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Chapter 31 - The Narrow Path to Freedom

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Zhujiao’s breath caught in his throat as he jerked away from the crack he was peering through.

How the hell did they find him so quickly?

He thought furiously for a second before cursing under his breath. Lao Yi had mentioned that the Red Talons would be able to track the pill’s signature, but in the heat of the moment, he had forgotten about it.

Then again, if they were tracking him, why hadn’t they found him yet? He pressed his eye back against the crack. The narrow view offered only glimpses of the street—shadows of movement, muffled voices, and the occasional flash of red as a Talon member passed by.

Zhujiao’s heart pounded in his chest as he scanned the scene. The Red Talons were spreading out and seemed to be methodically combing through the area. So… they knew he was in the area, but not precisely where?

Faint hope stirred in his gut. If they couldn’t track him exactly, then it should theoretically be possible to lose them in a crowd.

… Except that he had explicitly come this deep in the slums to avoid the crowds, thinking it would be easier to avoid random Red Talon members as well.

While he was thinking over that particular bit of cruel irony, he spotted another Red Talon member walking into view. Instead of wearing the usual armband, this man’s entire left sleeve was a deep red, and even from here, Zhujiao could see that the quality of his clothes was a step higher than the rest.

Some kind of lieutenant, then. More interestingly, the man was holding something—a rod, about the length of his forearm, faintly glowing. Zhujiao squinted, trying to make out more details. The glow wasn’t intense, more like a pulse, flickering softly as the man moved.

A sudden suspicion struck him. He had been assuming the Red Talons would be using a cultivator or Qi-sensitive member to track the pill’s signature – which was, as far as he knew, the only way to do it. He hadn’t considered the possible existence of tools that could interact with Qi.

Once again, he was reminded of how little he truly knew of how this world worked.

This was both good news and bad news for him. On the one hand, tools were potentially fallible – easier to fool an inanimate object than a person, after all. On the other hand, he had no real idea of how many tools the Red Talons had access to.

If they had enough to set up a grid or detection net of some kind, leaving the slums could get significantly more complicated.

Zhujiao’s grip tightened on the strap of his bag as he considered his options. Staying put clearly wasn’t a choice – the Rod of Detection might not be able to pinpoint his exact location, but considering how many enforcers were searching for him, it wouldn’t matter for long.

That left sneaking as far as he could before making a mad dash for more populated areas. The one slight advantage he had was that the streets would be starting to fill up around now.

Hopefully, anyway.

Otherwise he was totally screwed.

He firmly put the possibility of failure out of his mind, mentally mapping out his escape route. The wall he was looking through was at the back of the ruined house he had claimed as his temporary rest stop, so with a little luck the street would still be clear.

It was a weakness of their tracking method he might be able to exploit – while it seemed it could sense him through walls, it didn’t indicate the direction he was. If he could manage to keep obstacles between him and the Red Talons, there was a slim chance he could make it out with them none the wiser.

Zhujiao carefully adjusted the strap of his bag and steeled himself for what he needed to do next. With one last glance through the crack in the wall, he crept towards the front of the house.

Poking his head through the front door to check the street might have been the single most nerve-wracking thing he had ever done, but luck was – for once – on his side.

The street was deserted, just as he had hoped.

Zhujiao stepped out, keeping close to the wall as he made his way toward the end of the street. He moved quickly but carefully, ears straining for any sound that might signal the presence of the Red Talons. So far, so good. The faint hope that had stirred earlier grew a little stronger—maybe, just maybe, he could slip away unnoticed.

But fate had other plans.

As he neared the end of the street, a shout rang out from behind him. His heart sank as he risked a glance over his shoulder. Two Red Talon enforcers had just rounded the corner, their eyes locking onto him immediately. One of them raised an arm, signalling to the others, and Zhujiao knew he was out of time.

He bolted.

Shouts echoed through the slums as the enforcers behind him gave chase. Zhujiao knew that he had a head start but not enough of one to save him. His greatest advantage over the Red Talons was his Qi-enhanced reaction times, but on the open, empty streets this deep in the slums he had nothing.

Zhujiao’s mind raced, calculating his dwindling options as the shouts behind him grew louder. He knew he couldn’t keep this pace up for long—his legs were already burning, and the open streets offered him no cover, no advantage. His eyes darted to the side, catching sight of a narrow alleyway that branched off from the main street. Beyond it, he could just make out the dilapidated shapes of abandoned buildings.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

It wasn’t ideal—those buildings could just as quickly become a trap—but they might also be his only chance to break line of sight and lose his pursuers.

He made the decision in a heartbeat.

The rough timber of the buildings that formed the alley scraped against his shoulder as he raced down it, his speed and uncertain traction almost sending him off balance.

The alley was littered with debris, the ground uneven and treacherous, but he pushed on, adrenaline fuelling his movements.

Behind him, he heard the enforcers curse as they struggled to follow his sudden manoeuvre. It bought him a few precious seconds, but he knew it wouldn’t be enough. His only hope was to disappear.

The alley opened up into a small courtyard, surrounded by several crumbling buildings. Without hesitating, Zhujiao sprinted toward the nearest one, a gaping doorway offering him a way inside. He burst through the entrance, barely registering the stale, musty air that greeted him as he plunged into the dark interior.

He could hear the enforcers struggling to keep up, their footsteps echoing through the decaying structure, but he didn’t slow down. He darted through a broken doorway, his eyes scanning the area for an exit. There—a window, half shattered but large enough for him to squeeze through.

