Chapter 248 Escape
Deep in the dense forest, branches and leaves crisscrossed, and the moonlight was cut into mottled fragmented shadows.
Chen Xingcai ran fast while holding Xiao Luo, the crisp sound of dry branches breaking under her feet sounding exceptionally ear-piercing in the silent forest.
Jiang Che followed closely behind, the crimson flame in his palm unextinguished, ready to deal with pursuing troops at any time.
"Second Senior Brother he..."
Chen Xingcai could not help but turn her head back, her eyes full of worry.
"Don't stop!"
Jiang Che shouted low, his voice taut, "Since he let us go first, he definitely has a way to escape!"
Before his voice fell, a heaven-shaking and earth-shattering loud explosion suddenly came from behind!
"Boom—!!!"
Blazing white light exploded in the distance, air waves rolled over, and the canopy of the entire dense forest shook violently, countless leaves falling with a rustling sound.
Chen Xingcai's footsteps paused, and her pupils constricted abruptly—that was Han Yu's "Heaven-Resisting Sword, Offensive Stance"!
"Go!"
Jiang Che grabbed her, his voice carrying an unquestionable tone, "Believe in him!"
Chen Xingcai gritted her teeth and continued to run wildly while holding Xiao Luo.
The three traveled through the dense forest. The hissing roars of the villagers faintly came from behind, but the distance seemed to have been pulled further apart. Just as they breathed a slight sigh of relief, a tree shadow ahead suddenly swayed—
A human figure stumbled out!
"Second Senior Brother!"
Chen Xingcai exclaimed.
Han Yu's clothes were tattered, but there were no obvious wounds on his body. It was just that his aura had weakened a lot, and his face was pale as paper. He supported himself on a tree trunk with one hand, breathing heavily, but his eyes remained sharp as knives.
"Medicine."
He said hoarsely.
Without a second word, Jiang Che fished out a cyan jade medicine bottle from his bosom and tossed it over. Han Yu did not even look; he pulled out the bottle stopper and tipped his head back to pour all the medicinal pills in the bottle into his mouth.
"Gulp."
The moment the medicinal pills entered his belly, his pale face suddenly became rosy. A bright light surged in his eyes, and the withering aura all over his body also recovered rapidly.
"Go!"
He wiped away the blood trace at the corner of his mouth, his voice low and deep, "They are only temporarily blocked and will catch up soon."
The four continued to flee. The shadows in the dense forest seemed to come alive; every tree could potentially hide those strange villagers behind it.
"Rustle..."
Subtle friction sounds came from all directions, like countless insects crawling on dead leaves.
Han Yu abruptly raised his hand, signaling everyone to stop.
The sound of dry leaves being stepped on and crushed came from three zhang away, carrying a suffocating rhythm.
A few stooped figures drilled out from the bushes, their gray-white skin covered with crawling strange black patterns.
One of the villagers twitched his nose like a hound, his turbid eyeballs glowing with red light in the darkness.
Han Yu's sword hilt was already soaked with sweat. That villager suddenly stopped his footsteps, his rotting face directly facing the bushes where they were hiding. Chen Xingcai could smell the odor of rotting flesh coming from the other party's body.
Xiao Luo suddenly began to tremble violently. Han Yu covered her mouth with one hand, but it was already too late—a drop of cold sweat slid from her forehead, smashing onto the fallen leaves with a soft "Tap" sound.
The villager's movements froze instantly.
Subsequently, the head jerked toward the source of the sound, the corners of the mouth grinning to the roots of the ears, revealing jagged yellow teeth. He issued a "cluck cluck" strange laugh from his throat, and his withered claw-like fingers slowly extended toward the bone knife at his waist.
The blood of the four seemed to freeze. Time was stretched into torture, every second as unbearable as being cut by a knife.
Fortunately, the few villagers did not discover the group who were close at hand. Eventually, they slowly withdrew their hands, turned around, and walked toward another direction.
Just as they were about to heave a sigh of relief, Xiao Luo slipped underfoot—
"Snap!"
"..."
A dry branch broke into two pieces under her foot. The crisp sound of breaking exploded in the dense forest.
"Over there!"
Almost at the same instant, several black shadows suddenly darted out from the tree shadows! Those villagers were on all fours, pouncing over to kill like wild beasts. Scarlet light flickered in their eyes, and inhuman low roars issued from their throats.
"Get lost!"
Jiang Che shouted angrily. The crimson flames in his palm exploded violently, turning into a fire dragon that swept out horizontally! The flames instantly swallowed the few villagers at the very front, but their figures only paused. The black patterns on their skin wriggled, actually forcibly negating the flames!
"Damn it!"
Jiang Che cursed once. The defense of these guys was simply unimaginable!
Han Yu's long sword was unsheathed. The cold light of the sword edge flashed, instantly severing a villager's arm, but after that severed arm landed, it actually turned into black smoke and condensed back onto the villager's body!
"Can't be hacked to death?"
Chen Xingcai's pupils constricted. She kicked away a villager pouncing over, but the opponent only swayed his body and pounced up again malevolently.
"Go! Don't get entangled!"
Han Yu shouted sternly. His sword edge swept horizontally, forcing back several villagers, and the four took the opportunity to continue fleeing.
However, the speed of those villagers was astonishingly fast, biting tight and not letting go like maggots attached to bone. Even more terrifying was that their numbers were still constantly increasing!
"There is a cliff ahead!"
Jiang Che suddenly shouted.
The four rushed to the edge of the cliff. Below was a rapid stream, the sound of water booming.
"Jump!"
Han Yu hesitated not at all. He grabbed Xiao Luo and leaped down!
"Splash! Splash!"
The four entered the water one after another, and the cold stream instantly submerged their heads.
The water flow was rapid, and they were washed until they were confused and disoriented, but at least they temporarily shook off the pursuing troops.
The stream meandered. The four went downstream and were soon washed into a broad lake. The lake surface was calm, and moonlight sprinkled down, reflecting sparkling waves.
"Splash!"
Han Yu surfaced first, looking around vigilantly.
"They won't be able to catch up for the time being, right?"
Chen Xingcai asked while gasping for breath.
"Not necessarily."
Han Yu's gaze was grave.
"The sense of smell of those guys is afraid even more sensitive than wild beasts."
Just at this moment, Xiao Luo suddenly tugged at Han Yu's sleeve and said in a small voice:
"Water... water!"
Han Yu stared blankly:
"What water?"
Xiao Luo said urgently:
"Right, hide in the water! They won't be able to smell our aura!"
The four looked at each other and immediately understood her meaning.
"Dive down!"
Han Yu shouted low, took a deep breath first, and sank into the lake.
The lake water was cold and clear. Moonlight penetrated the water surface, casting swaying light and shadows at the bottom of the lake. The four dived rapidly, staying as far away from the water surface as possible.
Suddenly, Jiang Che's eyes focused, pointing to a certain place at the bottom of the lake—there was actually a deep and serene cave entrance there!
Han Yu hesitated not at all and made a hand gesture. The four immediately swam toward the cave.
The cave entrance was narrow, but the internal space gradually expanded.
The four swam in with all their might, and the lake water behind them gradually cut off all sounds from the outside world.
Finally, they surfaced and climbed onto a slippery rock.
"Temporarily... safe."
Jiang Che gasped for breath and sat paralyzed on the ground.
Han Yu did not relax his vigilance. His gaze remained sharp, staring into the depths of the cave.
In the darkness, there was only the sound of water drops falling, crisp and cold.
...
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