The Legend of the Condor Heroes: From Being Expelled from Peach Blossom Island

Chapter 178 Arriving in time
The best way to get from Xiangyang to Hankou is to take a boat south along the Han River, where it meets the Yangtze River.

Wu Chengyu learned from the old man that the Zhou family left through the North Gate, which was only ten miles away from the Hanjiang Wharf. If they left the city at the same time yesterday, the Zhou family would have left long ago unless there were no boats at the Hanjiang Wharf.

The city gate Wu Chengyu entered in the morning was the South Gate, which was in the opposite direction from the Han River wharf. Those retainers insisted on chasing him out through this gate. Wu Chengyu didn't think they were fools. Since it was the Prefect's Mansion, they must have their own spies. They must have received some information.

Therefore, Manager Zhou must have also put his mind to it. Everyone thought that they were going to the Hanjiang Wharf from the North Gate, so they probably went around the city to the south by land after leaving the city. They were going in the opposite direction.

Manager Zhou must have guessed that the prefect's son would not let him go.

Unfortunately, he couldn't hide from the spies of the prefect's mansion, and his tail was soon caught by the prefect's guards.

Wu Chengyu thanked the old snake catcher and gave him a silver ingot. In a way, the old man had done him a favor, and one should repay kindness. However, the silver was only two taels, so he secretly slipped it to the old man away from the people around him to avoid bringing trouble upon him.

Without hesitation, he turned and rushed toward the south gate, chasing after them along the way.

Manager Zhou travels by carriage, so he probably won't go far at night, while his retainers ride fast horses, and they will likely be caught up with soon.

Under the shadow of the crane, Wu Chengyu ran at top speed. At this moment, he felt the benefits of being reborn after the silkworm transformation. His speed was 20% faster than before, and his endurance was more enduring. Under the effect of the Turtle Sun Technique, he could recover his strength while running.

Moreover, his current physique gives him a huge advantage when using light-body techniques. His body, which is like half a wall, is enough to cause Wu Chengyu a lot of trouble during long-distance running, forcing him to find another way and use the protective force field of the eel technique to counteract the resistance.

Now, her seemingly slender figure has a huge advantage when running wildly. With the addition of the eel technique, Wu Chengyu dares not say that he is experiencing zero resistance, but he certainly does not feel any resistance at all.

Manager Zhou, with his family in tow, traveled through the night. Given the road conditions of that era, Wu Chengyu estimated they wouldn't cover more than forty li (approximately 20 kilometers).

Wu Chengyu pursued them all the way, and soon after running for twenty miles, he saw a long row of fresh hoof prints. Early in the morning, Wu Chengyu had not seen any other cavalry along the way, so it could only be those few family retainers.

He followed the hoofprints and continued the chase, running for another ten miles or so, until he finally saw the caravan and what appeared to be the carriage belonging to Manager Zhou's family.

At this moment, Manager Zhou was kicked to the ground, covered in wounds, with a steel knife held to his neck. His wife and two children were also subdued, and an old servant was slashed to the ground as soon as he came up, bleeding profusely and already dead.

"You should have boarded the ship obediently yesterday. The young master had already made arrangements. As long as you boarded the ship, he would send you to see the Water Dragon King that very night. It was all done quickly and efficiently."

But the people on the ship waited and waited all night, and you just wouldn't come. This forced us brothers to ride our horses here early this morning. You really know how to cause us trouble.

"I have already given the formula to the eldest young master, and he also told me to leave Xiangyang. I did everything he asked, so why won't he let me and my family go?"

"The eldest young master said that with such a good snake soup recipe, making a fortune every day would be no problem. Especially the medicinal cuisine, after he ate it once, he favored two girls in the brothel. In the future, if the prefect presents this recipe to the palace, it will surely be praised by the emperor, and he might even be promoted and given a higher rank."

So it's enough that only he knows the recipe; there's no need for you and your family to stay in this world.

As for getting you to leave Xiangyang, the eldest young master is, after all, the son of the prefect, and there are some things he has to do to save face. Killing you in Xiangyang would be too much for many people to know about. Whether it's on the ship or in this desolate wilderness, I can just dig a hole anywhere and bury you, and there will be no further trouble. It's just a little more troublesome than killing you on the ship.”

Manager Zhou's face was ashen. He stopped crying out for justice and instead kowtowed to the ground, desperately kowtowing to the guards. Blood immediately streamed down his forehead, but he seemed to feel no pain at all.

"My lords, I know I am doomed. My death is nothing to worry about, but my two children are not even ten years old yet, and they don't know anything about the formula."

Please kill me, but spare their lives. I have some savings here, I'll give them all to you.

Even if you sell them to others as slaves or servants, that's fine, as long as they can survive.

The head retainer raised his knife high and said, "Your money is mine anyway, why should I give it to you? But these two little ones have been raised well since they were little, with delicate skin and tender flesh, they can indeed be sold for some silver. I'm a kind-hearted man, so I'll agree."

Upon hearing the other person's words, Manager Zhou stopped struggling, touched his head to the ground, closed his eyes, and awaited death.

But after looking down for a long time, he could hear nothing but the cries of his wife and children.

Manager Zhou struggled to lift his head and found that the guards were all standing stiffly on the ground, unable to speak, their faces distorted and their eyes filled with terror.

The large sword that was raised high, about to strike his neck, was now held up by a very white hand with long, slender fingers and a very beautiful appearance.

Wu Chengyu looked at his hands. He first immobilized the other guards, then came to the guard who was about to kill him. He did not dodge or flinch with his left hand, but directly supported the blade with his palm. With his right hand, he gently tapped the guard with his finger and subdued him.

He had previously discovered that his skin would turn snow-white, fluorescent white, the instant his muscles tensed under his mind, and then fine white scales would appear on his skin, smaller than snake scales. No one but himself could notice this unless someone was currently observing him closely on his hand.

As long as you relax, these white scales seem to shrink into your pores instantly, making your skin smooth and delicate again.

At the same time, the hardness of these white scales far exceeded his imagination, and even the structure of the white scales together was very mysterious. In addition to blocking the sharpness of weapons, they could even neutralize some of the external force.

The key point is that if he wanted, these white scales could instantly cover his entire body, including parts that are usually not exposed to light. This mutation was something Wu Chengyu had never expected.

He instinctively thought that he had eaten too many snake gallbladders, including the snake king's gallbladder, which was too potent, causing his mutation. After carefully communicating with the bamboo slip, he received confirmation from the bamboo slip that two mutations had indeed occurred on his body, and these white scales were a manifestation.

Bai Lin's main function is to strengthen defense. The sword in the servant's hand is also made of fine steel. When he slashed with all his might, it actually sparked a few sparks in Wu Chengyu's palm. It did not even break through Bai Lin's defense.

Another, more subtle mutation also stems from the snake's nature; he seems to be somewhat agitated lately.

(End of this chapter)