knife

Chapter 396 Strange Feeling
No one responded to him.

Han Zheng, leaning on his cane, walked to a large tree, leaned against it, and squinted at the bright red sun that had just risen above the distant mountain peak.

The weather has been terrible these past few days, with constant drizzle, leaving all their clothes damp. Most importantly, they dare not light a fire, fearing that the pursuers will see the smoke and discover their tracks.

In the decades before Han Zheng had ever suffered such hardship, he had never experienced such suffering.
Although the sun wasn't particularly warm, it was almost the best gift for Han Zheng at that moment.

During his time on the run, Jiang Ping took care of him.

Although their attitude was terrible, they didn't neglect any of the necessary care.

This made Han Zheng very happy.

I realize that I am already very close to the woman I love.

If pursuing Jiang Ping in the past was more about fulfilling family hopes and pursuing one's own future, with affection for Jiang Ping ranking at most third, then now, affection has to take first place.

Love is the most nourishing thing, so even though he suffered a lot, Han Zheng's spirits were quite good.
It could even be described as excitement.

Deep down, I even had a faint hope that this escape could continue for a while longer.

Jiang Ping goes out for a while every day.

When they returned, they brought either some food to fill their stomachs or medicinal herbs to heal their wounds.

He probably went out to look for these things today, right?
It's just that they haven't returned yet at this time, probably because they didn't have a very smooth day looking for these things.

Speaking of which, Jiang Ping probably wiped out many of the squirrels and rats in the mountains who like to hide food for the winter.

I don't know how a noble princess of Danyang City could know these strange things.

Anyway, Han Zheng knew that if it were him, it would be impossible to find the nests of these little creatures every day.

Time slowly passed,
The red sun hanging on the mountaintop rose higher and higher, its color becoming increasingly incandescent.

The clothes were finally dried, but Lin Zheng was a little panicked.

Jiang Ping still hasn't returned.

Is she in any danger?
The bad feeling in my heart is getting stronger and stronger.
Were they lost or did they encounter an enemy?
Jiang Ping may appear to be a petite and delicate woman, but she actually possesses a martial arts cultivation level of the sixth rank of Qi Control. Ordinary ferocious beasts pose little threat to her.

With the vast mountains stretching to the horizon, those members of the canal gang should not be able to find them, right?
These days, they've been going deeper and deeper.

The most likely explanation is that they got lost.

Han Zheng, leaning on his crutch, hopped a few steps into the woods. There, dead branches lay scattered about, and the soft soil on the ground bore Jiang Ping's clear footprints; this was the direction she had gone.

Han Zheng prepared to go find her.

After hopping a few steps, he stopped again. What if he left and Jiang Ping came back?

This place can still be considered a coordinate.
If we leave this place, it will probably be even more troublesome to find each other again.

He bounced back and found a sunny spot to sit down. Han Zheng decided to wait.

Perhaps doing nothing at this point is the better approach.

Time slowly passed, and the shadow in Han Zheng's heart grew darker and darker. Finally, he stood up again and walked to his shack.

They must be lost; I must give Jiang Ping a beacon.

He took out a tinderbox from his pocket, hesitated for a long time, but finally gritted his teeth and put the tinderbox into the shed.

Flames slowly rose from the withered yellow thatch inside.

Wisps of smoke rose up.

Above the dry thatch were the freshly cut tree trunks and branches. The flames dwindled, but the smoke grew thicker, and soon billowing smoke rose straight into the sky.

Han Zheng didn't care whether Jiang Ping or the pursuing enemy spotted the smoke first.

Let's take a gamble with our lives!
Ke Wuji was very troubled.

He found the place where He Yiming's two dogs were slaughtered a few days ago.
Of course, apart from a little fur and bone scraps, nothing else was left of the dog.

Not far from this location, he found traces that should have belonged to Han Zheng and his group.
I originally thought finding them wouldn't be too difficult.
After all, they are just two fledglings making their debut.

However, Ke Wuji's thoughts changed over the next few days.

He could always find traces, but they were a mix of real and fake, some of which were completely misleading. He was fooled several times before he realized it.

From awkwardness to mastery, the performance of that young boy and girl was truly remarkable.

Indeed, to grow, one must undergo trials and tribulations.

Moreover, such an escape is truly a way for martial arts figures to gain a lot of experience.

In the past few days, Ke Wuji and his group have made no attempt to conceal their whereabouts. They have even lit beacon fires and released thick smoke on several occasions, and casually discussed in their conversations that they were there to rescue the couple.

Ke Wuji's intention was clear: to tell that innate master that they were there to save people, not to kill them, and that he couldn't just kill them without knowing the facts! Now it seemed to be working.

That innate master is probably only responsible for their safety and won't interfere with their actions.

They might even intentionally give the young man and woman some experience and training in the martial arts world.

Finding someone in these mountains is like finding a needle in a haystack, especially two people who are becoming more experienced and are intent on escaping.

