was chasing him like a mad dog.

If he wasn’t Wang Daozhong, he couldn’t enter Yuxu Peak.

Either way, Yan Que was already biting, so it was better to enter Yuxu Peak and explain things to Yuxu directly. With Yuxu Zhenren’s cooperation, everything else would be trivial, and killing Zhao Changhe would be easy.

But now he couldn’t prove whether he was Wang Daozhong or not, and he couldn’t even get an audience with Yuxu Zhenren.

If he left, he had no horse—he had ridden here, and now he’d have to walk home on two legs.

He didn’t even have money for food. The illustrious Prince of Langya had to resort to robbery for room and board. And as for Zhao Changhe’s whereabouts, they had once again completely vanished without a trace.

Wang Daozhong paced anxiously outside Kunlun, his head throbbing. In the distance, dust rose as a convoy returned from afar.

A murderous gleam flashed in Wang Daozhong’s eyes. He thought to himself, let me first plunder some money, food, and horses.

He flew toward the convoy, but before he got close, the leading rider shouted from afar: “Is that the esteemed Mr. Wang of Langya?”

Wang Daozhong’s killing intent dissipated by half. It felt almost like meeting an old friend in a foreign land: “Who are you, to recognize me?”

“I am Liu Tuzhang of the Four Symbols Sect. I once worked in the Central Plains and had the fortune to see Mr. Wang by the Luo River a few years ago.”

“Four Symbols Sect...” Wang Daozhong said sternly, “Our two factions are allies. Why are you mixed up with Zhao Changhe?”

Liu Tuzhang was taken aback: “Our Saintess has long had ties with Zhao Changhe; the whole world knows it. Although the Venerable One separated them, it’s only natural for them to join forces temporarily against a strong enemy. The Venerable One wouldn’t even object. Why do you care... Ah, I misspoke. In any case, our alliance doesn’t mean we do everything together. Killing Zhao Changhe is your Wang family’s private affair. What does it have to do with us?”

That logic made sense, and Wang Daozhong couldn’t refute it. He didn’t want to fall out with the Four Symbols Sect, so he said, “Then at least you can vouch for my identity to the Yuxu Palace, right?”

Liu Tuzhang was even more bewildered: “Why can’t Mr. Wang prove his identity?”

Wang Daozhong opened his mouth, then closed it again. He couldn’t very well say he’d been robbed here—did he have any face left?

Liu Tuzhang said, “In the eyes of Yuxu Zhenren, I’m just an ant. I can’t prove anything. Mr. Wang would be better off showing his own identity token...”

“Forget it,” Wang Daozhong interrupted. “I’ll see Yuxu Zhenren myself. Do you have any news of Zhao Changhe? Don’t tell me you’re covering for him out of regard for the Saintess?”

“We do have news of Zhao Changhe,” Liu Tuzhang said. “He went to Kunlun, so naturally he intends to continue westward into the Western Regions... But Mr. Wang, let me say this upfront: Zhao Changhe travels alone, with no fixed route. He might be in the west one moment and then suddenly head north. If you go west and can’t find him, don’t say I misled you. My personal advice is that you should return to Langya. There are plenty of cases where people hunt a foe for over a decade without finding them. This isn’t a task befitting someone of your status to personally undertake.”

There was much truth in these words. Wang Daozhong hesitated for a moment, then had no desire to continue the conversation. He cupped his hands and said, “Thank you for the information. I’ll take my leave.”

“Go slowly, sir.” Watching Wang Daozhong depart, Liu Tuzhang spat under his breath.

What a joke. The chemistry between Zhao Changhe and their Saintess was so thick it gave people goosebumps. Even so, the Venerable One hadn’t killed him and had even sent his direct subordinate, Yi Huoshe, to replace him—a clear sign of how highly he regarded Zhao Changhe. Who knew, tomorrow Zhao Changhe might become the Four Symbols Sect’s son-in-law, embracing the Saintess while wrapped around Yi Huoshe. Who did he think he was, trying to kill him?

Either go eat dust in the Western Regions, or return to Langya and end the hunt. At least he was smart enough to choose. The Four Symbols Sect still had some cooperation with the Wang family and didn’t want to fall out just yet.

“Let’s go, back to the cloth shop.”

On the other side, Wang Daozhong hadn’t gone far when he saw a lone swordsman in white walking through the yellow sand.

“Mr. Wang?” the swordsman asked uncertainly.

“Yingshuang of the Listening Snow Pavilion, I presume?”

“...Correct. This is indeed a solo job for Mr. Wang.”

“...” The two stared at each other for a long moment. Finally, Wang Daozhong said, “Don’t bother going to Kunlun City. I have reliable information that Zhao Changhe has gone to the Western Regions... But I’m not sure if he’ll slip away again. That man is like a rat.”

Yingshuang cupped his hands: “Thank you for the tip. I’ll go check the Western Regions.”

