It was 6:42 in the evening. The sky had completely darkened, and the wind howled with a biting cold. Light snow began to fall, and the temperature plummeted to around minus eleven degrees Celsius, making it extremely frigid.
"We're getting closer, only three hundred meters left!"
Wan Yunting's sword-like eyebrows creased, his bright eyes revealing a sharp and cold gaze. His extraordinary hearing allowed him to cut through the sound of the wind and snow, clearly discerning three sets of footsteps approaching from three hundred meters behind him. His brow furrowed, and he muttered, "Hmm, why only three people? That's not right!"
"What's wrong?"
Zhou Ruoxi, standing beside him, didn't quite catch his muttering. However, hearing that their pursuers were closing in made her feel a bit nervous. She asked Wan Yunting, "What should we do now?"
A flash of green light flickered in Wan Yunting's eyes. He pointed with his thumb towards a small slope and patch of grass ahead, a suitable spot for concealment. "Let's go, we'll hide over there first."
With that, he grabbed Tao Zifu and moved towards the small slope. Zhou Ruoxi nodded and quickly followed. Wan Yunting carefully observed the ground, stepping only on areas without snow. "Follow my footsteps, don't leave any tracks for them to find."
Zhou Ruoxi nodded in acknowledgment.
Tao Zifu's mouth had been stuffed with something by Wan Yunting, preventing him from speaking. Wan Yunting grabbed him by the back of his neck and pushed him forward. Soon, they reached the low slope. They crouched down and hid behind some grass, observing the path they had just taken. Wan Yunting's gaze was calm yet sharp. Although he felt tense, he tried his best to appear composed.
"How many people did you say were coming?"
Zhou Ruoxi crouched beside him and turned to ask.
"Only three people!"
Wan Yunting's eyes remained fixed ahead as he spoke softly.
"How can it only be three people?"
Zhou Ruoxi looked surprised, then said, "Could they all be powerful cultivators?"
Wan Yunting's brows furrowed. He said gravely, "Perhaps they discovered our plan, so they've only sent three powerful individuals to hunt us down!"
Zhou Ruoxi exclaimed in alarm, "Then what do we do? Should we contact Uncle Wuwei and tell them..."
"Hmm, my phone has no signal, and I can't make calls. See if your phone can get through."
Wan Yunting remembered his phone earlier. He took it out of his bag and found that his bitten-apple phone, known for its signal reception being a weakness in the industry, had lost signal long ago. He saw over a dozen missed calls from an unknown number. Wan Yunting guessed it was likely the police who were supposed to be meeting them. He regretted his carelessness for not being able to answer their calls.
"Mine has no signal either."
Zhou Ruoxi was using a domestic Huawei phone, but their current location was deep within the Kunlun Mountain range, where there was no signal.
Wan Yunting's gaze turned grave as he looked ahead. The enemies were getting closer. "It seems we have to take a gamble!"
Zhou Ruoxi turned her beautiful face, her eyes fixed on his chiseled features. "What do you plan to do?"
Wan Yunting turned his head to look at her and said earnestly, "You hide here first. I'll go check on them. If there's an opportunity, I can launch a surprise attack. We'll take them down one by one!"
Their situation was already extremely perilous. Wan Yunting could sense that the three people rapidly approaching possessed formidable strength. Even if he and Zhou Ruoxi ran now, they might escape today but not tomorrow; they would eventually be caught. Instead of that, he might as well confront them now.
"That's too dangerous," Zhou Ruoxi said nervously, trying to stop him. "Let's go together."
"No, you stay here. I'll go ahead and ambush them. If I can't defeat them, you must escape immediately!"
Wan Yunting's expression was solemn as he looked at Zhou Ruoxi, his tone incredibly serious. "You are not a disciple of our Wuliang Daoist Temple. There's no need for you to risk your life for this. You must survive and perhaps even avenge us. Do you understand?"
Zhou Ruoxi's expression became anxious. "No, how can I..."
"Alright, Senior Sister Zhou..."
Wan Yunting knew what she was about to say. He raised his hand and gestured, interrupting her. "You don't need to say anything more. Just do as I say, okay?"
Zhou Ruoxi became more anxious, wanting to say more, but Wan Yunting had already taken off his backpack, placed it aside, picked up his long sword, and run out. Zhou Ruoxi finally reacted and quickly called out softly, "Be careful..."
Wan Yunting suddenly stopped and turned back, offering her a smile before continuing to run down the slope quickly...
Zhou Ruoxi's face froze. Her beautiful eyes watched him disappear into the hazy, snowy forest. At that moment, a strange emotion surged within her!
"No, I can't just watch him go alone!"
Suddenly, Zhou Ruoxi also stood up. Her beautiful eyes were determined. She knew Wan Yunting was doing this for her sake, but how could she stand by and watch him face those three enemies alone? So, Zhou Ruoxi also took off her backpack, grabbed her long sword, and leaped out, chasing after Wan Yunting's fading figure...
