Chapter 1014

The remaining members of the Forbidden Army responded with a thunderous roar. A hundred armored soldiers drew their blades and gave chase, while the rest nocked arrows, aiming at the two fleeing figures.

Zhao Shun, bringing up the rear, suddenly turned, spread his hands, and clapped them together sharply in front of his chest.

"Clap!"

In the crisp, loud clap, two water dragons rose again from the distant artificial lake, but their target wasn't the Forbidden Army, but the two fugitives.

The water dragons twisted and danced, colliding above the two fatuous rulers, transforming into a torrential downpour.

The rain blurred vision. Some archers relaxed their bowstrings. Those who persisted in shooting found their aim completely off due to the combined obstruction of the night and the rain.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Zhang Yuanqing and Consort Wan dashed through luxurious pavilions, scaled artificial mountains, and leaped over white jade balustrades, engaging in parkour in the vast palace as they fled towards the south gate.

"Whoosh!"

An arrow coated in flaming oil shot from afar, burning fiercely.

As it approached Zhang Yuanqing and Consort Wan, the flames suddenly swelled. Consort Wan twisted her head and spat out a water arrow, extinguishing the expanding flames.

In the distance, the level 6 Fire Demon had just ignited flames on his body, but quickly extinguished them.

Fire travel failed.

"Whoosh, whoosh…" The sharp whistling sound of air being torn apart came again. Two three-inch-long flying swords, under the cover of night, pierced Consort Wan's back, splashing a spray of water as they headed straight for Zhang Yuanqing.

The stout Consort Wan grunted, feeling a splitting headache, as if needles were piercing her skull. Although her Water Spirit cultivation could ignore physical damage, she knew that famous Jianghu swordsmen could condense sword intent, simultaneously severing flesh and spirit.

She staggered, but despite the splitting headache, she desperately reached out to block the flying swords, preventing them from assassinating His Majesty.

If she could barely endure it, what about His Majesty!

But how could her speed surpass that of flying swords? She could only watch helplessly as His Majesty faced danger.

At the critical moment, Zhang Yuanqing dove to the side and disappeared.

The two three-inch flying swords spun rapidly in the air, having lost their target.

Seeing this, Consort Wan breathed a sigh of relief, stopped running, and turned to face the swordsman who was chasing after her on a flying sword.

She pulled out a black soft whip from her sleeve, and with a flick of her arm, she lashed it at the lightly armored swordsman, but the swordsman with Clairvoyance easily dodged it.

Consort Wan gently shook her hand, and the soft whip instantly forked, one became two, two became four, and four became eight, instantly transforming into thirty-two soft whips, baring their fangs and claws as they filled the sky.

"Snap, snap, snap…"

The crisp sound of whipping rang out incessantly.

Flying by sword was never as nimble as moving on land. The middle-aged swordsman was struck by a whip, instantly tearing his skin and flesh. With another wrap and pull from the soft whip, he fell from the air.

Consort Wan charged forward with a "thump, thump," like a war chariot rushing toward the middle-aged swordsman. The black light around her body rotated, like a vortex, frantically absorbing moisture from the air.

With less than ten meters between them, the middle-aged swordsman immediately felt his mouth dry and his cheeks wrinkled, his arm flesh shriveling. In just a few seconds, his body was stripped of sixty percent of its moisture.

The middle-aged swordsman's face darkened, and he fought fiercely with Consort Wan. However, the swordsman's proud sword qi and close combat skills were meaningless in the face of the Water Ghost's passive ability.

In the Five Elements, metal produces water. In terms of the two kinds of spiritual power, water was higher than metal. Therefore, the swordsman had almost no advantage in fighting the Plague God.

Although he wouldn't be suppressed, he would definitely have no chance of winning.

Fortunately, at this moment, the Fire Demon, who had failed to perform fire travel earlier, rushed over. This man had a face full of stubble, a square face with tiger eyes, and his brows and eyes seemed to be filled with an unshakeable restlessness.

The Fire Demon rushed forward, kneading a fireball radiating scorching heat in his palm, and smashed it hard at Consort Wan.

"Boom!"

The fireball exploded, the swelling flames illuminating the darkness, and Consort Wan was blown away.

The Fire Demon general sprinted forward, his fine steel saber swirling with flowing flames, transforming into a blazing flame saber, and hacked down with force.

Consort Wan dodged to the side, the blade passing by her, and the flames on the fine steel saber spewed out, splashing on the ground.

Taking advantage of this woman being held back, the middle-aged swordsman stepped on his sword again and flew up, standing in the air, looking down below, two pale beams of light shot from his eye sockets, sweeping across the surroundings.

The next second, the two flying swords that were circling and dancing wildly seemed to have locked onto something. They turned and shot toward the distance.

"Puff!"

Where the two flying swords passed, water splashed, and a figure fell out, pressing his head and staggering.

It was Zhang Yuanqing.

