Madmen don't keep diaries

Chapter 541 Fang Youliu's True Skills

Shen Tiankuo remained silent, clearly indicating that Fang Youliu had hit the nail on the head.

The three of them were not slow in their escape, and no matter how fast Fang Youliu drew the runes, he could not keep up with the speed of their footsteps.

After running for quite a distance, the passage finally came to an end.

At the end, countless tiny vines, like green snakes, rapidly burrowed and surged through the soil, clearing a path for them.

Fang Youliu pointed to the top of his head and said, "It's too late, let's just go up."

After saying that, he drew a new rune, and a thick vine immediately grew out and burst through the tunnel.

Now was not the time to be modest, so Fang Youliu grabbed the vines and jumped out first.

Shunzi threw Shen Tiankuo up, and after Fang Youliu pulled him to the ground, he followed suit and climbed up as well.

Suddenly, a loud shout came from deep within the passage behind him: "Don't run!"

As the heatwave hit, Shunzi shivered violently and instinctively leaped upwards, jumping directly up through the hole.

boom!
Flames shot up from the hole, instantly burning the vines to ashes. Shunzi was a step too slow to pull his foot back, and his trouser leg was scorched by the fire, immediately exposing half of his buttocks, as if he were wearing a pair of tight-fitting trousers.

The skin on his legs was bright red, clearly burned.

The minor injury was tolerable, but Shunzi was genuinely distressed about his pants: "These were custom-made with the best material!"

Fang Youliu shrank behind Shunzi and said quickly in a voice only Shunzi could hear, "Stop him for a moment."

Meanwhile, Shen Tiankuo scrambled to run towards the side of the street, but Shunzi grabbed him back: "You can't go!"

Regardless of whether Gu Yanzhi cares about the admiral's life or death, having a hostage is always better than having nothing at all.

Gu Yanzhi emerged from the firelight, his military uniform showing no signs of damage.

His gaze turned coldly to Shunzi—wherever Shunzi was, he was always the most eye-catching one.

Shunzi immediately shielded Shen Tiankuo in front of him and said fiercely, "You dare to chase after me alone? Do you think I'm made of clay?"

Gu Yanzhi scoffed: "With that gun you're holding?"

Shunzi licked his lips: "If Grandpa showed you his skills, you'd be scared to death!"

Gu Yanzhi raised an eyebrow slightly: "Then I'll wait and see."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Fang Youliu shouted from behind Shunzi, "Look what's on your head!"

Gu Yanzhi tilted her head slightly and glanced up, only to see a dark feather shadow landing on her brow.

The moment the afterimage touched her, Gu Yanzhi's eyes flashed with only a hint of doubt before her pupils rolled back, her eyelids closed, and she collapsed to the ground, emitting long snores from her nose.

Shunzi was stunned: "What kind of move is that?"

He turned his head and saw that the radiance of the rune in Fang Youliu's palm was slowly fading.

Fang Youliu breathed a sigh of relief and casually explained, "It's a spell that forces people to fall asleep. The book says it's related to the Owlman's beliefs—luckily he wasn't on guard, otherwise he wouldn't have fallen for it so easily."

"So he was just asleep?"

Shunzi's eyes lit up, and with a clatter, he pulled back the bolt of his gun, pointing it at Gu Yanzhi on the ground: "Strike while the iron is hot, shoot him dead and be done with it, so we won't have to live in fear anymore!"

Fang Youliu was terrified and rushed forward to grab Shunzi's gun barrel: "Are you crazy? This is a cultivator from Xijun Temple. If he dies, we'll bring about a huge disaster!"

Fang Youliu spoke with great conviction, and Shunzi was undecided. Just as he was hesitating, Shen Tiankuo suddenly snatched the hunting rifle from his hand.

"So be it, I'm dead!"

Shen Tiankuo pointed his gun at Gu Yanzhi's forehead, gritted his teeth and said in a ferocious voice, "If I can die for my country, why can't he die for his country?"

