From the family treasure tree to build an eternal family

Chapter 74: Destroy the Trace
The horse galloped.

Fan Yang was a martial arts master with eyesight far superior to that of ordinary people. He suddenly saw a black tripwire hanging on the ground a few meters ahead.

At the critical moment, he kicked his legs hard and jumped into the air from the horse's back.

The horse was tripped by the lasso, fell to the ground with a bang, and slid down more than ten meters due to inertia.

"who!"

Fan Yang shouted loudly, and at the same time, his internal energy spread throughout his body, increasing his defense, and he vigilantly observed his surroundings.

A masked man in black jumped down from a big tree beside the road.

"who?"

Li Mang did not answer, but threw the fist-sized stone in his hand at Fan Yang.

Fan Yang's whole body was covered with internal energy, making him invulnerable to swords and spears. He disdainfully smashed the flying stone with a punch.

The stone shattered with a sound, turning into stone powder that covered Fan Yang.

Fan Yang held his breath and retreated repeatedly, withdrawing from the area where the stone powder was spreading.

"Huh, what a small skill."

He was disdainful in his heart. Having reached the Grandmaster level of martial arts, he wouldn't be affected by ordinary drugs or poisons.

Even if it is a strange poison, it cannot enter his body as his internal energy protects his body surface and seals his acupoints.

As for why the other party came, he had already guessed.

At such a critical moment, what else could it be if it wasn't for the sake of official status that he was blocked on this road?
Another small stone popped out of Li Mang's hand and shot towards Fan Yang.

This time, Fan Yang didn't dare to take it head-on and dodged. However, the small stone exploded into a ball of fire the moment it passed by him.

The flames came so fast and fiercely that he couldn't dodge and was burned by the fire.

"boom--!"

The stone dust that had stained him earlier was actually fire powder that could burn violently. In an instant, he turned into a blazing fireball, his clothes and hair ablaze.

"Ho!"

He tore off the burning clothes and threw them far away. His bulging muscles shook violently, trying to use his internal energy to extinguish the flames.

However, this is not an ordinary flame, it is Li Mang's spiritual fire.

"Qi training cultivator?!"

Fan Yang was stunned. Qigong cultivators might not be very strong, but their various methods were hard to defend against.

"Come die!"

He roared, charging towards Li Mang, his body ablaze with flames. A warrior could only kill a Qigong cultivator at close range.

Li Mang used the "Light Body Technique" to float back, keeping his distance from Fan Yang. It was extremely dangerous for a Qigong cultivator to be approached by a martial arts master.

The pursuit and retreat continued in this stalemate for a long time.

Fan Yang's body was covered with burn marks, and the serious parts were already charred, but these were only superficial injuries. With the protection of his internal energy, he managed to withstand the burning of the spiritual flames and watched the flames begin to go out.

This is the master of martial arts, with a powerful and majestic inner strength that seems inexhaustible.

Li Mang was anxious. He underestimated the gap between the third level of Qi training and the martial arts master.

"It seems that it won't work without the mid-grade talisman."

He tapped the ground with his toes, and flew several dozen meters while waving a handful of fire powder in his hand. The fire powder exploded in the wind, burning a wall of fire in front of Fan Yang.

The fire wall only blocked the view, and Li Mang took the opportunity to ambush a first-grade mid-grade Lihuo Talisman on the ground.

Fan Yang crossed his arms in front of him, used his internal energy to protect himself, and quickly passed through the wall of fire.

He chased Li Mang closely, but just after rushing out a few dozen meters, he saw a talisman under his feet light up.

"Oops."

As he thought he had fallen into a trap, a burst of flames shot up into the sky and enveloped him.

A first-grade, mid-grade Fire Separation Talisman was equivalent to a full-strength attack from a cultivator in the middle stage of Qi Refining. The Fire Separation Talisman's attributes were compatible with Li Mang's, increasing its power by several points.

"呲呲~~"

Fan Yang's body made a violent burning sound. His internal energy could not withstand it for a few seconds, and his whole body turned into a raging fire.

When the flames died down, Fan Yang was reduced to a pile of ash. Li Mang used the spiritual flame to burn Fan Yang's horse to ashes and turned away.

----

Two more days passed.

On the broad official road, a team of horse-drawn carriages clanged along as they hurried forward.

The carriage was loaded with bundles of medicinal herbs, emitting their unique medicinal fragrance.

The convoy reached a fork in the road and turned a corner.

As the last carriage turned the corner, the driver remembered that there were still people on board, so he stopped the carriage and shouted back, "Hey, good man, it's time to get off."

When Xu Xiaoniu heard the shout, he jumped off the carriage nimbly.

The driver extended his hand and pointed the way to him: "Aren't you going to Tonggu County? Go north along the official road for another thirty miles and you will reach the border of Tonggu County."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome, my dear. By the way, I'll give you some dry food for the journey."

The coachman stuffed a pancake into Xu Xiaoniu's hand, and then drove the carriage to catch up with the convoy in front.

Xu Xiaoniu tied a water bag around his waist and carried dry food in his arms, and couldn't wait to set off on his journey home.

There are only a few dozen miles left, and this is the last leg of the journey to Tonggu County.

Ten years ago, the conscripted troops rushed to Yunbian County in a mighty force, and it took them nearly half a year to arrive.

It only took him a month to come back alone.

On the way, he relied on working for the caravan and hitchhiking to get by.

For example, in the convoy that was selling medicinal herbs just now, he helped load and transport the herbs, and then took the car for hundreds of miles.

Because of his brute strength and the efficiency of working as well as ten men, he often won the favor of the caravans. In addition to giving him rides and occasional meals, some caravans even gave him some copper coins.

So Luke walked and took a carriage and arrived here.

The closer he got to his hometown, the more he wanted to return home.

Xu Xiaoniu's pace was getting faster and faster, as if he was tireless and never stopped.

After walking thirty miles, he saw a boundary marker standing beside the official road with the words "Tonggu County" written on it.

Tonggu County is ahead.

He continued walking forward, trying to get home before dark.

----

On the road leading from Tonggu County to the neighboring county, two soldiers on horseback carrying swords were patrolling.

"Old Wang, who can we catch on this official road? Even wanted criminals won't pass through here."

The young soldier's name was Zhang Hong.

The middle-aged soldier, named Wang Quan, yawned and said boredly, "Do you really want to catch a wanted criminal? With our skills, we'd only end up dead if we encountered those vicious warriors and villains."

"Even if we don't arrest wanted criminals, catching two refugees will be fine. Refugees have no identity or household registration. They can be caught and beaten in jail, and then they'll confess by making up a random crime from a previous case."

"Huh? Where did you learn that?"

Wang Quan's face darkened, wondering where this soldier, who had just arrived, had learned these dirty tricks.

Zhang Hong muttered, "They all do this. The county lieutenant needs merit recently. If we make more merits, there will be benefits."

The two were subordinates of the county lieutenant Fan Yang, and they followed his orders to capture wanted criminals everywhere and make meritorious deeds.

The two of them did not know that Fan Yang had been reduced to ashes.

While they were talking, they saw a figure dressed in coarse linen passing by on the official road.

The man's attire was very unusual for this place.

Zhang Hong tightened the reins in his hands and controlled the horse under his crotch to run towards Xu Xiaoniu and block him.

"Hey, who are you and what are you doing in Tonggu County?"

He rode on horseback and looked down at Xu Xiaoniu, questioning him.

(End of this chapter)