Yu Daohan nodded, "It looks like it."
Shi Bingzhi glanced at the guards ahead again and said, "Charging directly might alert them. How about we dive in?"
"Let's go to the water's edge first and see."
After Yu Daohan spoke, the two detoured to the riverbank.
The river wasn't wide, only about six or seven meters across. Although the current was slow, it seemed quite deep.
"I'll go down and test the depth first."
As Shi Bingzhi finished speaking and prepared to enter the water, Yu Daohan quickly raised his hand to stop him.
Shi Bingzhi looked at him in confusion, "Master Yu, what's wrong?"
"I feel there's something different in this water."
Yu Daohan spoke, reaching into the water, his eyes fixed on the surface.
Shi Bingzhi looked puzzled but quietly watched Yu Daohan's actions.
Suddenly, the hand Yu Daohan had submerged in the water lunged towards the bottom and quickly retracted.
When his hand was pulled back, a fish, half the size of a palm, was in his grip.
But this fish was very strange; it had two legs like a toad on its lower abdomen.
"What is this?"
Yu Daohan examined it closely, then handed it to Shi Bingzhi, asking, "Old Shi, do you know what this creature is?"
Shi Bingzhi pinched the fish with his fingers, examining it closely. His expression turned grim. "This is a corpse-eating worm!"
"Corpse-eating worm?" Yu Daohan frowned.
He had truly never heard of or seen such a thing.
Shi Bingzhi nodded and explained, "Despite its fish-like appearance, this corpse-eating worm is not a fish at all, but a Gu."
"Gu?"
Yu Daohan became even more confused. "Does the Chen family of Miao疆 have such peculiar Gu worms?"
Shi Bingzhi shook his head. "The corpse-eating worm wasn't originally like this. Legend has it that when the fish is only the size of a fingernail, a Gu worm is placed inside its belly. This Gu worm eats all the internal organs, then fuses with the fish, grows two legs, and continues to grow. It's said that corpse-eating worms can grow over a meter long. Most importantly, they are born to eat live flesh. Once they sense a living creature entering the water, they will immediately attack. They are more terrifying than piranhas. Where these things are found, no living creature can survive in the water for a hundred miles."
After explaining, Shi Bingzhi looked at the water surface, his expression grave. "Corpse-eating worms like to travel in swarms. There are probably many of them in this water."
"The Chen family truly has vicious methods."
Yu Daohan sighed, then instinctively took a step back.
Shi Bingzhi exerted force with his fingers, crushing the corpse-eating worm and tossing it back into the water.
As soon as the worm hit the water, countless dark shadows surged towards it.
Seeing this, Yu Daohan slowly said, "We shouldn't cross this river. My water skills aren't good, and I have no confidence against these things."
Shi Bingzhi nodded in agreement. "Me neither. Let's find another way."
Yu Daohan nodded. The two were about to look for alternative routes.
Just then, a loud shout suddenly came from a distance.
"Help! We're under attack!"
Hearing this, both men were startled and looked in the direction of the sound.
"Could we have been discovered?" Shi Bingzhi's expression changed slightly.
Yu Daohan shook his head. "No, it's probably not us."
"Not us?" Shi Bingzhi was confused.
Yu Daohan nodded. "Let's leave first."
The two stepped into the tea forest and quickly ran outwards.
More and more patrols appeared, and several flashlight beams spotted the figures of Yu Daohan and the other man.
"Quick, someone's here! There are intruders!"
Shi Bingzhi glanced back, his brow furrowed. "It seems we've been found."
Yu Daohan remained silent, looking at the path ahead. "Let's get out of here first."
In the dead of night, the tea plantation was illuminated by countless lights, punctuated by the shouts of Chen family disciples.
"They're here, don't let them escape!"
"Quick, capture them!"
Shi Bingzhi and Yu Daohan fled forward.
Shi Bingzhi glanced to the side and said, "Master Yu, it seems there are people fleeing nearby as well."
The voices came from both sides, one from behind and one from the left.
It was clear that two groups were fleeing.
"I felt someone pursuing us on the way here. I thought I was mistaken, but it turns out someone really was following!" Yu Daohan replied.
He had initially thought his senses were playing tricks on him.
But now, it seemed that wasn't the case.
As Shi Bingzhi ran, he asked, "Can you sense their strength?"
He genuinely couldn't feel anyone pursuing them.
Yu Daohan shook his head, unsure. "Not entirely clear, but if they can make me momentarily careless, their strength should be in the Heaven ranking."
"Heaven ranking? Since when did Heaven ranking experts become so common in the martial world?"
Shi Bingzhi exclaimed, sounding somewhat helpless.
Yu Daohan looked at the barbed wire gate ahead. "We're almost there."
"There are guards!"
Shi Bingzhi saw two Chen family disciples at the gate, their curved sabers drawn and ready. He asked, "Charge through or find another way?"
Yu Daohan merely glanced at the two Chen family disciples and instructed, "Charge through, make it quick. I'll deal with them, you leave first."
Shi Bingzhi nodded.
"Who are you? Surrender now!"
The Chen family disciples, seeing the two approaching, shouted, gripping their curved sabers.
Without a word, Yu Daohan lunged forward, delivering a knee strike to one of their faces.
"What!"
The man's expression changed drastically. By the time he reacted, he had been hit in the face by the knee strike and immediately fainted.
As the other man moved to help, Yu Daohan sidestepped and delivered a sweeping leg kick.
*Whoosh—*
The disciple was kicked in the abdomen and sent flying backward, crashing into the barbed wire and losing consciousness.
Seeing the two dealt with, Shi Bingzhi was about to step outside when he felt a chill.
Instinctively, Shi Bingzhi dodged to the left as a dagger fell from where he had just been.
"So fast!"
Shi Bingzhi's face was filled with shock, but also immense relief.
Fortunately, he had sensed a killing intent and, coupled with his years of experience in the martial world, had instinctively dodged.
Otherwise, with that attack, his body would have been split in half.
The masked figure in black, having failed to strike, immediately ran out of the barbed wire, followed by their companion.
Since Yu Daohan was three meters away, he couldn't intervene immediately and could only observe who the attackers were.
However, the attackers were masked, and their faces were not visible.
Yu Daohan and Shi Bingzhi exchanged glances, both curious about the identity of the newcomers.
Just then, the Chen family disciples pursuing them caught up.
"Quick, don't let them escape!"
"Capture alive is not an option, execute them on sight!"