"Pheww!!! Tao Yan exhaled. 

"Man that was too damn dangerous!" Yu Qin replied.

"If it wasn't for that elder we would have been minced meat" said Tao Yan.

"Anyways we successfully accomplished our mission! We saved Young master! Young master you don't have worry now, we're already far from the sect" said Yu Qin.

Li Chen didn't know how to respond. He had witnessed an astonishing battle between two experts. In his mind he was still thinking about that scene while the two servants together him had fled from the sect.

"What about my mother and sister?" asked Li Chen.

"Nothing to worry Young master. They were to escape from another route. By now they would escaped in the opposite direction" replied Yu Qin.

"Why didn't they come with us?" asked Li Chen.

"Young master this plan was made by one of the elders. The elder said it would better to escape separately as the survival chances would be more" replied Yu Qin.

"Oh.....then that's fine" said Li Chen.

The two servants were quite shocked. They noticed that their Young master remained calm throughout this catastrophe. He didn't show one bit signs of fear. After seeing this they also made their mind strong. They couldn't lose face in front of their Young master. What they had heard about their Young master was true, he was really more mature than the a ten-year old even if he was three.

"So, where are we headed now?" asked Li Chen.

"Young master, we are going to one of the branch sects in the Wanshu province" replied Yu Qin.

The whole time they had been running. Tao Yan was holding Li Chen and Yu Qin was there beside them. Yu Qin was in the fourth level of the Rudimentary Profound Realm and Tao Yan was in the fifth level of the Rudimentary Profound Realm. They were strong enough to run for months continuously. They decided to go off-road as there were chances of someone pursuing them. 

In front of them was a forest. To cross a forest at night was indeed dangerous. But this was the chance they had to take. They could reach the Wanshu province much faster through this course. Tao Yan and Yu Qin stayed close to each other as they sped through the forest. It was midnight. They were already travelling through the forest for an hour. After an hour of travelling they came across a lake. They decided to halt to drink some water.

As Tao Yan bent down to drink some water, he felt a presence near them. Tao Yan quickly got back on guard and held Li Chen. Yu Qin realizing something was wrong started looking in all directions. Then from the shadows a robed man came out.

"Stay back!" shouted Tao Yan.

"Relax. I'm from the Li Sect" replied the robed man.

"What proof do you have?" asked Yu Qin.

The man took out a badge of the Li Sect and waved. Tao Yan and Yu Qin seeing this still had some suspicions. 

"Why have you come here?" asked Tao Yan.

"I come from the branch sect from Wanshu province" said the robed man.

"What? Why are you here?" asked Yu Qin

"The branch sect was annihilated. Nothing remains there anymore" replied the robed man.

"W-What? I-Impossible how can the sect be destroyed??" Yu Qin asked in disbelief.

"The forces of Zhao Sect have completely annihilated the sect" the robed man replied.

Lu Qin and Tao stared at each other. Now they had no plan. The road ahead was full of uncertainties and mostly death. Li Chen had doubts whether the whole clan had perished. Then he broke the silence.

"Then why have you come here?" asked Li Chen.

Lu Qin and Tao Yan who were lost in their thoughts came back to their senses. 

"Young master, I was sent here to make sure you reach one of the secret residences of the sect"

"Then where this place?How long do we need to reach that place?"

"Young master, this residence is near the end of our country to the north. What lies after that is only seas. You will be safe there"

"To the north??? Near the Yellow sea?? It'll take us months on foot!" Tao Yan shouted.

"Calm down. I know travelling on foot is not a possible option for you both. Also with Young master, it would be foolishness as the situation now is too dangerous and you both are too weak" the robed man replied.

Both Tao Yan and Lu Qin had nothing to reply in their defense. The robed man then continued.

"That is exactly why I have brought a rank 3 blue eagle with me"

"R-Rank 3 Blue Eagle??" Yu Qin was surprised.

"Yes, take the eagle and leave. It'll take you three days to reach there. And take this spatial belt. It has enough food for five days." the robed man replied as he gave the belt to Yu Qin.

*Whistle*

As the robed man whistled a giant eagle flew towards him. The eagle's beak shined in the moon light. It's beak was gold-colored. It had a navy blue colored body. Its wings had a hint of white stripes. It looked majestic.

The eagle landed on the ground. It was really hard to tame magical beasts as they were prideful creatures. They would rather die than submit. Tao Yan and Yu Qin stared at it in astonishment. They knew the cost to buy such a creature was so high that even the earnings of their whole life wouldn't be enough to buy it. They took Li Chen and sat on the eagle.

"Take this map and fly north" the robed handed the map to Yu Qin.

"At any circumstances you shouldn't let any harm come to Young master, even if you have to lay down your lives" said the robed man.

"Yes!" Tao Yan and Yu Qin replied simultaneously.

"Good. Young Master I bid farewell. Your useless servant can't accompany you in this journey. I have to go and check on my disciple's safety" 

"You have already done enough. You are free to go." Li Chen said as he looked down from the eagle.

"Thank You Young Master. I hope you have a safe journey" the robed man replied.

*Swoosh*

The robed man looked at the sky as the eagle disappeared from his sight.

