The chasing dogs saw the situation and busied themselves, using their forelegs and pointing with their noses to block the warriors. From a distance, Lu Enshu's curses could be heard, "You villain, hiding like a rat, sabotaging covertly! I'll have you cut into eight pieces once I catch you!" A figure streaked past to their right. Lin Chaoying glanced at the figure, its appearance, its features, its expression… The dogs barked, " Zhou Botong, our young lady is here…" Zhou Botong? Zhou Botong… Zhou Botong! To meet him head-on, to observe his expression…
Lin Chaoying threw her "Dragon-Dividing Rope" to entangle Zhou Botong, but it was blocked by Lu Enshu's "Four Directions Fiery Embers." Lu Enshu's palm strike aimed at Zhou Botong was retracted rapidly due to his apprehension of Lin Chaoying's sword move "Misty Waters Obscured." Zhou Botong seized the opportunity to escape, and Lu Enshu roared and pursued him. Lin Chaoying saw burn marks on Lu Enshu's hair and clothes from behind, deducing it was Zhou Botong's mischief. Amidst her dejection, she couldn't help but feel a hint of amusement. She further noticed that the warriors avoided him, clearly having scattered some medicine on him. She resolved to go capture him and clarify everything.
Wu Nanyong stopped Mao Ya from following, while the dog, in between fending off warriors, did not forget to viciously attack Chong Yuwu. Mao Ya let out a furious roar and charged towards Wu Nanyong, startling her into a daze. Suddenly, she retreated rapidly, hugged the dog, and shot her "Dragon-Dividing Rope" towards the sharp peak of the stone wall. The two ascended from the ground and fled, seeking another path.
Chong Yuwu pulled Wu Nanyong, saying with concern, "It's dangerous! We should go back and see what that madman has destroyed." As he spoke, he whistled to signal the guards watching the warriors to scatter medicine on the ground and lure them back into their enclosures. Wu Nanyong glared, suppressing her anger, and changed her raised right hand from a slap to a push. Chong Yuwu was pushed away, hearing Wu Nanyong resentfully say, "You just need to obey my orders!" Then he saw her walk away in another direction. Chong Yuwu said with indignation, "They want to kill you, and you still want to follow? Such a foolish girl!" While concocting various plausible reasons for himself, he anxiously followed.
Wu Nanyong hid in the shadows. After seeing Chong Yuwu pass by, she retraced her steps. Confident in her light footwork, it wouldn't be difficult to catch up with Mao Ya. The most important thing was to shake off this person who made her feel uneasy whenever she saw him. Chong Yuwu knew that Wu Nanyong was tricking him into leaving, but he decided to play along. He deduced Zhou Botong's escape route, calculating that by taking a detour, he could intercept him midway and then find an opportunity to secretly eliminate Mao Ya… Suddenly, he thought of the hatred in the eyes of the devilish maid beside him, and a shiver ran down his spine.
Zhou Botong's light footwork was slightly superior to Lu Enshu's but far inferior to Lin Chaoying's. After dodging and weaving for two mountain ridges, he was finally cornered by her. Lin Chaoying unleashed her new sword move "Green Peaks Cloud Embrace" from behind to intercept him. Zhou Botong hastily shifted his body and returned the move.
Upon seeing the familiar hand movements of "him" after a long separation, Lin Chaoying's heart leaped with joy, and she praised, "A fine move, 'Illusory Form Solid Shadow'!" Zhou Botong playfully retorted, "This move, let's see if you recognize it!" Lin Chaoying observed that his stance was neither claw nor palm, his movements constant yet changing, appearing both familiar and strange. Thus, she only defended, not attacking, luring him to display his full prowess. She said, "It's 'Heaven's Qian, Earth's Dui'." Zhou Botong laughed heartily and said, "It's 'Three Tops Four Bottoms.' Heh, what I'm using is 'Cloudy Mind Hand,' not my senior brother's 'Cloudy Spirit Hand'."
Zhou Botong's master, Master Yun Gao, considering his mischievous and playful nature, changed "Cloudy Spirit Hand" to "Cloudy Mind Hand" out of whim and taught it to him. Zhou Botong said, "Again, 'Gourd Selling Medicine'." He circled around Lin Chaoying. Lin Chaoying used provocation, sneering, "If 'Cloudy Spirit Hand' isn't good enough, 'Cloudy Mind Hand' is even worse!" She used her sword move "Oars and Rafts on Both Banks" to cut off Zhou Botong's paths of advance and retreat. Zhou Botong changed his move to "Sky Full of Rain and Mist," and Lin Chaoying responded with "Parting the Clouds to See the Moon." Zhou Botong's display of obfuscation was shattered by her fearless approach, his sword tip nearly grazing his face.
