Free Web NovelChapter 185: Chapter 136: Chase and Escape (Part 1)
"Ow!"
Ruchen clutched the back of her head and took a few steps back, blushing as she shot Zheng Xiu a look, her expression surprisingly flirtatious.
Zheng Xiu was stunned.
He still hadn’t recovered from the strange prompt that had just appeared before his eyes.
"Brother Zheng? What’s wrong?"
Chu Susu noticed his strange expression. Her heart skipped a beat, and she asked.
"It’s nothing."
Zheng Xiu shook his head, suppressing his shock. He smiled casually. "You must both be hungry. I’ll go find us something to eat."
"Okay, thank you, Brother Zheng."
Zheng Xiu turned and began to climb the steep cliff face, his fingers digging into the crevices as he steadily ascended. He launched himself high into the air, somersaulted a few times, and landed in the distance, vanishing in the blink of an eye.
The moment Zheng Xiu left, the obedient look on Chu Susu’s face vanished. She suddenly turned to Ruchen, who was still clutching the back of her head and whining coquettishly, and hissed, "Yao! Yao! Yao!"
"Yao! Where the hell have you been!"
"Yao!"
The blush on Ruchen’s face faded. As if just now hearing Chu Susu, she looked back in confusion. "Sister Susu, are you calling for this Little Monk?"
Chu Susu stared at the confusion on Ruchen’s face, silent for a moment. Then she covered her mouth and giggled. "Monk, you misunderstand. I was just calling for my little crow."
Soon after.
The Blood Crow, which had been keeping watch high in the sky, landed on Chu Susu’s shoulder and began to preen its feathers.
Ruchen’s face lit up with understanding.
’I must have been overthinking it,’ she thought to herself.
While Zheng Xiu was out looking for food, Chu Susu and Ruchen each found a corner to lean against, closing their eyes to rest and recover their energy.
BOOM!
A terrifying explosion suddenly echoed from the distance, startling the two of them awake. They thought Ye Weiyang was so devoid of martial ethics that they had resorted to bringing siege weapons after them.
After a long, fearful moment, the forest fell silent once again. freewebnøvel.com
The two women looked at each other, nonplussed.
A moment later, Ruchen cautiously ventured a guess, "Could it be that Brother Zheng is... hunting?"
Chu Susu’s expression instantly became incredibly strange.
「About an hour later.」
Zheng Xiu returned, carrying a python and a rabbit.
He had already prepared the python and rabbit outside, skinning them and washing away the blood. They were ready to be roasted over the fire.
"You Ascetic Monks, when you cultivate, you don’t have all those Buddhist Family rules about not eating meat or killing, do you?"
Zheng Xiu asked over his shoulder as he skewered the snake and rabbit meat on branches and set them to roast over the campfire.
Ruchen laughed. "Where would we get so many rules? We cultivate the heart, the heart! It’s the heart we cultivate, not the flesh. Besides, the Buddhist Family of the Western Regions is full of heresies. On one hand, they say killing is forbidden, but on the other, they say, ’Wine and meat pass through the gut, but the Buddha remains in the heart.’ Ptooey! We don’t believe in that nonsense!"
"Well said!"
Zheng Xiu gave Ruchen a thumbs-up.
As he turned the branches, sizzling grease dripped into the fire with a crisp CRACKLE. The enticing aroma of roasting meat wafted out, and only then did the three of them realize how ravenous they truly were.
After the food was divided, Zheng Xiu took large bites, tearing at the snake meat with his teeth. He sat down next to Chu Susu and casually asked about her Path Mystic Skill.
Chu Susu froze upon hearing his question.
"I’m just curious. How did you deceive that group of orphans? The Broken Hand Stealing Skill and your ability to change your identity seem like two completely different Miracle Techniques. If you have reservations, feel free to say nothing. You don’t have to force yourself."
The Mighty Man’s words sounded very considerate.
But for some reason, to Chu Susu’s ears, "You don’t have to force yourself" sounded exactly like "You’d better force yourself."
’What in the world are you trying to say?’ Chu Susu lamented inwardly.
’I’m under this Mighty Man’s thumb now; I have no choice but to bow my head. When you say something like that, aren’t you just telling me to figure it out, and that if I don’t, I’ll get a beating?’
Though she was crying on the inside, Chu Susu’s face revealed a shy smile. She gave the Mighty Man a coquettish glance from the corner of her eye and said with a laugh, "How could I feel forced? To have Brother Zheng’s concern is something I’ve been hoping for. I wish you’d ask me more."
"Then tell me."
Zheng Xiu nodded. That was more like it.
Chu Susu took small bites of the rabbit leg, the delicious flavor washing away some of her inner sorrow. She began to speak slowly. "That Pang Shengyun once had a sworn sister. She was also an orphan. Coincidentally, his sworn sister and I have different surnames but the same given name—she was called Ding Susu. She and Pang Shengyun were as close as siblings, depending on each other for survival and making a living through theft."
