The World's Number One Medical Hall

Chapter 41 Standing with Sword Raised

"Giddy up...giddy up!" Under the torrential rain, Chen Zhiqi sat in front of the carriage, cracking the whip and urging the horse to gallop wildly.

He was already soaked through by the rain, but he seemed oblivious, his face ashen, focused only on his frenzied gallop.

Finally, after galloping swiftly out of the capital city gates, they encountered the same desolate and muddy wilderness as the Ming Emperor's chariot and horses.

Chen Zhiqi should have slowed down, but for some reason, he seemed to be just like the Ming King's carriage, disregarding Ning'er's injuries inside, and continued to speed along without slowing down at all.

It wasn't until the carriage went over a shallow pothole that the entire vehicle shook violently, and finally Ah Jiu's voice came from inside: "Brother Chen, slow down, slow down!"

Chen Zhiqi's expression froze, and the whip that was raised high, about to be swung down again, suddenly stopped.

Turning around, I saw that the car door behind me had opened by itself due to the bumps.

Inside the carriage, Ajiu was no longer sitting in the chair, but had fallen to the ground, her hands tightly holding Ning'er, who was wrapped in a quilt.

Chen Zhiqi gritted his teeth, but then turned back, as if to continue running.

"Brother Chen, Ning'er is burning up! She has a high fever! Brother Chen, what should we do? We must find a doctor for her immediately..." However, Ah Jiu's voice came from inside the car again, extremely urgent.

Upon hearing this, Chen Zhiqi finally pulled the horse back and shouted, "Whoa..."

The speed slowed down slightly and gradually came to a stop.

Chen Zhiqi leaned into the car, took Ning'er from Ajiu's hands, brushed aside her hair, and looked at her pale face and tightly closed eyes.

He reached out and touched her forehead, and sure enough, his palm felt a burning heat.

Chen Zhiqi's face suddenly darkened, and his eyes became even more unpleasant.

But he didn't speak immediately. Instead, he silently helped Ajiu up from the carriage and put her in a seat, then handed Ning'er to him.

Then he leaped off the carriage, stood in the pouring rain, and glanced at the back of the carriage.

Beyond the curtain of rain in the wilderness, visibility was blurred, but Chen Zhiqi's bloodshot eyes flashed wildly. He turned his head, wiped the rain off his face, and looked ahead.

"Brother Chen, Ning'er has a fever. We need to find a doctor immediately. But when will we be able to catch up with Sixth Master?" Ajiu's anxious voice came from inside the car.

Chen Zhiqi lowered his head slightly, then jumped back onto the carriage. He turned to look at Ajiu and said in a low voice, "Ajiu, listen, there's a fork in the road not far ahead. That road will be much easier to travel. You'll drive later. After about two hours, there'll be a town with a sign that says 'Stone Town.' Inside Stone Town, there's a blacksmith's shop. The blacksmith is a cripple. Take Ning'er to the blacksmith's shop..."

Ajiu stared blankly at Chen Zhiqi, who was whispering instructions in his ear, clearly not having reacted yet.

However, Chen Zhiqi offered no explanation, only saying in a deep voice, "Have you remembered what I said?"

"I've got it!" A-Jiu nodded subconsciously, but then suddenly paused, her eyes widening in panic. She said hastily, "Brother Chen, what's wrong...?"

"I don't have time to talk to you anymore, and don't ask any more questions. You take Ning'er and go first. I'll stop them. If I don't catch up with you, you must take Ning'er to the blacksmith's shop. There can be no mistakes, understand?" Chen Zhiqi's voice was low but urgent.

Having said that, without waiting for Ah Jiu's reply, he turned around and raised his whip again, cracking it hard: "Giddy up..."

The carriage sped off again. Ajiu was about to speak when a sudden jolt occurred. He quickly grabbed Ning'er with one hand and held onto the carriage pillar with the other, struggling to cope with the jolting. He had no strength left to speak.

He was completely bewildered: "I'm here to catch the carriage? Aren't I going to chase after Sixth Master?"

……

The carriage passed by, and the place returned to tranquility. But only for a short while, the rapid sound of horses' hooves suddenly returned, and there were quite a few of them. Through the rain, they moved extremely fast, and it was impossible to see who they were, except that they were all dressed in black, close-fitting clothes...

