(Xie Yuxingse Alliance Leader)

On the seventh day.

Zhang Rongfang opened his eyes on the sturdy hardwood plank bed.

He had just had a dream, dreaming that he had returned to the modern society of his previous life.

He was still that little copywriter responsible for drafting speeches for the leaders at his workplace. Unfortunately, the moment he opened his eyes—"Time to get up. If I'm late, Xiao Qingying will disappear again."

He took a deep breath, drawing the cool air into his lungs to wake himself up as quickly as possible.

If anything happened to Xiao Qingying, he would definitely suffer for it. So whether he wanted to or not, he had no choice but to keep a close eye on her.

Turning over and getting up, Zhang Rongfang quickly dressed, washed up, and headed out.

He went to wait outside the village house where Xiao Qingying was staying.

He bought some scallion-oil flatbread from villagers in a nearby house for breakfast.

Before long, Zhang Rongfang saw Xiao Qingying, fully dressed and moving swiftly, leave the house and run toward the edge of the village.

His heart skipped a beat. She had not caused any trouble for so many days that he had thought she had finally settled down, frightened by what had happened last time.

Now it seemed she had been waiting for this? Watching Xiao Qingying run farther and farther away, Zhang Rongfang stopped worrying about anything else and hurried after her.

If something really happened to Xiao Qingying, Xiao Rong might actually beat him to death when he returned.

If a Master killed a Disciple for some reason, even if outsiders from the Government Office came, at most they would offer a few words of condemnation. No one would interfere.

That was also what irritated Zhang Rongfang.

Though he was grateful to Xiao Rong for promoting him to Cultivation Disciple and freeing him from his former menial status, being completely tied to Xiao Qingying now made him feel stifled as well.

Especially since Xiao Qingying was not the sort to stay put in the first place.

Ignoring the thoughts churning in his heart, Zhang Rongfang lengthened his stride and chased after her.

He followed Xiao Qingying all the way. She clearly knew he was following, but she did not care.

Before long, the two left the village and stopped in a Small Forest behind it.

Someone had already been waiting there.

The instant Zhang Rongfang saw him, his heart went cold.

The person waiting there was actually Chen Wuyou! His patrol point must have been nearby, or he would not have dared come directly to meet someone.

Xiao Qingying and Chen Wuyou soon began whispering sweet nothings to each other, drawing ever closer.

Zhang Rongfang noticed that Chen Wuyou had someone following him as well, clearly someone sent to protect him just like Zhang Rongfang had been.

At a loss for words, he simply hid behind a tree trunk, moved over a stone and half-sat on it, intending to wait until the two finished their flirtation.

While Zhang Rongfang waited.

Behind and to one side of him, a figure draped in a straw cape was slowly creeping closer, keeping low and trying to make as little noise as possible.

The man held a Dagger, his eyes cold and cruel, as though Zhang Rongfang was not a person in his eyes but merely an ordinary piece of prey.

The distance steadily closed.

As he drew closer to Zhang Rongfang, his movements became quieter and more cautious.

Though his target was merely an ordinary Daoist without even Entering the Ranks.

Though he had once worked with his companions to kill even skilled fighters who had Entered the Ranks.

If he could complete the task as quietly as possible without alerting the officers, that would be best.

Even if he was discovered, he could drive the target away and let the other Mountain Bandits surround him. They would finish the job in ten breaths, front and back.

This time, their leader had said that whoever struck first would get half the reward!

At that thought, greed flashed in the Mountain Bandit's eyes.

With his skills... Hm!? Where did he go!?

In the brief instant he had let his mind wander, the target in his sight had vanished? The Mountain Bandit's heart jolted. He thought he had been discovered, but when he looked around—

The target was cautiously shifting his body and moving to another position.

This guy... The Mountain Bandit's lips twitched.

Watching Zhang Rongfang move while glancing around from side to side, the Mountain Bandit hurriedly lowered himself, worried that he would be spotted.

After waiting a while, he raised his head again and discovered that the distance between them had grown even greater.

Drawing a deep breath, the Mountain Bandit resolutely continued lurking, slowly closing in on his target once more.

After quite some time, just as he was about to get close again, Zhang Rongfang unexpectedly started moving.

