Comprehending Myriad Techniques as Woodcutter

Chapter 255: Chapter 198: Xie Yuan’s Gift (3)

Xie Yuan crept slowly toward the temple gate, his brow furrowing slightly.

Lu Xiaosan’s tent was pitched right at the temple’s main entrance. Even if he managed to sneak close, the moment an object left his hand, it would lose the cover of his Celestial Concealment Skill. The sound of it flying through the air would surely alert a Qi Blood Third Transformation master. With the reflexes of a Martial Artist at that level, he could likely intercept it with a simple grab. Xie Yuan wasn’t about to get cocky and underestimate him.

’If I were to carry it in myself... No, forget it.’ His intuition told him he shouldn’t enter that temple.

He thought for a moment but couldn’t come up with a good idea. Lu Xiaosan’s post at the entrance might have seemed dim-witted, but it was actually the best possible defense, blocking any and all clever schemes.

’I’ll have to lure the tiger out of the mountains... and this is a real tiger.’

Xie Yuan walked over to a broken pillar on the left side of the temple and took a look. He placed a hand on it, then silently jabbed it twice with his sword.

He quickly returned to the right side of the temple gate, not far from the tent. He held a Thunder Bomb in one hand, rolling it like an old man would a pair of walnuts. A slight smile touched his lips as he silently counted down:

"Three... two... one—"

CRACK! The broken pillar, which had endured countless years of wind and sand, snapped in the middle. It slowly tilted over and, with a BOOM, crashed to the ground, kicking up a massive cloud of dust.

The tent flap fluttered. Like a gust of wind, a faint shadow shot toward the stone pillar in the cloud of dust.

A glint flashed in Xie Yuan’s eyes. ’Now’s my chance!’

He tossed the Thunder Bomb into the temple. The instant it left his hand, he felt an aura lock onto him.

Xie Yuan’s figure shot backward, and he quickly fled away from the temple.

The faint shadow abruptly changed direction and gave chase, rapidly closing the distance between them!

Xie Yuan’s expression shifted. ’This Qi Blood Third Transformation expert is even faster than I expected!’

But considering what Lu the Third was known for, it wasn’t surprising. He just pushed himself to go faster, burning through his internal energy as if it were free and pushing his Cloud Dragon Step to its absolute limit.

A soft sound of surprise carried on the wind. The shadow seemed astonished as it stuck close behind Xie Yuan.

But in the next moment, a thunderous explosion erupted behind them, accompanied by the grating sound of shattering stone.

The shadow instantly stopped, revealing the coarse, sand-weathered face of a young man who looked to be in his early thirties.

His expression changed drastically. He whipped his head around to see stones crumbling from the temple entrance. A large hole had been blown in the wall, which was now tilting, and the only intact part of the structure—the dome—was beginning to collapse. The whole thing was about to come crashing down.

Although the temple had been structurally complete, it had long since decayed after a thousand years of wind and sand. A single Thunder Bomb was all it took to utterly destroy it.

The man was both shocked and furious. He was torn between going back to salvage the situation and capturing Xie Yuan, the culprit. After a moment of hesitation, he turned and roared:

"Who—! Who are you?! Do you dare state your name!"

Xie Yuan had already fled into the distance. Seeing Lu Xiaosan’s furious and exasperated state behind him, he turned back, revealed his true face for the first time in a long while, and laughed heartily.

"Xie Yuan of the Longteng Escort Agency, here to pay a visit!

"Just a small, humble gift. It’s a shame I didn’t get to meet Grandmaster Lu. Be sure to send him my regards! Hahaha!"

The man’s expression twisted again. He took a step as if to give chase, but the sound of more collapsing stone came from behind. Gritting his teeth, he spun around and ran back, letting out a furious roar that echoed across the entire basin:

"Xie Yuan! You just wait!"

「On a distant sand dune.」

Four young people were hiding there, listening intently with strange expressions on their faces.

Lin Zhen said hesitantly:

"Did I just... did I just hear someone shout Master Xie’s name?"

Her eyes suddenly lit up. Lin Cheng nodded as well and was about to agree when Huang Zifeng said coldly:

"You must have misheard. Why would that thief be here?"

In truth, he had heard it too, but seeing the look on Lin Zhen’s face, he couldn’t help but contradict her.

Lin Zhen’s expression was serious as she spoke carefully:

"Master Xie is not a thief."

"That’s right."

Lin Cheng nodded emphatically.

"He’s wanted by the authorities. If he’s not a thief, what is he?"

Huang Zifeng retorted indignantly. But seeing the expressions on the Lin siblings’ faces, he didn’t press the matter. Instead, he said in a low voice:

"Regardless, let’s focus on rescuing Junior Brother Zhang first."

The other three nodded in agreement.

It turned out that after all their discussion, they had decided to come together, unable to bear abandoning their fellow sect brother.

The four of them eyed the circle of tents on the dune and stealthily approached one. The plan was for Huang Zifeng to sneak in while the other three stood guard, hoping to capture someone alive to interrogate for Xie Yuan’s whereabouts.

But how could these outer perimeter sentries possibly know anything? After sneaking into several tents and interrogating their occupants, they still had nothing.

The four of them frowned. Just as they were about to move to the next tent, they suddenly heard a whistle.

Men emerged from all the tents and began walking to the next one in line. The shift was changing.

The group stared, dumbfounded. They saw a sentry dash to the entrance of the tent they had just "dealt with." The sentry blew his whistle, and a roar echoed through the night sky:

"Intruders!!!"

WHOOSH. At every tent, tallow torches were raised, illuminating the night. The dark patch where they were standing was now glaringly obvious. Nearby sentries closed in rapidly, and the torchlight fell upon the four pale-faced youths, revealing them in perfect detail.

「Below the dunes, at the first ring of guards.」

The leader rushed out of his tent. He watched the flickering torches and heard the clash of weapons on the nearby dune, his eyes narrowing.

"It looks like... those Sword Sect disciples again!"

"Brothers! Charge with me! Now that they’re here, we can’t let them escape!"

Several horse bandits at the Qi Blood First Transformation Realm immediately gathered, ready to charge up the dune. They were the closest group.

If these men joined the fray, Huang Zifeng would be hopelessly outnumbered. And if they were then surrounded by the thousand-strong bandit force, they would be completely trapped with no hope of escape.

The leader was about to charge forward when he remembered something. He first peeked into the adjacent tent and saw "Xie Yuan" still sleeping soundly inside. He felt a brief sense of relief, but then a sudden shock ran through him.

’Something’s not right. Why has he been in the exact same position for so long?’

He pulled the flap wide open and looked closely. Only then did he discover that the ropes binding the man were completely severed!

The leader rushed into the tent and turned the man over. He found that the body was already cold and stiff as a board.

The face that turned to meet his was the deathly pale visage of Jia the Second!

The leader shot his head up, his gaze hardening. He ran to the entrance and asked Li Gou’er:

"Where is he?! Where’s Jia the Second—no, where’s that guy?!"

Li Gou’er kept his head down and said nothing. The leader, frantic, was about to slap him when Li Gou’er grabbed his arm.

"Li Gou’er" looked up with a smile. The leader’s vision blurred for a second, and the face before him changed. Then, he heard a low chuckle that made his blood run cold:

"I’m right here, boss. Were you looking for me?"

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