"Elder, smoke, smoke!" Lu Xiong poked half his head out from the treetop, his face showing excitement. "Thick smoke is shooting straight into the sky. I wonder if it's the person we're looking for!"

Ke Wuji leaped up and stood atop the treetop, looking at the thick plume of smoke rising straight up in the distance. His face lit up with joy: "This isn't an accidental fire or anything. It's pointing to a location. Regardless, let's go take a look."

The tobacco plantation wasn't far from them, but as the saying goes, "looking at the mountain makes one's horse run to its death," which is no joke.

Even for a ninth-rank expert like Ke Wuji, it would probably take him an hour or two to get from their current location to the place where the smoke was rising.

Han Zheng sat in front of the fire, watching the heat gradually subside. He then threw newly cut pine and cypress branches into the fire. A long time had passed, and his mood grew heavier and heavier.

If Jiang Ping was really lost, she should have seen such a large plume of smoke by now, but she hasn't come back yet.

If it falls into enemy hands, then the enemy will probably find it soon.

Well, it's not bad for the two of them to be a pair of lovebirds sharing the same fate.

Of course, there is another possibility: the enemy will find them first. In that case, let's hope Jiang Ping doesn't do anything foolish and hides well.

Anyway, I don't know where she is.

No matter how severely the enemy tortures him, he cannot become a traitor.

Thinking of this, Han Zheng actually smiled.

I'm not a person with a strong will. If I really knew, I might have confessed everything under torture!

"Young Master Han Zheng?" came the voice in my ear.

Han Zheng leaped up, leaning on his cane, and looked at an old man with a large pipe stuck in his waist that emerged from the dense forest.

With his hand gripping the hilt of his knife tightly, Han Zheng glared at the other man: "Who are you? A member of the Canal Gang?"

Ke Wuji waved his hands repeatedly, took a few steps forward, and looked at Han Zheng's wary appearance, and said with a smile: "Young Master Han has misunderstood. We are subordinates of General He Zudao."

What's the difference?
The men who ambushed and killed them on the river were Yang Lixin's subordinates, and Yang Lixin was a fierce general under He Zudao.

"So that Young Master Han may know, General Yang's gang of assassins has been bewitched into robbery and murder. They've been bound and sent to General He by General Yang. General He, knowing of your predicament, was extremely concerned and sent this old man with men to search for you. Thank goodness, we've finally found them." Ke Wuji appeared relaxed, as if he had completed his mission. "Oh, right, wasn't there supposed to be another woman?"

"Why are you taking so long to get here!" Han Zheng yelled at them, "Jiang Jiang is missing! Go find Jiang Jiang!"

Jiang Ping has disappeared?
Ke Wuji was taken aback.

The canal gang members had already withdrawn.

Besides, Jiang Ping clearly has people with innate mastery skills around her, so what danger could she possibly be in?
However, seeing Han Zheng's anxious look, Ke Wuji nodded repeatedly: "Go find him right away, go find him right away!"

A moment later, Lu Xiong, Chen Wan, and the others were sent away again to search for Jiang Ping's whereabouts, using this place as the center.

They searched until nightfall, but found no trace of anything.

Han Zheng was so anxious that he jumped up and down, and firmly refused Ke Wuji's offer to take him down the mountain first.

He would never leave the mountain until he found Jiang Ping.

Of course, Ke Wuji was not his subordinate, so since reasoning and negotiation didn't work, he wouldn't be polite.

With a single chop to the neck, he completely calmed the volatile Han Zheng down, then tossed him onto Lu Xiong's shoulder, hoisted him up, and headed out of the mountains.

As for Jiang Ping, what is there to worry about?
Jiang Ping, who was deeply worried about Han Zheng and was still calling out his name while unconscious, was now comfortably eating snacks somewhere deep in the mountains, with two people standing respectfully to her side.

“Miss, Old Ke has found Young Master Han and brought him down the mountain. Old Ke is now with He Zudao, and He Zudao is negotiating with Prefect Han. Young Master Han should be out of danger.”

"Ok!"

Are you going back to Danyang next?

"No!" Jiang Ping said with a smile, "After my trip to Luoyang, I really encountered a lot of interesting things, and I also met a particularly interesting person. It's strange, though, why do I have this inexplicable feeling of trust and a strong desire to get close to someone I've never met? This shouldn't be!"

The two lowered their heads and remained silent; clearly, this was a topic they were neither able nor willing to answer.

"I need to find out why." Jiang Ping tilted her head and thought for a while, then said, "You guys send a few letters back to Danyang for me, and I'll naturally come back in a while."

"Yes, but Miss, that old man Ke must have seen you before, so we should still be careful!"

"Don't worry, times have changed, and that wasn't my true self back then. Besides, if he really discovers something, he can just kill me!" Jiang Ping popped a pastry into her mouth, patted the crumbs off her palm, and stood up.

(End of this chapter)