Chapter 131

Once everyone had crossed this stretch of ice-covered road, Lu Yao waved his hand: "Pursue!"

Just then, a bandit timidly raised his hand: "General, the, the horses didn't make it up!"

How could they catch up to four legs on two legs? Lu Yao glared: "Then what are you waiting for, lead them up!"

The bandits had no choice but to return the way they came to fetch the horses.

Now the problem arose:

Humans could step on ice holes to climb up, but horses couldn't.

The ice surface was slippery, and only a few small holes provided leverage. Horses weren't human and hadn't undergone special training; their steps were far from that agile.

Their long, thin legs slid back and forth on the ice; sometimes they could step into a hole, sometimes they couldn't, all depending on luck.

The bandits were also anxious and whipped them a few more times; two horses couldn't bear the pain and began to kick fiercely to climb up.

As a result, they missed their footing and slipped.

With a *whoosh*, they dragged the bandits behind them off the cliff as well.

The sounds of human screams and horse neighs ended at the bottom of the cliff.

The bandits' scalps went numb, and they had no choice but to look at Lu Yao.

If the horses couldn't walk, what was the point of pursuing? Lu Yao roared at the sky in anger before shouting, "What are you all standing there for? Dig the ice! Dig me a path!"

Dig a path that horses could walk on!

Fortunately, there were shovels and hoes in the village; for digging ice, these specialized farm tools were much more useful than sabers and axes.

By the time the three layers of ridiculously thick ice on the road were chiseled away and the horses could trot up, nearly an hour had passed since He Lingchuan and the others had escaped! It had actually taken about the same amount of time as breaking through the triple wagon formation! Lu Yao was trembling with rage, thinking more than once: Had that little dog He planned this all along? Dying so cleanly was really too easy on him! The bandits threw down their tools, panting, and ignoring their sore limbs, they mounted their horses under Lu Yao's urging and began to pursue along the road.

By now, the sun was almost at its zenith.

Some people's stomachs were rumbling like thunder; they hadn't had a drop of water or a grain of rice since last night's dinner, and they were hungry.

They really regretted not swiping a few flatbreads from the village.

But looking at General Lu's livid face, no one dared to make a sound.

Just after rushing through a small grove, Lu Yao suddenly shouted, "Who's there?"

Before the sound died away, the axe arrived first.

With that flying axe, amidst the sound of snapping branches, someone fell from the tree with a broken leg.

Lu Yao went over to look and chuckled, "Aren't you one of Old Pei's scouts?"

The man wailed, "General Lu, spare my life."

"Where is Old Pei?"

The man stammered, not daring to speak.

Lu Yao chopped off his head with one stroke and had people search his body, but found nothing useful.

Just then, there was a fluttering sound in the woods, and something flew over and hit the deceased.

The bandits looked closely and saw it was a mechanical wooden bird.

Lu Yao was very familiar with this wooden bird; he opened its belly, pulled out a paper scroll, took a look, and sneered, "That Pei fellow wants him to continue monitoring my movements, heh!"

￥￥￥￥￥

*Splash*, something was churning in the water, splashing loudly.

Afterward, He Lingchuan actually heard someone coughing.

That series of coughs sounded like someone choking on water; it was urgent, wheezing, and had a cracked tone.

He Lingchuan hadn't been short of injuries in the past two months, nor had he seen few others injured; just by the sound, he could judge that this person had at least suffered lung injuries.

Then, he smelled the scent of blood.

And there was a strange sound below, like someone panting: *he-ha, he-ha*...

He Lingchuan didn't even dare to breathe loudly, watching the situation unfold.

The coughing stopped abruptly.

A full forty or fifty breaths passed.

He Lingchuan thought the person had already left, but the water began to churn again, and something hit the rocks, *pi-pa* loudly, sounding extremely powerful.

Soon, the coughing returned.

This time, the person coughed even more violently, as if they had just emerged from the water.

And they said two words with great difficulty:

"Vile beast!"

This voice was a little familiar; He Lingchuan felt he had heard it recently.

Just recently.

Was it these past two days, or a few hours ago? A flash of inspiration crossed his mind, and He Lingchuan whispered, "Wu Shaoyi?"

His voice wasn't loud, and it should have been covered by the sound of the water. Unexpectedly, the person below heard it perfectly and suddenly shouted, "Who, who is there? Save me quickly!"

When He Lingchuan called out this name, he was three-tenths sure in his heart, and hearing him call for help, he guessed that he posed no threat to him, so he tore off a strip of cloth, lit it with a fire starter, and threw it down.

The sparks drifted down, landed on the water surface, flickered twice, and went out.

But with this bit of light, He Lingchuan still managed to see the thing below—

He didn't find Wu Shaoyi himself, but saw a set of pitch-black scales! The scales were densely lined with three rows of sharp hooks, shining dark under the splashing water.

The sparks seemed to have fallen right next to this thing's head, startling it, so it shook its head, causing the lake water to splash everywhere. He Lingchuan also seemed to see a pair of glowing green eyes.

"*Sss—*" He gasped; it really was that behemoth—

The Crocodile King.

Earlier, Wu Shaoyi had been ambushed by the giant crocodile at the lakeside, and both had disappeared; others thought the Crocodile King had dived somewhere to enjoy a feast.

Who knew it had brought Wu Shaoyi here.

"General Wu?" He Lingchuan asked tentatively, "Where are you?"

His increased volume echoed; it seemed this cave was a large hollow space.

"In, in the Crocodile God's mouth!" Wu Shaoyi replied immediately, "I'm using my spear to prop open its lower jaw; you, you come down and help..."

He didn't finish his sentence.

He Lingchuan guessed the giant crocodile had taken him back into the water.

The person below was a rebel leader; should he help or not?

If he didn't help, could he escape on his own? He'd ask him next time.

Soon, "next time" came.

Wu Shaoyi surfaced with the crocodile's mouth again; He Lingchuan seized the moment it was thrashing and asked, "Where is the exit? How do I get out?"

"You can't get out; there are still..." Wu Shaoyi accidentally choked on lake water, "other crocodiles outside!"

He immediately added, "Help me, and I have a way! Believe me!"

He Lingchuan didn't believe him: "Do you know who I am?"

"Anyone will do, even that dog-begotten Lu Yao!" Wu Shaoyi yelled, "This is a crocodile nest; there's no second way out. If you don't help me, we'll both die here!"

He Lingchuan thought for a moment and threw down two more lit strips of cloth, losing a large chunk of his own sleeve.

The giant crocodile happened to turn sideways into the water; with the help of this firelight, he finally saw Wu Shaoyi.

This man was indeed half-lying in the crocodile's mouth, his spear firmly propping open the crocodile demon's upper and lower jaws. He himself had to desperately grip the spear shaft to avoid being thrown out during the violent shaking.

(End of chapter)