Chapter 64

That night, in the wilderness north of Guojian Town, by the Guoluo River, under the moonlight, a nimble figure was leaping and bounding, sometimes like a fierce tiger descending a mountain, and at other times like a nimble monkey leaping over a ravine...

This was Lu Buqi. Whether in his past life or this one, wasting time was something he found shameful. The Bone Resonance Realm was something he needed to comprehend through experience, given his limited theoretical knowledge. However, the level of hidden strength in internal martial arts was something he could achieve with enough diligence, nine times out of ten.

Talent could certainly influence one's achievements, but what Lu Buqi believed in most was the effort put in afterward. After all, even orphans in Huaxia had heard the story of "Injury to Zhongyong."

After running away in the afternoon, Lu Buqi did not bother to wonder what happened afterward. Instead, he came directly here to wait for Wang Lishou.

"What did you eat for dinner?" It was midnight when Wang Lishou, who had walked over, said this to Lu Buqi.

Lu Buqi smiled. "I caught a couple of fish from the river and hunted a few wild chickens in the forest where bodies are buried. It was pretty good, I guess."

"Not bad!" Wang Lishou nodded and threw a sizable package to the side. "Too bad you didn't bring any salt, it must have been hard to eat."

"It was okay. I roasted them a bit longer, so they had a crispy texture, not too bad!" Lu Buqi shrugged. "Of course... not as tasty as when we roasted them together in the Guojian Forest."

Wang Lishou squatted down and gazed at the Guoluo River, which seemed boundless under the night sky. "Time flies, almost two years have passed... Thinking back to those days... tsk tsk, though it was dangerous, it was also exciting... Without you, life would be much less interesting..."

Lu Buqi held a blade of grass in his mouth. "No worries, I think you should find a woman and have a child to play with."

"Go to hell!" Wang Lishou laughed and scolded. "You're a strange one, how can you be so calm? If I were in your shoes at your age, I would have been at a loss, but you're not worried at all..."

"You're already here, why should I be worried?" Lu Buqi lay down. "But looking at your constipated expression, I guess the situation isn't good!"

"You're the one with constipation, you brat!" Wang Lishou laughed and then quickly became serious. "The situation is indeed not good. The chief steward tried to gather some information. It seems that someone in Zhutan Town saw you those days, and the master's family has almost determined you to be the murderer. However..."

Seeing Wang Lishou pause, Lu Buqi was somewhat surprised. "However what? Why are you hesitating?"

"The chief steward said that if you choose to return, he will go with you to Yangze and ask the second young master to intervene. There's a fifty percent chance you'll be safe," Wang Lishou shrugged. "I think it's too unreliable, so I didn't want to mention it."

Lu Buqi's lips curled. "Fifty percent chance, that's too low... Old Wang, do you have a better idea?"

"This idea is also not great!" Wang Lishou's expression was somewhat dejected. "It's to run, find a way to leave Yangze County. But if you run, you'll be seen as a fugitive, and there will be a bounty on your head throughout Yangze County..."

"It sounds helpless, but life is in your own hands!" Lu Buqi pinched his nose. "I have feet and a brain, I won't be caught so easily. Old Wang, tell me, how can I leave Yangze County, and where should I go after that?"

"I can only analyze it for you, the decision is yours to make," Wang Lishou said. "Yangze County is the northwest border of Yunze Kingdom, bordering the former Song Kingdom to the northwest. But with your current abilities, the chance of reaching the former Song Kingdom is less than ten percent."

Lu Buqi nodded. "I understand. I can't get through the checkpoints, so I'll have to go back into the Guojian Forest and then head for Linnan Mountain! I've heard that Linnan Mountain is very dangerous..."

Wang Lishou agreed. "Yes, very dangerous. It stretches for thousands of miles, and spirit beasts are everywhere. They are not low-level spirit beasts like those in the Guojian Forest. Even someone as powerful as the family head wouldn't dare to venture into that mountain range alone."

Lu Buqi's heart stirred. "Old Wang, are there different levels of spirit beasts?"

Wang Lishou was slightly taken aback. "Of course, didn't I tell you before?"

