Chapter 681: Stakeout
Madam Qi took the lead, with Qi Xuansu following behind as they flew away from the scene.
Qi Xuansu quickly understood Madam Qi’s intent. She was tracking the fleeing reinforcement from The Inn.
To avoid being noticed by following too closely, she had deliberately lingered for a while and used the chance to dismiss the other Qingping Society members.
As such, the flickering instability of Madam Qi’s form was likely a ruse to mislead The Inn’s reinforcements, making him think she was too weak to give chase and thus lowering his guard. Unfortunately, even Dreaming Cloud had been fooled. Fearing Madam Qi’s projection would not last, he had gone all-out to kill the enemy, expending so much energy that he would need days of rest to fully recover.
Realizing this, Qi Xuansu was not all that surprised. He had grown almost numb to it. He only had to look away for a moment before finding himself caught in yet another of Madam Qi’s webs of lies.
Qi Xuansu asked, “Who was that Martial Arts Practitioner who escaped?”
“He’s The Inn’s Server, ranked lowest among their six top figures,” Madam Qi replied. “During our fight, I planted a golden tracking worm on him. I can sense his general location without needing to follow too closely as long as he’s within a 500-kilometer radius. After all, he’s a Wuliang-stage Heavenly Being. Even if Martial Arts Practitioners aren’t as sensitive as Diviners, you can’t underestimate them. You’ve heard of Martial Arts Practitioners killing in their sleep, haven’t you? It’s really just their body instinctively reacting to danger.”
Qi Xuansu said, “I thought tracking worms was a technique from the Nanjiang Wuist Sect?”
Madam Qi admitted. “The Nanyang Wuist Sect, Nanjiang Wuist Sect, and Grasslands Shamanistic Sect are all offshoots of Ancient Wuism. They’re not considered secret cults but rather tolerated religions by the Daoist Order. The Shamanistic Sect of the Grasslands is the strongest among them and often clashes with the Western Region Daoist Mansion. I’ve been wandering Jianghu for years. It’s only reasonable I’d pick up a few unorthodox tricks here and there, right?”
“Fair enough, totally reasonable,” Qi Xuansu replied offhandedly, though he did not believe a word of it.
But Madam Qi also could not care less whether he believed her or not.