The man changed locations, peering everywhere while Sneaking Around to a more distant spot and squatting down.

The Mountain Bandit had only just managed to get close, yet the distance had widened again. His heart gave a painful twitch.

This time, he decided to hold his position and see what exactly was wrong with this fellow.

So he lay where he was without moving.

Sure enough, just as he had guessed, Zhang Rongfang began running again before long.

This time he ran even farther. He appeared to be circling the Young Couple chatting at the center.

So this guy was simply a coward who had to change positions every so often? He absolutely refused to stay in one place for long? "I..." The Mountain Bandit had a lump of stifled anger in his chest and did not know how to vent it.

But he was unwilling to give up. Success was right before him, half the reward dangling before his eyes. He would not accept it if he did not at least try!

Hadn't he followed Big Brother into the uprising because he had no money and could not survive?

Now the chance was right before him. If he took a gamble, perhaps—Pshht!! Suddenly, searing pain shot through the Mountain Bandit's hand.

Looking down, he saw a fist-sized bamboo Animal Trap deeply embedded in his wrist and forearm.

The tremendous force of its elastic bands and its sharp serrated teeth had nearly snapped his right hand off.

Aaaahhh!!! The Mountain Bandit let out a miserable scream, exploding to his feet and startling flocks of wild birds into flight.

Up ahead, Zhang Rongfang shuddered at the scream.

He hurriedly turned back and saw, from the corner of his eye, a figure leap out of the bushes. The man turned to flee, only for the rope attached to the Animal Trap to yank him down onto the ground.

Pshht!

His face landed squarely on a second Animal Trap. "How terrible..." Zhang Rongfang looked unable to bear it. Because he had been so afraid of dying, he had gone around looking for village Hunter the moment he arrived, buying quite a few homemade Animal Traps.

Then whenever he entered the woods, he would set one down every short stretch, scattering them everywhere.

These bamboo Animal Traps were common tools used by the village Hunters. Everyone knew how to make them.

And since this mountain village was deep in the mountains, such things were the least scarce resource around.

Thus, Zhang Rongfang had very fortunately bought several dozen and put them in the bag he carried, keeping them ready at all times.

The shadow cast on him by that previous Spring Outing had simply been too great. Now whenever he went out, every patch of woods and every corner looked as if someone might be hiding there.

"What a good thing. Cheap and useful, perfect for mountain forests and dense woods. They protect you and can even put some meat between your teeth. Other than their short effective duration, they have no drawbacks."

Watching the man roll around on the ground, rolling back and forth, covered in blood, Zhang Rongfang could not bear the sight.

So he picked up a fist-sized stone from the ground, stepped closer, and hurled it at the man with all his strength.

Pfft.

The stone was extraordinarily lucky, striking the man squarely in the neck.

The man fell over on the spot, his neck bent at a bizarre angle. He twitched on the ground, and it was unclear whether he had fainted or—

Zhang Rongfang sighed inwardly. Ever since seeing a dead person last time, his heart had hardened quite a bit.

He was no longer so tense around blood and the like.

He slowly approached and searched the ground nearby for stones, but unfortunately could not find any suitable ones.

So he bent over and lifted the only one available: a white millstone the size of a washbasin.

"Here we go!"

He threw it with all his strength.

Bang!!

A heavy impact sounded as it hit the ground, followed by the crack of breaking bones.

"How terrible..." Zhang Rongfang could not bear to look any longer.

He felt that he was still too kind-hearted. That man had been Sneaking Around behind him and even worn a straw cape for camouflage. There was obviously something wrong with him.

Yet Zhang Rongfang had not even dared to strike too heavily.

This time, he approached once more. The washbasin-sized stone had hit the man squarely in the back, crushing him into a bizarre curve.

Only when Zhang Rongfang got closer did he clearly see the mangled mass of flesh and blood, and his stomach could not help churning.

He was not disgusted. He was afraid—terrified.

There was no stable social order here like in his previous life, no cameras everywhere, much less the tight and powerful force of the state.

Here, a human life could vanish like the man before him: two Animal Traps, two stones, and he was gone.

"A stone that big must hurt terribly when it hits your body, right?" Zhang Rongfang squatted down and spoke softly.

