Chương 76: The Fugitive

Eagle's Sorrow Ravine. Not long after entering the treacherous mountain path, Song Que, observing through Lightning's eyes, saw figures moving about on the cliffs ahead. Looking at Yun Shan walking leisurely beside him, he couldn't help but issue a warning.

"Chief Manager Yun, there is an ambush ahead. Please be careful." Hearing his warning, Old Yun wasn't worried at all. He just smiled reassuringly:"Young Master Song has excellent observational skills! Up ahead is the territory of the Rooster Stronghold. This is the largest bandit den around here. The Chieftain is a Second-Tier martial artist; his strength is quite formidable."

"Since our merchant convoys pass through frequently, we've long since reached an agreement. They just observe and collect their usual toll. There won't be any danger." True to Old Yun's words, the bandits didn't take any aggressive actions. Instead, a few men walked out very properly, chatting and laughing as they collected the toll from the guards at the front, before politely cupping their hands in farewell. It was just like a highway toll booth! They acted more like civil servants than bandits!

They didn't even put on scary makeup, jump out, and shout lines like, "I opened this road, I planted these trees! If you want to pass, leave your road toll!" Young Hero Song, used to watching historical dramas, felt deeply dissatisfied. Too unprofessional! Seeing Song Que standing there in a daze, deep in thought, Yun Shan assumed he was concerned about these people and immediately explained.

"There are many bandits in Eagle's Sorrow Ravine, but only three factions dare to step forward and collect tolls from us. All three occupy easily defensible, hard-to-attack natural choke points. Furthermore, their strength is considerable, so we tacitly accept the arrangement."

"The Rooster Stronghold up ahead is one. Further down is the Forest Lock Stronghold, and finally the Black Iron Stronghold. Their Chieftains are all Second-Tier martial artists, and their strength is widely recognized." Having previously considered forming a merchant convoy, Song Que secretly memorized Old Yun's words. Along the way, he continued to use Lightning to scout the terrain, burning it into his memory to mark on his map once he returned home.

Although the road was winding and treacherous, the Yun Family personnel had traveled it so many times their shoes were practically worn out. The presence of Song Que didn't cause any unexpected incidents. After paying tolls two more times, they could see Qinghe County in the distance. The entire journey had only taken four hours—even faster than taking a boat! If this road were properly paved and made secure, merchants would definitely prioritize using this route.

But all of this was beyond what a small fry like him could accomplish right now. Song Que merely had a passing thought and didn't dwell on it further. The group quickly gathered not far from the city gates, preparing to enter in an orderly fashion. Just then, an unexpected incident occurred! Shouts and roars erupted from within the city. Chaos quickly ensued on both sides of the road.

With his sharp eyes, Song Que could clearly see from afar: at the city gates, a man wielding a saber was slashing wildly, trying to force his way out of the city. In hot pursuit behind him were two middle-aged men, followed by a large group of city guards. Seeing him about to escape, the two men at the front pushed themselves, quickening their pace to chase after him while shouting loudly:"Zheng Junqing, you cannot escape!"

"You people ahead! Help us apprehend this fugitive!" Watching the man running amok and slashing indiscriminately, damaging a significant amount of merchandise and easily risking injuring innocent bystanders, Song Que felt a surge of anger. Just as he was about to draw his Silver-Wing Bow to intervene, Old Yun beside him discreetly pressed him down and shook his head, signaling him not to. Although he didn't understand why, Song Que lowered the bow. However, his eyes coldly tracked the criminal.

If this guy dared to randomly slaughter people, Song Que absolutely would not hold back and ignore it. Fortunately, the man only wanted to escape; he had no intention of killing anyone. He just shouted loudly for the people in front to clear the way, thanking his lucky stars when they did.... The closer he got to the city gates, the closer the two men behind him pursued. Zheng Junqing felt a mounting sense of urgency. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

Today had been incredibly unlucky! He had traveled in disguise all the way from the Jiangnan Circuit to this place. The mountains are high and the emperor is far away —the experts here were generally mediocre, and very few could pose a threat to him. Moreover, his destination was right before him. Old Zheng had just begun to breathe a sigh of relief. But how could he know that during a moment of relaxed vigilance, while drinking a few bowls of wine to ease his mind, his luck would run out?!

His fake beard had fallen off, and of all times, it happened just as a constable was passing by! Given his habitual paranoia as a thief, he panicked, hurriedly stood up, and tried to leave. But his actions only made him more suspicious! When the constable called out to him, he panicked and ran! And so, here he was. After shouting, a swarm of people as thick as ants surrounded him! He had painstakingly broken through the encirclement, only to run into two Second-Tier martial artists who actually recognized him!

And those two—the moment they saw Zheng Junqing's face, it was like they were reuniting with a long-lost lover! Their faces flushed red with excitement as they hefted their weapons and charged at him! With his old wounds still unhealed, Zheng Junqing could only grit his teeth and run for his life. Drinking wine really ruins great plans! Seeing the two sticking to him like maggots on a rotting corpse, refusing to be shaken off and almost close enough to give him a hug, Old Zheng couldn't tolerate it any longer!

