"Go, quickly!"
"Brothers, follow me!"
Zhang Yao shouted loudly while fleeing.
A few Daoist children from the Pill Furnace Hall, who were caught unprepared and desperately fleeing, instinctively followed him towards the back door after hearing Zhang Yao's call.
"It's working!"
Zhang Yao turned back and saw the Daoist children following him, and immediately felt a sense of relief.
He was close to achieving great success in the Taiyi Pile Skill; his speed, if fully unleashed, would be much faster than these Daoist children, but he couldn't do that.
He didn't know who the enemy was, whether they had split forces or had an ambush waiting. Charging out all alone would be too conspicuous.
"The saying goes, 'It's better for your fellow Daoist to die than for you to die.' I'm sorry, brothers."
"I don't need to run faster than a leopard, I just need to run faster than you at the crucial moment."
Thoughts raced through Zhang Yao's mind.
"Hurry up!"
Zhang Yao deliberately controlled his pace, unleashing only seventy percent of his speed, which was similar to the desperate speed of the other Daoist children.
Soon, they had passed several halls, and the back door of Qingping Palace was close at hand.
"We've reached the back door!"
The Daoist children were overjoyed at once.
As they fled, the sounds of shouting and killing, cries of pain echoed in their ears, striking terror in their hearts. Fortunately, they hadn't encountered any enemies, and now they just needed to get out to be safe.
"Better to be cautious..."
Zhang Yao's expression shifted slightly; he intentionally slowed down, positioning himself behind everyone.
The other Daoist children were too preoccupied to notice him as they instinctively headed for the back door. Zhang Yao, alone, changed direction slightly, heading towards an area two or three meters to the left of the back door.
There stood a high red palace wall and a few ancient pine trees that had been planted for years.
"They're out!"
The Daoist children rushed through the back door, their hearts relaxing immediately.
Meanwhile, Zhang Yao, agile as ever, used the pine trees beside the palace wall to propel himself, leaping over the wall which stood a meter high in an instant.
"Go!"
As soon as he landed and steadied himself, Zhang Yao sprinted madly toward the rear mountain of Qingping Palace without a moment's pause.
There was one of his planned escape routes. With his speed and familiarity with the terrain, once he dashed into the mountain, his life would be secure.
"Ah!!"
He had just taken a few steps when he heard a harrowing scream not far behind.
With his keen hearing, he could even hear the sound of a sharp blade slicing through flesh and bone, identifying the owner of that scream as the Daoist child Qingyu, whom he was quite familiar with.
"There really was an ambush at the back door!"
Zhang Yao's heart turned cold, and his pace instinctively quickened.
"Brother Qingxu! Save me!"
"Brother, help!!"
"Ah, no..."
Among the gruesome laughter and sounds of hacking, were cries for help, so desolate and powerless.
Zhang Yao dared not even glance back, fleeing with all his might, without a hint of hesitation.
At the back door, a few tall soldiers clad in iron-plated armor laughed bloodthirstily, effortlessly slaying several little Daoist children with their steel blades.
In the span of just a couple of breaths, they turned their heads only to find that the one Daoist child who had leaped over the palace wall had already fled a distance of more than ten meters, his figure now just a small, fuzzy silhouette.
"Damn it!"
The soldiers were dumbfounded at such speed, quickly abandoning any thought of pursuit.
This kind of fleeing speed was unprecedented for them. Given that the escapee likely knew the terrain well and it was deep into the night, catching up was impossible.
"That little rascal runs faster than a rabbit."
"Looks like that little rascal got away with his life."
The soldiers exchanged glances, ultimately resorting to cursing as they continued to lurk at the back door, waiting for another target.
Meanwhile, in the direction of Qingping Palace's central courtyard: the shouts and sounds of battle grew louder, interspersed with the clash of swords and weapons.
The sounds grew more intense, accompanied by the cries of many soldiers, but the commotion lasted less than a quarter of an hour before fading swiftly...
......
"Huff, huff..."
Zhang Yao panted heavily, fleeing for his life.
Thanks to his extraordinary eyesight, he could barely make out the path by moonlight even in the dark, his speed just slightly slower than during the day.
He ran over two miles, darting into the forest, finally slowing his pace a bit but still unable to afford stopping.
"Splash!"
After traversing a wide expanse of forest, Zhang Yao leaped directly into the mountain stream.
He had long contemplated the possibility of shaking off pursuers only to be hunted down later, so each of his escape routes included a stretch of stream or ravine.
In the forest, it was impossible to erase his tracks; only by taking the water route could he conceal his trail, washing away most scents to prevent bloodhounds from tracking him.
"Damn it!"
Zhang Yao gritted his teeth, clutching a gray bundle tightly in his hand, wading down the ravine.
With the rushing water, he was somewhat unsteady. His soles stung painfully against the pebbles, yet he dared not stop to rest.
"Hiss!"
The night deepened, the lower half of his body still submerged in the stream. The blowing cold wind made Zhang Yao shiver uncontrollably.
Even with his Taiyi Pile Skill nearing great success, he couldn't endure such conditions. The series of escaping actions had already drained the majority of his stamina.
Yet Zhang Yao's steps remained unyielding, not slowing by even a fraction.
After traversing over a mile in the ravine, he finally reached a predetermined spot to climb ashore and sat on a large rock, catching his breath.
"I should be relatively safe now..."
He checked his soles, just as expected, they were covered in lacerations and still bleeding.
Caught unprepared, he had rushed out without shoes. Having run through forests and crossed rivers, his feet were nearly too painful to walk on.
"Rip!"
He tore his gray tunic in half, wrapping his feet to temporarily halt the bleeding.
He lifted his head, glancing toward Qingping Palace under the moonlight, his expression extremely grim.
"Rebel troops! Those people must be rogue soldiers on the move!"
"They must number quite a few; otherwise, they wouldn't dare attack Qingping Palace..."
Zhang Yao realized this, understanding what had likely transpired.
Qing Hong, who disappeared earlier, was most likely captured by these rebel troops, coerced into revealing Qingping Palace's layout, population, and strength.
But understanding this only made his heart feel even heavier—
"Having such detailed intelligence and still daring to target Qingping Palace means they're confident of overcoming it."
"And their night assault caught Qingping Palace off guard. Any countermeasures would be futile..."
According to Zhang Yao's judgment, Qingping Palace likely wouldn't survive this ordeal.
The Great Daoist Temple, with over a hundred years of tradition, would probably vanish into thin air after tonight.
"This damn world is so fucked up," Zhang Yao cursed.
He had been diligently practicing and performing alchemy at Qingping Palace. Who had he provoked?
He's not one of those protagonists who traverse worlds battling the heavens and earth, causing trouble everywhere. He had stayed secluded on the mountain, bothering no one.
Yet here he was, an unforeseen incident wrecking all his plans.
This incident had nothing to do with him; its origin was merely the greed of those rogue soldiers and the rotten state of this damn world.