I Cheated While Cultivating

Chapter 64: I'm Just Passing By

Wu Zongshan, as the master of the house, addressed Zhou Heng as Mister.

It was clear the situation was serious.

Therefore, as soon as Wu Zongshan spoke, Zhou Heng guessed what he wanted to say.

“Does the master want me to investigate the whereabouts of Wang Tong?” Zhou Heng said with a smile.

“Correct,” Wu Zongshan nodded and said. “I’ve tried contacting the Zhou Tian Boundary Officer, but I haven’t received any response. I’m afraid that the ghostly creature is anxious to grow stronger and has already begun to draw Yang Energy from everywhere. I can only ask for Mister Zhou’s help now.”

He suspected that a ghostly creature was inhabiting Wang Tong’s body, and the only ones capable of killing it were the people from the Zhou Tian Boundary Officer and someone with a Pure Yang Body like Zhou Heng.

“But I am not yet of age,” Zhou Heng gently shook his head and said. “At most, my blood would severely injure the ghostly creature, not kill it.”

“If Mister can capture Wang Tong and bring him back, that would suffice,” said Wu Zongshan. “In doing so, we can contain him and wait for someone from the Zhou Tian Boundary Officer to come.”

“Of course, I won’t have Mister come all this way for nothing. I’ve heard that Mister is currently renting a house. Coincidentally, the prefectural yamen recently seized some property, which included a seven-bay mansion in the North District. Regardless of the outcome of this matter, the mansion is yours to keep.”

“Tsk, a seven-bay mansion,” Zhou Heng couldn’t help but feel somewhat emotional upon hearing this. Truth be told, it had been a dream of his to own a decent mansion within Huangtong Mansion City, something he once thought would take decades of hard work to achieve.

However, for Zhou Heng himself, a mansion in Huangtong Mansion City had already lost its importance as he was soon to set out on a journey and would barely settle in.

But he did not refuse.

“Good,” Zhou Heng said with a smile. “Then thank you very much, Master.”

He agreed for several reasons.

Firstly, although the mansion wasn’t of much use to him personally, he could relocate his parents, who were living in the mountains, into Huangtong Mansion City. Undoubtedly, the living environment here was much safer and more convenient.

Secondly, the reason Wang Tong was able to escape might have been due to the Geng Metal Sword Qi that had killed Kong Chengshun, which Zhou Heng had unleashed with a Sword Talisman. To some extent, this was his responsibility. Thirdly, he was already planning to travel but hadn’t yet decided on a destination. Pursuing Wang Tong provided a direction, and he also intended to inquire with Wu Zongshan for any information regarding the Plague Emperor Sect.

Afterward, Zhou Heng obtained some information about the Plague Emperor Sect from Wu Zongshan, as well as reports on the recent activities of its disciples. He hoped to use this to determine his target.

However, the information was complicated, and it wasn’t something that could be figured out in a short time.

The immediate priority was still to deal with Wang Tong since he possibly had a ghostly creature inside him, and to grow stronger and recover, the creature would inevitably absorb a substantial amount of human Yang Energy.

This would cause countless casualties.

Thus, after several discussions with Wu Zongshan, Zhou Heng decided to head to Yuyang County first.

The Wang Family of Huangtong Mansion City had originally relocated from Yuyang County.

Now that Wang Tong had escaped confinement, although he might not necessarily go to Yuyang County, it was still the most likely place to find clues about him.

Therefore, after two days of preparation and cultivation,

Zhou Heng led a fine bay horse out of the prefectural yamen and embarked on his journey to Yuyang County.

In June, the sky favored a fine drizzle.

Wearing a straw raincoat and a bamboo hat, Zhou Heng rode a bay horse, traveling along a forest trail.

Due to the rain, the road had become quite muddy, making fast travel difficult, and progress could only be made slowly.

The rustling sound of rain on leaves and bamboo hat, raindrops stringing into lines as they flowed down, a gentle breeze caressing the face, added a few more pleasant moments to Zhou Heng’s journey.

“Hmm, I should be on the right path,” he murmured.

Zhou Heng recalled the map he had noted down earlier, comparing both the route he had traveled over the past two days and the current surroundings, to make a judgment.

