It was some time before Hartley made it to within sight of the northern gate.
By now darkness had begun to set in, the screams of the elder being dragged behind were now only feeble whimperings, his orange robe had been ripped to shreds by the friction of the road, he was missing huge patches of skin in places he had been dragged for a prolonged amount of time.
He kept whimpering incoherently, "I was just following orders, please just kill me." The elder had no use of his hands or legs, the punch to his back had shattered his internal bone structure, he was finding it very difficult and painful to even circulate his elemental power to protect himself ,the most he could accomplish was to turn his body now and then.
Hartley could have used gravity steps and arrived at the gate in a flash, but out of pure spite and hatred for the conceited elder, he had taken the scenic route, riding the horse at a steady pace to maximize the pain and torture inflicted on the elder.
***
Qin LI and Zhi Ruo stood nervously at the outpost of the northern gates, a contingent of armored soldiers, led by a xiantian expert dressed in a hooded black robe which hid his face, flanked them on both sides.
Every now and then Zhi Ruo would glance viciously at Qin Li, it was a silent accusation.
Qin Li stood there helpless, he knew that if something happened to Hartley she would never forgive him, knowing her personality, she might even want to fight to the death with him.
Yang Yi had parked the carriage at the side of the road with his head lowered, he stood as far as possible away from Qin Li and Zhi Ruo and dared not even speak after the looks of disgust he got from both of them, he was ashamed of his actions, but he had followed Hartley for benefits not to sacrifice his life fighting against overwhelmingly powerful experts.
Cold sweat was still beading and dripping down his back, he couldn't help wondering what would happen if Hartley had really kicked the bucket.
Soon everyone could hear the clopping of a single horse coming in their direction, because Hartley's elemental fluctuations were hidden, everyone thought it was a single surviving soldier from the group that had assaulted Hartley earlier, tears fell from Zhi Ruo's eyes as she drew her two black daggers and prepared to fight to the death, no matter who it was.
The horse came closer out of the gloom of the dark evening, everyone could hear the loud clanking of chains across the cobble stones and the faint weeping of someone begging for death.
Horse and rider exited the gloom, partially illuminated by the last vestiges of twilight.
A handsome black haired youth mounted on a black war-horse adorned with shiny silver armor came into everyone's vision. The breath was driven from Zhi Ruo's lungs and her knees buckled, she stared at the bloody bruises all over his face and his tattered black robe that swirled in the gentle breeze, she almost fainted with relief as the tension that had gripped her washed away like a leaf in torrential rain.
Qin Li didn't show any outward emotions but inside he was just as relieved as Zhi Ruo, he felt guilty retreating from the battle, it was time for him to show his worth and not end up being a baby sitter for Zhi Ruo all the time, he decided he had to have a serious talk with Hartley after this incident.
Clop.... Clop.... Clop....
Hartley got closer and his silhouette grew clearer, everyone could now see the shackled white hair elder, tied to the pummel of the war-horse with a length of rope like a suckling pig.
It looked like he had been dragged like that for miles, his robe was so shredded he was practically naked. Large sections of his body including the left side of his face was cherry-red, a result of his skin being rubbed raw while being dragged.
Yang Yi began to tremble, sweat running all over his body like he was in a shower.
Wasn't that the elder with the rainbow aura? The most powerful person he had seen thus far, causing him to flee in fear.
Hartley was dragging him around like a dead pig, his weak and cracking voice begging for death.
Yang Yi who had deserted Hartley, Zhi Ruo, and Qin Li face went as pale as a ghost, he was so petrified he couldn't even move a muscle.
Hartley finally reached the others and dismounted, by now he was sick of the elder's pathetic whimpering and begging for death.
Even though he wanted revenge, he wasn't sadistic, he stared at the elder with cold hard eyes then said.
"When you plan to humiliate and kill others, you should be prepared for others to humiliate and kill you."
The elder just kept whimpering and begging for death not even paying attention to what Hartley had just said.
Whoosh!
Hartley dragged the roped attached to the elder, the elder flew towards him head first.
BOOOM!
One punch and the elder turned into a bloody mist, finally put out of his misery. The shackles, drenched in blood, clanked and skittered across the cobble stones, the once powerful elder was nowhere to be seen.
Sssss!!
The squad of armored guards behind the expert in black inhaled a cold breath, Yang Yi almost shit himself from terror at the same time.
Zhi Ruo stepped forward with red puffy eyes and tears still running down her cheeks.
"I'm sorry I've worried you," said Hartley as he took her in his embrace, she still couldn't stop her tears from falling, no one disturbed this moment between the two. After Zhi Ruo pulled herself together she stood at his side with his right arm draped over her shoulder.
Hartley greeted Qin Li with his eyes and Qin Li responded with a slight nod, then he looked around at all the soldiers and the mysterious expert standing in front.
Pushing back the hood of his robe to reveal a shaved head with dark eyes glittering, the tall and tanned man stepped forward and bent from the waist to performed a formal bow then said.
"Anguo Chen greets Sir Hartley of the Sanzu house," Hartley felt like rolling his eyes every time he heard Sanzu's name. The shaven headed man produced a golden identity token with an intricate eagle carved into the circular token, the man continued, "I've been sent by Prince Jian Yulan to escort you and your followers to the capital and make sure you don't run into any more unnecessary troubles."
At this point in time Hartley didn't care either way, his journey through the Cassia Province had been lined with blood and bodies and he had inherited some formidable enemies, it wouldn't be a bad thing to have a smooth journey through the Papine province and then onto the capital, it felt as if Hartley had been on this journey for years.
Hartley returned the formal bow to Anguo Chen and nodded in affirmation.
Anguo Chen turned around and started to organize his troops who wore bright silver and red armor with an eagle emblem stamped into the right side of the breast plate. They had no choice but to start the journey to the Papine province as they were already at the northern gate with no inns in sight and the guard outpost could only accommodate a dozen or so soldiers, Hartley, Qin Li and Zhi Ruo walked in the direction of Yang Yi who was trembling. Hartley had no plans to do anything to him he just wanted a comfortable ride in the carriage he got from Kang because he had aches and pains all of his body, but just when everyone was scampering around to get ready for the Journey, the skies suddenly turned pitched black as if someone had thrown a black towel over the world.