Chapter 104: Li Quan.
The moment Ba-Shei brought Yang Yuhuan and her brother into the darkness, Yao Jun returned his consciousness to his own body, opening his eyes. He was still in the same spot he was in when he moved his consciousness into Ba-Shei's body, the others still standing guard around him, so it was clear that nothing had happened.
“How did it go?”
Yun Yantian had noticed that Yao Jun had opened his eyes, so he spoke out with a quiet voice, attracting the attention of the other people.
“Yang Yuhuan seems to be slightly injured, but otherwise there was nothing. Little Ba is bringing them over now, prepare to return to the forest.”
Yao Jun spoke with a smile, calming down the obviously worried Yun Yantian. Hearing his words, the others breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Wan Yi brought out Xie Bi'An once more, keeping it ready for them to leave swiftly.
They had agreed earlier that if Yang Yuhuan or her brother were injured, they would use Xie Bi'An to quickly return to the forest, lest they be discovered as they tried to move their wounded bodies.
Xie Bi'An was slightly stronger than Little Gray, so it could alter its size as it wished. If they placed Yao Jun's gate on the back of Xie Bi'An, and made it change it's shape until it was the size of a normal crow, they could escape without getting seen in the darkness.
After a few minutes of waiting, Ba-Shei popped out of the darkness in front of Yao Jun, bringing with it a wounded and ragged Yang Yuhuan, as well as her rugged brother. The two of them were still shocked and even slightly terrified, as they had just been abducted by a demonic serpent, but upon seeing Yao Jun and Yun Yantian, they heaved an obvious sigh of relief.
“My lord.”
Ba-Shei slightly lowered it's head in front of Yao Jun, seemingly wait for Yao Jun to praise him.
“You did good Little Ba. I'll find you some good food once we manage to make it away from here.”
Yao Jun stretched out his hand with a smile, patting Ba-Shei on the head as well as scratching him under his jaw, like he would pet a dog. Seeing Yao Jun pet a demonic serpent like this, the others couldn't help but find it slightly funny.
“Ah!”
While Yao Jun was petting Ba-Shei, Guo Luo let out a low gasp, quickly attracting the attention of everyone else, putting them on high alert. Just as Yao Jun was about to ask what she had spotted, Guo Luo pulled out a large yellow robe from her interspatial robe and sped over to Yang Yuhuan.
As everyone turned to look, they noticed that Yang Yuhuan's clothing were ragged and torn from her continuous beatings. They did not reveal anything essential, but her thighs, waist, as well as abdomen were in clear view. If they were slightly more torn, her breasts would be in full view.
Guo Luo quickly covered Yang Yuhuan's body with the yellow robe, covering the torn parts. She slightly turned her head and slightly glared at the men in the group. Yao Jun and the others could do nothing but put on awkward smiles as they turned their heads away from them.
“Let's move out before anyone notices that they are missing.”
Yao Jun quickly returned to business, bringing everyone into his gate and placing it on the back of the now crow sized Xie Bi'An, who took off and flew towards the forest where they were earlier.
Yang Yuhuan and her brother were slightly taken aback upon suddenly finding themselves in a completely different environment, but they quickly chose to simply accept it. A demonic serpent had just dragged them out from their cells and into a completely empty space, before bringing them out from the city. At this point it would be hard to find something they could not accept.
“Thank you for saving me and my sister. I am Yang Long, you have my eternal gratitude.”
Yang Yuhuan's brother quickly got down on his knees and knocked his forehead onto the ground, thanking Yao Jun and the others, while also introducing himself.
“I am Yao Jun. There is no need to worry about it. You are friends of Yantian, so we would of course save you. ”
Yao Jun helped Yang Long sit up properly before waving his hand and introducing himself. The others around him also introduced themselves in order after Yao Jun. Guo Luo pulled out some water and cloth from her interspatial ring, walking over to Yang Yuhuan and washing away the blood. Her body was beaten and bruised, but with a few medicinal herbs and some days of rest, she would be back in peak condition.
Xie Bi'An brought them back to the forest where they had been earlier, and they all left the gate. They now had to figure out what their future moves would be. Since the city had someone who seemed to be at the 6th Houtian Sky, entering the city to try and learn of the Guo clan plans was out of the question.
They had all just left the gate and sat down when Yao Jun suddenly turned his head towards the town, his eyes quickly narrowing as he peered past the trees.
“Yuhuan. Do you recognize someone from the Guo clan who has grayish hair that goes down to his shoulders, eyebrows that go down to his nose, a long beard with several beads braided into it, as well as a cultivation level at the late stage of the 3rd Mortal Earth?”
While everyone was wondering why Yao Jun suddenly turned his head, he spoke to Yang Yuhuan, still keeping his eyes on the town in the distance. After pondering in silence for a short moment, Yang Yuhuan and Yang Long's face twisted.
“Li Quan. He is not someone from the Guo clan, but he works for them. I met him a few times while I was learning how to lead the Yang clan. He is a greedy and ambitious person who is always looking for a chance to rise in rank.”
Yang Yuhuan spoke out, disgust obvious in her voice. She turned her head towards the town, but she could not see past the darkness and the trees.
“His power can be considered both bad and good at the same time. It is bad because it is useless in combat, offering no improvement to his strength. But it can be considered good because it allows him to place a mark on people, letting him track those people whenever he wants. Since his power is weak, he has focused mostly on strengthening his body.”
She could guess that Li Quan was coming towards them, so she quickly explained Li Quan's powers as well as his weakness.
“Brother Long, can you still fight?”
After a short moment of silence, Yao Jun turned to face Yang Long, a solemn expression on his face.
“I can!”
Yang Long could guess what Yao Jun was going to do, so he stood up and gave a strong nod of his head. His sister was the one who had been beaten up while they were in prison, they had not yet done anything to him.
“Sister Yi, notify us the moment someone from the Guo clan leaves the town and starts coming our way. At the same time, use Fan Wujiu's flames to attack whenever you find an opening. Brother Ren, keep attacking his mind, try to disorient and daze him as much as possible.”
Yao Jun gave a short nod of his head, standing up and bringing out his sword. When he brought out his sword, his armor also started appearing, Sirius and Ba-Shei quickly hopping out from the gate and hiding nearby.
“Luo'er, use your illusions to distract him whenever you have a chance, at the same time, protect Yuhuan. Yantian. You, me, and Long will be the main attackers. We cannot let him get past us.”
Yao Jun quickly spat out directions to the others, giving everyone but the wounded Yang Yuhuan a task.
“Understood!”
They all knew that now was not the time for jokes, so they all responded as one and took up their positions, Yao Jun, Yang Long, and Yun Yantian standing with their weapons at the front. Yao Jun used his pitch black long sword, Yun Yantian used a light green longsword, while Yang Long used a massive two handed sword that was even longer than Yao Jun was tall.
“You are going to fight him? Now? We should first escape and heal up, then we can all fight together.”
Yang Yuhuan couldn't help but call out when she saw everyone taking their positions, slightly worried. None of them had gone past the middle stage of the 2nd Mortal Earth, yet they were going to fight someone at the late stage of the 3rd Mortal Earth?
“You said it yourself, he can track those he has marked wherever they go, so he can find you wherever we bring you. Right now he is alone, but what if he decides to bring the others from the Guo clan if we flee now? He is a threat. Since he is a threat, I will have his head.”
Yao Jun's voice was completely determined. If they let this man live, he would become a large threat in the future, able to find them wherever they brought Yang Yuhuan. Since Yang Yuhuan was like a sister to Yun Yantian, it was obvious that they could not just abandon her. That left killing Li Quan as the only option.