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Tong He was usually always acting like an old urchin, but now making such a move truly gave Qi Fei a deep jolt in his heart. Within this jolt, there was an even greater sense of a long-standing, profound emotion.

Qi Fei could not clearly define what kind of relationship he had with Tong He. He was partly a teacher and partly a friend, partly a mentor and partly a father. But no matter what the emotion was, Qi Fei knew that Tong He genuinely wished him well, rather than merely wanting to use him as a vessel to reshape his own soul.

"Grandpa Tong, you must break through the encirclement; otherwise, my conscience will never be at peace." While Qi Fei silently prayed for Tong He in his heart, he had already made up his mind to be a child who escapes alone. Yes, in Tong He's heart, perhaps he was like a child who would never grow up. Every time dangerous situations arose, it was always Tong He, this towering tree, sheltering him from the wind and rain. Qi Fei remorsefully patted his aching legs, forced himself to cheer up, and faced the cruel reality before him once again. Even if Tong He could withstand the siege of those few individuals, his body probably wouldn't have an easy time of it either.

Having made this decision, Qi Fei simultaneously swore a silent oath in his heart: "If anything happens to Tong He, then every single member of the Ma family will pay the due price for today's events!" Although Qi Fei was still very weak right now and it was utterly impossible for him to uproot the towering tree that was the Ma family, the Yangtze river waves push the ones ahead, as the saying goes. He was still young, and precisely because of his youth, his future held infinite hope and unpredictable variables.

Moreover, having advanced to the Xiantian realm before the age of twenty, although Tong He played a massive role in the existence of such talent, it was also foreseeable that in his lifetime, Qi Fei would never remain trapped at this boundary, and it was not entirely impossible that a day would come when he could stand alone and confront the Ma family head-on.

Having made up his mind in his heart like this, Qi Fei heard the sonic booms on the roof erupt once more. At that very moment, his descending body dropped to the ground with a jolt. What was even stranger was that the moment his body vibrated, that feeling of being bound vanished without a trace.

Qi Fei executed an extremely swift roll and sprang to his feet. He raised his head and gazed fixedly at the roof, seeing that Tong He was still using an airtight momentum to intercept the four men of the Ma family from pursuing him. Therefore, gritting his teeth in secret, he turned and fled like a flying shadow into the endless night. After sprinting at full speed for about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, Qi Fei suddenly plunged into a residential house. When he emerged, he had been transformed into the appearance of a fierce-looking youth with a full face of coarse flesh.

Stepping out through the small side door, Qi Fei cast a distant glance in the direction of the Ma residence. A cold gleam flashed across his eyes and vanished instantly, but immediately afterward, he quickly assumed a foolish and naive expression. Estimating that the time had reached around the third watch of the night, and having distinguished his bearings, he hurried toward the location Wang Xi had mentioned to him. By now, the battle on Tong He's side should have long since ended. As for the outcome, he believed the members of the Wang family would surely convey the news to him tomorrow.

The very first thing Qi Fei needed to do right now was to follow the previously formulated plan and flee to another place with Li Tou, a friend of Shi Yaowen. Naturally, he also had the impulse to quietly sneak back and inquire about the news in person, but this thought was quickly dismissed by his own reasoning. After all, the influence of the Qi family was far too vast nowadays. If he were to linger further, leaving aside whether he might be directly captured upon turning back, even if he managed to escape by luck, trying to depart leisurely after the entire town was placed under martial law would probably require a great deal more effort.

Tong He's painstaking efforts to block Ma Li and the others for him must certainly not be辜负 (let down) in vain. Therefore, having locked onto his direction, he soon arrived at the location Wang Xi had previously notified him of. This was a courier agency specifically responsible for escorting cargo. When Qi Fei arrived here, the place was in the midst of a bustling scene, packing up equipment and preparing for departure.

Even so, the sudden entry of Qi Fei's unfamiliar face still attracted the attention of quite a few people. Fortunately, due to the prior arrangements, the moment he gave a secret sign, someone immediately led him into the inner chamber.

"My good brother, no matter what happens, once it reaches my Li Tou here, it is no longer an issue." The person who received him was a tall, robust martial artist at the peak of the First Realm. This man named Li Tou looked to be around thirty-six or thirty-seven years old. He gave Qi Fei a very hearty pat on the shoulder and said, "I'll spare the superfluous words. Shi Yaowen is my life-and-death sworn brother. Given his face, even if you had killed the City Lord of Yunshan, I would still bear the consequences right along with you!"

