Chapter 13 The Water Route

After confirming the division of the team, the next thing to consider was whether to take the water route.

If they took the water route, according to the prophetic images of the parchment, he would definitely be safe.

But if they didn't take the water route, they had to avoid Danyan City, because according to the first prediction, going there meant total annihilation.

Fang Yue scratched his head.

"Brother Ye? Do you have any ideas? It's not a solution to keep stopping here."

Seeing Fang Yue's troubled expression, Tian Ruichi couldn't help but approach.

Although the other party might not be targeting Tian Ruichi, his master had specifically sent a message by carrier pigeon, indicating that he was still in danger.

In Fang Yue's first prophetic vision, Tian Ruichi was also dead, his sword destroyed, his corpse lying nearby.

After thinking for a moment, Fang Yue said, "Based on the current situation, sending people to Danyan City according to the original plan is definitely a dead end. There's no time..."

"Then listen to my master. We'll take the water route. My master would never harm me. As for the others, I'll take these servants who came with me. The other people from Chu Nuan City can find their own way." kan shu la kan shu la

Tian Ruichi had no intention of saving anyone. Allowing this group of people from Chu Nuan City to follow him was already a special favor. Did they expect him to do anything extra?

"What?! The special envoy is abandoning us?"

"Special envoy, aren't we going to the capital via the official road?"

"Special envoy..."

Perhaps because Tian Ruichi's voice was too loud, or perhaps because they had been discussing together for too long, many people noticed something amiss, and someone finally couldn't help but speak up.

Chaos quickly spread, and it was suppressed by Fang Yue shouting a few times—compared to Tian Ruichi, the special envoy, Fang Yue, the one who saved Chu Nuan City, clearly had more clout.

Watching the scene barely return to order, Fang Yue frowned.

Time was passing by every second. Every second he stayed here, he deviated further from the parchment's 'correct' escape route.

The parchment's prediction was based on the situation at the time of the prediction.

If he missed the time because he stayed in place and didn't act, the predicted scene would not appear.

Instead, it might be a future where everyone was wiped out at Hanjiang Wharf.

Therefore, while making choices was important, decisive action was equally important.

Early morning, Jing Yan and the others were also discussing with worried faces, clearly without any definite ideas about the next course of action.

And at this moment...

"Take the water route! We're leaving right now!"

Turning his horse around, Fang Yue looked at the somewhat surprised Jing Yan and Tian Ruichi.

"Those who want to return the way they came can return. We've cleared the anomalies along this official road, so it should be safe to go back now. If you don't want to return to Chu Nuan City, you can continue along this official road. Find a village and stay there for a few days, preferably joining a passing merchant caravan and finding a chance to go to other cities..."

Fang Yue was still speaking when the crowd became agitated.

"Lord Ye, where are you going?"

"Lord Ye, take us with you!"

"Lord Ye... Lord Ye!"

It wasn't that Fang Yue didn't want to take them, but taking them meant everyone would die. It was better to separate and flee for their lives.

Jing Yan and the others were clearly still hesitant about Fang Yue's decision. They exchanged glances, but no one expressed their opinion.

Fang Yue glanced at them and said, "Trust me, leave with me now, or it will be too late."

After saying that, Fang Yue urged his horse and left straight for Hanjiang Wharf.

The shortest distance between two points is a straight line.

The official road was certainly safer, but with the crisis at hand, they could only take a gamble.

Tian Ruichi and Jing Yan and the others panicked when they saw Fang Yue really leaving on horseback. They quickly mounted their horses and followed.

The others were all dumbfounded. The sky hadn't darkened yet, but everyone felt a chill in their hearts.

"Lord Ye ran away!"

"It's over! We're all doomed!"

"Run back! Back to Chu Nuan City!"

"We shouldn't have left! How could I be so stupid as to think of leaving with the special envoy's team..."

In a panic, some people took the lead and ran back the way they came, but others resolutely ran forward, wanting to go to the nearest village along the official road to settle down first.

Compared to the journey back, running forward would bring them closer to the nearby villages.

There were several official roads, and the crowd scattered onto these roads, the flow of people becoming sparse.

In a short while, the official road, which had just been crowded, became empty.

And no one knew that at the midpoint of each of these diverging official roads, checkpoints had been set up, and some people in black robes were stationed there, as if waiting for prey.

In addition to those guarding the checkpoints, some black-robed people would use the checkpoints as a starting point and search the villages and towns ahead.

At the end of the diverging official roads, where they merged into one and became the main official road leading directly to the capital.

A black-robed man wearing a jade flute at his waist suddenly seemed to sense something. The steed beneath him neighed loudly, and with a whoosh, it rushed into the tall wooden forest on both sides, leaving the official road, traversing the wilderness, as if aiming at a target, heading straight for it!

...

Meanwhile.

"Brother Ye, why didn't you settle them down first before going to Hanjiang Wharf? After all, part of the journey is the same," Jing Yan asked, puzzled.

"I can't explain this to you. I can only tell you that if we do that, we'll be heading for a dead end."

Jing Yan: ???

Am I too stupid to understand? .jpg???

He never expected that one day his intelligence would be questioned by Fang Yue...

This made Jing Yan feel a little hurt. Qing Chen, who came later, thought for a while and said, "It seems that Brother Ye knows something, but with your skills, even if there are enemies, they won't be a match for you... Tian Ruichi's master told Tian Ruichi to run because Tian Ruichi only has the Xiantian realm. Assuming the opponent is a Human-level expert, it should be a sure thing for Brother Ye to take him down."

This was a very normal line of thinking.

Tian Ruichi's disaster was not Fang Yue's disaster, let alone everyone's disaster.

If there was no prediction from the parchment, Fang Yue might have confidently said that he could protect Tian Ruichi and tell him not to be afraid.

After all, he was a middle-stage Human-level expert. When he fought, he would unleash his full strength, and no one in the Human-level realm was his opponent.

Especially since he had been feeling a little cocky lately, he might have acted recklessly, and the result... the parchment's prediction was clear enough—the person who was coming was not someone a Human-level expert could deal with!

As expected of the capital, sending a Yun-level, or even possibly a Yu-level expert to kill Tian Ruichi!

No... maybe they were targeting him! Were they coming to kill him?!

Fang Yue calmed himself down and briefly explained the current situation to them. Only Lin Ling's face was gloomy—he clearly had some objections to Fang Yue's sudden abandonment of the citizens of Chu Nuan City.

But now was not the time to discuss these things, and Lin Ling knew this, so he didn't act out.

"Brother Ye, you don't need to worry too much. The Emperor issued an imperial edict to meet you. If anyone dares to attack you, they would be disobeying the court, disobeying the current Emperor! Once a wanted order is issued, who can bear the responsibility..."

Tian Ruichi's voice suddenly stopped.

He saw that in front of the road ahead, there was suddenly one more person.

A black-robed man wearing a jade flute at his waist and a hat.

"It's him!"

[It's it!]

Fang Yue and the parchment exclaimed at the same time!