Chapter 129: The Ruined Temple

The next day at the Hour of the Rabbit (5–7 AM), the sky was still pitch black and not a single shadow could be seen in the small town, yet torches were already lit at the entrance of the inn; the Escort Runners Tang Dejin and Ren Tiewa had already harnessed the horses to the Escort Carts and led them out!

The group mounted their horses one by one, and the clattering sound of hooves immediately rang out in the heavy, dull night.

Sun Huang and the others had already traveled this Escort Route countless times, and the stopover points along the journey were all clearly planned; once the Escort Team left Chang'an Town, they would enter the territory of Ruyang Prefecture along the Official Road.

Upon entering Ruyang Prefecture, the first county town where they could stop was Sheqi County.

However, that Sheqi County was still over a hundred miles away from here, and at the Escort Team's pace, it would take two days to reach it.

In between, they still had to rest for a night in a ruined temple, so they had no choice but to hurry on their way early.

The Escort Team hurried and rushed, finally seeing a ruined temple off the Official Road in the distance amidst the twilight.

The ruined temple was not small, but one corner had collapsed.

In the deep dusk, an owl was standing on the eaves of the temple roof; suddenly, the owl shot out like an Arrow, fluttering in the air to bite a bat that was catching small insects at a low altitude, then it flapped its wings and, clutching the large bat, flew toward the Wild Forest not far away...

Sun Huang called out to the Escorts to lead the Escort Carts into the temple, then unhitched the horses from the carts and tied them to a large tree outside the temple gate; as it was the turn of the seasons between spring and summer, the wild grass was lush, just right for the horses to eat their fill on the spot...

After finishing this, Tang Dejin squatted at the temple entrance, keeping watch over the grazing horses.

The rest of the Escorts were all inside the temple, each finding a place to sit and rest...

Meanwhile, Lu Feng and Ren Tiewa took cooking utensils, water skins, and dried meat from a net bag hanging under the bottom of an Escort Cart, preparing to set up a pot and cook.

Lu Feng glanced at Duan Rong, but he hesitated and still did not call out to Duan Rong.

Although Duan Rong was also an Intern Escort, he already possessed the cultivation of the Inner Breath Realm Second Layer; the Escorts were all hot-blooded men who lived by the sword and spoke with force, and an Inner Breath Realm Second Layer cultivation was not weak even among Escorts.

Moreover, Duan Rong's master was Xiao Yu.

But seeing Lu Feng and Ren Tiewa busy in the open space in the center of the ruined temple, Duan Rong got up and walked over, and without saying anything, he took the initiative to help.

In his past life, Duan Rong had been a veteran of the workplace, and to get by in a place like this, one had to know how to conduct oneself.

As Duan Rong, Lu Feng, and Ren Tiewa were cooking there, a voice suddenly said: "Escort Head, there is someone lying in that shadow!"

The one speaking was Yao Liangrong, the master who had brought Lu Feng along when he first joined the Escort Team.

Hearing this, everyone looked toward Yao Liangrong, and Yao Liangrong raised his hand to point behind himself, toward the dim corner of the ruined temple.

Under the light of the torches, it was clear that someone was indeed lying there, clothes tattered, face covered in grime, and hair matted into clumps by mud and dust; the person lay on a tattered mat, motionless, and it was impossible to tell if they were dead or alive.

Sun Huang glanced at the person and said: "Likely a refugee... After the food is cooked later, see if they still have breath. If they do, give them a bowl too."

Cooking in the wild didn't require much fuss; it was just some dried meat and dried flatbread, added with some seasonings and boiled into a pot of thick soup.

With dry wood and a fierce fire, the aroma of food soon filled the air; the Escorts had been traveling all day and were already famished, and upon smelling the food, their mouths began to water.

After the meal was ready, Lu Feng and Ren Tiewa first served a bowl each to Sun Huang, Liu Ao, and Xiao Yu, while the other Escorts took their own bowls and gathered in front of the large iron pot, and Duan Rong held a large ladle and began serving food to everyone.