Damn it… Zhang Yuanqing's face twitched in pain. Although the Yin-Yang Robe granted him the Water Ghost ability to avoid physical attacks, the Zhensha (Shocking Force) contained in the flying swords still stung his spirit body.

When a swordsman reached level 6, the passive skill Zhensha would undergo a substantial leap, and could be integrated into weapons like sword qi, causing considerable damage to the target's soul.

Fortunately, although he was at the Extraordinary stage, Night Watchers and Illusionists were both known for their strong spirit bodies, so he was able to withstand it. If it were an Extraordinary of another profession, their primordial spirit would have been greatly damaged and they would have been unconscious.

The middle-aged swordsman gave a light exclamation, "I didn't expect His Majesty, who indulges in sensual pleasures, to have such cultivation."

The sword qi pulled the two flying swords to change direction and shoot again.

At this moment, Zhang Yuanqing reviewed all the Extraordinary items in his inventory and gang warehouse, and sadly discovered that after sending out the Red Dance Shoes, there was no item in the Extraordinary realm that could support him in avoiding a level 6 attack.

The level difference was too great.

Just like how a level 6 swordsman's Clairvoyance could easily see through Night Wanderings, it was also because of the difference in rank. Under the same level, Clairvoyance could not possibly see an invisible Night Wanderer.

Swordsmen had Indomitable Will, illusions, charms, and bewitchments would not work, and strong control… it would be a fantasy to control a level 6 swordsman with Extraordinary items… Zhang Yuanqing's brain was running fast, and he immediately grabbed two items from the Earth Wanderer profession.

One was a mud doll, and the other was a yellow mud shield.

At the same time, he raised his head and let out a high-pitched whistle towards the night sky.

In the dark night sky, a bright, clean moonlight suddenly descended, shining on him.

Moon Howl!

He used the long-unused Night Wanderer exclusive "burst" skill, gaining double the attributes.

"Bang! Bang!"

The spherical barrier formed by the mud doll shattered, the yellow mud shield shattered, and Zhang Yuanqing showed super agility and reaction speed, avoiding the two flying swords as fast as lightning.

With Moon Howl's blessing, Zhang Yuanqing's strength soared, but he still had no intention of fighting. Just as he was about to use Night Wanderings to escape, his forehead suddenly felt hot, his breath was scorching, his limbs were weak, and he coughed violently.

Damn it, damn it, it's a germ… Zhang Yuanqing looked around, not seeing the Plague God spreading germs, but the middle-aged swordsman was pulling the flying swords to attack again.

"Your Majesty…" Consort Wan cried out in alarm, enduring a slash from the Fire Demon, disengaging from the battle, and desperately throwing out the soft whip.

With two crisp snaps, the flying swords were whipped away.

Consort Wan ran over with a "thump, thump," waving her arms and swinging the soft whip, trying to entangle the dehydrated swordsman.

But the same trick didn't work on the swordsman. The middle-aged swordsman immediately controlled his sword to rise higher, easily dodging the entanglement of the soft whip.

While Moon Howl's blessing was still in effect, Zhang Yuanqing used Night Wanderings again, hiding his figure, and then, changed direction, returning to the Xia Palace the way he came.

The Fire Demon general looked at the swordsman high above, turned his head, and shouted loudly:

"Water Monkey, rain!"

Rainwater could outline the invisible Night Wanderer.

Hearing this, a resolute look flashed in Consort Wan's copper-bell-like eyes. She suicidally rushed towards the Fire Demon general, who immediately made the fine steel saber burn with raging flames and slashed at Consort Wan.

Consort Wan tilted her head to avoid the blade, letting it slash into her body, steaming dense vapor.

She backhanded and grabbed the Fire Demon general's arm, the black light around her body rolling, frantically seizing all the surrounding moisture.

The rain didn't fall, because this would give the fatuous ruler's death warriors a continuous Water Spirit blessing.

The Plague God called Water Monkey and the swordsman in the sky quickly chased towards the palace gate.

The Fire Demon general relaxed and retracted his gaze, "Hey," he said. Magma-like liquid flowed from his pores. His facial features and flesh all melted into magma, like a different species crawling out of a volcano.

The Fire Demon's passive skill - Lava Body.

Lava Body allowed the Fire Demon to temporarily dehumanize, bringing stronger fire control ability and fire resistance, mainly used for fighting in seas of fire and magma.

The Lava Body basically had no moisture, and could perfectly avoid the Plague God's moisture deprivation ability.

The Fire Demon, transformed into a Lava Monster, backhanded and grabbed Consort Wan, and said with a grin: "Form the formation!"

At this time, a hundred armored soldiers had arrived. A squad of Forbidden Army wearing heavy armor came out of the formation, knelt on one knee, and pressed their palms on the ground.

"Rumble"

The ground paved with bluestone bricks cracked, and rammed earth walls rose from the ground, sealing Consort Wan and the Fire Demon general inside.

