Chapter 749: Chapter 569: Old Friend_2
Unable to tend to his injuries, he rushed to Yiling Academy to report the matter, for they had lost the dart, and he had to take the responsibility that was expected. But what he never anticipated was that the people of Yiling Academy actually wanted to silence him by killing him. Fortunately, he remained cautious, and that’s how he barely managed to escape. It was only after his escape that he understood everything had been a deception.
The provenance of this treasure from Yiling Academy was problematic. When the rightful owner came to reclaim it and with the owner’s power rendering the Academy unable to refuse, Yiling Academy staged this farce. The ambushers were their own people, making him and his team scapegoats, framed for coveting the treasure, internal conflict, and ultimately Brother Sui fleeing with the treasure after killing his teammates. Now, all they needed was to kill Brother Sui, and there would be no evidence to trace back to them.
When he saw Brother Sui clinging tightly to that gem pendant, Yang Xiao had a sudden ominous premonition and, hesitating for a moment, still asked, "Brother Sui, you just mentioned this pendant is..."
"It was left to me by my daughter, she... she was killed by people sent from Yiling Academy, those beasts!" Mentioning his daughter made Sui Chengguo’s originally dim eyes blaze with fury, his bloodshot eyes emanated a terrifying killing intent.
No wonder... Yang Xiao recalled that not long ago, when they first sparred, Brother Sui had asked him which power he was from. If he had answered Yiling Academy at the time, they might have never ceased until one was dead.
"Brother Sui, we shouldn’t stay here for long. A dragnet has been set up in Rongcheng, and when daylight comes, it will be hard for you to leave." Yang Xiao took out all the food and medicine Brother Sui could use from his backpack and stuffed it into his hands, urging, "You must go now; it will be too late if you delay."
Yang Xiao pulled out a map showing the defense zones of the three major forces, spread it out, and pointed to it for Brother Sui, "Brother Sui, you can’t continue on this road. My superior has predicted your route. You must take the opposite direction; move this way and exit the city from the opposite side."
"Is this... the Apostles Union defense zone?" Brother Sui saw the "Union" character marked in that area.
"That’s right, that area is my friend’s defense zone. I’ll make a call and ask him to open a gap for you, but... you have to move fast," Yang Xiao introduced.
"Is it reliable?" Sui Chengguo had seen his fair share of the warmth and coldness of human relationships on his journey. Ever since he found out that he had offended Yiling Academy, it was good enough that his old friends did not offer help, but many others wanted to set traps to catch him. After all, he was worth a lot now, and this could also curry favor with the powerful Yiling Academy, an opportunity that didn’t come every day.
Yang Xiao patted Sui Chengguo on the shoulder and offered a reassuring smile, "Don’t worry, he’s like a brother to me, absolutely reliable!"
"Good," Sui Chengguo nodded.
"What are your plans after leaving the city?" Yang Xiao inquired, "Brother Yang Cha is in Yun Qi City; you can seek refuge with him. With the name of Ru Lin Academy in that territory, even Yiling Academy’s people wouldn’t dare to trouble you."
"That won’t do, I’ve already implicated you, I can’t drag him into this too," Sui Chengguo decisively refused.
Yang Xiao didn’t press the matter, as the distance to Yun Qi City was too far and unpredictable on the road, "Then how about this, Brother Sui, please do me a favor."
"Say it, as long as I can do it," Sui Chengguo agreed without hesitation.
"I have a stake in Xiang Ma Town nearby. Recently, someone has been causing trouble, and I can’t stay there long-term. I hope you can help me out, keep an eye on things for me, can you?" Yang Xiao asked sincerely.
Sui Chengguo was too sharp not to realize that Yang Xiao was trying to find him a place to hide. Without stating it explicitly, he did not want Sui Chengguo to feel indebted, but at this point, Sui Chengguo really had nowhere else to turn. After running for so long, without some rest, it would be over sooner or later.
His own death was a minor affair, but his daughter’s vengeance must be pursued.
