Chapter 29

They didn't find anything in this vehicle, so after climbing out, the two continued to search ahead.

This time, they didn't walk far. After briefly rummaging through a few pieces of luggage, they saw a relatively intact carriage. The two immediately approached it, one in front of the other.

The carriage was half-lying on the roadside slope, its wheels broken, and the shaft likely smashed by rocks. The horses had run off, but the body of the carriage was still in good condition.

Just as the two were about to climb in to take a look, they both felt surprised, noticing that this carriage was different from the others.

The doors of the other carriages were just doors, at most covered by curtains. But at the entrance of this carriage, someone had used ropes to crisscross the door frames, creating a simple barrier, probably to prevent luggage from falling out during the journey.

Now that it was like this, the barrier was useless. Xu Fei directly slashed it open with his knife, and several pieces of luggage immediately rolled out.

After a quick look, it seemed none of the luggage belonged to them. As Xu Fei reached in to pull out more luggage, Yu Qing suddenly grabbed his hand and pointed to a large bundle of quilts under two pieces of luggage.

Xu Fei hadn't noticed it at first, but with this pointer, he immediately sensed something unusual. The large bundle of quilts seemed to be trembling slightly, which was hard to notice. He couldn't help but admire Yu Qing's keen eyesight.

The two exchanged a look of cooperation. Yu Qing reached out to remove the two pieces of luggage on top, while Xu Fei held his knife, ready to strike at any moment.

As the luggage on top was removed, the large bundle of quilts trembled even more, now clearly visible.

Prepared! After a final exchange of glances, Yu Qing suddenly grabbed the quilt and pulled, revealing a person who let out a scream.

Xu Fei's raised knife didn't come down, couldn't come down. Both were surprised and stunned. The person who emerged was none other than Chong'er, who had been suffocating in the quilt, his face already red and drenched in sweat.

Chong'er curled up, trembling, unable to recognize the two men. Both were covered in blood, looking like ghosts.

Xu Fei quickly reassured him, "Chong'er, don't be afraid, it's us."

This voice was so familiar. Chong'er froze, recovering from his fear. Gradually, he regained his ability to recognize, identifying Xu Fei's knife and Yu Qing's sword, and then recognizing their facial features. He exclaimed, "Young Master!" and nodded repeatedly at Yu Qing, "Young Master."

This was a pleasant surprise. Both Xu Fei and Yu Qing were delighted. Chong'er was still alive, seemingly unharmed, truly a stroke of luck.

Xu Fei asked in amazement, "How did you end up here?"

Yu Qing, the happiest of the two, thought that since Chong'er was in this carriage, his luggage must be here too. All his efforts had paid off. If he had given up, the two thousand taels of silver would have been wasted.

He tugged at the rope on the carriage door that had just been cut, already imagining what had happened. This carriage must have been the one where Chong'er had taken a break. The rope at the entrance was likely tied by Chong'er, as his job was to watch the luggage, and he must have been diligent.

The truth was similar to what Xu Fei had asked. Chong'er hadn't expected the sudden disaster. When he saw many rats appear, he didn't know how to deal with it. In a panic, he wrapped himself in a quilt from someone's luggage and somehow managed to escape unharmed.

Regardless, he was truly lucky.

Yu Qing asked, "Where's the luggage?"

"It's in the carriage," Chong'er looked back and got up to search.

Xu Fei smiled bitterly, realizing that this guy cared most about the luggage. He always beat around the bush, sometimes worrying about Chong'er, sometimes looking for the luggage, but never revealing his true intentions. To put it nicely, he was quite considerate; to put it harshly, he was a hypocrite.

While Yu Qing was excited about finding the luggage, he didn't forget to look around. People who practiced the "Observation Word Technique" often had this habit, especially in abnormal environments.

As he looked around, Yu Qing suddenly froze and whispered urgently, "Something's coming, Chong'er, cover yourself with the quilt."

He pulled Xu Fei and ran to a nearby dead horse, lying down and grabbing a bloody piece of horse meat to put on his face.

Xu Fei immediately understood his meaning. This was the "play dead" strategy he had mentioned.

He did it even more thoroughly, quickly lying on the remains of the dead horse.

He was a bit puzzled, though. He hadn't noticed anything, so how did Brother Shiheng know something was coming?

Little did he know, if Yu Qing didn't have this skill, he wouldn't dare to run around in such an environment.

Both were already wearing clothes stripped from the dead, already covered in blood.

Chong'er had hurriedly wrapped himself in the quilt and crouched in the carriage, not daring to move.

Yu Qing's eyes were still open, still scanning the surroundings.

