Chapter 32

After confirming that there would be no immediate problems, Yu Qing moved one foot out and gently stood outside the tree hollow, pulling the bowstring without hesitation.

Having already used such an expensive Pointing Demon Dew, how could he hesitate any further?

The arrow was aimed at the back of Heiyun Xiao, and the bowstring was gradually pulled to its full extent. Xu Fei, who was inside the tree hollow, felt his heart race and wanted to find a stick to knock him out.

Just as Heiyun Xiao struggled to prop himself up and slowly stood, Yu Qing's eyes sharpened, and his fingers suddenly released the bowstring.

Clang! The bowstring exploded with a loud sound, and a rainbow-like shadow shot out, with three arrows flying away.

The faint silver glow on the arrowheads instantly extended into intersecting silver threads, forming a web-like pattern, showcasing a certain characteristic of the Pointing Demon Dew.

Heiyun Xiao, who had just stood up, trembled, and blood splattered from his chest and abdomen. One arrow flew over his head.

Two arrows merely passed through his body without remaining, and Heiyun Xiao staggered to his knees, suddenly turning his head to look behind him, his eyes wide with anger, trying to see who had ambushed him.

He saw Yu Qing, who suddenly stood up and turned, his arms clenched into fists, as if ready to charge, but his face suddenly changed, and he quickly covered his chest.

It was clear that the area where the arrow had struck his chest was twisting and turning, transforming into a patch of dark fur, and the same was happening to his abdomen, with the area of transformation rapidly expanding.

The feeling of his body being completely out of control and forcibly transformed was extremely painful, and Heiyun Xiao trembled violently, his face twisted in a grimace, staring at Yu Qing and hissing, "Pointing Demon Dew!"

Seeing that the Pointing Demon Dew was effective, Yu Qing, who had been on edge, decisively charged forward, running at full speed. As he approached, he flipped his hand to draw an arrow and pull the bowstring. Just as Heiyun Xiao was undergoing a dramatic transformation, Yu Qing pulled the bowstring again, and another arrow was shot, this time at close range.

A splash of blood erupted from Heiyun Xiao's head, which had transformed halfway into a half-human, half-beast form.

Yu Qing, running at full speed, leaped into the air, Clang! drawing his sword mid-air, discarding the Mo Ying Bow, and gripping the sword with both hands, he slashed down with all his might in a swift and decisive manner.

"Roar!"

Heiyun Xiao's head had transformed into a leopard's head, a black-furred leopard's head, with its mouth open, revealing sharp fangs. It seemed to understand its fate, and in a mix of despair and defiance, it let out a hysterical roar to the sky.

The mournful roar echoed through the entire forest and then abruptly stopped, as a leopard's head flew up, and a gush of blood spurted out.

Yu Qing, having landed, slashed off Heiyun Xiao's head, which had revealed its true form, and, to ensure there were no mistakes, he followed up with several more slashes on the still-standing body.

Xu Fei, who had been peeking from the tree hollow, was genuinely shaken, realizing that this Brother Shiheng was not just brave but also incredibly fierce and ruthless. The thought that such a person was going to take the imperial exams was bewildering.

After confirming that Heiyun Xiao was dead, Yu Qing suddenly turned his head, noticing a person lying under a tree, breathing and slowly moving their limbs. This was one of Heiyun Xiao's subordinates, who had been knocked unconscious by Jiang Shan and seemed to have been awakened by Heiyun Xiao's final roar.

Without hesitation, Yu Qing rushed over, leaped into the air, and landed with a clean and swift slash, severing the other's head.

Another kill? Xu Fei, his face filled with shock, was trembling, realizing that this Brother Shiheng was not just brave but also a cold-blooded killer...

On the official road, the fog was gradually dispersing, and Bailan, leading a group of subordinates, was engaged in a fierce battle with the people from Sinan Prefecture, finding it difficult to retreat.

The eagle slaves of Gaoyuan suddenly disappeared, and the countless rats that had been present also scattered. Bailan immediately sensed that something was wrong, knew that the situation was beyond salvaging, and wanted to retreat. However, by the time she decided to retreat, the fog had already mostly dissipated.

With the fog mostly gone and the view clear, what did this mean? It meant that the surviving Great Archers were now their greatest threat.

The arrows of the Great Archers had immense killing power, and using them with too little force would be ineffective, while using them in a melee could easily harm their own side. Therefore, they were hesitant to use them in the chaos of battle.

Bailan was well aware that during the melee, these Great Archers were hesitant to use their full power, but once she retreated, they would immediately strike with lethal force.

She could only endure and wait for her husband to come to her aid.

However, a mournful roar from deep within the forest suddenly changed everything.

"Roar!"

The familiar roar, filled with boundless sorrow, made Bailan's heart tremble. She turned her head to look in the direction of the roar, her eyes filled with fear. She understood the meaning of the roar—it was one of despair!

Thud! Distracted, Bailan was struck in the chest by Jin Hua Hai's punch, spitting blood from her mouth and nose as she flew backward. She landed and struck the ground with her palm, causing a cloud of dust to rise. Seizing the opportunity, she leaped out of the battle circle, instantly transforming into a snow leopard with a sleek, white body, dashing into the forest with the agility of a shadow.

