The dense forest rain seemed intent on washing everything away. The freezing rainwater violently pounded against Tran Kien's body, mixing with the fresh blood from Shadow Sparrow's shoulder wound and the blood seeping from his own heaving chest. It formed a pale red stream that trickled onto the ground, quickly absorbed by the thick layer of rotting leaves.
He did not dare to halt his steps.
Following that final, earth-shattering collision, the Mortal tier long saber in his hand had developed countless spiderweb-like cracks, on the verge of shattering completely. The backlash force had caused his Qi and blood to roil chaotically; a sweet, metallic taste rose to his throat, but he gritted his teeth and forcefully swallowed it back down. The Primordial Chaos Qi within his meridians was nearly depleted. The wound left by the Black-patterned Hound's claws earlier had begun to bleed once more. He was in his most weakened state yet.
Yet, his will burned more fiercely than ever before. He had defeated a professional assassin with a cultivation base higher than his own, and he had escaped a lethal trap. He had proven that the legacy of the Lac Viet people was absolutely not something to be despised.
He buried his head and fled, his small frame gliding through the torrential downpour like an agile squirrel. He didn't run in a blind panic; instead, he consistently chose the most complex paths, threading through thorny bushes and leaping across small ravines. He was utilizing this very forest as his ally.
Behind him, the furious roars of the Black Dragon Stronghold men and the sounds of pursuit gradually faded into the distance. Though they possessed the numbers, in a dense forest rendered incredibly slick by the heavy rain, their formation became exceedingly unwieldy and sluggish.
After the time it takes an incense stick to burn, once he was absolutely certain he could no longer sense any killing intent trailing him, Tran Kien finally found a massive ancient tree with a hollow large enough to squeeze into. Leaning his back against the damp wood, he gasped for breath, his chest heaving violently. Only now did the searing pain from his wounds and the bone-deep exhaustion truly hit him, making his eyelids feel as heavy as lead.
But he refused to allow himself to collapse.
He bit down hard on the tip of his tongue, the sharp pain forcefully dragging him back to wakefulness. He quickly retrieved his final bottle of Wound-Mending Powder, sprinkling a thick layer over the chest wound caused by the backlash force. Tearing a strip of cloth from his robes, he bound the wound with practiced proficiency. Finally, he took out his very last Qi-Restoring Pill and tossed it into his mouth.
While circulating his cultivation base to absorb the medicinal efficacy, Tran Kien's mind continued to race. He recalled the entire sequence of events at the Wind and Cloud Inn. A chessboard hidden within a chessboard. The Black Dragon Stronghold had laid a trap for Shadow Sparrow, but Shadow Sparrow was no fool either. And he himself was the completely unforeseen variable that had overturned the entire board.
The Black Dragon Stronghold would certainly not let this matter rest. This time, they hadn't just lost men; they had lost an immense amount of face. He knew the squad leader and the survivors would undoubtedly report everything back. A body-refining youth who single-handedly severely injured the assassin Shadow Sparrow, and who possessed a luminous, righteous aura capable of suppressing demonic arts—these details were more than enough to draw the attention of the upper echelons of the Black Dragon Stronghold.
As for the Shadowless Pavilion... Tran Kien furrowed his brows. He had ruined Shadow Sparrow's assassination plot and left him gravely wounded. That assassin organization would definitely not let the matter slide either.
In the span of a single afternoon, he had inadvertently forged blood feuds with the two most notorious unorthodox factions of Qing Province. The road ahead to the Indigo Capital was no longer merely paved with thorns; it had transformed into a path of flashing swords, glinting sabers, and lethal traps.
"But..." Tran Kien clenched his fists. "...it was not without gains."
He retrieved the fragment of the Solar Essence Guardian from his robes. In that previous battle, this was the very thing that had saved his life. That luminous, righteous, and overbearing aura was the absolute nemesis of those who practiced Yin-cold, vicious cultivation methods. Right now, this was his greatest trump card.
Once the medicinal efficacy of the Qi-Restoring Pill had permeated his body and his Primordial Chaos Qi had recovered by ten or twenty percent, Tran Kien dared not linger. He meticulously erased all his tracks before melting back into the curtain of rain.
He did not depart immediately. He took a massive detour, circling back toward the official road, and concealed himself atop a high hill to observe the situation.
The rain had gradually subsided. At the foot of the hill, the men of the Black Dragon Stronghold were clearing the scene. Several horse-drawn carriages had been brought in to transport the corpses of their comrades. They worked in absolute silence, but the atmosphere was exceptionally heavy and gloom-ridden.
Tran Kien saw the squad leader issuing orders to his subordinates. A small detachment remained behind to continue searching the forest. Another group escorted a tightly covered carriage, hurrying in the direction of Qing Province City. Shadow Sparrow, Tran Kien surmised. He was grievously injured, but not dead. The Black Dragon Stronghold taking him alive was likely an attempt to extract intel regarding the Shadowless Pavilion.
A moment later, a black messenger bird flew over from the direction of Qing Province City and landed on the squad leader's arm. After reading the secret missive, his expression grew incredibly unsightly, and he immediately ordered everyone to retreat and abandon the pursuit.
Tran Kien was somewhat astonished. Why give up so easily?
He did not know that news of the battle at the Wind and Cloud Inn had long been embellished by other factions and transmitted back to Qing Province. The rumor mill claimed that the Black Dragon Stronghold had been massacred by a mysterious expert over a treasure, and even the assassin from the Shadowless Pavilion had been beaten half to death. Upon hearing this news, Old Devil Black Dragon was utterly infuriated, but he didn't dare act rashly. He immediately ordered all his forces to pull back and thoroughly investigate the background of this "mysterious expert" first.
This disastrous misunderstanding had inadvertently bought Tran Kien a precious window of time to breathe.
Once absolutely certain that everyone had departed, Tran Kien slowly descended the hill. He didn't immediately head toward the Indigo Capital. Instead, he walked over to the ruins of the inn. The place was an absolute mess, reeking of fresh blood and charred wood.
He wasn't searching for anything. He simply stood there, watching in silence. Then, he walked over to where the injured man—the one who had ignited this entire ordeal—had fallen. He had been completely buried beneath the rubble; not even his corpse was visible.
Tran Kien bent down and picked up a piece of charred wood.
"Nameless Daoist brother," he murmured. "I know not who you are, nor the karmic grievances you bore. But today, I borrowed your chessboard to secure my escape. I shall carve this debt into my heart. Should the day come, I will uncover the truth and return a measure of justice to you."
Saying this, he planted the charred wood into the earth, like a rustic, simple tombstone.
Having done this, he truly turned around, his gaze resolute as he looked toward the west.
The tempest had temporarily passed. But he knew, this was merely the calm before an even greater storm. The path ahead was still long, and he needed to become stronger, more cautious.