Qi Fei's heart skipped a beat. Surely Li Tou didn't say this because he knew he had killed the City Lord of Yunshan, did he? However, the thought that surged up right after made Qi Fei feel that this friend Li Tou was quite good. Therefore, he smiled faintly and said with utmost respect, "Setting off on this journey with you, Elder Brother Li, I will still have to trouble you to look after me along the way." Of course, this was merely polite speech from Qi Fei. Aside from the matter of getting out of the city, where would a Xiantian expert like him ever need the care of a second-rate martial artist?

On the contrary, for Qi Fei to look after this Li Tou along the journey would be the more reasonable statement. However, speaking such words directly right now was naturally inconvenient. Anyway, the destination of this trip was the imperial capital; along the way, Qi Fei would have plenty of opportunities to look after or elevate this second-rate martial artist Li Tou. Outwardly, the two exchanged pleasantries, and Li Tou left Qi Fei in the inner room to be served tea while he went outside to inspect the cargo-packing preparations.

Before long, presumably once all the preparations were completed, Li Tou entered and called for Qi Fei, then arranged the identity of a guard for him. The entire convoy consisted of twelve large wagons accompanied by nearly a hundred guards. Once everyone had finished packing, they headed toward the exit of Yunshan City.

As the convoy approached the city gates, Qi Fei discovered that Yunshan City indeed had not yet been placed under martial law. Having had such a massive incident occur, the official forces of the entire Yunshan City had yet to make their fastest reaction.

This showed that Ma Li had ultimately arrived here too short a time ago and was not yet able to integrate the local forces of the Qi family to the point of being as obedient as an arm commanding a finger. However, such a situation was naturally extremely favorable for Qi Fei. Even when the entire convoy marched completely out of Yunshan City, there still hadn't appeared the scene of Qi family members interrogating passersby that he had imagined.

Having slipped out of Yunshan City without anyone noticing, the heartstrings that Qi Fei had been keeping taut suddenly loosened a fraction, but immediately afterward, a wave of grief surged into his heart. He knew that before learning any news about Tong He, he would easily fall into this state detrimental to martial arts cultivation. Although his worry for Tong He stemmed from deep affection and righteousness, lingering in such a sorrowful state for long probably wouldn't benefit his own cultivation in the slightest; on the contrary, it might affect his future breakthroughs or even lead him to make wrong judgments once the definitive news of Tong He arrived.

Therefore, Qi Fei shrugged his shoulders and began trying to find something to distract his attention. Yet, looking left and right, aside from the starry night sky as dark as ink with falling stars, there remained only this convoy of around a hundred martial artists. Coincidentally, holding the identity of a guard, he had been assigned to protect the sixth large wagon in the middle of the convoy, and with people pressing closely before and behind, he was simply unable to fully observe the situation of the entire troop.

While idling away in boredom, Qi Fei shifted his gaze to the seven or eight people surrounding the wagon he was guarding. Walking directly in front of this wagon was a second-rate elementary martial artist riding a horse, but unfortunately, the man had his back turned to him, making it impossible to discern his appearance. The people on the other side of the wagon were also entirely focused on hurrying along, and trying to observe them would be too much trouble.

Only the two other people sharing the right side of the wagon with Qi Fei were clear enough to be seen by the torchlight mounted on the carriage. Behind him were a pale-faced middle-aged man of about forty and a rugged, heavily muscled stout man around thirty. Among these two, the pale-faced middle-aged man—whose face bore the marks of weathering yet maintained a poised and calm demeanor—went without saying; one could tell at a glance that he was a figure with rich travel experience who had definitely escorted caravans many times. Only the delicate-looking stout man wore an expression full of sorrow and worry, and it was unclear whether he had some painful matter weighing on his heart or was simply complaining somewhat about the hardship of hurrying through the dark in the middle of the night.

Since these two showed such dissatisfied expressions, they surely had something on their minds. Thus, Qi Fei deliberately leaned closer to the stout man and asked in a low voice, "Elder Brother, why do you wear such a gloomy and sorrowful expression? Could it be that you feel the remuneration for this trip is not generous enough?"

Hearing someone address him, the stout man raised his head to look at Qi Fei, then muttered, "It's not a matter of remuneration; I just have some personal trifles weighing heavily on my mind, making you laugh at me, Elder Brother."

