Grim news, vicious fury

"Haul in the net!"

"Pull!"

"Bring up the fish!"

"Heave-ho!"

"Watch your footing!"

"We're steady!"

In the bitter depths of winter, the fishing foreman's calls brought earthshaking shouts from the frozen river, as thunderous as a thousand troops charging into battle. Drums boomed nearby, and others cheered them on. The scene bustled with excitement.

When everyone hauled out the winter fishing net together and saw the full catch, they all burst into jubilant cheers.

Lian Youming was among the crowd, a large fish in his hand, immersed in the celebration.

His holiday had ended. Once the fish had been divided, he would head back with the villagers of Kaoshan Village.

Qin Yuhu stood in the crowd too, a rare smile on his face.

Qin Hongxiu, however, had to stay home to look after the pregnant Shen Qinghong and had no chance to join the fun.

Basket after basket of fish was carried onto the mule carts on the bank.

Lian Youming worked until his limbs ached, yet never tired of it, finding pleasure amid the pain.

Beside him, Qin Yuhu was panting too, completely unaware that the fishing net had cut several bloody gashes into his palms.

But while they were working flat out, a middle-aged man wearing glasses and a Mao suit suddenly hurried over to Qin Yuhu. His expression grave, he whispered, "Lao Qin, something's happened. That Miss Gong has disappeared."

The joy instantly vanished from Qin Yuhu's face. "What happened?"

The middle-aged man glanced at Lian Youming beside them, then quickly pulled Qin Yuhu aside and whispered, "Someone reported seeing a young man go to the Logging Camp up the mountain a few days ago. He looked a lot like a wanted criminal. Do you think..."

Busy loading fish, Lian Youming paid no attention to what was happening there. Seeing Qin Yuhu hurry away, he casually asked, "Uncle Qin, where are you going?"

Without turning back, Qin Yuhu said, "I have something to do. Keep working. Don't wait for me."

Watching Qin Yuhu leave, Lian Youming thought little of it. These past few days, he had grown used to the man leaving before dawn and staying out until dark.

Only after working at a feverish pace until noon did Lian Youming return to the village with the village Party secretary.

After returning to Kaoshan Village, he began spending his days learning to identify medicinal herbs from Liu Danaodai and helping dry and grind them. At night, he studied what was on the silk handkerchief as usual, especially the recipes. He planned to memorize everything and then burn it, since carrying it around remained inconvenient.

Lian Youming also intended to find time to meet the female educated youth named Yan Lingyun.

But on the third day after his return, while Lian Youming was helping Doctor Liu sift medicinal powder that evening, two old hunters from Kaoshan Village came in carrying homemade guns on their backs and asked for a few medicinal plasters.

Seeing them coated from head to toe in frost and snow, with strings of icicles dangling from their hair and beards like a pair of snowmen, Lian Youming could not help asking with a laugh, "Why did you go into the mountains in weather this cold?"

Apparently dazed by the cold, the two rubbed their hands beside the stove and replied offhandedly, "Something serious happened, that's why. On the day of our winter fishing, Director Qin from Qingshan Forest Farm took some men into the mountains. They still haven't come out. Several nearby villages are helping search... brr... we're freezing to death..."

The smile froze on Lian Youming's face. "Director Qin?"

"Yes. Such a good man, too. Didn't he visit our village just recently?" Neither old hunter noticed Lian Youming's expression growing increasingly rigid. Taking their plasters, they picked up a few peanuts from the stove. "Ah, in this freezing weather, if several villages have to search together, chances are things look bad."

Finding Lian Youming silent, both men thought it odd. "What? Didn't the secretary tell you?"

For a moment, Lian Youming felt as though something had blocked his throat. He asked hoarsely, "Why did he go into the mountains?"

One of the villagers, named Wang Jin, sighed. "Heard he went in looking for someone. He even took weapons. Who'd have thought he'd get himself caught up in it?"

Looking for someone? Gong Wuer.

A name sprang into Lian Youming's mind almost instantly.

