Chapter 155: Parting

The Fire Crow cavalry came aggressively to plunder, but less than a hundred riders scattered and fled.

The water surface turned blood-red.

Floating corpses drifted away with the river water.

The fire on the ship had been extinguished, but the ship's hull was tattered and in precarious condition.

Jiang Ning appeared, standing on the third deck like a fairy walking on waves, her voice melodious: "Everyone, after the barbarian thieves of Night City flee back, they will definitely bring a large army and experts to retaliate. I estimate that in two hours, they will come looking for this ship again. By then, everything will be reduced to ashes."

The joy on the ship caused by this great victory was instantly extinguished, and everyone fell back into panic.

Jiang Ning appeared in front of everyone, so naturally, she hadn't thought about continuing to hide her identity: "Clerk Chen, Commander Wu, shall we discuss this together? And you two secret agents from the Attendant Hall?"

Her gaze fell on Li Ling and Li Youyi.

Li Ling looked toward Li Youyi, following his lead.

Li Youyi had originally wanted to recall the seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors, but those seven little guys actually charged directly toward the third deck and landed on Jiang Ning, looking extremely affectionate.

Unfilial children!

Seven unfilial children!

Everyone soon gathered in the main hall on the third deck.

Jiang Ning's moving fairy-like body and jade face were shrouded in magic power light, hazy and beautiful: "Continuing forward, the distance to Tiger-Crouch City, which is under the jurisdiction of the imperial court, is only three hundred li. However, the Water Lion Beast pulling the ship has been shot dead, and sailing against the current, the ship cannot move fast. The Night City barbarian thieves will soon catch up to us."

Yin Shisan smiled: "We will all listen to the Angel's arrangements."

Upon learning Jiang Ning's identity as an Angel of the Luan Terrace, Wu Zhaonan was naturally respectful and immediately flattered her in agreement.

Jiang Ning looked at Li Youyi, who was still wearing the ghost mask: "When the formation broke earlier, Secret Agent Sima did not choose to flee but stayed to face the enemy together, which shows he has a heart to save people. In the current predicament, either we stay and die together, or we take away as many people with decent martial arts cultivation as possible. All people or a few people, how do you choose?"

Envy appeared in Wu Zhaonan's eyes; he could see that Secret Agent Sima had already caught the eye of the Luan Terrace Angel and would surely have a limitless future.

It was not something to be envied; just by the identity of an insect tamer alone, the other party could rise to the top.

"It is not necessarily a choice! If we want to leave, we can leave together, but we must work together." Li Youyi said.

Everyone present was stunned, doubting whether he was being heroic for a moment and forgetting that reality often requires compromise.

Jiang Ning said: "Tell me about it."

Li Youyi said: "Everyone present is an official of the imperial court; you should all have magic jade boats, right? How many are there in total?"

"I have one mid-grade magic jade boat, which can travel 1,800 li a day. If we squeeze, it can carry ten people. But wanting to reach Tiger-Crouch City within two hours is a bit of a stretch."

Yin Shisan took out a delicate little boat four inches long.

Wu Zhaonan said: "My magic jade boat is about the same as Clerk Chen's."

Zhuang Yue said: "My magic jade boat is high-grade and can barely carry twenty people."

"I have one Hundred-Character Scripture magic jade boat, which can carry sixty or seventy people at its limit." Jiang Ning added: "Secret Agent Sima, this is still far from enough to send everyone away, and time is very tight. If we are caught by the Night City barbarian thieves, wouldn't everything be over?"

Li Youyi spoke at a very fast speed: "Proceed in three steps. First step, those on the ship with high cultivation, exceeding Six Springs, all go ashore. With their foot speed, it won't take long to reach Tiger-Crouch City. Moreover, they are not the main target of the Night City barbarian thieves, so it will be easier to escape in the darkness."

"Second step, just now the two of us have already used beast scripts to control about fifty Fire Crows, which can easily carry two hundred people."

"Third step, I will arrange for two Fire Crows to pull this abandoned ship downstream along the Sui River, creating the illusion that we are fleeing downstream. This will be enough to buy at least another half an hour of time."

