Chapter 14: Injury Flare-up

Pei Ye couldn't bear to look anymore. He picked up the two ten-year-old children and put them on the horse's back, shouting: "I'll take these two, let's go now!"

But his reins were pulled by a hand. Cheng Feng, covered in sweat, said: "Brother Pei, I'll help you take one!"

The more people he took, the more likely there would be someone selected. And children were even more of a drag. Cheng Feng's act was both righteous and brave. This was not the time for pulling. Looking at the youth's determined eyes, Pei Ye picked one up, and the two horses ran out of the courtyard gate side by side.

A small green shadow brushed past the two.

Pei Ye looked back subconsciously and saw the spreading wings.

The soul bird had returned.

The moment he saw it, Pei Ye knew why it had been so late.

A jade box was carried on its back. That was definitely not the normal weight that this embarrassed bird should carry.

It was originally aimed at its owner, but after seeing the situation in the courtyard, it drew a beautiful arc with quite a bit of spirituality and fell into Chang Zhiyuan's palm.

The horse speed had already started. Pei Ye didn't know what happened on that side, but after running a few steps, he felt the rain silk seem to freeze for a moment, and then rolled back toward the rear.

This should be a good thing, because the fighting in the courtyard seemed to be still continuing.

Fenghuai County had no standing lamps, and the people wouldn't light lamps every night to save money, so it was the same as the wild once night fell.

But Pei Ye and Cheng Feng didn't dare to reduce the horse speed at all. Even though the anxiety of falling off the horse at any time hung high in their hearts, the four people and two horses still ran toward the west like flying.

"Go out of the city from the west gate!" Pei Ye shouted.

"Good!" Cheng Feng also shouted against the wind and rain.

"Brother Pei!"

"Huh?"

"Can Officer Shen really not win?"

"..."

Just at this moment, his back suddenly felt empty for no reason. Pei Ye looked back, and his pupils contracted instantly.

Chi dream, god drawing a symbol—no matter how strange and divine these things were, their visual impact was still no match for the simple fantasies about controlling water and fire that the teenagers had about the world.

Now this fantasy was presented before his eyes.

The horse speed was not slow, and they had run a considerable distance, but when looking back, the brightly lit courtyard of the county government was still very conspicuous.

The rainwater within a radius of several dozen zhang was extracted, and they all rushed toward the county government. A water dragon several meters long flew and leaped in the courtyard, as if catching something.

At the same time, water kept shooting into the courtyard, like arrows, like blades, stabbing, cutting, slicing, and splitting, as if a small water-country soldier was using all his strength to launch the most full-force attack on the target in the courtyard.

The remaining rainwater magically floated around the small courtyard, forming a fog-like ring, like well-trained soldiers waiting to be dispatched.

And then the water dragon all fell into the courtyard, as if tightly binding the target, followed by Shen Yanping's iconic green Qi exploding. The water waiting in the air also rushed down in one go. It was hard to imagine what the small courtyard had been devastated into.

Cheng Feng opened his mouth wide and subconsciously reined in the horse: "Brother Pei—"

"Don't stop!" Pei Ye shouted. "Keep going!"

This momentum did indeed make hope rise in his heart, but before the dust settled, it was still better not to look back easily. After all, if Shen Yanping really won and came back, it wouldn't be too late, but if the result was the opposite, there would be no chance to leave.

Horse hooves were like drums, and his chest was like a drum. Looking back at the county government, everything went quiet, and the lights were all extinguished by the water. Whether he won or lost was unknown.

But if the criminal won, he should soon start picking sacrifices. After all, every one of these candidates was fleeing in all directions. Since no ghostly blue fire symbol had descended, the more time passed, the more likely Shen Yanping was to win.

With such expectant anxiety, the four of them arrived at the west gate of the city. The two large lanterns hanging in the gate hole provided some light.

"Separate at the fork ahead! I'll go north, you go south!" 【14-

Heading south would lead to the main road toward the prefecture city, while heading north meant entering the mountains. Pei Ye did not give Cheng Feng a chance to argue; he pulled the horse and turned.

"Keep running, don't stop! If dawn comes and neither of you has a fire talisman appear on your forehead, then... you can return to the city!"

The last half of the sentence was an encouragement to the others, including Pei Ye himself. After locking eyes with Cheng Feng's panting face, Pei Ye turned his head away, held the child in his arms, and was about to spur the horse when he heard the child say, "B-brother, the thing on your forehead is glowing."

Pei Ye's body stiffened. He subconsciously covered his forehead, and when he turned to look at Cheng Feng's horse, his heart sank to the bottom.

On the fair forehead of the child named Zhang Xiaoyan, whom Cheng Feng was holding, a ghostly blue fire talisman was slowly taking shape.

The outcome was decided; the selection had begun.

Inspector Shen and Inspector Chang had likely both met with misfortune.

Upon realizing that these two pillars had collapsed, the pressure seemed to fall squarely onto his own shoulders; the gloomy, rainy night was somewhat suffocating.

Pei Ye looked down and saw that the child in front of him had nothing unusual on his forehead. He immediately flipped off the horse and took him down: "Cheng Feng, switch! Give Zhang Xiaoyan to me, I'll take him away!"

"Brother Pei..."

"You take this child back to the city. Don't take the main streets, find a family to stay with for the night. Remember! Absolutely do not wander around the city!"

Cheng Feng gritted his teeth: "Brother Pei, let him go back to the city alone, I'm following you!"

These words seemed to ignite something; a sudden surge of irritability rushed to his heart. Pei Ye grabbed him by the collar, nearly pulling the youth off the horse: "You're following me?! Who do you think you are, how much skill do you have?! If I wanted to kill you, it would only take three punches!"

Cheng Feng was stunned. Pei Ye took two breaths, let him go, and said coldly: "How worthless is your life? What am I to you, that you would throw your life away for me?"

Cheng Feng stammered, his lips moving. Pei Ye carried Zhang Xiaoyan and turned toward his own horse.

Reinforcements had not arrived, the government had already been defeated, and now Fenghuai was a hunting ground where the enemy could slaughter at will. The situation had reached its worst possible state. They were the mice, and the enemy was the cat. Only by decisively enduring, hiding, and abandoning could they minimize the losses; save one more life if they could, live one more day if they could.

There was no need for the loyalty of "I'll go with you," nor the courage of "I'll fight them with you."

Neither he nor Zhang Xiaoyan in his arms showed any signs of soul loss for the time being. The opponent's "selection" and "calling" were likely two separate stages. He didn't know when the next stage would begin; he could only try his best to get further away.

But when his next step landed in the mud-filled field, the mud seemed to suddenly turn into a bottomless abyss, violently sucking him in. With a dizzying spin, it wasn't until he hit the ground heavily that Pei Ye realized he had fallen.

Only then did the violent, twisting pain in his abdomen burst open the gates of his mind.

Even though he had warned himself repeatedly, the youth had not cherished these opportunities at all, still constantly exposing himself to the cold autumn rain. Now, his wounded body was finally paying him back with a ruthless punishment.