Chapter 18: Narrow Road Encounter

  Another preparatory task was completed, and Li Ruo felt a sense of joy in his heart. He walked out of the Hunter's Alley and continued walking down the street. He didn't want to go back to that inn anymore. To ensure safety, Li Ruo had to find another inn to stay in.

  Thinking of entering the Misty Valley tomorrow, Li Ran's heart was stirred.

  These days, the medicinal broth in his gourd has been dwindling, with less than a third of it left. However, the fourth layer of the Jingyuan Formation's barrier has yet to be broken through. Without the support of subsequent spiritual medicines, when will his powers ever increase?

  Li Ran's knife snapped back to reality, and he suddenly felt that the atmosphere on the street was a bit off. Just now it was bustling with noise, but now it had become somewhat eerie. Many people were gathered together, whispering about something in hushed tones.

  "What happened?"

  Li Ran's knife paused for a moment, and he was about to turn his head and ignore him, when suddenly he heard a low voice behind him shout:

  "Hey you, kid in front, stop right there."

  In an instant, Li Ran felt his whole body stiffen, his heart pounding wildly, and the muscles in his neck seemed to be unable to move.

  That voice behind, wasn't it the one of Gong Sun Hong, the seventh elder of the Gong Sun family who had captured his father back then? Li Ruo Dao had seen Gong Sun Hong before and heard him speak in public gatherings. Everything about this enemy was deeply etched in his mind, but Gong Sun Hong hadn't paid attention to this unknown young man.

  "Gongsun Hong caught up so quickly, could it be that he already knows I'm the one who killed his son?"

  A chill ran up Li Ran's spine to the top of his head, and his mind was racing like lightning, gritting his teeth in secret. If he were to make a move, although he was far inferior to this strong opponent in the divine movement period, he would still fight hard with his own experience gained from rebirth and the semi-spiritual instrument short crossbow in his hand.

  There is still a glimmer of hope in escaping.

  Li Rendao suppressed the terror in his heart, slowly turned around, and saw Gong Sunhong walking towards him with big strides, exuding an aura of power like a mountain, and the aura of blood and energy emanating from his body made Li Rendao's heart beat wildly.

  At this stage, Li Ruo's strength is still too weak.

  Li Ran's face was slightly pale, staring intently at the strong opponent in front of him, his body's energy slowly circulating, ready to strike at any moment.

  Gongsun Hong's face was icy cold, with a hint of shock and anger still in his eyes. His divine sense spread out, sweeping over Li Ruo Dao's body, making him feel an inexplicable chill that caused him to shiver involuntarily.

  Gongsun Hong stood tall and suddenly raised his hand, unrolling a beast skin painting in front of Li Ran's knife, shouting in a deep voice:

  "Hey kid, have you ever seen anyone use the short crossbow depicted in this painting? If you can provide me with some leads on this, I'll reward you with 100 taels of silver."

  On the animal skin painting, it was painted with Gong Sunli's half-lingual short crossbow, every detail was drawn clearly and vividly, very lifelike.

  "Crossbow?"

  Li Ran's knife finally let out a silent sigh of relief at this moment. The night wind blew by, and he felt that the collar of his clothes behind him was soaked through.

  "It turned out that Gong Sun Hong hadn't discovered anything after all, he was just probing me for information. I thought to myself, I didn't reveal any flaws."

  Li Ran Dao carefully looked at the painting on the scroll and then shook his head with a disappointed expression.

  Gongsun Hong took another glance at Li Ran, and saw that this young man was indeed unremarkable in any way. Although his skill of Jing Yuan Jin San Chong was quite impressive for someone of his age, it seemed to have no connection with the death of his son.

  Gongsun Hong did not believe that a young man with three layers of Jingyuan energy would be able to kill the son holding the half-spiritual instrument and the ruthless Xuan slave cleanly.

  Gongsun Hong's face fell in disappointment, and he silently waved his hand for Li Ruo to leave.

  Li Ran turned around and saw that many people in the distance were pointing and talking, he knew that Gong Sun Hong had already started a big search in this small town.

