# Chapter 99: A Life-and-Death Gamble
A white giant eagle and a black giant hawk streaked across the sky like bolts of white and black lightning, drawing the gazes of countless onlookers below who speculated about what kind of high-level Xuan Beasts they might be. But soon, the eagle and hawk flew farther and farther away, higher and higher, until they completely disappeared beyond the clouds.
"Little Snow! A little higher!"
The Giant Snow Eagle was pure white all over. Lan Xueruo hoped that after it flew above the clouds, it could use the white clouds to conceal their forms. But Yun Che knew very well that if the pursuer behind them was any other type of flying Xuan Beast, this might work—but unfortunately, behind them was a hawk. Hawks were the true rulers of the high skies, and in the high-altitude domain, nothing could escape a hawk's eyes.
The Giant Snow Eagle flew higher and higher, passing through countless layers of clouds. But the Storm Raging Eagle behind them refused to give up the chase. The Giant Snow Eagle could fly very high, enough to reach five thousand meters of altitude, but when it came to flying height, it was far inferior to a hawk. An ordinary adult male hawk could fly to an altitude of ten thousand meters, let alone a Spirit Xuan level Storm Raging Eagle.
Fortunately, in terms of flying speed, the Giant Snow Eagle was not inferior to the Storm Raging Eagle. Although the Storm Raging Eagle chased closely behind, it maintained a constant distance. The Giant Snow Eagle could not shake off the Storm Raging Eagle, and for the time being, the Storm Raging Eagle could not catch up to the Giant Snow Eagle. However, the Giant Snow Eagle's grade was ultimately lower than the Storm Raging Eagle's, and its endurance was naturally far inferior. This state could not be maintained for long. It was only a matter of time before the Storm Raging Eagle caught up to the Giant Snow Eagle.
"As far as I know, this Storm Raging Eagle was captured alive by the Xiao Sect a few years ago. It hasn't been completely tamed yet, and it's definitely not a contract Xuan Beast. If released, there's a risk it might escape. So unless something earth-shattering happened, they would never let this Storm Raging Eagle out... Junior Brother Yun, what exactly did you do to the Xiao Sect?" Lan Xueruo tightly gripped the Giant Snow Eagle's feathers and asked nervously.
The wind roared like thunder in their ears. Faced with Lan Xueruo's question, Yun Che hesitated for a moment, then told the truth: "You might not believe this, but... I completely crippled Xiao Luocheng, cost them a loss of six hundred thousand Purple Mysterious Coins..." Yun Che paused for a moment, then chose a version that was still somewhat acceptable: "And I completely destroyed their sect's treasure vault."
"Ah!" Lan Xueruo's beautiful eyes widened, her lips parted wide as she stared at him as if she were looking at a monster.
"I swear by my appearance, all of this is true." Yun Che said helplessly.
"..." Lan Xueruo was speechless for a long time. She did not doubt Yun Che's words. Based on what she had seen of Yun Che's character, she was certain he would not deceive her with such absurd-sounding words at a time like this. And precisely because she did not doubt him, her heart was filled with shock. She was astonished that a boy at the Xuan Entry Realm Level 1 could single-handedly wreak such havoc on the largest sect in New Moon City—it was simply inconceivable. And what shocked her even more was... crippling Xiao Luocheng and causing a loss of six hundred thousand Purple Mysterious Coins was already a deep, bloody grudge. Destroying the sect's treasure vault... that was far more than a deep, bloody grudge! Such hatred was enough to last for a hundred generations of this sect!
If the Xiao Sect branch hadn't spared no effort to tear Yun Che into pieces this time, even she would have found it hard to look the other way.
No wonder they had even released the Storm Raging Eagle to hunt him down.
Lan Xueruo had initially been thinking whether to stop this futile escape and reveal her identity, which would be enough to guarantee Yun Che's safety. But after hearing his account, she completely abandoned that idea. Given what Yun Che had done, if he fell into the hands of the Xiao Sect, even if she brought out her father, it would be impossible to save him.
Seeing Lan Xueruo's reaction, Yun Che said guiltily, "Senior Sister Xueruo, I'm sorry, I've dragged you into this."
Lan Xueruo gently shook her head: "This was my own choice. There's no such thing as dragging into anything." She smiled softly and comforted him, "Besides, it's only natural for a senior sister to protect her adorable junior brother."
"It's still too early to talk about dragging me into this. We might not necessarily fail to escape. Maybe they'll give up chasing after a while. Or maybe... that Storm Raging Eagle will suddenly become disobedient and fly off in another direction—anything's possible... Little Snow, fly a little faster!"
Hearing Lan Xueruo's words, a hint of complexity flashed across Yun Che's expression. When Lan Xueruo said these things, he did not see a trace of regret, falsehood, or impurity deep in her eyes—not a single trace.
He didn't like owing people debts, but this time, he truly owed one. He owed a life-saving grace, and perhaps... some kind of emotion.
"Speaking of which, Junior Brother Yun, how did you manage to infiltrate the Xiao Sect? And how did you cause such devastation to the Xiao Sect? Can you tell me?"
Lan Xueruo's state of mind at this moment must have been extremely tense, but when she spoke, her eyes still held the purest curiosity, making it impossible for Yun Che, who had wanted to keep all this hidden, to refuse. He thought for a moment, then recounted to her: "A long time ago, I had a master. I learned some medical skills from him, including disguise techniques. Xiao Luocheng was severely injured by me, and the sect must have been frantically seeking doctors, so I disguised myself as a middle-aged physician... and infiltrated the Xiao Sect..."