Clang! Jiang Yinan, who had been observing the battle, fired his Qilong Bow, relying on his instincts and predicting Bailan's final movements. The arrow pierced through the dust, passing through two large trees, and struck the snow leopard's abdomen as it darted past the trees.

The snow leopard fell to the ground, rolled to avoid several arrows that had pierced the ground, and then leaped up, using the terrain to quickly escape, despite the gushing wound in its abdomen.

As Bailan fled, her subordinates immediately fell into chaos, their last bit of fighting spirit collapsing, and they scattered in all directions. However, many of them were brought down by the sound of bowstrings, and few managed to escape.

Seeing that Jin Hua Hai wanted to pursue, Jiang Yinan shouted, "Don't chase a cornered enemy!"

The still-shaken Fu Zuoxuan quickly echoed, "Don't chase, don't chase, don't chase a cornered enemy!"

He was genuinely terrified, fearing that the guards would be in danger if they pursued.

Quickly scanning the smoky surroundings, Jin Hua Hai was unsure if it was a trap, so he decided to stop...

Yu Qing, sword in hand, jumped back to the three carriages, quickly pulling out several pieces of luggage from one of the carriages. He grabbed a bundle of blankets and tore them open, revealing Chong, who was red-faced and sweating, almost suffocated.

Chong, who had been terrified when he and the carriage were grabbed by the giant eagle, had no idea what to do except to wrap himself in the blanket. He had not seen what happened afterward, as he dared not stick his head out and remained motionless.

Now, seeing Yu Qing with a sword, Chong realized he had been saved. The relief and gratitude he felt were indescribable, and he stammered, "M... Master."

He thought he was going to die and never imagined that Master Shiheng would not abandon him and would come to save him in such a dangerous situation.

Feeling both terrified and incredibly grateful, Chong was overwhelmed with emotion.

Yu Qing, however, had no time for such emotions and urgently urged, "No time, quickly find the luggage."

"Okay, okay, yes, yes," Chong nodded obediently, immediately searching through the pile of luggage.

He quickly found it and tried to put the luggage on his back.

Yu Qing grabbed it and quickly pulled out the contents of the backpack, finding the twenty pounds of spirit rice, and casually threw the luggage aside.

Xu Fei, who had run over, was speechless. He had suspected that Yu Qing had risked his life to kill two demons for the spirit rice, and now he confirmed it.

Yu Qing quickly tied the bag of spirit rice to his body, determined to keep it under his control and not entrust it to anyone else.

The thought of discarding the quiver on his back made him feel a bit reluctant.

However, after overhearing the conversation of the old rat woman and others, he knew that the Mo Ying Bow he had found could not be kept.

If the demon cultivators had won, he could have fled with the valuable Mo Ying Bow. Now that the escort team had won, could he really return to the capital with the Mo Ying Bow? Would the others believe it was his?

No matter how painful it was, he had no choice. The task entrusted to him by Shiheng could not be measured in money, so he discarded the quiver on the spot.

However, he walked to the side, picked up the Mo Ying Bow, pressed the bow body to the ground, and bent it with all his strength, loosening the bowstring, and then quickly untied one end.

Once one end was untied, the other end could be easily removed without the tension of the bow body. In a few quick movements, he obtained a bowstring made of rainbow silk, which he quickly rolled up and tucked into his chest.

The market price of rainbow silk was about a thousand taels of silver per strand, and a bowstring probably required ten strands of rainbow silk to make, meaning that the bowstring could be sold for ten thousand taels of silver. Such a valuable item, already in his possession, could not be easily discarded.

The Mo Ying Bow was too conspicuous to hide on his body, but the detached bowstring was different.

Of course, he felt a bit guilty, but he would tell himself that he was the master of Linglong Temple and would have to return to the mountains to live in seclusion after this trip to the capital.

Linglong Temple was so poor that he and his senior brothers could not afford to fight over a few hundred taels of silver.

Living in seclusion was not easy and required money. He was still young and expected to live at least a hundred years, at least eighty more years. Living in seclusion for so long would require a significant amount of savings. Saving more was never too much.

In any case, after dismantling the bowstring and securing the items, Yu Qing immediately went to the bodies he had killed to search for valuables.

A Xuan-level expert should have some valuable items on them, right?

This was one of the major incentives for him to take such a risk, taking advantage of the enemy's injuries!

However, just as he took a step, he froze, staring at the faint, ethereal fog around him. He didn't even need to use the Word Insight technique to detect the approaching sound of a large crowd.

A large number of rats that had been attacking the examination team were now retreating in this direction.

Yu Qing was unsure if there were other demon cultivators retreating as well. Logically, there should be, and if the rats discovered him, it would be difficult not to alert the other demon cultivators. He dared not take that risk, especially after killing two demons, making him feel guilty and nervous.

Using the Word Insight technique, he immediately realized that, given the scale of the rat swarm, it was too late to avoid them by circling around. He immediately waved his hand and shouted, "Run quickly!"

Without his prompting, Xu Fei would definitely follow him.

On the contrary, Chong, with his thin and small body, was still trying to pick up the discarded luggage. To him, these items were essential for the journey and could not be left behind, as they were needed to take care of Master.

However, the situation was too urgent, and he needed to prioritize his safety.