Chapter 19: Fleeing Like a Wolf
In the blink of an eye, Li Qingfeng had already scaled the high wall.
The Soul Banner in his hand shrank to three feet, deflecting the flying sword's thrust.
Using the momentum, he leaped again, most of his body flipping over the courtyard wall.
Li Qingfeng didn’t dare slack even slightly. The moment he landed, he tucked his head and rolled forward before springing up several more yards.
The youth snorted coldly. "Trying to run?"
Spiritual energy surged as he stepped lightly onto the shoulders of the black-armored soldiers, like a dragonfly skimming water. In a few bounds, he too cleared the courtyard wall, hot on Li Qingfeng’s heels.
The young immortal master wasn’t idle. He controlled the wooden sword, now glowing with spiritual aura.
His right hand formed seals, and he murmured an incantation.
"Go."
The ebony sword traced an arc in the air before hurtling toward Li Qingfeng’s head once more.
Li Qingfeng could only barely defend himself. Though the Soul Banner protected his vitals, stray sword beams still slashed his body, leaving wounds.
In the midst of this chase, the two rapidly approached the towering walls of the county city.
But city walls couldn’t stop a Qi Refining cultivator.
Even an early-stage Qi cultivator could bypass them easily.
"Hum."
The Soul Banner trembled again.
Li Qingfeng, gripping the three-foot banner checked his dantian, only six strands of spiritual power remained.
Not enough for another Night Parade of a Hundred Demons.
Even if he summoned the main soul, it could only last three breaths.
His Spirit-Seer Eyes could tell that this young immortal master was powerful, but he had never confirmed the true strength of the main ghost.
If the ghost couldn’t hold him off, this last gamble would be suicide.
Seeing his spiritual power dwindling further, Li Qingfeng decided he couldn’t just wait for death.
No matter what, he had to trust the main ghost.
Brother Ghost is strong.
If he was caught, he’d die. If he fought, he might die. But waiting for death was worse than striking first.
At least this way, his death would mean something.
"I’ll risk it all!"
Li Qingfeng roared and violently swung the three-foot Soul Banner.
The red-haired demon crawled out from the banner.
But to Li Qingfeng’s shock, the ghost didn’t attack the pursuer. Instead, it grabbed his collar and opened its bloody maw wide.
Li Qingfeng was stunned. He hadn’t expected the main ghost to turn on him the moment it appeared.
"My life ends here."
"Perhaps... this is for the best." Li Qingfeng didn’t resist, his face ashen.
But then, to his even greater surprise, the ghost didn’t bite him.
A damaged talisman slid out from the ghost’s mouth.
With a smack, it stuck to his forehead.
The ghost then planted its feet like a drawn bow at full draw.
With a powerful motion, it hurled him away.
Li Qingfeng’s last two strands of spiritual power surged into the talisman. As light flashed, his figure vanished into the night like a shooting star.
Tu Shanjun turned to face the pursuing young immortal master.
He had only two breaths left.
The young immortal master’s face twisted in fury. "A vicious ghost indeed!"
He had been on the verge of catching the black-clad man, only for this ghost to use some method to triple his speed.
Now, the ghost stood in his way.
The longer he delayed here, the slimmer his chances of catching his target.
"I’ll behead you first!" The immortal master formed hand seals.
Chanting an incantation, he directed the spirit sword straight at Tu Shanjun’s head.
Tu Shanjun watched calmly.
Without holding back, he charged headlong.
The flying sword pierced straight through his skull without resistance.
But in that final instant, Tu Shanjun’s ghostly claw slammed into the young immortal master’s chest.
The young immortal master’s eyes widened. He hadn’t expected the red-haired ghost to be so ruthless, willing to take a sword strike just to land a blow.
With a thud, the immortal master was sent flying, blood spraying from his mouth.
At the same time, Tu Shanjun’s ghostly form dissipated into black mist, vanishing on the spot.
The young immortal master struggled to his feet, swaying unsteadily.
He spat out a mouthful of blood.
His ribs were broken, and with no trace of the black-clad man left, he had no choice but to abandon the chase.