Qin Yuhu had said before that she was staying up the mountain.

But why had he taken a gun into the mountains?

Looking for someone?

Could Gong Wuer have run into danger?

At the thought of Qin Yuhu's unknown fate, Lian Youming's mind tangled like hemp, and both his hands trembled.

His Aunt Shen was about to give birth, and there was Qin Hongxiu too...

Lian Youming sprang to his feet and headed out without a second thought.

But the moment he left, someone blocked his way.

The village Party secretary looked grim too. He was squatting beside the road, intermittently smoking his pipe, seemingly waiting for villagers returning home. Seeing Lian Youming running out with reddened eyes, he shot to his feet and hastily called over several sturdy young villagers. "Quick, hold him down!"

Lian Youming was fast on his feet. The group chased him for over two hundred meters before several returning villagers tackled him.

Seeing this, everyone swarmed over and pinned Lian Youming beneath them in a flurry of hands and feet.

Looking at the boy still struggling on the ground, the old secretary in his sheepskin coat sighed. "Young man, don't blame me. I know you're close to Director Qin, but now isn't the time to show off. It's frighteningly cold up there, and it's all old-growth forest. Even the most experienced hunters in the Greater Khingan Mountains don't dare go in, let alone a green youngster like you."

"I'm going into the mountains!"

Lian Youming's eyes were red, his teeth clenched, the tendons in his cheeks taut. But despite using all his strength, he could not break free of the large hands holding him down.

The old secretary shook his head. "Tie him up first. Guo Chuang, Xu Hui, you two watch him. Stay with him even when he takes a piss or a shit."

The two other educated youths nearby, still unsure what was happening, hurriedly nodded.

Ignoring Lian Youming's shouts, the villagers bound his hands and feet and locked him inside a wooden shed used for storing firewood.

Lian Youming lay on a pile of straw, his nerves stretched taut. He felt hot blood surging ceaselessly through him, his eyes so red they seemed ready to bleed.

After a long while, his body went limp, and he slumped helplessly to the floor. Inwardly, he begged every god and Buddha he could pray to. Finally, there was one more name.

"Gong Wuer."

At the thought of that name, Lian Youming's mind abruptly cleared.

If Qin Yuhu really had gone into the mountains to find Gong Wuer, what danger had she encountered?

Only another such being could put a Neijia master like Gong Wuer in peril.

Someone else went up the mountain?

Lian Youming's gaze narrowed slightly. Almost immediately, he thought of the secret the Mountain-Guarding Old Man had guarded.

That earthen house.

"Whew!"

Gently breathing out stale air, Lian Youming straightened and sat up.

No.

I have to go and see.

If Qin Yuhu was still alive, all well and good. But if disaster really had befallen him...

Lian Youming's gaze turned vicious, and a vicious fury quietly rose in his heart. Not one of you bastards will get off easy.

Just then, the wooden door opened, and someone came in carrying food. It was a familiar face: Zhao Xiaozhi, the female educated youth who had been issued a gun alongside him at the Logging Camp. "Comrade, have something to eat. Don't take it out on yourself."

Seeing Lian Youming remain silent, Zhao Xiaozhi did not leave. Instead, she began giving him an ideological talk, moving from history and philosophy to the spirit of the Long March, then winding her way to revolutionary martyrs and the years of resistance against Japan, rambling on about all sorts of things.

Burning with anxiety, Lian Youming could not take any of it in. Helplessly, he could only close his eyes.

Much later, after the girl left, Lian Youming stared at the half-closed wooden door. Suddenly, he puffed out his cheeks, pursed his lips, and sucked in a fierce breath. Two toad croaks sounded in his chest and abdomen. Summoning his strength, he twisted his arms against each other like a winch, heedless of whether his wrists were torn open, and forcibly burst the knot apart.

With his hands free, Lian Youming reached behind his waist with his right hand and drew a Military Dagger, then quickly cut through the hemp rope around his feet.

It was growing late, and the north wind howled. He drew a deep breath and slipped into the dusk without another thought.

