Chapter 255: Numerous Setbacks

Chapter 255: Numerous Setbacks

When Su Mo asked this, Xu Lu was on the verge of tears.

His journey had been extremely tough, even harder than any of his past thieving jobs.

After leaving the Purple Sun Escort Bureau that night, using his incredible lightness skill from the "Records of Ethereal Traces," it wasn't an exaggeration to say he covered a thousand miles in a day.

He thought that even though Su Mo had a head start, catching up wouldn't be too hard.

But the first hurdle he hit was on the river.

And this was all his own doing.

Instead of taking a boat, he decided to save time by using his top-notch lightness skill to walk on the waves.

But along the river, the last person seen walking on the waves was none other than Waterborne Yanluo, Qi Shaoming.

The fight between Su Mo and Qi Shaoming on the river had really stuck with the river pirates, and now, seeing someone else doing the same, they were instantly on edge.

These river pirates, who lived off the water, were tough and bold. Even though they knew they couldn't take on Qi Shaoming, and this new wave-walker was even more of a mystery, they weren't the kind to back down.

If one couldn't do it, they'd gang up; if a straight fight didn't work, they'd use tricks.

Fishing nets, underwater sneak attacks—they pulled out all the stops to make life hard for Xu Lu.

Luckily, his lightness skill was top-notch, and he managed to dodge capture.

But after that, he could barely move along the river.

He tried to hide several times but got caught, and the pirates, instead of killing him, kept grilling him about his connection to Qi Shaoming.

Xu Lu was totally baffled, saying he didn't know Qi Shaoming, but who'd buy that?

If you don't know him, how can you walk on water?

Your lightness skill is just like Qi Shaoming's.

If you don't talk, we'll drag you back and make you talk.

So, after lots of setbacks and close shaves, he was stuck on the river for ages.

After getting into East City, things calmed down, but when he got to the Purple Sun Sect, they thought he was a thief...

To be honest, it wasn't completely unfair.

After all, he used to be a thief.

With such top-notch lightness skills, it'd be a shame not to be a thief.

After several days of trouble, although the Purple Sun Sect's lightness skills weren't remarkable, their members all cultivated pure yang internal energy, making them powerful and heavy-handed.

Any slip-up by Xu Lu would result in prolonged pain.

It wasn't until he explained that he was there to find Su Mo that things finally settled down.

But by then, Su Mo had already left for Tianqu City.

He then pursued all the way to Tianqu City, but was stopped outside the city gates when he tried to enter.

Because he had neither a travel pass nor any sect credentials.

Being the kind of guy he is, he would've snuck over the city walls under cover of night.

But having just been thwarted by the Purple Sun Sect, and now with Tianqu City guarded by seven sects, how could he dare to act rashly?

If he were to be stopped again, even mentioning Su Mo's name might not help.

Helplessly, he spent several days bogged down by the trivialities of getting a travel pass and sect credentials. By the time he finally got into Tianqu City, he had just missed Su Mo.

Later, he inquired about where Su Mo had gone, and it happened to be the day of the Tianqu Sword Discussion. Many were talking about how Su Mo had taken down Sect Leader Youquan with a single palm strike.

Eventually, someone indeed knew that after Su Mo killed Sect Leader Youquan, he had headed east.

This gave Xu Lu another trail to follow.

He was relentless, tracking all the way to Liuyin City.

But it must be said that Xu Lu was truly cursed with bad luck.

The chaos in Liuyin City was unprecedented in many years.

Hundreds of shadow envoys from Evernight Valley clashed with the seven sects guarding Liuyin City. Joining the fray were the thousands from the Purple Sun Sect and the group of monks under Master Red Cloud.

He charged in recklessly, not knowing a soul.

Though not dressed in black robes or masked, because he didn't understand the situation, he was inexplicably swept up in the chaos, leading to several misunderstandings.

Then... he got a severe beating.

Luckily, later on, disciples from the seven sects, while cleaning up the battlefield, found him. After questioning, they learned he was from the southwest and not from Evernight Valley.

Only then was he taken back for treatment.

After waking up, he didn't immediately rush to find Su Mo but instead started reflecting on his mistakes.

