Chapter 15 Fugitive_1

Cheng Feng immediately dismounted, instructed the unmarked child to return to the city on his own and hide, then ran over to help up Pei Ye.

The face and lips he pulled out of the mud were white and blue, like a corpse dug out of a grave, his eyes wide open, jaws clenched, covered with fine beads of sweat and big drops of rain.

Only when he saw this pale and miserable face did Cheng Feng truly realize for the first time the torment that his once high-spirited elder brother had suffered for the past two years.

Stammering, he said, "Pei, Brother Pei, is your old wound acting up...do you have any medicine...what should I do?"

"No need...to...worry. I'll be...fine...in a bit...you...go...I'll be...fine…" Pei Ye managed to mumble through gritted teeth, but no matter how Cheng Feng looked at him, he couldn't believe Pei Ye would be alright.

Cheng Feng stood up, looking around anxiously. For a fourteen-year-old, the current situation was indeed mind-boggling. His reliable elder brother was lying in a field, looking as if he was on the brink of death, while the horrifying enemy, whom even Lord Shen couldn't match, could appear behind him at any moment.

Who should he save? Who could he save? How could he save?

His riding skills were subpar to begin with, and he had nearly fallen off the horse several times when rushing out of the city. The road behind was even more treacherous and slippery due to rain. If he had to carry two people, he feared they would not get far.

The best decision would be to abandon everyone and leave on his own. Who did he think he was? He was no savior. He was merely another mouse caught by a cat, just like the others. Instead of gratefully running away, did they really want to get into a tug of war with the cat?

However, the young boy didn't accept that option. He tried to calm himself, looked around the field, made a decision, bent down to carry Pei Ye on his back, and said breathlessly, "Brother Pei, I'll hide you in the haystack...I'll tie the horse to that tree over there, a bit away from you. When you feel better, you can go and ride it yourself."

Pei Ye gave a slight nod in reply.

Truthfully, Pei Ye wasn't lying; the pain would subside after the wound acted up. With medicine, it would merely hurt for a while, and without medicine, it would come and go over the course of an hour, even causing him to pass out, but he would survive and not lose his life.

Cheng Feng pushed aside the haystack, put the stiff Pei Ye inside, put the haystack back to cover his body, leaving only his face exposed. Finally, he set up a small tent over Pei Ye's mouth and nose to prevent him from suffocating if the rain grew heavier.

"Alright, Brother Pei," Cheng Feng tried to make his voice sound calm, "I'll take Zhang Xiaoyan and run into the mountains. I know the mountains well, don't worry."

Pei Ye wanted to advise him to abandon Zhang Xiaoyan and leave on his own, but he couldn't open his mouth anymore. He could only stare with bewildered eyes, seemingly not hearing anything.

After one last worried look at Pei Ye, Cheng Feng knew he had to rush, so he turned around and ran back.

Pei Ye watched Cheng Feng's retreating figure, unresponsively. His vision was blurry and distant, with the world seeming to shift. He watched Cheng Feng run back intermittantly. He tied his own horse at a spot quite far from him and then ran back again, picked up Zhang Xiaoyan and put him on the horse's back, and prepared to mount the horse himself.

Wasted too much time... Pei Ye thought weakly.

As if responding to his thought, a figure dressed in black came out of the city gate.

The robe was soaked and somewhat torn; its hood was completely ripped off, revealing a pale and sickly young face. It was hard to tell whether the deep red on the body was the light from the red lanterns or bloodstains.

The first time Pei Ye saw him, he was at the city gate, the second time, at four or five feet outside the city gate, and the third time, he was standing next to Cheng Feng like a ghost.

Only then did Cheng Feng seem to realize something and turned his head in confusion.

No trace of the gleam of a drawn sword was seen, and the young boy's head fell to the ground as if it were a ripe fruit.

The man in black casually wiped away the dirt on his boots on the boy's face, which still held a hint of an expression. After cleaning both boots, he casually reached out to pick up the dazed Zhang Xiaoyan, glanced at the fire mark on his forehead, and proceeded to crush his legs.

Zhang Xiaoyan's distorted screams echoed all around before the man in black casually inserted a trace of True Qi, destroying his vocal cords. Thus, a lively boy turned into a weird shape that shivered and made "heh heh" noises non-stop.

The man in black held the weirdly-shaped boy and disappeared into the west with a blink.

…

The sharp pain didn't subside due to the emotional shock.

Pei Ye closed his eyes tightly and bore it. After about fifteen minutes, the first wave of pain gradually subsided. Pei Ye kicked away the haystack, lay there gasping for a moment, pushed himself up, and staggered towards Cheng Feng's body.

A large pool of blood had spread on the ground, washed far away by the rainwater. His face was covered in mud and shoe prints, and his lively eyes were completely dim.

Perhaps it was the after-effects of the intense pain, but Pei Ye found it a bit difficult to breathe.

He suddenly understood his irritation when he faced Cheng Feng's statement of "I'm with you".

It wasn't because Cheng Feng was still hesitating when a great enemy was at hand.

Pei Ye had experienced many annoying situations, but he had always been able to hide his emotions, handling them with a generous attitude. In comparison, Cheng Feng had simply acted rashly in a life-threatening situation.

What really bothered him was himself.

When he saw Lin Lin's pained face, picked up Lin Yue's filthy little clothes, took off the sword tassel...he had many moments that day when he was overwhelmed with anger and longed for revenge.

Yet, his rationale kept telling him that bravery and hatred couldn't bridge the gap in power. He should follow the arrangements of the adults, and play his role, even if the only thing his role could do was constantly hide and run away.

When he chose to act rationally, the suppressed side of him roared and raged restlessly.

That was another Cheng Feng.

So, when what he had been suppressing was so easily and thoughtlessly spoken out by Cheng Feng, it ignited his annoyance — who the fuck do you think you are? Do you think you're brave? Noble? While I and the adults play the roles of turtles and mice, hoping that the murderers can get away, even if we can never avenge the six murders, we still wouldn't want any more deaths tonight. And you dare to take your life so lightly?

Pei Ye silently used his sleeve to clean the boy's face, unwrapped one his coats to wrap around the head, carried the body onto a horse, rode on the horse, and dashed towards the county office.

After hiding like this all day, did it really prevent many deaths? Or perhaps, what would another death matter?

He cannot keep struggling for life like a maggot in darkness anymore. At least, he needed to swing his sword head-on once.

You goddamn beast, kill me with one stroke like you did Cheng Feng, or let me see if you'll still feel fear and let out wails when a sword pierces your throat.