"If you want to save people, act now! However, Angel, your body is worth a thousand gold and your status is noble; I wonder if you would take risks for a group of people who are completely not worth the risk?"

Zhuang Yue said: "Don't look down on people. Do you think my Young Lady really couldn't think of a way? She was just testing you!"

Jiang Ning carried her hands behind her back and was the first to walk out of the main hall, looking at the vast, misty river surface: "What is worth it or not? If all things in the world were based on profit and loss as the sole criterion for action, what kind of unbearable world would this be? Act!"

The three-deck warship was brightly lit, and pulled by two Fire Crows, it sped away downstream.

In reality, the ship was already empty.

Four magic jade boats on the river under the night sky were like four white arrows of different sizes, riding the wind and waves toward Tiger-Crouch City three hundred li away.

Nearly fifty Fire Crows, under the mental control of Li Youyi and Li Ling, carried people flying over the river surface.

Li Youyi sat on the back of one of the Fire Crows, wondering in his heart if it was "worth it." Perhaps, as Jiang Ning said, profit and loss were by no means the only criteria for living in the world. Right and wrong were right in front of him; how could he turn a blind eye?

"Come down and chat?"

Jiang Ning's voice entered Li Youyi's ears along with a wisp of magic power.

Li Youyi looked at the huge magic jade boat below, which was wrapped in the interior of over a hundred complex and profound scriptures, carrying many women and children.

The grades of magic tools are divided into low-grade, mid-grade, and high-grade.

And going further up, they are divided into: Hundred-Character Scripture magic tools, Thousand-Character Scripture magic tools, and Ten-Thousand-Character Scripture magic tools.

The more scriptures engraved inside, the stronger the power of the magic tool naturally is. Of course, for low-level martial cultivators, magic tools are not necessarily the stronger the better. Urging the scriptures consumes a great deal of magic power, and it is possible that one strike could drain all the seas of Qi in the body.

High-grade magic tools actually already have scriptures inside, but the quantity is small and does not reach a hundred characters.

Every Hundred-Character Scripture magic tool is worth a fortune, and not every Dao Seed Realm martial cultivator has one. Take Jiang Ning's magic jade boat; not only can it travel four thousand li a day, but it also has flight capability.

However, even with her cultivation, controlling the magic jade boat to fly would consume enough magic power to quickly drain her.

This was the final escape treasure in a moment of life and death.

Li Youyi flew away from the Fire Crow and landed gracefully on the Hundred-Character Scripture magic jade boat.

Space on the ship was limited.

Beside Jiang Ning at the bow of the ship, there was only three feet of standing room. Li Youyi sat down beside her in a dashing and casual manner, dangling his legs over the side.

Jiang Ning sat cross-legged, and part of her spread-out long skirt was sat upon by Li Youyi, but she looked at it indifferently and asked: "What is your name?"

There was nothing to hide, so Li Youyi said: "Li Youyi."

"This name sounds better than Sima Tan."

Jiang Ning said: "But impersonating a secret agent of the Attendant Hall is no small crime. As a Luan Terrace Angel, if I killed you, it would be reasonable and legal. Chen Chuan would not be able to escape the consequences either, at the very least being thrown into prison or sent to the army."

Close at hand, the fragrance wafting from her dark hair made one feel as if they were in a fairy land, forgetting the time.

But Li Youyi was very calm: "With the Angel's cultivation, if you really did that, we would have no power to resist."

"Do you think Jiang Ning is that kind of person?" Jiang Ning said.

Li Youyi smiled: "Not really! But it's hard to say. After all, if you kill me, those seven little guys will be yours!"

"Compared to them, what I value more is you."

Jiang Ning turned her head slightly. Her fairy-like face behind the veil, whether it was her dark brows, her bright eyes, or her lustrous skin and hair, all had a fatal attraction that could pull people into an emotional abyss.

This was the charm of one of the three fairies in the world; her beauty alone was enough to make her famous throughout the world.

There were definitely not many men who could sit so close to her, and perhaps Li Youyi was the only one.

