1359 Targeted
'The pursuers are between the first-level Spirit Lord and the third-level Spirit Lord. We won't be able to win in a direct confrontation!' Tian Yang thought to himself after sensing their cultivation.
Fortunately for him, pursuing someone in the city proved challenging due to the irregular placement of buildings. Additionally, Tian Yang, accustomed to being pursued, had acquired the skill of misdirection to evade those chasing him.
Sometime later, Tian Yang managed to shake off his pursuers by hiding in an isolated alley.
"We should be safe now."
"I'm sorry… I was too careless…" Huang Xiao Li sighed.
"No, as the one in charge, I am also responsible. Anyways, those guys all had the same tattoo on their body. Due to the Desolate Continent's lawless nature, fugitives and bandits started forming gangs to protect each other and bully the others."
"If I recall correctly, those guys belong to a gang called the Gold and Money Bandits. They are known for ganging up on the weak. Although their members do not have high cultivation, they are the largest gang in the Desolate Continent."
"What should we do now?" she asked.
"Unfortunately, we won't be able to search for your parents in the open now, as they will actively look for us."
Huang Xiao Li bit her lower lip in frustration after hearing this.
17:08
However, Tian Yang continued, "But if we disguise ourselves with an Appearance Reforming Pill and change our clothes, we should be fine."
"Where would we get such a pill? I don't have any on me."
Tian Yang proceeded to retrieve two Appearance Reforming Pill and handed one to her, "I have some."
"You're really full of surprises…" she muttered.
"Wait. Why didn't you give me this before? I could've used this instead."
"Do you have any idea how expensive these pills are? They are nearly 50 spirit stones each! If you can disguise yourself without needing it, I'd only be wasting money!" he said.
"..." Huang Xiao Li was speechless.
"Also, these pills only work for about twelve hours and I only have enough for the next three days. If we can't buy more by then, we'll have to stop looking for your parents." Tian Yang warned.
"We just need to buy more, right? I'll buy as much as we need!" she declared in a determined voice.
"That is if we can find more. With that being said, there should be an abundance of these pills in this sort of place due to its nature."
They swallowed the pill a moment later, changing their appearance entirely.
"What about our clothes?" Huang Xiao Li asked.
"I have plain clothes, but I only have one set. You can have it." Tian Yang handed her a set of plain white robes.
"What about you?"
"I'll settle with this for now."
He retrieved a black cloak, enveloping his entire body in its folds.
Once they were prepared, they left the alley and resumed their search for the Huang Family.
After a day of normality, Tian Yang suddenly noticed people staring at them from a distance.
"We need to leave right now." Tian Yang said to Huang Xiao Li through divine sense.
He grabbed her hand and immediately began running away.
Sometime later, once they were in the clear, he explained, "They've found us."
"What? How?"
Tian Yang pondered for a moment before responding, "They probably investigated about us. Since we've been asking about your family for several days at the Southern Stronghold, they can easily spot us if we continue doing the same thing, regardless of our disguise."
"So we can no longer look for my family without being hunted…?" she muttered in a low voice.
"..."
Tian Yang didn't know how to respond and remained silent.
Even if they traveled to another city, the Gold and Money Bandits had eyes in all five cities, so unless they got rid of the gang, their search was essentially over.
"Why… Why is nothing going right?! I am just trying to find my family! Why is the heavens doing this to us?! What did we do wrong?!" Huang Xiao Li suddenly released her frustration, tears streaming down her face.
Sometime later, Tian Yang said, "Although we can't ask around about your family, we can still look around ourselves."
In response to his words, Huang Xiao Li sighed with a heaviness that echoed through her words, "There's no point... It's evident that the heavens are playing with us. Despite my attempts to cling to hope, deep within, I knew that my family never made it out alive—that I was only denying reality to delay the inevitable."
"Then how do you explain our escape? Why were we the only ones who survived when we were all being targeted by that sea demon?" Tian Yang asked.
"I don't know… and I don't care anymore… I'm tired… I want all of this to end already…" Huang Xiao Li lowered her head, her eyes devoided of any light, almost as if her soul had died.
Tian Yang knew that there was nothing he could say that would make her feel better, so he silently sat beside her and patiently waited for her to recover.
'If I leave now, I will probably live the rest of my life thinking about it. That would be disastrous for my dao heart…' he sighed inwardly.
Thus, for the next hour, they would sit in a narrow and isolated alley without uttering a single word to each other.
Eventually, Huang Xiao Li broke the silence and asked, "Why are you doing so much for me? I don't deserve it…"
Tian Yang could tell that Huang Xiao Li was deliberately saying such things even though she promised not to bring it up again so that he could leave her behind.
'Just leave me behind…' Huang Xiao Li sighed inwardly. She lacked the courage to directly ask him to leave, so this was the only way for her to express herself.
However, in response, Tian Yang suddenly wrapped his arm around her and mumbled in a low voice, "I promised your father that I'd protect you, and I am not one to break promises."
Huang Xiao Li lifted her head and looked at him after hearing his words.
"My father…?" she muttered in a dazed voice.
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