"And those Animal Traps are so sharp." He reached out to pry open the Mountain Bandit's hand, but everything was a mangled mess of flesh and blood. He could not even find where the hand was, only an old rusty Short Dagger.

"Sigh, that looks so painful!"

Zhang Rongfang released his grip and watched the Mountain Bandit's body twitch without stopping.

Gritting his teeth, he swiftly tore open the Mountain Bandit's clothes, felt through his pockets, and searched for a pouch at his waist.

He found a brown leather bag tied to the man's waist with a rope.

He stuffed it into the small burlap sack he carried, then quickly got up and left to retrieve the rest of his Animal Traps.

In a forest like this, where the trees stood dense, bows and arrows were difficult to use. Traps, on the other hand, were highly effective.

The bamboo Animal Traps were green to begin with, making them especially easy to camouflage.

After doing all that, Zhang Rongfang still felt somewhat weak in the knees. What if the other person had not stepped into an Animal Trap?

Though he had placed more than twenty around himself, what if the man had been lucky, or naturally cautious, and noticed the traps?

Once again experiencing the dangers of this world, Zhang Rongfang lifted his head to look at Xiao Qingying.

That scream had been so loud. Xiao Qingying and Chen Wuyou, who had been nearby, should have—Hm? Where were they?

Zhang Rongfang suddenly realized that the two people who had just been within his Field of Vision had vanished.

"Not good! Something's about to happen!" Zhang Rongfang's Heart Shivered. He immediately took an army Message Tube from inside his clothes, lit it, and fired it upward.

Biu!

A Signal Flare burst above the forest.

The bright flare instantly lit up the shadows across this patch of woods.

The Da Ling Soldiers in the village spotted the flare at once. Na Mushi, who was leading them, twitched at the corner of his mouth and had no choice but to bring another Male Daoist with him as they hurried over.

More than ten soldiers also charged toward the site where the flare had burst.

Soldier Captain Yang Xuanchao was fully equipped. Drawing his saber, he charged ahead, his strength as a Third-Rank Master in his prime fully on display. He was considerably faster than the others.

At that moment, several other Mountain Bandits beside Zhang Rongfang who had been preparing to rush out and surround him all froze.

They had not even had the chance to charge out yet?!

Was this target really that afraid of dying?

The Mountain Bandits turned and fled back into the mountains one after another, but one of them glanced at Zhang Rongfang. Such a huge reward was right within his grasp!

He gritted his teeth and charged at Zhang Rongfang.

As long as he killed this man within ten breaths... "There's time!"

This Mountain Bandit gripped a Dagger, his face twisted savagely as he rushed toward Zhang Rongfang.

He could see the other man's hands trembling with fear.

He could win!

Once he had money, who the hell would still want to be a Bandit!?

The distance between them narrowed.

Ten meters.

Five meters!

Two meters!! Zhang Rongfang sucked in a sharp breath. He had also seen the rusty Dagger in the other man's hand.

That was a rusted blade!

What if I got tetanus if it cut me?! What if he struck at my head first!?

What if he was stronger than me??

What if he was an expert who had Entered the Ranks!?

What if he threw the Dagger at me!? What if he suddenly scattered a handful of sand!?

What if, what if—countless worries, fears, and terrors flashed through Zhang Rongfang's heart.

His face twisted slightly, his lips parting as he stared fixedly at the figure charging toward him.

This was the first time he was about to fight someone, and it was a fight to the death! My body can't move...!

What should I do now?

Block him?!

Use the Dagger?

My arm or my leg?

No! Even if I can block the first strike, there'll be a second and a third!

If I only block, I have no way of predicting what move he'll use!!

So... I can only kill him first!

If he dies! If he can't move!

Then I'll have a way to live!!

Zhang Rongfang's pupils dilated.

Blood and qi surged violently within him. His hands went numb as blood rushed into both arms.

His heartbeat thundered like war drums.

"Whoever wants me dead."

"I'll kill him first!!!"

Whoosh! He hurled an entire bag of Animal Traps at the attacker.

Zhang Rongfang's arms were like enormous pythons as he instinctively unleashed all his strength, driving out a straight Yang Piercing Needle!

He held nothing back. All the force of the Blood Nourishing level poured into this strike.