Fang Youliu's expression changed instantly. He tried to stop him, but it was too late. He could only watch helplessly as Shen Tiankuo pulled the trigger hard—bang!
A fireball exploded right in front of the three of them, showing that Shen Tiankuo's anger was still burning.

He hadn't expected the shotgun to be so powerful; the recoil sent him flying, and the gun fell to the ground.

Fang Youliu's survival skills were still up to par; the moment the musket was raised, he hid behind Shunzi.

In the firelight, a fleeting golden arc flashed by, and a sense of alarm rose in his heart. He yanked Shunzi by the back of his collar: "Watch out!"

Although Shunzi didn't understand why, he listened to advice and immediately grabbed Fang Youliu, then jumped back to create distance.

Swish!
A streak of fire flashed past where Shunzi had been standing, and the still-burning flames were sliced ​​in two as if cut by an invisible weapon before quickly dissipating.

Gu Yanzhi's figure appeared in the firelight, and a burning talisman was falling in front of him, turning to ashes before it even hit the ground.

"Good means."

Gu Yanzhi spoke in a deep voice, his face no longer showing any contempt.

He stood with his hands at his sides, gripping a long, narrow military knife tightly in his hand. Flames swirled around the blade, from which the previous strike had come.

This time, his gaze fell on Fang Youliu, and after sizing him up for a moment, he said, "So you are the scholar from the Mystic Arts Academy... I never expected to meet you in person today."

Fang Youliu's face was grim: "I've already said it was a misunderstanding... Can we just let this go?"

Shunzi chimed in, "That's right, we're really not bandits!"

"what!"

Gu Yanzhi couldn't help but sneer: "Bandits? That's not important—the scholars of natural history from the Mystic Arts Academy have set foot in the Great Xuan. Now that I've encountered you, how could I let you leave so easily?"

Fang Youliu's face turned even uglier.

Shunzi, unaware of the cause and effect, asked Fang Youliu in a low voice, "Does your academy have a grudge against the Xijun Temple?"

Fang Youliu did not answer, but Gu Yanzhi pointed his sword at him: "The Secret Arts Academy's disrespect for the gods is the greatest sin."

Fang Youliu closed his eyes and took a deep breath: "That's why I said before... I don't want to cause trouble."

In the distance, the faint sound of hurried footsteps could be heard; the Great Xuan Army and the patrolmen were rushing in from all directions.

Shunzi quickly picked up the hunting rifle from the ground and anxiously asked Fang Youliu, "What do we do now?"

Fang Youliu sighed helplessly: "What's going on here..."

He slowly opened his eyes and fixed his gaze on Gu Yanzhi opposite him.

Fang Youliu said in a low voice, "...They're forcing me to get serious."

As soon as he finished speaking, Fang Youli resolutely bit his index finger and waved it in the air.

The blood congealed but did not fall, quickly transforming into runes in mid-air.

Gu Yanzhi's gaze sharpened: "Don't even think about it!"

With a light tap of her toes, Gu Yanzhi's figure instantly swept over—

Fang Youliu didn't turn his head, but simply raised his other hand, spread his palm, and pointed at Gu Yanzhi: "Don't rush."

Runes suddenly appeared in his palm, and as he uttered the words, several large trees along the street grew rapidly in the wind, their dense branches seemingly coming alive, attacking from both sides and whipping out with a whooshing sound.

Gu Yanzhi's momentum did not diminish. She swung her knife vertically, and the flames burned a gap in the branch that was blocking her view.

Just as he was about to rush forward, the stone slab beneath his feet suddenly shattered, and the roots of the trees twisted together to form a giant hammer that slammed straight up, sending Gu Yanzhi flying into the air.

Struck head-on, Gu Yanzhi suppressed the metallic taste in her throat mid-air, about to use the momentum of her fall to slash down with her sword, when she saw—

A large array of runes lit up beneath Fang Youliu's feet!
(End of this chapter)