Chapter 130: Chapter 131: False Experience Can Be Deadly
The horse let out a sorrowful whinny as it suddenly stumbled mid-gallop, flying sideways off the cliff!
His priceless Bo Beast, a prized steed capable of traveling a thousand li a day, was gone just like that.
Hee Lingchuan had a sudden realization.
’That thing was aiming for my lower back. No matter how a rider dodges on horseback, their waist and rump basically don’t move. If I hadn’t had a sudden stroke of inspiration and jumped off, I’d probably be the one exploding into a bloody mist right now.’
’Though now... my fate is probably to be smashed into a pulp. Not much better than exploding into a bloody mist, is it?’
Hee Lingchuan could still hear the alarmed cries of Fuzzy Peach and the others from the clifftop as the wind whistled in his ears, his descent accelerating.
’This cliff face is completely bare, without a single tree!’
Below was a slightly jutting rock face. Hee Lingchuan gritted his teeth, drew his Long Saber, aimed for a crack in the stone, and plunged it in.
’This trick always works in the movies.’
CLANG! The Long Saber snapped cleanly in two, right at the hilt.
’?! Was it all a lie?’
Fortunately, he had another blade.
’I have to try at least one more time.’
Hee Lingchuan drew his Broken Blade and stabbed it into the next crack.
It went in!
The hard rock face was gouged open, leaving a long gash from the blade.
There were no flying sparks, but there was the satisfying resistance of sawing through a hard loaf of bread.
Using the blade to slow his descent, Hee Lingchuan slid another twenty-odd feet before finally coming to a stop.
Below was a jagged mess of interlocking rocks jutting out from the lake’s surface. If he had fallen straight from the clifftop, he probably would have been smashed to smithereens on them. At least, that’s what happened to his horse.
He hadn’t reached the lake’s surface yet, but directly in front of him on the cliff face was a small, irregular hole—or rather, a gap—from which a cool breeze was blowing onto his face.
’What now?’ Hee Lingchuan wasn’t sure he could climb back up, and besides, Lui Yao would surely have his men in pursuit. Climbing up right now was probably not a good idea.
As he hesitated, that familiar chill returned.
This time, it came from directly above.
’The thing that just shattered my shield and killed my mount has locked onto me again.’
Hee Lingchuan cursed under his breath, and taking out his Broken Blade, he leaped into the small cave before him.
It was even narrower inside. He hit his head on the rock wall, cutting it open and raising a swollen lump.
But he had made it inside.
He had just pulled his legs in when a white shadow went WHOOSH past the cave entrance, the air searing the soles of his feet.
’What the hell is that thing!’
He thought he heard Fuzzy Peach and the others calling from above, but Hee Lingchuan didn’t dare poke his head out to look, let alone linger. Seeing that the crevice ahead was quite deep, he quickly began crawling inward on all fours.
He hadn’t gone more than a few feet when a massive RUMBLE came from outside. It sounded like a rockslide.
It turned out the rock on the cliffside was already weathered. After being struck by Hee Lingchuan’s falling mount, a large section had collapsed.
As luck would have it, two huge falling boulders landed right there, sealing the crevice he had entered.
The crevice was winding and difficult to navigate. It was pitch-black, and there were even two forks in the path. Hee Lingchuan didn’t hesitate; he chose to advance in the direction the wind was coming from.
His mind was still clear enough to know that his only path to survival was toward the source of the wind.
After crawling for a while longer, his Divine Bone Necklace suddenly grew hot.
’Is there something ahead?’
It was pitch-black all around, and he couldn’t see a thing. Still, Hee Lingchuan stayed on alert and slowed his pace.
A moment later, the space ahead suddenly opened up, and his left hand found nothing but empty air.
Luckily, he was on high alert and didn’t fall.
Below... was empty space.
A large space, at least. He could also hear the sound of water.
The wind was rushing up from below.
This meant there was a cave or fissure within the mountain that connected to the lake.
Hee Lingchuan breathed a sigh of relief. Perhaps he could find a way out of here.
’What now? Should I jump?’
Judging by the sound, he wasn’t far from the water’s surface—twenty to thirty feet at most.
Hee Lingchuan leaned forward, about to jump, when he heard another strange noise from below.
* * *
The other soldiers didn’t have time to react to Hee Lingchuan’s sudden accident.
By the time Fuzzy Peach and the others turned their heads, Young Master Hee had already plunged off the cliff, horse and all.
The horse’s dying whinny was so piercing that few people heard Hee Lingchuan’s own shout.
Zhao Qinghe was scared out of his wits. He immediately reined in his horse and rushed to the cliff’s edge to look down.
Below was empty space. A massive, jutting rock blocked his line of sight, preventing him from seeing the bottom of the cliff.
But... the outlook was not good.
He searched and searched, soon spotting the horse’s carcass smashed on the pile of rocks, its blood dyeing the lake water red.
Fuzzy Peach also dismounted and rushed to the cliff’s edge. Looking down, he cried, "Oh no, Eldest Young Master!"
Zhao Qinghe quickly asked, "Where?"
"I... I don’t see him." Fuzzy Peach craned his neck. "Could he be crushed under the horse?"
"..." Zhao Qinghe grabbed a coil of rope. "I’m going down to look."
"Let me! I’m thinner and more agile than you." Fuzzy Peach snatched the rope, tied it around his waist, secured the other end to a horse’s saddle, and slid down the cliff face with practiced ease.
The Mountain Bandits also noticed the situation and began loosing arrows. Zhao Qinghe called for his men to form a defensive perimeter. "Protect the horses!"
After a moment, he shouted down the cliff, "Have you found him?"
The first few times, Fuzzy Peach answered "No," but as he descended further, his voice became muffled, so he had to resort to tugging on the rope to signal.
Zhao Qinghe and the others struggled to pull him back up.
As soon as Fuzzy Peach was back on top, he said, "There are blade marks on the cliff face, but I didn’t see the Eldest Young Master!"
A heavy mood fell over the men.
Just then, with a loud CRASH, the last wagon barricade was brutally hacked apart, and the bandits charged through.
The first two charged too fast, and—SLIP—they fell flat.
The rest of them tested the icy surface. It was solid, and very slippery.
However, they were now only fifty to sixty feet away from the soldiers. At that range, never mind arrows—someone with strong arms could hit them with a Flying Axe.
How could they rescue anyone under these conditions?
One of the soldiers said anxiously, "We have to go! We can come back later when it’s safe..."
He couldn’t bring himself to finish the sentence. ’Come back to collect his body?’
Zhao Qinghe looked down at the bottom of the cliff, then at the howling bandits. Knowing there was no other choice, he ordered his men to mount their horses.
Finally able to retreat, the soldiers spurred their horses on, wishing the animals could grow two more legs.
Watching the soldiers disappear in a cloud of dust, Lui Yao looked at the fifty-to-sixty-foot stretch of frozen road before him and sneered, "A petty trick. You think this can stop us?" With that, he swung his axe and smashed it into the ice.
CRACK! A hole appeared in the ice.
If he chiseled out a couple more, he could use them as footholds.
The other bandits followed his lead. For a time, the air was filled with a cacophony of CRACKING and CLANGING as they all chiseled at the ice.
Some of the Mountain Bandits actually possessed Spells, but a small Fireball just fizzled out when it hit the ice, leaving only a shallow mark.
Ice condensed with Primordial Power was both hard and durable; ordinary Spells could barely scratch it.
Although it was an uphill path and their progress was slow, with footholds to use, they made their way up, one chiseled hole at a time.
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