Comprehending Myriad Techniques as Woodcutter

Chapter 184: Chapter 157: Li Tai’s Comfort

Lu the Third suddenly materialized at Yunzhao City’s southern gate. He scanned the corpses littering the ground, his eyes flashing with a brilliant light before his brow furrowed slightly.

’That Deng Wan actually went straight into the city? Is he trying to get a head start on me?’

His face darkened. After a moment’s thought, he let out a heavy, cold snort.

"With that pot-bellied, obese body of yours, you’re a far cry from the wind-swift bandit who once terrorized the lands outside West Pass. I could give you a five-hundred-li head start, and where could you possibly run?"

Lu the Third paused for a beat, then rushed swiftly toward the west side of Yunzhao and caught up to the Escort Agency’s Escort Team.

This time, he didn’t waste a single word. After confirming Mu Chaoyun wasn’t there, he killed the men and took what he needed, eliminating the scent-masking porcelain vials outside the city that were interfering with his senses. Then he went straight into the city, intending to pick up the trail from the beginning.

However, while his Secret Technique was suited for long-distance tracking, it was severely hampered in densely populated areas. He could only barely discern that Mu Chaoyun’s aura was indeed within the city. But the trail of her aura was spiraling and spreading everywhere, mixing with the scents of the city’s inhabitants and their daily lives, making it incredibly difficult to distinguish and leaving him extremely frustrated.

Lu the Third’s expression was grim, but he wasn’t overly anxious.

If this was all he was capable of, he wouldn’t be the great bandit who dominated the West Desert.

He appeared crude and tyrannical, but he had always possessed exceptional patience. Anyone he marked for death, it didn’t matter if they fled to the kingdoms of the Western Regions, the heart of the Central Plains, or the depths of the desert. Once they had offended him, he would hunt them for thousands upon thousands of li just to take their head and hang it from the gate tower of Oasis City in the West Desert.

Besides, this was the Black Celestial Book... something he absolutely could not abandon.

Using his Secret Technique to identify the lingering auras, Lu the Third first made his way inside the Longteng Escort Agency. He confirmed it was the source of the trail and prepared to start from the beginning.

He paced quietly in the small courtyard, his gaze sweeping over the flowerbeds and under the tree. Then he went inside the house, scanning the desk, the wooden tub, and the bed.

Besides Mu Chaoyun, he also firmly committed Xie Yuan’s aura to memory.

In his eyes, enhanced by the Secret Technique, faint traces seemed to linger in these places, winding forward. To his eyes, every person’s trace was unique. By strengthening his memory of them and comparing them against the chaotic mix of auras in Yunzhao City, he would be able to find their trail and follow them to the ends of the earth.

Just as Lu the Third felt he had almost gathered what he needed, he suddenly heard two sets of footsteps outside the courtyard, along with a woman’s charming yet anxious voice:

"...Why did everyone suddenly leave? What on earth happened? Did Master Xie go too? Ugh, you doorman, you don’t know a thing!"

"I’m only in charge of the gate, so I really don’t know much..."

"I should have just come straight to the Escort Agency! Why was I trying to act so proper over at Grandma’s!"

The woman seemed to be muttering to herself.

Inside, Lu the Third’s eyes narrowed slightly. ’I entered the Escort Agency directly because I couldn’t be bothered to alert anyone. It wasn’t out of kindness, just to avoid the hassle.’

’If someone delivers themselves to my door, it’d be no trouble to kill them.’

He lazily shouldered his horse-cleaving saber and waited as the two sets of footsteps drew closer and closer, a cruel smile touching his lips.

’I’ve been running around for so long without finding my primary target, and I’m in a foul mood. Perfect. Someone’s just shown up for me to vent my anger on!’

Lu the Third deliberately took two steps, moving to the center of the courtyard entrance. He waited for the woman and the doorman outside to open the gate, ready to give them a surprise.

’Here they come...’

