Escape

He did not know how long he had been running.

Li Jinshui only knew that his legs no longer felt like his own, his lungs felt as if they were about to explode, and his throat was filled with the metallic tang of blood.

Every step felt like treading on the tip of a blade, and every step made him want to stop, yet he gritted his teeth and pushed forward with every step.

The shouts of battle behind him gradually faded into the distance.

After running for the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn, the surroundings fell completely silent, leaving only the rustling of wind through the woods.

Li Jinshui finally stopped, bracing his hands on his knees as he gasped for air.

Behind him, two thuds sounded.

Monkey and Er Gou collapsed directly onto the ground like two dead dogs.

Monkey lay face down, his whole body twitching, making a wheezing sound in his throat—it was unclear whether he was gasping for air or weeping.

Er Gou lay flat on his back, his eyes half-closed, his lips pale, his chest heaving as rapidly as a beating drum.

Li Jinshui panted for a long while before straightening his back and looking around.

This was a sparse forest, and to the south, the silhouettes of rolling mountains could be seen in the distance.

There were no pursuers.

He walked over and kicked Monkey's leg.

"Get up."

Monkey did not move, merely rolling over to lie on his back, his eyes staring blankly at the sky.

"Jinshui..." his voice was as raspy as sandpaper grinding against stone, "Are we... still alive?"

Li Jinshui nodded. "Alive."

Monkey was silent for a moment, then suddenly laughed.

That smile was uglier than crying.

"Alive... what's the use of being alive? The Prince has fled, North-Rejecting City is gone, and we are nothing but three stray dogs. Where can we run? How far can we go? When the Di People catch up, we'll die all the same..."

Er Gou, listening from the side, suddenly began to sob.

"My mother... my mother is still in the city... when I ran... I didn't have time to call for her..."

He cried louder and louder, his tears mixing with the dirt on his face.

"Stop crying," Li Jinshui said.

Er Gou did not listen and cried even harder.

"My mother is over sixty... she can't run... she definitely couldn't get out... those Di People will kill her... they will definitely kill her..."

Li Jinshui was silent for a breath, then squatted down and slapped him across the face.

It wasn't heavy, but it was loud.

Er Gou froze, the sound of his sobbing stuck in his throat.

Li Jinshui stared at him, speaking word by word:

"Whether your mother is dead or not, I don't know. But if you keep crying and draw the Di People here, you will definitely die."

Er Gou covered his face, not daring to cry anymore, though the tears continued to flow.

Monkey watched from the side, sighed, propped himself up, and sat under a tree.

"Jinshui, what... what do we do now?"

Li Jinshui sat down as well, leaning his back against a tree, closing his eyes to catch his breath.

What to do?

He did not know either.

North Plain City was a thousand miles away; with their current pace, it would take them ten days or half a month.

There was no telling how many Di soldiers or dangers lay along the way.

But to stay was to die.

"Rest," he said. "Once we've rested, we keep running south."

Monkey and Er Gou did not speak again.

The forest fell quiet, leaving only the sound of the wind through the leaves.

One hour.

Two hours.

The sun slowly slanted westward from directly overhead.

Li Jinshui leaned against the tree trunk, half-asleep and half-awake, his ears pricked, listening to the movements around him.

Suddenly, he snapped his eyes open.

There was a sound.

Footsteps.

Coming from the north, growing closer, chaotic and messy—at least a dozen people.

"Get up!" He lowered his voice, kicking Monkey and Er Gou.

The two woke with a start, instinctively opening their mouths to speak, only for Li Jinshui to clamp his hands over their mouths.

"Don't make a sound."

He dragged them behind a large boulder, the three of them curling into a ball, holding their breath.

The footsteps drew nearer.

Crunch, crunch—the sound of boots trampling over dead branches and rotting leaves, a rustling mess.

Er Gou's face was deathly pale, his entire body trembling, his teeth chattering uncontrollably. He gripped Li Jinshui's sleeve so hard he wrinkled the fabric.

"Jin... Jinshui..." His voice squeezed out from his throat, thin as a mosquito's hum, "It's... it's the Northern Di soldiers... so many..."

