He Yi-ming departed the manor with the five assigned manor retainers and headed toward the county seat.

Upon seeing the section of road assigned to him, he vaguely surmised that this sweeping search-and-encirclement operation would likely have little to do with him.

Because if the roles were reversed, even an idiot would know that one should not swagger down the main avenue of the county town like this. But if the target were indeed an idiot, he absolutely would not have managed to escape Linqiu Commandery and arrive here still alive and kicking, evading capture. Thus, unless that Hu Bin had suddenly lost his mind, there was absolutely no way their paths would cross.

He glanced at the five retainers beside him; they were the most elite candidates cultivated within the manor.

Outside of the great aristocratic families, those capable of cultivating Inner Strength were exceedingly rare. He Family Manor, counting all its servants and laborers who tilled the fields, numbered several hundreds. He Wude had treated them generously and had even imparted techniques for cultivating Inner Strength, but due to differing cultivation conditions and deliberate control, achieving even the third layer was remarkable.

The five retainers accompanying him all possessed Inner Strength cultivation at the peak of the third layer, and every one of them was proficient in at least one Combat Technique.

This standard differed from the requirements for direct lineage disciples. For a third-generation disciple like He Yi-ming, he was not permitted to touch any Combat Technique until his Inner Strength surpassed the fifth layer. Meanwhile, these retainers were granted the simplest Combat Technique once they reached the third layer of Inner Strength. This arrangement undeniably boosted their fighting capability considerably, but it simultaneously created a significant hurdle for any further advancement in their Inner Strength cultivation.

This was the fundamental distinction between direct descendants and general retainers—a practice adopted by virtually all established families.

After journeying with the contingent from the Cheng family for half a day, they finally reached the designated location.

It was a post station situated along the main road leading to the county seat; stopping here served as a measure of mutual assurance.

Since he was close to the county, he naturally wished to visit his parents, but upon inquiring, he learned they were also not in the county town but had joined the search party themselves.

Though disappointed, he abandoned any notion of entering the city and instead pressed the Cheng family liaison for news regarding Hu Bin.

Within Taicang County, there were three cultivating families: the He family, the Xu family, and the Cheng family.

Both the He and Xu families were anchored by a master who had reached the tenth level of Inner Strength—a power level that constituted the absolute zenith of combat capability in such a remote county. Although the Cheng family lacked a tenth-level expert, they were the most ancient lineage in Taicang County, their influence deeply rooted, far surpassing the He Family Manor, which was established solely by the outsider He Wude.

Even the current County Governor hailed from a branch of the Cheng family.

If not for this reality, He Wude would never have shown the Cheng family such deference by dispatching all the disciples from the sixth layer of the family to assist.

Through private inquiries, He Yi-ming finally understood why the Cheng family was willing to expend such manpower to capture or slay a mere wanted fugitive.

It was because after committing heinous crimes and being sentenced to execution, Hu Bin had immediately fled, but during his escape, he had killed an official named Shangguan on the spot. This was an offense the Imperial Court simply could not tolerate. Furthermore, the slain Shangguan family had privately promised substantial rewards, which was the true reason the Cheng family was so intensely focused on this matter.

Having idled at the post station for over a day, the initial sense of excitement had long evaporated.

If he had known this would be the case, he might as well have stayed home to cultivate diligently.

He was not the only one who saw through the certainty that Hu Bin would not travel this way; even some of the sensible retainers under him and the ordinary soldiers at the station understood this, so the atmosphere throughout the post station remained relaxed.

He Yi-ming could no longer bear the inactivity. After issuing a few instructions to his attendants, he left the post station and headed toward the back hills.

Although the post station was built alongside the official road, the terrain of Taicang County was far from flat plains. Behind the station stretched a chain of continuous mountains. Boredom suddenly sparked his curiosity, prompting him to venture inside.

What he did not know was that only half an hour after he entered the mountain range, urgent intelligence arrived: Hu Bin was, in fact, fleeing along the small path through the rear hills, heading directly toward them.

The retainers and the soldiers at the station exchanged bewildered glances and quickly dispatched half their personnel into the rear hills to search for He Yi-ming. But how could such a small contingent possibly find him?

Upon entering the mountains, He Yi-ming was instantly like a fish returning to the sea, darting rapidly through the forest canopy.

