Chapter 27 Fire Soul Still Firm (1)

  Towards the south gate of Fengtian, four men on horseback galloped towards the city gate. They were Yan Jing Tian and his three companions. The soldiers guarding the gate hurriedly shouted loudly, waving their hands to stop them. Seeing that they showed no signs of slowing down, someone raised their guns and cursed: "Halt! Halt! Fire! Fire!"

  Yan Jing Tian and the others galloped up to the soldiers, only reining in their horses when they were right in front of them. The four men moved in perfect synchrony, stopping at the same time, their momentum sending the crowd of soldiers scattering backward, their faces pale with fear. The captain, a seasoned veteran, knew that these men's reckless midnight ride was no ordinary affair, and hastily ran up to grab Yan Jing Tian's reins, asking cautiously: "Where are you gentlemen headed?"

  Yan Jing Tian didn't respond, his hand shook, and a letter flew into the captain's arms as if it had grown eyes. The captain didn't dare to delay, opened it, and found that it was an exit order signed by Zhang Zuolin himself. The captain stood at attention, saluted Yan Jing Tian and the others with a loud "crack", then turned around and shouted: "Quickly open the city gate for these gentlemen!"

  When the soldiers saw the commander, they didn't dare to be slow, and with a flurry of activity, they opened the city gate wide. Yan Jing Tian stretched out his hand and took the exit order that was respectfully returned by the team leader, and shouted: "Go!"

  Four tall horses galloped out in a cloud of dust, leaving the soldiers guarding the gate still wiping their sweat and gazing at the backs of Yan Jing Tian and his companions with sighs of admiration.

  Yan Jing Tian and several others rode their horses wildly for seven or eight miles, stopping only when they reached the fork in the road at the mountain pass on the outskirts of town. Yan Jing Tian looked around, got his bearings, and instructed: "Yan Shou Shen, Yan Shou Ren, you two head west to Tonghe Town and wait for me there. Be extremely careful not to let anyone tail you! Yan Shou Yi, bring Huo Xiao Xie and come with me!"

  Yan Songchen and Yan Songren responded in unison, urging their horses on with a loud whoop. Yan Jingtian pulled the reins tight, preparing to lead Yan Songyi down another road. On Yan Songyi's horseback was tied a huge sack, inside which someone cursed loudly: "Damn your ancestors! Give me a break! Run for a few more miles and I'll be done for!"

  Yan Shouyi's face was as expressionless as a wooden carving, and when the person in the sack cursed at him, his face remained still. He simply turned his hand over and slapped the inside of the sack, causing the person to yelp loudly and continue cursing: "If you've got guts, kill me!"

  Yan Jing Tian didn't get angry, instead he shouted at the sack: "Huo Xiao Xie! You're done for after just a few flips of your horse's butt? I thought you were a good guy!"

  The thing tied up in the sack was indeed Huo Xiaoxie. Originally, Huo Xiaoxie's mouth had been gagged with a cloth strip by Yan Jing Tian and the others, so he couldn't speak. But after running wildly for this whole time, Huo Xiaoxie was really suffering, his internal organs almost all about to vomit out of his mouth. He used his head and face to desperately rub against the horse's back, finally loosening the cloth strip and revealing his mouth. Only when they had a brief stop did he catch his breath. Huo Xiaoxie thought that he would die sooner or later anyway, so what did it matter if these people were the king of heaven or his own ancestors? He opened his mouth to curse them. But after hearing Yan Jing Tian say this, Huo Xiaoxie felt that there was no need for him to lose face before his death, and the countless evil curses in his belly were suppressed. He let out a fierce hum, shouting: "If you want to kill or behead me, hurry up and do it! Stop dragging things out!"

  Yan Jing Tian didn't respond, and with a crack of the whip on the horse's rump, he shouted "Drive!" The two horses galloped away.

  They went on for about half a mile, and then Yan Jing Tian shook the reins, driving the horses off the main road and onto a dirt path leading up to the side of a mountain. The two horses galloped forward in single file, heading straight up the mountain. After crossing a small hill, the road disappeared, and the horses could no longer run, only able to proceed slowly.

  The little devil in the sack shouted again: "I'm going to suffocate! Let me out!" (Updated fastest)

  Yan Jing Tian listened and gave Yan Shou Yi a signal, Yan Shou Yi turned around and waved his hand, without seeing any knife or anything, he cut open the sack. Huo Xiao Ye was like Wang Ba who had been holding it in for too long, even if there was a butcher's knife outside, he still wanted to stick his head out, as soon as he saw the light, he lifted his head and stuck his brain out. The cold wind in the mountain blew strongly, Huo Xiao Ye stuck his head out, opened his mouth and sucked in a breath of cold air, his stomach suddenly churned and he vomited loudly.