Lu the Third listened silently, sensing the footsteps were just a few paces from the gate. His lips curled into a sneer. Just as he was about to bring his saber down from his shoulder, he suddenly realized the footsteps had stopped.

’Five more steps... no, four, and they’d be opening the gate. Why did they stop?’

Just as Lu the Third was wondering about this, the courtyard gate suddenly opened.

Li Tai stood in the doorway, his face expressionless, staring quietly at Lu the Third.

Time seemed to freeze.

Lu the Third’s mouth slowly fell open. His horse-cleaving saber was frozen mid-motion, and he was stuck, unable to raise it or lower it.

Situ Qin was hiding behind Li Tai, and next to them was the doorman in gray clothes.

She poked her head out and looked at Lu the Third, her brows immediately shooting up.

"Tai Bo, why is it this guy again? Where’s Master Xie? What did you do to him?"

"It wasn’t me! I didn’t do anything! I haven’t seen him!"

Lu the Third retorted instinctively, a thin sheen of sweat breaking out on his forehead.

’Too close... I’m way too close to this God of Slaughter...’

’Dammit, the people from this Escort Agency weren’t lying to me!’

’Li Tai really came! Why the fuck didn’t they say so earlier?’

Li Tai stood with his hands behind his back, watching him quietly, and said slowly,

"Leader Lu, what are you doing here?"

Lu the Third’s body went ramrod straight. "I was just passing by..." he said with difficulty.

"Cut the crap," Li Tai said coldly.

Lu the Third swallowed hard and decided to come clean.

"I was chasing someone, and the trail happened to lead to this young Darts Master’s home."

Hearing this, both Li Tai and Situ Qin recalled the mysterious female Grandmaster that Xie Yuan had mentioned.

"Who are you chasing?"

"Why is she at Master Xie’s house?"

Li Tai and Situ Qin blurted out at the same time.

For a moment, Lu the Third didn’t know whose question to answer. He simply took a quiet step back.

However, at the exact moment he retreated, Li Tai took a step forward. It was as if they had choreographed it; the distance between them didn’t change by a single inch.

Seeing this maneuver, Lu the Third’s expression changed slightly. He abandoned any hope of getting away easily and said through gritted teeth:

"Li Tai, you may be powerful, but you can’t necessarily take me down easily. If you push me too far, I have at least a thirty percent chance of harming the young lady behind you..."

"Less than ten percent."

Li Tai said flatly.

Lu the Third froze, his heart sinking.

Back when Li Tai led his troops across the West Desert, Lu the Third had been just a minor bandit, constantly hearing tales of the Flying General’s might. The bandit chiefs who had once seemed invincible were all reduced to silence before Li Tai, let alone an insignificant nobody like himself back then.

Every bandit in the West Desert knew that Li Tai always kept his word. In those days, the major oasis cities of the West Desert were so safe that valuables left on the road remained untouched and doors went unlocked at night. This was because while the great western expeditionary army was stationed there, the King of Pingxi had put Li Tai in charge of regional security. Whenever a crime was committed, Li Tai’s Flying Cavalry would mobilize without fail, apprehending the culprit overnight. And if the criminal was a powerful expert, Li Tai would handle it personally, always succeeding without fail.

He had once even issued a military pledge to capture the royalty of three kingdoms within a day and a night, and he succeeded. What hope did petty thieves have? Thousand-li raids, relentless pursuit... Even as his current, fully upgraded, Flying Dragon List Master self, Lu the Third felt as if his own stat chart was completely dwarfed by a much larger one. He was utterly helpless before Li Tai.

’Is this it? Am I going to fall here today?’

Lu the Third gripped his horse-cleaving saber tightly, his palms sweating, his expression shifting constantly.

Just as he felt he could no longer bear the pressure and was about to make the first move, Li Tai suddenly spoke.

"Tell me what you’re after, and then you can leave."

Lu the Third was stunned for a moment. Seeing Li Tai’s serious expression, the tension suddenly drained out of him.

