Chapter 4 (1/2)

”Cha!”

A faint sound echoed as the tree trunks blocking the bandit’s way were all chopped down, scattering on the ground. The middle-aged bandit looked up and saw the distance between him and his prey had once again widened.

”Really crafty, but where can you run off to in the end?”

”This granddaddy will cut you down today!” As he measured the small rogue’s pace, the middle-aged man followed on with a much more relaxed stance. From the exchange right now he had felt that the scoundrel was soon going to be exhausted.

He followed closely and dealt any obstacle with his blade.

”Hua -”

Within the dense forest, even the Pei Ziyun who was familiar with the surrounding had to often search and determined his position. Usually there would be traps and snares laid by hunters inside those woods, traps that could be of use to him, but unfortunately he had no time at all to be searching for them.

Huahua the sound of cutting vegetation and foliage brushed aside sounded behind him, approaching very fast. The middle-aged bandit roared: ”You lowly servant, you can’t get away - you’re already dead for certain!”

Pei Ziyun ran in big strides. His body just recovered from severe sickness, and although he still had skills from previous lives, but a man of superior strength could crush ten men of higher skills. No matter how many tricks he had it would be difficult for him to resist the Black Wind bandit’s blade. At first he still had strength to trick and scheme, but fleeing all this way had used up almost his entire strength. At least he still had his familiarity with the woods, or else he wouldn’t be able to contend with his pursuer.

Suddenly Pei Ziyun remembered there was a trail in front, it was an animal trail and a bit along that trail was a tripping rope some hunter had put there. It could come in handy.

His heart skipped a beat and his left hand gripped his machete. He sneered twice and endured pain and burning lungs as he resolutely strode on.

He directly went through a th.o.r.n.y bush, the many barbs p.r.i.c.king him like so many blades slicing flesh, bit by bit.

The Black Wind bandit following had no intention of getting covered in th.o.r.n.y spikes and lowered his pace somewhat, but even so he wasn’t slow. His nasty smile had widened when he saw Pei Ziyun’s last ditch struggles.

”This lowly servant is exhausted already but he’s still trying to run, he’ll be dead in the blink of an eye!” The middle-aged bandit couldn’t hold in his big laugh as he thought of his prey’s soon to come death. He handily sliced the bushy undergrowth while he approached step by step.

There was a trail that seemed to have been suddenly opened in the originally thick growth of dense thickets. The trail extending all the way into the mountain, and if someone observed it they would see it was very narrow, only a single man’s width with dense shrubs and overgrown cogon gra.s.s on both sides, with nothing else but the moonlight s.h.i.+ning down on it.

Pei Ziyun was delighted as he saw this trail. He ran forward ten steps and rolled to the right, moving his body through the thickets and reaching an open s.p.a.ce laying half against the mountainside. There were a few scattered short trees there, quite a few twisty brambles on which grew small raspberries, their size from a small thumb to a big thumb, sweet and acid. On the rattans grew thin thorns.

His mouth felt like burning right now. He threw caution to the wind and directly picked the raspberries then stuffed them in his mouth, the sweet and acid fruit juice flowing as soon as he bit down on them. He panted heavily, the juice flowing down his parched throat.

Pei Ziyun savagely swallowed both raspberries and raspberry leaves and wiped his mouth without care. He leaned his head to one side and focused his ears on the animal trail. He counted, one two three!

Right when Pei Ziyun had counted to three the sound of displaced shrubs instantly came.

An instant later the sound stopped, and he seemingly heard a ”kaxi” sound, the sound of something being hacked off.

Now he heard kacha kacha and the shrubs right in front of his eyes stirred!

”No good, the tripping rope didn’t work, now I have to run!” There was only such a thought left in Pei Ziyun’s mind at this instant.

But as soon as that thought came to him, ”Pa!”, the shrubs were split open and the middle-aged bandit walked from within the hacked undergrowth.

In front were some sweet potato vines linked together on the ground, and long traces on the ground that seemed like the vestige of wild boars digging through with their snout and overturning the soil. Pei Ziyun was only ten steps away but it seemed as if he had almost no more strength left to run, so he turned and faced the Black Wind bandit.

The middle-aged mountain bandit finally had a good look at the scoundrel he had been pursuing. At a rough glance it was an appearance that was still soft and immature, the mixture of sweat and mud on his face blurring his features. He was wearing green clothes covered in patches, and right now he was panting heavily, unable to run further. The bandit couldn’t resist a laugh and approached slowly saber in hand.

”How come you aren’t running anymore?” The Black Wind bandit grinned fiercely. He was approaching slowly, not because he wanted to let this lowly servant live a few moments longer, but because after chasing here hacking all his way through he was also a little tired and short on breath.

With his eyes staring unblinkingly at Pei Ziyun, he grinned and took the opportunity to catch his breath - this clearing was only ten meters big at most, no matter how this servant ran he would only need two or three breaths to catch up to him.

Going forward step by step, he suddenly charged forward with a roar: ”Go die!”

Pei Ziyun licked his lips, his lips still carried the acid and sweet taste of raspberries. He seemed to be struggling in his last moments, moving to one side and fighting for his life. His vision swept past a tuft of underbush.

Moonlight was dim there, and the ground felt somewhat soft when he stepped on it… There was no way he could have forgotten, here many years ago a little girl with twin braids had fallen inside a pit.

”Fortunately I fetched the clamps only yesterday, how did you fall in?”

When she had seen him jump down her tears had poured out: ”Stupid stupid - why didn’t you call some people, it’s so dangerous jumping down!”

He ran as the memory flashed across his mind. The middle-aged bandit didn’t want to prolong the pursuit any longer and ran behind him, crossing five or six meters in only 3 to 4 steps.

”Pa!” When the middle-aged man’s step landed his foot sank and he felt a wave of piercing pain biting deep to the bone. It seemed his foot had been caught by something. Blood gushed from it and wetted his skin and shoes.

”Ah, it’s an animal clamp trap!” The middle-aged bandit screamed miserably and instantly understood. Hate and regret filled his heart, he had already been tricked once, how could he have been so careless again?