He pulled a pitch-black orb from his robes, threw it behind him, and infused it with internal energy to crush it. BOOM! Flames and black smoke billowed upwards, terrifying the two pursuers. They hastily circulated their energy to defend themselves and rapidly retreated to avoid the danger.

"Thunderbolt Bombs?!" The two cried out in shock simultaneously. Looking at the chaotic mess on the street, they secretly rejoiced that they had dodged quickly enough. With the two momentarily halted, Zheng Junqing let out a breath and, not daring to look back, continued to run.

"You people ahead! Help us apprehend this fugitive!" Seeing the large merchant convoy outside the city gates, the two pursuers shouted joyfully. Zheng Junqing also realized the situation was dire. Any hesitation today, and he would definitely die here, his head claimed for a bounty! Ignoring everything else, he pulled out his ultimate life-saving treasure from his robes—a pitch-black iron tube about 30 centimeters long. Old Yun was a man who knew his stuff.

He originally didn't want to get involved, but seeing the object in the man's hand, his expression changed, and he immediately ordered his men to retreat.

"The Peacock Plume! Fall back, quickly!" Seeing the path ahead clear up, Zheng Junqing was overjoyed. He aimed the iron tube behind him at the two men who were about to resume the chase. Seeing the two men terrified and ducking for cover, he smugly leaped backward, quickly putting distance between himself and the city, and soon vanished from sight. Letting out a long breath, Old Zheng ran for several miles before finally leaning against a tree and spitting out a mouthful of fresh blood.

After panting for a moment, he hastily erased his tracks, checked his bearings, and left. Believing he had escaped safely, he didn't notice a Yellow-Crested Eagle soaring high in the sky, closely monitoring his every move.... Back outside the city. Watching the criminal disappear into the distance, Old Yun secretly wiped a bead of cold sweat from his forehead.

"That was close! Thank goodness we didn't foolishly step up to block his path!" Before Song Que could even ask what happened, the two middle-aged men approached, their faces filled with angry accusation:"Yun Shan! Why didn't you help apprehend the fugitive right in front of you?! Are you two in cahoots?!" Did the Yun Family fear anyone in Qinghe County? Yun Shan sneered disdainfully:"So it's Gang Master Lu! Please watch your words. It is not your place to teach our Yun Family how to handle our affairs!"

"Chief Manager Yun, you had a chance to capture Zheng Junqing alive just now! Why didn't you assist us in blocking him for just a moment?" The other middle-aged man accompanying him wasn't as aggressive, but his tone was also filled with dissatisfaction.

"Constable Wu, it wasn't that I didn't want to help, but that I didn't dare to! You saw he was holding the Peacock Plume! I couldn't risk everyone's lives!" It turned out these two were Lu Tianxiong of the Fierce Tiger Gang and Chief Constable Wu Tian. Since Wu Tian was an official appointed by the imperial court, Yun Shan's attitude toward him was noticeably better.

"Hmph! That's just your excuse! Who knows if what he was holding was really a Peacock Plume?!" Lu Tianxiong refused to let it go. Old Yun naturally didn't hold back either:"Hmph! Then why didn't you keep chasing him?! What's the point of standing here running your mouth?!"

"You...! Hmph! Naturally, I will pursue him with all my strength!" Having a cooked duck fly right out of his mouth, Wu Tian was also incredibly frustrated. But given Yun Shan's solid background, there was nothing he could do to him. Seeing that the fugitive had already escaped, he had no mood to continue arguing with Yun Shan. He hurriedly cupped his hands and returned to mobilize his men to search for the fugitive.

"Since there's nothing else, Chief Manager Yun, I have business to attend to and will take my leave." Lu Tianxiong also knew the priority was catching the fugitive. He glared fiercely at Yun Shan, then hurriedly followed Wu Tian.

"Constable Wu, wait! My Fierce Tiger Gang also wishes to lend a hand! If our two factions search together, the chances of success will be much higher!" The most important thing right now was finding the man; otherwise, everything else was just empty talk. Wu Tian didn't hesitate and immediately agreed. The two hurried back to their respective headquarters to mobilize their men....

Waiting until the group was far away, Song Que finally couldn't hold back his curiosity and asked:"Chief Manager Yun, is that guy from just now very famous? Why are the local authorities suddenly so enthusiastic about catching a fugitive?"

"Hehe, they're just blinded by profits! The man from just now is named Zheng Junqing. In the martial world of the southern circuits, he is quite notorious! He excels at disguise and voice mimicry, and has successfully pulled off quite a few major heists."

"But if it were just that, given his cultivation as a Fifth-Grade martial artist, Wu and Lu wouldn't dare risk their lives chasing him so desperately! The reason is that about a month ago, this guy had the audacity to sneak into Lingying Temple to steal! And motherf*cker, he actually succeeded! He only paid the price of taking one palm strike, suffering severe injuries."

"Hehe, the matter blew up after that! Discovering that a secret martial arts manual had been stolen and a monk had even been murdered, how could Lingying Temple let it go?! They immediately issued an arrest warrant across the entire martial world! Whoever helps capture this thief and brings him to justice, Grandmaster Zhi Kong promises to do one favor for them!"

"Tell me, is a promise from a Grandmaster-level expert valuable or not? Is it worth those two risking their lives like that?!"