Qi Fei's original intention was merely to chat with this person to distract his attention. However, upon hearing the rugged stout man's words, a sympathetic feeling of distress instantly arose in him as well. Yet, remembering a moment later that he was conversing with someone else, he half-jokingly, half-comfortably said to the other party, "What kind of matters could make you so worried? A real man has to weather countless storms in his lifetime; taking things lightly is the only correct principle."

The rugged stout man raised his head to look at him once more and sighed in a low voice, "Ah, little brother, you are young; you won't understand even if I tell you about certain matters."

Qi Fei cast a somewhat disdainful glance at him and said, "Precisely because I don't understand, I'm asking! The journey is boring, and if we don't find something to do, how can we pass the time? It isn't even dawn yet. Why doesn't the esteemed brother share your worries? Who knows, maybe I can help analyze and think things through. Besides, if I truly don't understand, don't we have another elder brother right beside us? With his experience, he can surely help you figure something out."

The stout man hesitatingly glanced at the pale-faced middle-aged man beside him. Seeing that the latter maintained his composed demeanor, and after hesitating for a short while, he finally slowly began to speak: "I have a childhood playmate who fell in love with a girl from the neighboring family four or five years younger than him. Although this girl also expressed her feelings to him and the two of them interacted peacefully for a period of time, there are always some gossip and rumors floating around, and this girl was simultaneously entangled with two other men. It just so happens that my buddy isn't home very often and doesn't have much time to verify these matters. But as the saying goes, there's no smoke without fire; every time he hears those gossiping rumors, he always feels extremely depressed."

"Well, matters between men and women—this little brother truly doesn't understand them very well." Hearing the stout man speak thus, how could Qi Fei not realize that the playmate he spoke of was none other than himself? Moreover, Qi Fei really didn't know much about these romantic affairs. Therefore, at this moment, he could only speak the truth and dodge the topic. Otherwise, a careless remark might ruin someone else's romance, which truly would outweigh the gains.

However, Qi Fei gave no reply, instead turning his gaze toward the weathered pale-faced middle-aged man. Guided by this look, the stout man naturally shifted his own pleading gaze over as well. Although this pale-faced middle-aged man had walked the entire way in silence, the conversation between the two had not avoided others, so he had naturally listened to all the ins and outs. Noticing that both Qi Fei and the other were staring at him, and driven by the fate of traveling together, he was forced to speak: "Therefore, this older brother of mine remains a bachelor even at the age of forty-three. Such entanglements of romance and affection are things I find most unbearable."

Although Qi Fei had not directly answered the question posed by the stout man, these words stated his own attitude. Indeed, entanglements of romance and affection—if everyone is reunited and happy, that naturally is for the best, but if there are truly moments that wrench the heart, it is more vexing than the most troubling matters under heaven. Therefore, many martial artists would rather pour their entire hearts into martial arts cultivation than risk touching this forbidden zone.

However, for someone already caught in this whirlpool, someone like the rugged stout man encountering such a situation could indeed be deeply disheartened. Furthermore, since the pale-faced middle-aged man did not provide the answer he sought, the rugged stout man once again lowered his head at this moment, wearing a dejected expression.

Seeing the stout man act like this, apart from feeling speechless at his lack of self-respect, Qi Fei had nothing more to say. Fortunately, getting the pale-faced middle-aged man to open his mouth prompted Qi Fei to shift his attention and ask, "This elder brother, might this junior ask for your esteemed name?"

To this question, the pale-faced middle-aged man answered readily: "This one is called Ma Qingshan. How should I address you, brother?"

"My name is Qi Feng. Enduring wind and frost along this journey, I must ask the two of you to look after me." Qi Fei used a fake name once again. While doing so had a flavor of deception, under such circumstances, he naturally could not reveal his real name.

Qi Fei and Ma Qingshan briefly introduced their respective situations, and he casually asked the rugged stout man, discovering only that he had a name completely unfitting for his appearance—Zhang Lang—before learning anything else about him. Obviously, the rugged stout man Zhang Lang was still struggling and tormenting himself over his romance story and had no intention of speaking further. But it was fine even if he didn't speak; Qi Fei casually and casually chatted with Ma Qingshan about many things.

Qi Fei's mindset was just like this: upon arriving in any unfamiliar place, one must thoroughly understand the people and matters of that place. Only by knowing oneself and the enemy can one cope with all unexpected situations.