Chapter 27: The Chase
Eventually, Zed and Shi Jingfei got up from the bed when they realized that it was already late in the middle of the day. Their stomachs grumbled at the same time since neither of them had eaten any meals nor goten enough sleep since the banquet.
Tok. Tok.
A knock came from the door.
"This is Lan'er and sis Mei!"
Lan'er's voice could be heard from behind the door.
"Come in!" Shi Jinfei invited them in.
Looking at Zed and Jingfei's messy clothes and bed, Meixiang remarked. "You really are a beast, Zixin."
She playfully shook her head in disapproval as if she was disappointed.
She added, "I can't believe you laid your hands on another girl when you already have me... and just when Father gave his blessings..."
Jingfei had an innocent expression on her face, as she didn't have any idea what her sister Mei was talking about. On the other hand, Lan'er had a vague feeling about it and stared at her suspiciously.
'Looking at Meixiang's mood and attitude, it seems that Lan'er did a great job comforting her.' Zed thought.
But as her friend, he had to respond in the same kind. "Ho? Are you really sure you want to step on that line?" He grinned evilly, "I'll make sure to devour you entirely..."
Being a princess, Jingfei was already aware of the implications hidden in his words, along with what happens when the action of a man and a woman sleep together.
Especially now that she had just finished her coming-of-age ceremony, she realized that she is becoming more and more conscious of Zed as a member of the opposite sex.
But rather than avoiding it, She was going to face it head on!
Meanwhile, Zed on the other hand, only treated her remarks as a poor attempt at flirting. He didn't mind responding because when you're good friends with someone, flirting is simply a playful way of teasing between the two of you.
Lan'er somehow felt like she didn't like the way her brother spoke to her sister Mei, so she immediately assumed her territory and sat in Zed's lap while pouting.
Her cheeks puffed out as if they were going to blow up, and yet everyone in the room thought of how adorable she was rather than how she was being angry at them.
After chuckling for a little bit, They all sat on the bed while facing each other.
"You look better than yesterday." Zed commented at Meixiang.
Meixiang smiled. "I suppose so."
"Do we really have to escape into the wilderness? Can't we just escape to another kingdom or village?" Jingfei asked, because she was worried about the dangers that come from the forest.
Meixiang shook her head. "It's not possible. As soon as they realize that I'm missing, they will search for me. The first place they would look is every nearby human settlement.
Plus with dozens of Qi Formation Realm experts from all the great noble families, looking for us in every direction, we would sooner or later be found."
When Jingfei re-evaluated their situation, she figured that her sister Mei was right. The entire kingdom is practically going to go on a manhunt just to search for them.
"Did you prepare the necessities?" Zed asked Lan'er who was still sitting in his lap.
Lan'er vigorously nodded. "Yes brother! I made sure to get at least a dozen of everything!"
"Good girl..." Zed praised her and patted her head.
"Hehehe..."
"Meixiang, could you prepare clothes and other necessities for Jingfei? After all, she came here with practically nothing, but what she's wearing right now." Zed asks Meixiang.
Meixiang nodded. "I already did it as soon as I heard about your plan."
"I see.. Well I guess we're prepared to go? What time are we leaving tomorrow?"
"We leave later after midnight." Meixiang answered.
"I see.. well-"
Uuurrrr....
Suddenly, the atmosphere was broken by Zed's grumbling stomach.
"..."
"Pu- Hahahahaha!"
The group broke into laughter as they finally went and ate a meal.
At the same time, somewhere situated near the main palace, a figure from the shadows rose and eventually revealed a human's head.
"An escape eh?..."
Wan Chao's eyes glinted in anticipation. He knew the King was going to move sooner or later, but it appeared that the King cared a lot more about his daughter than Wan Chao thought.
'Besides... I need to catch that princess and give her to Ren Yimu. As for that kid with black hair...'
Tentacles of shadows wriggled as they appeared across his body as he thought, 'He's dangerous... he's a threat that needs to be eliminated.'
He heard everything about Zed's plan and he was surprised that such a plan came from a youth no older than thirteen.
-
It was past midnight and Zed and the group were riding in a carriage. They were accompanied by three Peak Core Foundation Realm experts and the coachman was on the Peak Qi Formation Realm.
Going through the wobbly dirt road with trees covering their sights from both the left and right, their only guide was the moon in the sky and the lone dirt track.
Inside the carriage, the three children couldn't get any sleep because of the rough road combined with the fact that they were travelling at a relatively fast pace.
As much discomfort as Meixiang and Jingfei felt, they kept it in their hearts. They knew that their lives from now on would be different from their lives as young mistresses of noble families.
They needed to adjust themselves as they would no longer live a life of luxury.
This uncomfortable ride was where they would start.
Lan'er on the other hand, was sleeping while using her brother's shoulder as a pillow. Zed also used his arms to support his sister's head so she wouldn't fall off.
While Zed was occupying himself with taking care of his sister, his eyes flashed as he thought, 'They've begun to leave the city.'
-
It was the second day of their journey and the company stopped to make camp since it was midnight.
Zed and Lan'er helped in hunting and also taught Jingfei and Meixiang the basics of hunting.