At this moment, he missed the convenience of Google Maps dearly, but unfortunately, such a thing did not exist in this world.

“It’s really too inconvenient,” he couldn’t help but complain internally. If one day he had the means, he was determined to create a similar navigational tool to spare the pain of getting lost.

“Eh, what’s that smell?” Suddenly, his nose twitched and his eyebrows furrowed. “The scent of blood?”

With his enhanced perception, Zhou Heng quickly identified the direction from which the blood scent was coming. Instinctively, he realized that a battle might be taking place there.

Then, he turned his horse around and headed in a different direction.

He did not want to get involved.

Avoiding trouble whenever possible was his standard of conduct.

Of course, the situation would be different if there were suitable compensation.

Clang!

The sound of steel clashing against iron echoed through the forest, drowning out the dense patter of rain.

Three figures hurriedly dashed forward.

One figure was in front, dodging left and right, leaping up and down, sometimes extending a hand to throw various hidden weapons, and sometimes using various environmental objects to block the view of those behind, fleeing at great speed.

Two figures were in pursuit, relentlessly closing in, with steel blades in their hands, cutting down the hidden weapons flung by the person in front.

“Give it up! You can’t escape anyway! Tell us where the thing is hidden!” “No need to waste words with her. Just catch up, cut off her limbs, and then interrogate her under torture. That way we can keep our actions concealed and prevent detection!”

The two people from behind spoke one after the other, their pace quickening even more.

The figure rushing ahead was a slender silhouette clad in grey, with a hood concealing their face, a petite figure with curves, evidently a woman.

Her movements were exceptionally agile.

Especially in this forest, tumbling and leaping about was like second nature to her. If she had been at her peak, she would have long shaken off the two men chasing her.

However, she had been injured in her right leg in a prior struggle and had lost quite a bit of blood, which considerably reduced her speed.

Crack!

Suddenly, the woman felt a void beneath her feet and her expression immediately changed.

She had intended to flip onto the tree and use the elasticity of a branch to leap to a more distant and concealed location, but she had not expected that the branch was already rotten, leading her to misstep.

Despite her excellent lightweight kung fu, her martial path cultivation had only reached the peak of Eighth Rank.

Thus, faced with the sudden misstep, she couldn’t use her right foot to push and ascend with her left.

She could only helplessly fall from the air.

This delighted the two pursuers behind her, who, in their eagerness, increased their speed to catch up!

“Quick! We’re almost on her, catch her!”

“Catch her! Find out where she hid the thing, we mustn’t let our movements be exposed!”

The two men rejoiced.

In their eyes, the woman ahead had already fallen from the tree; her strength and inner qi must have been disrupted, and she would certainly need time to recover!

They could catch her now!

Finally, they could catch her!

But just as the two were about to close in, the woman suddenly turned around and threw a handful of mud, temporarily obscuring the vision of the two men.

She seized the chance to escape!

However, she hadn’t gotten far when she heard the sound of rushing wind from behind. Turning her head, she saw one of the two men had actually thrown his knife like a projectile!

And it was incredibly fast!

The blade spun rapidly, cutting through the air towards her like a meat grinder.

At that moment, she was in mid-leap!

There was no escape!

Faced with this situation, the woman, in a flash of ingenuity, quickly mobilized most of her inner qi and continuously slapped in one direction, miraculously adjusting her direction mid-air, albeit slightly.

Even so, the thrown steel knife still struck her.

But it was not the blade that hit her, it was the handle.

Because the thrower was also an Eighth Rank expert, the kinetic energy contained was immense; even though it was the handle that hit the woman, she was flung out and fell to the ground with a thud.

At this moment, Zhou Heng, who had changed his direction, was passing by and saw a figure tumble out from the woods beside the road.

Then, two more figures burst out of the woods.

Clearly, these two had not expected anyone else to be here.

Their murderous intent surged instantly.

Zhou Heng, feeling the killing intent, quickly explained, “I’m just passing by.”

A man was riding a horse, wearing a conical hat and a straw raincoat; it was most likely just an ordinary passerby hurrying on his way.

“I know you’re just passing by, but it’s bad luck for you,” one of the men glanced at Zhou Heng and snorted coldly. “Our movements must remain absolutely secret!

“Kill him!”