High-Stakes Gamble

Liu Yuanzhou still couldn't move, and the silence returned to his eyes, except for the whistling wind and the creaking of branches rubbing against each other.

A living person being killed right before his eyes was an unparalleled shock to Liu Yuanzhou, who had lived in a mountain village since childhood and had never even seen a dead person.

He forgot the fear before him, and even felt a strange sense of relief in his heart: "Maybe it will be my turn next." He closed his eyes, bidding a final farewell to the people and things of this world.

"If I die like this, my parents and elder brother will be heartbroken."

"And my dear Er Ni, she will probably be sad for a while too. Please forget me, I hope you find someone who treats you well after I die."

"And Third Master, there will be no one to help you fetch water and chop firewood in the future."

"And my dear friends, don't be sad, remember me."

"And my enemies, let's settle our scores in the next life."

Two lines of tears silently flowed from the corners of Liu Yuanzhou's eyes. He licked them with his tongue, "Yes, they are salty. Er Ni said that salty tears mean crying from sadness."

He raised his hand, wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes, sighed, and then he found that he could move.

He shed tears again, this time tears of joy, "It's so good to be alive, but Er Ni, you lied to me, all tears are salty."

Liu Yuanzhou stood up and saw the woman called Miss Qin lying face up five or six steps away, motionless, while the man called Bage was lying at his feet, with two lines of bloody tears on his face, his eyes wide open, obviously not resting in peace. His heart skipped a beat, and he silently said sorry in his heart, quickly stepped over Bage's body and jumped out of the pit, then ran towards the village without looking back, as for the axe, rope, and kettle, he didn't care about any of them. Was anything more important than life? Liu Yuanzhou had never felt so happy running on his legs.

"Hey, kid, where are you running to? You haven't done what you promised me yet, cough cough." A hoarse voice suddenly sounded from behind.

Liu Yuanzhou was shocked and ran even faster.

"Kid, don't run, I'll give you silver, and do you want to learn my skills? I'll teach you." The hoarse voice called out again, sounding slightly anxious.

Liu Yuanzhou paused, but still didn't stop, and in the blink of an eye, he turned around a hillside and disappeared.

Miss Qin sighed and silently lay on the ground. She couldn't move at all at the moment, but of course, she could still speak. "I'm probably the only Dark Force master in the world to be frozen to death." She couldn't help but mock herself. On the mountain, for a time, there was only the sound of the wind, a scene of deathly silence.

"You, are you telling the truth?" A panting voice sounded in her ear. Miss Qin was overjoyed and nodded repeatedly, "May the ancestors bless me, it seems I won't be the only one."

Liu Yuanzhou couldn't resist the temptation of learning kung fu after all, and he ran back. Of course, this kung fu was real kung fu, not the kind that Third Master practiced for his whole life without achieving anything. The woman could kill someone with one punch, which was enough to show that she was a powerful martial arts master.

"Will I ever encounter such an opportunity again in this lifetime? Of course, there are risks, and I might even lose my life, but rather than living a mediocre life like this, why not take a gamble? If I win, I'll change my fate from now on, if I lose, I'll just lose my life." Liu Yuanzhou made the biggest gamble of his teens today.

"Give me a drink of water, let me catch my breath first," Miss Qin said.

Liu Yuanzhou quickly found the kettle and handed it to her.

"Can't you see that my hands and feet can't move? Feed me."

"Oh." Liu Yuanzhou scratched his head, quickly pulled out the stopper, and fed Miss Qin water with the spout of the kettle against her mouth. He suddenly remembered that his mouth had already touched the spout when he drank water earlier, and he felt a burst of guilt, "I hope she didn't notice." He thought silently.

Miss Qin really didn't notice. She drank half a kettle of water, let out a long, satisfied burp, and then closed her eyes to rest.

Liu Yuanzhou could only sit beside her and wait silently, now he was the one asking for help. Miss Qin lay face up on the ground, and the hat on her head had flown off somewhere, revealing a pale face. "She's still very good-looking, but she's too cruel." He thought silently in his heart.

After a while, Miss Qin opened her eyes and said, "Help me up."

Liu Yuanzhou quickly helped her up. Miss Qin staggered a bit and walked to Bage's body, remained silent for a moment, sighed, reached out and closed Bage's eyes, then unbuttoned Bage's shirt and reached in to rummage around.

Liu Yuanzhou shivered all over and quickly turned away. Rummaging around on a corpse, he felt goosebumps all over just thinking about it.

After a while, Miss Qin said, "Okay, what's so scary? When a person dies, it's like a lamp going out, just a shell."

Liu Yuanzhou turned around and saw that Bage had already put on his clothes. Miss Qin stuffed a brocade pouch-like bag into her own bosom.

Miss Qin got up and sat down by the edge of the pit, beckoning to Liu Yuanzhou.

Liu Yuanzhou hurried closer, and heard Miss Qin say, "Let's exchange clothes." Only then did Liu Yuanzhou remember that he was still wearing Miss Qin's robe. He quickly took off the robe and handed it to Miss Qin, then turned around.

