First Entry into the Ethereal Void 104. Tracking All the Way

The man followed Li Hao's written instructions and asked the woman, "Where has Master Guo gone? Do you know?"

The woman, who appeared to be a servant, was so terrified that her teeth chattered, rendering her unable to speak. The lead man whispered to her, "Don't be afraid. Tell us quickly."

Summoning her courage, the woman managed to stammer out, "They were abducted!"

Li Hao felt a shudder run through him. Fury surged to his head, and his blood began to boil. He quickly wrote on his tablet: "Ask her when and by whom Master Guo was abducted."

Though the servant girl was quite bold, she was also devious. Having harbored intentions of looting the house and fleeing, she was guilt-ridden and terrified that if the truth came out, even if the men before her didn't kill her, Master Guo would surely hand her over to the authorities upon his return. Thus, she was trembling with extreme fear.

The disciples of the Heavenly Blade Pavilion standing around her offered repeated reassurances, which finally allowed the woman to suppress her panic. She said, "It was during the third watch tonight. Two fierce men suddenly appeared, leaping from the roof into the room. They woke our master and his wife, and without saying a word, the two tall men each grabbed one of them, jumped onto the roof, and vanished."

The masked man grinned, and wrote: "Ask her where Young Master Guo has gone."

The man asked the woman, "Is your young master at home?"

The servant replied, "Young Master Guo took two of his classmates to the Shangqing Temple to study. He hasn't returned yet."

The man continued, "What is inside the bundle you are carrying?"

At this question, the servant was once again too frightened to answer. The man leaned down, opened her bundle, and saw that it was filled with precious jewelry. His eyes widened, and he glared at her, shouting, "You took advantage of your master's misfortune to loot their property and flee! An unfaithful and treacherous servant like you truly deserves to die!"

The woman shivered uncontrollably, prostrating herself on the ground and kowtowing: "Master, please spare my life! I will return these jewels to my master, I will!"

Seeing the woman in such a pathetic state, Li Hao felt a surge of pity. He wrote: "Since she knows her error, spare her life. As for you four, I intended to cripple your martial arts, but I will spare you for now. However, three of you must remain here to guard the Guo residence, while one returns to report. Do not leave until Master Guo returns."

After reading what he had written, the man nodded and said, "This is the home of our Junior Sister Guo; it is our duty to protect it. We will obey."

Once the masked man had left, the four of them breathed a sigh of relief, thinking, *We’ve managed to save our lives tonight.*

Li Hao leaped over the courtyard wall, his toes barely touching the ground as he darted toward where the four men had been lying. However, they were already gone. He was startled and thought, *My acupoint-striking technique is not light. Even if they have deep internal energy, they couldn't have unblocked their own points this quickly. Someone must have secretly rescued them.*

He immediately vaulted into the treetops and scanned the surroundings. He saw five figures at the foot of the southwestern hill, sprinting toward the summit. Li Hao took off in pursuit.

Each leap carried him several yards. After a few bounds, he reached the base of the southwestern hill. He stopped to look, but the five figures had already vanished into the forest.

The hill was only about five or six miles in circumference. Surrounding it were rice paddies; after the harvest, the fields had been plowed and flooded, shimmering like a giant mirror under the moonlight. Li Hao leaped into the treetops and, utilizing his "Leaf-Flying" lightness skill, reached the top of the hill. Standing atop the tallest pine, he scanned the landscape, but saw no sign of anyone moving in the night.

Although it was a moonlit night, his vision had become exceptionally sharp since he consumed the blood of the millennium turtle, allowing him to see every blade of grass for miles. After observing for a while, he thought, *These five must still be hiding in this forest; they cannot have escaped.*

Following his instincts, he moved along the hill, searching while keeping a watch for the five fugitives. After checking a few trees, he suddenly heard faint voices coming from beneath one of them. Li Hao quietly crept toward the sound. Peering down, he saw the five men sitting in a circle, smoking long-stemmed pipes.

Hoping to glean some information from their conversation, he did not disturb them.

He heard the man whose tiger-fork he had knocked away earlier say, "Damn it! I, Xiao Qiang, the 'S赛-Yama,' have been wandering the pugilistic world for twenty years, and I've never encountered such a humiliating incident."

The man to his left replied, "They were in the shadows and we were in the light. Getting one's acupoints sealed can't be called humiliation. Only losing in a head-to-head exchange of moves would be truly shameful."

Li Hao chuckled inwardly, thinking, *I'll have to see what kind of unique skills you have later.*

The man to the left of the "赛-Yama" finished his pipe, tapped out the ash, refilled it with tobacco, and handed it to the "赛-Yama," saying, "Third Brother, have a smoke and clear your head. Let's think about what to do next."

The "赛-Yama" took the pipe, sighed heavily, and said, "The Master and Deputy Master of the Fortress sent us brothers here to get the jump on the others. Who would have thought those four ghosts from the Heavenly Blade Pavilion would interfere? I should have slaughtered them all."