The glass bit into his palms as he pushed through, but he was only dimly aware of the pain through the rush of adrenaline. The Qi surging through him allowed him to land easily in a crouch as he quickly scanned his surroundings.

He was in another alley, this one narrower and even more confined than the last. Perfect.

He took off again, angling himself as best he could towards the outskirts of the slums. His little manoeuvre might have brought him some time, but that didn’t mean he had any to waste.

Zhujiao felt a flicker of relief as the murmur of the crowds grew louder, guiding him like a beacon through the maze of narrow alleys. The closer he got, the more the comforting noise drowned out the sounds of pursuit behind him. He could still hear the Red Talons, their frustration evident in the sharp, angry shouts that echoed through the slums, but the noise of the city was beginning to work in his favour.

He pushed himself harder, ignoring the burn in his legs and the sting in his hands from the broken glass. The warm wetness starting to drip from his fingertips was harder to ignore, but right now he had bigger things to worry about.

As he turned out of the alley and out into the main street, he chanced a glance backwards in time to see a Red Talon enforcer turn the corner and spot him. The jolt of panic lent urgency to his movements and had him plunging into the crowds. Some of the bystanders shouted at him, and one of them managed to cuff him over the back of his head as he went, but it wasn’t enough to stop him.

If anything, the chaos he was causing worked to his advantage as the disturbance he was making caused the crowds to fill the gaps he left behind as he went. Within moments, the small alleyway he had emerged from was out of sight, and he ducked his head lower to blend in with the crowd.

Zhujiao angled himself toward the outskirts of the slums, using the ebb and flow of the crowd to his advantage. The pain in his hands was starting to mount, and he winced as he glanced down and caught sight of the red staining his hands.

Looks like he would be dipping into his supply of bandages sooner than expected.

Even moving against the crowd, he made good time, burning Qi to enhance his coordination and slip through tiny gaps as they appeared. Part of him wanted to find another place to hide long enough to see to his injuries, but he knew that his best bet at safety lay beyond the slums entirely.

Zhujiao cut through the press of humanity, following the main streets towards the merchant districts. The surrounding buildings increased in quality the closer he got to the edge of the slums, changing from run-down shacks to half-way respectable storefronts. He idly thought it was like watching entropy in reverse.

He swayed a little on his feet, stumbling to one side. A passerby steadied him with an annoyed expression that quickly turned to concern when they caught sight of his hands. Zhujiao shook off the suddenly concerned hands, slipping through another gap in the crowds.

He wasn’t sure if the broken glass had caused more damage than he thought, or if it was simply his body coming down from the adrenaline. Either way, he would have to find a place to stop sooner rather than later.

Something he hadn’t entirely considered was how much attention he would be attracting. In the slums, no one would look twice at random homeless kids walking the streets, but in the nicer areas of the city, people would pay attention.

He paused for a moment, leaning against a wall as he caught his breath, trying to figure out what he was going to do about this. Who knew that the kindness of strangers could be so inconvenient?

The further he ventured from the slums, the more out of place he felt. The concerned glances and lingering stares from people in the crowd were only increasing, and he knew he needed to find a place to tend to his injuries soon.

He spotted a small alley between two slightly more respectable storefronts and, with a quick glance over his shoulder to ensure he wasn’t being watched too closely, he slipped into it. The alley was narrow, littered with crates and old barrels, but it was quiet enough and, more importantly, secluded enough for what he needed to do.

Zhujiao knelt beside a stack of crates, wincing as the motion sent a fresh wave of pain through his palms. The cuts from the glass were worse than he’d initially thought; blood trickled steadily from several shallow gashes, staining his hands a dark red. He hissed through his teeth as he gingerly peeled back the torn fabric of his sleeves, revealing the full extent of the damage.

It was… well, it could be worse, he supposed.

At least none of the cuts seemed deep enough to cause permanent damage, though it would likely scar prominently. Zhujiao quickly dug through his bag, pulling out the small stash of supplies he’d managed to grab from Lao Yi’s clinic. His hands shook slightly as he fumbled with the items, cursing under his breath at the fine tremors that made even simple tasks seem difficult.

The poultice stung as he rubbed it into his palms, but he gritted his teeth and forced himself to be thorough. Once the unpleasant task was done, he did his best to wrap the injuries with bandages. The already awkward task of bandaging his own hands was made worse by the flowing crowds at the mouth of the alleyway.

Already a few people had peered curiously down the alley at the strange boy hunched over himself, and he knew that calling more attention to himself wouldn’t lead anywhere good. The bandages would do for now, but they weren’t as tight or as neat as he would have liked—he simply didn’t have the time to be meticulous.

Once his hands were wrapped, he leaned back against the crates and closed his eyes, taking a moment to centre himself. The pain in his hands pulsed in time with his heartbeat, but pain, he could handle.

His Qi reserves were… adequate, for now. It had been a rollercoaster of a day in that regard; while the pill had certainly caused him trouble – and would continue to do so – it had also undoubtedly saved his life.

Now that he was out of the slums, hopefully, he would have the space to use his cycling technique more frequently, and make some actual progress on his cultivation.

He opened his eyes and inspected his work. The bandages were already beginning to soak through with blood, but the flow had slowed, and the pain was more manageable. It would have to do. He couldn’t stay here any longer—not when he still felt so exposed.

He stood, wincing as his legs protested the sudden movement, and glanced out of the alley. The crowd outside had thinned somewhat, but there were still enough people milling about that he could slip back into the flow without drawing too much attention. He adjusted the strap of his bag, pulling it more securely over his shoulder, and took a deep breath.

The following steps were clear – find somewhere safe to rest, and figure out where the hell he was going from here.