Chapter 58

Su Peng used the divine agility technique, pursuing the bald fake monk Yao Tong.

The fake monk Yao Tong's agility was quite remarkable. He leaped forward, each jump covering six to seven meters, and his directional changes were very flexible. In places where it was inconvenient to leap, he could easily change direction by tapping his foot on a tree trunk or the ground, and his speed was truly extraordinary.

As for Su Peng, he rarely leaped. His feet seemed to be glued to the ground, but his steps were fine and continuous, making his figure blurry and his speed astonishing.

Su Peng's agility was originally not low, with a rating of nine. Later, through various missions, his attributes had been upgraded to eleven. Even without using agility techniques, his speed for a hundred meters was around ten seconds. The divine agility technique, although only at the first level, increased his speed by ninety-five percent, nearly doubling it to about five to six seconds for a hundred meters, which allowed him to keep up with Yao Tong.

In contrast, the girl in the light yellow dress who was chasing from behind Su Peng, although her agility was also good, was still far behind Su Peng. Before long, she gradually fell behind.

Su Peng pursued Yao Tong with all his might. The trees by the lakeside forest continuously whizzed past him. Although his speed was already remarkable, Yao Tong was very slippery and couldn't be caught for a while.

But Su Peng had made up his mind. Yao Tong and Ouyang Qing had exchanged a palm strike, and Ouyang Qing had evaluated Yao Tong's agility as first-class, but his internal energy might be second-class or even lower. Su Peng had learned a first-class internal skill, and even at the first level, it wouldn't be weaker than Yao Tong's. If necessary, he could chase for a few hours and exhaust him.

Yao Tong, who was ahead, occasionally looked back at Su Peng, feeling both annoyed, angry, and surprised. He hadn't expected Su Peng's agility to be so remarkable and feared he couldn't shake him off. After some thought, he whistled and suddenly increased his speed, entering the forest by the lake, seemingly trying to use the complex terrain to lose Su Peng.

However, this wasn't easy. Su Peng's divine agility technique was well-suited to such complex terrain, and his speed didn't decrease; instead, it played to his advantage.

The two chased each other, circling in this area...

...

This chase lasted for over half an hour, and the two had traveled dozens of miles, already leaving the nearby forest and heading into the dense inland forest.

Su Peng was getting somewhat anxious. Although Yao Tong's internal skill was average, he was quite resilient and hadn't shown any signs of fatigue. Su Peng could also hold out for a long time, but would he have to waste the whole night on this fake monk?

Just as Su Peng was considering whether to continue chasing Yao Tong, the terrain ahead suddenly changed. A small canyon appeared, and although it wasn't large, there seemed to be no other way through. Beyond the canyon, the view seemed to open up.

Yao Tong, running ahead, was instantly invigorated. After crossing the canyon, there seemed to be a river about twelve to thirteen meters wide. The person chasing him seemed skilled in dodging and weaving but not in leaping and climbing. At the river, Yao Tong could use his agility technique to borrow force from the air and shake off the pursuer.

Thinking this, Yao Tong's spirit lifted, and his speed seemed to increase.

Su Peng, who was behind, also saw the river and frowned. Was he about to lose this person?

Yao Tong had already entered the canyon. Seeing an escape route, he laughed loudly, seemingly about to leave!

Su Peng, behind him, was very reluctant, but it seemed there was no way to stop Yao Tong from escaping...

"Whoosh!"

Just as Yao Tong was laughing triumphantly, a sudden sound broke the air. Yao Tong's heart tightened, and he thought, "Not good!" He saw two projectiles, carrying a strong wind, flying towards his legs!

Yao Tong, caught off guard, only managed to lift one leg. One of the projectiles hit his calf, a stone infused with internal energy.

"Ah!" Yao Tong cried out, instantly feeling his leg's meridians blocked, unable to transmit internal energy. He stumbled and fell to the ground. At that moment, a white figure leaped out from behind a rock in the canyon, holding a dry branch, pointing it at Yao Tong!

Yao Tong swung his arm to block the branch but found it suddenly transformed in a mysterious way. Yao Tong felt dizzy, and he was hit several times, having been struck at several major acupoints.

Instantly, Yao Tong's blood flow was obstructed, his body went numb, and he fell to the ground.

