Danger, a Trap

The woods grew darker. Hearing the commotion behind him, Lian Youming had no time to worry about much else. He picked a direction and ran for his life.

He glanced again at the young girl in his arms. Her beauty truly was enough to stun the world: fine willow-leaf brows, skin like white porcelain, red lips and white teeth, and lovely eyes brimming with tears that made her look pitiful. Her neck was slender and fair, as white as a dove's breast, almost luminous.

She was too beautiful.

Recalling the conversation between those people just now, Lian Youming was filled with regret. He should never have come. Li Da had gone to all that trouble to run here on foot just to lure these White Lotus Sect members out.

Those fiends had followed him all the way. How...

Wait.

Something was wrong.

The instant that thought surfaced, goosebumps quietly rose along the back of Lian Youming's neck.

He suddenly realized something very serious. If those people could follow Li Da, why couldn't they follow him?

This was bad.

Forcing his expression to remain calm, Lian Youming looked again at the girl in his arms.

Right then, he wanted nothing more than to slap himself across the face. What he held might not be a young girl at all, but Red Boy himself.

He had fallen into a trap.

They had put on a whole performance for him.

Lian Youming understood now. That bastard Li Da had actually thrown him out as bait.

No. He couldn't panic.

If he panicked, he was finished.

Lian Youming hardened his heart. If worst came to worst, he would crush the girl to death.

But looking at her pitiful appearance, he grew uneasy again. Something was off. What if she, too, was an expert hiding her abilities? If he struck, he might be the one to die. Besides, his guard was wide open, his waist, abdomen, and vulnerable ribs all exposed. He was riddled with openings. Even with her hands and feet bound, he didn't dare gamble. What frightened him was the possibility that the bindings were fake too.

The three behind him were still pursuing him, quietly forming a formation and blocking every route down the mountain.

Lian Youming understood that too. They wanted to herd him into the Underground Fortress and make him lead the way.

They couldn't beat Li Da, so all they could think of was bullying him.

No wonder every bad thing had come straight at him. They had been watching him from the shadows all along.

The girl was still sobbing, like pear blossoms drenched in rain, crying until Lian Youming's heart trembled.

Not from sympathy or pity, but fear.

"How did they catch you?" Lian Youming asked hoarsely.

Looking frail, the girl said softly, "I was gathering herbs on the mountain. I only turned around for a moment, and that man came running out."

What a fucking actress!

Lian Youming could have cried. There was definitely something wrong with this girl.

"Don't be afraid. I'm here."

He kept up appearances while his mind raced, trying to work out what to do.

Without much hesitation, Lian Youming headed toward the fortress.

He had no choice now.

According to the markings on the map, the Underground Fortress was riddled with traps and countless twists and turns. Anyone without the map might get lost inside. It was just the place to shake them off.

Otherwise, if he simply kept running like this, who knew how many people were lurking around him, watching like hungry tigers?

His mind made up, Lian Youming simply drew a military spike from the back of his waist and sliced through the strips of cloth around the girl's wrists and ankles one by one.

If they were putting on a show, he had to play his part to the end.

Since she wanted to use him, she would have to keep pretending. She wouldn't kill him anytime soon.

Before Lian Youming could say anything, the girl slipped free of her bonds and placed one hand on his shoulder and the other against his waist and abdomen. It looked like an unconscious gesture of fear, but it made his heart pound with dread.

Lian Youming's heart nearly leaped out of his throat.

One vicious strike, and his little life would end here today.

This was going to kill him.

Without thinking, Lian Youming hurriedly shifted his hold, lifting the girl to sling her over his shoulder.

But the girl moved with him. With a twist, her light, delicate body quietly straightened, turning the carry into a seat. She settled onto Lian Youming's left shoulder and simply looped both arms around his neck.

From a distance, their posture looked exceedingly intimate: one tall and powerfully built, sprinting in long strides, the other small and delicate, leaning against his shoulder and sitting with her hands around his neck.

But at the sight of those two slender hands resting against his neck, Lian Youming's face darkened.

His situation had become even more dangerous.

The three idiots behind him kept shouting threats, piling pressure on Lian Youming.