Yun Che's eloquence was naturally excellent, and he vividly narrated what had happened in the Xiao Sect over the past few days to Lan Xueruo. Of course, things like the King Xuan Dragon Pill that must not be known to others were not mentioned. The entire story was undoubtedly brilliant and thrilling. As Lan Xueruo listened, her pink lips were sometimes wide open, sometimes she covered her mouth and laughed, and sometimes her face was full of shock... Especially when she heard that he had been mistaken for a peerless divine doctor and that Xiao Luocheng had knelt down and called him 'grandfather,' she burst into laughter, clutching her stomach, tears even welling up at the corners of her eyes... Throughout the entire process, it was as if she had completely forgotten they were in mortal danger.
One hour passed, two hours passed...
The sky had darkened. In two hours, they had crossed several hundred miles through the roaring winds. Yun Che and Lan Xueruo's ears were nearly deaf. They no longer knew where they were. Every time they looked back, they could still clearly see the shadow of that black giant eagle.
"Damn! It's about to catch up! Little Snow, fly faster, Little Snow!!"
Yun Che turned his head and was shocked to see that the Storm Raging Eagle behind them had closed from a thousand meters to less than three hundred meters. Sitting on the back of the Giant Snow Eagle, Yun Che could clearly feel its body convulsing... Flying at full speed for two hours—that is, four hours—was almost a miracle for a True Xuan Beast. If it weren't for the fact that it was Lan Xueruo's contract Xuan Beast and absolutely loyal to her, it would never have been able to persist to this point.
And at this moment, the advantages of the Storm Raging Eagle's higher grade became clearly apparent. Its flying speed showed almost no sign of slowing down, and the occasional eagle cries it let out were full of vigor, resounding through heaven and earth.
"Senior Sister, don't push it any further. It's already overexerting its strength. If we continue, it will directly harm its lifespan."
As the owner of the Giant Snow Eagle, Lan Xueruo knew its current condition even better than Yun Che. She bit her lip and clenched her fists tightly.
The Giant Snow Eagle's body convulsed more and more violently, its posture no longer stable, wobbling and shaking, and its speed was slowing down more and more. The Storm Raging Eagle behind them drew closer and closer. At this moment, a ferocious voice came from behind them: "You little bastard! Making me chase you for so long! This time, let's see where you can still run!!"
Yun Che suddenly turned his head and saw that the Storm Raging Eagle had already closed to within a hundred meters. He could clearly see the Storm Raging Eagle's full appearance and the figure standing on its back... it was unmistakably Xiao Zaihe!
"Senior Sister, have Little Snow dive down immediately. We need to prepare—"
Yun Che's words were cut off mid-sentence because, in that instant, an extreme sense of danger came from behind him. He turned around almost like lightning and saw, on the back of the Storm Raging Eagle, the strange weapon raised in Xiao Zaihe's hand.
That was...
A Poison Fire Gun!!
Xiao Zaihe actually had a Poison Fire Gun on him!
Before he could react, he saw a tongue of flame suddenly shoot out from the Poison Fire Gun... In an instant, a deadly dangerous aura shot forward faster than sound, originally aimed at Yun Che, but slightly deflected by the violent air currents, flying straight toward Lan Xueruo's chest.
"Senior Sister, be careful!!"
Lan Xueruo, who had turned her head, had not sensed the approach of deadly danger at all. By the time she finally noticed, she had no time to react... In her dilated pupils, a small dark object grew closer and closer, then was firmly blocked by Yun Che's body as he lunged over...
Pff!!
A large hole burst open on Yun Che's left shoulder, blood splattering everywhere. Although he had avoided the vital spot, he had still underestimated the power of the Poison Fire Gun. At the moment he was hit, he could almost hear Death's mocking laughter.
"Yun... Junior Brother Yun!!"
Lan Xueruo's body froze there. Only when she saw Yun Che's shoulder instantly stained red with blood did she let out a terrified cry and hurriedly support his body, which was slowly collapsing.
"Senior Sister..." The excruciating pain of the wound he could endure, but the mental dispersion caused by the severe injury made him feel like he couldn't hold on. His face pale, he bit his tongue and said with difficulty: "That was... a Poison Fire Gun... highly toxic... if you're hit... you die... Hold me... and jump down... jumping down... might kill us... but not jumping down... will definitely kill us..."
Toxic?
Looking at Yun Che's bloody shoulder, Lan Xueruo's heart trembled violently. Her eyes moist with tears, she nodded and tightly embraced Yun Che's body: "Alright... we'll jump down."
At this moment, facing Yun Che, who had used his life to shield her, even confronted with an altitude of several thousand meters, she still chose to blindly follow him. Holding Yun Che, she stood up on the back of the Giant Snow Eagle, looked down at the vast unknown below, and said softly: "Little Snow, you've worked hard... Go back and rest well."
As her voice fell, the mark on the back of her hand flashed. The Giant Snow Eagle let out a long cry, and its massive body vanished in a flash of white light.
And Yun Che and Lan Xueruo's bodies plummeted straight down, falling into the vast unknown below.
[The New Moon City arc is just a transition. Because going directly from Flowcloud City to the Cangfeng Imperial Capital would be too abrupt. Yun Che's first real stage is the Cangfeng Imperial Capital, where he must face not a small branch sect, but the four great sects that dominate the empire!]
[Something came up at home. I seem to owe about six or seven chapters since last Saturday. I'll be spending this Saturday (today) in the hospital, so I might still owe more. This Mars remembers it all. Although the cycle might be a bit long, I swear by my good looks that I will ~ de~fi~nite~ly ~ make ~ it ~ up!!]