At this time, Wan Yunting could clearly hear the footsteps of the three people rapidly approaching, about fifty to sixty meters away. Wan Yunting's gaze turned cold. He noticed a large tree nearby and leaped into the air. He pushed off the trunk with his left foot, silently flying up into the tree and crouching on a branch.
Then, his sharp eyes intently scanned the dark snowy forest ahead. He could already hear the increasingly clear footsteps of the three people and their voices, "Quick, they should be up ahead..."
The second, Ma Sai, and the third, Liu Hongwei, along with the tenth, Lai Chengkun, who was holding a powerful flashlight, followed, panting heavily. They were tracking based on the footprints left by Wan Yunting and Zhou Ruoxi. Lai Chengkun said, gasping for breath, "Second Brother, Third Brother, the footprints are gone!"
"We see them."
The second and Ma Sai also noticed that the footprints had suddenly disappeared. Both of them immediately became vigilant, staring into the dark, hazy snowy forest ahead. Besides the sound of wind and snow, the eerie and terrifying calls of nocturnal animals echoed from the mountains.
At this moment, twenty meters ahead of them, on a tree, Wan Yunting's eyes, like a snake's, could see clearly in the darkness. Moreover, Lai Chengkun was holding a flashlight, making him conspicuously bright in the dark, hazy snowy forest. So, Wan Yunting crouched on the branch, his cold eyes covertly observing the three of them. He could clearly feel that Ma Sai and Liu Hongwei were likely cultivators at or above the Danjing realm, which made his already tense heart even more unsettled and anxious.
"Not good!"
Suddenly sensing something, Wan Yunting's expression changed drastically. He looked at the ground behind him, where Zhou Ruoxi, dressed in a snow-white ancient-style long dress and a white cloak, was running towards them with a worried expression. Her beautiful face appeared anxious as she scanned the surroundings, searching for Wan Yunting.
"Look, there's someone ahead!"
The second and third brothers dimly spotted Zhou Ruoxi's figure thirty to forty meters ahead. Although she was wearing a snow-white long dress and cloak, she was still dazzling in the dark, hazy snowy forest. At the same time, Zhou Ruoxi also saw the flashlight beam swaying in Lai Chengkun's hand ahead. Her delicate eyebrows immediately knitted, and her beautiful eyes became alert. She instinctively gripped the hilt of her sword with her right hand.
Wan Yunting, crouching on a tree about ten meters in front of Zhou Ruoxi, watched her with a tense gaze, his right hand also gripping his sword hilt. He watched Zhou Ruoxi below and the three people approaching her rapidly... Wan Yunting maintained a calm demeanor; he did not descend, waiting for the optimal moment!
"Heh, they are indeed nearby."
The second and third brothers quickly walked towards Zhou Ruoxi with the tenth, Lai Chengkun. They completely failed to notice Wan Yunting crouching on the tree branch ahead, ready to ambush, as their attention was completely captured by Zhou Ruoxi's sudden appearance. Soon, Ma Sai and Liu Hongwei reached Zhou Ruoxi, about twenty meters away. They were still seven meters away from Wan Yunting's tree, but it was too far for an optimal strike.
Therefore, Wan Yunting suppressed his tense heart and continued to wait for an opportunity to kill the enemy with a single blow, while his eyes vigilantly watched Zhou Ruoxi...
"Who are you people?"
Zhou Ruoxi's beautiful eyes were cold as she looked at the three people in front of her. She also felt the powerful aura emanating from Ma Sai and Liu Hongwei, a presence that could only belong to cultivators at or above the Danjing realm, making her heart instantly tense. However, Zhou Ruoxi also knew that Wan Yunting was definitely watching them nearby...
"You are not a disciple of Wuliang Daoist Temple?"
The second brother, with his long, horse-like face, narrowed his eyes as he observed Zhou Ruoxi, finding her attire unlike that of a female disciple of Wuliang Daoist Temple.
"I am a disciple of the Emei Sect!" Zhou Ruoxi did not hide anything, directly stating her sect, hoping it would make them retreat.
"Haha, so it's a female disciple of the Emei Sect. No wonder she's so beautiful. It would be a shame if we didn't have some fun in the wild, wouldn't it?" The third brother, Liu Hongwei, chuckled lewdly.
This remark instantly turned Zhou Ruoxi's beautiful face as cold as ice. Her beautiful eyes seemed ten thousand times colder than the surrounding wind and snow. She stared coldly at the three of them, her right hand tightly gripping the sword hilt, having already drawn her sword a few inches from its scabbard, as if ready to kill the scoundrel who had dared to insult her at any moment!
The second brother, unlike the rampant desires of his third and tenth companions, asked Zhou Ruoxi, "Speak up, why are you alone? Where are the disciples of Wuliang Daoist Temple? If you want to die quickly, tell them to come out and die themselves. Don't make me personally drag you out, or I'll make sure you die a very unpleasant death!"
Zhou Ruoxi's voice was icy, and she snorted, "I am alone here."