The next second, surging flames filled the small space formed by the rammed earth walls, and red flame currents spewed out from the gaps in the earth walls, like high-pressure flamethrowers.

Zhang Yuanqing in the distance suddenly stopped and looked at the rammed earth walls.

Flame and yellow earth happened to restrain the Plague God's passive ability. Consort Wan couldn't escape, she would be steamed dry by the flames.

"Yo, Your Majesty, that question you asked me…" Consort Wan's voice came from the cracks in the rammed earth wall, enduring the pain and shouting: "It was Zheng Xiang who did it, it was Zheng Xiang who did it… Slave… Slave… I'm going to see the Empress Dowager…"

The voice stopped abruptly.

What she said last was slave, not concubine.

Zhang Yuanqing retracted his gaze and continued to run madly towards the Xia Palace, his face indifferent without a trace of expression, his deep eyes seeming to have flames burning in them.

He ran all the way, brushed past the surrounding Forbidden Army, flipped over the white jade carved railings, crossed one luxurious pavilion after another, and soon returned to the Xia Palace, which had been turned into ruins, and plunged into the lake.

Wearing a yin-yang cloak, he was like an underwater torpedo, bringing up dense bubbles, and darted into the bottom of the lake. After sensing the undercurrents at the bottom of the lake, he found an underground dark river passage less than half a meter in diameter in the accumulated silt.

Zhang Yuanqing's body turned into flowing water and drilled into the passage.

South of the capital city, a zhang-wide stream flowed quietly, and the banks were lined with white-walled, black-tiled houses, interspersed with exquisite brick and wood buildings, and moss-covered stone arch bridges stood silently in the moonlight.

Suddenly, a "splash" of water came from the calm river surface, and a figure emerged from the water.

He was wearing a bright yellow casual outfit, his long hair was wet and scattered, his face was as pale as paper, and he struggled to swim to the shore.

A distance of one or two meters took him a long time to swim. He finally climbed onto the platform where women washed clothes, as if he had exhausted all his strength, lying on his back, breathing heavily, and coughing from time to time.

He fumbled out a porcelain bottle from the void, pulled out the wooden stopper, and swallowed the pills inside. His pale face finally regained some color.

Zhang Yuanqing was in very poor condition now. The backlash after Moon Howl ended and the erosion of the germs were devouring his life.

Although the pills he took could cure diseases, they were of Extraordinary quality, which could only relieve the germs of the level 6 Plague God, but could not cure them.

"Gang Leader?"

A joyful cry came from the shore, and two black shadows, one tall and one short, approached quickly.

It was Jiang Jingwei and Queen, who had also escaped from the palace with the help of the underground dark river.

They had traveled along the dark river for a long time, and after emerging from the water, they found that they had left the palace and came here, and then had been hiding in the alley waiting for Zhang Yuanqing.

Zhang Yuanqing turned his head and looked at the two people on the shore, grinning and said, "Come and carry me, I don't have the strength."

Queen volunteered and ran down the stone steps. She first carefully checked Zhang Yuanqing's body. Seeing that there were no fatal external injuries, she breathed a sigh of relief. While princess-carrying him, she said:

"Gang Leader, what's wrong with you?"

"I've been infected with the Plague God's germs," Zhang Yuanqing said with a wry smile.

"Take medicine, take medicine," Jiang Jingwei said anxiously.

"The pills of Extraordinary quality are useless even if you take them." Queen carried Zhang Yuanqing and walked quickly on the stone-paved riverside path, sometimes drilling into alleys, sometimes crossing streets.

A quarter of an hour later, they chose a house with a patio to sneak into.

Queen used the hypnotic props Zhang Yuanqing gave to hypnotize the householders, making the middle-aged couple wholeheartedly believe that the three were their nephews and nieces who had come to the capital to join them.

The nephews and nieces had traveled a long way and were tired and hungry. They had to eat a hot meal before they could sleep.

The householder arranged them in the guest room and urged the woman to go to the kitchen to cook.

Soon, the woman brought three bowls of rice, a plate of vegetarian dishes and a plate of preserved meat into the room.

"Auntie, go to sleep first, we will clean up by ourselves after we finish eating." Queen took the bowls and chopsticks with a sweet smile.

"Nephew, this disease looks very serious. Tomorrow, let the official take you to the Immortal Medicine Workshop to have a look. The national teacher's medicine can cure all diseases." When the woman said this, she was full of pride as a capital city resident, and admiration for the Immortal Medicine Workshop.

"Immortal Medicine Workshop?" Jiang Jingwei's mouth was faster than her brain: "Is that the pharmacy opened by the big boss?"

The woman was confused when she heard this: "What is a big boss?"

Queen said sadly: "Er Ya is sick again, you don't need to pay attention to her, she has been foolish since she was a child and often talks nonsense."

The woman, deeply affected by hypnosis, sighed:

"Also a miserable child."

(End of this chapter)