As if he had just fought a great battle, he said wearily:

"Someone from the Mu family of Beidu Mountain. They have a treasure I want... Farewell!"

After saying this, Lu the Third shot backward in a flash. Seeing that Li Tai truly didn’t move, he was secretly overjoyed and cleared the courtyard wall with a single backflip.

While in mid-air, he couldn’t help but glance back at Situ Qin, his mind reeling with shock and uncertainty.

’Li Tai is a pragmatic man who never makes empty boasts. If he said less than ten percent, it was most likely true.’

’His willingness to let me go was probably because my life wasn’t even worth the less-than-ten-percent risk of the person behind him getting hurt.’

’A young lady that Li Tai is so protective of... could she be *that* person...?’

At the thought of that name, which still struck terror across the Western Regions to this day, Lu the Third’s scalp prickled. He didn’t dare look again and fled immediately.

Situ Qin pouted and grumbled,

"Tai Bo, why did you let him go? He’s probably going to chase after Master Xie."

"He was too close, Miss. Although he couldn’t have touched you, I couldn’t guarantee you wouldn’t be harmed by the shockwaves from a fight. What would I do if you were injured?"

Li Tai shook his head.

Situ Qin pursed her lips and said with a frown,

"Tai Bo, so it really is the female Grandmaster from Beidu Mountain. But what could she possibly have that would make that bandit chief chase her so relentlessly? And how did Master Xie get involved?"

Li Tai took a quick look around the courtyard. A Grandmaster’s keen eye naturally allowed him to deduce many things. He pondered for a moment, organizing his thoughts before speaking.

"It seems that after the Grandmaster crossed paths with Master Xie, she visited again but was discovered. That’s why they started to flee. The Escort Agency’s mass departure today must have been to create a diversion for them... In that case, they probably haven’t gone far."

Situ Qin sharply seized on a key point, her bright eyes widening.

"Tai Bo, are you saying they’ve been living together this whole time?"

Li Tai chose his words carefully.

"Perhaps for a few days, maybe less than a month..."

"Maybe? Less than a month? That means it has most likely been *more* than a month!"

Situ Qin’s delicate face fell, and she bit her lip slightly.

"No wonder he hasn’t come to see me in so long. So that’s why..."

Li Tai quickly tried to console her.

"It’s alright, Miss. Although they shared a room, they were still using two separate bathing tubs."

"What? Two tubs? They were bathing together!"

She rushed into the house, and when she saw the second large tub, her eyes went wide and her fists clenched instinctively.

"Miss, um, using two tubs is a good thing..."

Li Tai no longer knew what to say. He could only scratch his head and shut his mouth.

Situ Qin’s lip trembled. She looked like she wanted to cry but had no tears left.

She took a deep breath and paced around Xie Yuan’s room.

"Still practicing calligraphy... Hmph. With such beautiful handwriting... what a vixen."

"She must have planted this flowerbed, too, spending all her time on these seductive little hobbies..."

"Mooncleaver! He... he got rid of the axe I gave him again!"

Situ Qin couldn’t hold it in any longer. Her face dark with anger, she said to Li Tai through gritted teeth:

"Tai Bo, hurry up and go after Master Xie!"

"Miss, I can’t do that. If I leave, what about your safety? I can’t possibly leave you here alone."

Li Tai shook his head.

Situ Qin said at once,

"Then send a message! Tell Aunt Hong to come to Yunzhao immediately! Then you can go after them, Tai Bo!"

"That... is a viable plan."

Li Tai nodded. He took out a Jade Pendant and pressed it. Seeing a flash of light from its surface, he nodded and said,

"Miss, please don’t worry. Although Lu the Third is quite strong, Master Xie is a good man favored by fortune. He doesn’t seem like the type to have bad luck. Besides, he has that... helper with him."

"That’s what I’m worried about."

Situ Qin’s voice was faint, her meaning unclear.

"If we don’t catch up to them soon, I’m afraid it will be too late..."

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