Chapter Two Hundred and Fifty Seven – One Small Step[i] (1/2)
Chapter Two Hundred and Fifty Seven – One Small Step[i]
He Xiang’s face was tight, but in reality, his mood was not as terrible as he displayed. The members of the Outer Hall were continuously gathering which allowed the leaders of the factions in Nan Sheng Village personally see the strength of the Outer Hall.
Everyone was in danger now.
Under this tense atmosphere, the secret alliance the faction leaders had brokered fell apart without any attack. They all chose to capitulate, and He Xiang quickly got the price he wanted.
Now, he only needed to catch the group of troublemakers before he would accomplish his goals. Looking at the xiuzhe that covered the sky above Nan Sheng Village, the cloud over He Xiang’s heart swept away. The number of xiuzhe in the Outer Hall had reached a terrifying three thousand people. Nan Sheng Village was small to begin with. Three thousand xiuzhe flying in the air was like a storm cloud. In his view, such a strong power could dominate all of Little Mountain Jie. If it wasn’t that Old Forefather had personally made the captivity plan, he would have already suggested to take all of Little Mountain Jie into Clear Sky Sect’s pocket.
However, there wasn’t much of a difference now, he thought contentedly. He had sent out large numbers of troops to search for the traces of those people. As soon as they found one trace, they could send out all their strength, and tear those damned people into a thousand pieces.
He believed that news would come very soon.
Just as he was thinking this, an elder landed in front of him, and said excitedly, “We found the group! Two or three hundred people, up north, about two thousand li from here. Our people have locked onto them.”
He Xiang was exhilarated, and said hatefully, “As long as we can find them, then they will definitely die. Get the scouts at the front to keep alert and don’t lose them. It’s our turn to attack!”
“Ha ha, let them see the power of our Outer Hall,” this elder also laughed.
“We’ll destroy them!” He Xiang was full of bravado. “We’ll celebrate you when you get back!” This elder was an ally he had been pursuing.
“Ha ha! Wait for my good news!” This elder laughed proudly before jumping back into the air.
The xiuzhe filling the sky started to quickly gather.
———
Nian Lu was just as discontent as Wei Ran.
His feet stepping on a lotus flower, he flew with the wind. His snowy-white robes now seemed grey and dusty. After that handsome and light-hearted face seemed somewhat slow-witted after eating wind for more than ten days. The platoon captain beside him also had an expression of dissatisfaction. “This group of bum beetles, they are so annoying! We have to even talk to them everyday, but it’s still those old faces, there’s nothing new. But they don’t have it easy either!”
The last words were full of emotion.
He turned and hollered at the xiuzhe beside him, “All of you, stay alert. Don’t blame my flying sword if you don’t listen.”
Beside him, other than his own subordinates, there were almost two hundred unfamiliar xiuzhe. These xiuzhe all had their heads hanging down without energy. These were the xiuzhe that they had captured when they took the time to especially sweep up two factions. The sweep had been done together by Lei Peng, Zong Ru, and himself. Nian Lu’s luck had been the worst and had lost in drawing straws, so that the most depressing job of baiting the enemy had fallen to him.
These captives seemed to have extremely well-prepared ling armor, but other than ling armor, all other talismans and flying swords had been taken away.
Just like this, Nian Lu lead a platoon and two hundred xiuzhe as he flew openly towards the north.
To make sure the other side didn’t lose track of them, they had to maintain a moderate speed. What was most depressing was that he could not attend the upcoming battle, he could only continue to travel away.
The greatest tragedy of life was this. Nian Lu said with sorrow and anger, “Slow down, slow down, don’t let them lose track.”
———
At the base of a mountain about four hundred li from Nan Sheng Village was an extremely well-hidden mountain cave.
“What are we waiting for? We’re just guarding this place that even the birds don’t shit, when can we go and do something!” Lei Peng rumbled.
Everyone ignored him. Zong Ru was sitting and meditating, Xie Shan had his eyes closed to rest. The other platoon captain wisely did not interrupt. With so many of the old-timers here, he did not have a turn to speak.
Ma Fan shook his head helplessly. But it was his idea.It was so troublesome. He drawled, “Soon, soon.”
Lei Peng snickered and said, “Little Nian Nian is probably being blown with a refreshing breeze right now.”
Light laughter came from the other people. Even Zong Ru showed a hint of mirth at the corner of his lips.
After killing those little groups last time, during that period of extremely short chaos, they had quietly sneaked in.
This trip had been seven days. Their luck was pretty good. They had found an extremely deep cave. With some camouflage added, it was a very good ambush point. This place was also very close to Nan Sheng Village, right under the enemy’s eyes. It was perfect for being “dark under the lamp.”
Xie Shan suddenly opened his eyes. The other people instantly had wary looks. Xie Shan said lightly, “They’ve come.”
All the xiuzhe instantly stopped talking. Xie Shan even extinguished the Small Light spell inside the cave. The cave instantly became pitch black. After a while, everyone felt streams of consciousness and strange ling power sweep across their bodies.
Fear rose in everyone’s hearts!
There were at least two thousand people from Nan Sheng Village that moved out this time! It could be seen that the Outer Hall had put a lot into destroying them.