"It truly is a marvelous technique," the young man couldn't help but praise, "Yan Shuang, do you have a way to achieve that?" Among these people, the red-dressed woman was the most skilled at playing with fire.

"I can. But not as ingeniously as he does," Yan Shuang praised again. Yan Shuang didn't understand; Xiao Ruo's strength seemed noticeably inferior to hers, yet he could control the fire so effortlessly. Generally speaking, being able to release fire doesn't mean you can retrieve it. Once those flames are let out, aside from controlling them, you can't capture them back. Yan Shuang could only retrieve some flames because of the secret technique, and even that is partial, but Xiao Ruo managed to retrieve it all just now.

"Indeed, they are two interesting fellows," the young man laughed, seeing Qinghong move, he followed along.

Qinghong followed leisurely behind Xiao Ruo and Long Feiyun. He clearly saw the paths Long Feiyun chose for concealment, all extremely clever routes. Long Feiyun's performance earned Qinghong's admiration; generally, only those completely accustomed to hiding, who have another level of understanding in concealment, can manage this. Yet Long Feiyun achieved it, which made Qinghong admire Long Feiyun as a genius.

"Seems to be getting more interesting, Qinghong," the young man caught up with Qinghong, his handsome face filled with a joyful smile.

"Indeed," a faint smile surfaced on Qinghong's eternally unchanged face, "Who set the defense lines ahead?"

"Old Wu," the young man thought for a moment and replied, "But he didn't come himself; he's outside the woods."

"Old Wu's defense lines?" Qinghong was somewhat surprised, "Then no need to watch. These two will definitely get through," Qinghong spoke with certainty.

To verify Qinghong's words, Long Feiyun led Xiao Ruo to easily pass through Old Wu's defense lines. Watching the situation, the young man couldn't help but frown; it seemed too easy. Suddenly, a wicked smile appeared on his handsome face, and with a flick of his fingers, a beam of white light flew from his fingertips.

The white light sped quickly, reaching Xiao Ruo and Long Feiyun in a blink. As soon as it neared, Xiao Ruo sensed it, hurriedly leaping to tackle Long Feiyun to the ground. Then he felt a numbness on his left shoulder, followed by a faint noise. Turning his head, he saw his left shoulder covered in white frost. There was no blood flowing from the wound because it was frozen; a lump of ice formed at the wound site. Xiao Ruo felt some numbness in his left shoulder, his blood circulation extremely sluggish, and he was shocked. But he couldn't care much at that moment, as his leap had made some noise, possibly alerting the surrounding people.

Long Feiyun originally wanted to ask about Xiao Ruo's injury but hearing the faint sounds around them, quickly pulled Xiao Ruo into a bush to begin fleeing swiftly. Now, they needed to find a place to rest and treat Xiao Ruo's wound. The wound looked peculiar; if not promptly treated, it might continue to spread.

Qinghong glanced at the young man who acted, with evident warning in his eyes, but said nothing. The young man ignored Qinghong, instead staring in shock at Xiao Ruo's retreating figure. His attack had been precisely aimed at a spot slightly behind Long Feiyun's heel. Although it was a half-hearted attack, he hadn't expected Xiao Ruo to detect it and make such an accurate judgment to push Long Feiyun away. He didn't know how Xiao Ruo accomplished that. He was becoming more interested in these two. If possible, he wanted to recruit Xiao Ruo.

Xiao Ruo and Long Feiyun already knew someone was following them, yet they hadn't discovered where exactly their pursuers were. This could only mean one thing: the people tailing them were far superior in hiding techniques, sending a chill down their backs. It was a deeply unsettling feeling.

The two dared not delay, as Long Feiyun quickly found a shaded spot, pulling Xiao Ruo inside. Once inside, they lay on the ground, gasping for breath. In such a cramped and obstacle-laden place, they needn't fear ambushes. By glancing outside, they could see the situation clearly, while outsiders couldn't spot them. When their breathing steadied, Xiao Ruo finally sat cross-legged, focusing and calming himself to sense the condition of his left shoulder wound.

The wound on his left shoulder had already spread, and Xiao Ruo's entire left arm was numb, covered in a thin white frost. Harnessing his Qi, Xiao Ruo tried to transform the Qi within his body into heat to thaw the frozen meridians on the left. However, this attempt immediately brought a piercing pain in his left arm. He bit his teeth, enduring it desperately to avoid making any sound. The sensation was not pleasant.

