Chapter 131: Chapter 132: Battle of Endurance in the Dark
Of course, Lui Yao knew Hee Lingchuan and the others were just trying to slow down their pursuers. He never truly believed a short patch of ice could stop his vicious bandits.
Once all his men had crossed the frozen path, Lui Yao waved his hand. "After them!"
Just then, a bandit timidly raised his hand. "General, the h-horses... they aren’t up here!"
How were they supposed to catch up on two legs when their quarry had four?
Lui Yao’s eyes widened. "Then what are you waiting for? Go lead them up!"
The bandits had no choice but to retrace their steps and go get the horses.
And that was where the trouble began.
A man could use the holes in the ice to climb, but a horse could not.
The surface of the ice was treacherous, with only a few small holes for leverage. Horses weren’t human, nor had they been specially trained; their footwork was nowhere near as agile.
Their four lanky legs scrabbled on the ice. Sometimes they found a foothold in a hole, and sometimes they didn’t. It was all a matter of luck.
The bandits were getting anxious, too. After a few more vicious cracks of the whip, two horses couldn’t bear the pain any longer and began to furiously scrabble their hooves, trying to get up.
But they missed their mark and slipped.
With a single slide, they dragged the bandits leading them right off the cliff.
The screams of men and the whinnies of horses all fell silent at the bottom of the cliff.
A chill ran down the bandits’ spines. They could only look to Lui Yao for what to do next.
’If the horses can’t get up, what’s the goddamn point of chasing them?’ Lui Yao was so furious he let out a roar at the sky before bellowing, "What are you all standing there for? Dig! Dig me a path through this ice!"
A path the horses could actually walk on!
Luckily, there were shovels and hoes in the village. When it came to chipping away ice, these dedicated farming tools were far more effective than swords and axes.
By the time the ridiculously thick, three-layered sheet of ice had been chiseled away and the horses could finally clatter up the path, nearly another double-hour had passed since Hee Lingchuan and his group had fled.
It took them almost as much time as it did to break through the three-tiered cart barricade! Lui Yao trembled with cold fury, the same thought crossing his mind again and again:
’Did that little whelp Hee Xiaogou plan this from the very beginning?’
’A clean death from a fall would be letting him off way too easy!’
Panting for breath, the bandits dropped their farm tools. Ignoring their aching limbs, they scrambled onto their horses at Lui Yao’s urging and resumed the chase.
By now, the sun was nearing its zenith.
Someone’s stomach rumbled. They hadn’t had a bite to eat or a drop to drink since dinner last night, and they were starving.
’I really regret not swiping a few flatbreads from the village.’
But seeing General Lui’s iron-dark face, no one dared utter a peep.
Just as they galloped past a small copse of trees, Lui Yao suddenly roared, "Who’s there?"
The axe flew before the words even left his mouth.
With a CRACK of breaking branches, his Flying Axe sent someone tumbling from a tree, one leg clearly broken.
Lui Yao walked over, took one look, and snorted. "Aren’t you one of Old Pei’s scouts?"
The man wailed, "General Lui, spare my life!"
"Where is Old Pei?"
The man stammered, not daring to answer.
Lui Yao lopped off his head with a single stroke of his saber and ordered his men to search the body. They found nothing of use.
Just then, a whirring sound came from the woods. Something flew out and landed on the corpse.
The bandits looked closer and saw it was a mechanical wooden bird.
Lui Yao, however, was quite familiar with this type of bird. He opened its belly, pulled out a paper scroll, and after a quick glance, sneered. "That bastard Pei wanted him to keep spying on my movements. Heh!"
SPLASH! Something thrashed in the water, sending spray everywhere.
Then, to his surprise, Hee Lingchuan heard someone cough.
It was a series of ragged coughs, as if choking on water—harsh, gasping, and broken.
Having been injured often himself over the past two months and seen plenty of others in the same state, Hee Lingchuan could tell from the sound alone that the person had at least suffered a lung injury.