Hearing cries behind him, Lian Youming ran faster and faster. His stamina already far exceeded that of others his age. Now, driving the Toad-Fishing Skill, he ran without stopping, like an arrow loosed from its bow, soon leaving the villagers far behind.

"Stop chasing me."

Fortunately, it did not snow that night.

Following his memories of the descent, Lian Youming hurried along the mountain road.

Kaoshan Village lay at the foot of the Logging Camp's mountain, but a horse could run itself to death reaching a mountain in sight. The rolling, forest-clad mountains looked close, yet actually climbing them took considerable effort.

Lian Youming could spare little thought for anything else. Saving a life was like fighting a fire. Holding his breath, he charged desperately uphill.

Although the sky was gradually darkening, fortunately a road had been cleared, so he would not lose his way.

Lian Youming ran hard for over an hour, until his legs were nearly numb and his heart and lungs felt ready to burst.

Yet the sight of the mountain right before him brought joy to his face, and he plunged onto the familiar mountain trail.

The mountain was pitch-dark. Faint moonlight filtered through gaps between old trunks, gnarled branches, dead trees, and broken boughs, spilling through the forest. Frost began to form, the thin snow remained unmelted, and bone-piercing cold quietly spread.

Lian Youming moved between light and shadow, drawing on his memories of traveling through the mountains as he hurried uphill without pause.

At the same time, he considered carefully: if things truly were as he suspected, what sort of being could drive an imperial-court master like Gong Wuer into danger?

As though prompted by ghosts and spirits, Lian Youming found himself recalling a sallow, demonlike face.

That man seemed to be in the Northeast too.

Halfway up the mountain, Lian Youming truly could not go any farther. He crouched on the ground, panting, his heaving chest convulsing like a bellows.

But worried about Qin Yuhu's safety, he took only a few breaths before hurrying uphill again.

The searchers might already have been here, but Lian Youming had reason to believe that something unknown was still hidden in those earthen houses.

He had to see for himself before he could give up.

At last.

Lian Youming reached the mountain and returned to the Logging Camp.

Without stopping, he headed straight for the Mountain-Guarding Old Man's earthen houses.

Especially the one in the middle.

Lian Youming remembered that when those people had surrounded and attacked the Mountain-Guarding Old Man, they had seemed intent on breaking into this house.

The earthen house was empty and pitch-dark. Apart from the blue bricks covering the floor, there was nothing inside.

Lian Youming frowned deeply and looked at the floor almost without thinking. Then, panting wildly, he began stamping around, putting all his strength into every step.

Since the secret was buried, it had to be underground.

Only after two full circuits did Lian Youming's gaze suddenly change. He moved his right foot aside and stared fixedly at the sunken blue brick.

Although he could not see clearly in the dark, he had felt it just now.

Beneath this spot was hollow space.

"Hah!"

Lian Youming narrowed his eyes slightly, flipped his right hand, tightened his grip on the Military Dagger, and stamped down hard.

Crash!

Several blue bricks sank together like a doorway.

Lian Youming felt himself plummet. When he steadied himself, he was standing on a flight of stone steps.

Cold wind whistled behind him.

Keeping close to the wall, Lian Youming cautiously made his way inside.

Yet after only a few steps, a faint smell of blood drifted toward him.

Lian Youming's expression changed drastically, and he felt his toe catch on something.

He reined in his breathing and slowly crouched, holding the triangular military spike forward in one hand while cautiously reaching out with the other.

At the first touch, Lian Youming's heart leaped into his throat. It was a corpse, cold as iron, clearly dead for some time. It also seemed to be holding something in its arms.

After a little fumbling, his eyes flickered. The Military Dagger swiftly flicked through the dark, and his left hand grabbed a Type 56 submachine gun.

Without the slightest hesitation, Lian Youming almost instinctively flipped the triangular bayonet outward and fitted it against the barrel. Then he shook the gun, and the bayonet sprang straight out, becoming one with the Type 56.