Little by little, the heat dissolved the cold invading his body, and Xiao Ruo felt some sensation return to his left arm, so he pushed harder to continue. Finally, he felt a sharp pain in his left shoulder wound, and a burst of warmth emerged from the wound, making him feel significantly better. Having dissolved the cold Qi within, Xiao Ruo was drenched in sweat, his face somewhat pale. Long Feiyun hurriedly helped Xiao Ruo bandage his wound, then sat down cross-legged to rest. At this moment, both needed to recover their stamina and Qi, essentials in their escape.

At nightfall, they both woke up simultaneously, with no sound outside. They whispered for a while, deciding on the timing of their breakout, then closed their eyes to rest again.

Qinghong still fixed his gaze on the hiding place of Xiao Ruo and Long Feiyun. He had surveyed that place before, noting only one exit, so he wasn't worried about them escaping from elsewhere. He was pondering when they would choose to break out. The young man sat quietly on the ground, leaning against a tree trunk, his eyes slightly closed, as if sleeping. Yan Shuang occasionally glanced at the dense foliage, seeming somewhat displeased with the mountain forest at night.

Near midnight, Xiao Ruo and Long Feiyun both opened their eyes simultaneously, quietly sneaking to the entrance, and lay silently there. Xiao Ruo released his Qi, sensing the surroundings, then conveyed his findings to Long Feiyun. Suddenly, he detected that young man, his face changed slightly, and he explained the situation to Long Feiyun. Long Feiyun thought for a moment and quickly made the most precise judgment.

Calculating the concealment route, Long Feiyun quietly led Xiao Ruo to start their midnight breakout plan. This was not the best time to break out, as the mountain forest at night held too many unpredictable dangers, but if Long Feiyun and Xiao Ruo wanted to break through, they had to choose this time. As soon as they left their hiding place, they were discovered by Qinghong.

Qinghong thought their route was strange, clearly avoiding his location. He couldn't understand why they would do so. Had they discovered them? But with Long Feiyun's current strength, they shouldn't have that ability. Was it a coincidence? If it was a coincidence, it seemed too peculiar. Qinghong really couldn't figure it out but still called on the young man and others to follow stealthily.

The young man, drowsily following Qinghong, was pulled up by Qinghong before he had enough sleep. Muttering, he complained, "Can't they sleep well at night? Have to get up and escape at this time." But grumbling aside, he still closely followed Qinghong's footsteps.

Long Feiyun led Xiao Ruo through the forest, pausing occasionally to let Xiao Ruo explain the surrounding situation. Suddenly, Xiao Ruo sensed something odd from the right rear, hurriedly releasing his Qi for a careful probe. He distinctly felt the person he sensed earlier was pursuing them. Though surprised, he didn't panic, knowing clearly that panicking now would only lead to a single dead end. He informed Long Feiyun of his discovery, then fully focused on monitoring the situation behind. Long Feiyun again mapped out a route, then both turned aside, evading the pursuers and starting to flee again.

When Long Feiyun and the others paused, Qinghong was somewhat surprised, not understanding why they suddenly stopped. But seeing Long Feiyun and others skirt around them and start fleeing again, he knew their group had been detected. Qinghong was extremely shocked but maintained a calm tone, saying, "We've been discovered." His tone was so calm, unfazed by any emotional shift, but the young man behind him knew Qinghong was preparing to take action.

"Bai Hao, you'll need to keep up with me next," Qinghong stated blandly.

The young man, known as Bai Hao, nodded, looking into the dark forest, thinking it wouldn't be easy to keep up with Qinghong here. But even before Bai Hao could react, Qinghong vanished with a swish. Bai Hao was startled and hurriedly chased after him, not wanting to be separated from Qinghong in such a place. Once Bai Hao moved, Yan Shuang followed suit. The trio was swift, catching up to Long Feiyun and Xiao Ruo with a few swooshes.

Now, Xiao Ruo clearly sensed the air currents behind them becoming chaotic. He knew those people were pursuing, relaying the situation behind while preparing for defense. Meanwhile, Long Feiyun focused on choosing a concealment route to evade them. Yet no matter how Long Feiyun and Xiao Ruo tried to hide, they couldn't shake off those tailing them. An invisible pressure gradually engulfed Long Feiyun and Xiao Ruo, who dared not show any panic or errors, for a single misstep would mean fatal consequences.

Qinghong grew increasingly astonished as he pursued, not expecting the two to detect his trail and swiftly devise an escape route. Long Feiyun and Xiao Ruo's actions had sparked Qinghong's competitiveness.

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