Chapter 55

Several dozen li away, Chen Ye was holding Su Chunyi, his arms tightly wrapped around her slender waist.

Su Chunyi's face flushed red, as if she could barely stand; only after catching her breath did she say, "Mr., I... am already fine."

Chen Ye quickly let go and helped Su Chunyi sit down to rest.

The two had sprinted several dozen li; just now, Su Chunyi's legs had gone weak and she nearly fell to the ground, but Chen Ye, with quick eyes and fast hands, immediately caught her.

This was not the first time they had such skin-to-skin contact; Su Chunyi merely blushed slightly, as if already accustomed to it.

Chen Ye, having lived two lives, found this small scene insufficient to make him awkward, and asked quite naturally, "Miss Su, did you sense something just now?"

Su Chunyi nodded; although her Qi Sea was damaged now and she could not wield spiritual energy, she had undergone Ganga-Sha body refinement and possessed a body of copper skin and iron bones, making it impossible for her to fall easily.

Just now, she had felt a Qi resonance, as if suddenly unable to breathe, which caused her to fall.

And this situation was obviously due to the straw man left behind earlier being cursed.

"Mr. truly possesses divine foresight; the straw man left beneath the stone tablet has already shattered, and I was also affected, though nothing serious."

Chen Ye immediately grew happy and exclaimed excitedly, "It really is luck; that old demon cannot divine."

This was not particularly strange; the Way of Divination was mysterious and unfathomable, and even cultivators at the Dao-Integration realm might not master it. However, once one's cultivation realm reached a certain height, even without learning divination, one would sense something in the mysterious void, which is why Su Chunyi suffered the backlash.

But knowing how to do it versus not knowing were two different matters.

Perhaps, relying on this grudge, the opponent could vaguely sense the two's location and track them all the way here.

But such sensing was ultimately vague and unclear, which is why they were misled by a straw man.

Since this item was effective, Chen Ye did not hesitate to use it.

Making straw men was originally a petty spell unworthy of the stage; the only difficulty in crafting them was obtaining something connected by bloodline, such as hair or blood.

And for any cultivator who had undergone Ganga-Sha body refinement, there would not even be dandruff on their scalp, let alone hair for you to pick up; one would have to forcibly pluck it. But if you could pluck someone's hair, you presumably wouldn't need to resort to making straw men.

However, every matter has exceptions; Su Chunyi was willing to give her own hair and fingertip blood, facilitating Chen Ye in creating straw men.

But time was limited and materials were limited, so these straw men could no longer be stuffed with poison.

The previous ones were all found by Chen Ye in Monk Ku'e's collection; it was unknown whether exploding them would pose any threat to the old demon pursuing the two.

Chen Ye was not truly a sage who calculated without error; reaching this point was already doing his utmost.

Facing an opponent whose cultivation realm was completely unknown, the only thing they could do was delay time and rush to the territory of the Incense-Burning Sect as quickly as possible.

Unfortunately, running there on foot would take at least two months.

What Chen Ye needed to do now was travel while waiting for Su Chunyi's injuries to heal.

Once she recovered, the speed of sword flight would be much faster than running on the ground.

The two continued their escape, winding their way toward the direction of the Incense-Burning Sect.

Whenever they encountered wild beasts or birds along the way, Chen Ye would catch them, tie a straw man to them, and then release them.

This way, the straw men would scatter in different directions, delaying the opponent's tracking speed as much as possible.

They ran for a day and a night; Su Chunyi did not feel a second curse, but Chen Ye was starting to struggle.

The consumption of spiritual energy was too great, and Chen Ye was still flesh and blood; this body was only slightly stronger than an ordinary person's, and after sprinting for a day and a night, his strength was exhausted.

This day and night were spent in rugged wilderness or uninhabited Shenshan, with almost no roads to walk on; running a hundred li was already the limit.

Seeing Chen Ye's legs go weak, Su Chunyi advised, "Mr., let us find a place to rest tonight and continue tomorrow."

Chen Ye shook his head and said, "We cannot rest. Who knows when that demon will catch up, or when the Incense-Burning Sect's rescue will arrive? If we are off by even a sliver, would we not regret it for the rest of our lives?"

Su Chunyi said guiltily, "I have burdened Mr."

Chen Ye forced a smile and comforted her, "At this point, what is there to say about burdening? Would you have me abandon you now?"

Su Chunyi smiled and said, "I know you are unwilling to do so, so let me carry you on my back."

Chen Ye was stunned; before he could even agree, Su Chunyi had already hoisted him onto her back.

Immediately, this slender Miss sprinted with full force, continuing to run forward.

Chen Ye felt slightly awkward; since growing up, no one had ever carried him on their back, let alone a slender Miss.

But Su Chunyi's strength was truly great; carrying Chen Ye, this tall and burly man, she ran incredibly fast.

The girl's slender waist was like a taut bowstring; each leap covered a distance of three zhang. The earth beneath her feet instantly sank into bowl-shaped shallow pits, and the flying withered leaves were shredded into powder by the fierce wind in mid-air.

Chen Ye only felt wind roaring in his ears, making a "wu-wu" sound, and he could not even see the scenery on both sides clearly.

So she ran this fast; then, over this day, it was actually him who had slowed her down.

The difference of two realms in cultivation made him appear weak and helpless.

Chen Ye secretly resolved that if he could survive this great disaster, he must quickly improve his cultivation and never let Su Chunyi carry him on her back again; this was too damaging to his self-esteem.

But for now, let him fully enjoy this treatment of being weak and pitiful.

Chen Ye lay on Su Chunyi's back and began to close his eyes to rest. He needed to recover his strength as quickly as possible and could not truly become Su Chunyi's burden.

He originally thought they could delay until a turning point arrived, but when the sky began to lighten, Su Chunyi groaned again and stopped her sprinting steps.

Su Chunyi left two deep marks on the ground with her feet and barely stood steady; Chen Ye quickly jumped to the ground and asked with concern, "Miss Su, what is wrong?"

Su Chunyi said, "Another straw man has been destroyed; this is actually good news, as it means that person has been deceived by us again."

Hearing this, Chen Ye was about to show a happy smile, but his expression suddenly changed: "No, a normal person would only fall for a trick once."

The first straw man was buried with poison; even if that demon was tricked the first time, he should have learned to be smarter the second time. Even if misled, after finding a new straw man, he should not destroy it carelessly but simply change direction to pursue.

After a day and a night, how could another straw man be destroyed?

Unless that person was completely enraged and unable to control themselves.

This would be good news, but Chen Ye did not think the opponent would be so foolish.

Unless... Chen Ye alertly raised his head and looked around, soon spotting a tall figure in the distance.

A disheveled old Monk was smiling as he walked toward the two, and in his hand he held a shattered straw man.

The moment their eyes met, invisible pressure fell upon Chen Ye, rendering him completely unable to move, unable even to shout loudly.

The disheveled Monk approached and politely said, "Amitabha, two benefactors, you have made this monk search far and wide. The method of using straw men to create false paths is indeed exquisite, but the benefactors' luck is truly poor; the monk only chose wrongly twice before selecting the direction where you are located.

"Amitabha, this is fate."