Encountering Spies at Night

As Han Li walked through the pitch-dark forest, he alertly stretched out his senses. The mountain path, blurred and indistinct to ordinary eyes, was as clear as day to him.

He was not being so cautious because he feared wild beasts in the mountains. It was an instinctive response he had already developed.

Ever since the Seven Mysteries Sect had moved to the Rosy Cloud Mountain Range, the animals in the mountains, large and small, had been few to begin with and had gradually been wiped out. To say nothing of fierce beasts, even most of the wild venomous snakes had ended up in the bellies of the sect's many disciples.

This cautious habit of keeping his eyes and ears sharp in unfamiliar surroundings was not something he had been born with. After escaping Doctor Mo's clutches last time, he had given the matter considerable thought and deliberately trained himself to acquire it. This good habit would help him avoid many mishaps in his future undertakings and reduce the degree of danger to a minimum.

The mountain wind seemed to be growing stronger, howling in gust after gust and making his hair stand on end.

From a distance, Han Li could tell that he was nearing the edge of the forest.

He let out a soft breath. Walking alone through the pitch-black forest had truly weighed on him.

Han Li quickened his pace, taking longer strides than before, as if eager to leave the woods as soon as possible.

Suddenly, a fierce gust of mountain wind blew straight at him.

After it passed, Han Li abruptly stopped, as though he had noticed something amiss. He frowned, then tilted his head and listened.

A moment later, Han Li's expression gradually grew grave. Faint footsteps reached his ears. Although the steps were light and their owners were still far away, two people were unquestionably walking toward him, drawing closer and closer.

With a slight flicker of movement, Han Li slipped into the dense woods beside the path like a nimble cat, swift and silent.

He stopped behind a large tree more than ten zhang from the path and curled his entire body into a small ball behind its trunk. From the front of the tree, not a trace of him could be seen.

Having found a hiding place, Han Li felt somewhat reassured.

It was not that he was overly sensitive, but two people coming to such a remote place on a dark, windswept night was truly out of the ordinary. Nine times out of ten, they were up to something that could not bear the light of day.

He had no wish to stir murderous intent by stumbling upon someone else's private affairs, only to be hunted down and silenced.

Still, if he could remain safe and unharmed, with no danger to himself, Han Li was quite willing to listen to other people's little secrets. He was no rigid hypocrite, and he would not turn away a good thing that came knocking at his door.

"...down the mountain... arranged... time... people... gang leader..."

Hushed voices drifted over from afar in fits and starts. The wind on the mountain was strong, scattering most of their words to the four winds; only a small portion reached his ears.

Han Li was astonished. He had not expected to overhear a truly momentous secret. Across the land for hundreds of miles around, the only person addressed as gang leader was the Wild Wolf Gang's leader, "Golden Wolf" Jia Tianlong. Hearing mention of such a great enemy of his sect here was truly thought-provoking.

In the minds of the Seven Mysteries Sect's disciples, Jia Tianlong was a bloodthirsty archfiend through and through. Rumor had it that he was broad of shoulder and waist, with a green face and savage fangs, a violent temper, and a taste for three meals of raw human flesh and fresh human blood a day. He was said to be almost inhuman, and he had frightened many of the sect's younger disciples out of their wits.

According to Li Feiyu, however, the truth was otherwise. Far from being large and frightening, Jia Tianlong was thin, frail, and handsome. He was not old either, just over thirty-the very opposite of the rumors. But his ruthless habit of killing at the slightest provocation was every bit as real and terrifying as the stories claimed. Otherwise, with his appearance, how could he have kept the other gang members, who had once been horse bandits, under control?

Han Li recalled what he knew about Jia Tianlong and sucked in a cold breath inwardly. He hurriedly curled himself up even tighter, his breathing growing slow and shallow.

"...this time... steal... the list must... make a move..."

Another series of whispers drifted faintly over, much clearer than before. The two of them should have come closer to Han Li by now.

Han Li dared not breathe loudly. He knew that if he were discovered, death was his only prospect. These two were undoubtedly spies sent by the Wild Wolf Gang, and they would never let a third person live knowing their secret.

"...plan... must... not... quickly..."

Gradually, the two men lowered their voices even further. Apparently, they had reached the heart of the matter.

A short while later, their voices grew louder again, but soon afterward he could no longer make them out. Only the howling wind passed his ears. They had walked past the stretch of mountain path in front of Han Li, and their figures gradually receded into the distance.

For some time, Han Li remained crouched behind the tree, not daring to move. Only after using the Eternal Spring Art to confirm that there truly was no one else within several dozen zhang did he slowly get up.

This time, he had escaped with his life. Fortunately, he had detected the two spies ahead of time; otherwise, he would have run straight into them. Given who they were, he would surely have been silenced. More miserably still, given his own abilities, he would not have had the slightest hope of escaping.

Han Li stood where he was, gently rubbing his chin with a finger as he gazed in the direction the two had disappeared, a thoughtful look on his face.

Judging from the fragments of their conversation, they seemed likely to take some action against the Seven Mysteries Sect in the near future, and that action had a considerable connection to a certain list.

What surprised Han Li even more was that, although he had not seen the two men's figures or faces clearly, he had recognized one of their voices.

Although he had only dealt with the man once or twice, his extraordinary memory, far beyond that of an ordinary person, had allowed him to link one of the speakers to the inconspicuous steward in the mountain's main kitchen.

The man had sold him rabbits before, and in Han Li's memory he was a petty bargain-seeker with a little mustache and a thoroughly shrewd, mercenary look. That he was a spy sent by the Wild Wolf Gang truly put Han Li's nerves to the test.

Thinking it over, however, it was not all that surprising. Only with such a position could the man travel up and down the mountain frequently and pass on information without drawing others' attention.