Chapter 1190: Chapter 1179: The Scheming Ning Fan
“This old hag won’t rest until one of us is dead.”
Ning Fan hurriedly jumped down from the big tree, retreating dozens of meters away.
That big tree, unfortunately, was struck, erupting into an all-consuming blaze.
It not only burned the tree to ashes but also spread quickly to the surroundings.
“Damn it, how do these lush green trees catch fire so suddenly?”
Suddenly, Ning Fan heard someone speaking from under the tree, frantically escaping.
He crouched by a concealed rock, fixing his gaze to observe.
He saw dozens of young people dressed in Nalan Clan attire, scrambling to escape from the forest fire.
These people were none other than the hundred-member squad led by Nalan Xiaotian.
The forest was full of traps and mechanisms, forcing them to cut down trees to minimize casualties.
However, when they had chopped 2/3 of the trees, a towering tree suddenly ignited, spreading rapidly.
The people scattered throughout the forest were caught off guard, with dozens engulfed in flames, reduced to ashes on the spot.
Nalan Xiaotian led the remaining few dozen to flee awkwardly.
Meanwhile, Ning Fan’s eyes glistened as a plan hatched in his mind.
Suddenly, he noticed a solitary member of the Nalan Clan and quietly approached.
With a thud.
A palm struck the person’s neck, followed by a swift twist with both hands.
With a crack, the guy didn’t even have time to scream before his neck was ruptured, his body going limp.
Ning Fan dragged him to a dark corner, took off his coat, and wore it himself.
Ning Fan was clear-headed; now was not the time to clash head-on with Nalan Jiuhuang.
Nor could he distance himself from her — he could only look for opportunities to engage.
If Nalan Jiuhuang continued firing fireballs from above, he’d be left helpless, a sitting duck.
Better to disguise as a member of the Nalan clan and slip in unnoticed.
If Nalan Jiuhuang landed, in close quarters, Ning Fan was confident of wounding her.
To blend in, Ning Fan smeared ashes from the burning trees on his face and clothes, then caught up with Nalan Xiaotian and the others.
“Wait for me, wait for me, I almost got burned alive.”
“Hurry up!”
The Nalan Clan being vast, not recognizing each branch member was normal for Nalan Xiaotian.
This way, Ning Fan blended into Nalan Xiaotian’s squad.
And Nalan Jiuhuang, high in the air, was dumbfounded.
The smoke from the forest fire had obstructed her vision earlier. When she flew to this clearing, Ning Fan had vanished.
Only Nalan Clan members were fleeing.
Nalan Jiuhuang wore a puzzled look as she descended and stood before Nalan Xiaotian.
“Ninth Great Aunt!”
Nalan Xiaotian quickly clasped his hands and bowed, reporting, “Junior Nalan Xiaotian, leading clan members to chop down these trees, we almost finished when a fire claimed dozens of lives. Hmph, those Ning Family people are truly devious.”
Damn.
Nalan Jiuhuang’s mouth twitched, her expression fluctuating.
In truth, she started the fire, yet the Ning Family took the blame.
She cleared her throat to mask her embarrassment, patting Nalan Xiaotian’s shoulder, feigning praise, “Xiaotian, it seems that your squad has retained the most members throughout this conflict. If not for the fire, you all might have escaped unscathed.
Ah, blame it on me arriving late.”
Then shifting her tone, she inquired, “Have you seen Ning Fan? I chased him here, yet he vanished from this area, which is very odd.”
“No, Great Aunt, right after dozens of us died in the fire, we retreated immediately, planning to regroup and discuss our next steps,”
Nalan Xiaotian spoke truthfully, with a respectful tone.
Discussion erupted among the Nalan Clan members, some disheartened.
Both sides of the battle had informants relaying information to their teams.
According to the informants, the Nalan Clan’s forces had fully withdrawn, leaving only this hundred-member squad.
If they hadn’t been here chopping trees without encountering enemies, they might have retreated chaotically as well.
Nevertheless, they still lost dozens to the fire.
At this moment, a Nalan Clan member stepped forward, his clothes tattered, face covered in smoky ash, approached Nalan Jiuhuang, bowing his head and clasping his hands, “Ninth Great Aunt, I just saw a sneaky figure escape, don’t know if it was Ning Fan.”
“Where?”
Nalan Jiuhuang’s face lit up, eagerly questioning.
The Nalan member moved closer to her, pointing in a direction, “I saw him run that way, where the Soul Confusing Formation is located. If he enters there, he could easily lose his way.”
“Oh?”
Nalan Jiuhuang stood observing, frowning in deep thought.
Concentrating too much, she didn’t notice the Nalan member’s sly smile as he reached out a hand towards her.
“Great Aunt, watch out!”
Nalan Xiaotian, intently observing them, saw the Nalan member inching closer to Nalan Jiuhuang, initially thinking it was to whisper. But when True Qi covered the member’s fist, he shouted in alarm, alerting Nalan Jinhuan.
“What?”
Nalan Jiuhuang snapped out of her thoughts, but pain erupted in her waist, and she spat a mouthful of blood.
Poof…
Wrinkles then appeared on her face, multiplying rapidly.
In an instant, she seemed to age decades.
“Ninth Great Aunt?”
Nalan Xiaotian was startled, retreating upon seeing Nalan Jiuhuang’s state.
The successful assailant from the Nalan Clan wiped the black ash off his face, removing his coat.
Everyone fixed their gaze, drawing in a cold breath.
“Isn’t this guy Ning Fan?”
“That kid Ning Fan is truly cunning, slipping in to ambush Ninth Great Aunt while everyone’s in disarray.”
“Enough is enough, brothers, kill him.”
Nalan Xiaotian roared, drawing his sword to aggressively pursue Ning Fan.
But Ning Fan had no intention of engaging them, as there was a strong adversary at hand, and he needed to conserve strength to deal with the already wounded Nalan Jiuhuang.
He swiftly retreated over ten meters after striking, wary of Nalan Jiuhuang’s retaliation.
Though not afraid of these juniors like Nalan Xiaotian, he didn’t want to waste too much energy on them.
During this time, Nalan Jiuhuang finally stabilized the chaos within her, abruptly raising her head.
Her face revealed distinct age spots, vastly differing from her earlier appearance of a thirty-something woman, catching everyone off guard.