infodatos Chapter 14 The Hunt
Chapter 14 The Hunt
Summer is just around the corner, and the Gao family has built a new garden next to the back mountain so that their family members can escape the heat.
It's not in use yet, which is the perfect time to slip away.
After entering the garden through the path, Chen Ye managed to slip out through the back gate of the Gao family garden before daybreak and plunged into the bamboo-filled Quanshan.
The Gao family mansion is backed by Quanshan Mountain, which is not high, but it is densely forested.
The mountains are covered with bamboo, which blocks out the sun. When the wind blows, the bamboo leaves rustle and can hide a person completely.
At the foot of the mountain, the other end connects to the official road, and heading northeast leads to the county boundary of Qinghe Prefecture.
Once they cross the line, the Gao family's reach won't be as far as it used to be.
Chen Ye dared not rest.
The bruises from Zhang Tieyi's kick to his ribs were still throbbing.
Every time I breathe, it feels like someone is stuffing a razor blade into the gap between my bones.
Despite the pain, Chen Ye kept his head down and continued his journey over the mountain.
The short knife was tucked into his waistband, the blood on the hilt already congealed, sticky and making a rustling sound as it rubbed against his clothes.
As he continued climbing without stopping until he reached the foot of the other side of the mountain, he unexpectedly heard the sound of dogs barking.
It wasn't a hunter's dog; it was a spirit dog.
It was raised by the Gao family.
Separated by a mountain ridge, it's impossible to tell how far apart we are.
These hounds are masters of tracking, but fortunately, they are extremely rare, and even the Gao family doesn't have many of them.
Chen Ye only heard a call coming from one direction; there was no sound from the other three directions.
The Gao family acted much faster than he had anticipated.
Chen Ye hid behind a fallen old bamboo tree, squatted down, and caught his breath.
He looked around.
In the distance, the roots of bamboo rise up from underfoot, intertwined and gnarled, and just a dozen steps away, only the shadowy bamboo shadows remain.
He counted the voices in the distance.
The west side has the fewest people.
He tucked the dagger into his pocket, glanced at the old bamboo, and climbed up using both hands and feet. He scrambled up a few meters and peered down through the gaps in the bamboo leaves.
Five people.
Two men walked in front, carrying bows and crossbows.
Two followed behind, and one was on the very edge.
Five people were arranged in a fan shape, pressing towards his direction.
After a moment's hesitation, Chen Ye quietly slid down from the tree.
Five against one, openly fighting is suicide.
However, the bamboo forest is dense with trees, so if we deal with them one by one without disturbing others, we might have a chance.
He considered the route for a moment, found a bush, and crawled in, patiently lying in wait like a cheetah.
After waiting for a while, Chen Ye saw a guard from the Gao family pass by in front of the bushes.
The guard looked to be in his early twenties, about 1.6 meters tall, with a hunched back.
Clutching a crossbow with the arrow dangling, he walked along muttering curses under his breath, clearly not taking the search of the mountain seriously.
Chen Ye held his breath.
The man walked a dozen steps, then paused as he passed an old bamboo grove, seemingly wanting to relieve himself behind the bamboo roots, his entire back exposed in front of him.
There was no hesitation at that moment.
Chen Ye sprang up from behind the bushes, covering the other man's mouth with his left hand from behind, while his right hand held a short knife across his throat.
The blade sliced through the flesh as cleanly and efficiently as cutting through a thick layer of leather.
The guard let out a few hoarse gasps from his throat, his fingers spasming as he pulled the trigger of the crossbow, sending an arrow flying diagonally into the mud.
Chen Ye covered the other person's mouth and waited for a moment until the body went completely limp before dragging it into the bushes.
He knelt on one knee beside the corpse and quickly searched its clothes, finding only some loose silver coins.
When gathered together, it only weighs about half an ounce.
He exchanged all that small amount of silver for two days of lifespan.
The numbers on the panel jumped.
[Current remaining lifespan: 23 days.]