To catch her soul-snatching, moving gaze at such close range was even more of a test of inner composure.

Li Youyi secretly practiced the Jade Void Breathing Method, his mind clear as he said: "The Angel thinks too highly of me! Heroes emerge in the world, and there are countless people of the same age whose intelligence and martial arts surpass mine. Luan Terrace Angel, Feather Fairy, just by putting these two titles out there and saying a word, I don't know how many people would line up to visit. Even top young-generation figures at the Fifth Realm of the Five Seas are yours to choose from."

Jiang Ning did not deny that she had this appeal, her confidence coming from the inside out: "I know your growth speed in my heart; there is no need to be humble. Actually, what I value is not just your strength, but also the fighting spirit you have to risk your life for the responsibilities and principles in your heart. The current imperial court needs someone like you the most."

"Why do you think I am such a person? Just because of today's battle?" Li Youyi felt that Jiang Ning was a bit too idealistic.

Jiang Ning said: "Burial Xianzhen, the boundary of the Five Seas Realm."

"What do you mean?" Li Youyi asked.

She said: "I was right there at the time! You could risk your life for those young martial cultivators of the Nine Li clan, fighting for a way for them to live. I cannot do this, so I admire you. I wanted to save you when you were in the most danger to win you over, but unfortunately, I played a trick and missed the best opportunity."

"Honest enough." Li Youyi said.

Jiang Ning said: "The stage of the Nine Li clan is too small! Why not join the imperial court and fight for the living beings of this world?"

Li Youyi smiled: "I think you misunderstood! I am not that noble. You only saw me fighting bloody battles at the boundary of the Five Seas Realm, but you didn't see me making a fortune in Burial Xianzhen."

"Misunderstood? Then what about today?" Jiang Ning said.

Li Youyi said: "The harvest today was average, and time was too tight to loot the corpses. But just these fifty Fire Crows, if driven to Tiger-Crouch City, should be able to sell for a considerable price, right?"

Li Youyi's non-sequitur made it impossible for Jiang Ning to continue. She smiled rarely and looked into the distance: "These Fire Crows, if they fly to Tiger-Crouch City, will be directly confiscated and incorporated into the imperial court's army. Your dream of getting rich is destined to fail."

Li Youyi was stunned: "How can they do this? Will you help me?"

"I won't help you, because I won't enter Tiger-Crouch City at all. In Zhi Prefecture, if my whereabouts are exposed in the open, it is a very dangerous thing." Jiang Ning tried again: "Really won't reconsider?"

"My cultivation is too low, and it is not my turn to worry about the great affairs of the world."

Li Youyi forcibly took the seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors away, then said goodbye and returned to the back of the Fire Crow.

The journey was safe, and any rebel scouts encountered were killed in advance.

Thirty li away from Tiger-Crouch City, six patrol soldiers of the imperial court army rode flying beasts, rushing out of the city-protecting formation and speeding toward them.

The four jade boats immediately docked.

Jiang Ning put away the jade boat and talked to Yin Shisan: "I have a rough guess about your identity, but it doesn't matter. In these extraordinary times, as long as you have the ability, there is a place for you in the imperial court. With your ability, escorting the concubines and family members of that group of useless meat-eaters is too much of a waste of talent!"

"Right now, I am being hunted by strong enemies. Come with me, escort me into Qiu Prefecture, and I will give you a higher position."

Yin Shisan looked toward Li Youyi and Li Ling, showing hesitation.

Jiang Ning said: "Don't look at them. My opponent is very strong. The two of them still lack a bit of cultivation, and it is too dangerous for them to travel with us! Go say goodbye to them; I will wait for you ahead for a quarter of an hour."

Jiang Ning and Zhuang Yue transformed into two afterimages and quickly disappeared into the darkness.

Li Youyi heard Yin Shisan's footsteps behind him and said: "I heard it all! Jiang Ning is not bad. If you hold onto her thigh, Brother Thirteen will surely flourish in the future, and at the same time, you can obtain more benefits for the Hidden Sect."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 156 =====