A Clash of Gods - Chapter 29

Chapter 29 Pursuers
Yang Ning and Xiao Guang squatted behind the stone altar and heard that these people had entered the ancestral temple. Both of them first thought that their opponents had caught up, but they were not sure whether these people were the Mysterious Flying Cicada Ninjas.

Yang Ning took out the icy blade from his bosom and held it in his hand. Xiao Guang glanced at it, and when he saw the icy blade reflected cold glints, he knew it was really a nice blade which could only be found by accident but not through seeking. He was quite surprised because he never thought that Yang Ning who looked like a beggar had such a good weapon. Hearing that these people had entered the house, he picked up a stone in his hand.

Their footsteps were in disorder, so it seemed that those people were in large numbers. And then a voice full of respect could be heard, “My Lord, this place seems to have fallen into disuse for many years and there is no trace of human presence. I think they won’t pursue us here.”

The former old voice said, “This is still the territory under the control of the Southern Chu State. As long as we are yet to cross the Huaishui River, we must keep cautious all the time. They won’t give up easily, so we must be vigilant.” He instructed, “Send out two men to stand guard, so that we can make preparations before the enemies catch up.”

Taking his order, two men went out.

“My Lord, drink some water.” Hiding behind the stone altar, Yang Ning and Xiao Guang again heard the voice with respect said, “We have gotten rid of them by taking roundabout ways, but we don’t have enough rations left.”

“Everyone, please stick it out a little bit longer,” The old voice said, “It will only take us three or five days to reach the Huaishui River if we head south all the way. We have deployed many mazy formations along the way, which should have led many of them away.” He continued, “By the way, release him first and give him some water. Don’t let him die here.”

Yang Ning and Xiao Guang were a little puzzled, but they dare not pop out their heads at this moment for fear of being found by the other party.

Soon, they heard a rustling sound. Someone said, “My Lord, this guy has passed out.”

“Feel his breath. Is he still alive?” The old voice hurriedly said, “We can’t let him die like this. Otherwise, everything we have done will be in vain.”

“Don’t worry, my Lord. He is still breathing,” Someone said, “He may have fainted after being put into the bag all the way. But he is still alive.”

The old voice said, “Um.” Then he continued, “If we bring him back alive, we can get ten thousand pieces of gold. But if he dies, we will get nothing.”

“My Lord, is this guy really worth so much money?” A person questioned slightly, “He seems to be a fool. Is a fool worth our tremendous efforts?”

“Fool?” The old man sneered, “Even if he is a fool, his value actually depends on his family background. If he is ordinary, he will be useless to us even with great wisdom. In fact, this fool is more expensive than gold. If you know his family background, you won’t say that.”

Yang Ning was even more surprised. After hearing the conversations of these people, he knew that these guys kidnapped a person and wanted to use this person in exchange for huge rewards, and the person who had been kidnapped seemed to be a fool.

But these people didn’t seem to be ordinary kidnappers. They called the man with an old voice “Lord” and said that they would cross the Huaishui River to the Northern Han State. It seemed that their identities were not simple.

He glanced at Xiao Guang, and found that Xiao Guang’s dashing eyebrows drew together and his expression looked very cold.

“My Lord. Who is the guy?” Someone couldn’t help asking.

The old man said in a deep voice, “Well, do you forget the rules? Is this something you can ask?”

“I’m sorry for what I have said. Please punish me!” The person who asked the question said immediately.

The old man sighed and said, “Over these years, you have been living in a foreign country and working very hard. I know you get homesick and miss the old and the young in your home. But if we don’t take a risk, we won’t be able to return to our homeland in three or five years.”

Everyone kept silent for a while.

“Before the action, I have told you that as long as this business is successful, we can not only return to our hometown to accompany our families, but also get good rewards from the Marquis,” The old voice said lightly, “Buddies, I can’t guarantee that you will all be prompted to a higher rank. But I can assure you that you will gain glory and wealth.”

Yang Ning was extremely clever. From their conversations and accent, he immediately thought that maybe these people were originally from the Northern Han State and had been hiding in the Southern Chu State all the time.

If this was the case, it would not be strange.

He knew that the Southern Chu State and the Northern Han State were locked in a face-off after continuous wars which had lasted for several years. In such a turbulent situation, it was a matter of course for both states to send spies to each other’s territory.

These people should be the spies lurking in the territory of Southern Chu State. But it seemed that they were tired of being away from home, so they contrived to return to the Northern Han State.

And their scheme seemed to be kidnapping a fool.

“My Lord, we have followed you all these years, and you have taken care of us,” A person was grateful, “Since we have promised to do this, we will follow you regardless of the consequences.”

Someone else sighed, “It doesn’t matter whether I can be prompted to a higher rank. I will be fully satisfied and content if I can really be with my family. I used to think that I would never go back to my hometown to see my parents, my wife and my children again.”

