The Tracker

At the Chongyang Palace.

Daoist Hegui looked on with a complicated expression as Lin Mo and Dongfang Shuye examined something.

They hadn’t wanted to let Lin Mo and Dongfang Shuye search Wang Chen’s room in the first place.

But Dongfang Shuye had warned them with the authority of the Yanhuang Awakening.

In truth, all of China—including the Dragon and Tiger Mountain Sect—had to cooperate if the Yanhuang Awakening gave the word. This referred to the organization as a whole, not any individual within it.

And now Dongfang Shuye represented the face of the Yanhuang Awakening.

So if he wanted to investigate a case, the Chongyang Palace had no choice but to comply.

Hearing this, Daoist Hegui had no way out. They couldn’t bear that responsibility either.

He had no choice but to bring Lin Mo and Dongfang Shuye back to the Chongyang Palace to conduct the search.

Daoist Hegui didn’t inform anyone else. He led the two straight to Wang Chen’s room.

Dongfang Shuye didn’t have any detection abilities, so naturally, he had to rely on Lin Mo.

Still, he began checking the items in Wang Chen’s room.

There were standard Taoist texts, along with some other ordinary books.

It all looked perfectly normal—just like the room of an average Taoist disciple.

Lin Mo had already swept the room with his spiritual sense, finding absolutely nothing.

But he had a supernatural ability called "Sprouting Thought," which allowed him to determine a person’s future and location.

He picked up a pillow. Through it, he saw two people running desperately through messy grasslands.

So they were in some remote wilderness.

Lin Mo zoomed in on the vision and quickly pinpointed the approximate location.

He set the pillow down, turned to Dongfang Shuye, and said:

“Let’s go. I’ve got the location. Someone’s chasing them.”

Hearing this, Dongfang Shuye couldn’t help frowning.

“Who would be chasing them?”

“We’ll find out when we get there.”

With that, the two headed for the door.

Daoist Hegui and the others didn’t fully understand what they’d done, but they caught enough from Lin Mo’s brief words to piece things together.

They hurried to follow.

“This... sir, are you saying Wang Chen is being hunted? By whom? Who would do such a thing?”

“Don’t know, don’t care, don’t want to. Why do I—oh, my heart...”

Lin Mo casually sang a line, then turned to look at Daoist Hegui.

“How would I know? I only saw that much. Want to come along? If you’re in, get in the car.”

As he spoke, Lin Mo had already climbed into the passenger seat.

Dongfang Shuye slid into the driver’s seat.

The three Taoist priests exchanged uneasy glances but ultimately got into the car and followed Lin Mo and Dongfang Shuye.

With the Dragon Ancestor’s buff, Lin Mo had locked onto Wang Chen’s location using Sprouting Thought.

All that remained was to head out.

On the outskirts of Chang’an, there were several reservoirs.

Under the night sky, the water surface lay like a heavy black cloth, utterly still.

In an abandoned maintenance shelter used by the water management department, Wang Chen wrung out a rag, carefully wiping the dirt from a girl’s face.

Bloodstains and mud had mingled, making her once-pretty features look utterly wretched.

“Hiss...”

The girl winced from the pain.

“Bear it,” Wang Chen said softly, but he didn’t stop.

Silence brewed in the cramped space, thick with the smell of rust and dampness.

“What now?” the girl’s voice trembled—not from the pain, but from a long-suppressed despair.

Wang Chen paused his movement, then tossed the rag into a basin, splashing murky water.

“I should’ve taken you away from the start, instead of wasting time performing rites for them.”

The girl just shook her head gently, her eyes dim.

“It wouldn’t have mattered. Even if we’d left, they still could have tracked me. You should go. This has nothing to do with you.”

“No.”

Wang Chen’s reply came without hesitation. “At the very least, I’ll take you somewhere safe.”

But...

He cut himself off, realizing how hollow it sounded.

For her, was there anywhere in this world that was truly safe?

Before he could finish, several blinding flashlight beams cut through the darkness in the distance, sweeping straight toward them.

They’re here!

Wang Chen’s heart jumped. Without a second thought, he grabbed the girl and shoved her under a dusty iron bed.

He himself slipped to the wall, produced a small remote, and pressed a button with his thumb.

Boom!

A muffled blast rang out from the far side of the reservoir—not deafening, but sharp in the dead silence of the night.

A flash of fire rose there, then faded.

Just as he’d hoped, the distant beams swung around, drawn by the sudden noise.

Shadows moved, footsteps scrambled, all rushing toward the explosion.

But his pursuers weren’t completely fooled.

Two flashlight beams remained fixed in place, like the wary eyes of some beast, locked onto the shelter.

Wang Chen crouched low, crept to the bedside, and whispered so quietly it was almost a breath:

“Remember the route? I’ll draw them away. Count to thirty, then slip out the back window. Don’t look back!”

“Mm!”

From under the bed came the girl’s tear-choked reply.

The next second, Wang Chen wasted no more time. He kicked open the iron door with force, charging out like an arrow from a bow, deliberately making a huge noise.

"Over there!"

The two men outside were immediately alerted, and one of them didn't hesitate to give chase.

But the other was not so foolish.

Instead of following at once, he dashed into the room in one swift stride, sweeping the powerful flashlight across the cramped space like a searchlight.

When the beam passed under the bed, the girl's heart nearly leaped out of her throat as she clamped her hand over her mouth.

The man scanned the area, found nothing, cursed under his breath, and turned to pursue Wang Chen.

Thirty seconds later.

The girl under the bed scrambled out on all fours without a second thought and lunged toward the back window on the other side of the room.

In the woods, Wang Chen ran at full speed.

His foundation of dual cultivation of life and vitality granted him extraordinary endurance and speed far beyond ordinary men. Though the terrain wasn't exactly smooth, his pace never slowed.

But the man chasing him was no pushover either. His footsteps clung like a shadow, trailing steadily, impossible to shake off.

The two of them, one ahead and one behind, held their breath as they tore through the dark forest at high speed.

Suddenly, a sharp whistle split the air.

A flare shot into the sky with a crimson tail, bursting at its peak and instantly staining half the night sky blood-red.

Not good!

They were calling for backup!

At that very moment, Wang Chen, who had been charging ahead without looking back, made an abrupt, unpredictable stop, twisted his waist, and turned around!

The entire motion was smooth and seamless, so fast it didn't even stir a breeze.

The pursuer never saw it coming. He was about to crash straight into Wang Chen.

But Wang Chen's fist was already there.

No fancy moves—just a simple, direct, and vicious punch that landed precisely on the side of the man's neck.

The man didn't even manage a grunt. The light in his eyes faded in an instant, and he crumpled to the ground like a felled log, limp and lifeless.