Zhou Botong spotted Lu Enshu rushing over and hid beside him, feigning a complaint, "Why are you so slow? Didn't we agree to lure and kill this demoness together?" Lin Chaoying was slightly taken aback. Lu Enshu casually replied, "Useless fellow, watch how I deal with her!" He struck with "Nine Revolutions Pure Yang Slash," specifically "Five Two Leave One," dividing his power into five parts: two for the main attack, two for surprise attacks on others, and one for self-defense. Zhou Botong was almost ambushed by Lu, jumping back to Lin Chaoying's side, and together they repelled Lu Enshu. Zhou Botong said smugly to her, "See, how powerful we are when we cooperate!" Lin Chaoying provoked him again, "Look at your shoddy martial arts, go back and pair up with your senior brother. Whether it's Cloudy Spirit or Cloudy Mind, just combine seven hands and eight feet." Zhou Botong sighed, "Wang Shixiong is dead." Lin Chaoying was once again confused and asked, "Who is dead?" Zhou Botong jumped up, bellowing, "Wang Shixiong is dead!" Lu Enshu seized the opportunity to repeat his previous move, attacking Zhou openly while striking at Lin covertly. Zhou Botong shielded her and unleashed "Chaos Undivided," a flurry of punches in a circular motion, some hooking, some straight, dazzling him, then he grabbed the stunned Lin Chaoying and they fled far away.
Mao Ya lost sight of Lin and the others. Several times she had the chance to leave, but she still followed him. Finally, she spoke directly, "Young master, you know I have a way to contact our young lady, but for her own good, I would rather not meet." The last two sentences were like stones cast into Mao Ya's heart. The seven years of what he had done for her, what she had endured, flashed by like lightning. The dog saw him staring at her and gathered her courage, saying, "I know you have a good heart, young master, and everything you do is to help the young lady. But you should also be clear that her recent hardships are all because of Shi… that Wang fellow. It's difficult for her when you and your people get involved." The dog felt that his expression while contemplating with closed eyes was indeed handsome, but he lacked the approachability of Brother Shixiong, nor the warmth of that despicable villain. Mao Ya sighed and said, "You may leave! I will return to Yingzhou and try to bring Nan with me as well."
Zhou Botong led Lin Chaoying across a fork in the road and leaped down into the forest by the slope to hide. Zhou Botong stared at Lin Chaoying, who was like a broken puppet, feeling extremely anxious. He retreated while thinking, finally deciding to quietly climb back up the slope and slip away. After climbing a few steps, he heard someone calling, "Zhou Botong, have you seen my young lady?" The dog, following her intuition and the faint scent of Lin's hair, had found them. Zhou Botong only nodded and continued to climb. The dog asked, "Did you tell her where Brother Shixiong is?" After several previous inquiries, he claimed to have only told Lin Chaoying. Zhou Botong looked up angrily and said, "You're so annoying! Always asking this. Wang Shixiong died long ago!" The dog didn't dare to believe it and rebuked, "Liar! Tell me where he is quickly?" Zhou Botong said furiously, "I swear! Wang Shixiong has been dead for years!" He added, "Wang Haifeng also died." While the dog was astonished, she asked, "Who is Wang Haifeng?" As she spoke, she lunged to grab him for a good interrogation. Zhou Botong knew she was no longer the innocent child he could tease at will. He struggled to dodge and said urgently, "I have no time to play with you, I still have important business in Haizhou." The dog focused on capturing him, and just as she was about to grab his collar, she heard him shout loudly, "Lin Chaoying, don't jump off the cliff!" The dog couldn't help but turn her head to look, and he escaped.
The dog could only check his path. Sure enough, not far from the woods at the foot of the slope, she found Lin Chaoying, who seemed to have lost her soul. "Young lady! Young lady!" Lin Chaoying showed no reaction. The dog thought she must have been stimulated by Zhou Botong's mad ramblings and shouted, "Brother Shixiong is not dead yet, Zhou Botong is lying to you!" After calling out a few more times, Lin Chaoying's hollow eyes slowly rolled, looking at her. The dog eagerly added what she had just thought of, "Zhou Botong just said he was going to Haizhou on important business. Think about it, who could make him go on important business?" Lin Chaoying quickly closed her eyes, turning her face away so the dog couldn't see her expression. After composing herself for a while, she was able to slowly ask, "Why is he going to Haizhou?" The dog was relieved and said, "I don't know… Why don't we get there first, perhaps we can uncover the mastermind."
Wu Nanyong ran through three entrances and exits but found no trace of Mao Ya. She thought he might have left with Lin Chaoying, and confusion, fear, and loss filled her mind and heart. She forced herself to lift her weak legs and walked aimlessly again, when Mao Ya suddenly blocked her path ahead. "I'll kill you, and then I won't have to worry anymore!" Wu Nanyong thought this, drew her sword, and stabbed directly. Mao Ya neither dodged nor retreated. When Wu Nanyong realized it, she couldn't retract her sword in time. She hastily changed the direction of her sword, still drawing a bloody gash on his chest to shoulder. Wu Nanyong was both anxious and guilty, and tears couldn't help but stream down. "Why didn't you dodge?" she asked. Mao Ya replied faintly, "I didn't want to." After a pause, she said, "Accompany me back to Yingzhou to heal." Wu Nanyong couldn't reply, only wiped away her tears and nodded, stemming the bleeding for him.
Chong Yuwu, who had been following her all along, watched from a distance as Wu Nanyong left with Mao Ya. He could no longer analyze or calculate for himself, only slumped to the ground, burying his head between his knees.