Shot Dead

Hesitation showed on Feng Dahu's face. He couldn't accept it. He had painstakingly built his power base in the western part of the city, and now he had to abandon it just like that. Yet his strategist's analysis had made perfect sense: Black Cloud Stronghold was a colossus they simply couldn't contend with. Besides, their headquarters had already fallen, their deputy leader had died in battle, and their strength had been severely depleted. They were no match for the enemy.

"Gang leader, let's leave tonight! We must act decisively, before a long night breeds more nightmares!" Lü Tong urged.

"All right!" After a moment's hesitation, Feng Dahu finally made up his mind.

"Bury Sixth Brother's body. Tonight, we'll leave the city separately. Tell the brothers to meet at the Land God Temple fifty li east of the city. We'll head to Prefecture City to find Second Master first, settle down, then look for somewhere to go." His strategist was right: as long as the green hills remained, there would always be firewood to burn. Although the loss of their headquarters had cost them much of the wealth they had accumulated over the years, they still had some money on hand, along with a number of trusted followers and core members. The world was vast, and there was still much they could accomplish!

"All right!"

Meanwhile, a hundred paces away, a dark figure hid amid the impenetrable foliage of an old Chinese scholar tree with a dense crown. He remained utterly motionless, even as insects bit him. It was Zhao Feng, dressed in black with his face covered.

Over the past few days, he had calmly watched the two gangs fight.

He had also secretly followed members of the Black Tiger Gang to this secluded courtyard. For several days now, he had hidden here every night, watching the courtyard.

From what he had observed, members of the Black Tiger Gang delivered food, drink, wine, and meat every evening. Their leader, Feng Dahu, was very likely hiding here.

At last, a burly man with bandages wrapped around his left shoulder emerged from the main house. The black-clad men around him immediately bowed.

"Gang leader!"

Zhao Feng knew this had to be Feng Dahu, leader of the Black Tiger Gang. He really was hiding here, wounded just as the rumors claimed. Apparently, he had spent the past few days quietly recuperating.

He watched Feng Dahu direct the gang members to dig a pit in the courtyard, though he had no idea what it was for.

At over a hundred paces, I'm not confident. He touched the stiff horn bow on his back. His Archery had reached major mastery, and he was confident within seventy paces. Beyond a hundred, however, he wasn't certain-at least, not certain of hitting with a single shot.

Yet this row of large trees offered the only cover within a hundred paces. Any farther forward, the ground was open, with nowhere to hide.

He needed to kill with one arrow and retreat swiftly, but that was clearly impossible right now. Charging in was no solution either, given the enemy's numbers.

The Black Tiger Gang is already a spent crossbow bolt. All I need to do is tell the Three Harmonies Gang where he's hiding and let them act. Or should I simply leave him alone and withdraw? Heaven and man battled in Zhao Feng's heart.

Now that the Black Tiger Gang had suffered such a crushing defeat, surely they no longer had time to worry about Chen Bao or that ledger. Why should he make an unnecessary move?

But the thought only flickered through his mind before determination returned to his gaze.

I won't be able to sleep until I've watched you die, Zhao Feng thought. He decided to inform the Three Harmonies Gang. Naturally, he wouldn't show himself directly; he would find some other way, such as leaving a note.

But just as he was about to climb down, the men in the courtyard finished digging a deep pit. They then carried out a corpse, placed it inside, and filled the pit with earth.

Zhao Feng watched Feng Dahu lead the others in offering incense before the mound. After bowing, he said something in a low voice.

The gang members in the courtyard began changing clothes and putting away their weapons. They left in batches, then scattered once they were outside, disappearing into the night.

They're making a run for it! Zhao Feng understood. It seemed they intended to leave the city separately, too. There was no longer time to inform the Three Harmonies Gang. But if they were splitting up, his opportunity had arrived.

He waited patiently until the very end. Feng Dahu changed into a porter's short work clothes and put on a straw hat, carrying a shabby cloth bundle on his back. He left with a man sporting a drooping mustache, and the two parted ways outside.

Zhao Feng quietly climbed down from the tree and followed in the direction Feng Dahu had slipped away.