Glaring hatefully at where the ghost had disappeared, he roared, "Damned demonic cultivator! Damned ghost!"
"Damn it all!"
Li Qingfeng felt light as a feather.
His speed had clearly increased two or threefold, and in the blink of an eye, he had shaken off the young immortal master.
Best of all, the talisman’s spiritual power consumption was minimal, just one strand sustained its effects.
This talisman was meant for life-or-death escapes and didn’t require much spiritual power to activate.
Li Qingfeng ran without rest.
In moments like this, survival was the only thought in his mind.
Through thorns, across forests, over mountains and valleys.
Finally, he found a broken-down temple deep in the mountains.
After fleeing for hours, his spiritual power was exhausted, he finally had a place to rest. His nerves relaxed slightly.
His body gave out and he collapsed onto the temple floor.
Drowsiness overtook him, and he fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
When Li Qingfeng jolted awake, his eyes flew wide.
A terrible realization struck him.
In the past, whenever he slept, he would enter the mountaintop training cliff in his dream.
This time, he had slept soundly.
For most people, a good night’s sleep was a blessing. But for Li Qingfeng, it filled him with dread.
"Brother Ghost?"
Clenching his fists unconsciously, he looked at the Soul Banner in his hand.
Then it hit him, why he had felt that foreboding.
The main ghost had stayed behind to cover his escape.
The thought of Tu Shanjun remaining in that deadly situation made Li Qingfeng scramble to his feet.
Though he had stumbled onto the path of cultivation alone, the main ghost had guided him countless times. At the critical moment, it had even given him the escape talisman, allowing him to escape with his life.
He couldn’t abandon Brother Ghost.
Carefully storing the damaged talisman, Li Qingfeng retraced his steps to the battlefield.
From a distance, he surveyed the area.
The ground was a mess, but the young immortal master from last night was gone and so was Brother Ghost.
An inexplicable fear stirred in Li Qingfeng’s heart. A deep unease rising from within his very soul.
Brother Ghost might have been a malevolent spirit, but to him, it had been both teacher and friend.
Now, it seemed, he had met a terrible fate.
Gripping the Soul Banner tightly, Li Qingfeng whispered, "No... You’re so strong. How could you die?"
In his life, he had only ever known one true powerhouse, and that was Brother Ghost.
It had crushed the mountain ape spirit with a wave of its hand, killed Zhang Gui with a single strike.
Li Qingfeng himself couldn’t last half a move against it.
How could someone like that die?
But he knew this was just denial.
He refused to believe the ghost was gone.
Biting down hard, Li Qingfeng fought back his grief.
Yet tears fell unbidden.
Plip. Plop.
They landed on the banner’s surface, darkening the black fabric.
The once-sharp banner now seemed dull, as if covered in dust.
Eyes bloodshot, Li Qingfeng gritted his teeth. "I swear on my life, I will have vengeance!"
He gazed toward the county city.
He couldn’t return now.
That young immortal master’s eyes had glowed with spiritual aura, the mark of the Spirit-Seer Eyes.
If he went back and was scrutinized, his identity as a cultivator would be exposed.
Too many people would suffer for it.
In a city as large as the county, people died every day. The disappearance of one scholar wouldn’t attract attention.
As long as he didn’t reveal himself, all would be well.
Li Qingfeng turned away.
He didn’t even dare leave a grave for Brother Ghost.
He was afraid.
Afraid of leaving traces that could be followed.
Until his enemies were dead, he wouldn’t leave so much as a name behind.
Back at the broken temple, Li Qingfeng tore strips from his inner robe to bandage his wounds.
Once his stomach growled, he spent the morning recovering his spiritual power.
Eight strands were enough to survive.
He hunted two wild hares in the mountains.
Using flint and tinder, he lit a fire in the nameless temple.
Fortunately, it was still late spring and the weather wasn’t harsh.
With spiritual power aiding his recovery, his wounds healed quickly.
The tasteless rabbit meat wasn’t unpleasant. After devouring both hares, Li Qingfeng sat cross-legged to restore his energy.
He couldn’t stop, there were still many things to do.
(Chapter End)