Behind him, the blue bricks at the entrance slowly returned to position and closed again.

Looking into the pitch-black passage whose depths he could not see, Lian Youming held the gun and advanced in a half crouch, hugging the wall.

There was no need to think: a vicious battle must have taken place here. He simply did not know whether anyone inside was still alive, or whether Gong Wuer and that other mysterious opponent had yet to leave.

Moreover, Lian Youming was beginning to feel uneasy.

Even if this gun had not belonged to Qin Yuhu, it must have belonged to a soldier accompanying him. With that man dead here, had Qin Yuhu also become a cold corpse?

Lian Youming truly did not dare dwell on it.

Waves of cold rose behind him, as though a pair of invisible hands were pushing him onward.

The farther down he went, the stronger the lingering smell of blood became, like a coiling evil dragon ceaselessly provoking the vicious fury in his chest.

It seemed those who had accompanied Qin Yuhu really had all died here.

But the reason within Lian Youming still held his restless heart in check.

As he stepped onto the last stair, Lian Youming suddenly held his breath. From the empty, deathly darkness came a faint sound of breathing.

Someone's still alive?

Joy rose in Lian Youming's heart, and he was about to move, but his half-extended right foot slowly withdrew.

Something's wrong.

These people had died here, which meant his guess was right.

In that case, who was the survivor?

If it was Qin Yuhu or one of his companions, Gong Wuer should also be alive. If she was alive, why had she not saved them?

And this breathing was already exceedingly weak, nothing like that of a Neijia master, so it could not belong to the mysterious person.

Lian Youming's mind suddenly shook violently, for another possibility had occurred to him. Gong Wuer and the mysterious person were still here and had not left. Perhaps the two were locked in some sort of stalemate, like the Mountain-Guarding Old Man and those four fiends from the White Lotus Sect.

With that thought, Lian Youming began considering whether to retreat.

As long as he could get out, he could call for help. Then, provided they blocked the entrance, the opponent would not escape even with wings.

But listening to that weak breathing, what if it was Qin Yuhu?

This person was clearly hanging by a thread. Every second counted. He had to save them, even if he died trying.

Yet almost the instant Lian Youming entered this space, a horrifyingly savage killing intent locked firmly onto him like an arrow drawn on a bowstring, aimed at him from afar. It was as though, should he retreat, ten thousand arrows would fly at once and bring his life to an end.

Though invisible, this killing aura made Lian Youming feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar, chilling his entire body.

They really haven't left.

Lian Youming first swallowed slowly, then his gaze hardened, for he had made his decision.

He raised the muzzle and pulled the trigger in the dead silence.

Bang!

The shot rang out, and the bullet struck down, instantly igniting the lamp oil on the floor.

Flames spread in an instant, driving away the darkness before Lian Youming's eyes.

Revealed in that firelight, besides several figures lying on the ground, were two still standing.

One was Gong Wuer.

A thin crimson trickle seeped from the corner of her mouth as she leaped through the air toward him.

And the other...

His expression was savage, his face like an evil ghost's, his bared teeth seeming to form a grin. Amid the shifting light and darkness, he seemed to become a humanoid mandrill. Kicking off the ground, he sprang into the air and lunged as though flying, his body concealed in darkness, as if racing the firelight to see which would arrive first.

Fast. Too fast.

Lian Youming only had time to glimpse a swift shadow shooting out of the darkness. In another instant, the man was already just a few paces away, seemingly intent on killing with a single strike. As he stretched out his long arms, the five fingers of his right hand abruptly hooked inward. Wherever his fingertips passed, even the blue bricks were scored with claw marks as he lunged straight at him.

So fast. The attack truly came swiftly and savagely, without a sound.

Lian Youming's face turned deathly pale, but his eyes grew vicious too. Out of the corner of his eye, he had already spotted Qin Yuhu lying on the ground, his fate unknown.

"Rat-tat-tat..."

Murder bore down on him, and tongues of flame flickered in and out.

"Die!"

(End of chapter)