Midnight had already passed, and the night was black as ink. Zhao Feng had come prepared, wearing soft-soled cloth shoes that made not a sound on the flagstone road.

By the faint moonlight, he kept his eyes fixed on the straw-hatted figure ahead, not daring to get too close.

Feng Dahu was heading toward the northern part of the Outer City, an area beyond both their territory and the Three Harmonies Gang's. He was extremely wary, glancing back from time to time. Fortunately, the night was black as ink, there were few lights in this part of the Outer City, and the buildings stood in a jumble amid numerous mud-brick houses and heaps of rubble. It was difficult to spot anyone following him.

Zhao Feng kept following at a distance. As Feng Dahu drew closer and closer to the County Seat's north gate, thoughts raced through his mind.

Once he leaves the north gate, he'll easily spot me following him across the open countryside. Besides, who knows whether members of the Black Tiger Gang are waiting there to meet him? In for a penny, in for a pound-I'll do it here! Having made up his mind, he quietly took the stiff bow off his back and quickened his pace.

Once he was within seventy paces, he would be sure of his shot!

Under the moonlight, he sped up, steadily closing in on the figure ahead.

One hundred paces!

Ninety paces!

Eighty paces!

Zhao Feng kicked off the ground, launching himself forward into the air! Seventy paces!

The instant he leaped, Feng Dahu detected someone behind him. His seasoned experience was no empty boast: without looking back, he swiftly dropped into a sideways roll!

Zhao Feng nocked and drew in midair, and the feathered arrow flew. Whoosh! Within seventy paces, he could hit a moving target five or six times out of ten!

The three-edged arrowhead struck Feng Dahu squarely in the right knee! "Aah!" Feng Dahu screamed, horror flooding his heart.

Even at this distance, even after he had rolled to evade, the archer had still managed to hit him!

The Three Harmonies Gang actually had a marksman like this? No, it had to be someone from Black Cloud Stronghold!

Enduring the agonizing pain, he ducked behind a heap of rubble. Gritting his teeth, he pulled a steel saber from his cloth bundle and braced himself.

The barely healed wound on his left shoulder had torn open again during his roll, and blood began pouring out!

Bald Zhang's saber strike had been vicious indeed. The cut had gone deep enough to expose bone!

Blood was also flowing steadily from the arrow wound in his right knee!

Feng Dahu knew his only chance was to wait until the archer approached, then attack with his saber in a desperate close-range struggle. He was gambling that his opponent would lose patience and come forward to inspect him.

But his opponent stopped fifty paces away. Zhao Feng nocked an arrow and drew his bow, aiming at the rubble without moving.

What Feng Dahu didn't know was that Zhao Feng had already learned of his serious injury beforehand. That roll had almost certainly torn his wound open, and now he had an arrow wound as well. All Zhao Feng needed to do was wait. The advantage is mine!

As time passed, blood stained the ground beneath the rubble where Feng Dahu hid. He didn't dare put down his saber to bandage himself and could only press against his wounds, but he couldn't stop the bleeding. Blood kept pouring from both injuries.

He could already feel his strength draining away, and even his vision was beginning to darken.

"I can't drag this out any longer!" Feng Dahu roared. With adrenaline surging, he burst from behind the rubble like a leopard. His left leg skimmed the ground, whirling like a windmill, while his right hand swung his saber in a watertight curtain of flashing steel. Holding the bundle over his heart with his left hand, he charged toward Zhao Feng.

He was still gambling! Gambling that his footwork remained fast enough even on one leg! Gambling that his Cloak Saber Technique could block the second arrow! As long as he could get close, he still had a chance. In his mind, archers were never much good at close combat.

Besides, this black-clad man looked quite young, whereas he was at bright strength peak. Even a wounded tiger could still bite him to death!

That calculation had barely flashed through his mind when he heard the faint twang of a bowstring ahead. Then pain pierced his throat, and an icy arrowhead punched out through the back of his neck.

"Hhk, hhk..." His eyes bulged as he stared in disbelief at the black-clad man before him, who slowly lowered his stiff horn bow.

"Divine archery..." The steel saber fell from his hand with a clang. His eyes rolled back, and he toppled backward. His corpse hit the ground hard.

Feng Dahu, leader of the Black Tiger Gang, was dead!