After saying this, he lit his pipe, took a deep drag, and continued, "It’s almost dawn. Let's just hide here, rest for a while, and act again tonight."

The other four agreed. They closed their eyes, looking utterly exhausted. After four pipes, the "赛-Yama" extinguished his light, put his smoking gear away in his pouch, and also closed his eyes to rest.

Li Hao looked up at the fading stars and thought, *Dawn is breaking. It seems I won't learn anything this way. I'll just go down and force them to reveal the whereabouts of Uncle Guo.*

With a sudden, hoarse cry, he descended to the ground.

The five men were startled by the sudden sound. They jumped to their feet, and upon seeing the masked figure—reminiscent of the man rumored to have caused chaos at the Famen Temple—they reflexively retreated.

Li Hao landed as lightly as a falling bamboo leaf, making not a sound. Had he not cried out to alert them, they wouldn't have even felt his arrival. Once he landed, he quickly wrote: "Kneel before me, all of you."

The legend of the masked man was like a shadow cast by a great tree; though they had heard of his terrifying reputation, they had never seen him. Faced with this figure who resembled the rumors, they were like chicks encountering a hawk, paralyzed with fear. Seeing his writing, they knelt down submissively.

Li Hao grinned. He began to write, but before he could finish, the "赛-Yama" shouted, "Brothers, don't fall for his tricks!" He lunged forward, grabbed his tiger-fork, and unleashed a strike named "Forking the Tiger Home to Heaven," aiming straight at Li Hao's waist.

Feeling the rush of wind, Li Hao tilted his head back, took a half-step, and pivoted. With a strike called "The Kui Star Points the Dipper," the tip of his writing implement tapped exactly onto the tiger-fork.

Though the touch was light, the force behind it was immense. The "赛-Yama" felt his hand go numb, his fork flew out of his grip and into the trees, and his body was spun around by the momentum.

Just as Li Hao deflected the fork, four other weapons—a single-edged blade, a flying rope, an iron claw, and a three-section staff—attacked him simultaneously. He deflected them all with ease.

He flipped his jade tablet and wrote: "Very well. I will let you show me your life's work before I make you kneel and answer my questions."

Xiao Qiang, the "赛-Yama," had thought the masked man's grin was a bluff, but he had been disarmed without even seeing how his opponent moved. Seeing the weapons of the other four deflected by the sheer wind of Li Hao's movements, they were terrified. Looking at the words on the tablet, they thought, *The rumors are true. It seems we've met the Grim Reaper today.*

The five of them, stunned by his peerless martial arts, stood there blankly, their wits scattered. Seeing them frozen like statues, Li Hao wrote a message and let out another hoarse cry, holding up the tablet.

Hearing the cry, the five men flinched and retreated two steps. They read: "If you do not wish to display your skills, kneel and listen. Otherwise, you will bleed on this spot."

The man who had been sitting to the right of the "赛-Yama," known as "Long-Beaked Crow" Liao Buhua, was unconvinced. He snapped his soft rope—as thick as a child's arm—which whistled through the air as it coiled toward Li Hao's waist.

Li Hao did not dodge. He channeled his internal energy to protect his body and let the rope coil around him. Liao Buhua yanked hard, but not only did he fail to pull Li Hao down, he stumbled and fell himself. When he looked up, he saw the coils of the rope around Li Hao snapping like brittle threads. He broke into a cold sweat.

*What kind of martial art is this?* he wondered. *This rope is made of thousand-year-old vines that even blades cannot cut, yet he snapped it with mere internal energy. This is monstrous!*

After this attempt, no one dared to move. They just stared at the masked man in a daze.

Li Hao let out another hoarse cry. Before he could write, the five men were already kneeling. He wrote: "Which faction are you from? Why did you abduct Master Guo? Is it for money?"

The "赛-Yama" replied, "We are from the Wei Fortress in the Severed Soul Valley of Mount Lu. Our master sent us to invite Master Guo to stay at our fortress. Please, do not misunderstand."

Li Hao wrote: "What kind of invitation involves bringing swords and blades in the middle of the night?"

Although the "赛-Yama" knew this was the same masked man who had posted notices vowing to eradicate the martial world, he feigned ignorance. He said slowly, "Recently, a notice appeared in the pugilistic world claiming a vow to kill all martial artists. Our fortress master feared for our safety and wished to invite Master Guo to the fortress for protection."

Li Hao interrupted him with a hoarse cry and wrote: "Master Guo is an elderly scholar. Will his presence protect you from disaster?"

The "赛-Yama" nodded. "It is rumored that the author of the notice is Master Guo's nephew. Given their kinship, perhaps he can prevent this slaughter."

Li Hao was taken aback. *How did they learn of my relationship with the Guo family? Could my cousin have revealed it?*

After a moment's thought, he wrote: "Where did your master get this information?"

The "赛-Yama" glanced at his four disciples, who were all signaling with their chins that he should tell the truth.