"Fuck it. If I die, I die."

Throwing caution aside, Lian Youming reached up with his left hand and placed it against her waist and abdomen. It looked as though he was steadying her, but the instant she tried anything, he could clamp down on her vulnerable ribs.

He didn't forget to cover the gesture with words. "Hold on tight."

The girl still looked utterly panicked and hurriedly murmured, "Mm."

The vegetation at the foot of the mountain was still lush and green, but the deeper he ran, the more frost drifted through the air, followed by snow. Yet the trees remained full of life, creating a truly wondrous sight.

Frost and snow struck his face as Lian Youming bounded through the vast mountain forest, his legs like springs, leaping left and right. Though he was not as inhuman as Li Da, he was already far beyond what he had been a few days earlier.

Their passage sent the forest beasts into an uproar. Amid rustling sounds, rabbits bolted, foxes fled, eagles took flight, and deer bounded away. Pairs of green eyes watched from the darkness, enough to make anyone's hair stand on end.

"Damn it, you've chased me all this way. Can't you let me catch my breath before we keep running?"

Lian Youming had to hand it to the three morons pursuing and cutting him off from behind. They couldn't even act properly. They chased him for all they were worth, never letting him catch his breath. He had already been half-dead from exhaustion getting here, and now he had to run for his life-all for a performance that apparently had to feel urgent.

"Just hound me to death, why don't you!"

Panting hard, Lian Youming darted his gaze around. Two figures suddenly came into view on their right, moving as swiftly as a rabbit springing up and a falcon swooping down. One held his feet in a peculiar position, the insteps arched like chicken feet. His legs kicked off branches and ground as he flung his arms out, flipping and diving through the air. The other swung from branches with long, ape-like arms, climbing and scrambling through the woods as though walking on level ground. He looked much like the White Ape from before, but his movements were more nimble and unpredictable, and he approached fast and hard.

More people had arrived.

As Lian Youming's abilities began to take shape, his discernment naturally broadened. From their movements alone, these two had to be skilled fighters from the Xingyi Sect.

But they did not attack immediately, seemingly watching how the situation developed.

Lian Youming's eyes shifted, and he hurriedly said, "Brothers, I'm an old acquaintance of Brother Xue Hen. These three mean me harm. Please lend me a hand."

He would have been better off saying nothing. The moment the words left his mouth, a dark, grating, hoarse voice exploded through the woods like thunder. "Xue Hen? What's your relationship with that beast?"

The other said hatefully, "Why waste words? If they're jackals from the same den, kill him first!"

Lian Youming's eyelids twitched wildly. He knew Xue Hen was a traitor to the Xingyi Sect, but he hadn't expected the man to inspire so much hatred. Sensing those two surges of killing intent, he hurriedly quickened his pace.

But now, how could the three White Lotus Sect members chasing him stand idly by?

"Xingyi Sect? Who said you could interfere? Get the hell out of here!"

The two Xingyi Sect men instantly flew into a rage.

"What sort of trash are you?"

"I'm one of the White Lotus Sect's Thirty-Six Heavenly Gang Venerables!"

"I'm an heir to the Xingyi Sect's Twelve Great True Forms!"

Having announced their affiliations, both sides fell silent.

They were all vicious characters.

Lian Youming turned back and poured another bucket of oil on the fire. "They're going to the Kwantung Army Underground Fortress to dig up the treasure inside and take the Old Medicine that can extend your lifespan!"

The figure bounding like a monkey cursed furiously, "Fucking hell! Filthy bugs who can't bear the light, and you dare covet those things? Take a good measure of yourselves first!"

The White Lotus Sect members refused to back down. A woman's voice shot back, "We can't covet them? Then what did you come here for? To catch rats on the mountain? You're after the same things, so why the fuck are you playing innocent with me?"

Both sides bristled, poised to fight. Just as they were about to come to blows, Lian Youming, who had run far ahead, turned and shouted, "You're all spouting dogshit! Both sides are a bunch of fucking morons!"

I made some changes to the earlier chapters. They don't affect the plot's course; I added a few details.

(End of chapter)