Once the Escorts got their food, they took their bowls and found a place to squat or sit and eat.

The last one to come for food was Li Yuliang; unlike the Escorts who possessed martial arts, he had been fine the first day, but by this second day, he could barely hold up, feeling as if his bones were falling apart, and his complexion was somewhat listless.

Duan Rong had just filled a bowl of rice and was about to hand it to Li Yuliang when, at that very moment, a black shadow suddenly leaped out from the dimness in a corner of the ruined temple; like a bat in the dark night, a cold glint flashed in its hand in mid-air, and it clutched a dagger, stabbing toward Li Yuliang's throat.

That black shadow was none other than the refugee who had been lying on the tattered mat in the corner of the temple earlier, the one whose life or death was unknown...

At this moment, the Escorts were all holding bowls and eating, unable to react in time, and Li Yuliang had no martial arts; it looked as if the dagger in that person's hand was about to slit Li Yuliang's throat.

Duan Rong's heart trembled, and he suddenly splashed the thick soup from his hand; the hot, viscous liquid sprayed out in a sheet, splashing toward the person in mid-air.

While splashing the soup, Duan Rong lifted his right leg and kicked Li Yuliang in the abdomen.

Duan Rong's toe was infused with Internal Breath, sending Li Yuliang flying backward, while the person in mid-air suddenly felt their vision blur, obscured by the soup in the air; by the time the dagger in their hand pierced through the soup to stab at Li Yuliang's throat, Li Yuliang had already flown backward, narrowly avoiding the fatal strike!

That person's reaction was also swift; before their body landed, they threw the dagger from their hand in mid-air, and with a 'whoosh' of air-piercing sound, it shot rapidly toward Li Yuliang's face!

Li Yuliang, in mid-air, saw the dagger shooting toward him; at that moment, he felt the world go still, with only that dagger flying toward him in motion...

"Am I going to die?" a thought flashed through Li Yuliang's mind.

Just then, a figure flickered, and with a crisp 'ding' sound, Xiao Yu drew his blade and struck, knocking away the dagger that was shooting toward Li Yuliang!

"Proficiency-level Cloud Snake Step! So fast!" Duan Rong was astonished; he had only felt a black shadow flash before his eyes, and Xiao Yu had already knocked away the dagger.

Seeing that both of their attacks had failed and that the Escorts had already reacted, leaving no chance to kill Li Yuliang, the person retreated violently, kicked over Tang Dejin who was guarding the temple gate, and darted into the night outside.

Sun Huang suddenly lunged, chasing to the temple gate, but the night outside was pitch black, and the assassin had excellent Lightness Skill, having already vanished without a trace.

Sun Huang stood at the temple gate and turned his head back, only then hearing a 'thud' as Li Yuliang landed heavily on the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

The assassin and Xiao Yu both possessed Lightness Skill, their movements flickering and incredibly swift; although Sun Huang did not know Lightness Skill, he was already at the Inner Breath Realm Fourth Layer Great Success Realm, and it was the speed brought by pure strength that allowed him to cross to the temple gate in a single lunge—the actions of these few people had all occurred within a single breath!

Li Yuliang fell to the ground, retching violently, his face deathly pale; the kick Duan Rong had given him was infused with Internal Breath, and although he had controlled his strength, it was still more than Li Yuliang, who had never practiced martial arts, could handle; in that instant, his internal organs had all trembled violently...

But Li Yuliang also understood that if it weren't for Duan Rong kicking him at that critical moment, his throat would have already been slit by that dagger...

Sun Huang glanced at Li Yuliang, who was retching on the ground, knowing that although he was vomiting severely, he was clearly not injured.

Sun Huang's gaze swept across the faces of Duan Rong and Xiao Yu; if it weren't for this pair of master and apprentice, the Human Escort would have been dead at that moment!

(End of chapter)