Chapter Thirty Two: Changing Situation
The body of the Donghu monk, which looked like it would split into pieces at any moment, and seemed to contain endless energy. He carried the three people and moved at terrifying speed on the Chu-Qin border. He walked an unknown distance until the sky was dark before he stopped for a moment.
This should be an end of the Yin Mountain range on the Chu-side. Flowing among the mountains were streams of melting glaciers. The cold was bone-chilling. On the battlefield, the wilderness was summer, but here, in the dark of the mountain, it was still winter.
Ding Ning used his hand to scoop up water. The water from melted glaciers had an unique light blue color, coming from some ore in the mountain rock. The cool water flowed into his burning body, cooling it down slightly.
His body had an unusual heat. First, it was caused by his weakness due to his injuries, and the second was due to the energy in Yuanwu’s last attack.
The energies that did not belong to this world radiated in his body, constantly burning, and stopping his wounds from healing. Even more importantly, the invisible energies that did not belong to this world could not be consumed by even the Nine Death Silkworm.
The Donghu monk was starting to weaken. He started to breath, quickly entering meditation to replenish his energy.
Ding Ning glanced at Fu Su on the side, calmed his breathing and said softly, “Since you can move now, you can drink some water and take care of your wounds. This place cannot compare to Changling. If your wounds worsen, even if you do not die, you will likely get many hidden wounds that will hamper your cultivation in the future. But, you do not need to think about attacking any person here, this is something you cannot accomplish.”
Fu Su’s injuries were mostly from the extreme cold energy in Zhangsun Qianxue’s attack, and not the momentum. His organs had moved slightly in the shock previously. This was not a serious wound for a cultivator, but Zhangsun Qianxue’s lifebond energy contained great coldness. They seemed to form many ice needles that did not melt in his body, and stopped his energies from calming down.
Unable to calm down meant chaos, and if a person could not calm their energies, the cultivator’s body could completely collapse.
The ice shell that had restrained him came from Zhangsun Qianxue’s power. At this time, Zhangsun Qianxue had sunk into a healing state like a deep sleep, and the ice shell restraining him had slowly disappeared. Fu Su could move now, and just like Ding Ning had said, he was pretending to still be frozen, waiting for a chance to attack.
Fu Su was not very scared after Ding Ning exposed him. He was silent for a moment and asked, “Why do you not run in the direction of the Chu Dynasty army, but this path?”
Ding Ning explained calmly, “You should listen to your father. The final goal of this war is not to conquer the Chu, not in weakening the Chu Dynasty in order to destroy it, but to confirm my existence, force me to come out, and kill me.”
“Killing me will completely destroy the Ba Mountain Sword Field, and the hopes of many who oppose the Qin. So starting from when he appeared, this became the only goal of this great war. He and Zheng Xiu set up such a situation, so this means that while the Qin army may be defeated, at least they will have a chance of retreating. But all of the powerful cultivators of the army will likely leave the army to come chase after me. When these powerful cultivators leave the army, they will become trackers and assassins in the wilderness. Some are even elite cavalry. So running towards the Chu-Qin battlefield is going to death.”
Ding Ning paused and had a chance to breathe. He drank some more water and then looked into Fu Su’s eyes. He said seriously, “You saw your father’s choice. You should understand that he does not care how many cultivators and military die, as long as I will be killed.”
Thinking of the words Yuanwu had said, Fu Su suddenly became silent. After a while, he raised his head and looked firmly at Ding Ning, saying, “If it is me, I will not have accepted such a concession. If you did not control me, I would have killed myself.”
“I know,” Ding Ning said.
Fu Su grew furious and said, “So you purposefully forced my father to say such things.”
Ding Ning looked calmly at him and said, “But that is his choice. At least, you heard his choice. You can imagine, if the roles were switched, and you were facing this choice, should you choose to sacrifice your son?”
Fu Su was very angry, his chest heaved up and down, but he instinctively felt that he could not argue back.
“Truthfully, you are not curious if you are his son or not?” Ding Ning looked at him and said, “He made the choice to sacrifice you, maybe it is because his confidence has been shaken, and he is not certain you are his son or not.”
Fu Su’s body froze for a moment, and then he turned his head, saying coldly, “You will not be able to escape.”
“We still have a chance.”
Ding Ning started to regulate his breathing. Feeling the imperceptible energy burning in his body, he said, “Such realm eight power will disappear in about a fortnight. He will no longer be able to sense then.”
Fu Su was usually gentle and kind, but at this time, his temper was very violent. He gritted his teeth and turned to look at the black sky, say, “No matter if you are that person’s heir or him reborn, you should know that some people from the imperial palace will be much faster in giving chase than the fastest cavalry in the world.”
“The tamed beasts of Jiaodong Commandery.” Ding Ning understood his meaning. He narrowed his eyes slightly and seemed to see some black shadows in the distant light. “But we have a chance because Yuanwu himself will not dare to give chase.”
Fu Su was angry again. He wanted to speak, but Ding Ning kept on speaking. “Because he fears death.”
“He used realm eight power in fighting us. In this world, even the distant Chu cultivators know that he has come in person, and know of his existence. To those Chu people or the cultivators of other dynasties, killing him will be their only goal. He is seriously injured, so he will not dare to risk himself to come.”
Ding Ning slowly kept on going. “Before he was wounded, no one in the world could kill him. But now it is different. Many people can pose a threat to him. Even if the one in charge is Ye Xiao, Zheng Xiu or people from the marquessate establishments, as long as he is not coming in person to put his life on the line, we have a chance to escape.”
“A fortnight is not a short time, even if you flee, the general area will be known.” Fu Su took a deep breath to calm down. He said in a cool voice, “A fortnight is enough for the cultivators of other dynasties to receive news and get here. Everyone in the world knows the Nine Death Silkworm is here, and will suspect that you are that person reborn. I do not know how many people will come to kill you, or try to get methods from you.”
“This is what I am truly worried about.” Ding Ning hung his head slightly and responded, looking at the stream water.
In a person’s life, no matter how strong they were, no matter how intelligent they were, there were also things that could not be predicted. He had not expected that Yuanwu would publicly guess in the battle that he was Wang Jingmeng reborn. This would cause an astounding change. He was not worried for himself, but for the fates of many people related to him.