The old man laughed and said, “Don’t think too much. In a few days, as long as we take this guy to cross the Huaishui River, we will make extraordinary achievements and will naturally be rich in the future.” He instructed again, “You must be very tired after hastening on for several days. Grinding a chopper will not hold up the work of cutting firewood. You can take a rest here first, and we will resume our journey when it is dark.”

“Yes!”

“My Lord, there is some hay here. We can just lay it on the ground for rest,” Someone said, “Brothers, there is enough hay here. We can first lay it on the ground for our lord.” Amidst the voice, someone came over to the haystack.

Yang Ning clenched his cutlass, and suddenly felt his wrist tightened. He turned his head to look over, only to find that Xiao Guang unconsciously grabbed his wrist. Seeing that he wore a nervous expression, Yang Ning smiled at Xiao Guang lightly. But in his heart, he couldn’t force a smile.

At the beginning, he thought it was the gang of Mysterious Flying Cicada Ninjas who chased after them. When he found out that it was not the gang of men in black, he was a little bit relaxed. But after hearing their conversations, he knew that this gang of men was also quite evil.

Since they were spies from the Northern Han State who were lurking in the Southern Chu State, they were naturally not ordinary people. Otherwise, they shouldn’t be eligible to be sent here.

They wanted to leave the Southern Chu State by kidnapping the man. But they finally came to this remote and desolate place, so they must have covered their tracks along the way lest they would be discovered by others.

If this was the case, they might kill them for covering their tracks when they found there were other people in this ancestral temple.

Yang Ning felt that his trip was extremely ill-fated. It seemed that he was from the Death Star. The people he met, whether intentionally or unintentionally, seemed to want to take his life.

At this moment, he heard a sound of surprise. A man said, “My Lord, something…something was wrong!”

Hearing that the voice was beside him, his heart sank. He knew that this group of people was likely to find the bonfire he hid when they moved the hay.

He indeed heard the sound of drawing swords. When the man said that something was wrong, some people drew their swords out of the sheaths.

“This bonfire may have been lit last night,” The man said, “It may have been extinguished 4 or 6 hours ago… Some people have stayed in this ancestral temple before.” He said again, “My Lord, they may have left this place at dawn. There were heavy rain and strong wind last night. Maybe they took shelter here overnight.”

The old voice was ghastly, “This is a remote and desolate place. Who will stay overnight here?” He said coldly, “You said that they had left when it was dawn. I don’t think so.”

“My Lord, what do you mean?”

“Ferret around all over the ancestral temple,” The old voice snapped, “Whoever you find, kill them immediately!”

Yang Ning clenched his grip, and Xiao Guang’s expression also slightly changed. At this moment, they suddenly heard a frightened voice coming from outside the ancestral temple, “My Lord, emergency. They…they have caught up…”

Those people who intended to search the ancestral temple all gathered around the man. And the old man said in a deep voice, “Don’t panic. Meng, put that guy into the bag…”

Yang Ning knew that something unforeseen had happened, and thought that those pursuers really came in time. If they had arrived a second later, he and Xiao Guang would have been discovered.

Those footsteps were in disorder, and the old voice said, “Don’t be afraid, everyone. The hostage is still in our hands, so they dare not act recklessly.” He continued to instruct, “Don’t act rashly without my instruction.”

Yang Ning couldn’t help but stick out his head to have a look, only to see that there were a bunch of people in front of the entrance. There were as many as seven or eight men, and they all held swords in their hands. The man standing at the back was bulky, and he was a head taller than others, like a giant or the iron tower. At this time, he was carrying a gunny bag in his hand. The bag was bulging. Yang Ning knew that the hostage they had captured was in it.

He suddenly heard a scream, and the people gathered in front of the entrance all exclaimed. They dispersed and hid behind the wall.

“Scumbags. How can they directly hurt our man?” Someone scolded loudly, “My Lord, what shall we do?”

Yang Ning saw that a person had fallen to the ground in front of the entrance and was struggling. His companion hiding on the side was pulling him over. There was an arrow in his chest, so he was hit by the arrow.

The old voice also said angrily, “We have covered our tracks all the way and deployed so many mazy formations. How can they catch up so quickly?”

Yang Ning saw that the man who was speaking was in a gray robe and wore a cloth hat. He was a little fat and looked like an ordinary rich man at one glance.

As soon as the fat man finished his words, the continuous sound of “Whiz” can be heard. The arrows, like dense locusts, were shot from the outside. A cry of “Ouch” now could be heard, and obviously another man was also shot by a flying arrow.

Seeing that there were a lot of arrows, Yang Ning knew that the number of those pursuers was large. He thought that this group of guys really had stirred up a big trouble, and he was somehow involved it. He doubted whether he could get out of here safely.

“Men outside, listen…” The fat man in gray robe shouted with efforts, “The person you want is in our hands. Stop shooting immediately. Otherwise, we will kill him in a second. We can just die together.”