Sui Chengguo got up and gave a grave bow to Yang Xiao, "Chu, I cannot thank you enough. I, Sui Chengguo, will remember what happened today, and I will repay this debt!"
"If it weren’t for you last time, Sui, all of us would have perished on the mission; there’s no need for such formality between us." Yang Xiao immediately helped Sui to his feet.
It wasn’t convenient to give the map to Sui Chengguo, so Yang Xiao had him take a photo with his phone. Meanwhile, Fu Qingzhu had also responded to Yang Xiao’s request with just one word: "Good."
The route and timing were settled. Sui would take a detour to go against the defenses of the Apostles Union. There, Fu Qingzhu would personally meet him and arrange for someone to take him out of the city overnight to Xiang Ma Town, where Ling Yanyu was to meet him.
"Chu, rest assured, if anything unexpected happens, I will destroy my phone and immediately take my own life, I will not betray you," Sui Chengguo promised solemnly.
"Let’s not talk about such dark, bad things. Sui, you should set off now. We will meet again in Xiang Ma Town," Yang Xiao said as he gave a formal goodbye with a bow.
"Definitely!" Sui Chengguo, not one to linger, dressed swiftly and, taking advantage of the night, set off at once.
After seeing off Sui Chengguo, Yang Xiao sat alone by the stove, silently nibbling on a roasted sweet potato. Sui had been kind to him and had to be let go, which meant his own position as Deputy Director Level Captain was now out of reach, triggering a domino effect that also cost him the Commissioner of the United Federation.
He himself was fine, but he felt incredibly sorry to Director Nalan. It was Nalan who had set the stage, but at the critical moment, he had let the man go, making it difficult to justify, both emotionally and logically.
More importantly, he had caused Director Nalan to lose face in front of Chief Huang, which caused Yang Xiao considerable distress.
"Director, I’ve let you down this time. Next time...next time I will surely help you regain your honor," Yang Xiao could only secretly make this pledge, using it to ease the guilt in his heart.
But regardless, it was fortunate that it had been he who encountered Sui this time. Had it been Qu Muzhi, it was likely that there would have been casualties.
Additionally, Sui’s strength had far surpassed his expectations. Such spiritual power was not common among Fierce Level Apostles. He surmised that Sui had likely already reached the Ghost Level standard; otherwise, it was impossible for him to have held his own this way throughout the battle.
With Sui keeping watch over Xiang Ma Town, Yang Xiao felt reassured. Unless the Pingxi Marquis personally deigned to attack, even if two Fierce Level Apostles came, he could handle them.
The last sentence he had said before wasn’t just casual talk. If Sui hadn’t been injured and drained from fighting, Yang Xiao would have had almost no chance of winning. He had already experienced the strength of a Ghost-level Apostle. Neither the Pingxi Marquis nor the Xiu Sect Master was someone he could contend with now. The gap between them couldn’t simply be closed by one or two high-level Magic Devices.
The Mitsubishi Military Dagger in Sui’s possession was probably his trump card, but due to long-term depletion of spiritual power, he was no longer able to use such a power-intensive Magic Device. It was the same as the Ghost Duster in Yang Xiao’s hands; once used, even if victorious, there would be no energy left to escape.
In the following time, Yang Xiao contemplated how to deal with Director Nalan, after all, the man was a shrewd one. Simply saying he didn’t see anyone was unlikely to work, especially given a fierce battle had occurred here, and he himself was injured. A diligent investigation would certainly reveal the truth.
After much consideration, Yang Xiao decided to tell the whole truth, sticking to the story up until the point where a gun was held to his head.
He had done his best, but was outmatched. Once the other party found out he wasn’t a pursuer from Yiling Academy, they spared his life.
Good, the reasoning was somewhat plausible, and it corresponded well with Sui’s actions along the way.
As for the unnecessary drama of refusing to yield even under the threat of death, there was no need to add that. Nalan Shuo wouldn’t believe it anyway, for he knew where Yang Xiao’s moral boundaries lay. To survive, Yang Xiao would do anything.
