Chapter 781: It

After confirming the group was split in two, the next question was whether to take the water route.

If we take the water route, according to the parchment's foresight, I will definitely be safe.

If we don't take the water route, we must avoid Danyuan City—according to the first foresight, going there means total annihilation.

Fang Yue scratched his head.

"Brother Ye? Any ideas yet? Staying here isn't an option."

Tian Ruichi, seeing Fang Yue's troubled expression, leaned in.

Though the pursuers might not be targeting Tian Ruichi specifically, his master had sent a Flying Pigeon Message—this proves he's still in danger.

In Fang Yue's first foresight, Tian Ruichi had also died with his sword shattered, his corpse lying beside it.

After thinking for a moment, Fang Yue said: "Given the current situation, sticking to our original plan and sending everyone to Danyuan City is a dead end—we're out of time…"

"Then let's follow my master's advice: take the waterway. My master would never betray me. As for the others, the servants who came with me will come along; the rest of the people from Chunuan City must find their own way."

Tian Ruichi had no intention of saving anyone—letting these Chunuan City folk tag along was already a privilege; did they expect him to do more?

"What?! Is the Special Envoy abandoning us?"

"Special Envoy, aren't we taking the Official Road to Jingcheng?"

"Special Envoy…"

Perhaps because Tian Ruichi's voice was too loud, or perhaps because the group had been deliberating too long, many had noticed something was off—and someone finally spoke up.

Chaos spread quickly, only quelled when Fang Yue stepped forward and shouted twice—compared to Tian Ruichi, the Special Envoy, Fang Yue, who had saved Chunuan City, clearly held more authority.

Watching the scene barely regain order, Fang Yue frowned.

Time was slipping away second by second; every additional second he stayed here pulled him further from the parchment's 'correct' escape vision.

The parchment's foresight was based on the circumstances at that exact moment.

If we stayed put and missed the window, the foresight image would never appear.

Instead, it might show us all being annihilated at Hanjiang Wharf.

So while choice matters, the courage to decide instantly matters just as much.

At dawn, Jing Yan and the others had also been frowning in deep discussion, clearly still uncertain about what to do next.

And then…

"Take the waterway! Leave now!"

Fang Yue turned his horse and looked at Jing Yan and Tian Ruichi, who looked stunned.

"Anyone who wants to return the way we came can go back—we've already cleared the anomalies along this Official Road, so returning should be safe. If you don't want to go back to Chunuan City, you can keep going along this road; when you reach a village, stay there a few days, ideally join a passing merchant caravan, and look for a chance to reach another city…"

As Fang Yue spoke, the crowd erupted in panic.

"Ye Ge, where are you going?"

"Ye Ge, take us with you!"

"Ye Ge… Ye Ge!"

It wasn't that Fang Yue refused to take them—it was that taking them meant certain death for everyone; better to split up and each save themselves.

Jing Yan and the others still hesitated over Fang Yue's decision, exchanging glances but saying nothing.

Fang Yue looked at them and said: "Trust me—come with me now, or it'll be too late."

With a "Yah!", Fang Yue rode straight toward Hanjiang Wharf.

Between two points, the straight line is shortest.

The Official Road is safe, but danger lies ahead—we must risk everything.

Seeing Fang Yue truly ride away, Tian Ruichi and Jing Yan and the others panicked, mounted their horses, and chased after him.

The rest, seeing this, were stunned; though daylight still lingered, they felt icy dread in their hearts.

"Ye Ge ran off!"

"We're done! We're all done!"

"Run back! Back to Chunuan City!"

"We shouldn't have left! How stupid was I to think of joining the Special Envoy's group…"

In the panic, some turned and fled back the way they came, while others pressed forward, determined to follow the Official Road to the nearest village for shelter.

Compared to the distance back, the villages ahead were actually closer.

The Official Road had multiple branches; the crowd scattered across them, thinning into scattered murmurs.

Soon, the once-crowded Official Road stood empty.

No one knew that along every branch road, midway points had been set with checkpoints—figures in black robes stood waiting, as if anticipating prey.

Besides those guarding the checkpoints, other black-robed figures would depart from them and search toward the villages and towns ahead.

At the end of each branch road, the paths converged into a single main Official Road leading straight to Jingcheng.

A black-robed man, a jade flute at his waist, suddenly felt something—his steed reared and neighed, then shot into the tall forest on either side, leaving the road, cutting across the wilderness, as if locked onto a target, racing straight ahead!

…

On the other side.

"Ye Ge, why not settle them first before heading to Hanjiang Wharf? Part of the route is the same anyway," Jing Yan asked, puzzled.

"I can't explain this to you. All I can say is, if we do it this way, it's a dead end."

Jing Yan:???

Your intelligence level makes this impossible to explain. jpg???

He'd never imagined one day he'd be mocked by Fang Yue for his intelligence…

This hurt Jing Yan, but Qingchen, who had caught up later, thought for a moment and said: "It seems Ye Ge knows something. But with your skills, even if there are enemies, they're no match for you… Tian Ruichi's master told him to run because Tian Ruichi is only Xiantian Realm. If the opponent is a Human-Level expert, Ye Ge defeating him is practically guaranteed."

It was a perfectly normal line of thought.

Tian Ruichi's disaster is not Fang Yue's disaster, much less everyone's disaster.

If not for the parchment's foresight, Fang Yue might have confidently declared he could protect Tian Ruichi's safety and told him not to be afraid.

After all, he was a mid-grade Human-Rank expert — if he went all out, no one within the Human-Rank realm was his match.

Especially since he'd been getting a bit cocky lately, he might really have charged in brainlessly — and as for the result… the parchment's foresight had already made it clear enough — the one coming was simply not an existence a Human-Rank could deal with!

As expected of Jingcheng — to come kill a Tian Ruichi, they directly deployed Cloud-Rank, or even possibly Rain-Rank experts!

No… maybe it's actually aimed at me! They're here to kill me!

Fang Yue forced himself to calm down and briefly explained the current situation to them. Only Lin Ling's expression darkened somewhat — he clearly had some objections to Fang Yue suddenly abandoning the people of Chunuan City.

But now was not the time to discuss these things, and Lin Ling knew this too, so he didn't blow up.

"Brother Ye, you don't need to worry too much. His Majesty has sent down an Imperial Edict summoning you. If the people coming want to make a move against you, that would be defying the imperial court, defying His Majesty! Once the charge of defying an edict comes down, who could bear the consequences…"

Tian Ruichi's voice suddenly stopped.

He saw that, ahead on the road below, a person had suddenly appeared.

A black-robed figure wearing a black robe, with a jade flute tucked at his waist and a bamboo hat on his head.

"It's him!"

【It's it!】

Fang Yue and the parchment cried out at the same time!

(End of chapter)