Divine Emperor of Heavenly Destiny

Because the four Innate Masters were trying to overwhelm Lu Chao, Wu Wei had ordered his archers to stand down. This gave Fan Jinhua and his group a clear view of Lu Chao’s prowess, as did Wu Wei and his men on the city wall.

Everyone, regardless of their allegiance, stared intently at Lu Chao. ’He’s just too ferocious, too brutal.’

In the blink of an eye, he had cut down all four Innate Masters.

Wu Wei’s face flushed crimson once more. He snapped back to his senses and roared, ”Quick! Resume firing!”

The Government Soldiers on the wall were jolted from their stupor and once again drew their bows...

Just then, Lu Chao snatched up the long spear of a fallen Innate Master, spurred his horse, and charged toward Fan Jinhua’s group.

At the same time... SQUELCH.

He impaled Wu Xin’s corpse with the spear and flung it toward the city tower.

The Government Soldiers, all stunned by Lu Chao’s terrifying power, instinctively raised their bows and shouted in alarm, ”What is that thing? Fire!”

Lu Chao’s actions were too fast, too sudden.

The rattled soldiers had no time to identify it, only sensing it was a threat to their City Lord.

THWACK THWACK THWACK THWACK...

Countless arrows rained down upon Wu Xin’s flung corpse.

Under the volley, Wu Xin’s body spun continuously in mid-air.

Finally, with a heavy THUD, it crashed to the ground below the city wall. Everyone, including Wu Wei, was utterly stunned.

Then, Wu Wei let out a crazed, grief-stricken cry, ”Xin’er!”

His Xin’er had been turned into a porcupine. If not for a few shreds of clothing still visible, he probably wouldn’t have even recognized her.

The next moment, Lu Chao’s voice rang out again. ”Wu Wei, this is what happens to your daughter for relentlessly tormenting my wife.”

Wu Wei looked up, watching Lu Chao gallop furiously toward Fan Jinhua, and roared in a frenzy, ”Keep firing at him!”

Immediately, another volley of arrows flew...

But this time, it was no longer a sky-blotting volley, merely a sparse and scattered one.

Seeing this, Wu Wei demanded, ”What are you all doing?”

”City Lord, many of us are out of arrows,” a Government Soldier replied blankly.

The previous volleys had been too intense. Everyone had been desperate to earn merit by avenging the young mistress, Wu Xin, and now their quivers were empty.

And for Lu Chao, who was getting farther and farther away, these sparse arrows were laughably easy to evade.

After a few breaths, Lu Chao had dodged every arrow and rejoined Fan Jinhua’s group, now completely out of the archers’ range.

Even if Wu Wei could procure more arrows, it was already too late.

Lu Chao turned his horse around and shouted back toward Yangzhou City, ”Wu Wei! Lu Hanyan’s Female Personal Guard is dead in the Cheng Mansion! Don’t forget to collect the body!”

The words struck Wu Wei’s chest like a clap of thunder, causing him to spray a mouthful of blood.

’Fan Jinhua... you killed Lu Hanyan’s Personal Guard... you were the assassin from last night...’

’Even if you flee back to the Tiger Flame Kingdom, your life is forfeit.’

”Lu Chao... I’ll kill your entire family! Kill your entire family! I’LL KILL YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY!”

Wu Wei roared like a madman, having a complete breakdown. Just moments ago, he had been thinking of capturing Fan Jinhua to score a major victory.

In the blink of an eye, it had all turned to nothing, and he had even lost his daughter in the process.

However, Lu Chao just smiled faintly. ”Wu Wei, you’d better be more specific. Which Lu Chao’s family are you talking about?”

His voice carried across to the walls of Yangzhou City, and Wu Wei shuddered violently.

His lips twitched. ’I have to specify which Lu Chao... Otherwise, *that* Lu Chao’s family includes Lu Dingtian.’

On his end, Lu Chao said no more. ”Master Fan, let’s go.”

Fan Jinhua and Tan Xiaozhi exchanged a look. Fan Jinhua gave a slight nod, then turned his horse and rode off with Lu Chao.

