The second evening found Zhang Zhenshan back in the same inn.
His face stern, Zhang Zhenshan sat at a table as Zhao Ping beside him rapidly relayed the details concerning Bai Yunfei's discovery and escape.
After listening to the report, Zhang Zhenshan remained silent for a moment before abruptly standing up. He beckoned to the Tracking Gray Rat, which was gnawing on a small fruit on the table. The small creature paused, looked up at Zhang Zhenshan with apparent hesitation, but then swiftly scampered up onto his shoulder when Zhao Ping urged it with a curt noise.
"Master, are you setting out immediately?" Zhao Ping couldn't help but speak up. "You've expended considerable Soul Force traveling here. Shouldn't you rest a while longer?"
"I know my limits!" Zhang Zhenshan frowned slightly, his expression impassive. Without another word, he strode decisively out of the inn.
Watching Zhang Zhenshan's figure rapidly disappear into the distance, Zhao Ping sighed softly. He murmured, "The master is at the Soul Spirit realm. Dealing with a mere Soul Master shouldn't pose any problem... Yet, I feel that man was still hiding something during that fight. He definitely wasn't using his full strength. I hope the master doesn't lose his composure in his eagerness for revenge..."
The Tracking Gray Rat, a low-level Tier One Soul Beast devoid of any offensive capabilities and virtually incapable of advancement, nonetheless held favor among certain individuals. Its value lay in one unique ability: tracking!
Once its saliva marked a target, within three days, it could unerringly locate that target – no matter how far they fled or how well they hid!
Moreover, its saliva was impossible to wash off without a specific neutralizing solution. No amount of scrubbing would remove it.
Guided by the Tracking Gray Rat, Zhang Zhenshan reached the small riverbank where Bai Yunfei had rested the previous night in less than three hours.
Arriving at the spot, the rat suddenly emitted soft, low chittering sounds. Zhang Zhenshan paused, puzzled, as the creature leaped down from his shoulder. It scurried to the river's edge, seeming momentarily confused. It then began darting back and forth within a small area, its tiny nose visibly twitching and sniffing intensely.
"He's this vigilant? He actually scrubbed the tracking mark here!" Seeing the creature's behavior, Zhang Zhenshan's face darkened. He snorted coldly but waited patiently for the rat to continue its search. "So what? Without the specific solution, it only means wasting a bit more time. You cannot escape!"
Sure enough, after a few minutes, the Tracking Gray Rat suddenly began chattering excitedly upstream. It scampered back up Zhang Zhenshan's shoulder. A grim smile touched Zhang Zhenshan's lips. Without hesitation, he surged forward in that direction, pushing his speed to the absolute limit.
The sound of his passage ripped through the quiet night, audible from far away. Even the rat clung desperately to his collar with tiny claws, its body curled tightly into a ball to avoid being flung off.
Zhang Zhenshan maintained this punishing pace relentlessly throughout the entire night. He only stopped the following morning. After resting for two hours and having the rat reconfirm the direction, he resumed his desperate chase…
He finally halted again as the sun set and the moon rose, deep within a small forest. He pulled food from his spatial ring, eating quickly while also focusing on recovering his depleted Soul Force.
Now, however, a trace of anxiety was visible on his face.
"Damnation! How far could that man possibly have run? After fleeing non-stop for a day at most, believing he wasn't pursued, he should have slowed down! Yet… even pushing myself like this, I still see no sign of catching up!"
"If I miss this chance, who knows when we'll find him again? If he escapes Qingyun Province… avenging Yang'er becomes nearly impossible!"
"Two days have passed. Only one day left. No matter what, I must catch him tomorrow!"
On the third day—the final day of the tracking window—Zhang Zhenshan abandoned rest entirely. He did not stop even once, sustaining his maximum speed in an all-out effort to close the distance.
By the afternoon, with less than half a day remaining before the mark faded, Zhang Zhenshan's expression was etched with deepening desperation, even a flicker of despair. "Could it be… truly impossible to catch him?"
Just then, the Tracking Gray Rat on his shoulder let out a series of soft, urgent chitters. Sensing its agitation, Zhang Zhenshan skidded to an immediate stop, tense anticipation replacing despair as he watched the creature.
The small beast twitched its nose intently, chittered again, and waved its tiny paws with visible excitement.
"Close?! We've finally drawn near?!" Seeing the rat's behavior, Zhang Zhenshan couldn't contain a sharp cry of triumph.
He placed the rat back on his shoulder and exploded forward again with renewed fury.
An hour later, as he crested a small hill, the Tracking Gray Rat's chattering suddenly became louder, far more intense and excited. Zhang Zhenshan's heart leaped. He scanned the valley below intently. On a vast expanse of grassland, a figure was walking briskly towards a forest at the far end.
The figure appeared to be a youth. His current pace wasn't a desperate sprint, but it was certainly not slow.
Sighting this lone figure, Zhang Zhenshan began to tremble faintly. His face contorted with near-feral intensity. Boundless hatred and burning fury erupted from his eyes.
"It's him! It must be him! Finally… finally, I've caught you! You won't escape again! Pay for my son's life with your own!"
After realizing he was likely tagged for tracking that night, Bai Yunfei had pushed himself mercilessly for two full days. He only stopped for essential, brief rests, never lingering!
Adding to his unease, it seemed—whether real or imagined—that when he sniffed his right hand periodically, that peculiar odor faintly returned. This discovery amplified his worry. Almost every time he paused, he would scrub his hand vigorously for over ten minutes, as if trying to wash away his apprehension…
After two days, the toll of ceaseless, day-and-night flight became too much. He finally allowed himself a proper rest for half the night before setting out again, though now at a considerably reduced pace.
It had to be noted, however, that the relentless use of the Rippling Steps during those two days had propelled his mastery of this Soul Skill at an astonishing rate. The level of proficiency he'd achieved would have taken him at least ten days of dedicated, focused practice under normal circumstances.
He had crossed a mountain around noon, eaten some provisions, and was now traversing this broad, open grassland. A forest lay ahead, not too far. Bai Yunfei planned to pass through it, hoping to find some sign of human habitation beyond.
He gazed across the seemingly endless grassland and the looming forest ahead. A touch of helpless humor tinged his murmur:
"Seriously… just where in the world am I now?"