C22 Lin Hao!

Suddenly, all the horses grew agitated, refusing to move forward, and some even attempted to flee, despite the knights' efforts to calm them.

"What's happening?" Lin Hao bellowed, his face contorted with rage. His mount, a higher-level Demonic Beast, remained calmer than the others.

"Report, Commander Lin," a soldier outside his command saluted with a fist, "All the war horses acting this way suggests the presence of a Demonic Beast nearby, far more powerful than them, or perhaps the scent it left behind."

Lin Hao's brow furrowed. These warhorses were at least Level Two Demonic Beasts, and only a Level Three or higher Demonic Beast could instill such fear. "You, you, and you," he commanded, pointing to three Level Four warriors, "take nine soldiers each and scour the area within a hundred-mile radius. If you encounter a Demonic Beast, eliminate it on sight! The rest of you, hold your positions."

"Understood. Follow me!" The three Level Four warriors gestured, and twenty-seven black-armored soldiers stepped out from the ranks. In moments, the thirty men vanished into the dense forest in three separate directions.

Lin Hao pressed on, his four trusted aides in tow.

Ten miles further, Lin Hao's warhorse also resisted moving forward, deepening his frown. His mount was a Level Four Demonic Beast, after all. "How peculiar, truly bizarre. Could it be that I'm nearing that fearsome creature?"

Just then, one of Lin Hao's aides spotted Chu Tianyu not far ahead. "Commander, there's someone over there!"

Lin Hao saw for himself and motioned, "Move out!"

His four aides quickly encircled Chu Tianyu, while Lin Hao's frown intensified. "Why would anyone be here? And a young man, fast asleep at that? Why does this seem so familiar?" He instructed one of his aides, "Wake him up!"

Roused from his slumber, Chu Tianyu was less than pleased, but upon seeing the five figures in black armor, exuding formidable auras, he reluctantly held back his irritation. He recognized them as the Black Armored Army from Xianyang. Without a doubt, they were here to inspect the battlefield, just like Mu Wan'er and the other young lady.

"What can I do for you gentlemen?"

"How dare you! This is our commander. Why haven't you come over to pay your respects?" a soldier barked sharply.

Chu Tianyu shifted his gaze to Lin Hao, and his heart sank. He inwardly cursed his misfortune.

He recognized the commander; a few years back, when Lin Hao had visited the Marquis' Mansion, they had met briefly. Lin Hao looked almost the same as he did then, so Chu Tianyu recognized him immediately. Chu Tianyu, on the other hand, had grown up and changed considerably in appearance. Now, looking disheveled as a beggar, he had gone unrecognized. But he knew it was only a matter of time before he might be discovered.

The reason for his feeling unlucky stemmed from why Chu Tianyu was here in the first place.

Chu Tianyu had found out from his half-brother, Chu Tiancheng, that the Sword Sect possessed a Heart Protection Flower, a remedy for chest pain. It was Chu Tiancheng who had suggested Chu Tianyu leave home secretly. Sending a young man with no strength to truss a chicken on a quest for medicine tens of thousands of miles away seemed ill-intentioned. But at the time, Chu Tianyu was so obsessed with the idea of the medicine that he set off quietly with a servant.

If Chu Tianyu's memory served him right, this man was Chu Tiancheng's uncle and the brother of his stepmother, Lin Ying. If Chu Tiancheng was willing to harm him, his uncle would surely not spare him either!

He would have to play it by ear. "Greetings, Commander!" Chu Tianyu bowed with a slight fist salute.

Lin Hao was somewhat displeased, but having navigated the complexities of the imperial capital for so long, he maintained his composure. "Who are you? Where is your home? Why are you here? What happened at this location?"

"My name is Zhou Yu, and I reside in Pingnan County. I ventured out for a stroll a few days ago and ended up getting lost. I'm not sure what transpired here, but after hearing a loud noise, curiosity got the better of me, and I came to investigate. Could you point me in the direction of Pingnan County?"