"Shut up!" Li Jinshui hissed.

Er Gou shuddered in fright, but his teeth continued to chatter—clack, clack, clack—unable to stop.

Monkey remained silent beside them, but his hands were shaking too, gripping his blade hilt so tightly his knuckles turned white.

Li Jinshui glanced at him, then at Er Gou, and suddenly raised his hand, slapping Er Gou across the face.

"Smack!"

A crisp, sharp sound.

Er Gou was stunned, and his teeth finally stopped rattling.

Li Jinshui leaned in close, lowering his voice, hammering every word into his ears:

"Make another sound, and I'll throw you out there."

Er Gou nodded frantically, tears welling up, but he clamped his hands over his mouth, not daring to make a peep.

The footsteps were even closer now.

Li Jinshui peered out through a gap in the rocks—

A dozen Northern Di soldiers were running from the north, panting heavily; they were clearly on a forced march.

The three in the lead had thick, powerful auras—at least Inner Strength Realm.

The dozen or so following behind ranged from the fifth to the ninth level of Body Forging.

They stopped at the edge of the woods, looking around.

One Northern Di soldier shouted something in the Northern Di tongue, and another pointed toward the forest, seemingly debating whether to search it. The three Inner Strength Realm leaders conferred in low voices, then waved their hands.

The Northern Di soldiers fanned out and began to walk into the woods.

Li Jinshui pulled back behind the rock, his heart rate accelerating.

Fifteen of them.

Three Inner Strength Realm, twelve Body Forging Realm.

Could he win?

He glanced at Monkey and Er Gou behind him—one at the sixth level of Body Forging, the other at the fifth, both exhausted to the point of collapse; he couldn't count on them.

But as for himself—

Late-stage Inner Strength Realm, White Tiger Blade Technique at Great Success, Inch Step at Great Success, Rock Body at Minor Success, Evergreen Art at Great Success.

Three Inner Strength Realm?

The corners of his mouth slowly curled upward.

If he couldn't fight those in the Pulse-Opening Realm, couldn't he at least handle a few of you in the Inner Strength Realm?

He whispered to Monkey and Er Gou, "Stay here. Don't move."

Monkey was stunned: "What are you going to do?"

Li Jinshui didn't answer, merely tightening his grip on his Black Iron Blade.

A Northern Di soldier had already walked to within five paces of the rock, using his scimitar to push aside the tall grass, cursing under his breath.

Li Jinshui took a deep breath, and then—

He moved!

Inch Step!

He erupted from behind the rock, fast as a blur, instantly charging before the soldier!

The soldier only had time to widen his eyes before the blade edge swept across his throat!

[Killed Northern Di soldier (Body Forging 7th Level), Points +7]

Before the corpse even hit the ground, Li Jinshui had already lunged toward the next one!

White Tiger Blade Technique: Tiger Pounce!

The second Di soldier was cleaved in half by a single strike!

[+6]

"Enemy attack!!!"

The Di soldiers finally reacted, screaming as they swarmed forward!

Three Inner Strength Realm experts roared and lunged at Li Jinshui simultaneously!

Li Jinshui did not retreat but advanced instead, his Black Iron Blade sweeping horizontally!

White Tiger Blade Technique: Tiger Sweep!

The blade light flashed like a bolt of silk, forcing back the two Inner Strength Realm experts in the lead!

The third Inner Strength Realm expert charged from the side, his scimitar thrusting straight at Li Jinshui's ribs!

Without even turning his head, Li Jinshui shifted three feet to the side using Inch Step, dodging the blade, and smashed his backhand into the man's face!

Iron Thread Fist!

The Inner Strength Realm expert's face caved in from the impact; he flew backward, slammed into a tree, and his neck snapped—he was dead!

[Killed Northern Di Decurion (Early Inner Strength Realm), points +10]

The expressions of the remaining two Inner Strength Realm experts shifted.

"He... he is at the late Inner Strength Realm!"

"Attack together!"

The two exchanged a glance and lunged at him at the same time!