At this moment, Su Peng also arrived, looking at the person who had subdued Yao Tong. Su Peng's pupils dilated slightly, and he said, "It's you? Mr. Fu?"

The person who had subdued Yao Tong with the dry branch was none other than Fu Yi, with whom Su Peng had had a rather engaging conversation.

Fu Yi, seeing that he had subdued Yao Tong, looked at Su Peng and smiled, saying, "I didn't intend to deceive you. I haven't been active in the martial world for a long time and can no longer be considered a martial person... but I do know some basic martial arts. I saw this person trying to frame you, and I couldn't bear to see you suffer an unjust accusation, so I couldn't help but intervene."

"Really? Mr. Fu, you saw this scoundrel's actions?" Su Peng asked, not surprised that Fu Yi knew martial arts. Various signs on the journey had already made Su Peng suspect that Mr. Fu was not an ordinary scholar, and his martial skills didn't surprise Su Peng.

Fu Yi nodded and began to explain to Su Peng...

It turned out that after dinner at the tavern today, Ouyang Qing and Fu Yi had also left.

However, when Fu Yi entered the back courtyard, he was very alert. Under the moonlight, he occasionally glimpsed a bald figure carrying a sack, jumping over the wall into the courtyard. Fu Yi didn't immediately raise the alarm but hid in the shadows to see what the bald man was doing.

The bald man entered the courtyard behind the tavern and leaped directly into the second floor of a small building. Fu Yi knew this room was Su Peng's and became curious, wanting to see what the bald man was up to.

A moment later, the bald man leaped out of the second-floor window, the sack gone. He then leaped onto the roof of a house, seemingly observing something. Fu Yi didn't leave but stayed in the shadows of the courtyard to see what the bald man intended.

Later, Fu Yi saw Su Peng carrying a box, leaping out of the window and heading towards the back alley. The bald man followed Su Peng from a distance on the roof, occasionally showing his face, which was the same man who had escaped from the boat during the day, Yao Tong.

Fu Yi sensed something was wrong. He had hidden his martial skills, and his agility was also quite good. He jumped into Su Peng's room and found the dead woman on the bed. After some thought, Fu Yi guessed what had happened and chased out, knowing that Yao Tong's agility was excellent and not wanting to alert him, he followed from a distance.

Later, Fu Yi saw Su Peng discover Yao Tong, and the two began to chase each other. Fu Yi estimated that his agility was about the same as theirs, and he might not be able to catch Yao Tong. However, he had been to Poyang Lake a few years ago and knew a shortcut to this canyon. Instead of following Su Peng and Yao Tong, he took the shortcut to ambush them, and he managed to catch them off guard. Without any weapons, he picked up a dry branch and subdued Yao Tong.

"Thank you, Mr. Fu. If you hadn't appeared in time, I might not have been able to catch this scoundrel." Su Peng bowed again, thanking Fu Yi.

Fu Yi smiled and said, "Actually, if this person was just using some common martial tricks, I might not have intervened, at most just pointing out the deception. But this person not only deceived but also killed and framed someone. I couldn't bear to see you, a good friend, suffer an unjust accusation, so I chased after him."

"Mr. Fu is truly kind-hearted." Su Peng said, then looked at Yao Tong and said, "This person's actions have crossed my底线 (底线 means 'bottom line' or 'limits'). Even if I don't kill him, I will have him face the law."

"Unjust! Unjust!" Yao Tong, lying on the ground, though unable to move, could still hear and speak. Hearing Su Peng say he would kill him, he shouted, "I am truly unjustly accused! Although I have a penchant for abducting beautiful women, I never kill. The young woman, though abducted by Yao Tong, was not killed by me. Hero, please don't kill me, or I will die unjustly!"

"Really? What do you have to say for yourself?" Su Peng asked, walking over and flipping Yao Tong over.

"I am unjustly accused! After the heroes exposed me on the boat, I fled to a town by Poyang Lake and found a inn to stay in. Feeling depressed, I wanted to find a young woman to amuse myself. I saw a young woman in the back of the inn, seemingly looking for something. Seeing no one around, I used a pressure point to knock her out and abducted her to my room in the inn, intending to... act."