Although Jingfei and Meixiang were experienced martial artists, they still found it difficult to kill beasts of different sizes and unpredictable movements.
They ate a hearty meal provided by the beast that their escorts hunted. It was a large four horned cow that had claws for feet.
They settled in for the night as the escorts switched lookouts during their sleep.
In the morning, they set out as early as dawn and the journey was smooth until a few hours later.
The sun was directly above the skies as they traveled on the same lone road, accompanied by their escorts.
"They're here." Zed spoke in a serious tone while his brows slightly creased.
The three girls quieted down from their conversation as they turned to look at him.
Zed has been leaving a wind spell that sent signals to him whenever someone or something triggered it.
It was an advanced wind spell, and one use of it drained his mana reserves by one-third.
[Signum] An advanced-level wind spell that sends a signal to the user if an intruder is within a 1000km boundary. Once the spell is triggered, the user will be able to scan the vague outlines of the one that triggered the spell.
Of course, it can also be triggered by animals and if one is unlucky, then it could also be triggered by an inanimate object so long as it was moved into the detector.
However, Zed was a 6th Mana circle Wind-Mage, He had long studied the proper placement and positioning of the spell.
Zed looked around through the window and scanned the surroundings. They were still a little bit far off from the place where he planted his traps.
He turned to the girls and explained the preparations he did.
They were all equally shocked when they found out that he had already thought this far and predicted the time when their pursuers were going to reach them.
Even Tang Xiurong couldn't help but be in disbelief that all these came from a youth that hadn't even grown his hair down there yet.
After a thorough explanation, Lan'er and the other two were able to make plans of their own and lead their escorts so that they could all leave alive.
While the girls were busy explaining to their escorts, Zed sat on top of the carriage and focused his senses behind them.
Forest filled with countless trees surrounded them from both sides, they had no other road than to go forward or backward.
The leaves rustled along the strong breeze of wind until-
Zed opened his eyes and shouted. "They're here!"
All of them looked behind and saw faint figures riding their mounts while chasing after them.
"Prepare for combat!"
The leader of their escorts shouted.
They drew their weapons while the carriage gained speed.
"There they are!" One of their pursuers shouted.
Meanwhile, Zed squinted his eyes and saw a particular youth riding on one of the horses in the middle of their group.
'...Wan Chao?'
Similarly, Wan Chao was also observing them from afar. 'There's the boy... and in that carriage is the princess.' He licked his lips in anticipation while vulgar thoughts ran through his mind.
'Looking back, there was that silver haired girl with a mask, right? That studymate of the princess should be there too... hehehehe.. this is why I love this world...' Blood began to gather to his crotch as he felt excited.
Zed felt his back tingle and he didin't even need to know from who that feeling came from.
'I don't know which realm our pursuers reached, but what I do know is that I need to separate the mage from his subbordinates.' Zed was contemplating as their pursuers reached 20 meters behind them.
'But how do I achieve that?'
While Zed was thinking, he tilted his head to the right as an arrow flew past him.
Wan Chao, who shot the arrow, clicked his tongue, thinking that the latter was clearly provoking him.
Zed glanced behind him and saw that they were going to reach the first point of their destination. He smiled and jumped off the carriage.
The carriage then made a sharp left turn and entered the forest meanwhile, Zed ran to the right side of the forest.
Wan Chao didn't know what had happened, but he ordered. "All of you, chase after the carriage. I don't know what happened, but you should be able to handle what's coming, since all of you are in the Core Formation realm.
Now go!"
His subordinates nodded and followed through the forest using their mounts.
"As for the boy..."
Wan Chao felt happy at the thought of killing another pretty boy.
"It's just nor fair... you are handsome and you have brains? God isn't fair, but don't worry... I'll send you to him pretty soon."
Leaving those words, he controlled his horse and followed after Zed.
-
Their group had five core formation experts and one at peak core formation realm. They were sure to be able to fulfill their mission as they reached the back of the carriage.
Their mission was simple, kill the others and kidnap the princess.
With that in mind, the leader of the group signaled to his members.
Three of them nodded back and hastened their horses.
Two of them surrounded a side of the carriage while one of them reached the front and saw that-
There was no coachman.
The man in the front thought something was weird but it was too late.
Their group had five people in it, but when the leader looked behind, two of his subordinates were gone without a warning.
"NEIIGHH!!"
The horses of the carriage fell inside a whole, causing the carriage to tilt frontward because of its inertia.
The two horses of his men, the ones guarding the carriage from the left and right, were frightened by the sudden development and strayed from their path.
The leader's horse himself had to stop because of the sudden crash of the carriage. If he didn't stop, he would have crashed into the carriage as well.
His eyes furrowed in hatred as he wondered where the princess was.
Not only that but two of his men had already gone missing with another two straying into the forest with frightened mounts.
As for the other one he ordered to head in the front, the leader decided to wait and let them regroup to his location.
On the other hand, Meixiang and her men were chasing after one of the pursuers who strayed from their path.
"Let's go." Her cold voice ordered as her eyes flashed with killing intent.
"By your orders, Your Majesty."
With that, their escorts drew their blades and chased after the one separated pursuer of theirs.
Edited By: WorthyAdversary