The middle-aged man stood before him, looking down. "Well, for your age, your martial arts are quite decent. Too bad, you’ve offended the Helian family!"

Li Muzhan wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, straightened up leaning against the tree, and looked up at him.

The middle-aged man moved the tip of his foot in an instant, sealing several of Li Muzhan's vital acupoints.

Li Muzhan instantly froze stiff, only his eyes could move; his body became a statue, unable to stir.

The middle-aged man frowned at him, his eyes flashing with cold lightning, as if genuinely contemplating something.

After a moment, he pursed his lips and whistled sharply. A horse's neigh echoed from the distance, responding to his call, followed by the sound of rapid hoofbeats.

A crimson roan steed burst into the grove and stopped before the middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man stepped forward, stroking the horse's head, combing its mane with his hand; the cold lightning in his eyes softened.

This crimson roan steed had not a single stray hair, shining as if draped in red satin. Its eyes were spirited, proud yet clear, brimming with intelligence. It repeatedly nudged the middle-aged man's hand, displaying great affection.

A moment later, the middle-aged man released his hand and said, "Hong'er, thank you for your trouble. Carry this boy with you!"

The steed let out a soft whinny, pawing the ground a few times with its front hooves, as if urging him to stop wasting time and mount up quickly.

Li Muzhan sat on the grass, watching motionlessly, secretly marveling. This horse was truly magnificent, full of spirit; clearly, this middle-aged man was also an equestrian enthusiast.

Those who love animals are often not very friendly to people, and when they kill, they certainly won’t hesitate. Li Muzhan sighed lightly, shaking his head secretly, feeling utterly helpless.

The middle-aged man first searched Li Muzhan. His satchel was opened, the contents of his embrace taken out, along with the Wugou 5 on his arm and the small arrows at his waist—nothing was left. He was searched clean.

Li Muzhan sighed inwardly. This fellow was an old hand, highly experienced, meticulous in his actions, and possessed such profound martial arts. Falling into his hands, he could only blame bad luck.

Fortunately, he didn't carry anything vital on him; only the Wugou Bow was a treasure; the rest were some elixirs for healing, nothing truly precious.

Before leaving Jinyang City, he had foreseen a fierce battle, possibly one from which he would not return alive, so all important items had been left behind. The Ziyang Sui was entrusted to his second sister, Li Yurong, for safekeeping—utterly secure. After the search, the middle-aged man snorted, "Broke ghost!"

With that, he tossed Li Muzhan onto the horse’s back, laying him across face-down, his chest pressing against the horse’s spine, right over the diaphragm. For another person, this position would have immediately caused vomiting.

Li Muzhan practiced the Vajra Indestructible Divine Skill; at this moment, its power manifested, making his internal organs resilient. Despite the compression, his stomach remained only slightly uncomfortable.

The middle-aged man glanced at Li Muzhan, leaped onto the horse, and shouted, "Giddy up!" He lightly kicked the horse's belly, and the crimson horse immediately bolted forth, swift as an arrow loosed from a bowstring.

Li Muzhan’s head hung down, close to the ground, watching the earth rapidly recede; he felt a bit dizzy and quickly turned his head to look into the distance. The middle-aged man was extremely cautious, holding the reins with one hand while the other rested on Li Muzhan’s back. One purpose was to steady him so he wouldn't fall; the other was to occasionally channel internal energy inside, probing the condition within his body.

In such circumstances, Li Muzhan had no opening to exploit. If he dared to try and break the seal on his acupoints, he would be instantly detected. Given Li Muzhan's skill level, escaping was utterly impossible.

Li Muzhan was not anxious; he patiently waited for an opportunity. The man couldn't possibly stay within inches of him for twelve hours straight; he would need to attend to nature at least once. They traveled due west, heading straight from the southern reaches toward the west, bypassing Haidong. // //[A sequence of indistinct sounds/marks suggesting passage of time or movement]

In the blink of an eye, three days passed.

These three days were agonizing for Li Muzhan. The middle-aged man gave him only a little water and no food; by the end of each day, he was famished.

Although he could practice Bigu (abstaining from grains), that was only during meditation when his body was dormant, requiring no sustenance, so he could go days without eating or drinking.

Now, with his acupoints sealed and constantly jostled on the horse's back, even with profound mental fortitude, he could not enter a meditative state. He was hungry, even hungrier than an ordinary person.

He hadn't tasted the bitterness of hunger in a long time. When he was a child, his family was poor, and he couldn't eat his fill. Unable to bear the suffering of hunger, he sought every means until he was forced to join a monastery just to eat properly.

Since entering the Chengjing Temple, he had never experienced starvation again. Now, facing it once more, his heart filled with complex emotions.

The day he arrived at the Helian Clan's estate would be the day he died. The only reason he was captured alive was so that the Li family could exact revenge with their own hands.

But now, trapped in a desperate situation, the middle-aged man’s martial arts were supreme. Although his own skill was not insignificant, before this man, he was like a three-year-old child before an adult. Not only was his martial art strong, but his methods were more seasoned and cautious, giving no opportunity whatsoever. Escaping seemed as hard as ascending to heaven.

However, his mental discipline was deep, and he quickly regained control of his emotions, remaining calm and composed, slowly waiting for an opening. He believed that heaven never closes off all paths; he would surely find a way.

After three days, with only sips of water and no food, under the agony of hunger, his appearance quickly changed. His complexion turned ashen, his eyes vacant and staring straight ahead, as if he were a different person. His acupoints had been sealed the entire time; Li Muzhan understood that this was a death sentence.