He possessed considerable experience navigating dense wilderness. He Family Manor sat nestled at the foot of the mountains, and the jungles there were far denser than this area.

After circling for a while, he encountered no large beasts worthy of his attention; as for small creatures like wild rabbits and pheasants, they hardly registered.

He shook his head slightly. After all, this was woodland bordering an official road; it was nowhere near the deep, ancient forests behind He Family Manor.

Just as he was preparing to turn back, he faintly detected a slight, unusual noise in his ear.

His steps paused instantly. He cocked his head to listen, realizing that some wild animal seemed to be running swiftly not far off. What truly startled He Yi-ming was that this creature gave him a distinct feeling of danger.

His heart tightened. He immediately judged that this was certainly no small animal. Unexpectedly, there were tracks of large beasts in this stretch of woods. After a moment's hesitation, He Yi-ming exerted force with his legs and gave chase in that direction.

Although the beast’s movements were swift, it clearly wasn't exerting its full power, so He Yi-ming easily kept up. However, as he cautiously drew near, he realized the sound of the beast running had vanished.

He Yi-ming became even more wary. He had experience dealing with wild animals and knew this creature must have heard the sound of his rapid pursuit, causing it to tread more lightly.

Yet, He Yi-ming was brimming with self-confidence at this moment. Even when his Inner Strength was only at the sixth layer and he hadn't cultivated any Combat Techniques, he could subdue fierce beasts like the Fox Bear. Now that his combat power had increased immensely, he certainly wouldn't take any predator lightly.

Perhaps in a truly deep forest, there might be fierce beasts that made him apprehensive, but in this environment, he refused to believe anything more powerful than the Fox Bear existed.

With a few leaps and bounds, He Yi-ming reached the path the predator had taken. A quick glance around made his heart suddenly leap.

Because he spotted a footprint. Though extremely faint, merely impressing itself upon some scattered weeds, He Yi-ming was already certain this was not the track of a wild beast, but one left by a human.

He hesitated, taking several steps back, and observed the area closely. His expression grew increasingly solemn.

Based on the traces left nearby, He Yi-ming could now confirm that the recent passerby was definitely human, and moreover, a cultivator with decent Inner Strength. This cultivator possessed some understanding of the jungle, having left few traces along the way; however, the overall impression he gave was one of considerable haste, otherwise, these traces might not have been left at all.

A powerful surge of Inner Strength began to flow slowly through his body. When He Yi-ming looked forward, the sense of danger in his heart intensified inexplicably.

Though there was no movement ahead, he had a distinct feeling that peril was rapidly approaching.

A thought suddenly flashed through his mind: that person hadn't left, but was instead closing in on him, seemingly intending to cause trouble.

Although the feeling was somewhat uncanny, He Yi-ming was certain he was not mistaken.

Taking a deep breath of the cool, crisp mountain air, He Yi-ming’s spirit instantly lifted. Aside from his own sworn brothers, he had never been in conflict with anyone else.

This was partly due to his youth, but more so because few in the county dared to oppose the young master of the He family.

But today, he was certain the other party would absolutely disregard his status as the Sixth Young Master of He Family Manor.

Suddenly, a strong warning flared in He Yi-ming's mind. Without thinking, he lunged to his side, then, disregarding decorum, rolled on the ground until he reached the shelter of a large tree, from behind which he sprang up as if propelled by a hidden spring.

Only then did a sharp, whistling sound of air being split reach his ears. Where he had been standing moments before, a crossbow bolt was now embedded.

Seeing this bolt, a chill subtly crept through He Yi-ming’s heart; even his limbs felt somewhat cold.

He hadn't expected the other party to strike lethally without a word. Had this bolt hit him just a moment later, the consequences would surely have been fatal.

Crossbows were not ordinary household items; they were standard military equipment. However, the truly powerful and influential households usually possessed such defensive weaponry. He Family Manor was no exception, and He Yi-ming had considerable experience with crossbows, recognizing the origin of this deadly weapon immediately.

His heartbeat accelerated sharply. His prior maneuver had been purely instinctive reaction; had he been even slightly slower, he might have been gravely wounded by now.

Looking up toward the direction the bolt had come from, intense fury swelled within him. He crouched slightly, then darted out like a leopard hunting in the jungle.