He almost questioned his very existence. He just wanted to deliver a letter, how could he be so unlucky?

Just as he thought the letter might never reach Su Mo, he overheard some 'fellow patients' talking about how impressive Su Mo was, and thus found out that Su Mo was actually in Liuyin City.

Immediately, his interest was piqued again, and he asked where Su Mo was.

The guy he asked turned out to be Fu Hanyuan.

Fu Hanyuan didn't know him, and Hu Sandao didn't either.

Upon hearing that he was asking about their chief escort, things got complicated.

If it was out of goodwill, fine, but if it was with malicious intent, probing for information, that would be unacceptable.

So they promptly detained him.

Poor Xu Lu, with his extremely slippery martial arts, could hardly use them at this point.

He was half-frozen by Fu Hanyuan's Frost Qi.

Fu Hanyuan sternly questioned him, demanding to know his intentions and why he was inquiring about their chief escort.

Xu Lu was overjoyed, realizing he had finally found the source of his troubles, and quickly explained his purpose: he had come to deliver a letter to Su Mo.

Fu Hanyuan and Hu Sandao, still skeptical, escorted him in.

As he recounted his story, he was visibly moved, sighing deeply.

Even Su Mo and the others listened in stunned silence, momentarily speechless.

After a long pause, Su Mo finally smiled and said:

"Hero Xu, you've been through a lot."

Back at Cold Moon Palace, Yang Xiaoyun had used the Fallen Phoenix Alliance's messenger eagle to send a letter.

The poem inside was deeply enigmatic.

"A fleeting shadow approaches, flying south alone; my heart remains steadfast, quietly awaiting your return."

At that moment, Su Mo knew Xu Lu was on his way.

But after traveling to the Purple Sun Sect and then rushing to Tianqu City, waiting in vain, Xu Lu never showed up.

Who could have foreseen so many twists and turns?

Xu Lu sighed deeply:

"It's not about the hardship, it's just... ah, never mind."

He had wanted to say that ever since meeting Chief Escort Su, his luck had taken a turn for the worse.

But voicing that might come off as blaming Su Mo.

Today, he had heard.

The Night Lord, who had ruled the Eastern Wilderness for over twenty years, was reduced to a bloody mist by Su Mo's punch.

The Seven Ghost Shadows of Evernight Valley wailed, branding Su Mo a demon.

How could he blame someone like that? It would be suicidal.

Reflecting on this, his resentment towards the Three Extremes Sect deepened.

They had pushed him to provoke someone far beyond his league.

Not daring to bring it up again, Xu Lu reached into his pocket to retrieve the letter.

But as he reached for the letter, he glanced at the others, hesitating before looking at Su Mo.

Su Mo caught on and said:

"Everyone, please step outside for a moment."

"Understood."

Wei Ziyi nodded. Despite hearing about Xu Lu's ordeal, she still insisted on delivering the letter to Su Mo.

It was evident that the letter contained secrets not meant for others' eyes.

She was the first to step out.

Fu Hanyuan and Hu Sandao gave a fist salute to Su Mo and left, closing the door behind them.

Only then did Su Mo nod at Xu Lu.

Xu Lu no longer hesitated and pulled out the letter from his chest, handing it over to Su Mo.

"Chief Escort Su, this is from a man named Wang Xianglin, who asked me to deliver it to you. They... also seem to be investigating the Three Extremes Sect."

He then repeated what he had told Yang Xiaoyun at the Ziyang Escort Agency.

After listening, Su Mo's eyebrows arched slightly.

Wang Xianglin...

This was a false identity created by Yu Lingxin, using the Mysterious Mechanism Hook to lure out the Three Extremes Sect.

Now, it seems Yang Yizhi has taken on this identity.

Su Mo opened the letter without hesitation, quickly scanned it, and sighed softly.

The letter was brief, with meanings hidden between the lines.

Clearly, they worried Xu Lu might mishandle the delivery, causing the letter to fall into the wrong hands and reveal secrets.

So, the letter detailed observations from Wusheng Hall's territory.

But every detail pointed back to Wusheng Hall.

Clearly, Yang Yizhi was hinting at problems within Wusheng Hall.

Though it's unclear how Yang Yizhi met Xu Lu, Yang Yizhi had visited Suspension Pot Pavilion earlier.

