Chapter 817: The Mysterious Expert from the West
"I don't know." Chen Changsheng shook his head and said, "There's been no news for half a year now."
Guan Feibai was silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "I'll go with you."
Chen Changsheng was somewhat surprised, and Zhe Xiu also lifted her head. From the Ivy Banquet to the Grand Examination to the Steles of Heaven, and later to the Stone Boiling Assembly at Cold Mountain, Tang Thirty-Six and Guan Feibai would argue every time they met, their clashes fierce. Why would he want to go to Wenshui?
Seeing their expressions, Guan Feibai felt a bit awkward and said, "Can't I go to mock him for being useless?"
"Fine, do whatever you want," Chen Changsheng said with a smile.
Zhe Xiu shook her head, thinking that after all these years, they were still acting like children.
Chen Changsheng added, "What about the area near Yonglan Pass? Even though your Lishan Sword Sect still listens to orders but not commands, it's not good for you to leave without authorization."
Guan Feibai replied, "It was agreed beforehand. After finishing this matter, I'll return to Lishan. When I reach the next town, I'll have the relay station send a letter back."
Chen Changsheng was a bit surprised and asked, "Were you originally planning to return to Lishan?"
"Second Senior Brother should have already left Yongxue Pass by now. All of us senior and junior brothers will go back."
"Because the demon race withdrew their troops?"
"That's one reason, but mainly because the Grand Senior Brother is returning to Lishan."
Hearing this, Chen Changsheng was silent for a while, then asked, "Where has your senior brother been all these years?"
In the eyes of the world, he had disappeared for three full years, but Qiu Shanjun had vanished for five.
Where Qiu Shanjun had gone was something everyone was curious about.
"We don't know either."
Guan Feibai looked at Chen Changsheng as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he said nothing.
No matter who thought about it, Qiu Shanjun's disappearance must be related to him, or more precisely, to the engagement between him and Xu Yourong. Chen Changsheng was silent for a long time before saying, "I've never met Qiu Shanjun, but if he is truly as you describe him, I believe he would never seclude himself from the world because of a broken heart."
...
...
When the night was deepest, the starlight was brightest.
Standing on the peak, one could clearly see many scenes on the ground.
Outside Hanqiu City, with this mountain ridge as the boundary, the world was split in two. On one side was fertile land irrigated by the river for countless years, still retaining a hint of green in the deep winter, with no sense of desolation. On the other side was a lifeless valley and Gobi composed of rocks, desolate to the extreme.
To go to Wenshui, either path would do.
Luo Bu didn't know which path Chen Changsheng had chosen. What he wanted to know more at this moment was how the pursuers in the mountain forest would choose.
Among those pursuers were many experts and strong fighters, some from the Tang family, some from the Wu family, some from the Mutuo family, and some from his own family.
Simply put, these people were the elite forces of the four great families.
If Chen Changsheng were truly intercepted by these pursuers, no one could predict the final outcome.
Under the starlight, the mountain forest was filled with an unreal, dreamlike beauty. What happened next also felt unreal to Luo Bu.
The pursuers from the four great families didn't choose any path. After receiving reports from several scouts ahead, they discussed and then withdrew along the same route.
Luo Bu was very familiar with the cautious and conservative style of these families. After a moment's thought, he guessed what might have happened.
These pursuers couldn't confirm which path Chen Changsheng had taken. To continue the pursuit, they would need to split their forces. It sounded like a simple arithmetic problem—just divide in two—but the intrigues and deceptions among the families made it complicated. Moreover, they weren't confident they could kill Chen Changsheng with only half their men.
The more important issue was that the scouts' gestures were clear: the situation on the southern road along the river had changed.
So they had to consider whether this was a trap set by the National Church.
...
...
Luo Bu glanced at the rocky mountain and Gobi to the north, which gleamed harshly white under the starlight, then turned and walked down the mountain ridge.
Using the cover of the night forest, he quickly reached the riverbank.
In the darkness, he walked silently along the river until the first rays of dawn rose, painting the winding river like a silver belt.
This river was a tributary of the Wenshui, flowing southward. Compared to the rocky mountain and Gobi to the north, it was relatively warmer.
But it was still deep winter, so the river was frozen solid, covered with thick snow.
Ahead, the river bent to the right, and between the protruding cliffs grew a cluster of winter plum blossoms.
Luo Bu walked to the cluster of plum blossoms and, lifting his eyes, saw the people on the river in the distance.
The ice and snow on the river were torn into many cracks, spreading outward for dozens of zhang. At the end of each crack lay a person in black.
Bloodstains remained on the ice and snow. The people in black were unconscious, their fate unknown.
From this scene, one could imagine how earth-shattering the clash had been just moments ago.
It was also clear how powerful the opponents of these people in black must have been.
Two figures still stood on the frozen river.
One was the strange man in blue robes Luo Bu had seen in Hanqiu City, still wearing a copper mask that looked terrifying.
Even more terrifying was the aura emanating from him.
The snowflakes falling from the sky and the cold wind sweeping across the river naturally avoided him as they approached his body.
In a battle of this level, the man in blue robes couldn't conceal his aura, nor could he hide his cultivation level.
Luo Bu raised an eyebrow slightly, his right hand instinctively gripping the sword at his waist.
Even if he drew his sword, he wouldn't be a match for the man in blue robes. But only by holding this sword could he stay calm and ensure he wasn't detected.
That man in blue robes was actually an expert in the Divine Domain!
The hidden strength of the Western Continent was indeed beyond what many in the Central Continent imagined.
Even more shocking was that despite the man in blue robes being so powerful, he was the one who had lost in this morning's battle.
Blood dripped from his shoulder, and a small piece of his copper mask was missing.
Who could defeat an expert in the Divine Domain?
On the opposite side of the frozen river, the other person also wore a blue robe, but it was lighter in color and more plain.
He wore no mask, facing the wind and snow and the world with a calm expression.
His eyebrows drooped, and his shoulders were slightly slumped, giving him a shabby appearance.
The wind and snow blew incessantly before him, and his sleeves moved slightly—they were empty.
Three years ago, he had cut off one of his arms.
With his remaining hand, he held an iron blade.
The wind and snow swirled around it, unafraid.
But the water beneath the snow had already stopped flowing.
"I didn't expect to have the chance to experience the blade path of Tianliang Wang Po."
The strange man in blue robes said in a slightly hoarse voice.
Wang Po replied calmly, "I also didn't expect to have the opportunity to witness the skill of an expert from the Western Continent."