Everybody present burst into raucous laughter, animatedly waving their hands. A few even fell off their horses from laughter. Ling Chi’s face turned crimson from anger, and he tried to explain, but no one was already listening to him. Even Ling Tian was pointing at Feng Mo while chortling, “Old Feng, for that lass Li Xue to joke like this means nothing, but to see someone as old as you behaving like this, I never thought that a big bloke like you could imitate a shy young lady to perfection! It’s been hard on you.”
Feng Mo laughed as well, “Young Master might not know it, but even if I were to learn from little brother Ling Chi here and speak out, even that Miss Die’er would not be able to recognize the difference.”
“Oh? There’s such a thing?” Ling Tian stared at Feng Mo with interest.
Feng Mo sniggered, “I still remember exactly the two sentences little brother Ling Chi spoke to Miss Die’er last night…” He then cleared his throat, ready for another round of performance.
Ling Chi’s face seemed to turn into the red of pig’s blood. While nobody could see it in the dark, everyone could feel the embarrassment radiating off him in waves. He begged, “Big brother Feng… Uncle Feng… Great Mister Feng, I’m begging you…”
Ling Jian smiled so widely, his eyes narrowed into slits, “Old Feng, ignore him. Just do it!”
Feng Mo coughed twice, before pinching his nose and impersonating, “… Little Die’er, come over, let your Brother Chi here kiss you a little… wahahaha!!” Ling Tian and Ling Jian both let out howls of laughter, and the breath they held in suspense came rushing out. Ling Tian even slipped off from his horse, rolling a few time before finally flipping back up.
Ling Chi’s neck also turned red now as he screamed, “Bullsh*t, I didn’t say that! I said that…” and he stopped short.
“What did you say?” On the side, another blood iron warrior sidling up with shifty eyes and a gossipy smile.
“I didn’t say anything. Scram!” Upon realizing that he had almost been tricked, Ling Chi would naturally not continue talking. He viciously glared at that blood iron warrior, before huffily riding his horse away.
“Haha, to think that the stoic and cool Ling Chi would actually be a romantic saint, quietly deceiving a little lady into your hands. This is really too powerful of you, indeed you’re a ‘little grass’!” Ling Tian raucously called out.
Ling Jian kept on his brilliant smile as he looked at Ling Chi, “No wonder why this kid has been laughing to himself recently. So, his springtime has arrived! Congratulations!”
“No… it’s not the case… what little grass, what springtime?! Why are young noble and Brother Jian joining in with Feng Mo to tease me, I’m not that kind…” Ling Chi had a red face as he stuttered, vehemently denying.
“Hahaha… what kind are you talking about…” A wave of laughter rippled through, immediately pushing off the exhaustion in that group of riders.
……
A few hundred armored riders continued on, shattering the silence of the night. In front of them, a black clump appeared and the fresh smell of leaves assailed their noses. No doubt they had arrived before a forest.
All of a sudden, Ling Tian let out a clear sound, and the well-built horse below him let out a corresponding neigh, rushing out another thirty feet before abruptly stopping. At the same time, Ling Tian’s right hand raised up high, making a gesture.
Everyone immediately slowed down and stopped, and in an instant, silence overwhelmed the area.
Ling Jian’s actions were the fastest. He immediately flipped down from his horse and approached Ling Tian, “Young Noble, the forest feels a little weird.”
Ling Tian’s eyes were like stars as they stared within the pitch-black forest. He slowly replied, “You felt it too? There are at least ten different people hiding within. Just now, I saw the flash of a torch, but it’s gone now.”
This forest was still within Sky Bearing Empire’s area of influence, thus if there were people acting stealthily within the forest, it would be that they were not people from the Empire. If they were people from Sky Bearing, then it would not be a cause for concern, but if they weren’t, such secretive tracks would mean that they were definitely enemies, or at least strangers harboring evil thoughts!
The two of them exchanged a glance, and Ling Jian’s eyes lit up as he whispered, “Young Noble, do you think that they are from the Xiao Family or the Above Heavens Sect?”
Ling Tian furrowed his brows as he thought. But soon after, he shook his head, saying, “It will not be such a coincidence. I believe the Xiao Family wouldn’t have arrived so fast, nor would their numbers be so few. It’s just that, if these strangers aren’t from the Xiao Family, then who do they belong to in order for them to appear here?”
The forest was devoid of sound, and with Ling Tian and his group galloping over previously, even the smallest noise made would travel far, let alone their disorderly hoof beats. The other party must have been aware of their arrival, and taken the precaution to cover up.
Ling Tian cautiously looked towards the front, before waving his hands as he softly warned, “All are to dismount and conceal yourselves. Right now, the enemy is in the light while we are in the dark, so we cannot rashly move. Ling Jian, follow me inside to take a look. Safety comes first.”
