Chapter 3834 — Interception from Front and Rear
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
Yu Jiang paused at the words, cast a deep glance at Wei Zhao's receding figure, then nodded and turned without a moment's hesitation toward the other direction.
He could not guess which way Wei Zhao would run next, but for Yu Jiang it hardly mattered—he need only take a shortcut and reach any one of the exits ahead of time.
If he managed to block the boy, so much the better; and if he chose wrong, that was no great matter either. With his master Nan Tianyong in person on the boy's heels, this "Lin Er" could not possibly escape—it would merely cost a little more time. Nothing more than that.
Sensing that the two men behind him had split up, Wei Zhao's heart tightened. That he could keep his speed and stay ahead of Nan Tianyong was due entirely to the obstruction of the crowd—but at the same time, this carried its own drawback.
In a secluded place, it would not have mattered much even if his pursuers split up, for Wei Zhao could rely on his instincts to easily track their movements. But here, in a crowded, clamorous market street, while bearing the immense pressure Nan Tianyong exerted, to also try to keep watch on Yu Jiang's position was simply unrealistic.
Gritting his teeth, Wei Zhao at last did not divide his attention to deal with Yu Jiang, and focused wholly on shaking off Nan Tianyong behind him.
He knew full well what the man intended, and knew precisely what threat it posed: once his enemy guessed the direction of his flight, what awaited him next would inevitably be a pincer attack from front and rear.
After their last exchange, Wei Zhao no longer feared Yu Jiang in the slightest one-on-one; but the man was, after all, an expert of the mid Foundation Establishment stage, a grade above him, and in a short span he would have no trouble at all entangling him.
And once delayed even a little, only one fate awaited Wei Zhao: death with no place to be buried.
After all, Nan Tianyong's strength at the peak of the late Foundation Establishment stage was no empty boast. Let the distance between them close even slightly, and he was already a dead man—of this, Wei Zhao was keenly aware.
Yet for this very reason, Wei Zhao had no leisure at all to spare for Yu Jiang. Compared with such an unknown risk, the solid, present threat of Nan Tianyong behind him was far more terrible and far more lethal.
"But even guarding against him alone with all my strength—this Nan Tianyong really is a hard one to shake!" Seizing a gap amid the obstructing crowds, Wei Zhao stole a glance behind him, and his heart tightened once more.
The lead he had just won by that **acupoint true-qi technique had been forcibly whittled away—the distance recovered was very limited, but recovered it was, and of that there could be no doubt!
For all that Wei Zhao's Butterfly Steps and Wind-Chasing Lightning Boots, sheltered by the throng, had been driven to their utmost, he still could not outpace the man.
Even a layman could see that Nan Tianyong was simply not the type built for speed; yet beneath so vast and悬殊 a gap in rank, his speed was still far beyond what Wei Zhao, an expert at the peak of the early Foundation Establishment stage, could match.
At that thought, Wei Zhao felt another surge of relief. Thank heavens this was a crowded market street—were it not for the fear of the experts mingled among the crowd, the fellow would surely have caught up long ago!
By Nan Tianyong's domineering temper, had any ordinary man dared to block his path like this, he would long since have begun a slaughter and carved his way straight through. Then, even with his Butterfly Steps, Wei Zhao could never have kept from being caught.
A pity this was no common thoroughfare, but a market street reserved for cultivators. Those passing by might be Heaven Tier experts, might be Foundation Establishment experts, and might even be top-tier experts above the Foundation Establishment stage.