A Pawn's Passage

Xu Kou looked at Wei Wugui, feeling a little shocked. He had high expectations of Wei Wugui, but he still found that he had underestimated this soldier. Wei Wugui was not just an ordinary Martial Arts Practitioner; he also cultivated innate qi. If they fought head-on, Xu Kou was not confident that he would win.

Qi Xuansu said, “It’s strange how there are so many masters hidden in this small City God Temple. It looks like Wang Baoyue is really hiding here.”

“Then we have to move fast because there’s no way the fight just now didn’t alert the rest. We can’t let Wang Baoyue escape again!” Xu Kou gathered his thoughts and focused on their goal.

At this moment, Major Zhang also walked out of the secret passage in the side hall with a group of Green Phoenix Guards. He was shocked upon seeing the corpses littered on the ground. It turned out that so many people were hiding in the City God Temple. He was also impressed by Qi Xuansu’s and Xu Kou’s bravery and power, as they managed to kill so many opponents in such a short period of time.

Major Zhang was also glad that he asked these two men for reinforcement. Otherwise, he would have most likely ended up dead if he were to come before them.

Qi Xuansu said, “Major Zhang, Brother Xu and I will hunt down Wang Baoyue. We’ll leave the rest to you.”

Major Zhang clasped his fists, his expression solemn. “Thank you both.”

The two men jumped onto the roof.

The next moment, a hail of arrows and projectiles ambushed them.

Fortunately, they were both Martial Arts Practitioners, so they were not afraid of this situation. They used their fists to deflect and block the arrows and bullets. Xu Kou used the Black Tortoise Method, while Qi Xuansu used the Mountain Fist, creating an airtight shield around them.

Qi Xuansu was not one to just take beatings without fighting back. After blocking a bunch of bullets, he threw out a set of Seven Phoenix Feathers, stabbing and poisoning seven people instantly.

He used his innate qi to summon the Seven Phoenix Feathers, spreading out the feathers between his fingers like a fan.

Xu Kou took the opportunity to jump down and rush into the enemy’s battle formation. As a pure Martial Arts Practitioner, Xu Kou had already begun to condense his body and spirit, which started from the fists before progressing to the arms and the rest of the body.

At this time, the acupoints on Xu Kou’s fists were shining brightly, each acupoint containing a miniature version of Xu Kou. When Xu Kou punched, the spirit within his acupoints mimicked the same moves, amplifying the effect of the punch and making it deadly.

Qi Xuansu and Xu Kou were both experienced fighters, so they worked seamlessly together to defeat the group of attackers in no time.

At this moment, a figure with bloodshot eyes and a ferocious face appeared in a flash. It was Wang Baoyue.

When Wang Baoyue saw Qi Xuansu and Xu Kou, he became even more hostile. “Why are you chasing me?!”

Qi Xuansu did not bother to talk nonsense. He raised his hand and shot out the Seven Phoenix Feathers toward Wang Baoyue.

Taken by surprise, Wang Baoyue dropped and rolled on the spot, disregarding his image. He barely dodged six of the feathers but was still hit in the chest by one.

However, since Wang Baoyue was in the Guizhen stage, the poison had little effect on him. He plucked out the feather from his chest while using his innate qi to dissipate the poison that left a green hue on his complexion.

Xu Kou was in no hurry to take action. He shouted, “Wang Baoyue, you have nowhere to run. I might as well give you a quick death!”

Hearing this, Wang Baoyue felt like a trapped beast. “Xu Kou! Are you afraid that I will fall into the hands of the Zhengyi Sect? If I’m pushed to the corner, I’ll fucking confess everything to the Southerners and drag everyone down with me! At worst, we’ll all get beheaded together!”

Xu Kou looked indifferent. “We? The Taiping Sect is not involved in this crap! You did business with the Heavenly Court, so even if you confess, it won’t affect anyone.”

Qi Xuansu was slightly shaken. It seemed that Xu Kou was aware of some inside story. On second thought, it made sense because Xu Kou was from the Taiping Sect and used to work for the Qizhou Daoist Mansion. Although his position was not high, he had direct contact with Sage Qingwei and Li Tianzhen.

Wang Baoyue did not wait for them to react. He raised the Western gun in his hand and fired fiercely at the two of them.

