White-Robed Chief

Su Ru gave Chu Li a look. Taking the cue from it, he nodded and both of them left Xiao Qi to walk into the woods.

Chu Li spotted the Black Eyes.

At first glance, there seemed to be not much of a difference with a pine tree. In fact, its half green made it looked as if it is aging and wilting.

Arriving in front of the Black Eyes, Su Ru pointed at it and asked, "how is it?"

"Amazing!" Chu Li happily commented.

To be able to locate the Black Eyes in such a secluded location, the Public House's resource was truly unpredictable and formidable.

Su Ru smiled. "I showed your drawing to The Protectors, some of them have exceptional memory skills. Because Lady Xiao likes exotic plants, they tend to pay more attention to the plants and trees when we are out," she explained.

As there were not many such plants in The Public House compound, Protectors who brought back an exotic plant were given a small reward. The reward may not be significant, but if it pleased Xiao Qi then it was much more valuable than monetary reward.

"Would a grafting be possible?" Su Ru wondered, but Chu Li had already started digging.

Activating the Sentient Menace, his skin, particularly his palms, emitted a light, golden glow as if they were dipped into some gold powder. Pushing his hands down, the soil softened into a tofu-like consistency enabling him to dig fast.

Su Ru tried to help dig with a sword, but Chu Li stopped her from doing so. the Black Eyes roots were very fragile. A simple mistake and it would be damaged, affecting its growth in the long run.

Su Ru could only watch from the side in amazement. He was like a gold golem; as he dug faster, the glow intensified portraying his growing inner energy. She was impressed.

An hour later, Chu Li successfully dug out the Black Eyes' root and slowly pushed it out. On the side was a sturdy, old pine tree that looked like the Black Eyes. Chu Li dug that out too to use it as a fake.

"Is there a need to transplant the soil too?" Su Ru asked.

When grafting both trees, Chu Li also dug out the soil surrounding it and wrapped them together, ensuring its roots were not exposed to the air.

"This is good enough, let's go!"

"I shall arrange for it immediately!" Su Ru dashed away and quickly brought back two middle-aged Protectors. Without saying a word, they each heaved up a tree easily. Both trees were as thick as one's thighs, measuring about two meters tall each.

"Be careful, don't damage it," warned Su Ru. "They are much more delicate and fragile than a human being!"

"Don't worry, Chief Su, we will treat them like beautiful ladies!" said one of the middle-aged Protectors with a large smile on his face.

Su Ru rolled her eyes at him. "Uncle Chang, you will one day die on a woman's belly!"

Uncle Chang chuckled replying, "nice! That's my favorite way to die!" Su Ru glared at him petulantly and walked away.

Sitting on a rock reading, Xiao Qi put down her book upon seeing Su Ru and Chu Li's return. "All done?" she asked.

"Yup!"

"Let's go then," said Xiao Qi as she stored her book away.

The crowd stood up, got on their horses and rode out of the woods.

Chu Li looked back. The two Protectors were holding the trees tight, following him closely behind. Being innate masters with their inner energies, they were able to ride their horses faster and longer.

As dusk set in, they found a forest to set up camp and rest for the night.

Chu Li walked over to the Black Eyes to check on it. Touching it, he could feel that the tree's vigor was weakening. The tree was so fragile it began to die the second it left its surrounding soil.

He channeled the surrounding trees and plants' spiritual energies into the Black Eyes to invigorate it. Receiving the nourishment, the Black Eyes started to heal back to its vigorous form.

Xiao Qi and Su Ru followed him around and got the Protectors to surround him. They were not taking the threat from the Tempest Temple lightly, lest they gave them a chance to make a move and attack.

In the middle of the night, Chu Li suddenly awoke and activated the Omniscient Mirror. With it, he could see everything within a three-mile radius, and not even the dark could stop him.

He pursed his lips and blew a long whistle, waking the whole forest. "Intruders!" he shouted.

Hearing the whistle, the two Protectors on watch looked at Chu Li.

Chu Li pointed. "there are people coming from that direction, and they are coming fast!"

Everybody had woken up by then. The Protectors drew their swords and got into a formation, surrounding Chu Li, Xiao Qi and Su Ru in the middle. Everybody stayed calm and steady.

Chu Li pointed in the opposite direction. "Another group is coming from that side!"

"Listen to him!" Xiao Qi commanded her men. The Protectors adjusted their formation, with more men moving around to guard both sides.

Su Ru stared at Chu Li curiously. He furrowed his brows, and said, "Instinct, I have very accurate instincts!"

Su Ru twitched her lips and rolled her eyes at him. It did not matter how accurate his instincts were, he did not see any intruders. However, if he was not sure of it, he would not have said a thing.

Moonlight spilled over the forest like water.

The light seeping through the leaves and branches were enough for the group to see clearly. Two groups of intruders each appeared from the East and West side. Clad in dark attire, they were masked and some even had head wraps on, only showing their sharp eyes.

In one glance, Chu Li could tell that those who covered their heads were monks from the Tempest Temple!

The assailants stormed towards them without saying a word. The Protectors also kept mum. They started battling as if they were all mute.

The four Grandmaster Protectors stood beside Xiao Qi, not joining the fight. The 16 Innate Master Protectors broke up into two separate groups to engage with the two assailant groups.

Chu Li was unable to identify the masked assailants, but there were eight of them from the Tempest Temple. Another 20 of them were from another group and were strong but merciless in their martial art skills.

It was a pressuring battle; the Protectors looked as if their defense would be broken up soon. Even so, they still put up a strong fight and did not intend to be defeated easily. Thus they maintained enough momentum for counter-attacks. The team was strong in their tacit understanding and covered for each other as part of their defense strategy.

Chu Li took a look at the four Grandmaster Protectors. They did not make a move. With the Omniscient Mirror, he discerned that these men would not make a move unless Lady Xiao herself was in imminent danger. Even if there were to be the deaths of Protectors, they would not lift a finger to help at all.

"Hmph!" The grunt came from Uncle Chang, the Protector who was joking with Su Ru. He fell on to the ground, with a sword struck through his chest.

Chu Li's face fell. It may not have been the follower of the Tempest Temple, but they were still assassins nevertheless. Without the members of the temple in the attack, the Protectors would not have had to be this defensive, which meant that he was responsible for the Protector's death!

He swung his right arm suddenly, a cold flash struck through and one of the masked assassins gripped his throat and fell backward onto the ground with a thud.

Chu Li continued to fling his right arm. Flashes of strikes blinded the forest; with each strike, an assassin fell. Suddenly, the situation was reversed. In only four to five breaths, 10 people had fallen. Everyone's attention was now on Chu Li.

Chu Li grasped a flying blade with his right hand and looked coldly at the remaining assassins. His eyes were shining sharp, and under the moonlight, he looked like the terrifying God of Death.

"Retreat!" Somebody called out. The assassins moved backward and left, disappearing from the forest in the blink of an eye.

The Protectors continued to stay alert. Protector Jang was fed a pill, enabling him to quickly sit up while coughing.

Chu Li looked at Su Ru as his eyes widened in surprise. He was pretty sure he saw Protector Jang being stabbed right through the chest. At that moment, Chu Li immediately understood.