388: Chapter 388 At a loss

*Squelch—*

*Thud!*

Liu Jing caught up to Liu Dapeng like a bolt of lightning, executing a high-jumping diagonal slash.

The combat knife, empowered by Sharp Gold Qi, easily sliced through Liu Dapeng's flesh, skin, and bone.

While still in mid-stride, Liu Dapeng's head was separated from his body. His headless corpse continued to run forward for several meters before finally collapsing to the ground.

With Liu Dapeng dead, the other thugs scattered in all directions like startled birds and beasts.

The massive manor was quickly emptied, leaving only Han Jingyang and his four companions standing.

The five of them regrouped.

Shi Xiaoya wiped the bloodstains from her katana and asked coldly, "Hubby, what's next? Do we keep killing our way inside?"

"It should be fine now. Let's go and save the people first."

"Alright, I'll lead the way," Shi Xiaoya said, glancing at Liu Jing's combat knife. "What is that anyway?"

"Sharp Gold Qi. It can enhance the hardness and sharpness of a weapon."

"Good stuff."

"I have plenty of good stuff."

As they spoke, they passed through several gates, following the direction of the compass needle. They crossed the central courtyard and the backyard, exited through the back gate, and pursued their targets up the mountain behind the manor.

Shi Xiaoya was a bit worried. "Hubby, could there be an ambush?"

Han Jingyang gave a light chuckle. "What use is an ambush? If they could beat us, they wouldn't need an ambush at all. If they can't, an ambush is just delivering themselves to the slaughter. As long as Yang Zhixiao isn't an idiot, he'll definitely try to leave here as fast as possible. That way, he might have a slim chance of survival. Otherwise, he's a dead man."

While they talked, flickering figures could already be seen in the mountain forest ahead.

The group sped up and quickly caught up.

The first person they saw was Yang Zhizhong.

Yang Zhizhong was in a miserable state—covered in wounds and blood. He was being dragged along by two burly men, his legs and feet covered in injuries from the dragging, some deep enough to reveal bone.

Seeing that they couldn't escape, one of the burly men turned his hand and stabbed a knife toward Yang Zhizhong's chest.

But Han Jingyang was faster.

Hidden Arrow!

A white arrow condensed out of thin air and, like a shooting star chasing the moon, plunged into the killer's brow.

It was instantly fatal.

The killer's knife stopped less than two centimeters from Yang Zhizhong's chest.

Yang Yujie sprinted to her father's side, cradling his dying form. She looked up with tearful eyes. "Brother Han, please save my father..."

Han Jingyang took a quick look and shook his head. "It's not a big problem. He just needs to go to the hospital. Sister Jing, you and Xiaojie take her father to the hospital."

"What about you?"

"Me? I still have a mission to complete."

"Will you be okay?"

"No problem," Han Jingyang sneered. "If I said I'd kill him, then I'm going to kill him!"

Without another word, Liu Jing hoisted Yang Zhizhong onto her shoulders and headed down the mountain.

Yang Yujie hurriedly followed, but then turned back to Han Jingyang. She threw her arms around his neck, stood on her tiptoes, and gave him a deep, passionate kiss.

Only then did she sprint down the mountain.

Shi Xiaoya clicked her tongue twice. "Hubby, should I be jealous, or should I be jealous?"

Han Jingyang ruffled Shi Xiaoya's short hair, then took a strand of hair and placed it on the compass.

This hair belonged to Yang Zhizhong; he had plucked it just now.

Yang Zhizhong and Yang Zhixiao were biological brothers. Using Yang Zhizhong to track Yang Zhixiao would be more effective.

Unfortunately, the 'Bloodline Connection' skill could only be used once.

Now he could only rely on the 'Person Seeking' attribute to find Yang Zhixiao.

Yang Zhixiao hadn't stayed with Yang Zhizhong. He had clearly intended to split their forces to buy more time for his own escape using Yang Zhizhong as a decoy.

It was a clever strategy.

But whether he could escape depended on how much Han Jingyang wanted to kill him.