Qi Xuansu had been on guard, so he dodged sideways and shouted, “Wang Baoyue, where can you escape to?”

Wang Baoyue did not reply. After temporarily forcing the two men back, he turned around and fled.

Qi Xuansu and Xu Kou immediately pursued the pirate leader.

This time, Wang Baoyue jumped up and turned back to fire a shot with his arm cannon.

This shot not only hindered Qi Xuansu and Xu Kou in their pursuit but also allowed him to leverage the force of the shockwaves to glide farther from them. That was how he flew out of the City God Temple.

As soon as Wang Baoyue’s feet landed on the ground, he ran toward the north without looking back.

The first thing Wang Baoyue did when he came to the City God Temple was to survey the surrounding terrain in preparation for an emergency escape in case his whereabouts were exposed. Therefore, as soon as Wang Baoyue realized that he could not defeat his opponents, he decisively fled.

Wang Baoyue ran through the forest and came to a river, which led directly to the Grand Canal. He looked around, planning to fake an escape along the Grand Canal, but he would do the opposite and escape to Wannian County so that he could hide in plain sight.

However, at this moment, someone appeared on the opposite side of the river bank.

Wang Baoyue was taken aback at first, but when he saw who the man was, he breathed a sigh of relief.

“Master Shen, what brings you here?” Wang Baoyue asked, remaining vigilant.

The person standing on the opposite side of the river was none other than Shen Mingshu. He looked in the direction of the City God Temple and did not answer Wang Baoyue’s question.

“Those people are out to get you. I’ve arranged for some Guizhen-stage masters to guard this place, but they were killed. After all, I really didn’t expect two extra guests.”

Wang Baoyue shrugged. “Well, there’s nothing we can do about that. Since you’re here, should we leave first? Or should we go back and fight them together?”

Shen Mingshu pondered for a moment before shaking his head. “Even if you and I join forces, we might not defeat them. So we should leave first and then plan our next steps.”

Wang Baoyue had no objection.

Shen Mingshu waved his hand and took out a mechanical puppet from his magical receptacle. The puppet spread its wings and turned into a crane with many intricate and cryptic talisman patterns resembling clouds carved on the wings. Its back was smooth and flat, able to accommodate one person sitting cross-legged on it.

Under Wang Baoyue’s surprised gaze, Shen Mingshu stretched out his hand and tapped the top of the puppet’s head. The puppet crane instantly came to life and flapped its wings. Instead of relying on its wings to soar in the sky, the crane released a huge air current from under its wings and body that spread all around.

All Wang Baoyue could feel was the gust of wind, so strong that he could not open his eyes and had to step back.

Shen Mingshu said, “Brother Wang, you have the arm cannon, which is the product of the West’s Arcane Alchemy, while the Taiping Sect has mechanical puppetry.”

Wang Baoyue’s cannon shot managed to hinder Qi Xuansu and Xu Kou. When the two men jumped out of the City God Temple, they heard an explosion coming from the woods not far away, followed by billowing black smoke.

The two looked at each other and immediately rushed toward the forest.

The explosion occurred on the other side of the woods. They could even see a patch of black from a distance. Countless trees had turned to charcoal, and many others had fallen from the huge shockwaves. These fallen trees briefly interrupted the flow of a small river through the forest.

Qi Xuansu and Xu Kou looked puzzled. Did Wang Baoyue encounter a strong enemy?

As they walked through the burnt trees, they finally saw the person they were looking for—Wang Baoyue.

The reason they failed to spot Wang Baoyue immediately was because his clothes and body were completely charred, no different from the surrounding trees that had turned into charcoal. Flickering embers were emitting from the cracks of the burnt skeleton.

If it had not been for the well-preserved arm cannon, neither Qi Xuansu nor Xu Kou would have been able to identify Wang Baoyue.

In the blink of an eye, the pirate leader who had repeatedly escaped the pursuit of the Black Robes and the Green Phoenix Guard was dead before their eyes.

Qi Xuansu knew that Wang Baoyue must have been silenced.

The mastermind could obliterate the entire Yuan family and their recruited fighters, let alone one Wang Baoyue.

They could even attack the Yinglong Warship and kill a Sage, so a pirate leader was nothing to them.

The two major forces were at odds with each other. While the big shots fought, the blood that was shed came from the minions down below.