Miss Qin took the robe, feeling awkward in her heart. She hadn't thought so much about it in the heat of the moment when she changed clothes, but now that she had calmed down, she felt quite embarrassed.

The two awkwardly exchanged clothes. Miss Qin said, "Go, bury him." As she spoke, she pointed to Bage's corpse.

"You want me to bury him?" Liu Yuanzhou was stunned for a moment, feeling unwilling in his heart.

"Of course, do you expect a weak woman like me to do such a thing?" Miss Qin scoffed, "A grown man afraid of a dead man?"

"I'm not afraid." Liu Yuanzhou said loudly, already resigned to his fate. Since he was already on a pirate ship, he could only go all the way to the end. He no longer hesitated, walked up to Bage, silently recited the names of all the gods and Buddhas in his heart, and pushed the corpse into the pit with his eyes closed. Because he didn't have a handy tool, he retrieved the axe and used it to dig the soil. After about half an hour, he finally filled the pit, even raising it slightly to leave a grave.

Liu Yuanzhou was panting with exhaustion, his mouth dry. He sat down on the ground with a thud, picked up the water bottle and was about to drink, but suddenly thought that Miss Qin had just drunk from it, so he was embarrassed to drink in front of her again. He silently put down the water bottle, endured his thirst, and looked at Miss Qin, waiting for the next instruction.

Miss Qin stood up, glanced at the place where Bage was buried with a complicated expression, and sighed, "Let's go."

On the rugged sheep intestine path, Liu Yuanzhou carried Miss Qin, walking with one foot deep and the other shallow.

"Are we going to Crouching Tiger Slope market now?" Liu Yuanzhou asked, feeling uneasy.

"You want to send me away now? Aren't you going to learn kung fu?" Miss Qin mocked. She sighed and said, "Let's find a quiet place first, I need to heal."

"How long will it take you to heal? Do you need to hire a doctor?" Liu Yuanzhou's face burned slightly, and he quickly asked.

"Probably ten days to half a month." Miss Qin said.

Liu Yuanzhou nodded silently, thinking about where it would be appropriate to settle Miss Qin. After a moment, he had an idea. "Sorry, Third Master, but in order to learn kung fu, I can only temporarily settle her in your kiln."

After a moment of silence, Liu Yuanzhou couldn't help but ask, "Miss, is your surname Qin?"

"Yes, Qin of Xi Zao." Miss Qin said.

"Isn't that pronounced Tan?" Liu Yuanzhou said softly.

"Hehe, ignorant." Miss Qin sneered.

Liu Yuanzhou's face turned red again, and he quickly changed the subject. "Where did Miss Qin come from?" he asked again.

Miss Qin pondered for a moment, then said faintly, "It doesn't matter if I tell you. I went with my master to visit a certain sect in the Western Borderlands, but I was plotted against and poisoned. I desperately escaped, but was then held hostage by Bage."

"Bage, you know, the one I killed. He coveted a treasure on my body, so I lied to him, saying that as long as he gave me three chances to escape, and he could still catch me, I would offer the treasure, and tell him how to use it."

"You probably heard what happened later. I escaped all the way from the Western Borderlands to here. This is the third time I've been caught by him. I think he's realized I'm lying to him, so this is my last chance."

"Alas, I also have to thank you, little brother."

Liu Yuanzhou listened, noncommittal, thinking in his heart: If you really want to thank me, hurry up and teach me kung fu.

After descending Cattle Back Ridge, Liu Yuanzhou carried Miss Qin through a Locust Tree Forest and stopped in front of a cave deep in the forest. This was a cave formed by a mountain torrent, and the entrance was quite large, about the height of a person. Looking at the dark and deep cave entrance, a trace of nostalgia flashed in Liu Yuanzhou's eyes. He shook his head and said, "Miss Qin, it's not convenient for me to take you back to the village during the day. Please bear with it here for a while, and I'll come back to pick you up later when it gets dark."

Miss Qin nodded. She had no strength in her hands and feet now, and could only be at the mercy of others.

Liu Yuanzhou walked into the cave. The inside was even more spacious, with some leaves and dead grass spread on one side of the cave wall. Liu Yuanzhou put Miss Qin down and said, "You can rest here, I'll leave the water bottle for you."

Miss Qin didn't speak, and silently sat on the dead grass.

"Miss Qin, don't be afraid. It's very safe here. I used to come here often," Liu Yuanzhou reassured.

"Heh, would I, a dignified martial master, be afraid?" Miss Qin sneered.

Liu Yuanzhou shrugged and turned to leave.

Just as he reached the cave entrance, he heard Miss Qin say again, "You have to come early, I haven't learned the kung fu yet."

Liu Yuanzhou smiled and quickly left.

Miss Qin stared at the dark cave, feeling a sudden wave of fear for no reason, afraid that something might run out of it.

"Alas, if a wolf suddenly ran out, I'd probably be the first martial master to be eaten by a wolf."