After doing all this, Chen Ye took the crossbow and quiver from the other party and hung them on his own body, then carefully fastened the short knife and cautiously moved in another direction.
This is the second time he has killed someone.
As expected, when it comes to murder, practice makes perfect.
Now that he has experience killing, his hand no longer trembles when he holds a knife to slit throats.
The remaining four people were too far apart in the woods, and each of them could only see the bamboo a dozen or so steps in front of them.
They called out to each other every now and then, and after the announcement, they hadn't even noticed that one person was missing.
Using the rustling sound of the bamboo leaves in the wind, Chen Ye took a few steps back into the depths of the bamboo forest, crept towards the second person, and walked to his side and behind him.
There was a raised old tree root in the bamboo forest, about half a person's height. If you squatted down close to the root, you would be in the other person's blind spot.
He had never fired a crossbow in his life, but at this distance, anyone could hit the target as long as they nocked an arrow and pulled the trigger.
Having already undergone a transformation, Chen Ye's breathing was extremely steady.
He crouched on the tree root, stabilizing the crossbow with his knees, and pulled the trigger on the figure's back.
With a soft "pfft".
Chen Ye heard a muffled thud as an arrow pierced flesh.
The guard staggered forward two steps and grabbed a bamboo pole for support.
He made a few hoarse gurgling sounds in his throat, then fell face down into the pile of dead leaves.
Chen Ye walked over and squatted down, quickly searching through the person's body.
One tael of silver.
The wound was still bleeding profusely, soaking a large area of his chest, and even the silver coin he had pulled out was still slippery.
He didn't even bother wiping it off; he simply redeemed his lifespan.
[Current remaining lifespan: 27 days.]
Seeing the numbers on the screen keep jumping up, Chen Ye felt a little relieved.
Just then, the remaining three people finally realized that something was wrong.
The bamboo forest fell silent for a moment.
Then someone called out their companion's name.
Chen Ye did not respond. He reloaded his crossbow and squatted down to listen to their movements.
"Something's happened over there! Quick! Call for help!"
The three stopped searching separately and began to quickly converge on Chen Ye's direction.
They hadn't run far when they spotted Chen Ye in the bamboo forest, and both sides simultaneously raised their crossbows.
Two arrows flew past each other and landed on the bamboo behind Chen Ye, making two dull thuds.
Visibility was extremely poor in the bamboo forest, and no one managed to hit anyone.
Chen Ye did not linger in the fight. He quickly retreated and leaned against the earthen wall of a gully on the hillside, adjusting his breathing rhythm using a breaking formation-style force exertion technique.
"The three of us will surround him. If we can hold him off for a while, the others will get wind of our plan, and he won't be able to escape."
Chen Ye glanced around and saw the three people gradually closing in on him.
The left side is the closest and has the most open view.
He suddenly flipped over the ditch wall and jumped out, then pulled the trigger of his crossbow at the man on his left.
The other side reacted quickly and also fired an arrow.
The two arrows flew past each other again, but neither hit the other, though Chen Ye had already pressed down in front of him.
He decisively abandoned his crossbow and drew his sword, charging forward and channeling all his strength into the short sword in his hand.
The guard hurriedly raised his knife to parry and hid behind a bamboo pole.
But it had no effect.
Chen Ye's immense strength cleaved the bamboo, which was as thick as a bowl, in two. The blade grazed the guard of his sword without stopping and sliced diagonally into his side.
He groaned, staggered backward, tripped over a bamboo root, and fell heavily to the ground.
Chen Ye didn't have time to finish off his opponent.
The remaining two have arrived.
They discovered that Chen Ye was alone, and the knife in his hand was chipped and unusable.
The two men stood side by side, holding their knives horizontally in front of them, and said, "You can't escape. The entire area down the mountain is inhabited by the Gao family. If you know what's good for you, surrender and you might have a chance to live."
Chen Ye didn't speak, but weighed the blunted dagger in his hand before suddenly throwing it at his opponent.