  Li Ranno's expression showed the puzzlement that others should have had, shook his head and walked away to a distance, until he turned around the street corner, Li Ranno finally let out a sigh of relief, slowly quickening his pace, leaving that street far behind.

  Li Ruo knew that at this time, he must hold steady and not reveal any flaws. He also shouldn't rush to leave the mountain overnight, or else he would only expose himself.

  Found a pharmacy, picked up several medicines and put them in his backpack, then went to the old clothes store to buy a set of gray and simple clothes, all of which were put into his own bag. Listening to the occasional noise from the street, Gong Sun Hong was apparently frantically searching door-to-door.

  Li Ruo Knife walked away at a moderate pace, found an unremarkable inn in a bustling section of the main street, and settled into an unremarkable room. He bought enough dry rations and clear water from the inn, then tidied himself up from head to toe, and lay down fully clothed.

  A peaceful night with nothing out of the ordinary happening.

  The next day, early in the morning, the streets began to bustle with hunters flocking out of town and into the mountains. Li Ruo mixed in with the crowd, unobtrusive, and surged towards the mountain path entrance, where he saw Gong Sun Hong leading a few men, coldly blocking the way, his divine sense scanning every hunter who left town, all of their auras laid bare under his probing gaze.

  The hunters looked at the group of "bad guys" with suspicion, whispering to each other and glancing back at them as they walked past Gong Sun Hong and others. Li Ran also made a dazed expression as he walked among the hunters.

  He got closer to Gong Sun Hong, even closer, Li Ran's knife was pretending to be nonchalant, waiting to brush past him, when he felt Gong Sun Hong's gaze suddenly fall on him, a chill ran through his whole body.

  Li Ran's knife was also a high-ranking god in his previous life, and he knew that the faintly discernible chill was not mountain wind, but rather his overly sensitive divine consciousness towards others, an unconscious psychological reaction.

  "Gongsun Hong, why is he investigating me so thoroughly? Has he discovered something? Did he sense the aura of the short crossbow in my bosom? Where did I reveal my weakness?"

  Li Ruo's dagger was hidden in his bosom, and his heart suddenly rose. He heard Gong Sun Hong humming softly beside his ear: "At such a young age, you dare to enter the mountain, your courage is not ordinary."

  Li Ran turned his head, a puzzled expression on his face as he looked at Gong Sun Hong.

  Gongsun Hong looked at Li Ruoze with interest again, nodded and said: "I am Gongsun Hong, the seventh elder of the Gongsun family. You can cultivate to the third layer of Jingyuan Jin at such a young age, your talent is very good. Kid, if you have the heart in the future, don't hesitate to come to the Gongsun family to find me. With my help, I will let you have better development."

  Li Ran's knife paused, he didn't expect Gong Sun Hong to appreciate his cultivation potential and intend to recruit him. He sneered inwardly, but on the surface, he made a bewildered yet somewhat joyful expression, hastily saying: "Th-thank you, I'll remember."

  Gongsun Hong waved his hand listlessly, and Li Ranno followed the crowd into the mountains, disappearing from view. Occasionally turning back, he saw Gongsun Hong's group still blocking the exit of the town, carefully checking everyone. Li Ranno clenched his fists again in secret, a cold glint flashing in his eyes before vanishing.

  Gongsun Hong did not expect that the murderer who killed his son had slipped away under his nose, and Li Ran's knife had easily passed this level, but this matter was far from over.

  My father was captured and imprisoned in the Blackstone Valley, becoming a mining slave. It wasn't entirely because of the Gong Sun family's greed for the Li family's Flowing Cloud Sword Manual that this happened. The entire Gong Sun family is tyrannical and oppressive, bullying the common people, they are not good people at all. Especially this Gong Sun Hong, he was the one who personally captured my father back then and imprisoned him.

  "Gongsun Hong, wait for me to cultivate and rise up in the future. I will return all of these things that my father has suffered to you." Li Ran's heart was filled with hatred, and he suddenly increased his strength, heading deep into the mountains.