  "Hey, this feeling is great, maybe I'll even spit out that damn Jade Tuo Pearl, so they won't have to cut open my belly and die in a disgusting way." However, after vomiting for half a day, Huo Xiao Xie didn't feel like he had spat out anything significant, just foul-smelling and sour liquid.

  Yan Shouyi spoke in a calm and even tone: "Are you done vomiting?"

  Huǒ Xiǎo Yè finally spat out two mouthfuls and shouted: "I've spat it all out! The Jade Taisui Pearl has also been spat out! Don't believe me? Look on the ground!"

  Yan Shouyi suddenly looked down and saw that Huo Xiaoxie was biting his waist, King Ba's mouth wide open, speed astonishing, twisting his head and biting Yan Shouyi's lower back. Unfortunately, the thick clothes worn in winter prevented the bite from reaching the flesh, only biting onto Yan Shouyi's belt. A small red plaque tied to Yan Shouyi's belt was also bitten by Huo Xiaoxie, whose teeth slid smoothly, and he swallowed the small plaque into his mouth. Yan Shouyi was shocked, slapping two loud ear slaps on Huo Xiaoxie's face, but Huo Xiaoxie had already gone mad, truly more fierce than King Ba, refusing to let go even if beaten to death. Yan Shouyi grunted, grabbing Huo Xiaoxie's hair and pulling, Huo Xiaoxie stared at Yan Shouyi, still not releasing his bite.

  Yan Jing Tian burst out laughing: "This kid, is indeed a stubborn cow who doesn't play by the rules! How interesting! Yan Shou Yi, don't bother with him, just let him bite, I'll see how long he can keep biting!"

  Yan Jing Tian glanced at Huo Xiao Xie and said, "Alright kid, I know your unorthodox skills are formidable and you always fight to win, but unfortunately, you've found the wrong opponent." Yan Jing Tian laughed again and rode his horse forward.

  Yan Jing Tian's face, as wooden as a carving, twitched involuntarily several times. His body twisted, allowing Xiao Yao to bite onto his waistband, and followed Yan Jing Tian as he walked away.

  "Damn it! I'm not going to give in, I'll keep biting, let's see what you can do!"

  They walked another section of the mountain road, which was even more difficult to navigate. Yan Jing Tian and Yan Shou Yi had no choice but to dismount their horses. Huo Xiao Yao bit onto Yan Shou Yi's waistband, hanging from his waist like a large meat worm. Yan Shou Yi could only put Huo Xiao Yao down from the horse as well. Although Yan Shou Yi untied the rope on Huo Xiao Yao's feet, allowing him to walk, Huo Xiao Yao refused to budge. Yan Shou Yi was also a straightforward person who didn't think twice, so he thought that if Huo Xiao Yao wouldn't walk, then he would just drag him along! So, Yan Shou Yi grabbed onto Huo Xiao Yao's collar and dragged the human sandbag forward, creating a bizarre yet comical scene.

  Yan Jing Tian was in good spirits and not too heavily injured, so they continued on their way up the mountain without much hindrance. The three of them walked for half a time unit and climbed to the top of a small hill. The terrain at the top was very flat, and from there, they could see the fork in the road where Yan Jing Tian and the others had parted ways in the distance.

  Yan Jing Tian stood at the edge of the mountain top, looked down, and then sat down. Yan Shou Yi panted heavily, pulling Huo Xiao Ye over, and sat beside Yan Jing Tian. Yan Shou Yi was somewhat exhausted, gasping for breath, his face looking terrible. Huo Xiao Ye tightly bit onto Yan Shou Yi's waistband, staring with her eyes wide open, lying down on one side like a lump of mud.

  Yan Jing Tian glanced at Huo Xiao Xie, snorted and turned to the woods on one side of the mountain top, saying: "You've been following us all the way, and you've also seen the Western scenery, it's time for you to come out, Shui Jia Mei Zi."

  In the woods, a woman giggled twice, and all that could be heard was the soft rustling of leaves. A figure clad in tight black clothing emerged from the woods with three quick leaps, displaying extremely agile movements.

  That person jumped in front of Yan Jing Tian, made a curtsy and sat down, removing her headgear to reveal a head of beautiful hair. She was a girl who looked about 15 or 16 years old. The girl was stunningly beautiful, with willow-leaf-shaped eyebrows, cherry lips, and big eyes that sparkled like stars. Her expression was full of emotions, making her look like a top-notch beauty! However, despite her striking appearance, there was something elusive and unpredictable about her face - sometimes she looked shy and demure, sometimes seductive and charming, and sometimes even heroic and intimidating. Huo Xiao Xia watched her with growing fascination, but suddenly felt a jolt in his heart and thought to himself: "This little demon! She's got a demonic aura! Eight out of ten chances it was her who made me swallow the Jade Tuo Pearl!"