Chapter 497: Broken Blade

The destruction of the Ming Sect was the result of a scheme by Ji Tianrui, the encirclement of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the search by the Western Regions Moni Sect, while the witchcraft inheritance was also swept twice by the major Jianghu sects of the South and the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

There should no longer be any witchcraft inheritance in the Great Ming.

At least at the point in time two years ago, after the end of the Battle of the Imperial Mausoleum, Li Miao could be certain that the witchcraft inheritance in the Central Plains region had been completely wiped out.

And the Gu-insect Gao Lei took out, although not a particularly profound type in the witchcraft inheritance, looked lively and vigorous, clearly having been refined recently, not "stock" that had been sealed away to avoid the search.

That was why Li Miao thought of Ji Tianrui in the first instance.

And back to the present.

Gao Lei's words just now had already explained the ins and outs of the matter.

Gao Lei's harming of people was at the instruction of the sect, and the reason for Wu Zhi's discord with him lay precisely in this.

The rough and enthusiastic Gao Lei wanted to harm people, while the overbearing and arrogant Wu Zhi was actually saving people.

Wu Zhi's behavior of looking for trouble during the day was actually to persuade Li Miao and the others to leave without making a scene. As for why he didn't say it directly... I'm afraid that although he wanted to save people, he didn't want to expose the ugly things done by the sect, so he could only act like a brainless villain to drive people away.

Thinking of this, Li Miao reached out and picked up the note Wu Zhi had put in and unfolded it.

"Do not make a scene; go thirty paces west from here and hide under the field ridges. When there is no one around, go a hundred paces east into the forest, wash off the scent in the stream, and then turn back and leave.

"If you hear the sound of insects flapping their wings, just cover your mouth and nose and flee."

Li Miao raised his eyebrows.

The smoke Wu Zhi blew into the room at the beginning was precisely medicine to shield against Gu-insects.

So he knew from the beginning that Gao Lei had Gu-insects on him.

Taking it a step further, since both Gao Lei and Wu Zhi understood Gu-arts, could their sect be completely ignorant of Gu-arts?

The Yang family, witchcraft—these two things that should have disappeared long ago reappeared two years after Li Miao disappeared; it was absolutely not something that could be explained by the word "coincidence."

And in the gap of Li Miao's thinking, the voices outside had suddenly raised, and the whispered conversation instantly turned into a roar!

"Careful!"

"Gu-insects! Retreat, I'll handle it!"

The Japanese pirates reacted instantly!

The four Japanese pirates rushing toward Wu Zhi had no reaction at all, still slashing toward Wu Zhi's body in unison.

The four Japanese pirates rushing toward Gao Lei, however, retreated suddenly, dodging the Gu-insects' pounce by a hair's breadth. At the same time, the lead Japanese pirate reached into his bosom, took out a ball the size of a fist, and smashed it violently on the ground!

*Bang! *

Smoke rose suddenly!

The ball exploded the moment it touched the ground, turning into a cloud of smoke, blocking the Gu-insects.

A few Gu-insects didn't react in time and rushed into the smoke, suddenly losing their balance, struggling on the ground after a few chaotic charges, and stopped moving after a few more breaths.

"Oh?"

Li Miao raised his eyebrows.

These Japanese pirates were not only quick to react, but even had corresponding means, as if they had also fought against opponents who manipulated Gu-insects.

Japan didn't have such things as witchcraft.

And Gao Lei clearly hadn't expected that his hidden life-saving means would be broken instantly, and his face quickly turned gloomy. His eyeballs rolled a few times, and he turned and fled without the slightest hesitation!

Witchcraft was ineffective, and in terms of martial arts alone, he and Wu Zhi combined were no match for these eight Japanese pirates. Since his own life was threatened, Wu Zhi's "last will and testament," which he wasn't sure existed, was no longer a priority!

He made his decision extremely quickly, and his light-body technique was also very brilliant.

Plus, there were Gu-insects blocking the way behind.

By the time the smoke dissipated and the Japanese pirates looked again, he was already gone.

Two Japanese pirates raised their sabers, intending to chase.

The lead Japanese pirate, however, raised his hand abruptly.

" *Tomare* (Stop)!"

Those two Japanese pirates turned their heads to look.

" *Gozen* (My lord)!"

The lead Japanese pirate waved his hand to interrupt their words, but didn't explain much, just staring intently at the direction Gao Lei had left, his eyes filled with shifting emotions, so much so that even Wu Zhi could see the fluctuations in his heart.

Hatred, resentment, anger, and—fear.

And the joy of a thirsty person encountering sweet rain.

If there weren't extremely complex entanglements, it would be very difficult to have such complex eyes.

The object of these emotions was not Gao Lei. ===== CHAPTER 498 =====