Yang Yuting saw Lin Xue use the Paper Substitute Technique, and a trace of confusion flashed in his eyes.
This was the defensive technique most often used by his seventh brother, Yang Yuxiang, within the family.
How did this demoness know it too?
Could it be that Seventh Brother knows this demoness, and he taught it to her?
Seeing that demoness twist around and run, carrying a swirl of blood mist as she dashed out of town, he hesitated for a moment.
Should he chase the demoness, or enter the Divine Physician’s to search for the old man and Zhang Zongnian’s whereabouts?
His father’s order was that Zhang Zongnian must be eliminated.
As for this demoness, although the thirteenth brother Yang Yuhai whom she killed was a useless wastrel, he was still of the Yang Family.
Since she had killed a member of the Yang Family, she had to be dealt with as well.
If he let her go now, there might not be another chance to catch her.
But if he chased after her now, and Zhang Zongnian happened to be hiding in the Divine Physician’s, and he caught the demoness but let the more important Zhang Zongnian escape, wouldn’t that be picking up sesame seeds and losing the watermelon?
Yang Yuting felt pulled in two directions, unable to do both at once.
He was a little regretful.
If only he had brought more people with him.
He had been overconfident in his own strength, so he hadn’t brought any subordinates, and had come alone to make the arrest.
Encountering this kind of dilemma, he found himself with a headache.
After a brief moment of thought, he made a quick decision to chase after Lin Xue first.
The unidentified old man who had spied on Zhang Zongnian’s house had entered the Divine Physician’s, but that didn’t necessarily mean Zhang Zongnian was hiding inside.
If he let the demoness go and searched the Divine Physician’s, only to find Zhang Zongnian wasn’t there, both ends would come up empty.
Moreover, the villagers from Li Family Hollow had said that this demoness left with Zhang Zongnian; she might know where he was.
If he caught her, he could interrogate her about Zhang Zongnian’s whereabouts.
Of course, he couldn’t just leave the Divine Physician’s unguarded.
Yang Yuting patted the Spirit Beast Pouch at his waist and released a Tracking Bee, ordering it to keep watch over Bai Cao Tang.
Then, he pulled a Command Arrow from his sleeve and flung it skyward.
The Command Arrow shot up, soaring over a dozen zhang into the air before exploding with a “boom.”
This was the signal for all Demon-Slaying Bureau personnel nearby to gather at once.
The officers in town, seeing the signal, would naturally search the Divine Physician’s.
The Bounty for Zhang Zongnian should have been announced in every town.
If Zhang Zongnian was inside, the officers would find him, and certainly wouldn’t let him go.
Even if Zhang Zongnian managed to escape from the officers, the Tracking Bee would follow him, keeping track of his movements.
That way, he could take care of the demoness first, then turn back to catch and eliminate Zhang Zongnian.
The best of both worlds.
With these matters settled, Yang Yuting flicked his sleeve, and a Flying Boat appeared before him.
He stepped onto the Flying Boat. The vessel shot up from the ground, soaring into the sky, racing toward Lin Xue.
Lin Xue sped along, darting through the streets, racing toward the outskirts of the town.
Stone Plate Town was a small place, not densely populated, but there were still a few pedestrians scattered on the streets.
The townsfolk all saw a crimson mist streak past them like a gust of wind, then a Flying Boat zoom overhead, chasing after the blood mist.
Each and every one of them stared in shock, unable to make sense of what was happening.
Lin Xue realized Yang Yuting was actually chasing her on a Flying Boat, and her heart sank.
He actually possessed a flying artifact.
Flying above, he had a broad view and incredible speed. He would probably catch up very soon.
She did have a flying artifact in her Storage Pouch—the Paper Crane—but in her panic, there was no time to take it out, so she could only keep running for her life.
Both of them were exceedingly fast. In no time, they were out of the town, one ahead and one behind.
Yang Yuting’s Flying Boat was even faster, and the gap between them shrank rapidly.
Outside the town, on both sides of the Guandao, were stretches of dense forest.
When Lin Xue saw the trees, her eyes lit up. She immediately changed direction and charged straight into the woods.
The thick foliage would block Yang Yuting’s line of sight.
As long as she got into the forest, Yang Yuting would be forced to come down from his Flying Boat and chase her on the ground.
And with her mastery of the Vine Technique, she could make the most of it in the forest, at least slowing him down.
She planned to lure Yang Yuting as far away as possible, to buy more time.
Once Elder Senior Brother came up from the cellar and found the Zombie Wife dead, he would surely come up to question her.
Once he was up, he would realize something was wrong, and would probably take Zhang Zongnian away as quickly as possible.
If she could stall things here a bit longer, Zhang Zongnian’s chance to escape would be that much greater.
This was all she could do for him now.
Zhang Zongnian had ended up like this trying to save her; if possible, she wanted to do something for him in return.
Yang Yuting saw her change direction and run into the woods, realizing she was trying to use the thick branches and leaves to block his sight.
He sneered, flicked his sleeve, and a handful of flying needles shot out.
The distance between them was now very short.
Pointing a finger at Lin Xue, he sent the flying needles raining down toward her.
Lin Xue was just about to dive into the forest when she suddenly heard a faint “whoosh whoosh whoosh” as something sliced through the air above, heading straight for her.
Her hackles rose; without a second thought, she activated the Paper Substitute Technique.
In an instant, she appeared ten paces away, plunging into the woods.
Behind her, the substitute paper figure collapsed to the ground, riddled with countless needle holes.
Yang Yuting pressed down on the Flying Boat, bringing it to the ground. With a beckoning gesture, the flying needles flew back into his sleeve.
He looked in the direction Lin Xue had fled, lifted his robes, and sprinted after her.
While pursuing, he quickly formed hand seals with his fingers.
Lin Xue ran with all her might.
Having just been chased by a flying artifact, she’d had to keep up maximum speed while also using the Paper Substitute Technique twice. She could feel her Demon Power rapidly depleting.
The blood mist of the Blood Fiend had been accumulated when the Red Lotus devoured the villagers’ flesh and blood, and now it too was nearly exhausted.
She couldn’t keep up this pace for long.
Now that she was in the forest, and saw Yang Yuting get off his Flying Boat, she finally breathed a little easier.
As she ran, she circulated her Demon Power and changed hand gestures, casting the Vine Technique.
Vines began sprouting from the ground, tentatively reaching for Yang Yuting behind her.
Chasing close behind, Yang Yuting finished his incantation. Raising his hand, he shouted, “Rise!”
Lin Xue suddenly felt the world darken. A barrier of thick, thorny, intertwined vines shot up from the ground before her, rising higher and higher, blocking her path.
Startled, she hurriedly halted.
Looking around, she saw that the vine barriers had already formed a huge circular cage all around her, like a colossal beast arena, trapping her and Yang Yuting inside.
Yang Yuting wore a cold smile as he drew his saber and strode toward her.
There was no way out.
Lin Xue turned to face Yang Yuting. With a flick of her finger, the vines on the ground lashed out violently, as thick as arms, coiling toward his legs like serpents.
Yang Yuting waved his hand; the saber flashed, and every vine was severed at once.
He continued his advance.
The Vine Technique didn’t slow his pace at all.
Watching Yang Yuting draw closer and closer, Lin Xue grew anxious.
Did she have no choice but to use the teleportation spell on her ring to escape?
But she hadn’t gotten far enough yet; it still wasn’t safe for Zhang Zongnian.
She quickly opened the Panel, hoping to see if there were any skills she could use to buy a little more time.
Her eyes lit up. The “+” symbol had appeared again behind the Swiftwind Sword Manual.