Chapter 54: Village Chief Li Steps Down, Individual Paths Chosen

A flash of dark light crossed Shen Shuli's eyes as she ended the conversation.
"Very well, Young Master Chu. May your journey be smooth and unobstructed."
Xie Chengyuan cast one last look at the girl before turning to leave.
The main party had originally planned to set off early this morning.
With just one more day of travel, they would finally emerge from the mountains.
However, they had suddenly experienced a life-and-death battle in the early hours of the morning, leaving over a dozen men heavily wounded.
They had no choice but to remain stationed here, allowing the injured to properly recover before making further plans.
Li Jing was a disciple of the Primordial True Man, making him a junior fellow apprentice to Taiyi in terms of seniority. Naturally, upon meeting True Man Taiyi, he had to greet him with the respect due to an uncle-master.
"F-Fajin, wait for my signal, and then run as fast as you can. Do you understand?" Mengzi's legs had already turned to jelly, but as the slightly older one among them, he still wanted to save face.
Even Yuan Jiao was somewhat bewildered. The fragrance of this wine was indeed nearly identical to the Grand Xi White, and perhaps, this wine was even richer and mellower than his own.
Guo Dianling allowed the soldiers, exhausted from their long-range raid, to rest for a brief moment, and ordered some of them to begin assembling the siege ladders.
"But Great Khan, if we do that, won't your own personal defense..." The messenger hesitated. Mongke was dead, and it had taken the Mongols ten whole years to pacify all the restless tribes, leaving them severely weakened. If Kublai Khan were to die as well, the Mongol Empire would likely never recover.
"Everyone, I will give you two choices: either die, or hand over both the Divine Spring Water and my divine weapon!" Qin Yu calmly gazed at the five of them and said evenly.
Zhang Mancheng led the Nanyang Yellow Turbans to expand their influence southward, while the Runan Yellow Turbans, led by Bocai, occupied the line between Yingchuan and Chen State. Together with Zhang Jiao in Jial province, the two formed the three major main forces of the Yellow Turban army, forming a tight encirclement around the imperial capital Luoyang from the southern, northern, and eastern directions.
"I don't know what you people are actually trying to do, but whatever concerns Linger concerns me. Anyone who means to harm Linger is my enemy," Li Xiaoqiang said with a cold snort.
"Qifu Gu, lead the last thousand cavalrymen to kill that Han general. We can no longer afford to delay," Kuitu ordered a Xianbei warrior who stood eight chi and two inches tall.
Upon hearing this, Slanted-Eyebrows hurriedly told Musheng the detailed address and relevant information of the tattoo artist. Musheng listened attentively, specifically asking about anything he found unclear until he understood almost everything, and only then did he let the matter rest.
Xiao Guangan did not look at Xiao Lan or Concubine Zhao, nor did he pay any attention to anyone's gaze. His eyes remained unblinkingly fixed on Tang Yun and the rapidly approaching youth, his gaze gradually growing deep and profound.
The two of them sat on the threshold in front of the temple, quietly watching the sunset glow and evening mists. As the sun sank westward, the light gradually faded, and their elongated shadows slowly vanished into the gathering darkness.
Zongzheng Yue was following right behind her. Though unaware of the reason, she could sense that the person's attitude toward her seemed different from before—presumably on account of the Xiao family's naval forces.
Jing Yuchen's crisp and decisive voice came through. The people behind him did not dare to hesitate; a portion of them hurriedly grabbed their gear and rushed out, while the remaining members quickly pulled up the surveillance footage from various road sections to trace the route of the suspicious taxi.
"Brother Long, why did we end up here? Let's go somewhere else instead," Huang Fei blocked Murong Xianglong, who was about to walk inside, wanting to find another place for entertainment.
"Who can stop me?" Nangong Youmeng roared fiercely. The immortal sword in her hand instantly slashed outward, transforming into thousands of sword qi in mid-air that enveloped and trapped the two giant dragons, before proceeding to slaughter them.
"Then where did she go? Why hasn't she contacted me?" Young Master Zhang scratched his head, looking utterly baffled.
As the purple-gold brick merged into his body and he looked inward, he saw it slowly beginning to fuse with the Heart of Rules. However, this fusion process was extremely slow, accompanied by a trace of soul-deep agony.
One of them thought to themselves: "With his jade token shattered to that extent, it's a good thing I didn't give up." For a moment, both of their hearts were filled with warmth and sweetness as their eyes met and they smiled faintly.