With that, he left without another word.

Dedicated, wasn’t he?

Wang Daozhong clasped his hands behind his back, watching Yingshuang’s retreating figure. He thought to himself that this situation really wasn’t befitting of him—running around the world like some lowly lackey. That wasn’t his job. He should return to Langya, focus on the intelligence network, and give orders from there.

As for this maddening place called Kunlun, if he ever came back here, he’d be a dog!

...

While Wang Daozhong was getting beaten, Zhao Changhe was eating meat.

Little did Zhao Changhe know that when he left Kunlun and saw the dust in the distance, his last-minute decision to change course southeast had precisely avoided a head-on collision with Wang Daozhong...

What incredible luck.

While his enemies were racking their brains over the pursuit, Zhao Changhe traveled south along the mountain range for several hundred li. By dusk, he lodged in an unnamed small town. The town didn’t even have an inn, so he paid to stay in the backyard of an ordinary farmhouse.

Speaking of traveling in ancient times, perhaps the biggest difference from the modern era was this: knocking on a farmhouse door to ask for lodging—in modern times, probably no one would let you in. Here, though not everyone agreed, at least some did.

Not only that, but if you paid enough, they were willing to go out and buy meat, kill a chicken, and treat you to fine wine and good food.

After a comfortable meal, feeling the fullness in his stomach and the energy surging through his body, Zhao Changhe managed to dispel some of the fear and trembling he had felt earlier when facing the pressure of the divine demon. His heart calmed down again.

Leaving Kunlun like this was the first time since Zhao Changhe had set out on his journey that he had truly fled in panic, rather than leaving after finishing his business.

Yes, for the first time in this world, Zhao Changhe had tasted what “fear” and “death” truly meant.

It was a comparison on an entirely different dimension—utterly crushing. The tremor in his soul was beyond words.

If he had been a weaker person, his Dao heart might have been shattered. He might even have knelt down from then on, becoming a dog of the divine demon and its faithful mouthpiece.

Zhao Changhe thought to himself, if Yuxu wouldn’t cooperate, would the divine demon behind him find another agent? Yan Que, perhaps?

His list of enemies was growing longer and longer... Fortunately, people like Yan Que didn’t know he was Zhao Changhe.

The wind stopped, the snow melted, and the moonlight was like water. Zhao Changhe stood in the small town’s courtyard, looking up at the moon. He spent a full half-hour calming his mind with his cultivation method before finally speaking in a low voice: “You are so powerful. Why don’t you exert your might on me?”

The Blind One’s voice came from somewhere unknown: “I don’t want dogs.”

Zhao Changhe fell silent.

The Blind One seemed to smile: “Do you want to be one? I’ll let you lick my feet.”

Zhao Changhe pulled out the gold foil and began to undo his belt.

“?” The Blind One was speechless. “What are you doing?”

“Giving it some beauty serum.”

“Boring.” The Blind One said flatly, “I think you should be pulling out a new page, not that thing. Are you afraid, to the point where you subconsciously avoid even taking it out?”

Zhao Changhe’s clowning stopped. After a long while, he sighed. “You’re right. I am afraid. It seems I overestimated myself. I once thought I was so heroic, but it turns out I’m nothing special.”

“That’s what it means to be human. When you faced Wang Daozhong before, weren’t you drenched in cold sweat? The only difference is that the pressure Wang Daozhong gave you wasn’t so absurd. The nature is the same.”

“Yes, you’re right.”

"This is not a bad thing," the blind woman said calmly. "Only by seeing the fear within your heart can you overcome it, and moreover..."

She paused, and there seemed to be a hint of laughter in her voice: "If you wish to fathom the terror and death of the Blood Fiend Art, but have never experienced them yourself, what is there to fathom?"

Zhao Changhe's heart stirred.

"Have you ever considered that what your path to mastery truly lacks is that you have never encountered real hardship or been truly beaten down?"

Zhao Changhe laughed out loud: "Perhaps. Strangely enough, after you said that, I no longer feel afraid. In the past, I feared Wang Daozhong, but if I were to meet him now, I doubt I would be scared... By the same logic, in a few more years, what I fear today may no longer linger in my heart."

The blind woman fell silent.

This was the innate courage of Zhao Changhe—he too could feel fear, but only for a moment.

He was truly suited for the jianghu.

Zhao Changhe finally took out the golden page he had obtained earlier that day.

The page was not gold leaf; it resembled a soft silk manuscript, but when touched, it felt as if one could not quite grasp it.

The Dao has no form; the book is merely a manifestation.

If the gold leaf continued to be unsealed, it should also become such a "material," not actual gold.

Gold, meaning hardness and indestructibility, is likewise nothing more than an eternal image.

Zhao Changhe took a deep breath and placed the page and the gold leaf together.

A soft golden light enveloped both, as if a fusion was taking place.