Frustrated by the lack of useful information, Lin Hao gestured impatiently in a direction.

"Thank you!" Chu Tianyu said, cupping his fist in a traditional gesture and managing to squeeze out a smile, though his face belied the tension that gripped his heart. He turned and walked away, his outward calm masking the anxiety within.

He had only taken a few steps when he was about to breathe a sigh of relief, but then he heard a soldier nearby remark, "Your heart is beating incredibly fast!"

That offhand comment sent Chu Tianyu's heart racing to his throat. He spun around, addressing the soldier, "The general's presence is overwhelming; it's only natural to feel a bit nervous."

"It's nothing, I was just making conversation!" Damn, a simple question almost gave me a heart attack!

"Well, I'm heading home now." With those words, Chu Tianyu continued on, his strides taking him swiftly into the thick of the forest.

Once out of sight, he exhaled deeply and wasted no time changing direction, running as fast as he could. He zigzagged, always stepping on grass to avoid leaving tracks.

"Where have I seen that eagle on the clothes before?" the soldier who had spoken last murmured to himself.

"Eagle? What eagle?" Lin Hao suddenly seemed to recall something significant.

"On the left side of that kid's clothes, there's an eagle."

"Ah, damn it! It's that kid! The Royal Academy isn't on break yet; he's the only one who could be out here. We must chase him down and kill him!" Lin Hao was frustrated and angry, having been too preoccupied earlier to notice. Now he was in a state of agitation.

"Chase him!" Lin Hao leaped forward with great bounds, declaring, "That kid can't even tie up a chicken; he won't get far!" The four men hurried to keep up.

Lin Hao finally placed that nagging sense of familiarity. He vividly remembered the upheaval a few months back when Chu Tianyu's unexplained disappearance had left Shangguan Qing'er devastated and the South Guarding Marquis enraged, throwing the entire capital into disarray.

He had seen Chu Tianyu's likeness back then, not to seek him out, but to stealthily eliminate him.

Months had passed, and the memory had nearly faded. Chu Tianyu now looked nothing like the dashing young gentleman he once was. His clothes were ragged, and Lin Hao hadn't immediately connected him with the Royal Academy's distinguished robes.

Chu Tianyu, although known as Ten Jin Chu, was nonetheless the son of the South Guarding Marquis. Securing a spot in the academy was a trivial matter for him, but he seldom made an appearance there. People tended to overlook the fact that he was always clad in the academy's robe, a detail his nephew Chu Tiancheng had pointed out to him.

The group of five dashed into the dense woods, but Chu Tianyu, whom they had anticipated finding, was nowhere to be seen.

"Search! He can't have gone far. Keep an eye on the trees and the underbrush! If you find him, kill him on the spot," Lin Hao commanded, eager to avoid complications. He was well aware of Chu Tianyu's significance to Shangguan Qing'er. If their actions were revealed, certain death awaited him, and it could even endanger his sister and nephew.

Shortly after, a soldier reported, "Lieutenant, we've scoured the area for a mile around and found nothing!"

Another soldier added, "Nothing over here either!"

"Report, I've discovered footprints here."

Upon hearing this, Lin Hao was ecstatic. "Where? Lead the way!"

Chu Tianyu had been careful to tread on the grass, hoping to leave no trace as the grass would spring back up. Yet, he had still been detected.

Lin Hao examined the disheveled grass with a grim expression, realizing the young master's cunning. "Pursue him!" he ordered, sensing trouble.

Panting heavily, Chu Tianyu ran for dozens of miles before he felt safe enough to find a secluded spot to sit and cultivate in peace.

Lin Hao and his men traced the fading footprints for five miles. They had assumed they would quickly catch up to Chu Tianyu, but the chase became increasingly difficult. Initially, Tianyu had been running across open fields, but he then began weaving through tall grass and leaping from tree to tree... until they completely lost his trail.

"Commander, why not deploy all our men to search? I refuse to believe he can evade us!" one soldier suggested eagerly, though he failed to notice Lin Hao's expression darkening by the second.