Chapter 768: Heavy and Desperate Breathing
Tianhai Zhanyi found himself flying.
Then he discovered he had regained control of his body, instinctively beginning to wave his arms like a flailing puppet, somewhat ridiculous. Yet this still couldn't change his trajectory. Watching Nanke's small face grow closer and clearer, he revealed a look of despair and closed his eyes.
He landed in Nanke's hands but did not die.
Nanke grabbed him by the front of his clothes and held him up in the night sky.
Tianhai Zhanyi opened his eyes, his body trembling uncontrollably, letting out a mournful cry.
Nanke tilted her head, studying him, her somewhat dull eyes carrying a hint of confusion, not understanding what was happening.
Tianhai Zhanyi understood even less, his fear and bewilderment reaching their peak.
Nanke's gaze passed over him, looking toward the opposite side.
Whether it was the Pine Mountain Military Prefecture, the Peerless Sect, or the Tianhai family's soldiers and experts, they were all bewildered at this moment, not knowing what was going on.
On the mountain path, the figures of Zhu Ye and Ning Shiwei had already vanished.
In the snowy ridge under the night, two sounds of wind breaking came from afar, occasionally accompanied by the noise of pine trees being snapped.
One figure was swiftly rushing toward the snowy valley below the cliff, while another was wildly sprinting toward the high snow peak.
In just a moment, those two figures had already gone hundreds of zhang away.
Zhu Ye and Ning Shiwei had left.
They left with such resolve, not caring at all about the lives of their subordinates and trusted followers left behind on the scene.
Clearly, this had been their plan and arrangement all along, a tacit understanding between them.
From the very beginning, Zhu Ye's questioning of that middle-aged scholar and the dialogue between them had all been a smokescreen.
They threw Tianhai Zhanyi at Nanke just to buy a little more time.
They fled in two different directions just to gain a little more possibility.
Everything was for escape.
Zhu Ye had never intended to stay and fight Nanke. It wasn't because he feared Nanke's strength, but because he couldn't see through another person.
That middle-aged scholar.
According to rumors, the Candle Yin Witch elder who had always been by Nanke's side was indeed highly skilled at using zither sounds to subdue enemies, but he was very certain that person had long since died in the Zhou Garden.
Who was that middle-aged scholar playing the zither?
Zhu Ye thought of a certain possibility, but that conjecture was too shocking, so he himself dared not believe it.
When the rain of crossbow bolts poured down toward that side of the mountain path, he hadn't paid any attention to Nanke's response at all. Instead, he stared at the middle-aged scholar—the middle-aged scholar simply lowered his head, looking at the ancient zither in his arms, not moving, not even the strings moving, nor did he dodge, yet those divine crossbow bolts imbued with holy light seemed to drift away naturally as if afraid.
Seeing this scene, Zhu Ye became even more convinced that his conjecture might be true.
Even if there was only a one-in-a-thousand chance that the middle-aged scholar was the one he thought of, if he didn't leave now, he would surely die here tonight.
So he decided to flee, without hesitation, even if it seemed utterly shameless and pitiful.
……
……
Zhu Ye and Ning Shiwei disappeared into the snowy ridge under the night, like two stray dogs.
The experts of the Pine Mountain Military Prefecture and the Peerless Sect looked bewildered, not knowing what was happening, let alone what to do next.
The Tianhai family members, watching their young master fall into the hands of the demon princess, were even more tense to the extreme.
Tianhai Zhanyi looked into Nanke's eyes, terrified to the extreme. The shadow of death gave him unimaginable courage. With a tearful shout, he swung both fists toward Nanke's forehead.
He seemed very flustered, his punches appearing completely unmethodical, but no one knew that these two punches were the Tianhai family's ultimate technique—Grasping the Sparrow's Tail!
Two flashes of light tore through the dark night, and Tianhai Zhanyi's fists struck Nanke like lightning, hitting with perfect accuracy.
