The Human Emperor (200-400)

C381: Returning to the Capital!

Kacha!

Without any hesitation, Wang Chong crushed the bamboo tube between his fingers, and a powdery substance reminiscent of wooden shavings poured out from within.

"This is..." Staring at the powdery substance, Wang Chong narrowed his eyes. Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind.

He grabbed the broken bamboo tube and placed it to his nose, and only then could he catch a whiff of an extremely faint odor. It had a sickly sweet smell mixed with a slightly bitter tang reminiscent of an apricot.

Were it not for the huge amount of powder in proximity to his nose, he would have never been able to perceive the scent.

Thousand Li Fragrance!

Wang Chong finally understood what it was that Zhao Qianqiu had given him. This was a powder created through a unique recipe. Due to the rare ingredients required in its creation, it was extremely difficult to procure it.

The Thousand Li Fragrance was often used for tracking purposes.

It released a lasting fragrance which was unfazed by the wind direction, allowing it to easily reach a thousand li away.

While it might not be perceivable to the human nose, specially-trained bees could detect it clearly and accurately trace the source of the fragrance.

This was often used in the military to mark scouts and spies.

More importantly, due to the intensity of the fragrance, it could be diffused even from within the bamboo tube.

This meant to say that...

"... Zhao Qianqiu can track my whereabouts!" With this thought in mind, Wang Chong's eyes lit up.

He finally understood what it was that Zhao Qianqiu gave him to save his life.

It had been days since the assault, so news of it should have already spread. By now, Zhao Qianqiu should have known that he had encountered an ambush.

In other words, Zhao Qianqiu was likely to be on his way here at the moment.

With this, Wang Chong knew what he had to do.

He immediately scattered the Thousand Li Fragrance around the ditch. Through this, he could make intensify the fragrance in the air, thus pointing out the direction even more clearly to the bees.

After doing this, carrying the remaining half a tube of Thousand Li Fragrance with him, he returned back to the ditch, covered himself, and executed the Tortoise Breathing Art once more.

But at this time, he was in a much more feeble state from before, and his consciousness was slowly fading.

------

After an unknown period of time, Wang Chong awoke to a familiar voice.

"Lad, I have finally found you!" It was a deep and warm voice. The top layer of dirt above him was swiped away with immense force, and a powerful arm pulled him up from the ditch.

Wang Chong struggled to open his eyes as blinding sunlight pierced his eyes. Vaguely, he could see a familiar brawny figure built like a mountain standing before him. There seemed to be a relieved smile on his face.

"Instructor!" Wang Chong muttered weakly with a faint smile.

At the moment that he saw Zhao Qianqiu, he knew that he was finally out of danger.

"You sure are lucky. I thought that you had died. That would be such a huge waste of the Thousand Li Fragrance that I had given you," Zhao Qianqiu chuckled. Unlike his usual composed demeanor, Wang Chong could feel his body trembling slightly in agitation.