Li Jinshui sneered, and the blade light rose once more!

The White Tiger Blade Technique was fully unleashed in his hands, each strike fiercer and faster than the last!

Ten moves!

Twenty moves!

On the thirtieth move, he cleaved open the chest of one of the Inner Strength Realm experts!

[+15]

The last Inner Strength Realm expert saw the situation was dire and turned to run!

Li Jinshui caught up in a single stride and slashed at his leg!

"Ah--!!!"

The man shrieked as he collapsed to the ground, blood spraying wildly from his leg, his bone shattered.

The remaining few Body Forging Realm Di soldiers had long since lost their nerve and scattered in all directions!

Li Jinshui did not pursue; he simply carried his blade and walked up to the last Inner Strength Realm expert.

The man lay on the ground, scrambling backward desperately, shouting in broken Great Zhou language: "Spare me! Spare me!"

Li Jinshui crouched down and pressed the tip of his blade against the man's chin, forcing him to look up.

"I ask, you answer."

The man nodded frantically.

"Where are your Pulse-Opening Realm experts?"

"They... they went to chase the Zhou Army's Pulse-Opening Realm experts... they all chased toward the south..."

"And you lot?"

"We... we are a search party... in groups of three... hunting down fleeing Zhou Army soldiers..."

Li Jinshui's eyes lit up.

Search parties.

Groups of three.

All Inner Strength Realm and Body Forging Realm.

Isn't this just—

Points delivered to his doorstep?

He smiled.

That smile, in the eyes of the Di man, was more terrifying than any sinister grin.

"You... what are you smiling at..."

Li Jinshui did not answer; he simply stood up and drove his blade into the man's heart.

[Killed Northern Di Decurion (Mid Inner Strength Realm), points +15]

He pulled out his blade, wiped the blood off on the man's clothes, and turned to walk back behind the rock.

Monkey and Er Gou were still curled up there, staring at him in stunned silence.

In less than the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, all fifteen Northern Di soldiers were dead.

Monkey's mouth hung agape, and it took him a long while to squeeze out a sentence: "You... you killed them? You killed them all?"

Li Jinshui nodded, sat down, leaned against a rock, and gasped for air.

The wounds on his body had split open in several places, blood seeping out, but he could not afford to care.

He pulled up his panel and examined it carefully:

[Northern Di soldiers killed ×12, points +62]

[Northern Di squad leaders (Early Inner Strength Realm) killed ×2, points +20]

[Northern Di squad leader (Mid Inner Strength Realm) killed ×1, points +15]

Li Jinshui then looked at his own stats:

[Name: Li Jinshui]

[Realm: Inner Strength Realm (Late Stage)]

[Arts: Evergreen Art (Great Success 0/800), Rock Body (Minor Success 60/200), White Tiger Blade Technique (Great Success 100/300), Iron Thread Fist (Minor Success 0/100), Inch Step (Great Success 0/200), Marching Step (Minor Success 0/80), Iron Shirt (Perfected), Wolf Killing Seven Forms (Perfected), Tiger Walk (Perfected)]

[Points: 457]

He stared at that number, the corners of his mouth slowly curling upward.

Search parties.

Three men to a group.

All of them in the Inner Strength Realm or Body Forging Realm.

In this forest, there was no telling how many such squads remained.

He turned his head, listening to the faint shouts of Northern Di soldiers in the distance, a glint flashing in his eyes.

They were all points.

Monkey watched his expression and asked cautiously, "Jinshui, what... what are you thinking about?"

Li Jinshui stood up and gripped his Black Iron Blade.

"I am thinking—" He paused, his voice as light as if he were commenting on the weather, "how long I can keep killing in this forest."

He walked deeper into the woods.

Behind him, the setting sun stretched his shadow out long.

Monkey and Er Gou helped each other up, stumbling as they followed behind him.

In the forest, the shouts of the Northern Di soldiers could still be heard occasionally from afar.

Li Jinshui listened to those sounds and tightened his grip on his blade.

They were all points.

They were all stepping stones for him to grow stronger.