Soundlessly, all hundred of them simultaneously flipped down from their horses. Ling Jian moved and disappeared within the night. He found a huge boulder, and leaned against it, ready to take action at any time. Just as he wanted to take bearings on where the young noble was hidden, he discovered to his astonishment that even Ling Tian’s shadow had disappeared…
Ling Tian naturally put to full use his own unique techniques, blending into the pitch black forest as he borrowed the protection from the night, his figure appearing at times like a boulder, a little tree, the tall grass, or even air itself. Without anybody noticing, he had already soared past 400 to 500 meters, completely infiltrating into the forest. He was even faster than Ling Jian who had acted the moment he gave the orders!
Behind him, Ling Jian stared with mouth agape when he saw Ling Tian soar forward. Thinking of the method he was using to infiltrate, he could not help but feel ashamed.
What a distance between them!
However, Ling Jian’s movements had all been recorded inside Ling Tian’s eyes, and he was still pretty satisfied with them. Right now, there was an obvious increase in the skill of Ling Jian’s movement techniques compared with the life and death battle at Northern Wei or when he was sparring against Li Xue. Be it nimbleness or ingenuity, there was a marked improvement. It looks like Ling Jian really ‘needed a beating’! Ling Tian laughed to himself, his figure never slowing down as he transitioned from branch to branch without even disturbing a blade of grass along the way, quietly and noiselessly.
In front of him, there was a small open space. Ling Tian directed his gaze towards there, and saw the smoldering embers of a freshly extinguished bonfire, still letting out a black smoke and a disgusting smell. However, there was not a single shadow to be seen. It seemed like these group of people were actually quite careful, extinguishing their fire the moment they heard the hoof beats and immediately hiding. Furthermore, their hiding spots were actually quite good, so that even with Ling Tian’s eyesight he temporarily could not find where they were!
Ling Tian closed his eyes, spreading out his sixth sense, his divine sense moving like mercury as it covered every single spot in a wide area around him. At the same time, the sounds of countless breathing entered his ears. While a person could hide and reduce their presence, they couldn’t possibly hide their breathing, right?
From behind him came a minute movement. Ling Jian had also appeared on the tree to the right of him. The two of them shared a glance, and Ling Tian stretched out a hand, lifting up a finger as he gestured to the left and right respectively. This meant that there were at least a hundred people present!
Ling Jian’s right hand chopped at the empty air, as a hint of killing intent surfaced in his eyes. His meaning was clear: Do we kill all of them? Ling Tian thought for a moment, before pressing his palm in the air, signaling him to not be impatient.
Just as they were signaling to each other, there came a slight rustling from below them, and two men stood up huffily. One of them whispered in as he gasped for breath, “Dammit, which troops have arrived out there? Why is there no more sound coming from them? This daddy here nearly stifled himself to death!”
The other person hurriedly spoke, “Shut your mouth! What are you babbling about? This place is within the territory of Sky Bearing, and not only are we conspicuous, we’re surrounded by enemies! It’s better to be cautious.”
The man who spoke previously spat on the ground, before lowly replying, “Who’s to say that the people outside are from the Ling Family? Right now, the Ling Family’s powers are fully spread out across all eight directions, so why would they have the time to pay attention to this place? Furthermore, our actions have been so secretive, could it be that you’re afraid of our plans being leaked?”
“The young noble has already gone to fetch our allies, and before he left, he told us to not get spotted by any influence. Did you not remember this? If young noble knows that you behaved so carelessly, he’ll skin you alive!”
That person chuckled in embarrassment, as though pretty scared of the said young noble, but then he grumbled again, “This group of soldiers is really weird, traveling in the night. That’s still fine, but since we’ve already retreated, then you can just go ahead and cross. We’re not even looking for you, but why are you guys stopping at the edge of the forest and not proceeding further? Isn’t this just torturing us? Even if they were to enter and start fighting with us, that’s still better than our current condition.”
As the two of them were conversing, the grass continuously rustled as silhouettes walked out from the darkness one after another. Their heavy breaths mixed together into one sound. One could see how exceedingly cautious this group was, to hide and hold their breaths the moment Ling Tian and his troops passed by, silently waiting for them to pass.
If it was another troop that passed by, they would probably not even notice the presence of over a hundred men hidden within the dense forest. Regrettably, they just had to meet Ling Tian! From the time when Ling Tian had suddenly stopped outside the forest, they had held their breaths. This was no ordinary feat, as not everyone would be XianTian realm experts, able to hold their breaths for a long period of time. However, other than a select few conversing, everyone remained silent. Even those who were conversing did so in a low voice, extremely cautiously.
Ling Tian quietly rested on the big tree above him. Below him, some of the people who revealed themselves also leaned on the exact same tree as him, but none discovered that above them actually hid a death god!
As for Ling Tian on the tree, he was also astonished, for he recognized two of the people who were below him! Finally, Ling Tian realized why the Xiao Family was so confident about invading in secret!