Then, he smelled blood.
And from below came another strange sound, like someone breathing heavily:
HUFF... HUFF...
Hee Lingchuan didn’t dare to breathe, waiting silently to see what would happen.
The coughing stopped as suddenly as it began.
Forty, fifty seconds passed in silence.
Just as Hee Lingchuan thought the person had left, the water began to churn again. Something slammed against the rock wall with a loud CRACK, the impact sounding immense.
Soon, the coughing returned.
This time, the person coughed even more violently, as if they had just resurfaced.
And with great difficulty, he managed to force out two words:
"Vile beast!"
The voice was vaguely familiar. Hee Lingchuan felt like he’d heard it recently.
Very recently.
Was it in the last couple of days, or just a few double-hours ago?
A flash of realization struck him, and Hee Lingchuan whispered aloud, "Wu Shaoyi?"
His voice wasn’t loud; logically, the sound of the water should have drowned it out. But unexpectedly, the man below heard him perfectly and cried out, "Who? Who’s there? Help me, quickly!"
The moment Hee Lingchuan called out the name, he’d had a strong suspicion. Hearing the man’s cry for help, he guessed he was in no position to be a threat. So, he tore a strip of cloth from his clothes, lit it with his flint, and dropped it.
The flaming cloth fluttered down, hit the surface of the water, flickered twice, and died.
But in that brief moment of light, Hee Lingchuan managed to get a limited view of what was below—
He didn’t see Wu Shaoyi himself, but a mass of dark, gleaming Scale Armor!
Three rows of sharp hooks were arranged tightly on the Scale Armor, glistening wetly in the gloom.
The flame seemed to have landed right next to the creature’s head, startling it. It whipped its head around, churning the water again. Hee Lingchuan thought he caught a glimpse of two glowing green eyes.
HISS— He drew in a sharp breath. It was indeed that behemoth—
The Crocodile King.
Earlier, Wu Shaoyi had been ambushed by the giant crocodile at the lakeside, and both had vanished. Everyone had assumed the Crocodile King had dragged him off somewhere to enjoy its meal.
Who would have thought it had brought Wu Shaoyi here?
"General Wu?" Hee Lingchuan asked tentatively. "Where are you?"
His louder voice echoed, revealing the cave to be a massive chamber.
"In... in the Crocodile God’s mouth!" Wu Shaoyi immediately answered. "I’m using my Long Spear to prop open its jaws! You... you get down here and help..."
His words were cut off.
Hee Lingchuan guessed the giant crocodile had dragged him underwater again.
’The man below is a rebel leader. Should I help him or not?’
’But if I don’t, can I get out of here on my own?’
’I’ll ask him next time.’
Soon, "next time" came.
As Wu Shaoyi resurfaced with the crocodile’s mouth, Hee Lingchuan took advantage of the beast’s thrashing to shout, "Where’s the exit? How do I get out of here?"
"You can’t! There are..." Wu Shaoyi choked on a mouthful of lake water. "...other crocodiles outside!"
He immediately added, "Help me, and I have a way out! Trust me!"
Hee Lingchuan was skeptical. "Do you even know who I am?"
"I don’t care who you are! I’d even take that son of a bitch Lui Yao!" Wu Shaoyi screamed. "This is the Crocodile Nest! There’s no other way out. If you don’t help me, we’re both going to die here!"
After a moment’s thought, Hee Lingchuan tore off and lit two more strips of cloth from his now much-shorter sleeve and dropped them down.
The giant crocodile was just turning on its side to enter the water, and by the flickering light, he finally saw Wu Shaoyi.
The man was indeed half-sprawled inside the crocodile’s mouth, his Long Spear wedged firmly between the Crocodile Demon’s upper and lower jaws. He had to cling desperately to the spear’s shaft just to keep from being thrown out by the violent thrashing.
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