Nine-layer armor-breaking

Chapter 358 Danger Signal

It was getting late, and the group had walked for an unknown amount of time, their feet dragging on the ground, kicking up clouds of dust as they made their way along a narrow path.

"how much longer?"

A woman, being supported by others, uttered these words in a trembling voice.

The voice sounded weak and feeble. Following the sound, and looking more closely, one could see the face covered by the veil. Although it was difficult to see clearly, one could still tell from the listless eyes that the person was physically weak.

The man's forehead was covered in beads of sweat, which kept hitting his face mask, one after another, until the mask was completely soaked, and his original clean and neat appearance was nowhere to be seen.

The damp face mask, blown by the wind, drifted away from my face like a kite tightly bound by two ropes, trying to fly high but unable to break free. When it landed back on my face, the tip of my nose first felt the coolness, and before I could even feel it, I shivered and then sneezed, unable to recover for a moment.

Startled by the "achoo," his large hand instinctively tightened, but still trembled slightly. He supported the man, looked around the woods, and ultimately did not answer.

This is a village with few people around, sparse residents, and no one knows what it's called.

As they walked along the bumpy road, their bodies visibly heavy. Except for the hooded man whose expression was obscured, the others all wore signs of exhaustion.

On their way back to Yingzhou, they not only walked the entire way, but also encountered scattered mercenary groups. Like the main group, they were people who wanted to rob people on the road. However, they were obviously easier to deal with than the main group, and there were not many of them.

Even so, these people couldn't withstand such torment, especially the two who were the backbone and the person in charge. Their bodies were already weak, and encountering these troublemakers was like adding insult to injury.

At this moment, the pillar of strength, having been treated by Jiang Xian, had had his hard-won spiritual energy completely exhausted.

After all the hardships along the way, only five people remained in the group: Jiang Xian and two others, who were in charge and the backbone of the group.

Guard Liu supported the leader, and Guard Li supported the steward. The four of them walked in front, with Jiang Xian following behind, carrying most of the package and surveying the surroundings.

However, their disheveled state meant that the challenges they faced were not over yet.

As you walk along, if you pay a little attention, you'll find that there's something strange about this village.

At this hour, it wouldn't be unusual for a few households to go to bed early and close their doors, but if every household is tightly shut and there's not a sound to be heard, then something is probably amiss.

If it were elsewhere, one could guess that it was due to local customs, but this place was not far from Yingzhou, and Jiang Xian and his group had never heard of such a village with a unified schedule and such an early bedtime.

Sensing something amiss, the three instinctively became more vigilant. However, they couldn't linger in this place for even a moment longer; otherwise, who knew what might happen as night fell?

Therefore, Guard Liu did not answer his leader's question. He knew that his leader's body was becoming increasingly weak, and that asking the question now was simply to give him hope so that he could hold on for a little longer. However, he really did not know how to ask the question.

"Cheer up, we're almost there," Jiang Xian said to the four people walking ahead.

There was no one else on the road besides them. Her voice wasn't loud, but it was enough to reach their hearts.

Although Guard Li and Guard Liu showed signs of fatigue, they were not seriously injured, after all, they were Heaven-rank martial artists and had that much strength. However, the two people they were supporting were in a completely different situation compared to them.

The two, the leader and the manager, seemed to have lost the ability to think clearly, clinging on desperately for the last glimmer of hope in their hearts. Hearing Jiang Xian's reply was undoubtedly a reassurance, freeing them from further contemplation.

The two of them had no extra energy to analyze the current situation, and they didn't even bother to pay attention to their surroundings, so Jiang Xian's words were reassuring to them.

However, the same words were interpreted in completely different ways by the two guards.

Jiang Xian's words, to them, were a signal of danger. They heard the seriousness in his tone. The leader and the steward heard "it's not far off," while the two guards heard a warning to "be on their guard."

After walking for another hundred paces, the group suddenly heard a noise coming from directly in front of them.

The noise was too far away for them to hear clearly, let alone discern what had happened.

Jiang Xian knew that something had probably gone wrong on the road ahead, and if they continued, there was a high chance they would run into it head-on, and then they wouldn't be able to avoid it. Therefore, she fixed her gaze on the dilapidated wooden house that was not far ahead and looked like it was uninhabited, and said, "Let's go to that wooden house ahead and make some adjustments."

"Yes," the two guards replied quietly.

They soon arrived at the wooden house. When they got there, they could clearly see that the house was indeed an abandoned and uninhabited place.

Guard Liu pushed open the tilted door, which seemed on the verge of collapsing completely, casually pulled out a few handfuls of cobwebs, and then put his pillar of support down, letting him sit in a relatively clean corner.

Guard Li then entered the room, and also put the steward down, placing him in the corner diagonally opposite the position of the leader.

The two guards made arrangements for the two men, and then went out one after the other to meet Jiang Xian, who was standing at the door.

Jiang Xian unloaded the bundles from his body. Guard Li took the last bundle from Jiang Xian's hands and asked, "Did you find something?"

"No, it's the same as what you see."

Upon hearing this, Guard Li nodded, and then Jiang Xian said, "However, we can't just wait here; we still need to figure out the situation."

Guard Liu nodded thoughtfully and said to Jiang Xian, "How about this, I'll go take a look."

After he finished speaking, Jiang Xian and Guard Li both fell silent for a long time. Finally, Guard Li said, "It's too dangerous. I'll go."

As he spoke, Guard Li's expression was no different from usual, but his attitude was very resolute.

Immediately afterward, his eyes darkened, his gaze hardening as he stared intently at Guard Liu, and said, "You must protect Miss well!"

"No!" Guard Liu lowered his voice, but his tone was full of disapproval.

After saying this, Guard Li ignored what Guard Liu said and turned to leave.

Guard Liu tugged at Guard Li's arm, but before he could react, Guard Li easily broke free.

“Remember my words,” Guard Li said without turning his head.

……

Guard Liu frowned and did not answer Guard Li. After a moment of silence, Jiang Xian's voice rang out...

"You all stay here, I'll go."

Jiang Xian spoke softly, and there was no extra emotion in his tone.

She stood there quietly, without making any move, and made this important decision.

(End of this chapter)