Chapter 724: 470. Pursuit
Confusion? Inside the carriage, Xu Zhenguan’s eyes showed some doubt, but he didn’t ask.
Because with the death of several interrogating rebel soldiers, the entire checkpoint became chaotic, and the travelers undergoing interrogation cried out in shock.
Zhao Douan shook the reins, driving the carriage with an expressionless face, passing through the checkpoint under the awe-filled eyes of the "survivors," and continued along the road.
According to the map, there’s a fork ahead, and there is more than one road leading to Huai River; he must choose one of them.
...
Half a day later.
"Clip-clop." The spy leader Ouyang Ye tightened the reins, arriving at this official road junction, already under martial law, with a new squad of rebel soldiers waiting there.
The dead bodies were laid side by side on the roadside, covered with straw mats.
"Master, these soldiers were all killed by sharp blade cuts to the throat. Judging from the method, it should have been done by a Cultivator." A spy dismounted to confirm the situation, then returned to report: "According to eyewitnesses, it was a man in a straw hat driving a carriage who killed them. After killing, he broke through the checkpoint and left."
Wearing a hood, hiding his face, and with his right hand resting on the Miao Blade at his waist, Ouyang Ye listened to the report with an expressionless face.
Beside him, riding on horses left and right were the "White-headed Eagle" and "Yao Shiniang," whose faces showed joy.
The latter said: "It seems our tracking direction wasn’t wrong. The other side indeed intends to break through from the southern line, leaving Jiancheng to go to Huai River."
After leaving the bamboo forest, the group continued the pursuit, but unfortunately, Yao Shiniang’s magic couldn’t be used much. After Zhao Douan went on the road, being far from the mountains and wilds, the White-headed Eagle also found it difficult to get accurate tracking from the animals and birds.
"These wounds should have been caused by that Zhao Douan’s flying knife. I’ve seen similar ones before," Ouyang Ye said.
Back in the battle of Hu Ting, Zhao Douan had killed the Divine Archer, leaving the bodies in Prince Jing’s residence, also leaving traces of murder by flying knife.
"With Zhao Douan’s skills, if he was escaping alone, we would have difficulty capturing him. But he chose to drive a carriage, which suggests that the Fake Emperor is seriously injured and can’t walk, right there in the carriage, and the carriage can only travel on official roads... Heh, daring to kill and break through the gate, he must think he can escape before the pursuit arrives..."
Ouyang Ye calmly analyzed, his smile was grim: "So, as long as we chase along this road, wherever the checkpoint has trouble, that’s the direction they went. In just half a day’s time, we’re on horseback, he’s in a carriage, if everything goes smoothly, we might catch up today."
The spies, their spirits roused, immediately spurred their horses, whistling as they pursued the traces of Zhao Douan’s breakthrough.
During the chase, when encountering forks, they would split into two paths, with one path returning timely to meet the other if the forward checkpoint was found to be intact.
Thus, they pursued wildly on horseback, but even by nightfall, they still hadn’t caught up.
"Something’s not right, after all this time, we should have seen some trace." Ouyang Ye pulled his horse to a stop, frowning: "We can’t keep chasing."
He turned to look at Yao Shiniang: "I need to confirm their position."
The seductive female sorcerer, her eyes alluring, pursed her red lips and smiled: "Are you sure you want to ask now? My magic can’t be used frequently; once used, we have to wait a long while."
Seeing Ouyang Ye staring at her coldly, Yao Shiniang had to sigh, raising her hands with ten differently colored fingernails, making incantations, then assuming a praying posture.
A halo spread from her brow, and she carefully dragged her hands through the air, distorting the space, as an almost transparent ancient "oil lamp" emerged from thin air.
The oil lamp burned, but the flame’s color kept changing, red, green, orange, yellow...
The color of the flame corresponded to the color of the sorcerer’s fingernails.
"Lamp God!"
Ouyang Ye’s hand gripping the Miao Blade instinctively tightened, having a natural wariness against the "Wild God."
The Lamp God, summoned by Yao Shiniang, was a Wild God without the title of a True God, capable of burning lamp oil in exchange for "wishing" opportunities.
However, there was a limit to the abilities of the wishes. If exceeded, it would forcibly use the caster as "lamp oil," consuming their life.
Hence, Yao Shiniang wouldn’t wish for "let the Empress appear before me," a wish that would burn her out and couldn’t be achieved, but would choose the one with the smallest cost, asking about positions.
"Where are the Empress of Yu Country and Junior Guardian Zhao Douan?" Yao Shiniang made a devout wish.
The imaginary lamp god’s flame burned fiercely, the ancient oil lamp consuming its oil quickly, a scene emerging in the fire:
It was Zhao Douan driving the carriage along the road.
At the same time, the specific location appeared in Yao Shiniang’s mind in a strange way.
The "Lamp God" slowly faded, Yao Shiniang gazing in shock towards the other side of the mountain, startled: "They’re on the other fork, already far down the road!"
"How is that possible?" The White-headed Eagle looked over in astonishment.
Ouyang Ye’s eyes hardened, suddenly speaking: "We’ve fallen into a trap!"
...
...
On the mountain road, the moonlight was good tonight, Zhao Douan drove the carriage through the night.
"No one’s caught up till now, it seems your arrangement worked." Xu Zhenguan sat in the carriage, lifting the curtain, looking up at the bright moon and stars in the night sky.
The moonlight poured down, illuminating her fair and glowing face, like a bright moon descended into the mortal world.
"Thinking positively, it might just be that the rebels are slow to react," Zhao Douan joked.
Xu Zhenguan sat cross-legged, like a young wife behind him, looking up with a gentle expression and said: "No. Since they dispatched soldiers to seal and check the roads, they must have noticed by now. After that, they just need to send soldiers following the road to catch up with us quickly."
"But since no pursuit has caught up by now, it only means they were deceived by you, and went chasing in another direction."