An hour ago, on the official road.
Wang Anfeng raced his horse.
Because he was preoccupied, his expression was slightly stern, unlike his usual demeanor. He had just left the dense forest not a moment ago when, suddenly, he heard a clear cry near his ear, and his expression briefly froze.
Instinctively, he looked up and saw a silver-feathered Flying Eagle approaching from the distance, appearing exceedingly joyful.
Above him in the clouded skies, another Flying Eagle emerged, playing with the newly arrived eagle for a moment before the first eagle spiraled up into the clouds, and the original issued a clear scream and spread its wings toward the north, disappearing from sight at a remarkable speed.
Although seeming ordinary, Wang Anfeng's face subtly changed. He pulled on the reins, and the Green-Maned Horse slowed to a stop by the roadside, looking back at its master with a slight whinny of confusion.
The young man raised his right hand and gently patted the horse, then looked up. His usually calm eyes sharpened as he peered through the thin cloud layer and saw the circling eagle, sending a piercing gaze that caused his pupils to constrict slightly.
Flashes of the conversation he had overheard from two Martial Artists a moment ago crossed his mind.
They had followed the trail of the tamed eagles here.
It turned out there wasn't just one eagle, but a pair, and this eagle had been following him the entire time. It was said in books that eagle tamers could communicate with their eagles.
That meant his track had been exposed.
Wang Anfeng realized in his heart.
To confirm his suspicion, he intentionally changed direction and rode the horse several miles in another direction. Looking up again, he saw the eagle still circling directly above him, flying very high. If he hadn't trained his Ocular Power daily by gazing at distant clouds during his time at Shaolin Temple, he probably would have never noticed the eagle.
The young man stopped his horse, his brow furrowed tightly, thoughts racing through his mind.
With the eagle's speed, reaching Guan City would take less than an hour, and whether it was a Seventh Rank Martial Artist or an Eighth Rank, he was no match for either.
If he continued on his original path, he would certainly be caught.
To take refuge within Shaolin would mean recklessly endangering Baili Feng and the others.
The youth stood there, his expression shifting continuously, then finally, he clenched his teeth. He pulled on the reins, and the Green-Maned Horse neighed, leaping around and heading towards a nearby county town.
This horse's endurance was so strong that the youth had never found its limits. Now, driving it with full strength, it took only the time it takes an incense stick to burn to reach the town. Looking up, he saw the eagle was still lazily circling in the air.
Entering the town, he first left the Green-Maned Horse at a stable, collected a token, then strode into an inn in another part of town, paid three times the usual amount of silver for a room, and told the innkeeper not to disturb him unless necessary. He then went straight to his room, opened the window, and saw the eagle had lowered its altitude and seemed to be circling just above the inn.
His heart settled slightly.
He closed the window and, clutching his prayer beads, returned to Shaolin Temple in his mind.
Atop Shaoshi Mountain, Mr. Ying and Yuan Ci were playing a game of chess, apparently unsurprised by Wang Anfeng's appearance. Mr. Ying spoke leisurely,
"You finally decided to come back and find us?"
The young man exhaled, bowed with his hands clasped, "I've seen the Master, and I've seen Sir."
Yuan Ci nodded slightly, just about to speak, when Mr. Ying raised his hand to stop him, sizing up Wang Anfeng and raising an eyebrow,
"It seems you have already made a plan?"
Moments later, a figure clad in black walked slowly out of the inn, while the inn's bellboy habitually called out,
"Have a good journey, sir."
The man nodded but did not respond. The bellboy, watching his back, scratched his head in confusion.
Had this guest entered their inn before?
He seemed completely unfamiliar.
This fleeting confusion passed quickly through his mind, and he turned his face into a warm smile, greeting the next guest.
The man in black walked tranquilly through several streets, then turned to gaze at the eagle still circling in the sky, his eyes deep and unreadable.
He retrieved the green-maned horse using the identification plaque at the stable, exited the town through another gate, and galloped away. With light taps on his face, he dropped a mask, revealing a clean youthful face.
A Ninth-Grade mask that could alter one's appearance.
Mr. Ying's New Year's gift.
The youth tucked the mask into his pack, and as his hand brushed against a piece of black clothing, a strange medicinal scent assailed his nostrils. Even with his inner strength protecting him, he couldn't help but sneeze.
Silver Feather Flying Eagle, an exotic beast, its cry as clear as jade, audible from miles away.
It could serve as eyes and ears, skilled in tracking, able to detect unusual scents.
If not for Mr. Ying's books which had records of this exotic beast, it would have been impossible to evade detection. How could he have known that this type of eagle not only had exceptionally strong eyesight but also a keen sense of smell?
The youth exhaled and was about to continue towards Guan City, but then he noticed the conspicuously visible green-maned horse beneath him. His brows furrowed slightly. He had originally planned to escape and immediately search for Gong Yu, but with the speed of that eagle, if it locked onto the green-maned horse, he wouldn't make it far before being targeted again.
Even if he hid in the Shaolin Temple, it would only be a temporary respite. He couldn't stay there forever. Once he left, he would still be found.
Indeed, by simply identifying the person heading to Guan City, they could trap him.
Given the enemy's ruthlessness and madness, they might well resort to such measures.
Wang Anfeng had not thought carefully earlier, but now he realized that he had fallen into a vast net from which he couldn't escape. With the Flying Eagle serving as eyes and better-trained masters on horses tracking him, the net was slowly tightening, and escape was difficult. It could be said that since he had parted from Gong Yu and his group, he had already found himself caught in this vast net.
If the enemy hadn't underestimated his abilities, he would probably have been captured by now.
The youth's heartbeat gradually quickened.
The eagle circling above the inn suddenly heard a familiar voice, flapped its wings, and soared into the sky. Emitting a crisp, brief cry, it broke through the clouds, and two Silver Feather Flying Eagles began playfully swirling above the inn.
A moment later, a genial-looking scholar entered the inn.
With a jade bone folding fan lightly swaying in his hand, he walked leisurely to the innkeeper, bowed with a fist, and said with a smile,
"May I inquire, shopkeeper,"
"is there a young man about fourteen or fifteen years old, dressed in blue, carrying a sword, staying here?"
The innkeeper, a corpulent middle-aged man with a very stern face, frowned upon hearing this, bowed his hands and said,
"We mustn't jest, your honours…"
"With the rules of Great Qin, we cannot simply speak of such matters, or else who would dare to stay here?"
His voice was rather displeased, but the scholar did not get angry, only nodded with a warm smile and said,
"The shopkeeper is right."
The folding fan gently swayed, and his voice paused before he continued,
The burly man behind him stepped forward, pulled a silver ingot from his bosom, and placed it on the shopkeeper's counter. The shopkeeper's expression fluctuated, and then he saw the burly man press down gently, turning the silver ingot into a flattened disc. The counter beneath immediately cracked, collapsing with a loud crash that silenced the whole first floor of the inn.
The shopkeeper's heart skipped a beat, then started frantically thumping, his face turning pale.
The scholar continued to smile gently.
Yet, overshadowed by the burly man standing behind him, a shadow fell on his face, the crisscrossing light and shadow making his originally gentle smile seem ominously threatening, causing the shopkeeper's spine to chill.
Struggling internally, the shopkeeper opened his mouth but, lacking the strength, finally pointed weakly at a particular guest room on the second floor and said,
"There, right there…"
"He has been there since he arrived and hasn't come out."