Then he went to Wusheng Hall, possibly after learning something from the Heaven Gate Master.

In addition, Su Tianyang's notes in the secret chamber mentioned that the last rebel of Li Siyun's clan was still on the run in the west.

Now Yang Yizhi is there too...

"Is this person in Wusheng Hall?"

Su Mo reached this conclusion naturally but paused to think.

The letter suggested Wusheng Hall's situation was complicated.

Yang Yizhi likely didn't know his target.

That's why he wrote, asking me to help investigate.

Otherwise, with his skills and allies like Yu Lingxin, Ling Hongxia, and the Kirin Swordsman, extracting someone from Wusheng Hall wouldn't be easy, but it wouldn't be too hard either.

Only if the situation was murky and complex, making investigation tough without the right credentials.

That's why he sent the letter to Ziyang Escort Agency, asking me to step in.

Su Mo was now considering how to make a justifiable trip to Wusheng Hall.

As the owner of a security escort agency, the most straightforward approach would be to escort a shipment to Wusheng Hall.

However now... his current situation was different from before.

Since the battles in Tianqu City and Liuyin City, news of him defeating Sect Leader Youquan and killing the Night Demon Lord with his fists had undoubtedly spread far and wide.

Moreover, Su Mo had intentionally encouraged this news to circulate.

By now, countless carrier pigeons must have spread this information far and wide.

This time, he had truly become famous in an instant.

From this day forward, Ziyang Escort Agency was no longer an obscure, insignificant small agency.

Wherever Su Mo went, he would attract attention from all sides.

It was hard to say whether Wusheng Hall would not be suspicious if he personally escorted a shipment there.

If they were on guard, conducting an investigation would be even more challenging.

Moreover, there might not be a shipment that just conveniently went directly to Wusheng Hall.

But at this thought, Su Mo's expression suddenly became somewhat odd.

"Isn't there a ready-made reason to go to Wusheng Hall?"

The unknown disciple Wan Zangxin had fallen in love with the little princess of Wusheng Hall.

This had enraged Wan Yutang, who issued the Wusheng Order, calling for Wan Zangxin's head.

Under the Wusheng Order, the target was marked for death.

Whoever could kill Wan Zangxin could claim a great reward at Wusheng Hall.

And Su Mo had killed Wan Zangxin with a single palm strike just under the noses of both the righteous and evil factions in East City.

Wasn't this a perfectly justifiable reason?

The only small issue was that, given his current reputation, the Wusheng Order meant little to him.

Making a special trip solely for this reason was not sufficiently justified.

The best plan now was to find a shipment heading to the Wusheng Hall area, and then make a trip to Wusheng Hall to settle the matter of Wan Zangxin...

Making everything appear natural and logical.

Thinking this, Su Mo smiled, and with a surge of pure yang internal energy in his hand, the letter he held spontaneously combusted.

In just a mere moment, it had turned into scattered ashes on the ground.

Turning back to look at Xu Lu, he saw him staring eagerly.

"Chief Escort Su..."

Xu Lu hesitated slightly, "Have you finished reading?"

"...I have finished reading, thank you, Hero Xu."

"No, no, not at all."

Xu Lu hastily shook his head: "So, about... that thing?"

"That thing?"

Su Mo was confused: "What thing?"

The exposed half of Xu Lu's face turned pale instantly:

"Chief Escort Su... you can't be serious...

"After all the hardships and troubles I've gone through on this journey... even if there's no credit, there's surely some effort, right?

"I can't say I'm completely honest, but I've tried to live more decently.

"Please, Chief Escort Su, give me the antidote."

Xu Lu pleaded desperately.

Su Mo was stunned for a moment before he finally caught on, and for a moment, he was both amused and annoyed.

Back then, Su Mo had captured Xu Lu and taken him to the Ziyang Escort Agency. Because the Three Extremes Sect coveted the 'Lovers' Register,' Su Mo had casually made a move by sending Xu Lu out to see if he could dig up any clues about the Three Extremes Sect.

However, Xu Lu was skilled in high-flying and nimble-footed techniques, making him extremely slippery. Catching him once was easy, but catching him again would be tough.

