Winter Time Rendering

Chapter 43: Chapter 14: Bloody Pursuit (Part 2)

Something light and airy slowly landed on his head.

The strange sensation sent goosebumps prickling across his skin.

Meng Qingyi froze for a second before quickly reaching up. He found something stick-like and feather-light.

He hurriedly brought it before his eyes. A colorful fishing bobber glinted in the moonlight.

Above the bobber was a fishing line. To be precise, what had fallen on him was a fishing line with no hook attached.

’This is...’

After a moment’s hesitation, his gaze shifted to the end of the line. There, he saw a neatly tied knot.

He couldn’t have been more familiar with that knot. It was one he’d learned from some survival magazine. Boys had no resistance to such uselessly flashy tricks. Once he’d mastered it, he’d tried to teach it to his best friends, but Ruoping and Du Kang had scoffed, calling it pointless. Only one other person had agreed with him that being cool was reason enough.

And this particular knot was the most secure of them all.

You just had to loop the finished knot over something and give the line a gentle tug to fasten it securely.

’They’d even considered how hard it was for us to move, squeezed together in the reeds. It was as thoughtful as your mom cutting up fruit for you. This clever fishing line seemed to see our predicament in a single glance.’

It was like a miracle from the heavens. Calling it a lifeline wasn’t enough to describe it!

The boy’s eyes lit up, and understanding dawned on him.

He suppressed his excitement, took a deep breath, and gave the line a gentle tug. The line seemed to come to life, unspooling further down.

Qingyi looped the knotted end around the reeds in front of him. He mentally measured the length he’d need and tugged the line again.

As if in perfect understanding, the line lowered further.

Finally, once there was enough length to reach the reeds on the other side, he tugged again, and the line stopped moving.

The clever fishing line seemed about to do something more; after all, only one end had a knot. Then, he thought he heard the sharp SNAP of metal cutting something.

Meng Qingyi knew that all he could do now was wait patiently.

His Adam’s apple bobbed. His eyes were fixed dead ahead—

The man finished stuffing the reeds at his feet into the pit. He straightened up and started walking toward the reed bed again.

And just then, the fishing line in mid-air suddenly dropped all at once. He didn’t know how long he’d been waiting for this moment.

Meng Qingyi snatched the line. Sure enough, at the other end was a freshly made knot. It was as if everything had been perfectly arranged, just waiting for him to loop it over the reeds by his side.

But this was no time to be marveling at it.

The man was getting closer. He saw Ruoping look over at him instinctively. Everything happened in the blink of an eye. Meng Qingyi quickly hooked the knot onto the reeds in front of the girl, at a height just below a person’s Adam’s apple. Then, he grabbed Ruoping’s clothes with one hand and yanked her backward. Caught off guard, the girl stumbled back, a gasp dying in her throat.

Meng Qingyi’s own momentum sent him tumbling backward. At the last second, he jabbed his elbow into Du Kang’s stomach—

"Ah—!"

"Shit!"

The boy’s and girl’s shouts erupted at the same time. The man stopped dead in his tracks and bellowed:

"Who’s there?"

His only answer was the sudden movement of figures in the previously silent reeds. The man froze, then seemed to remember something. A murderous glint entered his eyes. He raised his dagger and lunged toward the reeds, ready for a swift kill!

Everyone held their breath. The blade of the knife flashed coldly in the moonlight as all eyes focused on it. And yet—

"GURGLE..."

With a choked gasp, like someone being strangled, the charging man stopped abruptly, as if hit by a paralyzing spell. He clutched his neck in agony, struggling on the spot.

Not far in front of him, Feng Ruoping had just struggled to her feet. Stunned by the sudden turn of events, she was debating whether to run or do something else when she heard a familiar, sharp voice from above, making her eyes well up:

"Du Kang, Qingyi, now!"

Two dark figures shot out from beside her. One threw himself forward, wrapping his arms around the man’s waist and tackling him to the ground. The other cleanly stomped on the man’s hand, the one holding the dagger.

The chaotic situation was brought under control in an instant.

The girl immediately turned her head. A boy was half-kneeling on the dirt path above, his hands braced on the ground.

In the darkness, his eyes were shining. He flashed a wide, rare smile.

"See? I told you ’cool’ was reason enough, didn’t I?"

...

After teasing Ruoping, Zhang Shutong looked away, confirming that the attacker was subdued.

’That guy Qingyi not only knows survival skills, but he can also do a cool-looking karate chop. That’s a special move even I haven’t learned. It’s the kind of secret technique passed down from father to son, not to a brother.’

He watched as the other boy landed a solid chop on the back of the man’s neck. The man promptly collapsed, unconscious. Only then did Zhang Shutong finally relax, but he didn’t hurry down.

He might not have been in a hurry, but the girl named Feng Ruoping scrambled right up to him.

"Are you guys okay?"

He had expected to be met with a pair of star-struck, adoring eyes. Instead, the girl covered her mouth, her voice choked with emotion.

"You have the nerve to ask..."

’Even though she’s usually so fiery, a girl is still a girl, after all.’

Seeing this, he gave a helpless smile but didn’t plan on comforting her.

’If she needed my comfort, she wouldn’t be Feng Ruoping—’

"What are you still kneeling here for? We get it, you’re cool, okay?" The girl put her hands on her hips, her blustering tone hiding the vulnerability she had just shown.