Chapter Six: Flight for Life

This sword was somewhat unexpected, or rather, the sudden agility displayed by Cui Xiu had truly caught everyone off guard.

Not only was "Brother Tiger" slow to react, but even A-Tie, who faced the strike, failed to respond as a seasoned fighter should.

The longsword came in at a cunning angle; meanwhile, A-Tie’s broadsword, having just finished a powerful swing, was spent and could not be withdrawn in time.

In such a situation, there was nothing to do but watch as the sword closed in.

“A-Tie!”

There was no further surprise—indeed, the very fact that Cui Xiu could unleash such power was a surprise in itself. Even as the blade slipped into A-Tie’s neck, nothing changed the outcome.

With a dull thud, the broadsword dropped to the forest floor, and Brother Tiger let out an enraged roar, charging at Cui Xiu.

The sword slid free with a wet sound; though most of the hot blood was blocked by the tree trunk, enough sprayed across Cui Xiu’s face. His complexion paled, his lashes trembled, but he did not hesitate. Planting his foot against the trunk, he sprang backward.

Cui Xiu was well aware of his own limits. Though his mastery of basic swordsmanship now allowed him to resist, it was far from enough to confront an experienced killer who had survived countless fights.

He also knew that luck played a part in his killing of A-Tie, as did the enemy’s contempt. The credit due to swordsmanship was, at best, only half.

“Die!”

Yet, no matter how quick his reaction, even with the improvements from his swordsmanship, Cui Xiu’s physical ability could not match that of a hardened bandit who had roamed the mountains for years and practiced his blade for who knew how long.

Fueled by rage, Brother Tiger no longer held anything back. In the blink of an eye, he covered several yards, his broadsword swinging at Cui Xiu.

Fortunately, Cui Xiu used the terrain and his enhanced reflexes to dodge through the dense forest.

But what happened next utterly extinguished any thought of engaging his foe head-on.

With a cracking sound, Brother Tiger’s ferocious strike not only cleaved a tree as thick as a man’s arm in two, but left the cut as smooth as a mirror.

Witnessing this, Cui Xiu felt a chill at his waist. Such power—Brother Tiger was even stronger than he had imagined.

After all, with an ordinary blade, no matter how strong a man, it was rare to slice clean through a tree like that—unless some supernatural force was at work...

The thought of last night’s encounter with ghosts and monsters crossed his mind. If such things existed, perhaps it wasn’t impossible for humans to develop extraordinary powers as well.

Qi? Inner strength?

Cui Xiu dared not linger on such thoughts. He poured all his strength into his legs and dashed deeper into the forest.

Fearing that his enemy might possess supernatural speed, he didn’t even dare run in a straight line, lest he be overtaken.

Under these circumstances, he barely had attention to spare for his surroundings, running in a vague direction guided only by instinct.

He ran for an unknown length of time, breathing raggedly, his heart gripped by both anxiety and a trace of relief. Anxiety, for his pursuer had not given up; relief, for the dense forest was to his advantage.

The enemy’s speed was truly remarkable. Were it not for the tangled woods, Cui Xiu, even with his improved physique, would never have lasted so long.

On open ground, he would have been caught long ago.

Yet even with his pursuer lagging behind, Cui Xiu felt little joy. His stamina was nearly spent.

He could clearly feel his leg muscles approaching their limit; only the momentum of his flight and a single thread of willpower kept him running. Otherwise, if he stopped, he could already imagine his muscles cramping.

That was enough!

Sensing the pressure behind him, Cui Xiu dared not pause, but his discomfort grew harder to bear.

Luckily, he soon reached a part of the forest he recognized.

Though the mist ahead was thick, he could still make out a few familiar landmarks.

Anyone unaffected by the mist, looking closely, would have seen several clearings among the dense undergrowth, each piled with rotting leaves and dotted with countless small, raised mounds.

Densely packed.

Some mounds, where the leaves had blown away, revealed patches of yellowed bone.

Even shrouded in mist, the sight was unsettling, but Cui Xiu did not hesitate, plunging straight into the fog.

Given Brother Tiger’s relentless pursuit, he should have charged in after Cui Xiu as well.

Yet, seeing the mist before him, he hesitated, anger restrained by caution.

Anyone would sense something was wrong here.

This was no ordinary place; for Cui Xiu, it was the very forest where he had encountered the supernatural the previous night.

He had not come here purely to seek the help of whatever ghosts might dwell within; rather, he remembered seeing the thick fog here when he’d left that morning.

In such an environment, if the two men were even slightly separated, it would be nearly impossible to find one another. Cui Xiu hoped to use the fog as cover to escape.

To Cui Xiu, the place was unsettling but unfamiliar. To Brother Tiger, however, it was all too well known, which explained his hesitation.

He knew this area well—or rather, everyone in Liu Family Village did.

This was where, after killing someone, they would dump the bodies.

Whenever a life was taken, Old Fifth would instruct them to dispose of the corpse here. As for why this place was chosen, they never really understood.

Later, some things happened, and aside from dumping bodies, they rarely visited anymore.

Brother Tiger figured that, as an outsider, Cui Xiu would have little chance of coming out alive. His own misgivings about the place dampened his urge to pursue.

But then he considered—if Cui Xiu survived and reached the county seat to alert the authorities, their village might be wiped out by government troops...

Brother Tiger gritted his teeth.

“Even if there are ghosts here, I’ve killed enough men, and the god protects me. Am I supposed to fear a mere specter?!”

Afraid that Cui Xiu would get too far ahead, Brother Tiger hesitated no longer and charged into the mist, blade in hand.

Compared to the brief inner struggle Brother Tiger endured before entering, Cui Xiu had already been running through the fog for some time. At first, he’d worried about being caught, but after a while, he heard nothing from behind.

Then he realized he was lost.

This discovery made him stop.

Judging by the environment and the density of the mist, it was clear this fog likely never lifted.

If, after all his effort to escape his enemy’s blade, he were to die here lost, what an ironic end it would be.