So, before letting him go, Su Mo lied and said the wine was poisoned.

He then used techniques from the 'Painful Mantra' to convince Xu Lu it was true.

He had claimed that the poison would flare up every six months...

Counting the days, it wasn't quite six months yet, but it was close.

Su Mo raised his eyebrows slightly as he looked at Xu Lu, deep in thought.

Xu Lu's journey had been tough, but whether it was out of loyalty or the 'poison's' effect was hard to tell.

Truthfully, Su Mo wanted to come clean.

But after a moment's thought, he figured it wouldn't hurt to wait a little longer.

So he pulled out several bottles and jars from his pocket, going through them one by one.

He was searching for one that could heal both internal and external injuries... perfect timing for Xu Lu.

Xu Lu, meanwhile, was secretly terrified.

He thought to himself, no wonder even the Evernight Valley demons called him a demon lord!

So many bottles and jars, how many poisons and antidotes were there?

Besides himself, how many others had he controlled, openly or covertly?

It was too horrifying to think about.

He quickly turned his head away, pretending not to see, lest Su Mo get any ideas and decide to silence him permanently.

This was why Su Mo lacked the ability to read minds; otherwise, he might have been truly tempted to silence someone.

He always felt that his reputation would eventually be ruined by these people who loved to make something out of nothing.

A moment later, Su Mo found him a healing pill and had him take it.

Before swallowing it, Xu Lu couldn't help but ask, "Would there be any harm in taking this early?"

"No worries."

Su Mo waved his hand: "If taken close to the time, there will be no issues. If taken too early... excruciating pain in all the acupoints, making life unbearable."

Xu Lu nodded immediately and quickly swallowed the pill.

Shortly after the medicine took effect, he felt a sense of relief all over, and his internal injuries seemed to have improved significantly.

For a moment, he was quite impressed; this antidote truly lived up to its name.

It even worked on internal injuries, clearly indicating it was no ordinary remedy.

"Thank you, Chief Escort Su."

Xu Lu immediately clasped his fists in gratitude.

Su Mo waved his hand: "What are your plans, Hero Xu?"

"This..."

Xu Lu hesitated for a moment: "I intend to return to the southwest and continue with my original mission."

"However, now, for some reason, along the river, people are quick to shout threats and try to kill me, wanting to capture me and subject me to severe interrogation.

"Chief Escort Su, you see, I don't even know them.

"I have no idea where this change has come from.

"Even if I want to return now, I can't avoid this river..."

Su Mo found it somewhat amusing and had to say:

"This is nothing, just a misunderstanding. I have some pull along the river.

"If Hero Xu is willing, I can help explain, it shouldn't be a major issue."

Issues about Qi Shaoming, Evernight Valley, and the Night Lord aren't relevant to Xu Lu right now.

So it's best to leave them out.

Hearing this, Xu Lu was thrilled: "Really? Then thank you, Chief Escort Su."

"It's just a minor favor."

Su Mo hesitated for a moment: "However, I have urgent business and need to leave right away. Hero Xu, what about your injuries..."

"No problem, no problem."

Xu Lu immediately said: "Mostly superficial wounds, and the internal injuries aren't too serious. Moreover, after taking the antidote earlier, it's helped a lot. I'm ready to go anytime."

"Alright then."

Su Mo nodded, "Since that's the case, let's prepare now. We'll leave shortly."

As he spoke, he called in Fu Hanyuan and Hu Sandao, who were waiting outside, only to see that Wei Ziyi was still there.

He went ahead and told them all about his decision.

Wei Ziyi, on the other hand, mentioned that she had been away for quite some time and needed to return.

After all, she was still the eighth leader of the Fallen Phoenix Alliance, and this time she had come out after receiving a message from her sect, just to see what was happening.

They had already delayed quite a bit, and it wouldn't be proper to linger any longer.

Su Mo told everyone to get ready, and then he and Wei Ziyi went to say goodbye to Duan Song.

However, upon finding Duan Song and explaining their intentions, Duan Song's expression became rather odd.

He looked quite frustrated, as though he had missed a golden chance.

Finally, after looking back and forth between Su Mo and Wei Ziyi a few times, he sighed and had horses prepared for them.