Two very clear, dull thuds echoed on the mountain path.
Nanke didn't dodge his punches, didn't even make a move to dodge, still looking at him expressionlessly.
The night wind gently brushed, a strand of black hair drifting from her temple. It didn't break, and naturally, she wasn't injured.
No one would step aside for a mantis waving its forelimbs on the road, and she wouldn't pay any attention to Tianhai Zhanyi's attack.
Although the Tianhai family's ultimate technique was powerful, his fists had no strength.
The insurmountable gap between realms rendered all techniques meaningless.
Tianhai Zhanyi was utterly despairing. He wanted to say a few words to beg for his life, but couldn't speak.
Nanke released her grip and set him down. She walked to the edge of the mountain path and looked toward the snowy ridge under the night, her wings unseen behind her.
She watched the two figures rapidly departing from the peak and the cliff, silently thinking that these two should be considered major figures among the humans, yet they could be so shameless. No wonder the divine race had ruled the northern continent for over a thousand years but still couldn't defeat humanity. Thinking about it, in the future, such situations should be dealt with by killing them immediately.
Tianhai Zhanyi looked at her back, somewhat dazed, not understanding what was happening.
Then, he suddenly felt a sweetness in his throat, followed by a chill in his chest.
He looked down and saw a feather quill stuck in his throat, while another feather quill was deeply embedded in his chest.
The feather quills were green, appearing especially eerie under the ink-like night, held in the hands of those two demon beauties.
Two soft sounds, the green feather quills vanished, and the two demon beauties dissolved into countless specks of light, then reassembled by the mountain path, turning back into gently swaying wings.
Tianhai Zhanyi fell to his knees, clutching his throat and chest, watching the poison-dyed green blood continuously seep through his fingers, gradually losing his breath.
Nanke didn't even glance at him, still watching the two figures among the mountain ridges.
Zhu Ye and Ning Shiwei fled in completely opposite directions. Even with her possessing the most incredible speed in the world, within this snowy ridge range, she could at most catch up to one of them. And given her realm and strength, facing only one, she wouldn't dare claim certain victory, as those two were true human powerhouses, not Tianhai Zhanyi.
Naturally, she looked toward the middle-aged scholar, seeking instructions on what to do.
The middle-aged scholar ignored her, lowering his head, staring intently at the zither strings that trembled slightly without wind.
Nanke understood.
Her wings flapped wildly, wind and snow dancing fiercely, and she turned into a green streak of light, disappearing into the night.
……
……
It's often said that going downhill is harder than going up, but when speed is truly needed, everyone knows that going uphill is definitely slower than rushing down a cliff. Yet Zhu Ye still chose to head toward the snow peak. It wasn't to give way to Ning Shiwei, but because he knew that tonight's escape didn't depend entirely on speed. Faster didn't necessarily mean safer; on the contrary, it might be more dangerous.
If he were the one chasing two fleeing parties, he would certainly go after the faster one first.
Sure enough, in the following moments, he didn't hear the sound of wind breaking behind him, nor did he see that green streak of light.
He was very relieved, but dared not relax at all. He rapidly circulated his true essence, unleashing the Peerless Sect's lightness techniques to their fullest. In a short time, he had already covered over ten li, reaching the upper edge of the snow peak. Just a few hundred zhang more ahead, he could cross the mountain gap there, see the lights of Gaoyang Town, and alert the stationed troops there.
His breathing had become very rapid, and he could even hear the heaviness hidden within.
The night sky, slightly illuminated above the mountain gap, appeared in his sight, giving him new strength as his true essence was nearly depleted, and his pace quickened again.
At that moment, an extremely faint sound arose behind him.
It was like a thin piece of ice falling onto another piece of ice, like the night wind cutting through an icy thread, like someone plucking a zither string.
This was an illusion.
This must be an illusion.
Zhu Ye said to himself.
He didn't turn around, still sprinting forward, his breathing growing faster and heavier, gradually taking on a flavor of despair.