"Obviously not!" Lu Buqi replied irritably. "In the past year, you've only talked to me about blacksmithing and boasted about your past achievements, nothing else."

Wang Lishou wiped the sweat from his forehead. "I thought I had told you. Spirit beasts are actually classified like us martial artists. However, while we martial artists are divided into three layers and twenty-seven levels at each stage, spirit beasts are divided into ten ranks. The spirit beasts we encountered in the Guojian Forest, based on the depth of their heart core color, are at most third rank."

Lu Buqi was speechless. "No way! How powerful are tenth-rank spirit beasts?"

"Tenth-rank spirit beasts are only mentioned in legends. They are absolute rulers of their territories, and even a martial artist at the ninth level of the Blood Boil Realm would not be a match. Perhaps only a Xuantong expert like the family head, who can use magical patterns, could subdue them!" Wang Lishou sighed with regret, knowing he would never have the chance to see such legendary creatures in his lifetime.

"Does that mean Linnan Mountain has such high-level spirit beasts?" Lu Buqi was shocked, but he also understood that in this world, where humans constantly push the boundaries of martial arts, it is precisely because of such immense pressure.

Wang Lishou shook his head. "I don't know, but Linnan Mountain got its name because a team of seven heroes from our Yunze Kingdom once ventured into it. Each of the seven was a Blood Boil Realm expert, and two were at the ninth level. They never returned. Do you think you have a chance of surviving if you go in?"

Lu Buqi shook his head with self-awareness. "Certain death! Old Wang, let's talk about other options!"

"The southwest is an endless sea, a dead zone for you alone!" Wang Lishou squatted and started drawing with a stick. "That leaves only the east and southeast. These are the neighboring Hongshan County and Guling County to Yangze County."

Pausing, Wang Lishou pointed to Hongshan County to the east. "To go to Hongshan County, you can either take the official road with private troops at checkpoints or cross the Great Hongshan Mountain to the south or the Blackwater Marsh to the north. To go to Guling County, you can only take the Wuchao Mountain, which is connected to the Great Hongshan Mountain. Relatively speaking, Wuchao Mountain is less difficult because its depth is less than that of the Great Hongshan Mountain."

"Do you suggest I take Wuchao Mountain?" Lu Buqi's lips curled. He wasn't completely unfamiliar with the geography of Yangze County.

He had been living well in Guojian Town, with hope and motivation, so he hadn't thought about traveling alone. But now, with this incident, he had to seriously consider the problem.

Although Wuchao Mountain wasn't as wide as the Great Hongshan Mountain, it was still over a hundred miles long, mostly rugged and uninhabited, with a higher density of spirit beasts than the Guojian Forest.

"This is your best choice!" Wang Lishou nodded. "And compared to Hongshan County, Guling County has a friendlier relationship with our Yangze County."

"I'm about to be a wanted criminal in Yangze County, why do I need a friendly destination?" Lu Buqi's forehead was marked with a few black lines. "According to you, the relationship between Hongshan County and Yangze County isn't good?"

"Very bad. The Lu family and the Wang family seem to have a grudge, so there have been several conflicts over the years, but they have all been suppressed by the Marquis."

"Lu family?" Lu Buqi raised an eyebrow. "The family that governs Hongshan County is surnamed Lu?"

Wang Lishou nodded without much thought. "The Lu family is no less than the Wang family. They have been in Hongshan County for generations, with deeper roots than the Wang family."

Lu Buqi pinched his nose. "Then I'll go to Hongshan County. Old Wang, between the Great Hongshan Mountain and the Blackwater Marsh, which route do you think is safer?"

"To Hongshan County?" Wang Lishou's brows furrowed and then relaxed. "Alright... take the Great Hongshan Mountain. I heard the family head once ventured into the Great Hongshan Mountain alone, and he hadn't even reached the Blood Boil Realm at that time. So, with your abilities, you should have more than a fifty percent chance of making it through."

Lu Buqi nodded. "Then I'll take the Great Hongshan Mountain... But, if I leave, what about my parents and the northwest household..."