The eagle flew at a tremendous speed. Yu Qin couldn't imagine what their situation would have been if it weren't for the eagle. They traveled for another day. It was night. Currently, they were flying over the Death Forest. This forest was the most dangerous place in the entire Yellow Shield Empire. This was because the forest couldn't be kept under control. The imperial army realized there would be too many casualties in gaining control over the forest. Moreover, many ruthless bandits lived in the forest for centuries. If the army decided to attack, it would be a major situation and would make the country vulnerable to attacks from other countries. The empire couldn't risk such a situation. So, they decided to forget about it as it was simply a small part of their country. The Death Forest lived up to its name. Mass murders, killing, rapes,robbery were something that was absolutely normal in the forest. The major bandit groups usually had backing from the empire itself. The Empire couldn't risk attacking them but that didn't mean they couldn't start a proxy war. This was usually done in secret by the Empire to keep the bandit groups in check.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Li Chen felt something strange as looked at the forest. He could hear a scream. He saw Yu Qin had frightened expression on his face.

*Sniff* *Sniff*

"Something is wrong with the air" Li Chen thought to himself as he saw a fog in front of him.

"Strange. There is a fog in front of us. Yu Qin stay on guard" said Tao Yan.

Yu Qin nodded as the eagle flew through the fog. Li Chen couldn't help but think that something was wrong.

"Shit. We can't see anything. I hope this eagle just doesn't lose the sense of direction. I just hope we fly out this thing fast" Yu Qin was worried.

Li Chen looked around the fog and saw the eagle's wings. Then he looked at the eagle's face . He realized how foolish his servants were.

"YOU IDIOTS!!! WE'RE NOT FLYING !! WE'RE GLIDING!!!" Li Chen yelled.

"What?"

Yu Qin looked at the eagle. The eagle was unconscious. Yu Qin realized this was not fog but some sort of gas which affected magical beasts.

"........''

"Oh Shit."

The Eagle fell on the trees. Tao Yan held Li Chen and jumped before impact. So did Yu Qin.

"Ha....Ha.......Ha....." Yu Qin was breathing heavily.

"Great. Now what do we do?" Li Chen asked curiously.

"Y-Young master we'll definitely think of a way" said Tao Yan. As Li Chen was about to speak a bandit lurked from the shadows.

"Well look at what we have here" said the fat bandit. Behind him were four others. They wore beast skin. They looked like savages.

"Big bro look there is a rank 3 Blue Eagle with them" 

"Yeah Big bro they look rich!"

"Yeah"

"Yeah"

The fat bandit pursed his lips in into a cold smile. He looked at the three people in front of him and saw they were wearing some fine clothing.

"Boys!! We hit some jackpot today! Lets take them to boss!" the fat bandit looked behind said to his gang.

"In your dreams" Tao Yan muttered.

*Swoosh*

"Big Bro!!! They fled!!"

"You bastards!! You can't escape!"the fat bandit yelled as he and his gang followed them.

"Hahahahaha.....those two weaklings are only in the fourth level of Rudimentary Profound Realm! Too easy!!"

Tao Yan and Yu Qin sped through the forest. Yu Qin suggested Tao Yan to split up to lose the bandits. They knew the bandits were stronger than them. The fat bandit was in 8th level of Rudimentary Profound Realm.

So Tao Yan took Li Chen and sped away in another direction.

"Shit! These guys split!" the fat man yelled.

"You both! Follow the guy with the boy. We'll head straight ahead!" the fat bandit shouted.

"Oh You won't get far!"

Tao Yan ran as fast as he could. Li Chen felt a sinister aura ahead. Suddenly, Tao Yan tripped and fell on the ground.

"Can't you even run properly!!" Li Chen yelled but he soon became silent when he saw Tao Yan's legs tied.

"Yes!! We caught'em!!" the bandit yelled as rushed towards them with his dagger.

"Young Master run! I'll take care of these bastards" Tao Yan said.

Without even looking back Li Chen started to run forward.

"Shit! To think I would ever be in such a situation like this! Shit! Shit!" Li Chen thought to himself as he wondered how a person like him who once rampaged the lands was now running away from weak bandits.

Tao Yan broke through the ropes on his legs and started to fend off the bandits.

Li Chen ran ahead.He felt the sinister aura ahead of him. But he had no choice. Going back meant getting killed by the bandits. So he decided to just run. There was an opening like a small door near the tree in front him. He couldn't tell what was inside it. He decided to hide in there. Li Chen reached the opening and went inside. Just as he entered, a strange force pulled him in and fell down in the darkness.

"Ahhhhhhhhh!!"

A scream could be heard in the forest. No one would really care. Screams could be heard everyday in the Death Forest. It was a common occurrence.

*Swoosh*

"Ugh............."Li Chen opened his eyes as he held his hand on his head. His head ached.

It was a room. He could hardly see a thing. The room was full of dust and the walls were spider-webbed with cracks . It was as if no one ever came here in a long time. Li Chen saw an exit up front. 

"Great! Now what??" his voice echoed through the room.

"Hmmm............this place...."

Li Chen looked everywhere. He knew he had to go ahead and there was no choice. Li Chen started walking in front. His foot stumbled upon something. It was a skull.

"Yup. Dead people. So that's what it was. I'm pretty sure there'll be many more ahead"

As Li Chen left the room he was quite surprised. There floor was filled with bones. Li Chen knew he would see dead people but never imagined there would this many. It was a large hall. There were around ten thousand dead people's' bones on the ground. Li Chen saw that there was an exit far ahead. He rushed to the exit.

As he left the exit, there was another hall in front of him. It looked like a throne room. There was seat up ahead on a raised platform. The seat was surrounded by bones.

"So this was a King's Palace?" Li Chen thought to himself but was interrupted in his thoughts as he felt a presence near him.

He felt a fierce killing intent and raised his head to see who it was.

"Hello Little one"

"Welcome to my Tomb!"

The voice echoed throughout the hall.