”You won’t get away! I’ve already dispatched troops to encircle you from other directions!”

”All men, with me! Out of the city! After them!”

Wu Wei’s voice echoed from behind as he led the soldiers of Yangzhou City charging out in pursuit.

And just as Lu Chao had expected, he had already sent men out from other city gates to circle around and block their escape.

Soon enough, Lu Chao’s group ran into them.

But for Lu Chao’s party, breaking through was easy. No matter how wounded he was, Fan Jinhua was still a formidable fighter. With two other Innate Masters, Wu Caicai and Uncle Leng, they shattered the encirclement in a single charge...

Half an hour later, the several dozen riders had vanished into the mountain forest.

...

In the dense mountain forest, Fan Jinhua, Tan Xiaozhi, and their men suddenly stopped.

Lu Chao asked, puzzled, ”Master Fan, is something wrong?”

For now, they were relatively safe.

But they could still hear the sounds of Yangzhou City’s troops searching in the distance. It was far too early to be stopping.

Fan Jinhua took a deep breath...

”Young Brother Lu Chao, if you head south from here, you’ll reach Yinzhou City.”

”Tan Xiaozhi, my men, and I will cover your escape. You must first disguise yourselves as travelers or perhaps stragglers from the Yangzhou army to get into Yinzhou City. From there, continue south until you reach the Tiger Flame Kingdom.”

”Be extremely careful of Lu Hanyan’s forces. Once you reach the Tiger Flame Kingdom, you’ll be safe.”

He then took out a token—the very same one he had intended to give Lu Chao when he believed he was doomed to die from the Water Chant Palm.

Fan Jinhua continued in a grave tone, ”Once you’re in the Tiger Flame Kingdom, take this token and find Zhong Yi, the vice-dean of Tiger Flame Academy. He was also my master. Out of respect for me, he should agree to admit your wife into the academy.”

As he spoke, he held the token out to Lu Chao.

Lu Chao didn’t take it. Instead, he stared intently at Fan Jinhua.

Nearby, Wu Caicai hurried forward and asked in a daze, ”Master Fan, what are you doing?”

Before Fan Jinhua could answer, Lu Chao spoke first. ”Master Fan, why are you planning to die? We’re not in a hopeless situation.”

He could tell that Fan Jinhua was once again settling his affairs, preparing for death, even after they had fought so hard to escape.

Fan Jinhua gave a bitter smile...

”All of my companions are dead. Hanged on the Yangzhou City Tower. How could I possibly go on living?”

”I thought that if I lived, I might be able to look after Tan Xiaozhi and the others... but aside from Tan Xiaozhi, all of my comrades’ children are being hunted down by Lu Hanyan’s troops as we speak. They won’t survive. None of them will.”

”Since it’s come to this, we would rather die fighting at Yangzhou City.”

”Young Brother Lu Chao, you’ve all made it out safely. If Tan Xiaozhi and I go back to buy you more time, our deaths will have meaning.”

At these words, Cheng Yunsu’s pupils constricted, and Wu Caicai covered her mouth once more...

Lu Chao’s expression remained unchanged as he turned his gaze to Tan Xiaozhi.

Tan Xiaozhi met his gaze and said in a low voice, ”Brother Lu, even though we’ve only just met, I am grateful to you for letting me see Wu Wei break down in madness over his daughter’s death. That felt so damn good.”

”But I’m not leaving.”

”My father’s body is still hanging from the Yangzhou City Tower. My friends are being hunted down and killed. I can’t live with myself either.”

He understood the meaning in Lu Chao’s eyes...

Lu Chao was offering to help him escape back to the Tiger Flame Kingdom, even if Fan Jinhua insisted on going to his death.

But Tan Xiaozhi had come here to take a few of them down with him; how could he possibly leave?

Lu Chao remained silent, his gaze shifting to the thirty or forty riders Tan Xiaozhi had brought with him. He saw that every single one of their faces was resolute, without a hint of hesitation. He realized then that all of Tan Xiaozhi’s men shared his death wish.

Finally, Lu Chao’s voice was low and deep. ”Dying like this isn’t worth it!”