If acupoints are sealed for too long, the flow of Qi and blood is obstructed, causing permanent physical damage. If the large veins in the thigh were bound for too long, necrosis would set in.

Sealing the acupoints, while not stopping the blood, obstructed the Qi; when Qi cannot flow, the viscera weaken, making one susceptible to illness, thus depleting vitality and lifespan. This middle-aged man clearly paid no mind to how long Li Muzhan’s acupoints remained sealed, showing complete disregard for his life.

Li Muzhan ground his teeth in hatred but was powerless. Fortunately, the Vajra Indestructible Divine Skill was immensely powerful; even with the acupoints sealed, his body remained unharmed, and his essence, Qi, and spirit were intact.

Although he suffered agonizing hunger, he wasn't truly in such a wretched state. He was deliberately feigning collapse and decay to lull the middle-aged man into a false sense of security and create a chance to escape.

Alas, this middle-aged man was extremely cautious, never letting his hand leave Li Muzhan’s body, occasionally sending a burst of internal energy in to probe his condition. Facing such a character gave Li Muzhan a severe headache. As dusk settled, the air seemed layered with a gray gauze, blurring the surroundings indistinctly.

The middle-aged man halted the horse, casually tossing Li Muzhan onto the ground with a heavy thud, like a discarded sack. Then he dismounted gracefully and surveyed the area.

It was a dilapidated temple situated on a small hill. The surrounding terrain was flat; only this single small hill stood out, resembling the breast of a woman.

The middle-aged man untied the reins. The crimson steed turned and trotted toward a patch of grass in the distance, where it began leisurely grazing on the tender green blades.

The middle-aged man entered the temple, found a spot to sit, opened his satchel, took out his waterskin, and drank deeply, letting some spill onto his chest. Li Muzhan lay face down on the ground, listening to the sound of drinking, his own throat involuntarily contracting.

He had only taken a sip of water that morning; he hadn't had a drop all day and was terribly thirsty, but the middle-aged man had sealed his mute acupoint, preventing him from speaking. Breaking the seal wasn't difficult for him; a single rotation of his Zidan (Purple Elixir) would open the points, but he dared not act.

The middle-aged man kept his hand pressed against his back; any slight movement would result in a burst of internal energy shattering his heart meridian. Furthermore, he only had one chance to escape. If he broke the seal and failed to flee, there would be no next time.

The middle-aged man approached him and kicked him over, turning him face-up. Then he opened the waterskin and poured water into his mouth.

Li Muzhan opened his mouth, his throat working, swallowing constantly. His face and the clothes before him became soaked.

He recalled the words of a leader from his modern life: weakness invites aggression!

However, despite the suffering, his will was firm, and he paid it no mind. He thought to himself: If I escape this time, I must practice diligently, then find this middle-aged man and repay him tenfold!

The middle-aged man sneered, scrutinizing Li Muzhan for a while before saying, "Little monk, quite a tough bone you have. Truly worthy of one who cultivates Buddhism!" Li Muzhan’s mouth twitched; unable to speak, he could only offer a smile.

The middle-aged man shook his head, "But whether you are tough or soft, by the time we reach our destination, you will die regardless." Li Muzhan's expression remained unchanged, still smiling.

The middle-aged man laughed, "Good, good, truly good!" I like stubborn bones like yours the most. Perhaps on a whim, I might just let you go.

Li Muzhan’s expression did not shift. He was constantly urging his Tachyon Mind ability, sensing the middle-aged man’s shifting thoughts.

Seeing Li Muzhan like this, the middle-aged man’s face darkened. He nodded, "Very well, then let's play a game and see whose bones are harder—yours, or my methods!"

Although he could not circulate his Gong (internal energy), his supernatural abilities remained unimpeded. He continued using the Tachyon Mind to sense the middle-aged man’s moods, exploring the application of this power.

Throughout this journey, he had gained much. His application of the Tachyon Mind grew increasingly proficient. He could not only sense the opponent's feelings and emotions but also glimpse their thoughts—though not clearly, he caught vague outlines, akin to intuition.

For instance, before taking a step, he would first shift his weight onto one foot; after sitting down, what he intended to do next was almost a form of precognition, accurately predicted. In the time it took, the night had already descended, darkening the sky.

The middle-aged man glanced at Li Muzhan, sneered, and turned to look for firewood to make a few torches for illumination. Li Muzhan's heart stirred, but he suppressed the impulse, refraining from any rash action.

In the final moment, he sensed the middle-aged man's true intention—he realized this was a trap, a test—and cursed the old fox inwardly.

Li Muzhan lay on the ground, closing his eyes to feign death, carefully refining his Tachyon Mind.

After a while, the middle-aged man returned, carrying an armload of wood. He fashioned several torches and stuck them in various places around the temple. When lit, the space was instantly illuminated as if by daylight.

The middle-aged man kicked Li Muzhan into the temple, leaving him lying face up. He then sat before the Buddha statue, opened his satchel, took out braised meat and filled pies, and the temple was immediately filled with a fragrant aroma that wafted into Li Muzhan's nostrils.

Li Muzhan sighed inwardly at his caution. In the single moment of the kick, the middle-aged man had probed his meridians again and sealed several more acupoints—he was extremely vigilant. The middle-aged man glanced at Li Muzhan, saw his eyes were closed, and ceased provoking him, concentrating instead on eating.

He ate with great seriousness, requiring focus and concentration, chewing slowly and deliberately; despite being in the wilderness, he ate with the elegance of a diner in a luxurious restaurant.

"Bang!" A muffled sound suddenly erupted. Li Muzhan transformed into several illusory figures and rushed out of the temple gate.

The middle-aged man startled for a moment, then shook his head and let out a cold laugh.