"Whoa..." Right where the carriage had just stopped, one of the dozen or so riders suddenly let out a long shout, and his horse reared up high and stopped in place.

A dozen or so riders around him saw him stop and also reined in their horses!

"Sir, is there anything unusual?" A rider turned around and asked loudly.

Under the rain, the man who had reined in his horse first raised his head slightly. Although he was dressed in the same tight-fitting clothes, his face was handsome, unlike that of a rough man. He looked at the carriage shaft on the ground, frowned, and said in a deep voice, "The carriage just stopped here!"

"This desolate path is muddy, making it difficult for the carriage to travel. Moreover, there is an injured little girl in the carriage, who probably cannot withstand the bumpy ride, so we have stopped to rest!" The person who spoke seemed to be the leader of this group. He rode his horse to the gentleman's side, wiped the rain off his face, and said loudly.

The man addressed as "sir" nodded, frowned, and looked at the rain curtain ahead. His eyes flashed slightly, and he said in a deep voice, "That's exactly why it's strange. He shouldn't be running so fast, but he's been so fast that even we almost couldn't keep up. What does that mean?"

The leader's expression changed: "Sir, are you saying he's discovered we're following him?"

The man nodded and said, "That's probably right. He probably thought we were pursuers coming for him, which is why he's trying so hard to get rid of us."

"That shouldn't be possible. We haven't even had a chance to meet him yet... If that's the case, then we're in trouble. The boss said we should only follow behind him and leave traces to prove that we're with him, but we can't expose ourselves too early, lest we startle him and cause an accident!" The leader frowned.

The man's eyes flickered, but he said, "It's alright. Since he's already found out, let him find out. That's good. He'll think we're coming for him, so in order to get rid of us, he'll run after the Ming King's carriage. We'll continue to follow. This road is difficult, so don't chase too closely. Just don't force him to change his route. This doesn't conflict with our plan."

"That's all we can do. I didn't expect this kid to be so alert!" The leader grumbled, looking ahead, then waved his hand: "Let's go!"

He then flicked his whip and rode ahead, followed immediately by a dozen or so riders.

Soon, the figure disappeared.

……

This is the first major rainstorm to hit the Gyeonggi region since the beginning of autumn.

The rain continued unabated from early morning until noon.

This desolate place is now almost deserted due to the torrential rain.

At a T-junction, Chen Zhiqi stood alone in the rain, gazing intently at the departing carriage before slowly exhaling.

He glanced down at the long sword in his hand, removed the scabbard, and his eyes gradually turned cold.

He stood there with his knife in hand, a cold glint flashing in the rain.

He no longer concealed himself, standing there quietly with his eyes fixed on what was behind him.

He knew very well that hiding or hiding was useless; the people behind them could track them down by following the carriage tracks. They hadn't shaken them off even after running all the way, so he had no choice but to face it.

Chu Ruocai was indeed full of brilliant ideas and had no flaws, but he overlooked some things.

For example, Chen Zhiqi's skills are not as simple as those of an ordinary roughneck.

They were a group of fellow disciples who were ambushed and killed along the way from eastern Guangdong. The hardships they endured were beyond the imagination of ordinary people.

They faced enemies not only from martial arts masters, not only from Taoist elites, but also from the powerful reach of the government...

Chasing, tracking, encirclement, escape... In these thousands of days and nights, when were they not on guard against these tricks?

No matter how well it is hidden, how can it be concealed from these masters who have survived countless hardships?

Someone was following and chasing after him all the way, and even though they hadn't met yet, Chen Zhiqi had already sensed it.

He didn't know who the other person was; perhaps he was being chased and captured because he had kicked the royal carriage in half.

Or perhaps he was discovered by his enemies and relentlessly pursued, possibly tracked down in an attempt to find his fellow disciples and wipe them all out.

Anyway, no matter who the other party is, one thing is certain: the people who are chasing after us are definitely not friends. They have fallen so low that they have no friends, only enemies!

Since they are enemies... then the only option is to kill them!

He stood silently in place, motionless, holding a long sword, awaiting the impending slaughter.