"Last year, there was a rich merchant in town with the surname Gong. He was a small, dark, scrawny old man, but he was cunning and lecherous—a frequent customer at the local brothel, and quite a lavish spender."
"Pang Shengyun wasn’t wrong, actually. They followed their usual rule of only stealing from outsiders, never from locals. But rules are rigid, and people are flexible. In a remote little town like this, how could there be outsiders arriving every single day?"
Zheng Xiu nodded in agreement.
"Those kids had been hungry for days, so Ding Susu set her sights on the Gong Family. She said that since the man named Gong was no good person, stealing twenty or thirty taels from him would let a whole group of children survive the winter. For a man like Gong, it was nothing more than the cost of a single night of carousing."
Zheng Xiu: "And then?"
Chu Susu sneered. "What else could have happened? Ding Susu was just an ordinary thief who had not yet glimpsed the Path. She was discovered the moment she climbed over the wall."
Zheng Xiu fell silent. He had a faint idea of what happened next.
Chu Susu finished her rabbit meat and let out a burp. She blushed, crossed her arms to stretch, hiding her embarrassment, and continued, "Later, Ding Susu’s battered body was thrown into the river and washed ashore. I happened to find it, just when I needed a new ’identity’..." Chu Susu noticed the look in the Mighty Man’s eyes and quickly waved her hands to explain. "Brother Zheng, please don’t misunderstand. This ’happened’ has nothing to do with you. That was about half a year ago."
Zheng Xiu frowned. "What did you steal?"
Chu Susu gave a mysterious smile. "I stole the person, ’Ding Susu’."
"You became her?"
Zheng Xiu was astonished.
"I became her, but not completely," Chu Susu said, shaking her head. "To infiltrate Pang Shengyun’s group without a trace, the help of a ’Thousand Gate General’ was essential." freewёbnoνel.com
Zheng Xiu asked curiously, "How did you manage it?"
At his words, Chu Susu’s expression changed slightly. A film of moisture instantly clouded her eyes. She lightly placed her hands on Zheng Xiu’s sleeve and said pitifully, "Brother Zheng, if I say any more, it’ll be the death of me!"
The implication was that saying more would involve life-and-death secrets—the Restrictions of her Miracle Technique, and its deeper mysteries.
Her Miracle Technique was the skill Chu Susu depended on for survival. If she revealed everything, it would be the same as handing her life over to Zheng Xiu. Rather than do that, she would be better off fighting the Mighty Man to the death.
The atmosphere grew heavy for a moment before Zheng Xiu smiled and waved his hand. "No matter. If you don’t want to say, then don’t. As a fellow Miracle Master, I understand the taboos involved."
Chu Susu breathed a sigh of relief. In the blink of an eye, her expression changed completely, and she retracted the hand resting ambiguously on the Mighty Man’s sleeve at the speed of light.
"Zzz... zzz... zzz..."
Nearby, Ruchen had actually fallen asleep.
Zheng Xiu looked back at Ruchen, who was curled up by the fire, sound asleep. He seemed lost in thought.
"Brother Zheng, there is a matter I hope to discuss with you frankly."
Zheng Xiu’s gaze moved from Ruchen’s head to Chu Susu, and he nodded.
Receiving the Mighty Man’s approval, Chu Susu bit her lower lip and shared her thoughts. "Brother Zheng, please believe me. Although I cannot make decisions on behalf of my Tower Master, I know in my heart that regarding the matter of Mystic Feng Bei, the Incompleteness Tower and you, Brother Zheng, are definitely on the same side. The Incompleteness Tower will never let Ye Weiyang ’get’ Mystic Feng Bei."
Zheng Xiu: "You’ve said that before."
Chu Susu: "What I mean to say is, if we continue north, the three of us will have a hard time dealing with the successive waves of Night Guards, Constellations, and possibly even the Twelfth Moon. I know your Miracle Technique is fierce and unparalleled, Brother Zheng. The number of people in this world who can challenge your mighty Miracle Technique can be counted on one hand. But within Ye Weiyang, there exists the ’Crow Fosterer.’ Once the Crow Fosterer appears, even you, Brother Zheng, may not be able to withstand their ’Suicide Technique’."
She paused briefly, carefully observing the Mighty Man’s expression and choosing her words with caution before continuing. "I believe that, if you are not against the idea, Brother Zheng, we could abandon our journey north and turn west instead, to evade Ye Weiyang’s encirclement."
"West?" Zheng Xiu’s expression faltered slightly. "To the Great Desert?"
"Yes!" Chu Susu nodded emphatically. "The Incompleteness Tower is hidden amidst the yellow sands of the Great Desert. It uses the Scorching Sun and yellow sands as its roof and Mirages as its walls, like an Indestructible fortress. As long as we reach the vast Great Desert, we will surely escape Ye Weiyang’s pursuit!"