"However, the young woman woke up very quickly and resisted fiercely, unwilling to comply with my desires. I found it uninteresting to act with her unconscious, so I used some aphrodisiac incense from the Western Regions, worth a couple of gold pieces each, to make her more compliant. I stripped her to her undergarments, tied her up, and gagged her, then lit the incense. But the incense was too potent, and I was afraid I couldn't handle it, so I closed the window and went out for a while, waiting for her to become aroused. However, I unexpectedly saw the heroes and followed them, paying attention to them..."

"I saw you, Hero, return to your room after dining, and I remembered the young woman in the other inn. Fortunately, the two inns were not far apart, so I rushed back. But when I returned to my room, I found the young woman dead on my bed, seemingly raped and murdered. But I swear, I didn't do it. I always cherish women and would never kill."

"I was shocked and didn't know what to do. Suddenly, I had a wicked idea and thought of you, Hero. I jumped out of the window, and since the two inns were only a few meters apart through a dark alley, I saw that your room seemed empty and had a wicked thought. I put the young woman's body in a sack and placed it on your bed... But, Hero, you are wise. The killer is not me!"

Yao Tong felt that one wrong word could mean his death, so he spoke clearly, explaining everything he knew.

Su Peng listened and felt that Yao Tong didn't seem to be lying. His story was coherent and didn't seem fabricated.

"Little Brother Su, I have learned some techniques to detect lies. From what this person said, it doesn't seem to be a lie," Fu Yi said to Su Peng.

Su Peng nodded, his intuition also telling him that Yao Tong didn't seem to be lying.

"Then it's strange. Who killed the woman?" Su Peng thought, "The situation is more complicated..."

"Little Brother Su, even if Yao Tong didn't kill the woman, he is still a major suspect. Let's take him to the Poyang Lake authorities," Fu Yi said. Su Peng nodded and searched Yao Tong, finding a money bag with about twelve to thirteen taels of gold and some loose silver, as well as two pieces of yellow incense, which seemed to be the aphrodisiac incense Yao Tong mentioned.

Su Peng pulled Yao Tong up, ready to take him to Poyang Lake, when suddenly, Yao Tong, who had been like a pile of soft flesh, shouted and regained his ability to move, striking Su Peng with a palm!

"You dare!" Su Peng reacted quickly, even though the situation was sudden, he still managed to block Yao Tong's palm with his own, but in the rush, he didn't infuse much internal energy and was at a disadvantage.

Yao Tong, after exchanging a palm strike, shouted and leaped into the air, running towards the river.

"Scoundrel, you dare!" Fu Yi, seeing that his pressure point technique had failed and that Yao Tong had struck Su Peng, was angry and swung the dry branch like a sword!

An invisible sword energy shot out, hitting Yao Tong, who had already leaped four to five meters. Yao Tong spat out a mouthful of blood but continued his momentum, leaping out of the canyon and over the twelve to thirteen-meter-wide river!

Su Peng frowned, knowing his current agility wouldn't allow him to leap over the river, so he gave up the pursuit.

Fu Yi also frowned, looking at the fleeing Yao Tong, and said, "How could this person break through my pressure point technique so quickly, yet have such weak internal energy?"

"He didn't break through it." Su Peng, looking at Yao Tong's retreating figure, said, "When I searched him, I felt something inside his clothes, probably a close-fitting soft armor that resisted the energy from your pressure point technique."

"That could be it." Fu Yi nodded in agreement.

"Mr. Fu, we've been out for a long time. Let's hurry back. There's... a body in my room, and it would be troublesome if someone sees it," Su Peng said to Fu Yi.

Fu Yi nodded and said, "If anyone really discovers it, I can vouch for your innocence."

Su Peng was slightly moved. It was already good that a stranger would do this much for him, so he nodded and said, "Thank you."

Fu Yi nodded, and the two used their agility techniques to return to the town by Poyang Lake.

Upon returning to the inn, Su Peng and Fu Yi went to the small building where Su Peng was staying, where the body of the young woman was still present.

However, when they went upstairs, they found a crowd gathered at the door to Su Peng's room.

Su Peng frowned and saw that it was Huo Sijie and a group of young martial artists, arguing with Ouyang Qing. A few inn staff and the owner were trying to mediate.

"What's going on?"

Su Peng asked.

The young martial artists and women saw Su Peng and a few of them drew their swords and sabers, one of them shouting, "You, the lecherous murderer, surrender now!"