190: Pursuit

On the other side, although Xia Ya was dizzy and weak, her combat instincts remained. Her eyes widened in anger, and she let out a loud roar. Instead of retreating, she advanced, using all her strength to smash the heavy giant tooth sword, still in its scabbard, toward the lunging Protector, while raising her shield with her left arm to protect her front.

The Protector snorted coldly, his figure shifting like a ghost to the side, avoiding the heavy blow of the scabbard by a hair's breadth. He changed his claw into a palm, with dark red Protective Aura condensing on the edge of his palm, and struck the edge of the shield—a burst of clever force surged forth like a tidal wave!

"Hmph!" Xia Ya's footing was already unstable, and she was sent staggering back by this palm strike containing Martial King True Qi. Her back slammed hard against the wall, causing dust to fall from the beams. A sweet taste rose in her throat as her blood and Qi churned.

The Protector did not let up, following her like a shadow! His other hand shot out like lightning, fingers forming a claw. The Protective Aura condensed at his fingertips tore through the air, pointing directly at several major acupoints such as Xia Ya's Jianjing and Shanzhong, intending to instantly subdue this troublesome prey.

"Sister Xia Ya!"

At this critical moment, Xiao Chun, who had been "limp" on the ground, suddenly let out a sharp cry and flicked her wrist—a cluster of fine needles, difficult to see with the naked eye, shot out from her sleeve. They turned into a rain of needles, aimed straight at the Protector's face and wrists! It was the "Shadowless Needles" mechanism hidden within the yan luo umbrella!

The attack was sudden. The Protector's full attention had been on Xia Ya, and he never expected that another Grand Martial Master girl could resist the knockout smoke and launch such a precise and ruthless attack! In his shock, he hurriedly withdrew his hand to defend, his entire body's Protective Aura surging like a bell!

Puff, puff, puff...

Most of the fine needles were deflected, embedding themselves several inches deep into the surrounding walls and pillars. However, one or two needles still grazed his arm, bringing a slight numbing sensation—the needles were coated with anesthetic!

This moment of delay was enough for Qin Feng!

"Stay right there!"

The neighboring door exploded! Qin Feng's figure swept in, carrying overwhelming fury and sharp Sword Qi! The ink plum sword was already unsheathed, its blade humming like a Dragon's roar!

"Finger Sword Among Flowers—Daybreak!"

The Sword Intent condensed into a single point, turning into a dazzling yet infinitely murderous stream of light, like the first ray of light piercing the sky during the darkest hour before dawn, stabbing straight toward the Protector's heart from behind! Before the sword even arrived, the bone-chilling Sword Intent made the hair on the Protector's back stand on end, as if he had fallen into an ice cellar!

At the moment of life and death, the Protector displayed the amazing adaptability of a Martial King level expert. He forced his body to twist, turning the hand that was reaching for Xia Ya into a palm blade. The dark red Protective Aura condensed into substance as he slashed at the flank of the sword light, while his body darted to the side like a swimming fish!

Screech—!

The sword light flashed past, and blood splattered!

The Protector's left arm was severed at the shoulder, the spraying blood drawing a grim arc in the air. He screamed and staggered back, his face under the mask contorted with intense pain, his eyes filled with malice and horror.

He stared fixedly at Qin Feng, then glanced at Xia Ya struggling to stand and Xiao Chun, who was holding the yan luo umbrella and standing ready. He then looked at his companion on the other side, who was being pinned down by Ji Ruxue and was already at a disadvantage—the situation was hopeless!

"Retreat!" he roared, his voice trembling from the pain. Ignoring the agony of his severed arm, he slammed a pigeon-egg-sized black pellet onto the ground!

Bang!

Thick, pungent black smoke instantly exploded, filling the entire room! This smoke not only blocked vision but also contained a strange energy that interfered with spiritual senses, making even a Martial King's perception blurred and unclear.

"Watch out for the smoke poison!" Qin Feng waved his sleeve, his Hunyuan True Qi acting like wind sweeping away clouds to disperse part of the black smoke, while his sword light wove an impenetrable net in front of him.

By the time the black smoke had slightly cleared, the two Protectors were no longer in the room. They had crashed through another window and escaped into the heavy night and mist outside, vanishing without a trace.

Only a severed arm, spots of blood, and a room full of mess remained on the floor.

Xia Ya... had not been taken away!

But the moment just now had been extremely perilous. If not for Xiao Chun's Myriad Medicine Body catching them off guard and Qin Feng's timely rescue, the consequences would have been unthinkable. Xia Ya's face was pale as she leaned against the wall, panting heavily. The medicinal power of the Heart-Clearing Pill was slowly taking effect, dispersing the residual toxicity of the knockout smoke in her body.

"Pursue!" Qin Feng's face was as cold as water, his killing intent as sharp as an unsheathed sword.

Although the enemy had retreated, since they dared to attack them, this matter could not be settled easily! Furthermore, they had to find out where the nest of the Red Lantern Workshop was located; otherwise, it would be like a thorn in their side, and there would be no peace for the rest of their journey.

Ji Ruxue nodded. From the Protector's Moves and style, she had sensed a familiar and disgusting scent—the specific bloody smell of someone who had long been engaged in dark abductions and whose hands were stained with the blood of innocent women. She took out a silk handkerchief from her bosom and wiped the non-existent blood from her purple moon dagger, her movements gentle yet hiding a murderous intent.

Xiao Chun helped Xia Ya up and fed her another detoxifying Medicinal Pill, whispering, "Sister Xia Ya, are you feeling better?"

"I won't die." Xia Ya gritted her teeth and stood firm, her eyes burning with rage. "These scumbags... I will definitely smash their dog's nest with my own hands!"

"They went in that direction." Ji Ruxue pointed toward the general direction where the enemies had fled through the black smoke—it was toward the southeast, the direction of Yunmeng Lake!

The night wind blew through the broken window, fluttering a few strands of hair on her forehead and also dispersing the last bit of the sweet knockout smoke scent in the room.

"Let's go!"

Qin Feng led the way, the ink plum sword in his hand trembling slightly, as if it also sensed the boiling killing intent in its master's heart. Ji Ruxue followed like a shadow, her figure almost merging with the night. Xiao Chun supported the slightly recovered Xia Ya, and the four of them rushed out of the inn without hesitation, merging into the hazy night mist of Yunmeng City.

The long street was empty, and the mist was thick. The sound of the night watchman's clapper came from afar, muffled, as if most of it had been swallowed by the dense fog. The lanterns under the eaves swayed in the wind, casting flickering yellow light that stretched and distorted the shadows of the four people like ghosts rushing to a battlefield.

Anger burned in their chests, and the sword point was aimed directly at the sins deep within the darkness.

On Yunmeng Lake, the red lantern pleasure boat—tonight, it was destined to be stained with something different.