If Han Jingyang was willing, he could track him to the ends of the earth.

How much did Han Jingyang want to kill Yang Zhixiao?

Very, very much.

The moment Yang Zhixiao had the audacity to threaten to kidnap his family, Han Jingyang had resolved to kill him no matter what.

Because a person like Yang Zhixiao would absolutely follow through on such a thing.

He would never give Yang Zhixiao the chance to make a move.

Attributes were indeed not as effective as skills. The compass needle began to spin, but it wasn't stable, merely wobbling back and forth within a certain directional range.

It was enough.

Han Jingyang observed for a moment, then nodded to Shi Xiaoya and Yang Jinyuan. "Let's go."

Along the way, Yang Jinyuan turned out to be the one holding them back. Her stamina was decent for an ordinary person, but compared to the current Han Jingyang and Shi Xiaoya, it was truly not worth mentioning.

Seeing Yang Jinyuan panting for breath, Han Jingyang pulled out a Dushan Jade Pendant and tossed it over. "Borrow this. Return it when you're done."

Yang Jinyuan was overjoyed.

In this battle, she had truly witnessed how formidable Han Jingyang was.

To be more precise, she had witnessed the power of Han Jingyang's dharma instruments.

Seeing Han Jingyang proactively lend her a dharma instrument, she immediately beamed and thanked him. "Thank you, Boss."

"You have to return it."

"I'll be satisfied just getting to experience it."

"It's not anything great, just make do with it."

It really wasn't anything great.

Rank Six.

No skills.

The attribute was Stamina +5.

Was stamina useful?

Yes.

Was it very useful?

Usually, it wasn't. A normal person's stamina was sufficient most of the time; there was simply no need to enhance it.

It only had great utility in certain specific scenarios.

Like right now.

Trekking through mountain paths to find someone required high stamina. Wearing this item would immediately boost her endurance, preventing her from collapsing early on from exhaustion.

Yang Jinyuan put the pendant around her neck.

A few seconds later, she closed her eyes, a look of enjoyment appearing on her face as if she were soaking in a hot bath or enjoying a massage.

Furthermore, her ragged breathing stabilized in a very short time, and her complexion quickly returned to normal.

Ten seconds passed.

Yang Jinyuan slowly opened her eyes and said with surprise and delight, "Boss, it's truly miraculous. I don't feel tired at all now. I feel like I could run another ten thousand meters."

Han Jingyang nodded. "Then let's get moving."

However, after the three of them ran through the mountains for over an hour, they found nothing.

They hadn't even discovered any traces left by Yang Zhixiao's group.

Was it just bad luck that they hadn't run into them?

Or did Yang Zhixiao have some clever method of camouflage?

Han Jingyang rummaged through his storage bag but didn't find any more suitable items.

He did have a few Tracking-type items, but those required direct clues—whether it was Yang Zhixiao's personal belongings, biological samples, or even scents. Even a location where Yang Zhixiao had stayed would count as a clue.

But he had already tried that back at the manor and turned up nothing.

Clearly, Yang Zhixiao had an expert with him who was skilled in anti-Tracking techniques.

Was he really going to give up just like this?

Han Jingyang furrowed his brows, his heart filled with immense reluctance.

Was there any way to lock onto Yang Zhixiao's direction and position?

Shi Xiaoya and Yang Jinyuan were equally at a loss, looking troubled but unable to help.

Give up?

Absolutely not!

Should he ask Shen Yuhai or even Zhang Zhiyang for help?

He wouldn't use a favor; he'd just negotiate terms directly.

They would probably give him face, right?

But it would be a bit embarrassing. He had been so arrogant before, acting like they didn't matter, and now he had to go begging for help as soon as he hit a snag. It was humiliating.

While he was hesitating, Chaotian Temple suddenly emerged from the shikigami token.

He was still leading the Bridal Gown Woman by the hand.

Chaotian Temple pointed at the compass, then pointed at the Bridal Gown Woman.

Han Jingyang's eyes lit up. "You mean... she has a way?"