The firelight around them became more obvious, and the mountain fire finally started burning, the dense fog thinning under the high temperature.

Suddenly, the fog undulated, and several black-clad figures darted out. Yu Qing immediately widened his eyes, remaining motionless, looking like a corpse.

Playing dead was a last resort. Knowing his cultivation was low, he knew that any encounter in such a situation could be life-threatening. Those who dared to attack the Sannan Mansion's people were no joke.

The black-clad figures didn't linger, remaining vigilant as they flew over the two "dead" bodies and headed toward the main convoy.

Yu Qing looked around again, then crawled up and called to Xu Fei, "It's okay."

At that moment, the direction of the main convoy suddenly erupted in intense fighting sounds.

The sudden intensification of the battle made Yu Qing realize they couldn't stay here. He quickly jumped to the side of the carriage, pulled off Chong'er's quilt, and urgently said, "Quick, find the luggage."

Chong'er nodded and hurried to search.

Yu Qing, who was highly alert, suddenly looked up and whispered, "Chong'er, hide." He then darted to the side and lay down, pretending to be dead.

Chong'er hurriedly pulled the quilt over his head.

Xu Fei, who had just climbed up, didn't need to be told. Seeing the situation, he immediately lay down again.

The fog above suddenly undulated, and a huge black shadow swooped down. It was a giant eagle with a wingspan of two zhang, gliding low over the road. Before it had even glided far, it suddenly dropped its claws, grabbing the carriage where Chong'er was hiding. With a powerful flap of its wings, it created a strong wind and suddenly lifted the carriage into the sky, quickly disappearing into the fog.

Xu Fei, who had just lain down, hadn't even closed his eyes, and witnessed this scene with his own eyes.

Yu Qing was also stunned. His "Observation Word Technique" was far from his master's level, and he couldn't identify things with a single glance. He needed a bit of time to observe carefully, otherwise, he could only roughly sense that something was coming.

He hadn't expected a giant eagle, and that it would carry off the carriage.

The spirit rice he had just found was taken by a stupid bird?

Two thousand taels of silver taken by a bird? What kind of situation was this?

He was about to sit up but lay back down. The fog undulated violently again, and another giant eagle broke through the clouds, gliding low and flying over their heads.

Yu Qing looked around, then suddenly jumped up and quickly darted into the nearby forest.

Xu Fei immediately got up and followed.

Yu Qing ran for a while in the mountains, reached a hilltop, found the largest tree, and leaped up, grabbing a branch to pull himself up.

Xu Fei, who was chasing, looked up and saw that Yu Qing was already gone, stunned again. With such skills, he still claimed that the heavy sword was just an accessory. He had been blind to believe it. Brother Shiheng was clearly an expert!

For someone of his strength, Yu Qing's skills were indeed those of an expert.

Now, the most important thing was to follow Yu Qing closely. He sheathed his knife and immediately jumped up the tree, using all four limbs to climb, but the tree was too thick, and he couldn't climb fast.

Yu Qing, already at the top of the tree, found that the height was still affected by the light fog. He jumped, kicked off a branch, and suddenly leaped out of the fog, quickly observing the surroundings to see where the giant eagle had flown.

He saw many giant eagles rising and falling in the fog but managed to spot the target eagle, which seemed to be heading toward the highest peak.

He landed and bounced off the treetops several times, confirming that he had seen the eagle carrying the carriage enter the highest peak.

Landing again, he didn't stop on the treetops but slid down.

Xu Fei, who had climbed about three zhang, turned his head and watched as Yu Qing landed again. He immediately let go and slid down, lowering his height before jumping down and chasing after Yu Qing's disappearing figure.

The two, one after the other, jumped out of the forest, onto the road, and then into the opposite forest.

Hearing the noise behind him, Yu Qing suddenly stopped and turned, saying to Xu Fei, who almost collided with him, "Why are you following me?"

The luggage was already lost, and Xu Fei had no idea what he was doing. He asked, "Who else should I follow? Brother Shiheng, you won't leave me behind, right?"

Yu Qing said, "It's dangerous in the mountains. Don't follow me. Go back; the escort can protect you." Then he ran off again.

He didn't want to bring a burden. With such a large figure following, it was easier to be exposed.

Xu Fei didn't say a word and chased after him. Without the agility and speed of the other, he could only sprint with all his might.

Actually, he didn't want to follow, but where could he go now? Should he listen to Yu Qing and run to the escort?

The fighting was so intense; running into it was like courting death. Besides, who knew what the outcome would be after the battle.

He wanted to ask, if it was safe, why didn't you go, and why are you running around here?